2 Days of Cycling with Pedaling Parsons

The Pedaling Parsons have made it to Coshocton, OH! We arrived after what seemed like a long day of riding with some rain in the morning and lots of hills and a pretty stiff head wind this afternoon. If you looked at my picture posts from today, you saw that I had a flat tire. Well, what you didn't see was a second picture of the same event later in the day. Yes, I had a flat tire before AND after lunch - first the front, then the back. Just for your info, flat tires are more common on wet-weather days because tiny gritty stones from the road tend to stick to your tires and then manage to wedge their way throught the tread and into the tube. I know that's what happened on the first one.

I'm sad to report that I did not make the 80 miles today, I fell short by about 8 miles. Because of the time that I spent changing tires, I arrived at neither the lunch break nor the afternoon break enough ahead of the main pack to feel like I could take off and ride some extra miles. When we arrived at the church at the end of the day I felt that I needed to shower up and find a bike shop to replace my spare tube and the spare I borrowed from another cyclist with our group. I know - EXCUSES! I'll see what I can do the next couple of days; the weather is supposed to be nicer:)

One thing that was nice about the last 10 miles of the ride today was that I was in familiar territory. I had ridden to Coshocton from Cambridge a couple of times when I lived there. It was a 50-60 mile round trip. I had actually ridden into Coshocton on the same route that we came today.

This evening we had a fantastic meal at the church with a number of people from the congregation who brought in food. United Methodist carry-in dinners are always great, but especially when you've burned 3-4,000 calories cycling that day! We split up the Pedaling Parsons among the tables. I got to sit with three white-haired ladies who all happen to be Olympic enthusiasts and BUCKEYE fans, so we had a lot to talk about besides cycling and our mission. Afterward, we gave a program on Pedaling Parsons and they took a collection to support Sam's House, the orphanage in Nepal that will benefit from this year's rides. Their UMW also gave a donation.

Something that we share when we have devotions in the mornings is basically where we have seen God the day before. I shared this morning that it was so good to ride the trail yesterday with Pastor Don Richards and share with each other how we see God at work in our congregations. Don is pastor at North Canton Grace Church, and it is his church that we visited to find out about Alpha. He was really excited to hear the impact that Alpha, G-Squared and other studies on Faith Night are having in our church.

As I write this I'm thinking that it will be about 11 hours until I'm back on the bike again heading toward Mt. Vernon.

I pray that God will continue to bless you and that we all remember to bless others.

Living Jesus' love,

Scott