[trikes] Fwd: Fran's second week

[mgta4 at aol.com]

Well it turned out? to be only 2 days. Dissapointing ,but so is life sometimes. I started my ride from where I left off the week before. It was kinda exciting. I saw a car trying to pass on a hill with a solid stripe and wondered if he was trying to mess up his nice car. A car from the other direction came over the hill and he was partially passed the car but decided not to continue. He hit his brakes, left black marks across the lane and into the shoulder about 50 ft in front of me and I am sure peed in his pants too as his car rocked back and forth. Then a short time later saw the same kind of crazy person trying and suceeding this time but passed 2 cars just floor boarding it because a dump truck was coming at him from the other direction. I wonder what people think that solid yellow line is for on the road.

Did have a dog want to chase me in Mexia. He had chewed his rope and I didn't know where he belonged. He seemed to be visiting another dog that was fenced. I used my marine horn when he started coming at me and I hollered and he took off like he wanted to race. Me, I am only going at a snails pace not racing. Anyway about 2 blocks down the road he starts barking again but this time is in his own yard and stays way back from me. Didn't hurt my feelings at all. 

Was going pretty fast down a hill and saw a homeless man, young but had the whitest beard I have ever seen except on Santa. He was looking at me like I was an alien and probably looked like that to him and I could see him watching me to the bottom of the hill. I had to laugh but understood why he looked so puzzled. No one looks like me?and ?my trike. 

I stopped at Subway and got a foot long and proceeded to Wal Mart to eat half and save half for supper. I was looking for a shade tree but the only shade I could find was under my canopy. Nice to have. 

Onward to somewhere else and about 2:30 I found a church enclosed in a 6 ft fence and it was open so I went in. The bldg is a huge metal bldg that was some kind of business at one time. I tried to get someone attention but a young man was in there playing some kind of rock music you could hear it a block away. After a time he heard me and I asked about staying there. He called the pastor (maybe his dad) and agreed I could. I Iooked around and the whole yard close to the bldg was rock. A once upon a time parking lot for?the business.Not good for a tent and staking it. Out back (about 3 acres big) there was dirt(mud) and I figured that would be it when I set up the tent. I was really hoping to stay inside because the pastor said he was coming out later. I didn't unpack with that in mind. From 2:30 til about 6:30 I just sat in the shade and watched a a few birds jumped around on a telephone wire. Nothing there but a field but I was resting? and didnt have anything to read or listed to so it got a little boring. 

I was beginning to have to use the restroom really bad and thinking about setting up the tent for privacy but wondered if maybe the door I was sitting in front of was open. The boy had left earlier. Whalaaa. It was. They had a restroom too. I had just come out and saw the pastor thru the front door entering the? place so I got out fast and sat down and there he was. Anyway we talked a bit and he wasn't going to let me inside to stay but after a bit and reading a letter I carry from my pastor he changed his mind. I ended up on the carpeted floor of the santuary . Was better then the cement floor in the kitchen. I called my son and told him to call me at 6:30 because this pastor was feeding 4 other pastors at 10 and I wanted to be out of there before that all got started. I boiled some water and made my oatmeal and packed as I ate. At 8 I was out the door and he was just coming in. Good timing. 

That was my first night with my small Burley Nomad trailer. I had all I needed just couldn't find anything,. I didn't want to empty it but seems thats what it would take just to get what I needed. I am in the process of thinning out more and taking nothing except absolute necessities. Too hard to dig around finding stuff when you just need 1 thing. 

The pastor gave me the name of a church and pastor in Fairfield about 20 miles up the road. I figured my limit would be about 10 miles so didn't think I would need it . About 2:30 I was ready to stop and found a Cowboy church setting way back off the road and someone was there. Perfect place. Almost. There was no one that could give permission to stay and they locked the gate at night. They were going to have supper and a service and it would have been perfect. So after spending about 20 minutes talking to the fellow getting it ready for the evening I left.?If they didn't have a gate I woulda stayed anyway. ?I rode on. Dumb me , I forgot to use the restroom when there so was looking for an approriate spot to pull off. I saw a house that looked trashed and didn't think anyone lived there. Could go around the back take care of business and be off again. Surprise. Someone did live there and I saw a little boy peering out the window so figured that was a bad idea to stop. Found a gate and kinda hideway place where cars didn't see my trike ?til they were right there..I climbed the pipe gate and lots of poison ivy. Good thing I know what it looks like. Everything is good. I didn't squat in it. 

?So now I am off to Fairfield which is only a short distance (3 miles)(nothing is short when I am that tired) away. I saw an RV park and decided to see what they charged to stay. $35 for a rock parking spot with power and water. Told them that was far beyond my budget but could stay in the covered patio area with the picnic table. She called her boss and after about 10 minutes waiting decided I better get on down the road. They thought I would have better facilities at the church. Wrong. 

I called the preacher as instructed when I got to town and he said I was still 2 miles away. Ugh! He said he didn't want a tent up in the front of the church but could put up in the back under a big tree. He didn't really sound very receptive to me camping out on the church grounds but at that point I didn't care I?just wanted to eat and go to bed. It was only about 5:15 but I had been 20 miles already. Twice what I figured I could handle. 

Next stop. Ahhhh a fruit stand. It was open and air conditioned at that. I stopped and got an 85 cent apple as big as a softball and a 60 cent orange. I talked a minute about my trip and I laid a dollar on the counter and asked how much. He said that was enough as that is what he paid for them. Nice. 

?I pulled over about 50 ft onto an empty service station I think. Shade. Ate my big apple as I needed some energy and headed on. Saw another RV park but no one to talk to. The store by the same name across the street didn't know anything about it so away I go again. 

As I rode across the street I noticed the area looked like a park. It turned out to be a where the livestock show did their thing and a ball park. I stopped a young girl jogging and asked if you could camp there. She didn't know as she hadn't lived there long ?and was interested in my rig and what I was doing . I told her I was on a Journey for God and going to churches to give my testimony( haven't done any as yet but thats what its all about. ) Anyway as soon as I said testimony she lit up like a Christmas tree and said "What is your testimony?" Ohhhhh thats the last thing I want to do is talk. I am totally wiped out and want to? go to bed. Anyway I gave her a very short version and she said I think I know someone who can help you. Those were sweet words to hear. She is jogging and has to go somewhere to call a friend. I rode up in the park under a shade tree and waited. Seemed forever and I was getting a headache by now and wondered if she was coming back. Probably 10 minutes had passed. ?Now I am needing a restroom and started looking around. Saw a bldg in the next corner (same park) and it looked hopeful. Rode over there and just as I stopped a car entered and it was the girl and a friend. She said "Tuesday nights we meet at a friends house and have dinner and a bible meeting and you are invited" Oooookaaaaaay . So I asked how far. Only about a mile. Do you think you can make it. She said I can jog or walk with you. So I pedaled and she walked some and jogged some depending on hills. As we arrived I saw this beautiful large house on maybe 5 acres and lots of cars. There was about a dozen people there and they were waiting on us to arrive. By this time I am nearly unconcious from fatigue. We ate and by 6:30 started the study. I asked the owner to please show me where I could put up my tent as I needed to do it soon. He looked at me and asked"do you really want to sleep in the tent?' Well of course I told him no. I knew his wife was hussling around getting a place ready for me to stay and hated to see her hav


e to do that but I really needed to go to bed. As I sat in their study period my I realized my heart was racing. 125 is way too fast for it to be beating so I figured it was just because I was more tired then I had ever been before. After the study I was invited to stay and socialize but zombies don't make good company. I was shown the shower and room etc and all I could think of was bed. I hadn't showered in 2 days but at that time it didn't matter. I just pulled back the covers and collapased into bed dirty clothes and all. If I had been thinking better I would have just thrown a pillow on the floor and saved her from having to change linens again after I left. 


The next morning I got up and saw no one. Figured they were still sleeping. Went out and called my son to come and get me again. Now I am about 70 miles from home. I was 35 miles from the Palestine and they had a bike shop and that was also the next town. Thats 3 days riding for me. I thought my cassette cable in the rear had broken. Figured if I was home I could leave more stuff behind and go to a bike shop in College Station. After unpacking the trike realized the cable was ok but the bag on the back of the trike was preventing it from going into my higher gears because it was bumping it. So have solved that problem now. 

Not sure about another departure date now as husband has such a bad knee and may need surgery. Will find out today. I am afraid he will fall if he doesn't do something drastic and soon. So for now this is it but I plan to keep riding around home just to try to get into better shape than I am now. I know looseing weight is not good when touring but I have have lost 10 lbs and am not complaining. Maybe I can ride farther then 10 miles next time. My total miles now is about 75+ and average 3.4 and fastest 19+ that is going down a nice long hill. 
Fran

PS I knew a family that lived in Fairfield and their name was Fair. They were evangelists and had 3 children that traveled with them. The dad played the guitar , the son a bass and the 2 girls and wife sang. I think the first time I saw them the youngest girl was maybe about 10. They gave revivals at our church about 4 times.When I was about 6 mos into ?recovering from chemo they came to our church and I hadn't been going to church because I had been so sick from chemo but really wanted to see them. So I went. I was bald as an eagle and still not well.

When I got to the place where I stayed with the large church group I figured maybe some of them had heard of them. I knew the older girl had gotten married some time ago. Then the son. The younger girl went to Criswell college in Dallas with my grandson. I asked the owner of the house (Regi Davis) if he had heard of them. He said "my son married their daughter". I was shocked. . After all I had gone thru that day and then ending up at his house. Coulda never planned it. 30 seconds later and the young jogger(ended up being 22 and not about 15 like I thought and is a gym teacher for the Jr Hi there )?would have been somewhere else. 
For those interested they are now in San Angelo TX and so is the youngest daughter and she is married and now is a hair stylist. I understand he has his own Baptist church there. Sure do miss his chalk drawings he did. You had to have a black light to view them after he finished. Amazing.