Bike Roots

BIKE ROOTS

Eleven years ago I was able to break away from the fast pace of life and go on an extended adventure through the woods. There is not a day that goes by that something doesn’t remind me of that period in my life. I’m so thankful that God allowed me to hike on the Appalachian Trail. I didn’t know if I would ever get to live or experience anything similar to that again.

I moved to Bowling Green, KY almost six years ago. It is odd to think I have been living in Kentucky that long. The longer I am here, the more and more I love the Bluegrass State. I was able to find a church home right away through State Street United Methodist Church. I quickly found a group of young ladies that took me under their wings and introduced me to a thing called road cycling.  They invited me to come along on some of their bike rides through the neighborhoods every morning around 5am. For some reason I agreed. I took my heavy mountain bike and joined their group, always being the last person struggling to keep up. I look back on those mornings and I cherish them deeply! I learned quickly one of the reasons I was always left in their dust was because all of them had road bikes. Little did I know that the difference in bikes would matter that much. Over the years I graduated to a hybrid bike and eventually got a Trek road bike.

The morning neighborhood rides evolved into longer rides over the country roads of Warren County. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I caught the bug and road biking became a new passion for me. Two years ago I was able to take my first “tour” – a 7 day, 460 mile ride through North Carolina (Mountains to Coast) bike ride. It was an eye opener to so many things and made me hunger to learn more (so I would hurt less) and possibly one day bike across the United States.

This vision of a long bike ride is finally becoming a reality. This summer I found a bike ride that will allow me to combine road biking and ministry. What an amazing way to share Jesus with others! I will be participating in a bike ride across the United States through an organization called the Fuller Center for Housing. This organization was founded by Millard Fuller, one of the co-founders for Habitat for Humanity. One way this non-profit organization ministers here in the United States is through this bike ride adventure. I will be joining 45 other cyclists from all over the United States and some from different countries. Some of those 45 cyclists will be doing sections along the route while the others will be joining me biking the entire route. We will be starting from Atlantic City, NJ and biking through 15 states, traveling about 3,600 miles and ending in Astoria, OR roughly a little over two months. We will be averaging about 75 miles a day and taking about 8 days off building, remodeling or repairing homes along the way.

I am really excited for this ride but also know the amount of time and effort it will take to put into the training. One of the things you have to focus on for an experience like this is the mental preparation. On the Appalachian Trail there were so many strong hikers that would average hiking about 30 miles a day. Ironically, those hikers were some of the first to quit because they couldn’t mentally handle the day to day life, the rain, the pain and the small things that could mentally drive you crazy. My prayer is that when I start this adventure  I can be in shape physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally so when it is time to perform – whether through biking, building, or just living with others - I am at my best.

God Bless!

Hebrews 3:4