First Ride

June 8 12:24am - although I am posting this late, this is the original date it was written on.

Today was another great day.

The team did their first ride together today. Starting at Santa Monica Pier, we ceremoniously took team (and individual) pictures with bikes on the beach… with the back tires all but in the water! It was the first of many tests of endurance as bikes were carried over the sand to the waterfront. This was a mock picture of sorts that we will show later as the start to the ride… even though the ride doesn’t officially begin until Monday. In all fairness, they did ride down… so all the same if they begin from a mile away, right?

While they rode, Drew and I packed up lunch and made our way down to meet them. After a quick lunch we went to pick up the van out in Orange, which was quite an adventure in itself. Long story short… the van still doesn’t have the wrap on it, so we packed them up and hopefully get someone to do it next week in Phoenix. I’m sad to go the whole first week without it, but glad to have our van back for now.

I finally got some sun today… but the red is already turning tan, so I’m hoping by morning it will be a nice tan. I’m excited for that.

Dinner was great at Santa Monica Pier tonight… complete with a ride on the Ferris wheel with Criselda, Mindy and Drew. Jen met us out there too, and it was great to finally meet up with her!

As a team, we are finally getting to know each other… and everything is going great. We really do have some fantastic folks on the trip, and I can’t wait to get to know them more and hear their stories of what brought them together to be a part of this trip. The best part is by far that everyone has a GREAT sense of humor... and no one ever misses a beat on an opportunity to make a joke of anything. It’s great. I think we’ll be great friends.

Tomorrow is going to be a long, busy day. We’re breaking up into 2 groups in the morning to go to 2 different churches. The big group is going to church with the wonderful folks who have been hosting us here, and 5 of us are going with Don to a church we’ve been invited to through a friend of his. They have invited us to come and speak to them about what we’re doing and pray over us. Any time anyone asks to pray for us, we can’t say no! So we’ll be heading to that church in Hollywood in the morning… a bit early so we can share a meal together, see some sites (maybe?) and actually have a chance to chat with his friend and each other.

Lots of things coming tomorrow, and they will keep us busy to be sure. I look forward to them with anticipation, and will try to keep you updated as our exciting events continue to unfold.