Pedal Day 21 - Closer.

"God is the perfect poet."

-Robert Browning

"News flash, Rob, God is the perfect EVERYTHING!"

-Ericka Warren

Today was rainy, flat, windy, flat, straight, windy, rainy, straight, windy, flat, rainy, straight, windy, windy, windy! Did I mention windy? Today was the most boring ride of the 1,364 miles we've pedaled thus far! Now don't get me wrong, especially if you should be a North Dakota resident! The scenery was not boring. The people were not boring. The ducks were not boring. The courteous drivers were not boring. The trains were not boring. The RIDE was boring. The ride is our part of the day, the pedaling and the mechanics of the whole thing. We could see for miles and miles and all we saw was straight! We would get excited when we saw a little turn in the road miles ahead. "Jonathan! Look up ahead, we're going to turn right!"

It really was a good day however! We pedaled 78.74 miles from Minot to Harvey and it was not the best of weather! Harvey was our goal anyway, so we are happy about today! No matter how we look at it, we're 78 miles closer to our goal!

This morning we pedaled out of Minot with absolutely no traffic probably because it was raining and Memorial Day. That was fine with us because we had the roads to ourselves. Before departing Minot we had to stop and get a photo of a fence around a Minot salvage yard made entirely of old wheels. I wonder how long it took to weld all those wheels together!

Twenty-two miles later we arrived in Velva with a welcome sign that boasts 1300 Friendly People. We didn't meet 1300 but we met two. If the two we met are representative of the 1298 we did not meet then I would say Velva is a very friendly place.

At the Cenex station in Velva, we met Delores and Diana who served in the ice cream shop and restaurant located inside. Until today I had never heard of a breakfast pizza but there is such a thing. Diana made a personal pan breakfast pizza for me topped with eggs, beef, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and cheese. Delicious and warm! It was great!

Delores and I talked about the bike ride, dogs, old barns, and our final destination - Bar Harbor, Maine. She said, "I'd like to go to Maine but hate to think about the drive in a car, not to mention on a bike!" We had a good time at Cenex and Delores and Diana sure made our day with their encouragement and hospitality. If you ladies are reading this, THANK YOU!

Along the rest of the route we did pass some old barns and I think Delores is right. I took some photos anyway. We did see a church that is for sale. I think it would be a great project to make a church building, like the one we saw, into a home. I would even keep the cross on the steeple.

When we finally made it to Harvey we met Margaret at the Little Mart Car Wash where Jonathan and I washed our bikes. I also saw a dinosaur lurking next to the car wash and had to get a photo for Ryan Stiles, one of our grandsons. Rhino is a Dino fan so, Rhino, this Dino is for you bud!

We just ate supper at the Hi-Way Drive-In Restaurant next door. It advertises "Fastest Service Around - Home Of The Big Z." I have no idea what The Big Z is but the service was good and the food was too. Of course after pedaling all day I could eat the straw wrappers and say, "Wow, that was great!"

We are now at Carrington Inn & Suites in Carrington. Tomorrow morning we'll have to go back to Harvey to begin pedaling and we may shoot for Cooperstown. We are looking at arriving in Minnesota sometime Thursday. We are getting closer! Closer to Minnesota, closer to Sarah, closer to the Mississippi River, closer to Maine, closer to Carey and the grandcrew, and closer to home.

A lot has happened today for it to be such a boring ride.I guess when I look back over the ride it wasn't that boring after all. It all depends on my focus. If all I look at is the rain, wind, and straight road, then boring defines it exactly. But when I look at 78.74 miles closer, welded wheels, Delores and Diana, a breakfast pan pizza, Dino, ice cream cones, washing our bikes, pedaling, straw wrappers, old barns, and a church for sale, the day becomes special and more meaningful. All of those little things made for a very big and different day. 

You know what? Life is made up of little things. Most of us never deal with the big stuff. We live lives of little things that, when pieced together, paint our life portraits. It's kind of like those big posters you can buy at the mall. The ones that are made up of hundreds of little pictures. We can look at all the individual little pictures close up and we can also back up and look at one big picture made up of all the little pictures we thought were insignificant! But they mattered! They really did.

We cannot always choose the way a day goes but we can choose to insert into that day little bits of goodness, kindness, laughter, purpose, joy, hospitality, and love. Little things like that can make even the worst of days better when we step back and take a good look at the whole day. Embrace the little things for these are the building blocks of life.

In Luke 16:1-12, Jesus told a story about a shrewd manager who, even though he was a "dishonest rascal," was very good at dealing with little things. After telling the story Jesus said, "Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones" (v.10a). 

Want to change your days? Change the minutes and hours of your days.