Posts in bicycle journeys
gifts from the Creator

Since my last report penned in Green Bay, Wisconsin, much has occurred. Presently, I am sitting in a high school library in Munising, Michigan on the shore of Lake Superior. The weather is absolutely gorgeous, albeit quite windy . . . God also gave us an amazing gift.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
changing latitudes

Greetings in spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the only message of any real eternal value: I am penning this email at the public library in the quaint seaside town of St. Ignace on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. After some thought wrestling and prayer last night, the dawn brought confirmation that it was time to move on. So, we drove the 250 miles NNE to the Mackinac Bridge, crossing over from the mitten to the U.P.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
not so fast!

This morning, we awoke and begin packing stuff up. But, the Lord put roadblocks in our path to hinder things. Before long, I knew that He was prompting us to remain another day. The message became clear: NOT SO FAST! Knowing that we were so close to another major metropolitan area, my conscience just would not let me press on without getting the Gospel out onto such streets.

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God-ordained delay

It has been several days since I penned the last post, and since, the lay-over has continued. However, we have come to understand that this “leaky camper shell” delay, like the first “leaky camper shell” delay, was God-ordained for the glory of His Word and the Testimony of Jesus Christ.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
oh no, not again!

We are stranded here (not necessarily a bad thing other than the fact of an encroaching winter). On Sunday, we were pelted with much rain. At this point, I noticed that our new camper shell (i.e. truck cap) shared something in common with the previous one (formerly replaced back in Raleigh, NC)—IT WAS LEAKING BADLY.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
chicago

Yesterday I took 8 young people down to the Windy City. We left around noon, and it took 4 hours to make the 90 mile drive. I thought Los Angeles held the "most annoying and frustrating traffic" award in this country. I guess I was wrong. Chicago takes the cake hands down. By the time we found parking for two vehicles and gathered all our stuff together, it was 5:00pm before we got onto the streets. Nevertheless, the work began and continued for hours.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
a thousand miles

About 6 miles outside of Bourbon, I hit the 1000 mile point of my bicycle trek. Only Jamie, the planet Mars, the stars, and a couple of cows were there to share in this milestone. And, the Lord God presided. He deserves all the credit.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
changed plans, unexpected blessings

Forgive the recent lack of news; I have not had access to the internet. Earlier today, I was at a public library in Muncie, Indiana, intent upon sending out an email, but when I sat down at the computer, I suddenly realized that I simply did not have the strength. Since last time, the adventure has continued.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
the flying drink club

Early on in the 55-mile ride from Hillsboro to Monroe, I was indoctrinated into the "hit by a flying drink while biking across the country" club. I have heard this is common and to expect it. I was riding down state route 124 when this "Uncle Buck-mobile” rode up behind me and began to incessantly beep its horn.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
southern ohio

Well, it is back to just Jamie and me. Yesterday at 5:00am, we put Chad on a Greyhound bus in Portsmouth, OH bound for North Carolina. By God's watchful protection, he arrived safely home last night. The parting was somewhat depressing; his presence was truly a blessing.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
dumpy industrial zones

I am penning this email in yet another public library in Ashland, KY. It's nice to find free internet access for email purposes; I guess the public libraries in this country are still good for something. Anyway, the last couple of days have been rough. Yesterday, in particular, was one of those days when I wondered, "What in the world am I doing out here? I am so sick of this; I want to quit."

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
a sunny day on the bike

Today dawned bright and clear--A SUNNY DAY ON THE BIKE. The ride has been nice and I have been able to hand out a few tracts along the way. A few miles back, I noticed an old woman with a walker limping along the highway. Her car had run out of gas, and she was trying to walk to the gas station to fill up a fuel can. To make a long story short, I grabbed the can, pedaled to fill it up, and put the gas into her car. We then stood there on the side of the highway and talked for about 30 minutes about the things of the LORD.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
cleveland

Yesterday, we went right into downtown Cleveland, found parking that could accommodate the trailer (believe it or not), and spent about 2-3 hours on the streets preaching the Gospel. There were lots of people out, and I was able to preach on several street corners. An innumerable amount of Gospel tracts went out along with a good handful of Bibles.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
divine appointments

I am writing you all from a public library in Mentor, OH, a suburb of Cleveland. Much has happened since I penned the last email in Hinton, WV with a tone of frustration. Immediately after finishing that email (having expressed a frustration about a lack of people to witness to), I went out on the cobblestone streets of Hinton and decided to walk up and down them, looking for lost souls.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
almost heaven, west virginia

Greetings all from a small public library in Hinton, West Virginia--a quaint town with cobblestone streets right on the banks of the New River. The last two days have been extremely backbreaking. Yesterday, we left Catawba, VA, and I biked about 50 miles to a sweet State Park in West Virginia. The views were amazing, but the road was awful.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
burnt chimney to catawba

Today was an extremely weird yet fulfilling day in the nomadic ministry of the Word. Things started this morning around 10:00am when Chad and I began pedaling from Burnt Chimney along the Jubal Anderson Early (an enigmatic Confederate general whose exploits in the Shenandoah Valley have long interested me) Highway. I became aggravated because I had hoped to get started by 7:00am.

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back on the bicycle

Jamie and I made it to Roanoke, Virginia. We left Creedmoor, NC on Friday morning, and I biked about 60 miles to South Boston, Virginia. I was feeling pretty sick all day but still made the ride, anxious to get back out on the road. When we crossed the state line, it felt good.

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM
washington, gettysburg, & baltimore

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, at which every knee will one day bow (Philippians 2:10-11). After some interest was demonstrated, I decided to fill everyone in on the details from Saturday in Washington, DC. It truly was a blessed day, but it turned somewhat ugly after I penned the previous pst (more about that later).

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2003, bicycle journeysFPGM