Day 7 post

Report from The Riders

Day 7
We left Wynne, Arkansas with Little Rock our destination. Ten hours later, after biking a total of 102 miles, we reached Little Rock. We got a great start this morning and were on the road by 7:00 am.
Devotions this morning revolved around the Starlight Motel. It became a metaphor for the way life can be at times. While it did have beds and running water it was a bit rough around the edges. We learned lessons of living with less, of enduring less than ideal conditions, and coming out better people in the end. God uses many circumstances in our lives to shape us and the Starlight Motel was one we hope he does not make us repeat. Lessons learned!

Memorable Moments:
1. We are having wonderful conversations that only good friends can have. This must be we are becoming good friends.
2. Today was a day of no dog chasing. Sherry could rest easy.
3. Waking up this morning with the realization that we are indeed starting with a tailwind! Thanks for your prayers. God is the God of the wind.
4. Chivalry is not dead! The men came to the rescue during one of three flat tires yesterday. Sherry was very appreciative.
5. Many on this trip DO NOT start their day without coffee. The motel had none. A group crossed the road to the gas station to bring the team its much needed “fuel”.
6. We ended the day in North Little Rock. The final 10 miles ran along side a Cedar Swamp. It was intriguingly beautiful.
7. Biking for 10 hours followed by a three hour shuttle to our home away from home for the weekend. We thought we would NEVER get there. We traveled through winding roads, up and down, through little towns until FINALLY reaching our destination at 10 pm. Long day!
8. We stopped for lunch at a little roadside fruit stand with fresh peaches, tomatoes, okra and pickled beets. Yum! Neat ladies too.
They gave us a shade tree and the run of their property. They are hoping to see their photo on the blog. Hi ladies!

Truly Thankful
1. Gas stations with running toilets! STILL! They seem to be few and far between. Oh, the toilets my run but you can concentrate on what you are doing due to all the dead cock roaches on the floor!
2. For the smooth roads after a bunch of really rough ones.
3. For tail winds for a good part of the day.
4. Safety again today. No incidents of harm. God is good.

Interesting Facts:
1. Rough roads pop bike tires. Three flat tires today!
2. We discovered yesterday that Cliff needs a wife.
3. The reptiles win the road kill contest. Frogs, lizards and snakes!
4. Don is really good at the game Two Truths and a Lie. Funny the games you play while pedaling your brains out.
5. These roads are very difficult to find “pull offs” big enough for a motor home! Scary!

Things to Pray about:
1. Keep praying for Sherry’s hands. She is experiencing a lot of numbness.
2. Bottoms are getting really sore. Funny thing to pray about but necessary!
3. We will be spending the weekend here at Self Creek Lodge. It looks beautiful! Pray for rest.

We may be back later today to post some more but the team is rushing me a bit to get on the road this morning. We will do a route around Pike County today! Should be fun, hilly (is that a word?) and scenic.