Update #3 - Jan 24th, 2005
Americus, GA - 613.2 miles (981.1 kms.)

It's a little under 20 hours before I head out again tomorrow morning. The high Tuesday should be somewhere in the high 50's. Time again to layer up and put on some outer gloves. Hopefully, I'll not have too many problems finding warm places to stay overnight.

As stated in the previous update. It's hard for me to fathom that in around three weeks, I'll be passing the twelve year mark since this adventure started in 1993. Feb. 19th is coming up fast. I cannot believe it. Who would have thought that I would have stuck it out for so long?

I'm still wondering if I really have been making some difference? It's been a while since I've last heard from somebody saying that they really appreciate what I'm doing. I've not got much feedback from people. It's really rare that I get a email message from somebody saying that they care about what I'm doing and they are praying for me. Most of the email messages that I get are spam usually from some people overseas trying to con me in believing that I will get a lot of money if I help them get their money out of their country or possibly that they are Christians also overseas and they want to give me money. These usually turn out to be scams also.

During these last eleven days off the road, I've been doing a lot of thinking. Mostly, I've been not trying to have a "pity" party for myself. This isn't an easy road that I've got myself on. It's quite dangerous to be on the road. I can't tell you how many times each day that I've had some close calls with cars and trucks that don't really give me enough clearance when they pass me or how many times that I have to quickly get off the road because of on-going traffic.

Trying to keep the bike up and going is hard. Being out on "faith", I've got to do a lot of praying because funds are always minimal. I sometimes have to make the hard decision on whether to buy food or buy a new inner tube. There are a few times that I've had to put four patches on a tube. I'm amazed at how many thousands of miles I can get on a set of tires and the treads can get quite thin before I can get a new tire. It's a wonder that I do not have many serious blowouts.

I worry a lot about things falling apart and breaking in the middle of no-where. I've become quite handy in doing roadside repairs with the least amount of tools. It's a miracle that I've not really had that many problems even though I have to go a long way between overhauls. Speaking of overhauls, I'm really appreciative that there has been a small number of people who have stepped in to help me with these matters.

I don't know how my body has been able to do all of the miles that I've traveled without ADONAI's help. There's been a lot of wear and tear. My health is always a big concern since I've got no health insurance. I've been lucky that I've not been seriously ill. I'm not in that good of shape. I'm having a bit of a problem keeping the weight down even though I do not eat a lot of calories each day. There are days when I do not think I go past 2100 calories. My knees, especially the right one, acts up sometimes. Sometimes it feels like it is going to completely give out.

I get at least 4-5 hours of sleep each night if at best. Very rarely do I get six hours of sleep. I've had strings of nights where I just tossed and turned all night. What gets to me is that I've got enough energy to ride even though I haven't slept and I don't really get drowsy. I'm a very light sleeper and to get a good night's rest I've got to be in a totally dark room but that's not always the case. The least amount of light can keep me up since I have thin eyelids. Because of this, I can't take naps during the day. The bad thing about it is that I'm instant on. Strange noises keep me awake. Another thing that I'm dealing with is acute tinitus. Whenever I lie down, a high pitched squeal goes off in my head. Both ears are affected but it's a lot worse on my left side where I have the most hearing loss. There is no real medical way to cure tinnitus and I've had the problem for over 34 years.

Going back to my body, there is one thing that I'm a bit worried about. There is this mass in my right armpit the size of a small egg. It's not visible to the eye and the area isn't painful to touch. I don't think that my lymph system is affected. It could be a benign fatty mass. I will have to see about this sometime. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a Christian doctor who will check this out for free.

The key thing for me to do is to stay focused. I need to keep in mind the reasons why I'm doing this. I'm trying through my actions to tell christians that they have to live out their faiths through their own actions and also to express to churches that they need to get back to doing social compassion ministries. For the most part, churches are stagnant and dying. Also, I'm out here for the children who do not have homes, which is about one out of every four homeless people in this country. I'm out here for the one out of every five children in this country who go to bed hungry each night.

I just have to have faith. The Bible says that I just have to have faith the size of a mustard seed and a mountain can be moved by it. What I need most of all is prayer to keep me on the road.

As I mentioned in the previous update, I'll be riding from Americus, GA to a religious organization in East-Central Mississippi that has a volunteer program. Hopefully, this might be a place of respite even for a short time and maybe a place where I can find some new directions. It will take me about a week to ride there.

I'll try and post and update as often as I can if my plans change.