I love it when I walk in the door of a church in all my bike gear, particularly if it has been raining. I'm wet, sweaty, sprinkled with sand and road dirt, I probably don't smell too good; it's the last thing the ushers expect. I'll go find a restroom, change into dry bike clothes, all the while getting quizzical looks from people hurrying about before the service. What's with the guy in the bike outfit? It's not until later when I tell people what I'm up to that the connections are made and the curious looks turn to smiles. That's not to say that people aren't welcoming, it's just clear that people in brightly colored spandex are outside the norms of Episcopaldom. Fortunately at my home parish, St. Matthew's in Goffstown, there are several of us that turn up in bike duds on a regular basis. It's not exactly everyday Sunday attire, but the folks there have gotten used to it. But away from St. Matt's, I enjoy being outside the norm. Anyway...
....I visited The Church of Our Saviour in Milford this past Sunday and was warmly received by Fr. Chip Robinson and the entire congregation. The highlight of the visit was spending time talking to their crew of workcampers who are going to Rochester, NY this July to do home construction and repair work for who ever needs it. They converge on a high school along with people of many different denominations from all over the northeast and beyond. Making the school their home for a week, they go off in small teams to do projects at local houses: build a wheelchair ramp, do some painting, fix a roof, whatever needs to be done. It sounds like a great program, and the campers and their adult leaders are really energized by it. They have been doing this for a number of years, and it has been a very successful program for them. I wish them the best on their trip this summer.
As for the ride, it was a wet one on the way out, drizzly, with water from the wet pavement spraying up and insuring sogginess from all angles. The ride home was better; the pavement dried out and it was only spitting occasionally. At 39 miles and not much climbing it was pretty easy, which was good, because I am still in recovery mode from my leg injury from last week. Afterward, my leg was hurting a bit, but not as bad as last week. I've been pounding the "Vitamin I" (ibuprofen) and doing my best to rest and ice my leg, and it seems to be helping.
Regarding next week, I had a change of plans: I will be going to Peterborough instead of Keene. At 35 miles each way, it will be a good one to ease back into the longer distances. The average distance for the EBP(NH) is 112 miles round trip, so I need to start regularly riding those types of distances (and more) if I am going to stick to the plan. That means heading up north, which I need to do pretty soon. There are a dozen rides that are more than 200 miles round trip; 5 of them summer chapels in the north country. I need to get to at least a few of them this summer if I am going to have a hope of completing the journey in 2012. It's going to be interesting.
The stats:
Distance: 39.0 miles
Average Speed: 16.2 mph
Average Heart Rate: 141 bpm
Total Climbing: 1800 ft
The next rides:
6/19: All Saints, Peterborough
6/26: St. John the Evangelist, Dunbarton
The workcampers of The Church of Our Saviour with their Rector The Rev. Chip Robinson
Good to read that the Milford youth are doing Workcamps! I actually came to Milford WITH a Workcamp back in the late 1990s - with youth from the parish I was serving in Virginia.
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