Day Four ~ Saltillo to Houston (MS)

Just a note ~ this post will also be up at the Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure Blog.  

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There was a lot more traffic on the Trace today as we passed by Tupelo. Other than today, though, as we've been rolling our way down the Natchez Trace Parkway, we've hardly seen any traffic. Cars would pass occasionally, but we're often on our own.

It was a gorgeous day on the bikes today. It was a little overcast when we started. Before long, though, the sun came out and kept us warm all the way into Houston, Mississippi.

Sometimes we ride with others on the trip, sharing stories and learning more about each other all the time. Sometimes we ride by ourself, accompanied by little other than our thoughts as we stare either at the white line under our front wheel or at the road disappearing in the distance.

Most of the time we're surrounded by woods, passing meadows and farms along the way. It sometimes feels like we're out in the middle of the wilderness. But then another roadway crosses our path (some of which are quite busy), and we're reminded that we're not really so far removed from the rest of the world.

But when we talk with people along the way, or when we arrive at our destination for the evening, it almost feels like we're more removed from reality. We're often met by surprise and almost-disbelief when people hear what we're doing. For instance, our greeter here at Parkway Baptist remarked that riding 40 miles on a bike sounds like torture to him.

In spite of what people may or may not think about our adventure, we've been warmly welcomed into the churches and homes of folks we've met along the way. And I think we're all excited about staying two nights in the same place. First, we get a day off the bikes.

More importantly, though, we get the opportunity tomorrow to participate more directly in the work the Fuller Center is all about. We'll be heading out to three different homes to do repair work. We'll creating safer and more secure conditions for folks who, for whatever reason, aren't able to make the repairs themselves.

This is what our trip is all about ~ creating safe and comfortable housing, while taking the typical capitalist trappings (profit, interest, etc.) out of the equation.

We're spending the week riding across this part of the country, raising money and riding bikes and building homes and building relationships. What could be better?

Let the adventure continue.