Monday, June 30, 2008

Day 15, Idaho Falls, ID to Jackson, WY, 88 miles

Wow! What a day. A surprise 15-20 mph headwind greeted us the first 30 miles and we grouped up to work through the wind as we approached the mountains and anticipated the upcoming climbs with even less energy.

The mountains look majestic, wild flowers were everywhere all day, the rivers are full, and the scenery was absolutely spectacular!

At the summit of the first climb (Pine Creek Pass – 5820 ft) I was spent and gasping for air and I still had 30 miles and an even more difficult climb ahead. At this point I was politely offered a ride in the support vehicle and with the aching ribs could do so with dignity. I then had a flashback to my high school cross country coach, Bruce Waha. He always tried to entice us to give up and ride in his car when tired only to humiliate us later for quitting the run. He even carried a spray can with “Gutless” printed across the front to spray at us! We learned to resist getting in the car if at all possible.

Well, Coach Waha, Coach Helm and Coach Sziksai would have been pleased to see me struggling up that last beautiful snow capped mountain pass to the 8431 ft. summit at 54 years old! I had to stand up and climb the last mile it was so steep and looked an absolute wreck to the staff waiting at the summit. But I was an exhilarated, thrilled wreck when I got there!

I celebrated by screaming down the descent at a top speed of 54 mph. It was truly a mountain top experience today and reminds me of what that great missionary, Dick Hillis, once told me. “It’s really serving when it’s hard but the blessings can be overwhelming!” The Christian life is a journey of difficult walks of faith and serving. But what a blessing we are privileged to share with the King of Kings!

My hope is still to ride every mile to Minneapolis and we got over a big obstacle today.

Tell Zach thanks for his special prayers.

Wyoming is spectacular!

Philippians 3:12-14 “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

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