Day 5 - May 24th

Ho-chi-mama!

A wise person once said, "Start and finish.  That's your only goal.  Breathe and enjoy the ride." Check.  Check.  Check.  Check.  I started, I finished, I would take deep breaths climbing hills, and I most certainly enjoyed the ride but there was much more climbing than anticipated today.

Seeking Shade

Roughly 70 miles and just under 6000 feet of climbing.  Today felt long and it was challenging but Team Blazing Saddles made it!  And trust me, with 5 consecutive days in the saddle they are a-blazin'.  Bit more humidity at times but the weather all-in-all was really nice.

Tiered Field

The scenery did not disappoint again.  Just a beautiful ride.  The last mile was spectacular as we rounded a corner there was a huge tiered field.  Gorgeous!

The other cool thing at that moment was watching 5 riders in front of me.  Dean, the rider with the bad knee was on the right when Josh rode up next to him and put his right hand on Dean's back to help him along.  Then Andrew rode up to Josh and put his right hand on Josh's back to support him.  Then James rode up and did the same for Andrew, and finally Ladd rode up and did the same for James.  Just a great display of support and so typical of these guys.

James and the Locals

One major day, tomorrow, to go and a short ride Sunday morning back to Bujumbura them I board an 8 pm flight.  Incredible!  This morning Simon started talking about plans for Sunday and the departure of 4 of us.  If you've seen the movie, "Sixth Sense" the scene at the end where the psychologist realizes he has been dead the entire movie, he was shocked.  That's how I felt when Simon talked about Sunday.  It was just a shock to the reality I've been living in.

Day 4 - May 23rd

In a word, stunning.  I've attached pictures typical of our visual experience all day long but it does not do it justice.  Every turn opened up a new valley or hill range just as beautiful as the last.

The ride was about 60 miles and nearly 4000 feet of climbing.  No huge uphills, in terms of grade, and we had cloud cover for most of the ride so it was quite lovely.

While riding I had this thought: when the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, a result, by the way, of poor decisions they made relative to God's will, God still loved them and provided what the bible describes as a pillar of fire by night keeping them warm and cloud cover by day to keep the sun off them.  I could not help but think that God was providing cloud cover for us and I am SO grateful He did because when the sun is out in a cloudless sky it's hot, muy caliente, as the locals say. Ok that's not true, I was using Spanish because I can't say "very hot" in Kirundi.

Team Blazing Saddles is quite an unusual sight for the locals, as you can imagine, and we are greeted like rock stars as we roll into a new town.  Strange to be received with such enthusiasm but I expect nothing less when I return home.  :)  

What's really cool, though, is when we stop for a rest, people gather around and Simon or one of the Burundian support team guys shares the Gospel with them.  It's great to see them respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.

Simon Shares the Good News

Burundian Support Team

I'm really enjoying spending time with all the guys on the team. I told them tonight I've never been around a group of guys that are as giving and selfless as they are.  Just an incredible group and  I'm honored to be a part of it.