Exodus 33:12-17
Moses and God are talking. Moses says, "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways...The Lord replied, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here..."
This was our promise today. His presence would go with us and he would give us rest. Our commitment to him was that we would not go anywhere today without it!
We left on the Heritage trail through Sleeping Bear National Dunes. Wow! Beautiful and tragic at the same time. Dunes, lakeshore, and forest. The forest, however was still so devastated with trees down everywhere from the big tornado that went through back in August. It was a great way to begin the morning as the sun broke through the trees along Glen Lake and the Lake Michigan.
After a breakfast stop in Empire we began our steady climb up into Arcadia. It was a route filled with steep climb and steep climb. Our reward for the climbs were the great downhills; but those climbs never seemed to end.
One of the highlights of the day, after pedaling up a 2 mile hill, was the scenic outlook at the top overlooking Arcadia and Lake Michigan. It was absolutely wonderful to see this little refuge. We stopped for a break and once again, met a few people their who were both curious and supportive of what we were doing.
What goes up must come down. As we left the scenic lookout we experienced the longest downhill of the day (one mile).
Many of us reached speeds of 30-40 mph. Amazing!
It was not only a day of hills but also one of unseasonably warm temperature. The sun was a blessing (no rain other than on day one) but it did add a little heat to the challenge. No real complaints though, it was a beautiful day overall.
Quote of the day: "The last hill is not the last hill."
After lunch in Orchard Beach State Park we continued into Manistee for a quick stop at Dairy Queen. We have been talking about ice cream all week and it seemed to be an ideal day to finally indulge.
On we rode into Ludington, got into the hotel and jumped into the pool. We enjoyed our final meal together in the community room .
A big thank you goes out to The Bekins for providing us with cheesy potatoes, slaw, pies, and rolls. They were delicious! Mike grilled steaks and chicken and we sat down to our feast.
Tonight was a night to reflect back on the week, highlights, special moments, conversations shared, lessons learned and new friends made.
It has been a great week. One more day and approximately 80 more miles. Thank you all - cyclists, SAG, family, friends and supporters! You have made a difference in so many lives in this one short week. Thank you all.
See you around 4:00 pm Saturday, Sept. 26th at Maranatha Bible and Conference Center for the picnic.
We are anxious to get home!
