This is the second year of Ride With Purpose for Glad Tidings Church. Anyone with a motorcycle can join us on a fun, long distance ride where we make it a point to stop every hundred or so miles and pray for friends, family and community.
I have a love/dislike relationship with this ride. I love riding the bike in great weather. Not too cool. Not too hot. It's a feeling of freedom like no other. Feels a little daring too. Going fast on a 2-lane country road. Aren't we supposed to be doing the speed limit? Oh, the speed limit is 8o miles an hour? Yeah. Right.
I strongly dislike riding in the rain, especially the hard ones. This is dangerous and I'm not really a fan of doing stuff that's too risky. I think I'm losing my nerve. Yep. It's happening to me. I know if something goes awry, I'm in trouble. My old bones aren't as flexible as they used to be.
I love riding with friends. Especially GT friends. We've been at Glad Tidings for 7 years and there's never been an activity that we've gone on where we've had drama amongst the group. I mean, never. Not on fun stuff. Not on mission trips. Never. We go and have a blast whatever we're doing. It doesn't mean this is a perfect group of people. I think we just have a really good attitude for a church group. It's truly a great time whenever we do something together.
I dislike (strongly) how hard it is for me to sit for long periods of time without discomfort. I've tried pillows and specially designed gel seats. They don't help. This is the worst part. When I'm not comfy I'm like a worm on a hot rock. Twisting this way. Turning that way. Up. Down. I'm sure I can be pretty annoying to Byron when I get tired like this. He's a good guy though and never says a word about it.
Most of all, I love the feeling of accomplishment when we arrive back to the church after days and 1600 miles on the road. It's adventure at it's easiest. We see great places. We stop at a gas station or convenience store every couple of hours. We pray for our friends and neighbors and the community around us. We eat in nice restaurants and stay in nice hotels with our very good friends. There's a great deal of laughter and fun. I especially love this part. This is why I'm back on the road again this year even though I haven't ridden on the bike with Byron since LAST July! No wonder my seat is uncomfortable! Sheesh!
The ride was tough today. We had about an hour of dry weather after we left the church and then the bottom of the sky fell out! We got soaked and had a good laugh. Then it dried up and we had perfect temperature and an awesome sunset! We rode hard and fast so we could reach our destination in time to watch fireworks in Sopchoppy, but to no avail. They had them last night so people could go to church tonight and still not miss the fireworks this year. Still no drama. We laughed about it and each of us went to our great hotel rooms at the new Best Western in Medart, Fl to rest up for our ride tomorrow. I can't wait to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the wind in my hair--that is until I have to put my helmet on.
There are two ladies along our ride who have already received a copy of our women's magazine, Looking Forward--a cashier at a tiny store and gas station in Williston, FL and our waitress at Golden Corral in Perry, FL. We women are dividing up the rest of the copies I brought among ourselves and will be sharing them along the way to whomever the Lord leads. Wonder what the Lord will do through this great resource. Great thanks to those who contributed to this issue. Your words, thoughts, and stories will touch hearts and encourage women all along our trip.
Thank you, Lord for traveling mercies today. It was really tough but you brought us through safely. I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds. It's gonna be a good day! I love you so much!
Suz
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