Last night at Parkway Baptist Church (the second church named Parkway Baptist we visited) in Kosciusko, Mississippi, we were treated to the creative song writing of Tony (one of our riders), who penned words about our trip on Natchez Trace to the tune of “Oh Susannah”. “Oh Tom Weber, oh don’t you cry for me, cause I’m rolling down the Natchez Trace from Nashville, Tennessee, etc., etc.”. Some of us also viewed the movie “Selma” about the early 1960’s civil rights struggles of African Americans that culminated in the March on Selma, Alabama and the aftermath.
Today we had terrific weather for our final day of riding. It started out at around 60 degrees at our 8:30 departure and rose to almost 70 degrees by mid-afternoon. The wind was to our back and side for most of the day. The route was fairly flat as we made our way toward our final destination – Tougaloo College in Jackson. We are staying in their gymnasium, which can easily accommodate our 40+ people. Millard Fuller (Founder of Fuller Center for Housing) created a scholarship for Tougaloo, which is a Christian college that primarily serves local African American students. This evening we had a wonderful dinner at the home of the president of Tougaloo college.
Finally, I would like to say a hearty thank you to a group of people who have made our bike rides much more enjoyable than they would be with their absence – our SAG support people. SAG stands for support and gear – which only partly describes the wonderful service these individuals provide. We had two support vans with trailers. The SAG team begins the day by ensuring all the luggage and drink/food supply is properly stored in the trailers for transporting to the rest stops and the day’s final destination. They also do any last minute shopping need for the day. One van and trailer goes to the first rest stop, while the second van and trailer go to the second rest stop (Rest stops are typically around 20 miles apart). Once at the rest stop, they unload and set up the drinks and food so the riders have easy access. When the last riders are through, they pack everything up and move to either the final destination or another rest stop. The SAG team also does a lot of the shopping for food that we will cook for our meals, when not provided by the host church. They also do many other little things for riders each day that are much appreciated. So a big THANK YOU to Cindy, Mary Rae, Melanie, Paul and Sue – our terrific SAG team.
-Jeff Gabriel
