Days 12 and 13: Raleigh to Wrightsville Beach, NC; Wrightsville Beach to Myrtle Beach, SC -- Nothing Like A Great Sixth Man!

In sports, they refer to the home crowd as the "Sixth Man". A good sixth man roots for the home team and helps encourage them (i.e., to help provide courage) to play their best. Over the last two days, my "Sixth Man" came in the form of (1) Lori, Leah and David beginning in Raleigh, NC; and (2) my brother, Jim, beginning in Wrightsville Beach, NC. Both would provide a boost as we continue our journey.

Raleigh to Wrightsville Beach: After enjoying a good night's sleep in Raleigh, we awoke to weather maps that looked ominous, showing a wide series of storms pushing in off the Carolina coast westward as we prepared for the longest ride of the trip. As soon as I stepped outside to do some packing, I could feel the front already taking shape with trees bending, winds whipping and a blanket of clouds making the morning look extra dark. So as I started to ride, I looked around intently to see whether the wind would make for a shorter or longer day. With a slight rain at the beginning, I felt the wind primarily behind me with some significant crosswinds. Behind me, I heard Leah and David with noisemakers in hand, rooting me on as I went up hills. With a slight tailwind and the help of my "Sixth Man", the miles went quickly, averaging somewhere north of twenty mph for most of the ride. After several days with significant mountains and rolling hills, the terrain continued to flatten out as we got closer to the coast and we saw a variety of plants and other items characteristic of North Carolina (cotton fields below).

About eighty miles into the ride, however, the rains began in earnest. Starting slowly, with a fair amount of visibility, they soon became extremely heavy. At first, I thought they would go away. After awhile, I realized they were going to continue and be heavier than even the rains we experienced in Canada. Fortunately, we were able to continue for the next two hours, still riding at a strong clip to make it eastward. Having my "Sixth Man" was every bit as inspiring to me as to sports teams like the Colts and I'm thankful for their joining me. My observation today was that we each have ample opportunities to encourage one another on our journeys of faith and the question I asked myself was whether I'm doing the things I should to encourage others. Clearly, it makes all the difference, especially during the rainy days.





A special thanks to Pastor Laura Mitchell at Wrightsville Beach United Methodist Church (WUMC) for providing dinner and accommodations and, more importantly, making us feel so welcome. Right after college, I went to work for GE and had an assignment at Wrightsville Beach, NC. I rented an apartment on the beach and spent a lot of my time there, but the thing I remember most vividly is the warmth of the people at WUMC. WUMC holds a special place for me because of their wonderful spirit and outreach to a young guy in the community, so when I prepared our itinerary, I was quick to add this location and reach out to the church. While my pastor from almost twenty years ago was no longer there, the warmth and willingness to help continues. No wonder their church has grown tremendously and continues to impact the community in tremendous ways. Laura: may God continue to bless your efforts and those of WUMC in all that you do.

Wrightsville Beach to Myrtle Beach: With the shortest ride today, in terms of mileage, we thought we were in for a relatively quick ride. With just over 80 miles to ride, we took some time to explore Wrightsville Beach this morning, taking some pictures and video and starting around 9 a.m. Soon, we would be glad for a bit shorter ride as the winds were coming straight off the ocean at 15-20 mph straight against me and Jim. Taking turns drafting, I appreciated the fact that his is a larger frame and again enjoyed having Leah in the support van to encourage us along. After feeling strong yesterday (in part, because of the winds), I found myself distracted by a number of nagging aches. Still, we were able to make it to Myrtle Beach during the early afternoon and spend a little time enjoying the beach (David below). We're off to Charleston tomorrow -- Jim and I will get to ride together again.

Having a supportive family and friends makes all the difference. Thanks to them and you for your continued encouragement.

Charlie