DAY SIXTEEN - MISSION (ALMOST) ACCOMPLISHED

For those of you who don’t know it by now, I have decided to cut my bike trip short. The first half of the trip really took its toll on me physically. Missouri had some hills that just seemed to never end and my legs really got a work out. They did get stronger after a few days but it was still a very rough ride. Nebraska, I can now say from experience, had the worst roads. I’ve never seen road work done the way they attempted to do it. The western part of the state was very beautiful but there were very few areas where the roads were favorable for biking. I know a lot of this is because of the remote route that I picked to ride on. I preferred to stay away from the traffic, but in doing so, I was more susceptible to rough roads, and of course, dogs. Nebraska just about jarred me to pieces.

I didn’t spend a lot of time in Kansas so can’t give too much criticism. I passed thru it very quickly getting to Colorado but what memories I do have of it were bitter (water). Eastern Colorado just about did me in. There were very long stretches that were hot, hilly and windy. The day before I hit the Denver area was probably the most grueling. I had about a 60 mile stretch with nowhere to get any cool water. I did have plenty of water on the bike but it was all hot and I had to walk up many, many long hills.

The weather seemed to be much hotter than what I had expected for this time of year. It did dip down in the upper 40’s at night a few times but it was also in the 90’s during the day. I did have some minor physical problems along the way that I am still trying to recover from.

The bike performed pretty well but I did have a few minor problems with it as well. It’s hard to explain really unless you ride a bike and get to know it by feel; through your legs, feet, hands or, huh, rear end. The Pilgrim’s drive train is very dirty and starting to make some noises that I’m concerned about.

So, for physical reasons, not wanting to chance a bicycle breakdown (there would be almost no bike shops available on the way back), and because I miss my family so much, I’ve decided to cut the trip short. The last riding day I had was the 23 miles I rode into the Bibles For the World headquarters. I was not able to procure a rental car without it costing an arm and a leg so it was cheaper to get a small U-Haul van. I got it in Colorado Springs and loaded all my gear and drove down to Canon City to my good friend Randy Bringman’s home on Saturday.

After arriving at Randy’s, I met his wonderful wife Esta, their cute dog Riley and we took time to sit down and just catch up on old times. Randy and I used to work together back when I started with Freesen Inc. thirty-three years ago. We’ve always been good friends and it was great to get to reminisce.

Later, we went out to dinner (I think they may call it lunch out here) and, low and behold, who should we run into at the restaurant but Pam Tucker! She had been out fly fishing again. I could not believe it. I got to meet her husband and her casting instructor. That was an unexpected surprise.

After lunch we took a drive around the area and looked at some of the sites. I forgot to bring my camera but it is such a beautiful area to see, as is all the mountain ranges that I’ve seen thus far. I think I could actually live out here.

After returning home Randy’s pastor, Bill Carson, and his wife Cindy, stopped by to meet me and we talked about the ministries of BFTW. I really enjoyed meeting them and was given an invitation to speak at their church tomorrow morning about BFTW and my relationship with Randy. I look forward to that.

After they left we had a wonderful meal of steak, corn on the cob, potato and salad. I forgot to take a picture, of course, but it was great. There was way too much food and I’m afraid that I have not lost any weight on this trip so far. Randy and Esta have been great hosts and I look forward to visiting them again when they have their new log home built up in the mountains.

I will be contacting the churches that I had lined up to visit on my return trip and thanking them for the opportunity to stay with them even though it now will not be necessary. I really which I could visit them and regret not being able to do so.

But, I think it’s important to listen to my body at times. And right now mine says it’s time to take a break. I’ve accomplished many of the goals I set out to do on this tour, the main one being, to make it to BFTW. Some of the one’s I did not achieve I may get the opportunity to try again at a later date. One in particular is to ride the whole 225 miles of the Katy Trail in Missouri. I may try and get a couple friends to go with me in a few years in doing that.

I’ll be updating the blog once I return home with many pictures, comments and evaluations of the trip so please continue to check the blog off and on in the future. I’ll also be giving you the final count and list of the many ice creams I enjoyed along the way, in case you’re interested.

Destination tomorrow – Winchester IL.
Total miles ridden on tour - 925