Simple Hobby Homesteading

2:30am… awake… WIDE AWAKE! Yup, obviously still on Indiana time. Totally awake with no goats to milk, what’s a woman to do? “Kevin, are you awake?”… nothing.

I lay there for the next two hours praying to God. Praying all sorts of things but above all else that His will be done and I be content in it. Contentment… that’s a challenge for me. Laying my worries, concerns, and troubles at His feet, an even bigger challenge. Trusting God’s timing, perfect plan, and love for me the biggest challenge of all.

God knows all my needs, wants, and heartfelt desires. He knows when I am not placing Him first in my life and he knows the instant my selfish heart gets me in trouble. I wanted to ride today. I wanted to ride soooooooo badly. I was ready to ride. I even felt that I DESERVED to ride. Pride, self-righteousness, and selfishness leave me a very wretched person.

 

Slowly but surely as I laid there and prayed I gained perspective. Quite possibly God’s plan was for me to not ride this day. Maybe not ride at all. Would I be content with that? I wasn’t sure so I prayed some more, earnestly and with a very heavy heart.

4:30am… Kevin stirs ever so slightly and I do one of those “big stretches” that accidentally knock him right upside the head. “Oops, I’m sorry honey, are you up?” I whisper trying to keep the eagerness from my voice. If I couldn’t ride today I was going to make it the best riding day for my husband (minus the whole knocking him upside the head part)!

A flurry of activity ensues in which we get all ready, I pack a small bag with my cycling gear just in case the bike part is miraculously found and I’m able to ride, and we try to make the best of the situation. Hmmmm something is missing. I can’t find my bike bag that has my spare tube, epipen, and driver’s license in it. Where did I put it? I just had it yesterday afternoon… We search the room, our luggage, everywhere. I then suddenly remember I had it in a bag we had taken to FedEx yesterday to get my bike, is it possible it fell out and is still in the rental car? Kevin and I get to talking and think there’s a remote possibility that even my bike part fell out of the box in the trunk of the car and may be there! What are the chances?

I head down to the car rental lot with my little flashlight to check. Sure enough, sitting on the floor of the rental car is my bike bag and Kevin’s sunglasses case. Wow, how funny is that. I checked the door, of course it’s locked. I look around to be sure no one is watching and thinking I’m trying to steal this car and then proceed to go and check all of the doors… yup, all locked. Grrrrrrr.

I head back to the room to give the status report to my husband who takes it all in stride, just chuckles, and gives me a “Oh hon” 🙂

None of the bike shops that may have my bike part open until 9 or 10am so it looks like it’s a for sure thing I will not be riding unless the part is in the trunk. We won’t know that until 8am when I come back up to the car rantal place to get my bike bag and check.

We head down to breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe walking our bikes (hard to ride a bike without a seat). So depressing but I tell Kevin all about how I’m trying to be so very content with God’s plan but hoping his plan involves a little bike piece in the rental car trunk.

We enjoy breakfast and chatting with fellow riders. At 7:50am I leave Kevin at the Hard Rock Cafe (they are still giving riders a briefing and running a little behind) and walk up to the rental car place. I wait until he opens at 8am precisely and explain what I’d like. He hands over the keys and I head down to the car praying the whole way my bike part is there. I get my bike bag and Kevin’s sunglass case and open the trunk. There, laying in the middle of the trunk is… nothing, absolutely nothing. Oh well, let’s try that contentment thing again.

I head back down to the restaurant and chat with one of the support van drivers. She says they can put my bike up on the rack and take it to Santa Cruz where we’ll be camping that night. However, they have to give support to the riders throughout the day so they won’t be able to run around to bike shops to look for my bike part. I’m bummed but totally understand. Contentment right?!?! God certainly knows what areas of life I need work on and wow is He giving me opportunities to practice.

Then a ray of sunshine… I am told I can ride with Amy Robertson, the amazing woman in charge of this whole ride (with the amazing help of the “other” Amy and Monica and a whole crew of suport staff). By the way, I seriously wonder how these three ladies, Amy, Amy and Monica can look so amazing, be so cheerful, and have so much energy when we all know they are getting hardly any sleep and burning candle at both ends… I look forward to chatting with Amy about how she does it as I ride with her that day!

I go from bummed to excited to be riding with Amy and even more excited when she says we can stick around San Francisco until the bike shops open! Kevin comes out and we hang out for a bit before he starts the ride. He likes the sparkle in my eye.

The group picture is taken, Kevin gets his bike, we kiss and I send him off with a simple “Have a good ride honey, see you in Santa Cruz this afternoon and maybe along the way. I love you, will miss you, be careful, and I totally know where the van is parked in Chicago so all is well!” He smiles and all the riders set off, what a sight!

Amy and I stick around for a bit as she makes sure everyone gets off safely and her whole crew know the plan. I become her shadow as a bunch of us head back up to the hotel so they can pack up their stuff and make sure they have everything before leaving San Francisco. I am glad to help where I can, helping to load up a box truck, babysitting an RV parked on the street so it doesn’t get ticketed and calling bike shops to see if any are open a little early… they aren’t.

9:30am… I get ahold of the first bike shop which does not have the part I need in stock. Over the next 45 minutes I call all the bike shops in the area who carry Specialized and no one has the part. I call our bike shop back in Evansville to see what advice they can give me. They call Specialized directly (their main center is in California 🙂 ) who says they can get a part out Monday at the soonest overnighted to wherever I need it to go. I don’t want to wait till Monday 🙁

Not sure who came up with the idea of seeing if any shop in the area had a Ruby and would be willing to take it off the floor, remove the part, sell it to me, and then have Specialized send them another (paid for by me) on Monday but it’s an option. Genius idea, whoever though of it!

I call the first shop… yes, they have two Specialized Ruby bikes with that part on the floor… I’m practically jumping up and down in excitement at this point! My grin had to be from ear to ear!

Then my excitement is dashed… No, they are not willing to take one off the floor until Monday because they “might” sell them over the weekend. Are you serious?!?! It was really hard to remain calm and gracious. REALLY HARD! I thanked them for their time and called four other shops… no Ruby bikes on their floor at this time. The last shop I called, Valencia Cyclery, had one on the floor. I held my breath after I explained what I wanted and they went to get the manager. He came back on the line, told me he’d sell me the piece and I could come pick it up anytime. I thanked God over and over again. Contentment is easy when things go my way, right? I am a total work in progress, don’t ever stop praying for me folks!

Amy and I chatted up a storm on the drive over to Valencia Cyclery… I’m not sure I let her get a word in edgewise I was so excited. We talked family, riding, work, life, a little bit of everything. We got there and I ran in with an extra bounce in my step. All they had was a 2014 Ruby (mine was a 2013) and the part had a different stock number than the one I was looking for but I said I’d take it anyways and just see if it fit. The guy at Valencia Cyclery was so cool! He took the bike apart, sold me the part (only $34), and said he’d take care of ordering another part from Specialized and would pay for it. Wow, all I can say is wow. Valencia Cyclery in San Francisco folks, give them your business and love!

I felt like I was carrying the Queen’s crown when I left the shop. I slipped it into my pocket, zipped it up, and had a great ride with Amy as we headed down to meet up with riders and volunteers at the different rest stops. Every time we passed a rider along the road I would wave, she’d honk, and we just had a great time encouraging everyone on a very tough course. So many big hills, lots of traffic, and quite a bit of stopping for lights etc.

We stopped at the first rest stop and that’s where I met Tiffany. A beautiful young lady, volunteer, and honoree later in the week for the Arthritis Foundation. They needed someone to drive one of the vehicles for the rest of the day and that’s where my shotgun trip with Amy came to an end. I was now driving a minivan as Tiffany’s co-pilot.

It became clear very quickly that I was not meant to ride my bike this day because I had some things to learn out of the saddle. Contentment… yup that’s a given. What else?

That day I really learned about strength, perseverance, self-sacrifice, and gained a knowldge base about arthritis and what the Arthritis Foundation does. From Amy’s perspective and then from the other side of the coin, Tiffany’s.

I wasn’t dazzled by a beautiful coastline as we drove along, I was dazzled and awed by the story of this young lady, Tiffany, who told me what it was like to grow up with and still be plagued by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). What the Arthritis Foundation camps and conferences did for her and so many of the kids she had met through these programs. The lifelong friendships based on a shared understanding of how this diesase can and does knock you on your butt day in and day out. The research and medication programs aimed at finding a cure or helping people who live with arthritis. The lack of understanding among the community about the fact that JRA is it’s own type of arthritis that one does not “grow out of” when you become an adult. Just so many things I was clueless about.

I thanked God for my sunglasses that day so Tiffany wouldn’t see the tears that I just couldn’t hold back. She thanked me over and over again for raising the money I did for the Arthritis Foundation through this ride and all of a sudden it just didn’t seem like I raised enough. Every penny would be spent so well… so perfectly and would affect someone’s life in a very real and great way. I asked questions and she answered them. Never would I had had the opportunity for such an intimate conversation on this subject with a survivor if I had been on my saddle that day. God is good.

Ya know, now is the point it seems like I should get back to my bike… did the piece fit?… Did I ride the rest of the California Classic?… But it just seems so unimportant now.

I think I need to end this post on the note I did… I’ll jump back on in a bit and finish up the day but I just think you need… no, I need to stop and remember what this ride was really about. Raising funds for the Arthritis Foundation to do the work that is so important in our nation.

Still raising funds because I believe in this cause. Thank you Amy and Tiffany for showing me what matters…

http://ccc14.kintera.org/jhennaconway

 

~Jhenna