RAGBRAI - Friday July 20
This entry is just a recap of the day's event on my RAGBRAI adventure. It's hard to believe that time has allowed January to transition into July and I am sitting at the beginning of an adventure that is exciting and scary at the same time. I'll try to keep up some kind of small entry for each day's events.
I doubt that I got a significant amount of sleep, but I heard the mambo ringtone strumming from my iphone at 3:35 a.m. Just like Christmas, I was quite awake at that time. I got dressed, did a final check of my luggage and gear, and caught the cab at 4:30 a.m.
I thought I was being sophisticated by traveling early in the morning, because I thought that most people wouldn't want to endure the pain of getting up at 4:00 a.m. to catch a plane. This worked for years when I travelled for work, but NOT TODAY! There were hundreds of other passengers who were non-to-pleased to be directed, frisked, and groped at 5:30 a.m. this morning. You would have thought there was a mass exodus out of DC with the number of people who were in the airport.
Thankfully, I made my 6:30 flight bound towards Des Moines, with a stop in Memphis. It was so tempting to listen for flights leaving for Arkansas which is no more than a 30-40 minute flight from Memphis, but I pushed on to my gate towards my final destination.
When I landed in Des Moines, I was greeted by two very tall volunteers with Adaptive Sports Iowa. They were very nice. But I was taken aback by their sheer size. In my mind I was thinking "Wow, They Grow'm Big in Iowa!" So once we arrived at the baggage claim, Ric asked what color my bag was. I responded with Orange. He responded, like your toes? I could have melted to the floor! A friend of mine painted my fingernails and my toenails this past weekend and I let her choose the color with the exception of neon yellow. Being the good friend that she is, she picked neon orange. I am self conscious about the idea that people who are sighted can notice small nuisances about your appearance and i can't. But Ric assured me that he is a retired police officer of Des Moines. So jokingly I was thinking in my head, it'll be easy to put an APB out on my on the route with the following description, "black, blind, biker chic on a tandem with neon orange toenails." We'd better not get into any trouble!
I was able to catch up on some sleep once getting to the hotel here in Ainkeny, which was a blessing since I haven't been sleeping much lately because of Denver. He has been waking up in the middle of the night coughing which causes me to worry about him. Another true blessing was getting a chance to have quiet time. I am starting up a devotional with a friend that will cover Philippians and Colossians. Two major things came up today that reassured my soul that God is here with me. In our summer Bible study, we were covering Psalms 23. Most people associate that particular Psalm with something we recite at funerals, but it was so reassuring to me today when I thought of Psalms 23:4 and 6 where the Psalmist is describing the comfort God provides us with his presence and that we are not alone. Also, for those who believe in Him, we are confident also in knowing that we will dwell in the house of the Lord. This evening, reflecting on that passage was incredibly helpful to me. My pilot wasn't able to get to Ainkeny until later on in the evening, so I went ahead and grabbed dinner at a local restaurant a block from the hotel. In looking around, it was painfully obvious that I was alone amongst a crowd. From what I could tell, I was the only black person in the room. Normally that doesn't bother me, but it made me feel more like a foreigner in a strange land and that I was far away from home. Being faithful, God brought Psalms 23:4 and 6 to mind and also two of my favorite songs on Pandora, providing more comfort.
Later on, I was able to meet up with my pilot and his wife which was really great. I am looking forward to riding with them, though I am concerned about the heat.
The second truth that was really evident today came from the scripture I was reading in my quiet time from Philippians 1:18 and 19 where Paul is sharing that he knows that the prayers of the Philippians and through God's Spirit would provide deliverance from his captivity regardless of the outcome. While I am not in a situation where I am captive, it made me think of how many people have been praying for me on this journey. I felt a true sense of love and warmth knowing that there were people willing to go to our Father on my behalf and lift this journey to Him in prayer. I am beginning to understand that there is truly power and encouragement in knowing that others are supporting you in that way. And that I am quite happy in gaining a better understanding of that truth today.
Ok, time for bed.
Love,
Denna
I doubt that I got a significant amount of sleep, but I heard the mambo ringtone strumming from my iphone at 3:35 a.m. Just like Christmas, I was quite awake at that time. I got dressed, did a final check of my luggage and gear, and caught the cab at 4:30 a.m.
I thought I was being sophisticated by traveling early in the morning, because I thought that most people wouldn't want to endure the pain of getting up at 4:00 a.m. to catch a plane. This worked for years when I travelled for work, but NOT TODAY! There were hundreds of other passengers who were non-to-pleased to be directed, frisked, and groped at 5:30 a.m. this morning. You would have thought there was a mass exodus out of DC with the number of people who were in the airport.
Thankfully, I made my 6:30 flight bound towards Des Moines, with a stop in Memphis. It was so tempting to listen for flights leaving for Arkansas which is no more than a 30-40 minute flight from Memphis, but I pushed on to my gate towards my final destination.
When I landed in Des Moines, I was greeted by two very tall volunteers with Adaptive Sports Iowa. They were very nice. But I was taken aback by their sheer size. In my mind I was thinking "Wow, They Grow'm Big in Iowa!" So once we arrived at the baggage claim, Ric asked what color my bag was. I responded with Orange. He responded, like your toes? I could have melted to the floor! A friend of mine painted my fingernails and my toenails this past weekend and I let her choose the color with the exception of neon yellow. Being the good friend that she is, she picked neon orange. I am self conscious about the idea that people who are sighted can notice small nuisances about your appearance and i can't. But Ric assured me that he is a retired police officer of Des Moines. So jokingly I was thinking in my head, it'll be easy to put an APB out on my on the route with the following description, "black, blind, biker chic on a tandem with neon orange toenails." We'd better not get into any trouble!
I was able to catch up on some sleep once getting to the hotel here in Ainkeny, which was a blessing since I haven't been sleeping much lately because of Denver. He has been waking up in the middle of the night coughing which causes me to worry about him. Another true blessing was getting a chance to have quiet time. I am starting up a devotional with a friend that will cover Philippians and Colossians. Two major things came up today that reassured my soul that God is here with me. In our summer Bible study, we were covering Psalms 23. Most people associate that particular Psalm with something we recite at funerals, but it was so reassuring to me today when I thought of Psalms 23:4 and 6 where the Psalmist is describing the comfort God provides us with his presence and that we are not alone. Also, for those who believe in Him, we are confident also in knowing that we will dwell in the house of the Lord. This evening, reflecting on that passage was incredibly helpful to me. My pilot wasn't able to get to Ainkeny until later on in the evening, so I went ahead and grabbed dinner at a local restaurant a block from the hotel. In looking around, it was painfully obvious that I was alone amongst a crowd. From what I could tell, I was the only black person in the room. Normally that doesn't bother me, but it made me feel more like a foreigner in a strange land and that I was far away from home. Being faithful, God brought Psalms 23:4 and 6 to mind and also two of my favorite songs on Pandora, providing more comfort.
Later on, I was able to meet up with my pilot and his wife which was really great. I am looking forward to riding with them, though I am concerned about the heat.
The second truth that was really evident today came from the scripture I was reading in my quiet time from Philippians 1:18 and 19 where Paul is sharing that he knows that the prayers of the Philippians and through God's Spirit would provide deliverance from his captivity regardless of the outcome. While I am not in a situation where I am captive, it made me think of how many people have been praying for me on this journey. I felt a true sense of love and warmth knowing that there were people willing to go to our Father on my behalf and lift this journey to Him in prayer. I am beginning to understand that there is truly power and encouragement in knowing that others are supporting you in that way. And that I am quite happy in gaining a better understanding of that truth today.
Ok, time for bed.
Love,
Denna
We are so proud of you!!!! You are awesome. I would be scared to death just to take a cab to the airport, much less actually boarding the plane. (I definitely rely on others to help me get where I am going). Think of me if you see cows on your journey cause that's where I wanna be! I would be standing by the road waving and cheering you on!!!
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