Start of Becoming a True Believer

The Beginning to Becoming a Believer

The summer of 2011 in celebration of my 65^th birthday I embarked on an epic journey to ride my bicycle across America from the San Juan Islands, Washington State, the northwestern tip of Continental USA to Key West, Florida the southernmost tip.  Little did I know this journey would also be a personal life changer for me.

July 27^th, some 3,000 miles into my journey found me in Carson City, Utah and the first sign that my life’s purpose was going to be changed forever.  It was about 4:00 in the afternoon, the beginning of rush hour traffic found me on a very busy 4 lane city street.  I rolled up next to a gigantic motorhome stopped for a red light; looking up into the cab of this monster home on wheels I could not see the driver which meant he couldn’t see me either.  When the light turned green I jumped out in front of the big rig so the driver would know I was there.  My mistake, once I was sure the driver had to have seen me or so I thought I moved to the right side of the street.

Bam!!!  Suddenly my handlebar was ripped from my hands, my front wheel veered into the curb, slamming my body into the side of the RV, then throwing me once again to the curb, I could hear the grinding of my pedal on the concrete curb, then I felt my body and bike launch into the air, and as I was hurdling head first back to the pavement I could hear the screeching of tires.  My last thought before slamming into the middle of the street was, “So this is how I’m going to die”.

Next thing I remembered was staggering to my feet, my head spinning like a top and for the first time in my life I actually saw stars swirling in my vision.  Then I felt Ike, my riding partner for this day, grabbing me by the arms and leading me back to the curb where he helped me sit down, and instructed me to put my head between my legs and sit there while he phoned for help.  While sitting there I remember thinking, “I’m not dead, why am I not dead”?  God why do you keep me alive when so many innocent and more deserving people die?  What is it you want from me?

Within minutes of Ike’s call to Pepper, our guide and leader for this leg of my journey, arrived on the scene.  Pepper rushed me to the local hospital which was only a minute or two away. Upon arriving at the Emergency Room and short explanation of my crash the staff fast tracked me for a CAT scan and x-rays.  After the tests it was determined I had a mild concussion, a severe bruised left hip but not cracked or broken, and I had substantial road rash up and down the left side of my body.  I was kept for observation for approximately 6 hours before being released.  Nurse Practitioner Leslie, who was assigned to my case advised Pepper that I should stay off my bicycle for a week to allow sufficient recovery from the concussion before risking another fall which could cause more severe injury or death.

There was only 3 days left on this section of my ride across America thus there was no way I was going to stay off my bike for a week.  I told Pepper I’d take tomorrow off but would finish the last two days ride into San Francisco.  Pepper said, “It’s your body, your decision”.

I did finish the ride into San Francisco without falling or crashing, completing the first of three sections of my epic crossing of America.

My trusty steed “Spirit” name I had given my bicycle was in a bit worse condition than me as her handlebar looked like a pretzel, the front wheel looked more like a taco and the right pedal was broken.  Fortunately, since I had volunteered the use of my mini-van for a Support and Gear (SAG) vehicle, I had brought a second bike along just in case I needed it.  I had the broken parts replaced on Spirit when I reached Seattle for the beginning of stage two of my journey.  Oh yeah, my helmet was totally destroyed in the crash as well but it did save my life.  Or was it God who saved my life?

Little did I know over the next few months God would remove all doubt in my mind that he is real and is guiding providing and protecting me.  And not just on this journey but he has always been with me.

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