Today's report from Mike's Ride for Make-A-Wish:
- Today: One day down and...well...a LOT to go. Overall it went ok. The temp was cool most of the day. The wind really crushed me the last hour. The goal from now on is to start very early in the morning and avoid the worst of the wind.
- Final Stats for today:
Started at 8:30 am and finished at 3:00 pm.
Covered 82 miles, average speed of 13.5 mph. Max speed - 33.4 mph
Riding time - 6:07. Feet of elevation climbed - 2477'.
Wind - out of the SE. On the "Hurt/Help" Wind scale, today was a -2.5. Not very nice.
The "Hurt/Help" Wind Scale is my way of saying "this is how much the wind hurt/helped me over the course of the day". It can Hurt me up to a -5, or help me up to a +5.
So, -2.5 was not very helpful. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better!
- Thank-yous for today: Thank you to EVERYONE who came out to my send off this morning! You have no idea how much your presence and support meant to me. Special thanks to Senator Mike Gloor, Mayor Jay Vavricek of Grand Island, Mayor Stanley Clouse of Kearney, Ms. Hannah Stone, the Vice President of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska, Trooper Jason Bauer from Troop C of the Nebraska State Patrol (Trooper Bauer presented a $1000 check to Make-A-Wish donated by the State Trooper Association of Nebraska), as well as Chase Casperson (the first child I'm riding for) and his parents. Thank you also goes to Bob Fusselman for setting up the sound system this morning!
Thank you to the three very friendly folks who greeted me at the Howard County Courthouse! I HOPE I have your names spelled correctly: Jana Lewandowski, Michelle Woifalewicz, H.D. Schenck.
At the Nance County Courthouse, I met Jeanne Wegner pictured below. She was a good sport about letting a stranger take her picture!
Thank you goes to Terri Bowman (not pictured), whom I met in Fullerton. She tried to arrange an interview with the paper there and was very encouraging. There was quite a crew to welcome me at Central City. They are (l. to r.) Nancy McGinnis and her daughters Graci and Emma, my friend Kevin McReynolds and two of his children, Cole and Anna, and right behind Cole is Kendra Jefferson (nee-Haag, from Danbury, NE! Her dad was Alfred Haag who had the gas station in Danbury when I was a kid. Small world. (-:))
And finally, many thanks to my host family, Pastor Kevin and Amy McReynolds and their children Cole, Anna and Tate!! The lasagna was delicious!!
- Bible verses dealing with Jesus and “wishes”. A WISH…
By God the Father to save the world through His Son – Luke 2:1-20
- Quote of the Day:
Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling. - James E. Starrs
“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride." - John F. Kennedy
“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.” - Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)
- Spin Home Wisdom for today:
Check the Spin Home Wisdom page for my story, "Why Tandems and Snot do NOT Mix".
I will have a new SHW story for you tomorrow. I just finished writing "Motorcycles and the
Finger that Pointed East" last night. But, you'll have to wait as that's SHW #12.
- Closing thoughts for the day:
This was a spetacular day! The friendships and support of so many folks; meeting new
people; the chance to enjoy cycling in God's creation while at the same time raising
money to help grant a wish to a child and his family; the hospitality and kindness of my
host family. Hey, it just doesn't get any better than that! Until tomorrow...
- Forecast for the next day:
Partly sunny with 89 degrees for the high. Very warm and humid with some sun. Wind out of the south at 22 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. An EARLY start is in order!!!
Central City to Osceola to Shelby to Columbus to Richmond to Schuyler to
Octavia to David City to Wahoo to Colon to Cedar Bluffs to Fremont.
