Jared asked me (Andy) to jot a few things down before I went
to bed this evening. It’s 2:30am in Flat
Rock, NC. We’ve been behind the clock
all day today as a result playing catch up since separating from Marc, Steve
and Grant the night before in Arkansas.
It’s hard that we are not all together but it’s a decision we made
together. Slowly but surely, Marc, Steve
and Grant are catching up to us. Steve is very ill, make is playing support to
Steve and Grant and Kami had to stop in Mobile Alabama for a mechanical stop. It may see odd to most that we are not waiting
for them but the show must go on as we each are shooting to complete our
objective of the 48/10. All sun today, with 100% dry roads. Jared and I covered nearly 800 mile todays
through the South. The other three
covered more as they started the day 3.5 hour behind us. The three decided to stay in Atlanta instead
of Rock Hill and should be up early heading toward us as we will head out at
8:00am sharp toward Maryland tomorrow.
Because of the lush vegetation, there isn’t a whole lot to
see other than the small towns we fuel in.
By the way, we are up to 32 fuel stops through 30 day of riding. In three days now, we are nearing 3000 miles
of road behind up. We’ve noticed the
change in people’s personalities at the gas stops as clearly the South is full
of charm and kindness like no other.
I’ve had several inquisitive people jump on my bike for a picture at our
stops. It usually comes at a cost of a
brief explanation of our trip and a religious conversation about my beliefs and
some kind of invitation to learn more. I
believe Marc brought several copies of the Book of Mormon and handouts. Many might believe that this trip may get a
little boring. Not a chance! Every second on the saddle a decision is
being thought about. It’s constant
strategy, logistics, communicating, planning, anticipating and staying
alive. At the core of each decision…it’s
all about how we move forward together, nothing more.
Here’s some math to consider that is staggering before I
rest my vibrating body and ringing ears.
Since pushing off from St. George Utah 70.5 hours ago, it appears that I
have had a total of 6.5 hours of sleep in that time period with the other 64
hours on a motorcycle at 60-80mph. Being
on the bike brings energy and life in a way that’s hard to explain. There is no reason I should be standing
upright and not asleep but the constant objective in our heads keep pushing us
forward at a staggering rate.
By the way, whether Jared believes it or not….he snores as
hard as anybody. J
I can attest to Jared snoring, loudly and frequently. He also falls asleep within 5 minutes of sitting still.
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