What a Day!

Day 53 was an amazing day!  Early in the morning we dealt with our 3rd flat of the trip from a burr.  As we were patching the hole, a guy stopped on his motorcycle to see if we were OK.  Little did we know what a blessing it would be to meet Roy!

After we got the flat fixed and were about 30 seconds down the road, a van pulled up beside us and we heard, "You're staying at our house tonight. Can we take any of your burdens?"  While experiencing our third day of heavy winds, this was music to our ears!  Katie was able to unload her back unicycle bag which had been acting as a sail in the wind.

A few long and windy hours down the road a truck stopped ahead of us and out comes Roy with cold drinks for us!  He had gone home and driven back to find us just to bring us drinks!

Katie's dad had arranged a special donated lunch in Bird City KS at our half way point for the day.  People drive for hours to get steaks at Big Ed's.  They don't open until 5p but when they heard about the Refuge Ride project, Shayla graciously opened their doors and cooked us a private delicious steak lunch plus!  Roy came in and brought treats from his garden then drove us to his home where Charles Lindbergh had boarded when he had been barn storming in the area.

When we got back to our unis at Big Ed's, Katie's tire was flat again from a pinched tube.  Shayla let us hang out in Big Ed's AC while Roy assisted Dustin changing the tube.

We finally hit the road again to St. Francis KS for a wonderful stay with Pastor JW and Janelle who extended great kindness and hospitality to us.

On day 54, as we headed out of St. Francis KS, a motorcyclist passed us with his arm enthusiastically pumping the air.  He stopped ahead and began attaching a flag on the end of a pole to the back of his motorcycle.  It was Roy!  He had come to ride behind us and be our "pilot car" for over 20 miles on narrow, hilly roads into Nebraska.  We've never been so stress free on the roads nor had vehicles slow down and give us so much space.  He even brought us cold cucumbers and ice water!  Roy has been a God sent guardian angel these past few days and we are extremely grateful!

There are so many more amazing encounters that we'll have to expound on later.  Thanks to all who are keeping the Refuge Ride going strong!

Never Thought We Could Actually Get Our Socks Blown Off

We have had quite a few newspaper interviews lately and even a live radio broadcast with Tad Felts in Phillipsburg KS.  It was a privilege to be interviewed by Tad who has been broadcasting for 65 years.  He is in the Kansas Broadcasters Hall of Fame and has received special recognized by Kansas legislature.  He is a very neat guy and talked with us on the air for 35 minutes about the Refuge Ride project.

Recently we had our longest ride at 64 miles.  We even had a tail wind!  The last few days have been shorter miles but the wind, a whole different story.  We spent one day in 27 mph cross winds, gusting at 35 mph.  Now that was a challenge!  Thankfully there wasn't much traffic so we could ride side by side holding hands much of the day to support each other so we wouldn't get blown over.  Once as we were riding solo, there were oncoming cars and a semi passed us from behind bringing such a wall of wind that it blew Dustin off the road and off his unicycle.   He rolled his ankle which now only hurts when he walks but not when he pedals, fortunately. 

It is surprising to us how the level of generosity varys from place to place.  Some towns are super receptive and we wish we could ride circles around it all day and connect with people.  Other places seem interested in the novelty and entertainment of seeing us, but turn a deaf ear to the need and heartbreak of Syrians we are representing.  "Best of luck to you" just doesn't go very far to help meet real needs for those in desperate circumstances.

Thanks for tuning in!

It's a Team Effort

A big shout out to Katie's dad who has been doing some very helpful ride support and PR.  The past few days he has called restaurants along our route and secured meal donations so we can just roll in and refuel.  Such a blessing and reduces decisions we need to make on these busy, intense days.  We also got a call from friends back home offering to cover a hotel night.  We are so thankful for those helping out in creative ways!

Because of a prearranged donated meal at Taco John's in Concordia KS, we got to meet the generous town mayor who also owns the restaurant.  He is the third mayor we've had the privilege of meeting on this ride.

Today we shared quiet country roads with hundreds of fuzzy caterpillars making a run for it.  They were each a different color and shade: red, black, blond, grey.  I think we managed to avoid running over any of these little guys. 

We've noticed lately how faded things are becoming that are exposed to the sun all day.  Our helmets, shirts and Respro pack covers are not nearly as vivid as they were when we started out.  Crazy what a little sun will do.  We may blend right into the scenery by the time we get to Oregon.

We take lots of short breaks on the side of the road to stretch and give our seats a rest.  Though we are standing there eating a bar or taking pictures, so many times people have stopped to ask if we are ok saying it looks like we've had a h#&@ of an accident.  It's just how our unicycles look laying on the ground, I guess.  We tell them they are unicycles and are supposed to look like that.  Most people think our bike came apart in a terrible crash.  Thankfully we're still rolling along strong!  So glad you are journeying with us!

Riding Till the Cows Come Home

Our biggest fans are cows! Seriously! We share the Refuge Ride project with the many cows we ride by along country farm roads. We ring our bells, tell them what we are doing and invite them to join us. They often seem more interested than people and stop what they are doing (eating) with grass hanging out of their mouths and turn their heads to follow us as they watch us roll out of sight. They are not enthusiastic but very attentive!

We recently had a few days riding the Katy Trail in Missouri. It was fun to be on the same route as Lewis and Clark and Daniel Boone. It was slightly encouraging that as slow as we travel on unicycles, we still made faster progress than these guys sailing upstream on the Missouri River. We almost ran over two pretty brown snakes along the trail and learned later that they are very poisonous copperheads. So thankful for God's protection on all terrain.

Riding in Kansas has not been boring. People are on a mission to get from there to there and slowing down for unicyclists on the road is not on the agenda. We've been shouted at to "Get off the road!" more than once in KS and someone even called the police to complain that we were on the road and people were having to slow down for us. Officer Akers was very kind when he pulled us over and we had a nice chat with him as he did his duty checking us out and helping us find a different route around a busy construction detour.

Leaving Lawrence KS was entertaining as a spry photographer from Lawrence Journal-World jumped out from behind bushes to snap pictures of us with his big camera then had us pose for some shots he took while laying in the road. We were relieved he didn't get run over and impressed by his ability to turn photography into an athletic sport!

We recently added a Donation Honor Roll page on RefugeRide.org. Check out the growing number who have donated goods and services to help keep costs low on this cross country journey. We are so thankful!

Life On The Road

We are so thankful and amazed at how well the Refuge Ride continues to go.  33 days down and we have only paid for lodging 2 times!  When hotels have not been able to donate, churches have covered our lodging.  We are very thankful for the First Christian Church of Sikeston MO, Lynwood Baptist Church of Cape Girardeau MO, First Baptist Church Du Quoin IL and the Sparta Ministerial Alliance of Sparta IL for their generosity and partnership and putting us up for the night. 

Also a big shout out to The Davie School Inn for a wonderful stay in Anna IL in a former 4th grade classroom (davieschoolinn.com).  Should you ever be in the area you must book a room and enjoy the brilliant renovation of an old school house and Gary's home cooking!  Speaking of home cooking...it was so great to have friends right on our route in TN!  We haven't seen them in 3 years and it was wonderful to reconnect and be blessed by fellowship and a washing machine!

On day 30 we crossed the 1,000 mile mark of our cross country trek on a busy road in Cape Girardeau.  We stopped on the side of the road and jumped around a bit to celebrate.  People may have thought we were slightly deranged but we were excited to have made it this far by the grace of God!  Many more miles to go and we are up for the challenge.

Our equipment has been doing great so far.  We are all set with a new pump that will hopefully hold up better than the last.  We pretty much have our daily routine down for riding, stopping to connect with people, eating, updating social media and sleeping.  That about sums up our lives these days. 

We have met so many wonderful people and experienced generosity and kindness in unique ways.  For example, we were resting in front of a gas station in IL and two kids on vacation from NC came over with a plate of brownies their aunt made that morning and they wanted to share them with us. So sweet in more ways than one!