Cycling trip, Day 3

Organizing a bike trip like this at the end of a semester is a bit of a stressor – it would be easier if I were on my own, but being responsible for two others and for making various arrangements has been tough. Don’t get me wrong – Peter and Kris are great companions, and so many friends and relatives have sent in good thoughts and prayers and donations that it has been overwhelming, but it really is a lot of work.
In fact, I had not realized the burden I was carrying until I let it go – this morning right in church. Toward the end of the service, Pastor Ed called for people to come forward to receive healing prayer. One member did, and folks surrounded her, putting their hands on her shoulders while the pastor anointed her forehead and prayed over her. It was a touching scene of support, and then he turned to us and asked us to come down to the front of the church.
And so the three of us did – stood in front of the pastor while all these people, perfect strangers, placed their hands on us while pastor prayed: for a safe journey, for our message of caring for God’s creation to be successful, for us to light up the hearts and souls of people we would meet along the way. I wept and embraced these complete strangers who were now to me like members of my own family.
The Methodist church of Orbisonia is a small church in a small town, like so many throughout Pennsylvania and the country. People are struggling, skeptical of outsiders and of politicians. Yet they are reaching out. They have acquired the old High School gym and converted part of it into an outreach center – they’re looking for $400,000 to complete the job.  It’s a beautiful dream, and I hope in a small way that PA IPL can help. Already Peter, in his matter-of-fact engineer way, has identified several ways that they can save hundreds of dollars a year in electrical costs (and carbon).  Just taking out the air conditioners during the winter, for example, would save a tremendous amount.
We arrived there as strangers and left as more than friends – that is what this trip is all about. Of course, the weather agreed, turning sunny and warm. Our ride out of Orbisonia was breathtakingly beautiful – through Shade Gap and Cowan’s Gap. Easy grades and gorgeous scenery – nothing better. We ate our lunch under the maple trees of Mountain View elementary school, even took a nap midday.  Somehow, though, the first 25 miles seemed so much easier than the second 25 miles. By 4, we were hallucinating about ice cream and finding the uphills so much longer than the downhills.
Peter and I were sure that Kris was underestimating the mileage…  But his directions held true and we finally arrived at the beautiful home of our hosts, Rev. Dennis and Linda Beaver, to a warm welcome, a hot shower and a cold beer!
Pastor Dennis is at the Evangelical Lutheran church in Waynesboro, but lives north of town. We’ll see the church tomorrow and visit with some members over breakfast. Already, we have shared many stories and many laughs – made all the more pleasant by Linda’s excellent lasagna. I feel full, well-fed, both physically and spiritually. I went on this trip to help others, but find that I’m the one who is being given so very much.
I wish for all of you a goodly measure of the grace that has surrounded us during this trip.
Jon (Kris and Peter)

Bike trip to DC, the first 26 hours

Peter, Kris and I (Jon) are relaxing now at the Outreach center of the United Methodist Church in Orbisonia. This is a town of 450 people and 7 churches, with some pretty, old homes and many houses in poor repair. Pastor Ed Seeley greeted us just as soon as we found the church and gave us a warm welcome, as well as a tour of the facilities. It’s so amazing to be met by strangers, taken in and be made to feel immediately a part of the family.

Altogether, our trip is going very well. We had a terrific send-off at St. Andrew’s in State College with more than two dozen friends and family members seeing us on our way. Barb Ballenger led us in song, Pastor Bonnie read the old Irish blessing, perfectly modified for cyclists, and Father Richard read from the Book of Common Prayer. See the festive send-off on YouTube here to get a sense of what we heard as we started our ride out of town.

Several State College bikers, including my son Noah, accompanied us five miles to Pine Grove Mills where Kris, Peter and I started up the mountain on our own. The climb is grueling, but then we had a smooth ride to McAlevy’s Fort where we felt profoundly embraced by the warmth of our friends Micah and Bethany at Ploughshare produce. We helped Micah put on row covers against the frost and had a truly lovely evening of music, stories and delicious food.

Saturday morning (I have to remind myself that it was just this morning – seems so long ago) was cold, and the day never really warmed up. I finished putting together our presentation for the talk at Juniata and we started out for the first leg of our trip only to discover that Peter’s tire was losing air – so back to Micah and Bethany’s for a quick repair. To be on time for our talk, we picked up the pace, covering the 16 miles in just over an hour – such beautiful country, but we were grateful that there was no wind or rain.

In Huntingdon, we met up with Sharon Yohns, professor of chemistry and co-leader of the sustainability circle at Stone Church of the Brethren. At 10:30 we had a great conversation with members of the campus community about PA IPL and the ethics of climate change. Then we walked together to Stone Church of the Brethren for lunch with Sharon, her family and the pastoral staff. It seems there are great possibilities for a fruitful collaboration between PA IPL and a couple of Huntingdon churches.

After lunch, the weather seemed even grayer and colder – we stopped for a few groceries and then went to Standing Stone Coffee to get something warm and comforting. Kris and I were surprised to run into colleagues of ours (Kate Baldanza and Christopher Moore) from Penn State – it seems far too great a distance for a casual outing! Thus fortified, we pressed on to Orbisonia. It was a good ride, though a light rain began to fall toward the end.

We feel that we’ve already accomplished a lot and we are grateful for your many thoughts and prayers. (We are also grateful for ice cream!). Tomorrow should be a stunning ride – the forecast is for sunny skies and 60 degrees – as we go through both Shade Gap and Cowan’s Gap and on to Waynesboro!

Peter, Kris and Jon