July 24, 2007 - Bike Day!

Today was a long day. Since I came home from vacation I have been plagued with a cold that won't seem to go away, probably because I am not resting enough. Anyway, it is very hard to sit and counsel people with your head and nose all stuffed up. Well, I told you this would be an exciting Blog!!!

As promised I will now detail out our 2nd day in the Arcadia National Forest. On July 16th we went to The Bar Harbor Rentals and rented 2 mountain bikes for the day. We then started out on our journey. In the Arcadia Ntl Pks they have what they call "Carriage Trails" that are trails just for bikes throughout the park. Mountain biking is very different than biking in Florida as you have hills that seem to never end...they reminded me of how life is sometimes. We seem to endlessly be traveling up the hill, we feel tired, overwhelmed, you see no end in sight, we begin to feel we are not going to make it and we want to give up. Just about the point you feel you can not go any farther you begin to see hope...a crest - a level place and then you feel energized again...telling yourself " I can make it!" You finally get to the top. All along we are asking for God to give us strength and He does. At the top of the hill you realize you have made it and that you are about to have a great time riding down the hill. The way down is wonderful - the cool air hitting you face and the feeling of freedom as you race down the trail. Just like life we have those times of pure joy when we feel completely free. All along the way we saw the most beautiful, breathtaking sights...God's creation is amazing.

We rode for 2 hours looking for our half way destination - The Jordan Pond Lodge - There we stopped for lunch and had the most amazing, fresh popovers with fresh blueberry jam.

We then walked along the Jordon pond path for about a half an hour and then back on the bikes for the 2 hour trip back to town. To tell you the truth by the time we were an hour away from town I was over it with the bikes!! My butt hurt, I was tired of struggling up hills and I was hot and icky. So about that time John says," You know, we have these bikes all day, why don't we just ride them around town for the rest of the day. My reply was as expected, "NO!" It was my birthday week and I wanted a bath before going to eat! Naturally I got my way and we made it back to the Rental place. That evening we ate at a local restaurant called Po-Boys. We sat on the balcony on the second floor outside and the temps were about in the low 60's with a gentle breeze. I ordered the baked Haddock with cheese and stuffing - it was a wonderful ending to another wonderful day....

"We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3

Tomorrow will be the "BIG HIKE" at Cadillac Mountain on the BIG BIRTHDAY DAY!!!!!!