Bikes, BINGO, and Beyond
October 27, 2008 | posted by Jon under preparation, updates
Over Fall Break Lars and I decided we were going to set out on a practice run for our trip. Destination: Lancaster, PA. We planned to attend my church, Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster, and make some announcements, maybe talk to some conference leaders, and just do some publicity in general. It turned out that that plan was never realized. After leaving late on Friday we only rode 30 miles to the Getz Farm (est. 1796) north of Forestville, VA. The Getzs’ were very hospitable and gave us their yard to sleep in as well as a wooden spoon we used to cook our pasta that evening. Sitting around the MSR Dragonfly we realized were weren’t going to make the remaining 170 miles the next day. So, being flexible, we changed our route. We were headed to Washington, D.C.
The following day was 100 crowded and busy miles, and we got onto the Metro with all of our belongings just as it began to get dark. We ended up at the WCSC house that EMU owns, where Becca Yoder and Co. were more than hospitable, giving us food, clothing, and a warm dry place to sleep. The following day, Sunday, we spent visiting a church plant in Anacostia that Lars’ aunt and uncle attend. We were greeted warmly by many there and we also received a plate full of food just for showing up. “I’m glad you’re here,” was a common phrase used in church that morning. After church we had lunch with Lars’ aunt and uncle, and left there with stomachs full of pupusas and a bike map of Washington, D.C, which we used on our way home. We had dinner than night at a hip coffee shop/bookstore/restaurant called Busboys and Poets with some friends before coming back to the WCSC house to make cookies as a way of saying thanks for their hospitality. We ended up going to bed at 2 AM or thereabouts.
Monday morning we left the WCSC house around 10 and rode mostly on bike trails for a good 30 miles. They were wonderful trails, and it was an adjustment “rubbing shoulders” with traffic again after such nice paths. We put in 84 miles that day, and ended up in the town of Amissville on Rte. 211, sleeping at the Amissville Volunteer Fire Company’s fairgrounds. It was BINGO night at the fairgrounds, and we learned just as much about Amissville culture as we did about BINGO variations. They didn’t let Lars leave without at least 2 hamburgers, one of which I ate the following morning for breakfast.
Tuesday we were on the road by 9 AM with two daunting climbs ahead of us: crossing over Skyline Drive and Massanutten Ridge via the New Market Gap. We slowly but surely made it up over these hills and had very enjoyable rides down the other side; fall colors are especially enjoyable cruising at 30+ mph. After a jaunt of Rte. 11 south of New Market, we up the 60-some miles by riding into Harrisonburg, sprinting to try to beat the light cycles, glad to be back home.
Overall it was a good trip. I think it has a lot to teach us about the much larger trip that is ahead of us. First, things won’t always go as planned, and we’ll have to be flexible. Second, hospitality will present itself in the form of clothes to wear other than bike shorts, hamburgers from BINGO night, or the phrase “I’m glad you’re here.” And third, we cannot go where God is not.