Suffolk to Virginia Beach

[Sunday, August 1] We cannot believe this day has arrived...the home stretch. We woke at Bike West around 7:00 and got our world together. Bill offered to ride along side of us as we biked on hwy 58/460 through a busy 10-mile section of our route east. Once through, we picked up Military Hwy in Cheasapeake and biked around the southside of Tidewater to avoid the crazy traffic. At 1:30 we arrived at Rudee Inlet, the south end of Virginia Beach. We rode along the boardwalk a while and took our bikes on the beach. We took many victory pictures and celebrated. With today's 47 mile ride, the grand total from the Golden Gate Bridge to Virginia Beach totaled 4,015 miles. Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement and support. Most of all...we thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for what he did in and through us over the last two months. To Him be all glory and honor, Amen.

Richmond to Suffolk

[Saturday, July 31] After a great evening and much needed sleep we departed on our pre-victory ride to Yorktown, VA. We were so excited that we kept a 19-20mph pace for the first 50 miles along "plantation road" along the James River (route 5). When we approached Williamsburg we jumped on the Colonial Parkway and also rode through the heart of historic Williamsburg. We got back on the parkway and biked to Yorktown...the official end of the Transamerica route. But we were not finished. We went back to Williamsburg and caught the ferry to Surry county south of the James River. We had a wonderful dinner at the Surry House with Jeff's in-laws Jim and Jean Cates. From here we biked another 40 miles to downtown Suffolk and crashed at Bike West, an awesome bike shop owned by Jeff's long-time-friend Bill Williams. Bill ordered an absolutely huge pizza and we devoured it in the late evening. Today, we biked 116.5 miles!

Mineral to Richmond

[Friday, July 30] Our stay at the Mineral fire station was cool. Fire fighter Bob was gracious to us. We went back to the diner we ate at last night for breakfast. We read more Scripture and hit the road about 8:00am. Since we were in flatland, we were able to keep a brisk pace all the way to Mechanicsville. While on route 156 we approached I-64 and Hwy 60 we met up with Greg Carr whom we met back in Kentucky when his church was doing some missionary work. Greg and his wife Julie invited us to stay at their home for the night AND took us out to Golden Corral (we love buffets). It was a wonderful evening with the Carr family...thank you so much! Tomorrow...we head to the coast!

Charlottesville, VA to Mineral, VA

[Thursday, July 29] We got out of Charlottesville in our customary late fashion headed towards Ashland. We were held up about 35 miles out by a severe thunderstorm so we ducked under an Awning at a country church to ride out the storm. Since we lost time due to the weather we were only able to make it to Mineral, VA where we stayed...get this...a fire station! We did our landry and slept upstairs of the fire trucks. We ate dinner at a local diner recommended by the fire fighters. While eating we shared our journey with several people and when we went to pay the bill, our waitress told us someone already paid our bill. God did it again. We read several chapters in Isaiah and crashed around 11:00. It was another great day in the Lord!

Blue Ridge Parkway to Charlottesville, VA

[Yesterday, July 28] We woke with joy knowing we are on top of the Blue Ridge Parkway and no more big climbs! We continued in Isaiah and prayed before we departed. We rode to Afton Mountain where we had the great pleasure of spending a couple of hours with June Curry, the "Cookie Lady." It was really a highlight of our day. During our descent we met Ben Golden and Jamie Grivas who left Yorktown six days ago on their way to SF. We shared with them our saga and tips for the ride. When we arrived in Charlottesville at First Baptist we discovered that they arranged a room at the Comfort Inn for us tonight. On trop of this, associate pastor Chester Yuan took us out for a wonderful buffet dinner. God is absolutely awesome...and so is His church. Tomorrow we ride towards Richmond. We love you all.

Troutville, VA to the Blue Ridge Parkway

[Yesterday, July 27] We had a great night at the Brethern church. Pastor Chris and also Wanda were wonderful hosts... thank you. We began reading in Isaiah this morning. Isaiah really brings the OT in perspective and helps us understand the NT. Then we began our journey east bound. We had an 81-mile day..including our last serious climb..up Afton Mountain. We made it up the summit but it got dark real quick. So we stayed on top of the Blue Ridge Parkway under the pavillion at Mountain View Christian Church. It was a great day with the Lord, in the Word, and on the bike. Thanks for your prayers!

Radford, VA to Troutville, VA

We really enjoyed our stay at Calvary Baptist Church in Radford. Pastor Brian Cockram and his son Jamison went out of their way to take care of us and we thank them!! While there we met Patrick Hatcher and his family who serve with New Tribes in Florida. We are reading Paul's letter to the Romans. Paul really brings together God's plan for salvation. Today we rode through Christiansburg and Daleville coming to Troustsville. While biking past the Church of the Brethern we met pastor Chris Foster in the parking lot. Chris was studying for his last class towards his M. Div and was about to leave. We asked him if we could crash on the church floor and not only did he welcome us but he gave us some cash towards dinner at the "Country Cooking" diner down the road. We had a fantastic dinner buffet! Thank you Chris for blessing us. Tomorrow we head towards Lexington and Afton Mountain. Keep us in your prayers... God hears you loud and clear.

Rural Retreat to Radford, VA

[Yesterday, July 25] We indeed attended worship service with the Martin family. The service had a "revival" feel to it, and because of this, we got at late (1:30 pm) start to our daily ride. We finished the gospels and we going back to the major prophets. We are in good health and better in spirit. Hope you are following us on a map and praying for us along the way. It is by God's grace that we live, move and have our being. Please also pray for the family of Randy and Ruth Reick who were in a fatal motorcycle crash back home in Wisconsin. We love them dearly.

Meadowview, VA to Rural Retreat

(Yesterday, July 24) After a wonderful night with the Wilson's at Harvest Fellowhip we continued on route. We stopped briefly in Damascus, VA for some bike adjustments. We then headed north towards Wytheville. We contacted a pastor in town when we were 12 miles from his church to secure a place to stay. He hooked us up with Ted and Kathi Martin who own Deer Trail Park and Campground. They are great! We arrived at 6:00 to a potluck dinner followed by "Cowboy Church." The evening included great singing by a professional singer named Nanette. To crown the night a couple arrived back at the campground around 10:30 with freshly grilled trout and green beans. Wow were they good! Tomorrow we will attend worship with Ted and his family before we continue to the beach. Please pray for us.

Elkhorn City, KY to Meadowview, VA

What an intestering day! We found ourselves under the stars last night because the church we were supposed to stay at didn't leave the side door opened. It was a great (though hot) evening. We woke and read from John's gospel, ate a little and departed before 8:00. We had only five miles to the Virginia line (see pic).

Shortly after the state line we stopped at Breaks Interstate Park, the "Grand Canyon with clothes on" (see second pic). The ride today was absolutely beautiful although very difficult. We rode only 71 miles but endured some serious elevation. We arrived at Horizon Fellowhip where pastor Tom Wilson and his wife are taking care of us tonight. Another good day, another God day! Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement.

Hindman, KY to Elkhorn City, KY

Though we got a late start (noon) we had a challenging day! The temp hovered around 100 degree with high humidity. We biked 64 miles today but had to endure 5 significant climbs. We lost gallons of water weight! But God saw us through. We finished the Book of Acts this morning. We are is good shape and great spirit. Continue to pray for us.

Boonesville, KY to Hindman, KY

Wow, what a day. We woke among the company of our missionary friends from Richmond, VA. We had breakfast and prayed with them before they left for their service projects and continued east. Just then the skies opened up..so we waited. While We were waiting I decided to return to the Family Dollar store where I lost my money and credit cards. While I was explaining the situation to the manager I was searching through the shopping baskets. While lifting the sixth basket...there was my ziploc bag...money and cards!! What are the chances of this happening? So, after much rejoicing, we read Scripture and departed around 10:30. We had a good 65-mile ride to Hindman where we arrived at First Baptist church just before their evening Bible study. Now we are kicking back at the church resting up for yet another day on our quest. Praise God...we do.

Berea, KY to Boonesville, KY

Another great day on the C2C Discipleship Tour. We left Berea Baptist church at 9:00 this morning at made the 60 miles to Boonesville by 3:00. We stopped at a Family Dollar store for some cold drinks and we met two young men from Richmond, VA who came with their church for missions (we are the 2nd poorest county in the nation). We went with them and decided to stay and help them with VBS this afternoon. Our day serving with them was great. However, in all of the activity, Jeff lost all his money, credit cards and drivers license. What a bummer. Please pray that we can finish this ride on fumes. God is great...all the time. Please pray for us.

Bardstown, KY to Berea, KY

What a great night of sleep at the Days Inn. Thank you pastor Rick at First Christian Church. We woke at 6:00 and rode to Mickey D's for coffee and a biscuit. We were on the road to Berea but we went off route today so we could bike through Danville, KY. Jeff has very good friends in Danville, Robert and Diana Cagle. We were able to have lunch together at Subway. It was a short but sweet stop midway on our daily trek. We arrived in Berea at 6:30 [90 miles] and are awaiting entrance to Berea Baptist church. So this blog is being posted from the library across the street. The coolest thing happened 12 miles west of Berea. A local guy met us on the road biking towards Berea. As we chatted, we discovered his name was Kenny Davis. Kenny was on the 1972 Olympic basketball team. It was an honor to ride with him and hear about his playing career. We will read more in the Psalms, Acts and Isaiah. Keep praying...

Sonora, KY to Bardstown, KY

Another great day of bike touring. The Todd family took us to church. We had wonderful worship at another 1st Baptist church. After church we had lunch at Ryan's neighbor Aaron. He grilled out chicken, had pasta salad and served us brownies. After our feast we were back on the road again. We biked past Lincoln's birthplace and childhood home (see pic). We rolled into Bardstown around 6:00 and most churches were closed up. The pastoral alliance put us up in the Days Inn tonight. We read more in Acts and are begging to sleep. God is awesome. We love you all.

Falls of Rough, KY to Sonora KY

(Yesterday, July 17) We had a glorious day in the Lord. We woke at the farm of Garry and Beth Feltus to a great big breakfast. When they discovered Kevin broke some spokes Garry offered to drive him to a bike shop 15 miles away. By the time he returned and we got on the road it was after 2:00 pm. Lucky we had called ahead to a church in Sonora, KY to secure a place to stay. About 16 miles down the line we stopped at a farmers market where two vendors took turns giving us free melon, fruit and sweet bread. We then stopped about the 35 mile mark at a gas station that gave us popciles and cucumber salad plus intited us to stay there. But we pressed on arriving in Sonora at 8:00 pm. Ryan and Robin Todd, members of the First Baptist church, invited us to spend the night. We went for a swim in their pool (see pic) ate dinner, prayed and chatted until after midnight. We awoke this morning went to church. We ate lunch at Ryan's neighbor Aaron's house. Now we're on the road again...

Sebree, KY to Falls of Rough, KY

Another day on the road, another great adventure. We had a simply wonderful stay with the Hardison's in Sebree. In fact, we didn't leave until 11:00 this morning. Violet shared her testimony with us and we were all in tears. We called ahead on our route to a couple of ACA hosts about 70 miles away for a place to stay. Garry and Beth Feltus are recently transplanted from New England and are now developing a farm in Caneyville, KY. We are staying in their 2nd house. They made dinner for us and will make breakfast tomorrow morning. Another family, another Yeah God moment. We will probably bike to Mammouth Cave tomorrow. We are all well. Keep us in your prayer.

Elizabethtown, IL to Sebree, KY

We had a great day today. We had a grueling ride in 97 deg heat (heat index 110), however the ride was bookended with two gracious churches. We are reading the Song of Songs and the Book of Acts. We only rode 67 miles today but we HAD to stop at 1st Baptist in Sebree, KY. This church really knows how to care for cyclists! Pastor Bob and Violet Hardison are simply wonderful. Not only do they have showers, laundry and beds for bikers but Violet made us a home-made dinner! Another town, another kingdom oasis. Tomorrow we will attempt a 80-mile trek to Fall of Rough, KY. Please keep us in prayer, especially in this heat.

Carbondale, IL to Elizabethtown, IL

(Yesterday, July 14) After a wonderful breakfast with the Rents at the hotel we were back on the journey. We actually had a productive 80 miles day, making it to Elizabethtown before 8:00. Midday, while we rested at a market in Goreville, IL a woman invited us for lunch at the Methodist church. The church was busy in the middle of their summer VBS. We spent a couple of hours with them before continuing on our way. The picture of Kevin was take along the route. We will cross the Ohio River into Kentucky early tomorrow morning on our way to Sebree, KY. We are in the Book of Acts. Pray for us and for safety from dogs!!!

Chester, IL to Carbondale, IL

We had a great time last night in Chester, the home of Popeye. We stayed in the "bunk house" at the Chester Eagles Club. We had a lot of fun with some of the local guys in the pub, interestingly on the topic of God, religion and relationships. We woke early with two other riders who were on the same route as us but we had already planned to stop in Carbondale to visit with Ma and Pa Valodine who are on their way to Silver Dollar City. So we're in the Quality Inn watching the MLB All-Star game. Today: 46 miles, big dinner and quality down-time. Tomorrow..east bound.