the west, orange juice & our new/old route into Yosemite

day two of riding brought us in and out of Tracy, CA in a way that we couldn't have planned if we tried: a great leg workout in the AM (getting up out of the valley) followed by our easiest stretch yet in the PM (long gentle downhills as Mark mentioned). God knows our strengths and weaknesses, and it's certainly a LOT easier to start strong and finish easy than vice versa (as we saw on day one).

just a few quick notes on our ride from Del Valle to Caswell. 

the west lives on. 

we rode through miles of dusty fields, each one anchored at one of its corners by a ramshackle house built piecemeal from metal scraps/siding/roofing with even more metal scraps, wheels, tractors, swingsets and rusty old trucks strewn about the front yard. life's different  out here, and I'm itching to get some local perspectives. 

orange juice overdose = cramps

drank half a gallon of that stuff at lunch and my hands were cramping up two hours later like you wouldn't believe. legs followed shortly after, but weren't as bad as the hands, and by then, I'd discovered my mistake and got plenty of good 'ole water in me instead. 

the LORD opens roads as well as doors. 

in a completely unanticipated turn of events, 120 (our original route into Yosemite, closed because of its proximity to the wildfires) is now OPEN! we couldn't be happier :) continuing to pray for Tioga Pass as well, which would allow us to bike over the Sierra Nevada mountains on what is arguably the most beautiful pass through to Nevada. even a few days ago we were sure a trip to Yosemite would mean backtracking and going up and around the forest fires. we're hoping that's no longer the case. 

thank you all for your support and prayers, may the wind be always at your back,

josh & mark

the lifecycle team

Day 2. 9.6.13. Del Valle Rec Area to Caswell State Park

I realized I have made a huge mistake... going this long without posting a picture of John!!! Unfortunately, we took a picture with him, but it was with Josh's fancy DSLR camera so we can't post it. Lesson learned, take picturess of people with the iPhone. The picture we do have of John though  will go down in my memory book forever because I will remember how the iron man himself was about to put a whooping on us youngsters as he showed us the way around those insane hills

We woke up this morning and quickly thereafter, Paul (a neighboring camper) asking us if we wanted coffee and sweet rolls for breakfast. We said "absolutely!" It turns out he and his wife Sue were super solid Christians so we shared quite a bit about that. Paul gave us so much support and fresh food for the road. We couldn't believe how much God was blessing us already! On top of that the park ranger drove by to collect our money and Paul told them he wanted to pay for us, but instead after they found out what we were doing we got a free site =) We were sent off with some verses to remember from Psalm 67 from Sue, and a great prayer from both of them. Thanks Paul and Sue, you completely inspired our whole day, and trip for that matter!

Paul and Sue in the shadows. 

The ride began with an insane climb for 3 miles, but with some help from Mat Kearney blasting from my portable speaker we rocked it out. Then we bombed down the mountain, rode back through Livermore and onto Corral Hollow road which was fantastic! we road up steeply yet again for about 6 miles, but after that the rest of the day was bliss, full of tailwinds and slight downhill slants. We road by a huge off road vehicle park with tons of hill climbs and it made me think how much Pete would love it out here! Pete I couldn't stop thinking of you, there were so many crazy trails. Check it out. 

Pete these pics are for you. Love you little brother. 

We eventually made it to Caswell State Park. We found the park ranger, Joel, and asked if he gave bikers a special deal on a site. We explained what we were doing and he blessed us with a fantastic free site. This place is awesome, we are right next to a river with a beach! We cleaned ourselves (biodegradable soap of course, mom) and felt like a million bucks. 

I saw one of these signs today... I think it's the first of many, especially when we get to Nevada....

God is really blessing us on our ride thus far with campsites and wonderful helpful people. I don't think we could be doing anything better right now. Thanks everyone for your support! (I told you it'd be a better blog today)

*Josh got the first flat tire of the trip today too, but we changed it quick, and postively, and got back on our way. 

God Bless,

Tailwinds,

Mark