Day 30 - Ride Like A Thriver
We woke up to a chilly cloudy day threatening to spritz more precipitation on us! After a quick visit from our biker friends we had met the night before & offering them hot coffee & storing their bike packs, we disconnected Howie from power and headed out.
Look who we caught up with after leaving 30 minutes after them!
Chuck also met another biker & his friend that are tag teaming the same route as us taking turns biking 25 miles each while the other drives the RV!
We bumped into them on and off throughout the day and met up at the RV park in the afternoon.
Just after this picture was taken we got a call from our friend Darrell we had just seen earlier who was struggling with his stamina and breathing with the harsh headwinds.
Hannah turned Howie around and drove the 2 miles back to pick Darrell up. We put his bike on the bike rack and enjoyed the rest of the day chatting while we followed Chuck
Jax was thrilled with the attention from Darrell!
Bumping into our biking friend John again! He and Phil bought an RV and are doing the trail swapping every 25 miles to ride or drive. They cover some serious ground! John's wife passed from cancer and Phil’s brother did.
We picked up Chuck as we approached the next town and after driving around the Main Street, the only food that was open was the gas station.
We drove to our RV Park around 2:30 and hooked up for the night and soon found our Maine friends pulling into a spot nearby.
Soon after, a guy biking the Westbound route of our bike ride pulled and pitched his tent on the turf nearby in the wind. His name was Rob and he’s from Brooklyn and splits the cross country ride into 3 sections and does them in chunks as his job allows each year.
This town being in an apparent “Food desert” after thinking we would eat in a restaurant or at least takeout, I had taken out a big bowl of frozen chili my friend Amy had tucked in the freezer while we were in Arizona.
We had 3 hungry men to feed and myself. And there was enough for hungry Rob battling his windy tent who only had a bag of chips from the convenience store.
God multiplied the chili with an avocado, a bag of tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and salsa - kind of like the loaves and fishes!
I love how God provides!!
Then Phil and John, the Maine guys, came over for a chat and we swapped stories of our experiences on the trail. Great fun!
Chuck, John, Phil, Keith, Hannah, Darrell
All on the same path doing it in different ways!
Kind of a metaphor for life!
Chuck & I have decided to drive Darrell ahead to Del Rio so he can catch the train home from there to South Carolina eventually.
Keith & Darrell will bunk down in their sleeping bags inside the front of Howie to avoid the cold and the wind.
Originally we were going to have a Rest Day here but this town doesn't offer any rest- no food store or restaurants. It’s only a 2 hour drive to El Rio where we plan to rest anyway so this gives a bit of wiggle room in our schedule and helps out a fellow biker tremendously.
God keeps reminding us that this trip is all about the people, not the biking.
We had to say goodbye to John and Phil since they leave pretty early. I’m sure we will honk and wave bye Howie Style as we pass them by tomorrow. We like to make people laugh!
