Saturday, August 1st, 2015

Start/End: Redding/Orland, CA
Mileage: 68+
Weather: Hot, sunny

We are so thankful for the amazing hosts we had at the First United Methodist Church in Redding. Because of the anticipated heat for the day, the team elected for an early wake up and we are very grateful that our hosts, who generously provided an awesome breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage links, and bagels, even at the early hour. We also had some great juice selections and coffee which was another amazing addition to our breakfast routine.

Getting ready to go outside, we already felt the warmth in the valley even though the sun had hardly risen at that point. Alas we got ready to go, dedicating the ride to a few people for today. The first dedication was for a rider’s grandfather who had passed away from cancer. Additionally, we dedicated the ride to another rider’s uncle who passed away from cancer a few years ago. Finally, we dedicated the ride to one of our amazing hosts who lost her husband to cancer several years ago.

Today was a very special day for many reasons, with excellent hosts and three people who we were riding for, but to add to that, it was I4Christmas! Some of the team members had organized the event, even having folks draw names from a cup to determine who they would have for the secret Santa event. Our secret Santa was a little unique, though, because all of the gifts had to be found along the road. More on that later! But nonetheless, some folks were getting really into the holiday spirit searching for gifts and singing Christmas carols. Along the route, one group even picked up some ugly Christmas sweaters at a garage sale and some ornaments to decorate.

Our ride was not too bad as it was very flat today through the valley, not long after we had left our stayover, we did come upon some very light smoke which was from a small nearby forest fire. Our support vehicle and front group checked it out and felt comfortable riding through it and the entire group was fine. After leaving the Redding area, the smokey haze was no longer an issue and we were in a more rural, desert area. I think it has been very surprising how much of this country is desert! But there were cacti and very dry dirt everywhere. It was surprising because we did pass quite a few farms which grew various types of produce, including olives! That was kind of something new and different.

Most groups worked pretty hard to take the earlier hours a little bit faster to minimize their heat and sun exposure. It was kind of cool coming into Orland because we passed under an archway commemorating not the towns centennial celebration. Once we arrived at our stayover, we were greeted by some amazing people from the community. There were cool refreshments and snacks available for us upon arrival and somehow, food kept appearing throughout the afternoon! From fresh peaches to homemade cinnamon rolls, it was amazing.

We had an amazing dinner prepared for us by the folks in Orland. We had lots of different foods, including lasagna, garlic bread, many different types of cobbler, ice cream and it was all just amazing. It really was like Christmas!

After dinner, we had some fun Christmas celebrations with our gift exchange. There was an artificial tree in the space we occupied and the pastor even suggested we decorate it with the ornaments we had gotten. It was the perfect celebration. We exchanged gifts and told stories of where along the road the gifts had been acquired, from licenses plates, to hub caps to giant pine cones and well, just about everything in between. It was a fun exchange. We thought about watching a movie, but with the early wake up, we knew we probably should head to bed.

We were very fortunate in that many members of the congregation brought in blow up mattresses and pillows for us to use! It was a very kind gesture that was definitely appreciated.

Long day tomorrow, so off to bed we go!
-LAH