Changing Plans

 My Great Great Grandfather Reginald Selmer Plummer. He used to take this bike out on the weekends and ride 100 miles! Whoa!

Over the past month or so God has changed a lot of my plans for my cycling trip. While praying about my planned trip this summer, I kept thinking that I needed to contact Simon Guillebaud, a man that I met last spring. Simon is a missionary to Burundi, and when I met him last spring he told me that he would next summer be riding his bicycle across the USA in hopes of raising $1 million for the missions of his non-profit organization, which is called Great Lakes Outreach (GLO). When he told me about this trip he was taking I was immediately interested in joining his team, but when he eventually decided to move his trip back to early March, I thought that I wouldn't be able to recover from my severed achilles tendon quickly enough to join his team. My job also would not permit me to leave in March.

Over the past few months, however, I have been preparing to ride across the country this summer to raise money for Water Missions International. I have not been able to find anyone to ride with. Although I love what Water Missions is doing, I kept feeling a nudge to speak with Simon about joining his trip. There are many reasons why I felt that it was going to be a better idea to ride with his group. If you want more details on how that thought process developed, please ask me. When I started considering Simon if I could join his team my physical recovery was going more quickly than I expected, but my job was still not permitting me to leave. I eventually figured that since my boss David is a Christian man, it would be a good idea to speak with him about all these ideas and passions I was praying about. When I eventually spoke with David he told me that if I felt called to the Bike for Burundi trip that he would look for a replacement for my position. After some prayer and deliberation I felt freed up to ask if I may leave my job so that I could ride with Bike for Burundi. My participation in the trip is still pending, as I am waiting and praying that someone will be able to fill my role here at the Barrier Island Environmental Education Center. We need a replacement Naturalist by January 9, so please pray for that. 

It is pretty obvious to say that if it is God's will for me to partake in this amazing adventure, He will provide a great replacement for me at my job. I will miss everybody here enormously, but I do also believe that it is time for me to move on. To be completely honest, I only have a little bit of an idea of the situation that Great Lakes Outreach is dealing with in Burundi. All I do know is that last spring I had a burning desire to ride a bicycle across the country. During prayer I felt that I should buy a bike. Since then, God has really been putting together the pieces. I am not saying that this is necessarily why I severed my achilles tendon while riding my bicycle this past summer, but I do think that my injury was a huge reminder to me that God wants me to use my passion for adventure not entirely for my personal gain, but more so to worship Him and bless others. My injury was a reminder that my strength comes from Him. When you lose your ability to walk, you realize how much God has blessed you in the past. Now I am excited to serve God with the blessings he has given me by allowing me to be able to use my leg again. I'm excited that God put me in contact with Simon. I'm excited to learn about the work that God is doing in Burundi. I'm excited to spend a ton of time with three older and wiser British guys while pedaling for 100 miles / day for an entire month. Basically, I'm excited.

......now it's time to pray

-jeff

The Road to Recovery

The boot came off on September 1, 2011. Immediately I wanted to swim, cycle, and run. Over the past two months, however, I have been slowly regaining muscle and my ability to walk correctly. Running and jumping is still not a part of my life, but it will be very soon. Due to the cycling that I have been doing for the past month my calf is almost not a veal anymore.

So yes, I have been cycling for the past month. Initially I was extremely afraid of getting back on the bike. Ya know, if I were to sever the achilles again I might be a little bit sad. But I have a cool little story about why I don't have to be afraid to ride anymore. The Bicycle Shoppe in Charleston looked for a chain or bash guard for my bike that would protect my leg if it ever collided with my cogs again. After lots of research that led to dead ends, The Bicycle Shoppe took a bash guard from another bike and made custom cuts on it so that it would fit my bike. They made the cuts on the bash guard, attached it to the cogs, and gave me my bike back for only $10! Wow! What a great deal! I suppose they felt bad for me after the accident. Here is a picture of my new custom bash guard.

 
After my bike was fixed I started training again. I have been riding 5 days a week and am hopefully going to be strong enough to take a few days over Christmas break to ride across South Carolina. I am also anticipating being perfectly healthy this spring, so I am also training to ride across the country this summer to raise money for Water Missions International. I made a promotional video to advertise for partners that you can check out here.
                                                                   Cycle with Jeff!

I learned how to use Imovie on a mac to make that video in about an hour. It's a really cool program that I'm excited to get much better at using. I'm thinking about making a documentary to show what God does on this cross-country cycling trip this summer. Anyway, my prayer for the trip right now is for continued healing of my leg and 1 or 2 partners that are willing to commit to the trip. Within the next few weeks I will probably start fundraising. Yay God! Boo Devil!

-Jeff

6 Weeks After Surgery & 1st Adventure Since Surgery!

I had surgery on my achilles tendon 6.5 weeks ago. This is what it looked like before the surgeon repaired the tendon.

                                           This is what the surgeon did to repair the tendon

                           This is the scar that is now on my leg 6.5 weeks after surgery...not too bad!

               This is what a leg looks like after not walking on it for over 7 weeks...like a chicken wing

6 weeks after surgery I went straight from not putting any weight on my leg to walking on it with my boot and without crutches. I should be in the boot for 4 weeks and then I will be able to walk in hiking boots for 2 more weeks until I am completely cleared. That means 10 weeks after surgery I will hopefully be walking freely. The doctor says it will probably be between Halloween and Christmas before I start running or jumping.

This is amazing and I am extremely happy with the speed of this recovery. I feel enormously blessed to be able to walk again. I now realize how much I have taken for granted having the ability to walk.

God has taught me a lot during this strange summer in my life. First, I didn't realize how much of my identity was in my ability to move, work, and stay busy. This injury caused me to have to quit my summer coaching job, which has made me slow down tremendously and has freed up tons of time. During this time God has taught me a lot about solitude, spending time meditating on his truths, and seeking him even when discouraged. I have had friends around, but I have also had more alone time this summer than I have ever had. This is tough for an extrovert like me, but this summer has been a great lesson in learning to wait and listen.

Over the past month and a half I have been able to read some great stuff, I have learned a bunch through some interesting documentaries, I have written a ton, I have gone on many great dates with my now girlfriend Sarah, and I have painted a bit. Here are a couple of 20x16 inch paintings I have done so far.

                                            This is Sarah on the left and Heather on the right.

These are my roommates for the summer. Kelsey and Corey "Goose" Gheesling.

So this blog is not supposed to be about painting, but adventures. Without functioning legs, however, painting can be a pretty great adventure. But I was cleared to walk with a boot on August 5. I knew that my leg was seriously weak, but when I heard I could walk I wanted to go climb a mountain...so I did.

Sarah suprised me from Kentucky for my birthday on August 8. On the 9th we decided to embark on my first true "adventure", besides kayaking, since I was injured. We drove up to Brevard, NC to check out the town and find some mountain waterfalls in the area. Brevard is in Transylvania County, which is the county with the most waterfalls in the USA. I was pumped about walking around to the waterfalls but I was terribly afraid that Dracula, or one of those vampires that all the teenage girls in the country have pictures of hanging from their walls, was going to jump out from behind a tree and suck my blood. Soon after those fears came, I decided that it would be awesome if Count Chocula jumped out from behind a tree and gave me some tasty cereal. Then I remembered that the Transylvania where vampires live is in Romania. I was instantly relieved that I wouldn't have to battle any fierce vampires, but I still wanted some chocolatey cereal. Oh well. At least I was hiking around with an awesome lady.

                                              We hiked about 3 miles and found 4 waterfalls!

                                                                      Conestee Falls

                                                                         Triple Falls

High Falls

                             
                                                                         Hooker Falls

                                                                          
This day was incredible! Beautiful weather, great conversations, walking, and great stuff that God made! "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." -Psalm 42:7

Everybody who passed us on the trail this day had something to say about my leg. It was either along the lines of "You're a nut, kid!", "Wow, now that's dedication!", "What did you do to make her hurt you like that?", or "She should really be carrying you up this mountain!" Ha. It was ridiculous and funny...and even though my foot got a bit swolen, it was definitely worth it.

                                                                Life is good. God is better. :)

- jeff

Surgery

Tuesday-
My dad came into town from Tellico Lake, TN on Tuesday night to cart me around to all of my medical appointments and to make sure that everything went smoothly. Thanks Dad!

Wednesday-
Went in for an MRI and a pre-op appointment. The pictures from the MRI looked pretty intense, but it was surely a clean cut on the achilles. In the afternoon I got an unexpected, but amazing package of chocolate covered fruit from my good high school friend Kaitlyn Pasko. Edible Arrangements makes some tasty treats that can cheer up your day! Also, Wednesday night was great and relaxing because I got to have dinner, ready some of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and watch a movie with a very nice lady.

Thursday-
Arrived at Greer Memorial Hospital at 12:30 pm on Thursday the 23rd for surgery. Before surgery they gave me some medicine that made me a bit loopy and then they gave me a shot called a "block." This shot was amazing because it blocked 100% of the feeling in the lower half of my leg for over 20 hours. The next thing I knew, I was waking up from surgery to the doctor telling me that everything was just fine. I slept well on Thursday night because the anesthesia made me ridiculously tired and I also couldn't feel my leg. The nurses, however, came in about every hour to make sure I was still alive. Every time my resting heart rate was between 45 and 50 beats per minute. My blood pressure averaged about 105/70. Booyah! I guess riding a bike around makes your heart happy and healthy. Gotta figure out how to keep it happy and healthy now that I'll be laying around for an extended amount of time.

Friday-
Woke up pretty early and watched some Wimbledon matches. Wimbledon is probably my favorite sports event of the year to watch so I was pretty happy to stay in the hospital for a while...especially since there is no cable at Goose and Kelsey's house. During a really intense part of the match between Sharapova and Robson, Dr. Lonergan came in to tell me what was going on with my body. He first told me that as he looked in the medical journals and books to find reports of my type of injury he could not find anything. He said that there were absolutely zero reports out there about a bicycle sprocket slicing open a calf and an achilles. So he told me that he took tons of pictures during the surgery that he will soon send to me. I suppose now he will write a report on how to treat this kind of injury...pretty crazy that it was so unique. Also, he said that since the injury was unique the physical therapists will have to think of some different ways to rehab me. Next, Dr. Lonergan told me an amazing fact! He said that the cut from one of the sprockets was literally 1mm away from severing a nerve in my leg. Had this nerve been severed I would have permanently lost feeling on the right side of my foot for the rest of my life. Whoa! 1mm! Crazy! Next, Dr. Lonergan said that I will be non weight bearing on this leg for 1 month. He hopes I will be walking a little bit without crutches in 3 months. Lastly, he told me that the honeymoon of no pain was soon to be over. Pretty soon after he told me this news the "block" wore off. Then I took a couple Roxycodones and checked out of the hospital. The pain started to ramp up and I was freaking out a bit. One the way to get my prescription filled I had to take a Hydrocodone. Once the prescription was filled I took and Oxycodone. All of this medicine was in the span of an hour and the pain level was still crazy high. After contacting the Dr. he told me to also start pounding Ibuprofen. Wow. It looks like I'm going to need an absurd amount of medicine for the next couple of days, but hopefully the pain subsides soon. Now I am back hanging out at the Gheesling residence. Dad went back to Tennessee, but there are a few people here looking out for me. Also, I have the cutest therapy dog around, Millie. I have no energy to type and I am currently slurring my speech due to this medicine, so hopefully there is something slightly coherent written in the words above.


Thanks for the prayers!

-jeff

Highs and Lows

I'll give you the good news first...

I was standing in the driveway last week, about to go on a ride, when the UPS man jumped out of his truck asking for me. I didn't remember ordering anything so I was excited about the surprise inside of the brown box he gave me. I rushed inside, opened the box, and found a brand new digital camera! Yahoo! (I have never actually said yahoo in real life, but I bet that's what I would have said if I were from North Dakota) I had no idea who the new camera was from, but I figured it was a gift that was inspired by my blog which said I don't have my own camera. (I also don't have my own BMW M3...just saying) After reading all of the papers in the package I came across a little note that said "You can't be an adventure blogger without your own camera! Here is an early birthday present. Love, Aunt Kath, Uncle Mike, and Emma."

This gift was a huge blessing and it was tons of fun to receive it because I had no idea someone was going to give me a camera! Thanks Shafer clan!

Now I give you the bad news...

Last Friday I was cycling around Greenville running some errands, getting exercise, and was on my way to see a friend at Furman when BAM! I bit the dust. Aretha (the bike) sometimes has a mind of her own. I try to stay in the middle of the road or the path and she just swerves a bit. This time I didn't recover so well. I was between Leopard Forest Coffee Company in Travelers Rest and Furman on the Swamp Rabbit Trail when I hit the edge of the trail. Most places taper off the sides of paths so that they gradually run into the ground adjacent to the path. Not in Greenville, they don't. There was about an 6-8 inch lip where my tire hit. I tried to readjust, but by the time I turned the handlebars back I had already flown over top of them.

I felt like a moron for falling. I looked around, embarrassed, hoping that not too many people saw the spill. There were only 2 other people I saw on the path. Right as I was about to stand up and get back on my bike I looked down and realized that my leg was opened and that there was hamburger helper spilling out of my calf! Once I realized that I was hallucinating (or just in shock), I understood that when your calf muscle, your achilles tendon, and fat are hanging out of your skin from a fresh flesh wound, it only looks like hamburger helper. I must have been pretty hungry to think that my leg looked like hamburger meat, but hamburger helper is gross anyway and I soon lost my appetite.

Next step...once I realized that I was in a bit of a pickle I busted out the phone and dialed 911. EMS was about to send an ambulance when God hooked me up! The dispatcher was about to release the ambulance, which would have most likely cost me over $1000, when Mrs. Nan ran up. Nan is amazing. She is a mother from Montgomery, Alabama whose son is at Furman's Football Camp. She was staying at the Embassy Suites and told me she could run back to get her car. She ran off and I called my dad to tell him what was going on. At this point I was starting to have a bit of trouble staying with it, I was sweating profusely, and I was starting to black out. Just as I was about to black out guardian angel #2 came out of nowhere. I didn't catch her name, but she was the next person to pass me on the trail. She hopped off of her bike, gave me some fresh water to drink, elevated my leg, and told me she was a nurse. Pretty cool, right? All of the help I was receiving was great, but then I started to get worried. I wondered what to do with Aretha. Was the bike alright? Who was going to pick it up? So right then I called my loyal roommate, Goose.  

It was no longer than 10 minutes from when she left to when Nan rolled up with a super nice and enormous SUV. Nan also brought with her guardian angel #3. When she went to the parking lot of the Embassy Suites hotel she happened to find a doctor. He came and gave me a little tourniquet on my leg. 2 guys lifted me up, told me to put pressure from my hands on my leg, and set me in Nan's car. They also put Aretha in the back, so it was nice to know that I wouldn't have to leave my bike in the middle of the trail to get stolen. Anyway, Nan was awesome. I'm sure she is an amazing mom. She dropped me off, hung out with me in the ER for a bit, and even took my bike out to be picked up later. She gave me her number and asked that I call her when I got out of the ER to let her know I was alive.

Once in the ER they hooked me up to an IV and gave me some pain medicine. It made me feel nice, but I actually didn't have any pain when I came in... the endorphins from the shock probably kept me from hurting. Then they figured I was dehydrated from cycling so they gave me an IV with the equivalent of 2 gallons of Gatorade. Wow! They were not super speedy in that ER, and that IV had my bladder about to explode. I probably went to the bathroom 15 times the rest of that day. 2 gallons of Gatorade is a lot. So the doctor came in and cleaned out the grease from the cut. It happened because my calf hit my cogs, or the sprockets on my bike (you know, the things that hold the chain on). It ripped me up pretty good. He said the laceration was about 4 inches long and 1 inch deep. Immediately I freaked out because I realized that 1 inch deep probably meant that my achilles was mutilated. After some inspection it was affirmed that the achilles was partially torn. I got pretty emotional in there for a bit because as an active guy, the ruptured achilles is probably the injury I am most afraid. This injury makes people much slower, and some can't run the same ever again. I realized once I started panicking that I should probably consult God. He gave me peace in the moment, which was great. Also, at that point in time Goose arrived and prayed for me and my leg. Great stuff. I was starting to cheer up and the nurse, Ann, also made the experience more enjoyable. She joked around a lot, and she even hooked me up with a Snickers, banana, orange slices, and cranberry juice. My doctor was also a cool guy. Dr. Theiling went to Furman and so we had plenty to talk about. When I asked him to make the injury look as much like a shark bite as possible he got pretty excited. He did say, however, that he was taught how to stitch people up by a plastic surgeon...so my scar will probably look great and not so much like a shark bite...bummer! It took 19 stitches to get me good to go, and after about 4 hours Goose and I were out of there. 

Dr. Theiling let me go coach my team in their lacrosse tournament the next 2 days near Charlotte, which was great. By the time I went with the team to Charlotte I had an appointment with an orthopedist on Tuesday. One of my player's dads, however, did some research for me that ended up changing my plans with the doctor. His neighbor is an orthopedist who is an achilles specialist. I talked to his neighbor, Dr. Lonergan, on the phone and he assured me that he was the man for my surgery. He told me to come into his office whenever I wanted on Monday and he would fit me into his schedule. What a nice guy! Dr. Lonergan was the head of orthopedics in Iraq for the Army, where he received a Bronze Star. Did I mention he specializes in achilles?

Today I went and met Dr. Lonergan. He thinks my achilles is completely severed. I could hear him and the other doctors all talking about my injury outside the door. I think they are a bit excited about the surgery because this type of achilles injury happens extremely rarely. Literally, 5 doctors walked into the room to check out my situation. I suppose it's pretty neat to have an uncommon injury, ha. Dr. L got me an appointment for an MRI on Wednesday and surgery on Thursday. I trust that he will do a solid job. Please pray for him and any other doctors involved in the procedure.

Dr. L told me that the injury is actually worse than most achilles ruptures....this is a bummer because a "standard" ruptured achilles is one of the most brutal injuries in terms of rehab time. I think I am coming to peace with the idea of being out of commission for a while, but yesterday I was freaking out about my insurance not pulling through and being many thousands of dollars in debt. We will see, but I do think God will provide yet again.

Here are some verses from church last night that really inspired me.

Psalm 127:1
¹ Unless the LORD builds the house, 
   the builders labor in vain. 
Unless the LORD watches over the city, 
   the guards stand watch in vain


Application = Unless the Lord heals my body, soul, and spirit, this rehab will be in vain


Proverbs 3:5-8



⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight.^[a]
 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
   fear the LORD and shun evil.
⁸ This will bring health to your body
   and nourishment to your bones.

James 4:13-16

¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

God is good and he is in control! I'll post another update soon...but for now, check out this awesome picture.

Asheville to Greenville - Straight Down Hill...Not! June 3

I wasn't really in Asheville, but Montreat was close.

I woke up around 7 and packed up. When Jessie came downstairs she wanted to feed me lots of food. Gladly, I accepted her offering. Granola cereal, blueberries, muffins, and a banana. The breakfast of champions. Anna and Robert headed off to work and I thanked them for being such a blessing. As I packed up my bike Jessie waited outside and prayed over my bike. I signed their guest book and was ready to hit the road. When I came outside Jessie asked if she could pray for me. I said yes and she prayed the most encouraging, loving, Christ filled prayers for my trip, my summer, my parents, the Gheeslings, the kids I will be coaching, my environmental ed ministry at St. Christopher, and for me to know more of God. It was so amazing and such an example of how we are supposed to commune with one another and lift each other up as Christians. It's pretty tough to make tears excrete from my eyeballs, but I got a little choked up at how beautiful the moment was. This family has truly inspired me to love as Christ loves. I gave Jessie a big hug and went on my way.

                                                       The Barker house. I love them!
For some reason people, including myself, think that if your ending elevation is lower than your starting elevation on a bike ride, the whole trip will be downhill. False! There were some intense climbs as I made my way out of North Carolina. It was beautiful and I didn't get chased by dogs. I love NC! Robert helped me design a new route because my first route was going to take me on scary roads through Asheville. I took 9 S to some other road that took me through Hendersonville. I went through all these small funny towns that I always see on the highway signs.

The first was Bat Cave. Dun nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh BAT CAVE!

The second town was Flat Rock. The third town was Tuxedo. Trust me, there are not a lot of people in that town that own or have even ever worn a tuxedo. Who knows why they call it Tuxedo? Anybody? Then I made it to Hendersonville, which seemed like the Apple Capital of the World!

I loved all of these cool little mountain towns. Hendersonville was a bit like a small Greenville. I think I could live in some of those tiny towns if there was any work for me.

Eventually I made it back to South Carolina. Dang! What a nasty road. Old Highway 25 needs some work SCDOT! Going down the mountain at 30 mph while dodging potholes like Patches O'Houlihan from Dodgeball dodges wrenches is scary. Just check out the SC welcome sign to see how long is has been since they have maintained Old 25.

 That sign has to be from 1960. Safe Driving Saves Lives...you can drive safely without a flat surface of asphalt.

Once in South Carolina the apple signs disappeared and the peach signs appeared. Fun fact. South Carolina produces more peaches than Georgia, but Georgia is the peach state. Georgia produces more peanuts than South Carolina, but South Carolina is the peanut state. We should trade slogans, guys. It would go a lot better with my rap song about SC Peaches. Check this out if you want to hear me rap about SC Peaches among other ridiculous topics.

                                            www.myspace.com/appetiteforanapple

"Life is as sweet as an S.C. peach." Yep. It is. That's a quote from the song. I was almost back in Greenville and was reflecting on the past 8 days of riding. It has been amazing. Probably one of the most memorable experience of my life. I think I will continue to take fun vacations like this where I can meet random people and hopefully bless them with love and joy. Along the way I had a vision for a summer discipleship program with high school or college guys that involves traveling many miles around the country on a bicycle. I'll pray about it and see if anything comes about with an idea like that. It could be pretty great. After all, Jesus wandered all over creation with his disciples.

Finally I made it back to Goose's house. It was good to see his face. Their dog Millie was escaping when I got back. Check out this picture of Goose bringing her back to the house, ha!

He is a pretty cool best bud. I had to make it back Friday so that he and his wife Kelsey could go to Atlanta to celebrate 1 year of marriage. Congrats! I'm the dog sitter for the weekend. Should be fun times.

Anyway, as I type this I can see the ridiculous glove tan on my hands. I would like to give God lots of praise for protecting me this past week and for teaching me a bunch. I will leave you with a great picture of my cycling shorts tan. I don't really tan, however, I just get red even when it's not sunburn.

                                     The computer adjusted this picture for red eye! Incredible!
Now it's time to live life in Greenville for a while. I'm planning a 600 mile trip for the week of Independence Day. I'll be going from the NC / SC border near lake Jocassee down to the coast on Seabrook Island, and then back up again. To good times.

Grace and Peace to you in Christ, Jeff :)

I met Bob Barker! I met Bob Barker! June 2

Why would I ever leave Russell's house? He is a great guy, he has tons of tasty food, a big screen movie theatre, and his house has great views with strategically placed hammocks. Since I wanted to stay so badly we just made it a late start on Thursday June 2. After eating most of the food in his house and saying goodbye to the cherub in the cloud room we hit the road. Russell drove me back in to Boone (actually a bit farther because there was an intense hill I didn't feel like climbing to start my day) and it was off to a mysterious land called Montreat. As I entered Pisgah National Forest I realized something amazing. People in North Carolina either keep their dogs inside, have fences or electric fences in their yards, or they have their dogs chained up. Way to go North Carolina hillbillies! You're the best. Hugs and kisses.

I ride for a while on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is a gorgeous road. Along the parkway I made a discovery. I had smelled so much nasty road kill over the past week that my nose was becoming finely tuned. As the sensitivity and precision of my nostrils was sharpened I began to play a game with myself called "Determine what kind of dead animal you smell on the road before you look at it." I'm pretty good at determining a possum, racoon, bird, deer, snake, and turtle. I think my sense of smell is also hightened because I'm colorblind. You know how they say one sense makes of for the lack of another? So booyah, I'm a super smeller on the road. The biggest downside of being a super smeller is that with so many intense inhalations I am increasing the amount of free radicals in my body...you know, those suckers that cause cancer (I'll never forget when my buddy Justin Johnson said, "What's a free radical? Sounds like a bunch of guys I was at a Phish concert with" Ha!) It was good, since my free radicals were exponentially increasing in my body, that I met a doctor later that taught me about how brocolli sprouts are the best antioxidants out there. Anyway, back to the bike ride...

There was so much down hill during this ride. From Boone all the way through the Linville Gorge I was flying. The only climb was during the last 15 miles of my ride up Black Mountain. Once I finally made it to Montreat I was amazed (Montreat is a place just East of Asheville). It is a town that was formed by the Presbyterians way back in the day and it now has a college and a huge conference center. I went up to the college because I wanted to talk to the professors about their graduate program in Environmental Education. Unfortunately, they were all on vacation. After checking out the college I went to my destination. I was staying with some people I didn't know.

Montreat Gate

My best friend / next door neigbor from Annapolis Francesca told me she had a friend in Montreat; Anna Barker. I met her one time when I was visiting Appalachian State but I didn't really know her. I contacted Anna and she said I could stay at her house, so I did. Since Anna's last name was Barker, I was hoping that her Dad's name would be Bob. Anyway, as soon as I knocked on the door to Anna's house, her mother Jessie welcomed me with open arms. She provided delicious lemonade and gave me a tour of the house. Jessie told me how it was fine that nobody really knew me. Their house was 110 years old or so and Anna's dad grew up there. It has always been a place where tons of random people crashed. Jessie asked me great questions about my life and she inquired about my time with God during the bike trip. It was fun to talk to her for a bit because you could tell she was a loving woman who truly cares about people. The whole time we were talking there was great worship music blasting through the surround sound speakers. I felt at home.

What happened next made my day. Anna's dad walked into the room and introduced himself. "Hey! I'm Robert." YESSSS! THIS IS AWESOME! I just met "Bob" Barker! Haha.

Robert is the man. He is soft spoken, but he has many words. Immediately he showed me the hammock that I could crash on if I wanted and he told me all about the town called Black Mountain that I should visit. It was just 2 miles down the road. Robert took out the map and showed me the coffee shop, ale house, outdoor shop, and bike shop that I needed to visit. He asked if I had cycled out West and I said no. He was curious because he lived with Jessie in Montana for a bit and did a lot of hiking out West. He mentioned that he did the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) when he was 17. Right then I knew he was a tough guy. He was wearing a Mount Mitchell marathon shirt and I asked about the race. He didn't do the marathon, but the ultra-marathon. The race is 40 miles long and Robert has done it for the past 14 years. Did I mention that Mt. Mitchell is the highest mountain on the East Coast? Later he told me stories about being in blizzards on alpine mountaineering trips, and how he has done 120 mile bike races, and how he was applying to run a marathon on top of 10,000 + foot mountains in Utah. Cool! He wasn't bragging...he just wanted to share fun experiences. Robert was definitely inspiring. He is a family practice doctor and amidst his job and exercise, he seems to be an incredibly great father. My assesment is that this Robert "Bob" Barker is way tougher than the Bob Barker that punched Adam Sandler's lights out in Happy Gilmore.

After Robert and I talked I went to all of his favorite places in Black Mtn. It was amazing to ride my bike with all of the gear off of it. Aretha was so fast!  Once in town I first went to dripolator coffee shop, which I later incorrectly called dropopolis. Then I checked out Black Mtn. Ale House.

Ale House.

Since I was in Pisgah National Forest all day I ordered a Pisgah Pale Ale. Pretty tasty.

Four guys in is Jamie. He is a cool guy. We got talking and I figured out that he grew up in Connecticut and played lacrosse. He went to U of Georgia and played there. We talked about all sorts of things and since I was a guest in town he bought my beer. Thanks Jamie! Good people in Black Mtn.

After the Ale House I hit up the bike shop named Epic Cycles. Allen the owner told me that he rode across the country when he was my age. He slept a lot in churches and at airports. Allen told me along the way to go to a Police Station or a Fire Station and tell them that I was too poor to afford expensive campgrounds. Along his trip the cops told him the places he could stay...abandoned fields, baseball fields, etc. What an awesome idea! He also said to look for the brick houses next to the church because that's generally where the Pastor lives. Anyway, Allen gave tons of encouraging and great advice. I later learned that he goes to the same church as the Barkers.

Eventually I went back to the Barker residence for dinner around 7. Anna was finally off of work and I got to meet her again. She is awesome! We had a ton to talk about and we probably did talk the rest of the night until I went to sleep around midnight. We had to stop talking for a bit so that we could eat dinner, but right before dinner started another member of the family walked in; Anna's younger brother...Robert Barker. YESSSS! I met another Bob Barker!!!! Haha. Anna has 2 older brothers that were not around.

We ate a delicious meal of London broil, potatoes, Sister Shubert rolls, asparagas, and watermellon. I should have taken a picture of it. After dinner Anna and I considered going Contra Dancing at Warren Wilson College, but we were a bit late. Since she teaches art at the Montreat Conference Center, she decided to teach me how to "throw" pots. I had no idea that was what it is called when you put the clay on the wheel that spins around and try to make something. She was a patient teacher, but I am not a potter. Is that what you call it? A claymator? Who knows...but it was a fun experience.

Somebody tell me how to rotate these images. Look at how awesome Anna's pot is. Mine is on the front right of her table...terrible. Ha.

We had some great conversations about the Holy Spirit, hearing from God, our identity as God's children, and spiritual healing. We had only really known each other for a few hours but she was an instant friend. I wished it wasn't so late so that we could keep talking, but alas, sleepy time was calling my name.

Boone in June, June 1

Woke up at 6. Left at guess what time...? 6:50 am. That is starting to be the magic push off time. I only had a 65 mile ride this day but I was a bit sore and was afraid of some brutal climbs over the mountains. The starting elevation was about 1,500 ft and I had to get up to about 4,500 by the end of the day. My legs, however, impressed me. Also, vaseline is awesome.

I took the route over the Appalachian Mountains that was laid out for a bicycle race on Saturday. I beat all of those suckers to the finish line! The ride on this day was a bit uneventful. I really do prefer huge mountain climbs to the foothills. The endorphin rush of climbing a mountain is great. Also, when you get to the top you are rewarded with flying a few miles down the back side of a mountain as fast as the cars. The biggest benefit of being in the mountains as opposed to the foothills is the shade. You don't sweat as much, don't get as sunburned, and the temperature is a bit cooler the higher up you go. I was rocking out on this ride until about the last 15 miles. This is where I realized the traffic in Boone is atrocious for how few people actually live there. I was on a pretty bad road and so I stopped at a ski shop for some back-road direction advice. The temperature was 92 degrees. It was hard to believe that it actually snows enough here in the winter to justify a huge ski shop. The guy in the shop, I forget his name, sent me on a pretty remote road over a very large mountain. Down the back side of the mountain and I was in Boone.

Here is a picture of the Continental Divide with Grandfather Mountain in the background. It's hard to make out the Grandfather from this angle but you can see his protruding nose. It's almost as big as mine.

Once I was in Boone, Russell picked me up around 1pm. He rolled up in his classy white truck blasting some Rebelution. I hadn't heard music in a few days and a little Reggae was good for the soul. We jammed out and rode back to his pad. Mama and Papa Schindler were out of town, which was sad, but it was still good to see Russell. He made me a hummus and avacado pita sandwich which hit the spot. After lunch we went down to a little french clothing store in town and I met Russell's friend that is a female. Then I got stocked up on supplies at the grocery store and we went back to make dinner. Russell balled out with an amazing pasta dish. For desert I had about 15 oreos, 1/2 pint of Cinnimon Roll ice cream, 1/2 pint of White Chocoalte Raspberry Truffle ice cream, and more chocolate. We watched some movie named Sahara and I passed out. Then it was time for bed. The room I slept in is called the cloud room because everything is white. The bed is the fluffiest thing I have ever slept on. As I jumped into the cloud bed I was a bit terrified that a naked little cherub playing the harp would pop out from underneath the covers. My fears subsided and I slept amazingly. When my alarm went off in the morning I was not exactly eager to arise and shine because the Glory of the Lord rises to shine on me.

The Schindler's house is great. Here is the house with Russell on the deck.

                                              Here is the view from Russell's deck. Dang!

Yet another blessed day on the road. Friends and friendly aquaintances are the best.

Shaquille O'Neill Foot-Hills and Demonic Dogs, May 31

Woke up in the basement of a strange church at 6am. Once I remembered where I was, I thought, Ah! Yes! These guys have free food. So I ate more of their chicken noodle soup, I loaded up my bike and I hit the road at 6:50 am. I was scared that this day was going to be as hot as the last, so I wanted to get as many miles in before noon as possible.

It wasn't long until I was on yet another gravel road. Good times. Kevlar lined tires are the best because they are so tough to puncture. It made me tired that my tires didn't pop because the air was thick and everything in East Tennessee smelled like cow manure. I believed that the smell wasn't as bad when I was riding, so I had no intention of stopping. At about 8 the air started to reek! Then I passed a chicken farm. There were 10 of these huge buildings with about a few million chickens in each building. Crazy stinky stuff.

This day was really funny because I passed every type of farm animal in the world! I even saw buffalo, emu, and mini horses. These animals are all great because they are not absurdly territorial. Want to know what is super territorial? A dog. I used to think I was a dog lover. On Tuesday, May 31 I started to think I might like cats more than dogs, and I have a strong dislike for cats because of an extreme allergy. It made me sad that all of the dogs in East Tennessee hated me. They don't know how to handle someone on a bicycle. All of the dogs acted like they thought I was coming to blow up their house and chase all of the squirrels away for them. I rode about 75 miles on this day and I got chased by a dog about 75 times. If you don't like math, that's an average of 1 chase per mile!

These foothills were not huge, but when you cruise down a hill at about 25 mph and make it to the bottom, you don't immediately feel like sprinting up the next hill. This feeling changes when an unchained dog that looks like a grizzly bear comes out of nowhere and looks like it wants to eat you alive. This is when the adrenaline starts pumping and you climb that next hill like if Lance Armstrong was taking performance enhancing drugs...oh, wait...he is...so yeah, like Lance Armstrong. Then, when the dog finally peels off and the adrenaline stops pumping, you realize that you just destroyed your body with a quick sprint. For the rest of the day those foothills that didn't look so big at first start to look like enormous Shaq foot-hills. You know, he has big feet. Anyway, what is confusing to me is how poor some of these people are out in the foothills, but how many dogs they have! Pedigree, Iams, and Purina is expensive, guys. This one house I passed literally had over 100 dogs in front of it. They were all types of dogs, and man they were yappy! It was scary, but luckily these guys were fenced in. Here is a bad picture of the scene. You can probably only make out a few of the dogs. One got out.

So all of these dogs hate me. I squired my water bottle at them, yelled at them, and almost had to kick one in the head. That would have made me feel bad. I started another tactic. If I couldn't blast past them, when they ran up in front of me I would get off of my bike and walk away from it. They would approach me, I would say hello my name is Jeff Hennessy and I come in peace, and then they would roll on their belly and let me scratch them. Phew! Dogs still love me. They just hate the bike.

For some reason I think the people around here have so many loose dogs because they are excessively paranoid. They put No Tresspassing signs all over the place...maybe because they are scared of the rusted out tractor parts and the broken refrigerator on their front porch getting stolen. Like I said, they are nice people, just paranoid.

This day I got my first real heckler. This teenage guy drove past me 3 times in a busted up car yelling inappropriate things at me. This guy obviously did not take high school physics. He had no idea about the Doppler Effect. He was driving by so fast yelling things that they were entirely inaudible. I just imagined that his girlfriend who was in the car was yelling "Dang man! You look fine in that neon yellow vest!" and "Hey Boy! I haven't seen someone wear tights that well since Peter Pan!" So throughout the rest of the trip I would just laugh when I heckler passed and said something dumb. I would smile and say, "Thanks! You are beautiful as well! And I'm so happy to be sharing the road with you."

Later a guy named Dale stopped me on the side of the road. Dale was training to ride across the country and he started last week. Day 2 for Dale = slamming into a guard rail and busting himself up. Trip over. He was back to the Smokies to train for round 2. He has ridden across country a few times before. Dale was inspiring and he was also pretty funny. He recently sold his farm in Kentucky and was now essentially homeless. Not only was he a 60 year old guy about to ride across the country by himself, but when he is done he is getting deployed for his Peace Corps service. I thought that was only for young bucks like Mr. Cary Fontana. Anyway, Dale is gonna do it. Good for you, Dale. Here he is.

                                  

Remember that screw that I lost on my bike rack? Oh yeah, I didn't remember about it either. Riding down the road and BAM! Loud noise, panniers about to fall off, Jeff panics. I stopped and realized my rack was falling off. A few screws were loose and another one fell out. I was fortunate to find the screw in the road, put it back on, make the repair, and get back on the road. I almost had to bust out the duct tape, but I managed, even though one of my bungees was kinda busted up as well.

Eventually I made it to Erwin. I was feeling extra hungry and I was also feeling extra American. So I did what a hungry American does.

                      2 McDoubles, 1 McChicken, and 1 large chocolate milkshake. Yes please!

Then I rode to the Appalachian Trail Hostel, named Uncle Johnny's. Uncle Johnny had to have been Santa Claus' long lost twin brother. He was designed for the North Pole so with his long white hair and beard he was sweating pretty profusely. Uncle Johnny let me camp on his property for $10 and gave me a snickers for 40 cents. Ballin. It's fun to talk to all of the AT hikers and hear their trail names. I need a road name. I'll think of it. Anyway, everybody on the AT is either retired, a homeless hippie in their 30s, or kid in or just fresh out of college. I swam in the river by the hostel and met some of the river guides. A bunch of us took the free shuttle into town for dinner. $8 all you can eat KFC buffet? Yes please! After that meal and a purchase of some petroleum jelly vaseline (I won't get into details, but sitting on a bike saddle all day can do some damage) I was ready to roll. I talked with some cool guys from UNC Chapel Hill for a while, a retiree from New Joysee, and a couple of Boy Scout leaders from, I think they said Greenbo, Alabama.

It was still in the high 80s at about 9:30 pm but I somehow managed to fall asleep in my tent. Great fun at my first American Hostel.

The Hostel.

The best thing I learned at this hostel was how to detect and steer clear of a Meth Lab.

Sorry that's crooked. I think all of the dogs that chased me in Tennessee were Meth Labs.

More Pics Because of Better Internet at Coffee Underground

Susi, David, Kevin, Caroline, and Circi Young. Awesome people!

Fontana Lake, NC

Toad

Fontana Hilton, Appalachian Trail Shelter where I slept

Theodore the Turtle

About to ride the Tail of the Dragon

Hennessy in Tennessee

Lake Chilowee, TN

A few pictures from the 1st leg

Summit Charter School 8th grade class. I taught them at Barrier Island.

   The Young family lake. Amazing times kayaking out there with Kevin, Caroline, Tyler, and Becca Young.

The internet here in the Gheesling residence is a bit slow right now. Time to go find free wifi at a coffee shop. More pictures to come. Adios

Memorial Day Mania, May 30

6 am wake up. I hit the shower, got my gear all good to go, and sat down to an amazing breakfast made by Grandma. Pancakes, sausage, orange juice, and eggs made me a happy guy. As Grandma was flapping some jacks she was singing "On the road again." Yep. It was time for me to get back on the road. Apparently there is some of the worst traffic of the year on Memorial Day, especially around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; the most visited National Park in the country. I didn't care so much about the traffic because I wanted to make it up to Boone, NC before I headed back to Greenville by Friday. Also, the routes that I have been taking are on the most obscure back roads out there. All I could do was hope the traffic wouldn't be overwhelming, and if it was I would just have to suck it up.

Aretha and I departed the Grandparent's house at 6:50 am. Immediately I thought, yeah I want to ride 400 miles in the next 5 days, but I really want to see the College Lacrosse National Championships today! In the end it was alright because Maryland lost to Virginia anyway. Bummer. As I pedaled away from this fancy lake community I was headed straight back to the the foothills in East Tennessee. There is a ton of poverty out there and I'm pretty sure that it is the kind of place that Jeff Foxworthy got a lot of his "You might be a redneck if..." jokes. I thought about the one that says "You might be a redneck if the bluebook value of your truck goes up and down depending on how much gas it has in it" a few times. Even though there were double-wide trailors with 10 rusted out cars on the side, the people who lived inside the houses were nice. They were all out on their porch drinking tea because it was Memorial Day. It was also the hottest day of the year. The temperature was right around 100 degrees, so I had to refill my water regularly. I stopped to ask a few people along the side of the road for water. They all thought I was crazy for riding in the heat. They were right. The heat was worth it, however, because I wrangled another snake, saw a sweet covered bridge, and even saw a sign warning for bears! Yes! I wanted to see a bear.

60 miles into the ride I was feeling great. I was excited to see Russell and get to Boone, and I wondered if it would be possible for me to ride to the campsite I planned on staying at the second night (160 miles from my starting point). By the time I got to the North side of the Smokies, I headed up to the campsite I had originally planned to stay at. I thought I could do 160 miles. Wrong! I bonked at 85. The Cosby Campsite cost $14 a night, but none of the rangers were around since it was Memorial Day. I figured if I stayed there and left early, nobody would catch me breaking the rules. Then I thought about breaking the law, and the hefty fine that would come from trespassing in a National Park Campground. I was about to pay when I took out my phone to text my parents that I was alright. No service! Dangit! The hill I just came up was huge and I didn't want to ride back down it to get service. Decision time. I was angry and emotional after a long, hot day of riding, so I stormed off on the bike. After zipping down the hill I sent the text to the parents. I told them I was safe at the campsite, but I kept riding. I had nowhere to stay. It was about 4pm.

I am learning about some of the things I love and hate about bicycle touring. One of my favorite things is when it is the end of the day, you have maxed your body out physically, you have no more energy reserves, and you don't know what is going to happen next. Obviously you eat some peanut butter, a power bar, and drop some gatorade mix into your water to prevent your body from shutting down, but you are still spent! This Memorial Day my strength had maxed out. The only power I had left came from the Lord. I rode and prayed. I said, Lord, if there is anywhere that would be good for me to stay tonight just show me. Literally 2 minutes later, after a grand total of 102 miles, I came across Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. There were 5 guys sitting out front taking a break from some gardening. One guy was about 70, one about 50, and there were 3 boys about 10 years old. I talked to them about free camping and the Pastor, Steve, the one who is about 50, said that they owned tons of property around and that I could camp anywhere. Yes! Thanks God! Another example of His great provision.

I set my bike down and chilled for a bit before going back to talk with Steve. The other guys had left at this point and Steve and I exchanged stories. He is originally from Louisville, Kentucky and he talked about his crazy story that led him to Christ and then Seminary at about 30. He was a great guy and was super authentic. We talked about communication and accountability in the church and how it is tough to pastor a church in the rural South where people want their religion, but often don't really want to follow Jesus' ways. Even though we shared struggles like these, we were able to encourage one another for a few hours. Towards the end of the conversation I told him I was feeling a little delirious, so he let me into the church. He said I could actually sleep inside and could eat whatever food they had. Score! I drank a soda, ate tons of chicken noodle soup, graham crackers, and chips. Then I made some phone calls. Dad said I was lucky to find a place like that. No offense, but I don't believe in luck. I believe in God.

The church did what the church is supposed to do. They lent a helping hand. By helping me out and giving me a story to tell about it they are edifying the community of Christians. Pastor Steve showed me love like I think Jesus would have. That made me smile towards the end of the day. I was so thankful! I found a Bible there in the basement and started to read it. It was the King James version. If you have never read King James, it's practically another language. It might even be tougher to decipher than my Gullah New Testament translation (which is so much fun, by the way!). I randomly opened to Romans 15 and in my tired state tried to read it and understand it. Here is what it says...

 ¹We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
 ²Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
 ³For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
 ⁴For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
 ⁵Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
 ⁶That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Boom God! Thanks for showing me this passage. This is exactly what had just happened to me. Others were helping me, the weak. I know it seems easy to understand, but I was so delirious and was about to pass out. So I did, around 9 pm...like an old man.

Great day overall!