This past weekend was a test ride before our big bike trip. And a test ride it was. Not far into our ride did we realize we weren’t just testing our gear, but our spirits as well. It was cold and rainy, and I had already taken a tumble (again). At first, Tim and I looked at each other and smiled. “This isn’t so bad,” we said. I was starting to get pretty nervous for the trip – had I known what I was really getting myself into? But the first 20 minutes gave me a short-lived hope.
Soon our feet were soaked through, as well as our legs. For the most part our jackets held up. But by the time we reached the Canteen in Angelica, our feet and fingers were numb. Happy to be in the company of friends and holding warm drinks, we still had 15 miles left to bike. It was almost impossible to will myself to get stand up and get back on the saddle, but thanks to Joanna, we trudged back out into the cold. After a wrong turn (that was, ahem, the GPS’ fault, obviously) we biked to Mt. Irenaeus, a Franciscan Friar Retreat near Friendship, NY. For the last hour it stopped raining, thank goodness. But we had a massive uphill climb at the very end. I almost walked up it. But, told myself that if I walked up every hill in the Rockies, we wouldn’t make it back in time for Joanna and Tim’s wedding so… better practice now.
While this trip will have lots of laughs and good memories, there will be plenty of hard times too. Times when we will want to give up, when we will be sore and tired and homesick. But that is why I am so grateful we are doing this together. Without Chaz, Tim, and Joanna, I probably would still be sitting in the Canteen! Knowing that you are not alone; that we are a team, makes the hard times a little less hard. And the hard times make the good times that much sweeter.
The friars welcomed us in with open arms and warm showers. They fed us a delicious dinner and filled us up with good conversation. It was a foretaste of the hospitality I’m sure we will meet during our trip – and we are very grateful. It was a good reminder that a little bit of hospitality goes a long way. Around 9pm, we were headed outside for the short walk to our tents and sleep on our minds. I was exhausted. Thankfully, the tents stayed dry and we stayed warm. Yet at 6 in the morning, I went below the chapel for a bathroom break, only to find two pairs of shoes inside the door and a Chaz and a Tim sleeping on two couches. “You wimps,” I called – only to join them after. An hour later Joanna came bewildered and upset that we had left her out.
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