MY TURN….by Julie.

As I write this I am sitting in the air conditioned gym of Good Shepherd Lutheran church which is across the street from the YMCA park that we are staying in. The temperature on the business next door read 101 degrees when we came. Some of us came here for church this morning and were very warmly welcomed and also invited back for refreshment this afternoon at 1. They did not wait for a committee meeting or wished we had let them know we were coming but made us so welcome. They have cold drinks and all kinds of snacks; some of which they have made this afternoon. A great lesson learned about hospitality by their generous spirit!

Some have asked what I do on this trip and if I keep busy. I will describe what a day is like for me. We started out by getting up between 6 and 6:30AM but now because of the hot days with many miles, we now start the day between 5:30 and 6AM. We begin by folding up our bedding and repacking and put all our things back in the truck.. Then it is time for breakfast. We must remember our plates and also take our chairs unless we come back to the tent to eat. After breakfast and washing our dishes, we pack our lunch for the road. The water coolers must be filled and put in the trucks. We then go back and take our tent down. The tent and basket of clothing and supplies go on the gear truck. Pete pumps up his tires and is ready to leave. I usually leave very soon after him.

We have 4 SAG vehicles. SAG stands for support and gear. Each of us carry 20-30 gallons of water for the bikers to fill up their water bottles. Most bikers carry 2 or 3 bottles. We also carry extra tire tubes, a tire pump, bike repair tool kit and, until last week, tires. Protein bars are available for those who “bonk” (biker term for needing nourishment). If you check the web site, you will see our statistic of how many total flat tires there have been! Often 20 per day! We are placed 15 to 20 miles apart depending on the distance the bikers ride on that particular day. We drive to our spot and stay there for the day unless we have to move to a new place later in the day. Sometimes it is hard to find a place to park for the day and even more difficult to find a place with any shade. Hopefully, we give some encouragement as well as supplies! Each day, one of the SAG drivers is the “sweep” vehicle. That vehicle must make sure that everyone is in for the day before coming in so it can be rather late. Most days I arrive at camp 2-4 hours after Pete. Because of the longer days, that has not always been true this past week. When Pete is in earlier than I, he sets up the tent and showers. Otherwise we set the tent up when we are both in.

Evening meal is served at 6PM. Again, we bring our own dishes and chairs. Food has been excellent! We have a great kitchen crew! We, again, stand in line to wash our dishes. Usually, we have a little break before our peleton meeting where we hear about the day and are given our route for the next day. After this meeting, we meet with our assigned small group for a short time. For us, it is usually “lights out” by 9 PM..

I am finishing this at 9PM. Most of us have put our beds in the church. They have extended the invitation for us to also sleep in the church because the temperature has gone down to 99 degrees. We have seen Jesus in these brothers and sisters in the Lord. It will always be memorable!

Pray for us this week as we have many long days and lots of heat.
Love, P&J