Conquering Heroes!

Triumphant Entry

Jekyll Is. Entrance

I am a day late due to internet problems on Jekyll Island. So most of you have already read about the successful completion of the great bike ride in Monty or Dave' blog. It was a marvelous event and we should all be proud of Monty and Dave for this accomplishment. The trip to Jekyll Is. was pretty uneventful. We were dodging rain showers, but it held off after a few showers at the beginning of the days journey. The picture at the left shows the guys coming over the bridge to the island. You can just see the rear fender of a pickup, but there is a person in the back videoing the whole thing.

Success!

I had driven onto the island ahead of them, parked, and walked up on the bridge to photograph their entry. But by the time I got back to the truck some distance away, the bikers and their entourage had disappeared. Being the great guys they are, they waited for me to find them before the "drive" into the Atlantic Ocean. I don't know who the photographer represented, but the other blogs probably say.

So after a couple if interviews, the guys revelled in their 15 minutes of fame. Then we found a place to stay, and got on with being tourists. The island has a historic district with shops, etc. But being "off season" everything was closed. There were some pretty spiffy "cottages" to see though. We had a nice sea food dinner on the wharf  to celebrate a little.

And suddenly, it's all over. The gear was loaded into the truck with un-needed luggage, and I was on my way back to Phoenix early this morning.

So this is the end of this series of blogs. But maybe I'll summarize the trip when I get home. Thanks for the prayers and your interest in the project. God bless.

Waycross, GA

Today is one of those that doesn't lend itself to either picture taking or talking about. At least that was the situation until Monty got run down here in Waycross. Not to worry too much though because Monty and bike are both o.k. Apparently a lady turned right in front of him and a collision resulted. It could have been much worse, so praise God that it wasn't. Mark and I were in the truck a few blocks ahead of he and Dave. We wondered what was taking so long for them to come into view. By the time we decided to go look for them, they were back on the bikes and headed into town.

The lady from the Jekyll Island CofC was here to video interview the guys, so they are now big stars. Well, maybe not. The guys did a great job, though.

So all is well, and we are on our way to the end of the adventure tomorrow, except the weather forecast isn't good. It was totally overcast and cold today. The CofC at Jekyll Island is ready to film our triumphant entry. It will be a bummer if the rain is severe.

So that's about it for today. God bless.

2 to go

I took the weekend off as you already probably know. So I'll try to catch you up.

The Baileys (less their son)

Sherwood Baptist

On Saturday the trip to Dawson, GA was uneventful.The family we stayed with lives more toward Albany, kind of out in the country. The Baileys are a wonderful family and they treated us much better than we deserved. We went to church with them on Sunday to the Sherwood Baptist Church. Some of you may immediately know why that's kind of a big deal. For the rest of you, these are the folks and the church that made the movie "Fireproof" as well as some others. In fact,the gentleman who played Curt Cameron's father in the film was the guest pastor. (I don't know if he spells it like that, but hopefully you get the idea.) We are told that a new film is in the works. We'll sure watch for that.

Sunday evening we attended church in Dawson where Monty had made a previous contact. Monty and Dave had most of the service to preach a little and talk about Haiti and our trip across the country. They took a special offering for the Haiti project for anyone who felt they wanted to help. It appeared that the response was really good. Blessings on them! We also were able to partake of Communion with them.

Also, at the Baileys we were joined by Mark and his wife. Mark is joining the bike ride to Jekyll Island. They are also former Mountain Ridge people. Mark's wife has gone visiting elsewhere, but will join us at Jekyll Island, and they will transport Monty and Dave to Savannah where they will catch their plane home. In the meantime, I'm headed back to Phoenix with the bikes, gear, etc. Can't wait.

I.m such a dummy - we kind of lost track of each other in Albany and Monty kept calling me but only could leave voice mails. I finally discovered that my ring tone was off. Don't know how that happened, but I suppose just putting the phone in my pocket or something. We finally got together o.k.

Dave had a little mishap this afternoon right here in our destination of Tifton. Apparently he hit a drain or ? and it tossed him into a pole! He's o.k. and can brag about his battle scars. Other than a few flats and the just mentioned mishap, the day went well.

Tomorrow we go to Waycross, GA. Among other things, we'll get to visit the Okefenokee Swamp just near Waycross. Also, the lady from the Jekyll Island C of C will meet with us. It's kind of hard to realize it's just about over. But at the same time, I'm excited to start home!

Stay tuned. God bless.

Georgia on My Mind

Here we are in Eufaula Alabama. The intrepid bike drivers have caught up with our original schedule. Today went well and we made better time than I expected. Only a couple of flats helped.

Our motel is just across the street from the river banks of the Chattahoochee river, and the Georgia state line is right here too. So I walked across the street and around the back of the sign, so I was the first of our group to be in Georgia!
Having admitted this act, I got lots of grief from the guys about being a team and togetherness and stuff like that. But I am afraid I failed to feel the guilt.

Georgia only a few feet away!

Georgia across the river/lake.

I don't know if there is a dam downstream, but Lake Eufaula is huge and is basically part of the river here.

We had dinner in a recommended Cajun restaurant and it was really good. Crayfish  was my choice - this is the south after all. Because of the relatively short ride tomorrow, Monty and Dave decided they wanted to go to a movie. Bad news - the closest theater is an hour away. So the motel guy says " why don't you just rent a movie and watch it in our theater room?" Wow, what a great facility. There are 6 reclining chairs and an overhead projection system. We felt like we actually were in a theater, but more comfortable and cozier. No popcorn, but M&Ms worked o.k.

So the day has been a good one. We'll go to Dawson, Georgia tomorrow and spend the weekend there with some old friends of Monty's. Then off for the last 3 days of the trip. Yowser!

More when I get around to it. God bless.

Biking Weather

Today was a good day overall in that the guys covered a lot of territory, even though the roads were pretty bad (no shoulders). It rained hard last night, but by morning things had cleared out. So no wet riding clothes and muddy bikes today. Getting out of Tuscaloosa during rush hour was a little slow and busy. But soon we were on the road, fixing a flat. Just part of the process.

We are in Prattville tonight. That's just north of Montgomery, so we are very nearly back on schedule. There is a Mexican restaurant and a Dairy Queen right next door, so we are pretty much in heaven. However, as much as I hate to complain, the chili relleno (sp? ) was the worst! (I'll probably remember how to spell it right after I publish this.) I guess they don't do it like they do in the southwest. But I was able to get over it with a banana shake.

Lots of Trees

What an Idyllic Setting

The pictures are just some of the Alabama countryside.  It's pretty heavily forested. The timber trucks are plentiful. I almost felt like I was back in Oregon.

Everyone is well and in good spirits. Thanks for the prayers. The end is in sight! God bless.

Into Alabama

Today was a day when I seriously thought about not blogging. In other word, nothing noteworthy happened. The weather was lousy this morning and the bikes didn't get on the road until 9:30. Even then there were some pretty good showers and Monty and Dave got very wet and very muddy, as did their bikes. They also had a few flats, and it is becoming apparent that the tires are wearing out. So we only made it to Tuscaloosa today. That leaves us with some 30 miles to catch up. But no worries, there is at least one scheduled short day ahead. The roads here have been from good to wagon trails. Tough on tires.

We went to a bike shop and bought some new tires. Hopefully they will improve the flat situation.

When we entered Alabama today we were ready to take pictures of the "Welcome to Alabama" sign. but all we got is a regular highway sign telling us we were in Alabama. Dave stopped and found the "Welcome" sign laying in the weeds. I guess things are tough all over.

Don't know where we will get to tomorrow. So we'll all be surprised then.The good news is that the bad weather is supposed to be gone. One week to go! God bless.

And the Rains Came!

Early in the Trip

Rainy Weather

Indeed they did. The early morning was o.k., but then Monty's bike broke another spoke, and his rear wheel was getting pretty wobbly. Then the rain started in earnest. The road shoulder was very narrow and the big trucks were speeding by and making things even wetter. Their ability to see the bikes with all of the spray was a concern too. So we decided it was unsafe to continue, and Monty's bike really needed fixing. So we loaded everything in the truck and went to Starkville where we believed there was a bike shop-and there was. They re-spoked Monty's wheel and aligned everything. Starkville is about 20 miles short of our planned destination, but due to the weather, we made the journey by truck. Later the weather was better, so our bikers made up the distance previously bypassed by biking through the countryside. Bad weather, broken spokes, and a few flat tires made us appreciate yesterday when everything seemed to go well.

Anyway, we are settled in our motel, had a good dinner, and are ready to rest up for tomorrow. Another new state will be entered in a few miles (Alabama) which is always fun.

Ready to Roll!

Tucson Sunset

Some pictures have been requested from early in the trip when I hadn't yet figured out how to add them. So we're hoping for some sun tomorrow and a good trip to our next destination, Brent, Alabama or wherever we decide to make it. God bless.