Back in Bellingham

What a few weeks. After staying in Bellingham about a month I felt lead to head down the coast toward San Diego CA. I started off on buses then road some trails between Seattle and Tacoma. Then I was on buses again till the Oregon border. From there I had every intention to ride to San Diego. It was cool and rainy. Oregon has a bicycle route along hw 101 that has camp sites and every thing. There were dozens of other cyclists along the route. On the 4th of July my tire developed a split and the inner tube started squeezing out the side. I stopped at Cannon beach, a popular tourist spot, but the bicycle shop owner was unable to help me with the repairs. He suggested a recycle center in a town 30 miles away or so. While trying to make it there the tire gave way. In Oregon you get 5 cents for pop can returns so I had been collecting them to try to pay the repair bill. As fate would have it my bicycle broke down in front of a church having a pot luck. The ladies at the church were very kind and fixed me a plate of food and a much needed cool beverage. The pastor reluctantly allowed me to stay behind a shed on the church property. Looking at a 40 yr old bicycle with bad brakes 1 gear and a bad tire and tube I determined it was not Worth fixing, so I began to hitch hike. The 2Nd day hitching a Christian man gave me a ride to Ashland OR. A week earlier a bus driver had told me if I had a chance to go to Ashland to go. So when this man offered to take me there I said lets go. The man's father and mother are self supporting missionaries and listening to my story they decided to donate a real nice bicycle. That night I road long after dark trying to find a place to sleep. The next day it was close to 100 degrees. I went over 3 passes before sleeping at a closed rest area in CA. The next day it was mostly down hill. It was over 100 degrees. I had an afternoon swim in the Smith river before hitting a Red Wood Forrest. After a 15 mile ride thru the Forrest I was in 70 degree weather. I was at Cresent City. I was out of food so I found a St. Vincent Depaul. They were unable to help at that time



, but did have some suggestions where I might find some help. The feeding mission there had stopped feeding 5 days a week to 3 days because of lack of funding. The man at the desk was very helpful. He found some food for me and we prayed. He explained to me that no feeding organization had ever made it in Cresent City. They had sold fire works to try to help with the bills. I stopped at a church and they wouldn't allow me to stay on their property. I found a beautiful spot on a cliff over looking the Pacific to sleep. The next day a kind lady gave me 28 dollars out of her own money and an evangelist that preached at the meal gave me 20 dollars. I thank God that he touched some kind hearted Christians to support his sign. I parked the sign in front of the MacDonald's and the Burger King. The air in Cresent City was mixed with the smoke from the forrest fires that plagued the area. Almost every river valley you could see smoke comming in from the mountains. While sitting at Mac Donald's I watched fire vehicles go by. I went up a steep hill out of Cresent City, a family sopped me and inquired about the sign. They were from VA. I made it as far as The Avenue of the Giants. I spent the night in the Red Woods praying. Faced with closed roads to the South and 199 closed to the East and the smell of smoke I decided to head back to Washington. I rode the bike and used public transport to make it back to Bellingham. God used so many nice people to get me back. In this day and age we can really stand out by doing to others as we would want done to ourselves.

Biking Again

I started down the Pacific coast, I used public transportation and bicycle. It was raining a lot. On the 4th of July my bicycle broke down in Mansanita Or. A day later a man gave me a ride to the Medford area and his mother and father gave me a bicycle. From there I went down the Red Wood Highway back to the California coast. On one side of the coastal range it was over 100, on the other it was around 70. To days sign reads " Just a closer ride with him" then a cross. Then the words "savior this my plea". Thank you for your prayers. Your friend Daniel