Beginning of Week 5

Monday – July 22

Day was fairly relaxed as people realized that today would be a relatively short, easy day and it was!  We were able to take a hard-packed gravel bike trail about 20 miles out of the 50 that took us away from the bustle of the highway and brought us into the country (lots of corn fields).  As I am typing I am learning how to hunt a deer with a bow from the day camp meeting in the same building as I’m in.  Tonight we will be slowed to stay in the air conditioned main building of the camp (Camp Oasis Bible Camp near Firth, NE).  Wondering what’s for supper tonight…  Somehow us Stehouwers have gotten the reputation of early in line (starting the line 10-15 minutes early) for supper.

The tan line on my thigh!  It's starting to look pretty impressive, but looks more "contrasty" in real life...

Sunday – July 21

Pancake breakfast!!  I learned that when they have extra pancakes if you ask for two both cooks will gladly give you two, leaving you with double than you asked for…  Let’s just say that we aren’t allowed to go hungry!  And then after church we were given lunch, which even after second helpings by many still ended up with us leaving with enough food for supper as well.  People spent the afternoon going to a State Historic monument nearby town, going to Walmart, or using the wifi at McDonalds.  We, as bikers, really appreciate having the day off each week!

 Desert and some of the salads for lunch at church

3-4 tables full of noodle salad things, pulled pork sandwiches, and lots more!

Also, a hungry Peter that went up for at least 3rds!  He thinks it'll help make him more aerodynamic...

Saturday – July 20

People have agreed that today was much harder than it should have been.  Due to a number of possible reasons including rain, headwinds, hills, being the day after a Century Ride, and simply the 6^th day of riding in a row!  Some riders were delayed by thunder and lightning in a small restaurant for up to 2 hours!  I guess I lucked out this time by only getting a little rain and some wind.  The gym in the park was opened for our use but unfortunately the flies followed us in at night (many of them found this to be a mistake and haven’t moved from around my sleeping area…).  Otherwise we had a slow late afternoon and evening while looking forward to not waking up early and not biking the next day!