After about the best first night you could ask for (thanks again Mike) we were off from Davis with no end in sight. Before we knew it we had made it to Sacramento (I ain't worried about the Sacramento Queens) CA. The American River runs straight through the city and we were lucky to take the Jedidiah Smith National Bike Trail for about 25+ miles around the city.
Met a lot of racing bikers who gave us looks with all of our gear. A good conversation starter if nothing else.
Lesson #9: People are automatically intrigued if you stick out a little bit. Feed their curiousity.
Our normal conversations are like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure novel. We have the following scenarios:
Scenario A: "Wow, you've got a lot of stuff there! Where are you headed?"
"The Atlantic!"
"That's crazy, you guys live it up! Enjoy the adventure! et cetera
Scenario B: "What are you carrying in there, a dead body?"
"Uh, not quite. We've got all of our gear we need to cross the country by bicycle"
Passerby then proceeds to ask 15-20 questions about our trip, all of which we have rehearsed SEVERAL times
Scenario C: "What are you doing with all of that on your bike?"
"We're from North Carolina and we're headed home"
Passerby gives us confused look, trying to compute if that's a 40 mile ride or a 4000 mile ride.
Any way the conversation comes up, we've certainly met a lot of cool people along the way.
Our day started at the Mormon Emigrant Trail.
We spent the afternoon riding through Folsom and more of beautiful wine country, and made our way to Placerville. We were anxious about that night, as we didn't have the ease and convenience of staying with a friend. So, needless to say we started asking around when we got to town where we could pitch a tent for the night.
Lesson #10: Don't be afraid to ask a favor of someone. The worst thing they can say is no.
We spend the late afternoon in the grocery store asking anyone and everyone where we might be able to stay that night. We got every answer from a Wal-Mart parking lot, the homeless shelter and a park on the edge of town.
Thinking the park might be our best way to stealth camp we chased sunset to the park and were hoping to find a quiet spot and quickly pitch our tent. What we happened upon were adult slow-pitch men's leagues playing under the lights.
We must have looked pretty pitiful as a man came up to us and started talking, asking US if we needed a place to stay for the night. We quickly said we were looking, and he offered up his home for the night.
Lesson #11: People are kind. People go out of their way to help others. Pay it forward.
David was truly a blessing after a long day. A pastor in Placerville, he lives with his wife, Pam, a crazy marathoner and four kids, three dogs and two cats. And they were willing to give us food, a shower and a warm bed for the night. Incredible!
Stayed up late with David talking about his church, his ministry and learned a ton of good lessons about where life can take you. We know you're reading this, David, and we're so appreciative of all the support. A pastor and a mentor, we learned a lot of lessons from David that we will continue to carry with us on our trip and help us moving forward.
David and Jack in David's living room.
California has been good to us. We've been extreemely blessed and look forward to the unknown!
Sidenote: If you ever find yourself in Placerville, check out his church - Cold Springs Community Church. You won't regret it.
What a great day! Many more to come :)
ReplyDeleteNo more flat tires.. thank goodness for that brother pastor dave
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