Day 60 - Wed, Jul 23, Albion to Irondequoit (Rochester), NY

Day 60 -, Wed, Jul 23, Albion to Irondequoit (Rochester), NY
37.54 miles
2.37.35 st
14.3 avg
TTD-3017.56

We reached 3000 miles today west of Rochester.
Today is almost like a day off as we didn't leave until 10:40 and rode pretty leisurely. The weather is a little cooler again today (sweet relief) but the humidity was 95% when we left! I'm think I'm starting to mold in places.

We're actually off our course because we're joining our Warmshowers hosts for dinner this evening at their daughter's home here. Dale and Nina (hosts) live in Palmyra and will load the bike and BOB up this evening and take us back to their home there for the night. They also ride a tandem and pull a BOB so we'll most likely have a great time of "bike talk" tonight. ;o)

We hope that all of you at home survived the ferocious hail storms that hit yesterday without too much damage.

I forgot to mention my favorite names for yesterday: “Udder Delights” ice cream and - I love this one - “Helpee Selfee” laundromat (just down from the library).

We have been reading in Ephesians 1 and 2 and the prevailing theme has been “in Christ” and “with Christ”:
-every spiritual blessing in Christ
-chose us in Him
-adopted as His sons through Christ
-grace given us in the One He loves
-in Him we have redemption
-the mystery of His will…in Christ
-in Him we were chosen
-we who were the first to hope in Christ
-included in Christ
-marked in Him with a seal
-His mighty strength..in Christ
-God made us alive with Christ
-God raised us up with Christ
-seated us with Him in the heavenly realms
-expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus
-created in Christ Jesus to do good works

It has all encouraged me anew: nothing I am or do is of myself, it is all from God; and because I am IN Christ and WITH Christ, NOTHING can take me from Him; and I HAVE to be available for His working through me because He has prepared me for His works.

Even who we talk with and what we do on this bike trip is accomplished because of His power and His purposes set out beforehand.

Thanks, Nancy, for your uplifting and encouraging comments; they mean so much to us. Thanks for being a faithful "fan" through this endeavor.

And thanks Cody and Chelsey for your comment - it's great to hear from you! We can't wait to get back to our Lifegate family!

In Christ,
Gerry and Pat

Okay, what we did today...

Gerry had set up a Warmshowers last night with Dale Oswald in Palmyra. He and his wife wanted to accommodate us but they already had plans to be having dinner at their daughter's home in Rochester. So his idea was that we ride to the daughter's home, have dinner with them all and then we would haul the bike and trailer to their house in his car.

Because that plan called for less mileage, we didn't leave the motel until 10:30. The ride was without incident to the outskirts of Rochester. We followed the directions Dale gave us to get through town to his daughter's house, which was up in Irondequoit, getting there around 1:00.

We knocked on the door and a young man answered. He was polite but not overly welcoming. He opened the garage door and we put BOB in there, then went to the library about three blocks back.

When we were about to leave, it was pouring buckets outside with thunder and lightning. We had to wait over an hour for it to even let up. In the meantime, the bike was just sitting out there getting soaked.

When we got back to the house, Diana, the daughter opened the garage door and we put the bike in. She was very warm and welcoming to us. Dale and Nina came later, then an aunt and some cousins. Dinner was a boisterous and lively Italian affair and finally sometime after 9:00 we started to gather our things together to leave. Dale and Gerry went out to load the bike and BOB. Well, look at that...BOB's first flat. Not bad: 3017 miles.

At Dale and Nina's house in Palmyra, we unloaded everything, then Dale fixed the flat, giving us tips as he did it. Inside, we looked out maps and planned our general route to the coast, finally getting to bed about 11:20.