We're Back Again!

And we are safe! We didn't have one accident and we only had a couple of flats (on the bicycles) the first day! That is what you would call a smooth trip! We did have a couple of close calls though. While descending down one of the passes, Nick and another guy started to get a shimmy in their bike while they were going over 50 mph. They almost lost control but the Lord took control of both of their bikes and they reached the bottom safely. Talk about scary! The boys averaged around 60 some miles a day and probably half of those miles consisted of climbing! They rode up 4 different passes and really did an incredible job! The wonderful thing about riding in a group is that you work as a team. One person leads the group for a mile and blocks all of the wind while everyone follows. After their mile is up, they go to the back of the line and there is a new leader. That way no one is working harder than another. The first day was really rough for them because they had a head wind the entire day. They really had to push themselves. It was hard for them to keep their spirits up, but the Lord really worked on their hearts and they did wonderfully! Here are a few pictures from the trip.

This is our entire group (early Tuesday morning) before leaving for the trip. We drove to Fort Garland, CO to start the ride. We rode all over southern Colorado and into northern New Mexico. The ladies and I did all of the cooking for the boys and rode behind them to make sure they didn't have any issues.

Here are all of the boys before they start their big ride.

Here are the boys climbing La Manga Pass. Nick is currently the leader in this picture.

Here is my hubby getting a drink! :D Isn't he handsome?

The boys had just reached the summit of La Manga Pass.

Nick and I took this picture in front of a lake we camped by one evening. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous!

Here are the boys at the summit of Cumbres pass. It was quite the climb.

Here are the boys resting at lunch one afternoon. It was hilarious how all of them crashed. This picture was taken after they had just finished climbing.

Here are the boys at the end of their final day. They were hot and exhausted! The guy in the middle had a bad knee and wasn't able to finish the ride. He was disappointed but had such a great attitude about it!

What a great trip we had! It was wonderful getting to know some of the guys that went. I hadn't met two of them before this week and it was wonderful how we grew to be a family by the end of the trip! We are already looking forward to next year!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this long post! No card for this post but I will be back later with one!