Day 9

Today we had a 70-mile ride from Oklahoma City, OK to Watonga, OK. The first 40 miles flew by, but throughout the last 30 miles we encountered 17-20 MPH headwind. It was tough, but the team has really shown significant improvement as riders. Lately, anything below 80 miles seems like a short day. We also have so many new stories each day of people for whom we ride. This morning, Austin and I met a man who was very interested in our organization. He asked us questions about our average mileage per day, where we sleep, how long it will take us to reach Anchorage, etc. At the end of our conversation, he teared up as he told us that he had lost his wife to cancer a few years ago. We promised we would dedicate our ride to him today. 

A little boy named Jackson is another person that gives our team a lot of motivation. When we were in Dallas, he brought the team a picture he had drawn of his grandmother, who he lost to cancer, and God watching over us as we traveled across the country. He had traced every state perfectly and we keep it with us every day. He and his mom also helped out tremendously by rounding up several waffle irons for Dawn and my Dad to help cook breakfast for 13 hungry, carb-loading boys.

And today and everyday I ride for my mom. 

Tonight we are staying at Watonga Christian Church. They have been so accommodating. Our meal tonight was a big burger, fries, and beans and the entire church congregation was invited. We talked with a lot of different people and it was fun to be around kids and a youth group. We are relaxing and catching up on our blogs and laundry tonight. 

Here are a few pictures from the ride today:

Tomorrow we are expecting rain and more wind. We have been lucky with the weather so far, I guess we knew it wouldn't last forever! Good news is we are sleeping in until 6 a.m. tomorrow! 

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