You
know, I never was very good at math. I
mean, I could do your typical adding and subtracting…2+2=4 or 9-7=2…but when
things started getting more complicated I began to struggle. Fortunately, most of the times I need to use
math in my day to day life it is closer to the simple kind that I can do. At least usually.
Most
recently I began planning a trip…a bicycle trip. More specifically, I began planning a multi-day
ride that will take me from Wilmington, NC (now Whiteville, NC) down to Charleston, SC. When I first began working on this I thought
I would do a route based on the East Coast Greenway…which on a map would be the
most direct way between the two cities.
As I studied this route I found that there were plenty of options along
the way for camping; there were plenty of places to replenish my food and water;
and it would take me through some very beautiful areas. As I worked on this plan I did the math…the
simple kind that I like…and found that this route would be about 226 miles…an
average of 45 miles a day for a 5 day ride.
But
even though I planned this ride for mid-March in an effort to avoid tourist
traffic, I still would not get over a nagging anxious feeling whenever I
thought about riding so much of the way along Highway 17…a fine road for
driving but not so much for riding a bicycle.
So,
without giving up on my goal of doing this ride, I changed my route. I decided on the route laid out by the
Adventure Cycling Association. The
beginning of the ride is the same, but rather than going through Myrtle Beach I
go up through Conway, SC and then the Francis Marion National Forest before
dropping down to Charleston. There were
still plenty of options along the way for camping; there were still plenty of
places to replenish my food and water; and it would still take me through some
very beautiful areas…all without having me on Highway 17 except for a mile or
two. But when I did the math…again the
simple kind that I like…I found my ride would now cover 255 miles…which if I do
the division correctly (which I may not have) it works out to a daily average
of 51 miles.
***UPDATE ON ROUTE***
So, with under two months to go before heading out on my ride, I learned something important. On January 6 the North Carolina Department of Transportation suspended ferry service between Forth Fisher and Southport. Now, to some, this might not be too big a deal...I mean, it service should resume in early April so for most part tourist traffic will not be impacted. However, the route I had diligently planned to ride from Wilmington to Charleston depended upon taking the ferry from Fort Fisher across to Southport. Naturally, this new bit of information meant one of two things: the trip would have to be cancelled/postponed...or revised. I chose the later. So, now, rather than riding from Wilmington to Charleston, I will be riding from Whiteville, NC to Charleston, SC. This revised route completely changes the first day's ride...which means that we will now do a short ride from Whiteville to Lake Waccamaw State Park. The revised route also impacts day two, where we will now ride from Lake Waccamaw State Park and pick up the original route for day two at about the half way point. Overall the route is similar...just 10 miles longer.
Now in the world of bicycle touring, this is really nothing. But in the world I live in…it is pretty significant. In fact, it will be my longest, self-supported ride. I did the Mountains to Coast ride across the state of North Carolina where we covered 475 miles over the course of 7 days. Of course, we did not have to carry any of our gear…we had U-Haul trucks to do that. But this trip I will be carrying all of my gear…my tent, sleeping bag, clothes, repair items, and food…while peddling down the road. And if I did my math correctly (which I may not have) all of the gear will add about 50 pounds to my 30-pound touring bicycle. Honestly, that makes me tired just thinking about it.
So, with under two months to go before heading out on my ride, I learned something important. On January 6 the North Carolina Department of Transportation suspended ferry service between Forth Fisher and Southport. Now, to some, this might not be too big a deal...I mean, it service should resume in early April so for most part tourist traffic will not be impacted. However, the route I had diligently planned to ride from Wilmington to Charleston depended upon taking the ferry from Fort Fisher across to Southport. Naturally, this new bit of information meant one of two things: the trip would have to be cancelled/postponed...or revised. I chose the later. So, now, rather than riding from Wilmington to Charleston, I will be riding from Whiteville, NC to Charleston, SC. This revised route completely changes the first day's ride...which means that we will now do a short ride from Whiteville to Lake Waccamaw State Park. The revised route also impacts day two, where we will now ride from Lake Waccamaw State Park and pick up the original route for day two at about the half way point. Overall the route is similar...just 10 miles longer.
Now in the world of bicycle touring, this is really nothing. But in the world I live in…it is pretty significant. In fact, it will be my longest, self-supported ride. I did the Mountains to Coast ride across the state of North Carolina where we covered 475 miles over the course of 7 days. Of course, we did not have to carry any of our gear…we had U-Haul trucks to do that. But this trip I will be carrying all of my gear…my tent, sleeping bag, clothes, repair items, and food…while peddling down the road. And if I did my math correctly (which I may not have) all of the gear will add about 50 pounds to my 30-pound touring bicycle. Honestly, that makes me tired just thinking about it.
But earlier
this year, when I was out on a bicycle ride, I kept having a recurring
thought…I wanted to do something bigger with this ride. In the end, what I want to do is turn this 265-mile
bicycle ride into a 1,132 mile journey!
And honestly…the math is correct!
How? Glad you asked…
A
Hatian pastor that I know (Pastor Sidor)and have worked with for several years
lives and ministers in the mountain area of Montrouis, Haiti. He pastors 4 churches and has a school with
about 300 students. Here is a video link
to introduce you to Pastor Sidor and his ministry. (Pastor Sidor Video) His ministry covers all areas of life, from providing meals to nourish
their bodies, basic education to enable them to grow into the people God
created them to be, to feeding them spiritually. One of the goals he has for this year is to
provide Bibles to his students. That
seems like such a simple thing. Think
for a moment…how many Bibles do you have in your house? I know people who are not even Christians who
have at least one Bible…but this is not a luxury that many folks in Haiti
have. But together we can change
that. The Bibles that Pastor Sidor would
like to get are $8.00 each…which works out to a total of $2,400 (if I did my
math correction…which I believe I did!).
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have an extra $2,400 lying around. (If I did, I would purchase those Bibles
right now.) But together WE can purchase
those Bibles.
I
invite you to join me in this journey.
Follow me here, or on the Facebook Event page (linked below) as I make
preparations for this journey. Join me
by donating to this effort to put God’s written word in the hands of these
beautiful kids and help them grow in their faith. Share this post, and this journey, with
others so that they may join in also.
Help me turn a 265 mile bicycle ride into a 1,132 journey to change
lives!
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Want to help out? Here are some ideas on helping...
- How many Bibles do you have in you have? Consider donating one Bible for every Bible you own.
- Make a donation per mile. $.10 a mile = $26.50; $.20 a mile = $53; $1.00 a mile = $265! You can choose any amount per mile!
- Join the century club...make a donation of $100.
- Pick a number...just pick a number of Bibles you feel like donating.
- Quarter Pounder Club...step up and donate 1/4 of our goal--$600.
- Donate a Bible for each of your children or grandchildren.
Below
are several links that may interest you...
A
link to a video introduction and invitation to support this effort…Biking for Bibles Video Invite
Online giving through First Presbyterian Church, Whiteville...First Presbyterian Church
A
link to our Facebook Event page so you can follow the progress of this trip…Biking for Bibles
Haiti Help and Hope Fund Facebook page...Haiti Help and Hope Fund
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