On June 1, 2012 the day was finally here. The day to leave for my 10 day adventure across Historic Route 66! It has been a full week since I made it home from this adventure. I can't believe it! Not a day goes by where I don't reflect on a special time I had, a fun memory or a moment where God clearly revealed to me that ... He is going to take care of me! Here are a few pictures from the trip. I made a few collages to combine all the pictures... click on them to make them bigger. I took a total of 450 pictures... Thats a LOT. Every day by the time we settled down my phone was DEAD! Poor thing hasn't been used that much... ever! I'll fill in details after each picture!
This was right before we left. My sweet husband got up and took me to The Rock at 6:00am! We were there just a few minutes when I realized I forgot my snazzy zebra pillow! I knew I couldn't survive with out a pillow... so my precious husband zipped home and picked it up for me just in time for us to pull away.
Beside the picture of us is a COOL picture of the bikes all loaded up. There were 33 bikes all securely locked down and held in place. It was a work of art watching the 'bike loading crew' work their magic as they locked down our precious wheels.
Our first stop was near and dear to my heart. TEXAS... as we crossed the Texas state line my heart swelled just a bit with pride and my twang got a little more noticeable. At this point I was still nervous... not being my typical loud obnoxious self. Texas warmed me up. I was the ONLY one excited to be in the Lone Star State. I demanded that my picture be taken with DQ memorabilia. It was at this DQ stop that my personality started coming out... I ordered chicken strips as well as one of the young-uns on the trip. (Micah) Well this creep took off with MY chicken and fries!! I was left standing there waiting and waiting with the lady calling number 23 or something like that ... I said well that looks like mine but my number is 18!! We figured it all out and healed my hurt with ice cream. It was a beautiful moment but I vowed from that point on that I will not let some high school goof ball get away with taking my food again!! Thus... the real "Heather" made an appearance!
The first night we slept in a church in New Mexico. The church was pretty and clean and even had showers! Many blew up their air mattresses and spread out. I was SO tired... that I just spread out on a church pew about half as wide as me. And I slept like a baby. It was beautiful.
The next morning we were greeted with this beautiful sunrise on the way to Arizona!
The fist night in CA. We arrived in CALIFORNIA ready to go!! Our first stop was Downtown Disney!! I had a great group of guys that I was hanging out with. My favorite place was LEGOLAND!! It was so fun seeing so many of my favorite Disney characters made out of legos. Look at Genie and Abu... don't they look just like the movie!?
The next day we went to DISNEYLAND!! It was amazing!! These were the guys I hung out with ... we called ourselves the "Non-ride-riders!" We preferred the slower, flatter, uneventful rides. Well that was until they fooled me and got me on the Indiana Jones Ride (go to 4:30... I didn't take the video but it almost adequately describes the fear I felt... just add LOTS more screaming!!) Jonathan, Trey and Cliff you were a BLAST to hang out with ... even if you did send me into a panic attack on Indiana! I had a perfectly wonderful day at Disney with you gentlemen!
This was the parade at DisneyLand! So much fun! I watched it both times. It was like watching my favorite Disney movies come to life in front of me!!
The flowers around DisneyLand were BEAUTIFUL!!
Our first ride!! We rode 25miles on Santa Monica Pier. I did the whole ride with out COFFEE... BIG MISTAKE!! My first stop at the pier was to find some sweet caffeinated goodness!! The beach was beautiful. The weather was cool and overcast. Perfect for the first day! I forgot my ball-cap in my suitcase. :( So I rocked the fuzz head... Oh well! The day was fun and worth it. My favorite part was looking at all the Beach Houses and dreaming of what it would be like to live in one. I almost fell in love with the beach!!
After our short time at the beach we took a tour of Los Angeles with Mike the Poet as he has called himself. At the end of our tour he treated us to his rendition of his poem I'm Alive in Los Angeles. Take time... listen to it. It will change your life. Or stick in your head forever! UGH... I'M ALIVE IN LOS ANGELES...
The tour was good and "Mike the Poet" knew his stuff. We passed places such as the hotel were Whitney Houston died. The church were Marylyn Monroe is buried. The tattoo parolor where LA INK is filmed. The STARS. We rode on a double decker bus and had to dive to avoid being whacked in the head with lower lying tree branches but it was fun!! This is where I got my first sunburn of the trip ... on my thighs. UGH... But totally worth it! I'd do it again... maybe with someone other than Mike the Poet though.
I don't remember what day this happened. I did a HORRIBLE job of taking notes and keeping up with the days. But... one day we were driving in our "family" van and started dodging pieces of tire flying at us. We called the "guys" van in front of us to see if they knew what was going on. They said they didn't see anything. This narrowed it down... it was from them!! YIKES! So what do men do when there is a flat... they change it. Here are the steps:
1. Get a call from the van with the GIRLS that there is a problem.
2. Deny that there is a problem.
3. Pull over and assess said "problem".
4. Submit to the idea that yes... there is a problem.
5. Sniff, spit, burp and grunt while stargazing how to solve this problem in the most manly way.
6. Look for jack to lift trailer and don't find it.
7. Unload trailer.
8. Gather all the muscles you can find and LIFT!
9. Slide spare tire on.
10. High-five and grunt some more at the end of your accomplishment!!
Ok so that might not have been what happened... but that was the play by play going on in my head behind the drivers window. It was entertaining.
One of these days we went to THE GRAND CANYON, I'm not going to lie... I didn't know what to expect. I'm NOT a nature person. I'm not an outdoors person (here is where you raise an eyebrow and thing... yet you are on a 200 mile biking trip...) and I am not a heights person. We got there and I found my group of "safe" friends. Cliff and Sarah were great. They were fun. We lingered near the railing for a while and watched our crazy friends stepping closer and closer to the edge. My initial thought was ...
"those fools are crazy."
"Someone is gonna die!"
"HOLY COW... hold on to the little guys!!"
Then they turned into...
"Wow... they are brave!"
"Look what God has created!"
"I should do this... I might never be here again."
Eventually I was leaving Cliff and Sarah behind and yelling at some of the brave guys saying
"Go again!"
"Take me with you!"
"Help me be brave!"
It all started with me hanging my eyes over the edge of a cliff... my bottom was very dirty... and my shorts look awkward but it was fun! Then I became more and more daring and decided to walk to the edge. I did it. It was amazing... one of my favorite pictures from the trip. Me on the edge... one step to the left or the right and maybe 2 steps back and I was a gonner!
My favorite part about The Grand Canyon was the majesty that it declared. I couldn't help but hear the verse:
"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out!"
Luke 19:40
The Grand Canyon declared the Glory of God and His creation. It was beautiful... which leads me to my next collage.
These are just a few of the outside pictures I took. Some from The Grand Canyon, some from The Blue hole in AZ, The natural water park in AZ, The beach in CA, Trees in CA and a beautiful Arizona sunrise. The scenery was absolutely amazing... There is no way that the Lord didn't personally paint these pictures...
The second to last day we were back in Texas. I felt HORRIBLE this day. HORRIBLE! The night before we stayed in a hotel that was "historic" and our AC wasn't exactly cold. I laid in bed all night just wishing I had the energy to get up and puke. The next day was NOT good... I started off feeling yucky and it didn't get better for a while. I made the fist leg of the ride. Wishing so badly that I wasn't so hard headed and could willingly just "pack it in"! However I kept going... at one of our stops two of our leaders Ken and Roger came over and prayed for me. Asking God to give me the strength and energy to finish the miles. This was one of our big rides (55 miles I think) and if I didn't make this then I would not make a big chunk of our miles. The Lord showed Himself yet again in my life and I was feeling better... not great but better. I made it. I cried. I pushed myself. But I made it. Ken and his son (one of our best friends) Andy rode with me over half the time. They made sure I was ok. Making excuses to stop and get drinks or find shade. I made it. It was amazing. It felt good. It hurt like H***! But I made it. At the end of the ride we went to The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo Texas there we were able to "make our mark" (More on that later) and it was a blast. I still didn't feel great but it was fun to watch everyone work on their 'tagging' skills!
I think this was the last day of the ride. We stopped here on our way to CA and our way back. Roys use to be a hopping joint back in the 50's and 60's. I'm sure many the icon stopped by here to pick up a pop as they drove Historic Route 66.
These are my new friends. I left on this trip knowing all of maybe 4 people. Now I feel like I know all 36 of the others that went with us well! I wouldn't take back a single thing. I made memories that will last a life time. I have truly been blessed buy each of them.
Every day before we left for our ride we circled up for a prayer and some encouraging words. Ken selected a person to "blow the trumpet" as a way of a send off for the day. Each day it was fun seeing who would be picked. The last day he picked me. He said and I quote "She brings out the Humanity in us all"! Not sure what that means... but it was an honor to send us off on the last day. The last day was amazing. It felt good oh so good to cross that finish line. I cried. I did it! I honestly didn't think I could.
When we left I thought we were doing 275 miles. I am not sure where I got that number... it was only 200 miles but they were well earned. I plan to get another 75 in this summer as i continue taking "JiJi" out for some spins around town.
Thanks for all your prayers and encouraging words as I prepared for and took on this challenge. I still can't believe I did it!
To summarize this trip:
We traveled 3,400.5 miles by car to California and back to Oklahoma from June 1-10, 2012. Thrity-two amazing bicycle riders ages 11-70, rode 200 miles in five different states, traveling along Historic Route 66. We rode along the beach, highway and through the Mojave Desert! I am overwhelmed with emotion as I look back and think about each of those miles, weather it be by car or bike! There were so many who were part of our team, not just the cyclist... but the amazing support team. They took special care of each of us. When I got my sunburn on day 3... sweet Melody was there to see that I was doused in sunscreen at every stop, even offering to let me wear her pants so I wouldn't keep burning! All the riders had to do is say "I need..." or "I want..." and it was there by one of these 4 women. They held us when we were hurting, toughened us up when we were whining, fed us when we were hungry and encouraged us when we were ready to quit. More than once Shannon pulled up beside me in the van and cheered me on! I know they were praying for us every peddle of the way as well as many others back home.
I am already looking forward to next years trip... and rumor has it we are heading to Chicago! I say we do a good 300 next time. I want to keep pushing myself as much as I can as long as I can. This trip was not only good for me physically but it was amazing for me spiritually and emotionally. I was surrounded by such amazing leaders who never hesitated to pour into me at the first opportunity. Any time I had a question about anything from biking, what happens next or anything about the Bible ... someone was there with sage insight.
Thank you all for the privilege of being part of The Rock's Historical 20th Anniversary event!!
I know feel as though I am part of the crew at On The Rock Ministries!
