We have FINALLY arrived to Tallahassee, FL!

"Oye!" from FL!!!

Thursday was a great day of riding for me personally, as well as the other riders. Ryan says it was because of the tailwind. I thought it was because I was getting stronger, but now that I think about it, I realize I’ve asked plenty of people to pray for our safety and ENDURANCE. So, I’m sure we rode strong for 51 miles because God was answering prayers.

The Biggins made us feel extra welcomed :)

We started from the Chamber of Commerce office in Pelham, Georgia. It was an overcast day which made the weather cooler than Wednesday. There were lots of small hills along the way. Since I’m from Louisiana, those baby hills might as well be mountains. I huffed and puffed on the uphills while Becky and Ryan flew by me, then I shifted into my downhill mojo and passed them up at up to 31mph. FUN!!!! My riding partner, Dave Steere from Panama City, and I averaged 17 mph for the day. Not too bad for the senior most riders of the group!

Erin and Megs

When we got to the Florida state line, we were greeted with enthusiastic cheers of “Oye’e” from the Biggins family. Pat Biggins serves with the Tallahassee Fuller Center and he and wife Donna have 6 of the most beautiful blonde and red-headed children. They were all wearing orange – our theme color – and they were waving homemade welcome posters. They even had fresh oranges for us to eat as we stopped to pose under the “Welcome to Florida” sign – the 7th state in our long journey. 

We proceeded to First Baptist Church of Bradfordville where we are sleeping on the floor of their Sunday School rooms for 3 nights. Thank you FBCB for your graciousness! We had supper with the Tallahassee Board and members of Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Thank you to the Biggins family for arranging supper and entertainment for our group! Katelyn, Meghan, Dan, Connor, Erin and Tanner, you are delightful!

Erin, Megs, Erika and Tanner playing at the church :)

We must send a shout-out to Higher Ground Bicycle Company. Several riders had to stop there to look for boxes in which to ship their bikes home . The owners read our t-shirt slogan, which is “Building on Higher Ground”. They were so impressed with our mission and slogan that they gave us some much needed goodies. Thank you Higher Ground! Some of you have asked how I make it through the long days of riding. I will leave you with my mantra of the week. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13.

written by: Tamara Danel

photos by: Esther Hyejin Chung