Update #39 - October 20th, 2002
Veedersburg, IN - 6,624 miles

The new recumbent frame is working out okay. It took a while making some adjustments on the boom length and handlebar height. The past couple of days have been okay except that it has been cold. The average temperature has been in the fourties but there has also been cross- and headwinds up to twenty miles per hour to deal with.

The past couple of days, I've made some good contacts with trying to find a place to get out of the weather each night. In Logansport, IN, a local Presbyterian minister paid for a room at a local motel while in West Lafayette I stayed at a Catholic church across the street from Purdue University. Last night and tonight, I am staying with a Church of the Nazarene minister that I had met back in 1993. I usually pass through the Veedersburg area every two years or so and my minister friend told me that I needed to stop by whenever I'm in the area. At the church service this morning, he surprised me by taking up a "Love Offering" for me. This was a nice gesture and this was not asked for.

Tomorrow, I have a sixteen mile ride to the Illinois State Line. This will be my thirtieth crossing between states. Illinois will be the twenty-sixth state (not including the District of Columbia) that I will cycle in this year.

I'm heading towards St. Louis, MO to check out a Catholic ministry that works with the homeless. From there, weather permitting, I might ride to Little Rock, Arkansas to check out the Heifer Project. There is also the possibility that I might just head south to Acadiana in Louisiana to check out the recovery effort after Hurricane Lili and Tropical S torm Isadore. I have quite a few minister friends in the effected area.

Maybe if I can take some time off the road in the future, I might be able to write or start to write that book that everybody wants me to write. We'll have to see. It's up to ADONAI now. As I have always said, each day and mile cycled will be with ADONAI's and Y'SHUA's comfort, help, and guidance.