Staying on Course

I hope you all enjoyed Zack's blog entry yesterday.

Last night we were guests in home of Pam Lacey and her family in Newport, Washington. They were great hosts, as was the First Baptist Church. We had venison chili and bear sausage for dinner, among other dishes. It was all so good.

Today, we rode 62 miles, averaged 14.2 mph and did not miss a turn. I am sure I have told dozens of people that I thought it would take Zack a week or two to adjust to biking every day and then he would pass me in his riding strength. Well...on day two he passed me climbing up Rainy Pass and I hardly saw him the rest of the day. I rode with him and 3 other riders for 20 minutes this morning and I could not keep up. He is riding strong and I hope to be able to ride with those guys for a day or two next week.

Yesterday when we arrived in Newport, Bruce the bike mechanic was waiting at the church to help us with any repairs or adjustments we needed. We visited him in his shop, Sports Plus in Sandpoint today. He was so helpful with my rear derailer as well as bike and riding knowledge and I got a great deal on a pair of riding tights (don't worry Ronda, their black).

The last couple days I have been riding with Stuart, who is from Northern Ireland. He is 62 and we ride at about the same pace. Time for great talks and lots of laughs. Stuart is a pastor to missionaries all over Europe and has a wealth of experience to share.

While I was riding to the park for lunch today, I saw the accounting office of Frank Chapin. I stopped in and introduced myself, met his wife Sydney and their grandson Riley. We had a brief chat and determined that we are both decended from Deacon Samual Chapin. I grabbed a business card and met the team at the park.

We stopped at Starbucks after lunch (you would have loved it Mary, we sat on the deck overlooking Lake Pend Oreille) so Stuart could enjoy an Iced Coffee Something-or-other. I had an iced tea. We had a great conversation there with Colleen, who, with her husband, is preparing to work with Campus Crusade at The University of Montana in Missoula.

We ended our day at the Filling Station, which is a drop-in center in Clark Fork, Idaho. Bill Smith, one of our support team and I are guests in the home of Gary & Carol Deaner. I just had a wonderful piece of Rhubarb pie that Carol made.

Tomorrow we ride to Libby, Montana, which will take us into our 3rd of 14 states.

I will do some catch up of weekend exploits in the next couple days.

Dan