Day 16 - Over My Head - The Borders of the US - CycleBlaze

February 4, 2024

Day 16 - Over My Head

Another day out here. Not anything I would’ve ever imagined but still so grateful. After laying in my sleeping bag for almost 12 hours yesterday (including sleeping) I went to bed very early around 6:30-7 and woke up a few times in the night. I set my alarm for 2:15 but didn’t wake up until 3:30 and got going around 4:15. It was still raining and things were pretty soaked. Knew I had to book it if I wanted a chance at getting to church. I had my headlight and taillight both shining behind me and my headlamp shining ahead so that cars could see me. Took the highway for 10 miles which I would not want to do again and then 5 miles later I popped my tire. It was about 20 miles in so I grabbed some trail mix and fixed it up. A man stopped cause he thought I got hit so I was thankful I wasn’t riding on those roads with cars flying around the turns in the rain. Also thankful I didn’t pop the tire on the terrible interstate. I finished and it was getting light and my lights were running out of battery so really I was so grateful that God gave me a flat tire. Kept me safe. And at that time too. Got going and enjoyed it but was pushing it pretty hard. Heart rate stayed at about 130 but upwards to 170 on those hills. Lots of elevation change. Made it to Arkansas and love it so much better. Im hopefully never going bs k to Louisiana. Made it to church and no matter how badly I wanted to stop my only break was at mile 20. Kinda shocked myself. Was really hungry but we made it through church and ate lunch right after. I’m pretty sure a few people thought I was homeless but I made $30 more (thanks Don, Brad, and James) and James prayed for me. Very grateful and thanks to Brad and Madison. Very kind. Right after lunch I felt so sick and was cowering in the woods for about 30 minutes. Came back out and was exhausted so I laid down and called mom and dad. They said they’d book me a hotel room and I was very grateful. I eventually made my way and it was 2 miles but felt like the hardest 2 miles of the entire trip. Crashed in the hotel room after taking my first shower and dried things out. Excited to have a roof over my head tonight. Long update but today has been a really long day. I love having no clue what’s going to happen each day. I’ve decided I’m going to get to JBU on Wednesday at some point so I’ll see you then. No idea what’s gonna happen tomorrow but that’s what I love about being out here. 

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Today's ride: 81 miles (130 km)
Total: 1,241 miles (1,997 km)

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Jon AylingI'm really enjoying reading along with this tour, what an adventure! And incredibly impressive stuff in terms of distance travelled, you're crossing states at an extraordinary rate.

Glad to see you've got some time to take a break and get undercover. Be kind to yourself and your body. You're doing incredibly and definitely deserve some time to relax and recover.
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3 months ago
Tony SeisserYour Mom & Dad rock! : )
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3 months ago
Jude HubbardTo Jon AylingThank you Jon!! Love hearing the encouragement. I checked out some of your work too. Very impressive 💪 Looks beautiful over there
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3 months ago