Fijis Across America

Day 12

This was our 8th day of riding straight without a rest day but our next one was scheduled for Pagosa Springs so we were all looking forward to resting.  We left the church early in the morning and headed for Pagosa Springs.  The day proved to pretty challenging for several reasons.  We were very tired from the several days of riding in a row but also there were a lot of hills throughout the ride that were unexpected.

This day all the members of the ride were a little on edge.  We were tired and had spent a lot of time together.  However, we knew rest was ahead.  We finally reached Pagosa Springs and were welcomed by the smell of the sulfur hot springs.  We checked into our hotel brought to us by the wonderful Bill Hebb, our platinum sponsor.  My parents had their last night on the trip so we went out to dinner at the Ole Miners Steakhouse.  This place was extremely old school with several old paintings and the door was even weighted down by a string tied to a tin bucket full of rocks.

While eating dinner my mom and dad showed me the pictures they had taken over the trip and it was great to look back on the memories of the ride and the scenery.  As we sat at dinner my father told me about how great teams are formed.  They go through three stages: Forming, Storming, and truly forming as a team.  As the Fijis Across America riders we have formed and I think we are in the midst of the storming as we train our bodies, learn about eachother, and define exactly what we want to accomplish through our ride.  However, we are reminded of the verse in James that says to consider it pure joy when you face trials because it develops perseverance in us.  So we take joy in our tough rides and times of confrontation.

In His Adventure,

Chaz Vittitow