Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Day 19 - Artesia to Hobbs, NM

Today was a rather eventful day for a number of reasons: 1. It was a 79.5 mile day which I turned into a 100 mile day simply because I wanted to and felt good all day. 2. I felt good in part because I was able to make adjustments to my bike which allowed me to stay on it longer with greater comfort. 3. For the first time on the trip I teamed up with a couple other riders and we drafted each other much of the day. Toni and Mitzi are a couple of the strongest women riders I have had the privilege of riding with. They not only were strong but they know how to properly draft that, when done right, can save a lot of energy on the bike. Proper drafting requires you to stay right on the rear tire of the person in front of you to optimize the benefit of the draft. You have to always be careful that you don't overlap tires. Overlapping tires is a recipe for disaster! Then each member of the draft rotates to the front and "pulls the other riders for a short period of time and then rotates to the back of the line until your time comes up again to pull. It is remarkably efficient. 4. I learned how to use the video function on my camera and experimented a little with it to video our drafting. It's my first ever attempt at this which was a little complicated because I was in the draft line doing 21.5 mph. See what you think. You can at least get a little idea how it works. Click on the video image above and watch. 5. We passed the 1000 mile mark today and are spending the night less than 5 miles from the Texas state line. So our New Mexico ride is almost over and Texas will be home beginning tomorrow through the 22nd. 6.   Our host church in Hobbs, Taylor Memorial Baptist Church, is treating us to a carry in supper tonight. Usually when that happens it's a good night!

Devotional Thought:


Psalm 16:11 NLT "You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever." One of the greatest Bible studies I have ever undertaken is what the believer has to look forward to in the "forever". Believe me, I have heard all kinds of personal speculation about eternity and what it's like, even from so called mature believers. And much of it merely consists of wrong notions and even a bit of superstition. There is not enough time or space to go into detail here. Just let me assure you that when the Psalmist speaks of the joy of God's presence and the pleasures of living with Him forever, he knows what he's talking about!! And it is much more than our preconceived, often wrong notions.

2 comments:

  1. Glad to hear and see things going well for you and the group! Praying for all of you.

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  2. Looks like quite an exprience, Jim. Our group is going to meet on May 16. Maybe you can give us a 5 minute report (I know...5 minutes will be hard). Hope it continues to go well.

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