Blackstone, VA to Raleigh, NC -- Returning Home

Although I grew up in Michigan and now call Indianapolis our home, I consider North Carolina to be my adopted home. Having spent seven years going to school in North Carolina and a bit more time working there, I love the friendly people, the large pine trees that tower in the forests, the pine needles that cast a fresh smell for miles and some of the local specialties like barbeque, hush puppies and okra. Known for its tobacco fields (shown below), it is a beautiful state, with mountains in the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, great universities in various locations and some of the clearest blue sky days I recall. So between my family coming to join us in Raleigh and a return trip to North Carolina, we got ready to roll early and decided to travel as quickly as possible.







The day had a few clouds that served to guard us from the sun and just the right temperature for a cool ride. Riding along various lightly traveled country roads, we made good time this morning so that by 10:30 a.m., we were already a third of the way to Raleigh. Passing through South Hills, VA (about 9 miles north of the North Carolina border), we decided to take just a couple minutes to stop, stretch and get going again. Once we got there, our plans would change for the better.


As soon as we arrived, we met the owners of a convenience/towing business at the corner, named Sam/Pat Erwin and Jean Thompson. They rushed out to greet us with an immediate enthusiasm and asked us about our ride. Turns out that they saw our Ride Across America sign and my International Christian Cycling Club jersey and took an immediate interest. Inviting us into their store, they asked us to help ourselves to whatever food items we'd like. Jean then called the local newspaper while Sam provided a kind donation to the school. We bonded with them immediately and so appreciated their Christian welcome and interest in helping our students. Once we finished our interview (look for it in the South Hills paper shortly), we were on our way, but only after heartfelt thanks and hugs. Shortly, we made it the North Carolina state line and decided to straddle between North Carolina and Virgina (below). Along the way, we saw more people honking and waving encouragement than any other day -- says something about the people here.

For the rest of the day, we rode at a great clip, catching our first sustained tailwind. About 2:30 p.m., we were 97 miles into our 110 mile ride, when our route became simply too filled with traffic to continue. Because of that, we decided to put our bikes on the back, drive to the airport to surprise Lori, Leah and David and pick up our remaining 13 miles a bit later. What great fun to surprise our family! As it turns out, Lori and our host, Steve Monti, joined me for the final part of the ride tonight through beautiful local parks around Steve's home. A great way to finish!

Finally, a quick note about our hosts for this evening. I first met my friend, Steve Monti, in 1984 as electrical engineering students at Duke University. Of all the bright people in our engineering class, Steve stood out. He just seemed able to visualize science on a higher plane than the rest of us. I admired him for his intellect, but also for his deep interest in exploring other topics, including religion. After engineering school, we connected a few times and then lost touch for the last seventeen years, but as I put the schedule together, I thought of Raleigh and Steve immediately. I knew he had been working for IBM for many years, so I first tried to reach him there. Told he was no longer working there, I tried other ways to reach him. After finally connecting, he shared with me that he had recently left IBM after many successful years to see what God had in store for him and his family. He simply wanted to pause, reflect and pray for direction in the lives of their family. While I recognize that for many of us, it would be impossible to stop working for a period, I also recognize his deep commitment to doing God's work and putting his faith into action. I'd put his focus in a category of "radical reliance", the theme for Traders Point Christian Academy this year. His is a great example of our theme for the year. Thanks to Steve and his wife, Peggy, for their immense hospitality during our stay. We loved having a chance to meet your family, enjoy your wonderful cooking and catch-up!

For those of you who are exercising the full 20 days, keep it up. If my muscles are any indication, it's usually around this time that it becomes physically difficult to keep going, but they say that if you accomplish something for 20 days, it's likely to become habit. So keep exercising. Keep studying. The countdown for the 2nd Annual/Best-Ever Walk/Bikeathon continues. See you at the beach tomorrow.

Charlie