Where did July go?

We had an eventful July filled with a bunch of stuff. The Agony ride and the weeks leading up to it were excellent and fellowship filled. Our friend Jamie and my brother Travis were both there:


Rebekah had a crash in the morning (she hit my wheel from behind and went down), but she was fine and the scrapes and bruises are nearly gone already. After getting patched up on the road she insisted on riding the rest of that leg and went on to ride 171 total miles. Our new bikes performed excellently and Rebekah and I have been on three rides since.

Our new software at work is finally starting to take shape as it continues to occupy most of my time.

While we were in California for the Agony ride our plants all grew very nicely. We have two new avocado seeds sprouting and our existing plant has foot long leaves on the top. This weekend we are going back up to Glacier National Park to ride the Going to the Sun Road again.

Going-to-the-Sun

This weekend we had an amazing trip to Glacier. We decided to combine our love of Glacier with our Agony Ride training and the result was taking arguably the most spectacular bike ride in the United States.

 

The starting point was at 3500 feet at the Avalanche campgrounds. We left with a friend from our church who didn't know what she was in for but stuck it out and had an amazing ride on her 20 year old Mountain Bike that weighed more then Rebekah and my bikes combined. We ended 14 or so miles later and at about 6000 feet (the whole Going-to-the-Sun road is still not open). The next picture is the view we had from the top of our ride (taken the previous day).

 

It was quite the sight to look back and know that we had started at the bottom of the valley in the right of the picture.


Riding back down was fast and only a little over the speed limit (okay 24%). So we didn't poke our heads up too much for views like this:

 

Agony Ride

As many of you already know I've been blessed to be a part of Christian Encounter Ministries in some way for my whole life. Every year they have a major fund raising event called the Agony Ride where willing victims get sponsors to support them in their effort to ride a bicycle as far as they can in 24-hours. Here is what they have to say about the event:

Christian Encounter Ministries is a domestic mission organization with the unique purpose of discipling and counseling troubled young people. These young people come to CEM with major damage from families, society, and/or their own poor choices. As a domestic mission, we are dependent on the loving generosity of mission-minded ministry partners. Our annual Agony Ride is an opportunity for our partners to participate in this vital mission. Some of our staff and approximately ninety other riders attempt to push their limits by riding as far as they can in 24 hours. The Agony has become more than just a personal challenge; it now stands as a pointed demonstration of Christ's love for our students as well as a witness for Christ in the communities of the Sierra Valley.

Rebekah and I are going to be riding this year (the 25th anniversary of the ride). While it is easy to see the obvious benefit of the ride in raising monetary support for the ministry what isn't obvious is the other ways that the ride supports the ministry. The students that are enrolled in the program are participants in the massive effort that supports the riders and keeps them safe and well fueled. While they are watching they get to see a working picture of the body of Christ, with each member doing their part to supporting those around them.

I'll post some more in the coming weeks about our training for the ride.