DAILY BLOG

July 22 was one of our busiest days we have had on the trip. We had end to end commitments, which made the day a major challenge. However, we also got a chance to get to know a great family—Greg, Karen, and Meredith Rogers—and became fast friends with them!

Jared relaxing before the day heated up

Rich riding through Alabama

The day started with a radio interview with a Christian station in Birmingham at 7:15am. After that, we scurried out of the city and got on the bikes ASAP. We had to hurry because of three things: (1) we had a 6:00pm BBQ at Providence UMC Church in Fayetteville, Georgia, (2) we were meeting up on the road with Greg Rogers of Fayetteville who was going to ride with us for the afternoon, and (3) we were losing an hour due to the time zone change.

Rich and Jared

Rich and Jared

We started off outside of Birmingham, Alabama. One great example of the hot temperatures we have been riding through…Jared braked hard during a late morning break and the rubber actually came off of a section of his tire onto the road!

Jared’s tire—victim of melting!

After lunch, we crossed over into Georgia, and a few miles later, we met up with Greg, who was riding from the other direction to us. Greg is an attorney, member of Providence UMC, and former competitive road bicycle racer. He actually found out about the bike tour this spring and contacted me via Facebook. Since then, we’ve conversed over email, so it was great getting a chance to meet him in person. We ended up riding the last 45 or so miles with Greg. It was great riding with him and was a psychological boost to us.

We’ve arrived in Georgia!

Greg Rogers

Meeting up with Greg Rogers

Greg, Jared, and Rich

We got to Greg’s house, where we met his lovely family, Karen and Meredith. They hosted us for the night. We then headed over to the church for the BBQ event. There were 140 or so people there for the family dinner, put on by the men’s ministry. Since it was a family event, I ended up focusing my talk on the issue of family unity.

Rich speaks about family unity

Kim talks with people at Providence UMC

Rich signing copies of his book (notice the tan lines on his hands)

After the event, we got a chance to spend a special evening with the Rogers watching the Tour De France and getting to know them.