Day 31 July 30 Wray to McCook Nebraska Sea to Sea 08

Day 31 July 30 Wray to McCook Nebraska Sea to Sea 08

Stats for today
Distance 92.8
Time in saddle 6.46 hours
Average speed 13.4 miles per hour.
Ascent 1165
Current elevation 2607
Temperature when we arrived in McCook 104 degrees.

Left a 608 this morning and arrived at camp 330 Central time Hank arrived by himself at 530. Mary and Bill had taken SAG with Walter at mile 78.

Today we started the earliest I have ever started. When we heard last night what temperatures we might be facing lots of people decided to get out as early as possible.

I started out riding with Hank, Mary and Bill as Joan was not ready and I said I would ride with her when she caught up to me. We left Colorado and entered Nebraska. So we have five states we have biked through and have 11 more to go. We also left Mountain Time and enter central time. I rode with them for about 38 miles. When Joan caught up to me at Walter’s SAG stop we started biking together.

Hank and I at the Nebraska border

Bill, Mary and Hank at the border

Joan and I stopped at Stratton in a gas station for some ice and cold drink. We than stopped 12 miles down the road for more ice and cold drink. When we got to town, I bought my cold chocolate milk and Joan had her beer and called her family. I headed into camp.

Today we had to bike up a hill into camp and it did not have lots of shade. We are cooking sitting in the sun. Any bit of shade is treasured. Our vehicles are providing shade so people are gathered wherever bits of shade is available.
Cory's SAG stop along the way. Cory just doing some stretches.

The terrain today was a little more varied than yesterday. We saw more grain fields and cattle grazing. The hay fields appeared lusher. There were parts that did not look prosperous, as the corn was not very high.

The ride was long and hot. Our water got warm very quickly and every opportunity we could we filled up with ice. When it is so hot and dry, ice-cold water tastes delicious. As it is so hot and dry we need to hydrate often. Even after drinking water, I still feel thirsty. When I get to camp, I cannot seem to get enough cold water to drink.

Today numerous people had difficulty with the heat, and took SAG wagons into camp. Many of the locals cannot imagine biking in this heat. Right now it is 7 PM and there are still 15 people out on the road. This is another difficult day. We were supposed to have tail winds all day, but as it was we had the wind coming from the side in a southerly direction. This added to the challenge of the day and wore people down.

Today I have not heard of any serious accidents, which is a blessing.

Tonight at our peleton meeting we heard from Jerry Traylor who has cerebral palsy and was in braces from the hips to his feet till age 11. When he looked at himself in the mirror he saw imperfections, but he knew God looked into the heart. It did not matter what his weakness was, as God would use it to his glory. He was in the hospital for 11.5 months and afterwards he had new opportunities. He has done 35 marathons and did a run across America on his crutches. He was born in McCook and was visiting when he ran into some cyclists. He is very proud of what we are doing and encourages us to remember not just the people who are poor financially, but also the poor in mind and heart. Remember the incredible gifts God has given us, even when we are having a difficult day and we think we cannot do another day. Remember God gives us the strength to get through each day. Thank you Jerry for your words of encouragement.

Jake Kuipers shared with the group about running into a person at a Sinclair Gas station in Benkelman who had driven from Yuma this morning and had counted 140 cyclists on the road. He wanted to know who we were and what we were doing. When he heard our story he gave Jake $50. Later when Jake was in camp and a few people went to the local bar for a beer, the owner there wanted to know all about what they were all about. He proceeded to give them free beer, plus a tee shirt and donated $100 to Sea to Sea.

Apparently today we collected over $300 from complete strangers. Thank the Lord that he is using us to communicate His message about the needs of the poor. These events are what make the Sea-to-Sea Bike tour so unique and help the church as a whole to touch people in a very unique way. Please continue to pray that all of us will be bold to share God’s message for the poor and to encourage people to get involved today in some way.