SCOTT MORRIS: Bring on the challenges and blessings

Then, our group of 21 riders clipped into their pedals wearing hopeful smiles and the center’s iconic orange cycling jerseys. We were rested and ready after two nights of accommodations generously provided by Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Seaside, Oregon.

 

The temperatures were in the low 50s with a stiff northwesterly ocean breeze when we set out this morning.

The jagged emerald terrain took us up from the ocean past forests and farmland as we followed the official tsunami evacuation route out of Seaside. We coasted back down to the Pacific and then climbed a steep incline to our accommodations at Peace First Lutheran Church ECLA.

 

Our 21-mile trek was short in comparison to some of the 80- to 100-mile days ahead as we ascend the Cascades and Rockies, pedal across the windy Northern Plains, meander around the Great Lakes and head to the Atlantic Coast of New England. 

 

We don’t know what lies over the next steep mountain or around the next hairpin curve, but discovery is a beautiful part of our grand journey. We will challenge ourselves to become stronger riders and to grow into a cohesive group of friends as we help provide affordable housing to our neighbors.

 

We expect the long road ahead on the Northern Tier Bicycle Route to be filled with great challenges and exceptional blessings for us and the people we touch at Fuller Center build sites.