Today started bright and early with breakfast at Memorial UMC in Selma. After sleeping on floors throughout the church, we arose to a great meal and getting everything situated for the day’s ride. We even were able to have a police escort through the city of Selma. Riding over the Edmund Pettus Bridge and remembering the sacrifice of those who had to fight for civil and voting rights was very memorable. The ride was not going to be long-50 miles, but it was going to be filled with large, rolling hills during a 10 mile stretch.

My personal glitch stated early when I broke the valve on my back tire. But no worries, Chase had a spare tube and was pretty handy. The tube was replaced and off we went! I decided I was going to stay with the boys and learn how to draft…I lost my balance and ran off the road a few times. But overall it seemed to be going well…and then I heard a WHOOSSSSHHHH….and I looked behind and my back tire was flat…again. It seemed to be a great place for a break so we all stopped and Keith worked on my tire. After about 15 minutes, we were back on our way. I guess after resting a bit longer I just felt more tired…it seemed harder and harder to get up the hills. After about 20 minutes of hills but feeling really strained, I looked at my back tire and realized it was nearly flat yet again. This would make flat number three in a two hour period. Frustration was setting in…Keith and the pack were way ahead but Garrett made his way around. I was able to change out bikes…this bike was a bit tall for me but we made it work. It was wonderful getting into Montgomery and the church.

Lunch was a huge spread of sandwiches, chips, cobbler, and refreshing drinks. Sitting together at the old Cloverdale School we recapped the events of our day and the next step of the afternoon. We were tasked with helping clean inside a gym and hall of an old school being converted into a community center. We swept, dusted, cleaned walls and basically repeated-it looked great after two hours.

The night ended with another generous spread of food from St. Mark’s UMC. Roasted ham and turkey-it hit the sport. We closed our evening with a devotion on John 6 and what it means to think of Christ as the body and blood. We shared our thoughts about what communion means and then served communion to one another. Molly sang some beautiful songs and we enjoyed the fellowship around the table. Overall, it was a fun day and I learned alot…the first day was about endurance…today was about perseverance and overcoming obstacles…

We are all extremely tired and looking forward to completing our journey tomorrow. To God be the glory!

Today marks two weeks since we were activated by the state of Alabama to support the efforts with the BP oil spill. Our role as the National Guard has been to assist with the BP claims. Our mission is called Task Force Alabama Claims Assistance Teams or TF ACAT. (We have all kinds of cat jokes floating around). Our 200 person group has been housed in Baldwin County at a coliseum. Most of the soldiers sleep in cots in an open area and each day are deployed into different communities of Baldwin and Mobile counties to distribute information about the BP claims process or assist with assembling claims packets. Who knew that a massive oil leak would create a need for this kind of assistance?
Being in Gulf Shores has created challenges for my training for the ride-mainly getting time. My rides have been just before dark or early on Sunday mornings. Besides the numerous amount of small bugs that make breathing a challenge-it hasn’t been too bad. Unfortunately I am not being challenged by hills which I believe is going to have its affect. But, we’ll see. Sunday I am riding 50 miles just so I know that I will be ok on the following Friday.
I am excited about the riders! We have such a great group of people going with us-all very mission minded and servant hearted. I will be doing my best to try and keep up. There are only two girls really riding so it will be fun.
Being in Baldwin County and listening to employees of businesses discuss their fear and frustration has helped me stay connected with what is happening here. Although we do not repair homes in this area, the situations that are occurring sometimes become the initial scenarios that strap people financially and keep them from being able to repair their homes.
We are all diligently raising our support and working to raise our $1200. These proceeds will go to help us serve more families. Some of our goals for the fall include opening a thrift store for building supply materials and possibly becoming a partner with a program called Circles. We have some huge hurdles ahead of us but looking forward to the incredible challenge!
Finally, my ride last Sunday went very well. The distance from Robertsdale to Point Clear and back was 40 miles. Most of it was flat with some small hills. Getting to Point Clear and riding along the Gulf was inspiring and really beautiful. The coastline has rows of quaint and cute cottages most of which are summer or rental homes. Parks were frequent for boat launches and picnics. Much of the land was crop land with a few deep, green, plush horse pastures dotting the landscape. I expected an intense sun but high clouds diffused some of the heat. Without hills I was able to ride fast and was finished in about 3 hours. I know that will not be the case with the actual ride.
Just one week away and I’m ready to ride!
Blessings, lisa

It’s never too late…well by June 12th it will be. But, if you were thinking about the ride and just couldn’t get the registration in, that’s ok-we are extending the date just a few more days! If you haven’t spent much time on a bike or haven’t trained-that first day could be a real challenge. Come anyway!

We so far have 9-10 riders so although a small crew-it will be lots of fun and a great learning experience! I personally am excited about not only the physical challenge but being able to serve. The Slavery and Civil War Museum in Selma promises to be a great experience. Plus, being able to help with renovations at a school that is being converted into a community center will connect us into the Montgomery community.

Today I spoke with the Tuskegee Rotary Club. What a great group to spend time with. We described the number of families we are able to serve each year in the Tuskegee community and then why the ride is so important. One of the members has agreed to be a corporate sponsor for our ride.

If you are in the Auburn area, we’ll doing a few more practice rides so stay tuned!

Most of all, continue to pray for our efforts. The whole point is to share Christ’s love-it’s why we ride, why we serve, and why we work on homes! Thank you again!

See you on the ride!