Overall the trip was a great success! We cycled 315 miles in 5 days in great weather. The bikes performed well and the riders ever better. We saw the humble beginnings of the Mississippi River transform from a stream into a large body of water with industry, transportation, and cities all depending on it for their growth. We experienced a state that has invested a lot of money into making this experience possible by cycling with the many miles of paved bike paths and parks along the way. The people are friendly and very kind to cyclists when we were road riding which is a great blessing too. It’s like they wanted us to be there.

So that is the “What” we did. The real question is “Why” do it? Different cyclists I’ve met have different reasons. For me, it’s the simplicity of life combined with the adventure. Life is simple because I get to spend hours taking in Gods creation. I get time to think about deep things, or think about nothing at all and just feel the sun and wind while moving at the speed of human. Time to pray is abundant and constant. The interruptions of the day are typically sightings of animals or wildflowers or a landscape that’s isn’t seen when traveling by car. You wake up in the morning with two goals, make it to a nice place for lunch and then to a nice place to spend the night.

The adventure part comes in when weather changes and you modify your plans around it. When you meet new people you otherwise would never talk to. When you are presented with a road closed sign and your route changes – or doesn’t and you navigate through the construction. When you’re quiet enough to hear God speak to you. When you’re hot, tired, hungry and realize you are stronger than you think and finish the day strong.

This trip concludes the first part of what we hope will be a multi-year adventure where we continue down the Mississippi River, section by section – with the final goal of dipping our front tires in the Gulf of Mexico. If you’re intrigued with going on an adventure like this – let’s chat. I’d love to tell you more.