Canadian Rockies '18: Day 21... That's All, Folks!

START LOCATION: Nashville, TN
END LOCATION: HOME!
MILES TRAVELED: 675.1
TOTAL MILES TO DATE: 9650.6
WEATHE: Sunny with patches of rain

I'll cover three things in this post:
(1) The Ride Home
(2) Challenges We Faced, and
(3) The Days Ahead

THE RIDE HOME
The ride from Nashville to Winter Garden was pretty uneventful. The kids were finishing up packing for a weekend trip to Milwaukee before heading in to work. I, of course, wanted to take advantage of every minute I could get with Ruth - so I left at 8 AM. That's a later-than-normal departure - but it was okay with me. I got an extra 90 minutes with that grand baby that I wasn't expecting. I grew up in south Louisiana. We call that lagniappe. I'll take it every time!

The ride home was all interstate, and I was concerned about boredom turning into sleepiness - but I did fine. The most exciting moment was a slip in an oil spill at a gas stop, causing me to almost dump my bike. But a crisis was averted, I filled the tank, grabbed three gas-station chicken tenders, and continued on my way. I hit showers three times along the way, but none were as bad as they looked on the radar, and I was kind of grateful for the cooling-off time the showers provided. I listened to ESPN, Fox News, and added in a little CNN for laughs. I'd been pretty much removed from news of any sort for the previous 20 days, so it was kind of fun to catch up on things.

I rolled in hot, tired, and hungry - but safe. I rolled in with a real sense of accomplishment, knowing we had dreamed a dream, worked the plan, and saw it through to completion. This video captures the last few seconds of a 9,650-mile adventure:

The entire journey, as recorded by our SPOT satellite tracker

THE CHALLENGES
Already, I'm being asked frequently about the trip. And my answer is pretty consistent: "It was beautiful, and it was challenging." This is the seventh of these grand adventures. We've seen beautiful sights with every adventure, but none were greater than the Canadian Rockies. We really did see the splendor of our King on display.

This is the seventh of these grand adventures. We've experienced some challenges along the way - but none even come close to comparing to the adversity we experienced this year. We powered through every one - but oh, my... This one was challenging. The challenge began with my planning, quite frankly. This journey was the most aggressive ever. We covered a LOT of miles (9,650 for me) and spent a LOT of time in the saddle. And then there was the weather. In previous years we've been out west, we've experienced remarkably good weather. It has been hot - but it has been dry. Not so this year. Not at all. We found rain nearly every day, even if for a short while. I can take rain, I guess. I don't like rain AND cold. And it was cold. I mean, who would have thought we would be riding in the high 30s and low 40s at the end of June? What in the world?? The conditions were challenging, indeed - but, yes - we powered through and finished the journey.

And then there were the mechanical challenges. Again, in this, the seventh of these adventures, we have hardly had even a hiccup mechanically. Never a flat tire. Never a dead battery. Never a mechanical failure of any significance. This year was very different - from Day 0 to the Day 19. Four hours or so from home, after riding in driving rain, thunder, and lighting, as the weather improved, I realized my cruise control wasn't working. Thanks to the work of Alyshia Sargent, the service manager at my home dealership, Stormy Hill Harley in Clermont, Florida, as well as the service department at Taboo Harley in Alexandria, Louisiana, I was able to get things diagnosed and repaired without losing much time. So we were on our way.

In Kansas, I nearly killed myself on a long sweeper that should have been easy to navigate. The bike started behaving badly. I wasn't sure if this was due to my riding or to an ill-handling motorcycle - but I was shaken. It was several days before I would discover the problem that created this challenge.

And then I realized clutch fluid was leaking. Having a hydraulic clutch means there is a fluid reservoir at the end of the clutch lever. Having a leak in the reservoir can't be ignored if the fluid is all over the clutch lever. This was my experience. Due to some creative coordination between Annette and the kind folks at Greeley Harley-Davidson in Greeley, Colorado, we were able to secure the gasket needed to fix things after hours, and we were fixed again and on our way. (It was actually a little more complicated than that, but I'll spare readers the details.)

All was well for a few days. Arriving in Calgary on Day 12, Randall and I decided to add some air to our suspension systems in anticipation of the girls and their luggage joining the party. We coordinate who brings what tools. Randall had the suspension pump. I connected the pump and was surprised to find 0 PSI of air in the system. Zero. Nada. And the light came on for me. No wonder I hated the way this bike handled. No wonder I nearly killed myself in Kansas when I came off of cruise headed into a sweeper and experienced the bike behaving badly. Go ahead. Tell me I should have known earlier. I should have. But riding a new-to-me bike on roads less traveled... I didn't connect the dots. I acknowledge the failure on my part to know what was going on. Write me off for my inexperience, shake your head, stop reading now, and I'll own the criticism. Or you can read on.

My dad was a great mechanic. He knew how to fix things. He kept a box he called his "100-Year Box". When I asked him what that meant, he said, "I keep things... screws, nuts, bolts... that I might need in a 100 years. But if I need something, I can look here to see if I have what I need." I learned something there. I don't throw things away now - in case I ever need a screw, or a bolt, or whatever I've saved over the years. In case - in the course of a hundred years - I might need something I've saved.

I always watched my dad work on things. His cars. My cars. Things around the house. And I can't tell you the number of times he would say, "I think I have what I need over here in this box." So when I realized my suspension was broken, and that we were well past time when any dealership was open, I thought, "What would my dad do?" To make a long story short, I took things apart, found the problem (a cut air line), then asked Ben to drive me to the NAPA store. Explaining the challenge to the NAPA guy, and hearing him say, "I don't know if I have anything like that," we were able to convince him to think like my dad... to look... and to find some pieces and parts that would work. Once again, with a repair that was holding air, we were good to go again.

All was well through Banff, Alberta, back to Banff... but on the way to Glacier National Park, I told the guys I thought I had a suspension problem again. I missed it the first time. I wouldn't miss it again. I sent the rest of the guys to the Many Glacier while I continued on to our next gas stop (pre-planned, of course) to work on the bike. Hang on to that challenge for a minute, because there's an amazing story here.

The final challenge came after the girls were gone, 120 miles west of St. Louis. First we heard a clattering sound, then "Guys, we need to find a place to stop so I can check on my bike." That check revealed a serious problem that resulted in our leaving Randall in Columbia, Missouri for diagnosis. Leaving any part of our band of brothers as we continued on was one of the hardest things I've ever done. The phrase, "No man left behind" kept running through my heart and mind. I wept as we prayed over him. I wept as I called a dear friend and wise counselor to ask if I was doing the right thing in continuing on. The diagnosis on that machine went from "we'll have you out of here by the end of the day" to the realization that the motor was terminally ill and needed to be replaced. So one bike is still more than 700 miles from home, waiting on repair. Randall is safely home, though, and for this we are all thankful.

So those were the challenges. More remarkable in all of this is the clear evidence of the faithfulness of God - at every turn. Let me share the evidences we observed:

• At the NAPA store, an employee said, "I don't think I have anything that can fix that - but come on back and let's look." I don't know if he was supposed to do that. But have you ever been in "the back" of a NAPA store? That's quite the 100-Year Box. And we found a tiny little piece that formed a repair that got us back on the road. One. There was ONE coupler thing in inventory. One piece. One God who orchestrated that.

• When my bike broke again just outside of Glacier National Park, you know that Annette and I went on to try to diagnose and fix the problem. So as I'm working, a scary-looking biker gang rides up. One of the riders comes over to see what's going on with the bike. When we told him, he said, "I've got a Harley mechanic in my group. Would you like for me to have him look at it?" I mean, what were the chances of THAT happening? Zero, I would say, in the natural -  but not unexpected when the SUPERnatural is at work. But that's not all. I told him what we were dealing with, and he said, "This line is too short to be routed where it needs to run to keep it from getting cut again, but I just happen to have some of this tubing on my bike." Think about that. Of all the parts that could be broken... with the limited storage on a Street Glide... that he would have the exact part I needed. What are the chances of that happening? ZERO - unless God was choosing to demonstrate His faithfulness.

• One more: When Randall's motor broke, as we stood in frustration, wondering what to do, we recognized that there was a nice, new Holiday Inn right across the street, offering a safe haven for the night. But wait - there's more: right across the street from the hotel was a Harley-Davidson dealership where Randall could seek a repair. No unsafe riding needed. No towing needed. Coincidence? We think not.

So what do I learn from all of this? I am a person of faith. I am a Bible-believing follower of Jesus. This does not mean I will not face challenges. In fact, the first chapter of the book of James in the Bible says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." I choose to receive that Word. And I choose to see God's faithfulness in the challenges.

Here are some words from the Bible I cling to in difficult seasons:

• The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease. For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

• Be strong and courageous . Do not be afraid or terrified because of them for the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 3:16

• Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

I'm not just a Christ-follower. I'm a worship leader. I help people use the gift of song to worship God... to plant ideas in their hearts that will sustain them in challenging seasons... and then to articulate strong truth with their mouths, speaking those words of conviction in the presence of other believers as an affirmation and as a testimony to others. Just this weekend, our teams led our church to declare these truths:

Your promise still stand, great is Your faithfulness

I'm still in Your hands, this is my confidence

Do It Again, written by Steven Furtick, Matt Redman, Chris Brown, and Matt Brock

Copyright 2016 Elevation Worship Publishing

and

You're never gonna let, never gonna let me down

You are good

King of My Heart, written by John Mark McMillan and Sarah McMillan

Copyright Meaux Jeaux Music, Raucous Ruckus Publishing, and Sarah McMillan Publishing

and

All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Great Is Thy Faithfulness, written by Thomas Chisholm and William Runyan

Copyright Hope Publishing Company

I know it might seem crazy - but I'm choosing to stand on the truth of these verses and these songs. I don't base the foundation of my life on what happened over 21 days of a motorcycle trip. I base my convictions and my response to difficult circumstances on what I've learned about my God over the long haul. I've also learned to let difficult circumstances get my attention. When challenges come, I don't whine. Instead, I observe. I say, "God, what do You want me to learn from all of this?" And that brings me to....

THE DAYS AHEAD

I began to think carefully about the days and years ahead weeks before the 2018 adventure began. I began to think about a shift in priority for me. I love the friends I call our Band of Brothers. I've written about that. Nothing changes there. But I also think we're in a season when our girls need us in a different way. I perceive that we're in a season when the building of our legacy includes pouring meaningful time and influence into our grandchildren.

These are my people. From left to right:
Son-in-law Bryan, Daughter Jaimee, Wife Annette,
Granddaughters Ruth and Lorelai, Me,
Daughter Lindsey, and Son-in-Law Travis

Practically, I want to share the things we've seen with my family. And I can't take two daughters, two sons-in-law, and two granddaughters with me on a motorcycle. And then, as I began to think about where else I want to go on a motorcycle, I'm kind of out of ideas. We've ridden to all 48 contiguous states and many of the provinces of Canada. Alaska is still out there - but I just don't want to do that. We've climbed the mountains. I've ridden 133,000 miles in 10 years. And I just have a sense that that's enough.

So... I think it's a wrap. I think, like Porky Pig, I'm ready to say, "Th-th-th-That's all folks."

It's been a great ride. And the journey is not over. I just think I'm ready to ride on 6 or 8 wheels with a party of 8 or 10... still consumed by a spirit of adventure... still pursuing roads less traveled...

It's time for a new season.

Before I post this update... I would be remiss to not express gratitude to some folks who have shared this most recent season with me in one way or another:

• When I pitched an idea to my wife in 2011 that we ride all 48 states in three summers, I thought she would say I had lost my mind. Instead, she encouraged me to pursue a crazy, crazy dream. When we finished the 48, she allowed me to keep finding roads less traveled. And if that wasn't enough... she joined me on every adventure. She's a keeper - and I love her with my whole heart.
• My kids encouraged me despite the risk and fear of what could happen. I hope the result is that I've instilled in them a spirit of adventure and a desire to seek life-enriching experiences.
• My mom and a host of others have prayed me through all of this. I am convinced we've been granted divine protection, and I don't take that for granted.
• My friend Randall was the first call when Annette gave me the green light to pursue the 48. I shared the vision, and his response was immediate: "I'm in." We've been friends for 30 years. We enjoy a special kind of forever bond. And we, along with our wives, have shared a lifetime of experiences these last seven year.
• That Band of Brothers who have ridden with me is special. I love those guys. I'd die for them, and I know they would do the same for me. Though the two-wheeled season is coming to a close for me, they'll ride on - and we've already discussed continuing to travel together. They'll be on two wheels, while I use a few more. The Band is characterized by a bond that doesn't end as this season changes for me. 
• My work associates, who have allowed me the freedom to be gone for extended periods, and who have covered for me while I'm away. What a team!

I am a blessed man. Blessed indeed.