And the Road Goes Through....a Lake?

We have good bike maps--usually. Of course, you have to look at them if you expect them to help--which seems to be a problem with a few of our bikers. Most often though we are pretty good at following the route and so far have always gotten to our destination--eventually.

Today though was exceptional. We traveled from Gibsonburg to Cleveland, Ohio--about a 100 mile trip. We travel at different paces and are usually biking in little groups. So today, within minutes out of Gibsonburg, for some reason, we had people going in multiple directions. Amazingly, we all reunited in the next town. Then, just down the route the road was closed. As you can see by the picture it was washed out and now was quite a lake. But did that stop us? No! A few did the sensible thing and found an alternate route, a few never even found the closed road, but Arek convinced me to ditch the bike shoes and socks and go straight through. Was he insane? Could the road be completely gone? Big unseen holes? Ah--let's give it a try. And so we had our little swim before lunch and had a good laugh at the same time.

Later we came to another detour. Emma, our support van driver had called to alert us. "There is a detour, but see if you can get your bikes over the bridge, because the detour is really long," she said. Right. When we got there we found the detour with the bridge just beyond it--split in the middle with both spans straight up in the air! We didn't try to make it across that one.

Detours, roadblocks, unexpected turns--they are all part of life, too. Arek was telling me while we were riding about a Christian comedian who says his favorite words in the Bible are "...and it came to pass." Because everything--problems, situations, troubles, good things--they all do pass eventually. Only God remains the same and he is trustworthy, loving and good. We made it today--put on a few extra miles than we were planning--but we made it all the same. For those whose trust and faith is in Christ, we will eventually make it, too. When that day comes it is going to feel even better, eternally better, that a hot shower and soft bed at the end of a long day.

Day off tomorrow. No maps. No bikes. Just time to refresh spiritually and physically. Monday it is on to Pennsylvania and then New York for the rest of the week. Less than two weeks to go until we dip our tires in the Atlantic!