Day 6

by   August 8, 2021 with No Comments

By David Freeze

40 miles of steady climbing, the heat returns


  I found that first town that I really like at Salome. Very small, at less than 2,000 people, I had nice conversations and slept very well. Last night, Northern Arizona had solid coverage of big thunderstorms. I got caught out in it after a trip to the Family Dollar and the convenience store for pizza. Nice people all around, including at Sheffler’s Motel.


  This morning I was late by 30 minutes on riding at first light. That is my every day goal. The road was wet and had standing water, an oddity for this area. The first town was Wendell, and all the supply points were closed that were supposed to be open. The next town, Aguila , was supposed to be closed for the off-season and I worried about having enough water for the day’s ride. No other towns were on the route.


  I rode into Aguila and spotted a store with a vehicle parked in front, amazed to find it open. Not many supplies available, but I got extra water and a muffin. The 12 year old running the cash register counted out perfect change, something I saw the previous night in Salome. Very happy that I found an open store when under duress lost some  steam when I found yet another new Family Dollar on the other end of town. They are big stores and sell vegetables and produce.


    Lots of vultures were out and one picked up a snake off the road and flew off with it. Hay was being raked even though it had been rained on the night before.


  It was hot by 1pm and I couldn’t make Phoenix anyway, so I stopped for the day in Wickenberg. Wickenberg is rich in gold history, Indian conflicts and stage coach happenings. Population is around 7,000.


  I rode 55 miles on US 60, straight as an arrow. Nothing unusual, light traffic, but after climbing to about 3,000 feet yet again, I dropped back down to 2,200.


  Tomorrow is Phoenix and maybe something past it, with the heat burners back on. I’m grateful to have a mostly downhill ride but cycling through a big city is very challenging.


  Thanks to Frank and Janis Ramsey for sponsoring this ride, friends since I met them on the Alaska trip. Frank is from Salisbury, and he and Janis now have an apartment in Salisbury as well.


    Next week, I will finish off Arizona and get into New Mexico, were I will cross the Rockies. Can’t wait to be downhill toward Texas and the lower south. Keep riding along!

Back to School

by   August 7, 2021 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            It seems like summer barely begins and they are running back-to-school ads on television. Teachers and students need a break and time to be refreshed before the new year begins. The last couple of years have been challenging for teachers and students with the pandemic. The hope is that we will have a more normal school year this year. With the Delta variant spreading fast, school systems are announcing masking requirements. Let’s hope it works so students can be in school with their teachers and classmates.

            When school let out this year I caught up with a former colleague to see how his school year went. We talked for several hours, and he shared about the impact of COVID on sports and the classroom. It was amazing to hear how cooperative the students were about wearing masks. The students preferred to be in school, so wearing a mask was by far better than taking classes virtually. 

            It was so good to hear about my former colleagues from East Davidson. I miss being at school and around the students. It is also interesting to hear about leadership changes around the county. My friend concluded that I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed teaching the last two years with the pandemic, and I am afraid he is probably right.

            My friend is a coach so I asked how that worked out. Outdoor sports worked better than indoor sports. The seasons were moved around because of the pandemic. Most of the sporting events did not allow for spectators, which had to be different for the student athletes.

            I like to listen to my friend share his coaching philosophies and techniques. He has a unique approach to coaching which has led to growth and successful seasons. There are always those tough years when all your best athletes graduate and you have a young team. Being a coach is a challenge, because you have to help students think about the good of the team and not just individual performances. You also have to help students through personal challenges.

            Listening to him share reminded me why I liked sponsoring DECA. You can only connect with students at a certain level in the classroom. When you take students off to DECA events you have the opportunity to get to know them better and to share more of yourself with them. It’s also great when you can help students win competitive events and teach them how to handle losses. These life lessons are different from classroom instruction.

            Students in high school do not realize that learning is a lifelong process. Some think that when they graduate from school they will know everything. I learned more during my first year of teaching than in four years of college. Learning is an ongoing process in our personal, professional, and spiritual lives. Even now I realize there is so much more to learn.

            I am constantly trying to grow spiritually. I have lost count of how many times I have read the Bible, yet it seems that every day something new jumps off the pages at me. I get new insights, new perspectives, and my journey with God deepens. God is so big and infinite and our minds are so small and finite that no one could possibly know everything about God.

            We don’t get to graduate from our spiritual school until the day we go home to be with the Lord. Something inside of me says that even then our learning will not end. I think that even in eternity there will be things about God and His ways that we will be learning. He is awesome, too marvelous for words. His ways we can’t even fathom.

            There are many ways you can learn about God. The first place to begin is reading His love letter to you, the Bible. Next, connect personally with God through prayer and talking with Him. You can also learn a great deal about God through other people’s experiences with God. He reveals Himself uniquely to each of us and that different perspective allows us to learn more about Him.

            I want to encourage you to get yourself ready to go back to spiritual school. There are always new things to learn about Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit. We each have a limited knowledge and perspective on God. That means we need to keep working, growing, and maturing in our walk with God. This school never closes and the Teacher is great!

Doug Creamer has a new book at Amazon: EncouragingU: Summer Stories. Contact him at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

Day 5

by   August 6, 2021 with No Comments

By David Freeze

Comeback from yesterday’s adversity


  I knew it would take all I had to get across the desert yesterday, especially with the predicted high temp of around 113. As mentioned yesterday, something happened near the end of the ride. Although I have been in slightly warmer temperatures, the ride through the Mojave Desert didn’t seem as bad as yesterday. I caught a couple of fortunate breaks to get ice water but that same refreshing water becomes very hot quickly, bath water hot. Drinking that water did nothing for me and I could barely get it down. I stopped at the first farm I saw at the end of the desert and was given ice and water. It took a while to come around, mostly the ability to stand and purposely walk.


    Riverview County Sheriff Deputies responded, and after they saw I was Ok, took me and my bike to my planned motel. I was severely dehydrated and possibly overcome by the sheer heat index. My promise to everyone was a half day of riding today and the rest off to rejuvenate after the incredibly challenging first few days of the trip.


    With that, I left America’s Best Value Inn about 7am, only deciding to go at all about 6am. I planned a 37 mile ride and rest in the afternoon. I crossed the beautiful Colorado River and into Arizona, no regret leaving the bad road state and on into Ehrenburg.


    God rode with me for sure this morning on I-10 as low clouds and light drizzle cooled the air. The next town was Quartzite, where I called the motel in Brenda that I wanted to stay in tonight. Closed for the summer I was told and that extended my ride to 61 miles and a 4pm dismount. Four steady climbs made the day tough, but I’m feeling good now and cool, made better by the rain and a high of about 95. Well off yesterday’s official 114. Also made better by my first egg, cheese and tomato breakfast sandwich at Subway. And I now have an affinity for ice, looking for it all the time out here.


    The sun came out in early afternoon warming the air just ahead of the last climb that took me to Salome, Arizona and Sheffler’s Motel. This is a small town of a little over 1,000 but with a convenience store, a very important Family Dollar and two motels. My ride totaled 61 miles.


  I am back up at more than 1800 feet elevation and will go slightly higher tomorrow, before a welcome descent into Phoenix, probably day after tomorrow.


    Father and Son Produce has been sponsoring my trips since the first one. Stop by and pick up some of the fruits and vegetables soon. Linda has access to all my books too.


    Thanks for riding along!

A Bit of Leaven

by   August 6, 2021 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

When former national security adviser Michael Flynn was presented with an AR-15 assault rifle, he responded, “Maybe I’ll find somebody in Washington, D.C.” The crowd laughed, whistled, and cheered. The presentation took place in the Church of Glad Tidings in Yuba City, California, which hosted Flynn on July 16. Dave Bryan, a pastor at the church, led the service.

On Sunday, July 25,  Gary Locke told his flock during his sermon in Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee., about 20 miles east of downtown Nashville, that if “You start showing up [with] all these masks and all this nonsense, I will ask you to leave,”  His statement was followed by cheers and applause. “I am not playing these Democrat games up in this church,” he added.

 I thought of these two recent actions that took place during Sunday services as I was reading Samuel S. Hill, Jr,’s  seminal book, Southern Churches in Crisis.  Dr. Hill writes that “sect-type forms of Christianity are meant to be minority movements (his italics), both within the larger Christian realm and within human societies.”  As thought provoking as this quotation is, I think his note to this statement more powerful. Dr. Hill’s note quotes Pastor John O. Mellin: “More harm has been done to the church and the gospel by a majority approach to life than anything else. We are a minority, a mustard seed, a leaven, a saltiness which flavors the whole—not because we take over the city but because it takes over us.”

Now you may not agree with either Hill or Mellin, but I think they both raise a worthy question for all Christ followers: When are we most effective as Christ followers? As I ponder that question, I think of the 1st Century Christians and their struggles. Not only did they have the Romans to contend with, but they also had internal disputes, such as circumcision.  Their story and struggle can seem relatively easy as read from the comfort of 2021, but it was a chosen life rife with danger. But, as we know, their struggles and suffering led to our sanctification.

It is when I read accounts of such church actions as I mentioned above that I fear for some of us as having become too large and too worldly. It seems to me that such acts as presenting a convicted felon with an assault rifle (followed by cheers) or telling a congregation that anyone wearing a mask will  be asked to leave the church go directly against our Christian belief. Is our mission  such that we must become that immersed in our culture? Can we be effective Christ followers when we exhibit such behavior and speak such words?

Growth for any church is great, but if it grows too much it may have to face the danger of its own power. Bigger means more money and more people who agree with each other so deeply they will not hear the voice of a prophet. As Dr. Hill writes “Self-fixation can lead only to frustration, irrelevance, and disobedience.”  A church that has grown too much and is too big may take on non-Biblical challenges becoming frustrated with its lack of influence in its culture. A church like this will try harder to influence change, become so caught up in its non-Biblical charge that it is viewed as irrelevant by it surrounding culture and then becomes desperate and even disobedient to God’s will.  A church such as this will eventually die as its members suffer frustration with its lack of success, leaving one more empty church building to be sold.

We Christ followers are told by John and Paul “to be in the world but not of the world.” If we Christ followers heed those words and view ourselves as a bit of leaven for the large loaf, we will be more successful in our  joyous task.

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Day 4

by   August 4, 2021 with No Comments

By David Freeze

More than expected happened on an important day

  I had a plan to attack big heat on the hottest day yet. My goal was to cross the desert at its most famous point, from Brawley to Palo Verde. That is about 70 miles from my motel. Part of my Adventure Cycling map is an elevation description and I didn’t expect today’s ride to be as hard as the last two.


  My heat plan was to start riding in the dark at 4am when the low for the night was 87 degrees. I left the motel in Brawley and had ridden a  couple miles but  wasn’t sure which way to go. I asked an employee for the Department of the Interior, who said, “You certainly are not  going now, are you? It’s dark out there and there are cows and plenty of speeding vehicles”.  I just told him I was going now because the expected high was going to quite hot.


    i rode holding a great little flashlight and just missed hitting a possum, but no cows got in my way. The first 25 miles went perfectly and I saw a wonderful sunrise. Through this area is a big Naval Reservation where I heard planes and gunfire for hours.


  I stopped in Glamis when I found a store open that was supposed to be closed. Had a nice talk with the store owner about all the cyclists she has met. The owner gave me a bag of ice too, good for keeping my water cold for about 10 miles as the heat rose.


Just before Glamis was six miles of huge sand dunes, something that locals celebrate with a beach store. And just after were miles and miles of the Chocolate Mountain range. The heat was really up full blast as I pedaled for miles over rollers that the locals signed as “Dips”. Up and down, some hard climbing involved, even though my maps didn’t show it.


  Next came my first ever sight of a Border Patrol Station, with all vehicles required to drive through. I stopped after pedaling  though and seeing a sign that said, “Don’t stop”. Then I sat outside under the overhanging roof for precious shade.


Thinking it a long shot, I decided to knock on the door and get some cold water possibly. Border Patrol Agent Fraser was most accommodating and filling my bottles with ice and water. He told me that local agents were working hard and were away today while processing illegals and that a very large amount are trying to get in.
  On a day that my face and ears were burning out in the desert, I made it though, well sort off. I will explain this tomorrow along with a short ride and part of a rest day.


  Let’s don’t forget Skinny Wheels Bike Shop as one of the trip sponsors. They boxed and shipped my bike perfectly this time. No damage! Eric and Scott are a wealth of knowledge concerning all things bikes.


  See you tomorrow!

Grains of Sand

by   August 2, 2021 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

Grains of Sand

Sand. We love it. We hate it. Mostly love it. The times I hate it are when I am trying to get to my spot on the beach on a hot day while barefoot. Sand gets hot – sometimes up to 130 degrees.

For those who may be walking on the sand barefoot, here are some tried and true recommendations that may help us not get our feet burned:

*Run from shade to shade – like to a lifeguard stand or beach umbrella.

*Put plastic bags on our feet.

*Wet our feet or wet the sand.

*Walk fast.

*Stay on lighter colored sand.

*Wear shoes.

Sand. It changes as the day goes by. The tide and waves move it around. People move it around. In the evening, walking on sand is cool and comfortable to the feet.

But the incredible thing about sand is the quantity of sand in our world.

Is there a way to count the grains of sand? That seems impossible and would only be something God could do.

Scientists have given it a try though. One way was to count how many grains would be in a teaspoon, and then multiply it by all the beaches and deserts in the world. That would give it around seven quintillion, five hundred quadrillion grains. That sounds like a lot of sand.

That number, which is only an estimate, is not even understandable to most of us. That makes Psalm 139:17-18 even more amazing!

Verse 17:

How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God!

How great is the sum of  them!

Precious means to be of great value or high price jewels.

His thoughts unto us means that we are on his mind.

A sum is adding together to get the total amount.

‘Great’ means magnitude beyond the usual or to an extensive degree.

Verse 18:

If I should count them, there are more in number than the sand.

So, if we take all the grains of sand, and add to get the total, God’s thoughts of us are more than there are grains of sand.

Grasping that concept could be a lifesaver.

Lord, help me to remember that You are thinking of me – always. May I live peacefully and joyfully in that truth. Amen

Day 3

by   August 1, 2021 with No Comments

By David Freeze

I have decided that California isn’t my favorite state, not even close. I started out from Pine Valley this morning. I will admit to spending an almost sleepless night. I listened to the weather late and discovered that serious heat was just ahead, much of it from the same system that is gripping the northwest. I had a plan, sort of, but not good enough to sleep on it.


      I had some more climbing to do and hit two peaks above 4,100 feet. I am writing this early because I took a break to do it while cooling off in Seeley, a little farming community. I am going to submit the story and ride at least another 20 miles. I have a room in Brawley tonight and it will take 2 1/2 more hours to get there with water stops, if I can find them. I have to make Brawley because it starts possibly the biggest adventure day of my life tomorrow. I’m keeping it secret until I do it.


  Other towns visited today’s so far were Boulevard, Jacumba Hot Springs, Ocotillo and I am about to hit El Centroi with hopes to sleep in Brawley. Nothing special about any of them to this point. Lots of hay has been harvested near Seeley, amazing to me because I haven’t seen anything green all day.


    I did see the border wall, one of goals for the trip. It is very substantial and well guarded at least in this area.


    I cycled over a live snake racing across the road and though about picking up the rattlers from a dead rattlesnake, I met Mary from Tucson and her sister Ruth from Portsmouth, Virginia. Mary had done my same trip years earlier and plans to follow along.


    I had my first law enforcement encounter just a short while ago. All cyclists, and I haven’t seen another long distance one yet, were told to exit I-8 and take a frontage road called Ethan Howes Highway. The road has not been paved in years and is in sad shape. After a half mile, I found it block with barricades that said “Road Closed”. I turned around and went back onto the interstate to the objections of a convention store owner who said, “They will write you a ticket.”

    I had that encounter with California Highway Patrol officer an hour later who told me that he was about to take me in. I told him that without the other road passable, I had to be allowed a way to keep going. He told me I was making matters worse and should have called 911. I said, “It wasn’t an emergency, obviously to your state which doesn’t put a priority on fixing roads.” There is more the story but I’ll save it for later.


    Send those prayers for tomorrow. And keep following along, this trip certainly has the makings of something special. The amount of emails and texts has been amazing so far.
Can’t wait to see how this ride develops. Thanks to all the readers!

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