I have finished my first Seagull Century today.
That which I began in 2009 while training with my good friend Ryan Jackson… and that which was delayed because of the news of my Dad’s battle with cancer… has now been fulfilled.
I am exhausted. But I am so very glad that God allowed me to finish this dream after four years of waiting.
There will be many stories from this ride shared in the days to come, but I wanted to start by simply sharing a thank you and then sharing some cycling metrics.
This morning, my ride began at 7:30 am with a group of 10-12 guys. Some I knew very well (like Remedy Covenant Partner Philip Crouse who was pedaling in his 21st century, and Remedy regular attenders like Alex McRae and Joshua Hale). And others I had never met previously.
We started the ride together, but I quickly fell behind the group in the first leg. Just before we reached Fruitland (and the circle on St. Luke’s), Alex dropped back to ride alongside me. And thus began our Century ride together.
The group we started with early this morning (Alex’s group), finished the entire Seagull Century in roughly 4 and 1/2 hours. Alex would have normally been leading that group with Philip. Instead, he coached me to the finish line (which was crossed at just three minutes less than 8 hours).
There were so many moments in my ride today where Alex was my coach, Sherpa guide, encourager, and source of laughter. But more than any of these, Alex played the role of shepherd for me today as he pedaled with me at the sacrifice of finishing much sooner. This photo was taken earlier today… look at Alex’s amazing socks!
I’ll still be teaching on “The Resistance” in the two Remedy Church worship gatherings tomorrow (alongside Elder Andrew Thompson). I can’t wait to share more stories with our church.
In closing… here is a photo of my cyclocomputer at the end of my long-awaited first century ride.
