Today we rode our bikes from Idanah to Bend, Oregon, about 75 miles with 5,000 feet of elevation gain. We had a lot of climbing as we went up Santiam Pass, but we managed it alright. The hard part of the day came after we went through Sisters, and the heat went up to about 98 degrees. Fortunately, that was only about two hours of riding. The traffic was heavy, but there was a pretty good-sized shoulder most of the way. Tomorrow we are headed to Mitchell through Prineville and we will be camping in the City Park.

Yesterday’s ride was great in that I felt good, but today’s ride was full of pain, beginning to the end, I took lots of ibuprofen. I imagine tomorrow will be worse because it is kind of a cumulative effect. My butt hurt, my neck, my shoulders and my hands. The good news is we have a rest planned for day five, so things should get in shape by then and the day off will allow muscles and various body parts to heal up.

Mentally managing pain, fatigue, and discomfort is a key part of successfully completing a major bicycle trip like we go on every year. It would be so easy to quit a trip like this when the pain starts, because the fun level has dropped substantially.

Endurance is a character trait needed to successfully accomplish anything of significance in life, and we are admonished a number of times in the Bible to run with endurance the race God sets before us. Many more people quit than finish at a variety of things in life, especially in our present culture.