A Big Decision and Maps

Stats Friday, September 3 – Fort Scott, KS to Springfield, MO. Day distance 115; ride time 7 h 39 m; ave speed 15; total climb 4624; total miles 2,331.4 (726 miles this week – Aug 29 to Sept 3)

The front which came through yesterday changed everything. Temps are down. The humidity is gone. And the winds are from the northwest. YEAH! Finally the wind is to our advantage.

We made a big decision today. We are concluding our transcontinental ride at Charleston, SC. Less mileage. We can finish probably 3 days earlier than going all the way to Yorktown, VA. We’d love to ride Virginia. But the call of home on our hearts and the toll we are inflicting upon our bodies points us toward Charleston. Our mileage this week is 726. It’s been a 100 miles plus every day for 6 days. Why are we going at this pace? F-A-M-I-L-Y and H-O-M-E!! And we are more familiar with this part of the country. There is not as much to discover in the mid-section. Not too much WOW LOOK AT THAT factor!! Apologies to all you Kansanians and Missourites. But that’s the way it is. After Missouri (with its "roller-hills") we are looking to route from northwest Tennessee toward Knoxville, through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park then as directly as possible to Charleston, SC.

This brings up the importance of maps. We could not do this trip without maps. They have been invaluable. We are going to lose the use of our cycling maps since we are diverging from the Trans America route. These maps have given us elevation graphs, provided info about the location of bike shops, campgrounds, RV parks, informed us of telephone numbers of the local sheriff, and told us where restaurants and grocery stores can be found. Now, we are not going to have access to such. But we have regular road maps. I tore out pages from an older atlas and brought them with me – to give a larger orientation to where we are.

Maps tell us what to expect in general. But we don’t know the details until we get there.

The Bible has often been likened to a map. A map for living. And the Bible contains prophecy which had been fulfilled and prophecies yet future. Those which have been fulfilled build credibility in the trustworthiness of the Bible and lead us to look expectantly toward fulfillment of the prophetic future. Bible prophecy gives us info regarding the future what to expect in general. But we don’t know exactly what the conditions will be like until we are “there.”

Throughout the day we refer to the map many times. That is a good practice to have with the Bible as well. For everyday life. And for events to take place on a cosmic scale – the ultimate of which is the return of Jesus.