We left our hotel around 7:30 a.m. to begin our ride from Oberlin Louisiana to Koontze Texas.  At approximately 10:00 a.m. we were entering the great state of Texas.  We experienced various new things today including a slight traffic hold up because of an oversized load that also had a police escort.  The machinery was the largest item I have ever seen on a truck.  You can see what I mean when you view the pictures below.  In addition, we saw various different animals that I was able to take pictures of.  These included a Buffalo, horse, birds, and an armadillo.  We have seen so many different animals throughout our trip, however, it gets difficult to take pictures because we are riding and for some reason the animals will not always pose for us.  

We encountered more dogs today because of our travel through back roads.   Joe DeLamielleure replaced the gloves he lost two days ago, and yes you guessed it, he drove off again leaving his gloves in the dust after placing them to dry on the truck.  We were able to retrieve the gloves and I’m hoping he will be able to keep them for the remainder of the trip.  Eljay Bowron has been masterful at mapping out our daily bike routes which we review each morning.  It really is difficult maneuvering around various cities not knowing when or where there will be construction or if someone has removed a street sign, which sends us off in a whole different direction.  All in all, our bike routes have worked well and we have only had to adjust our riding a few times.

I have mentioned at various times how valuable it has been for the riders to have the support of people all over the United States throughout our travels.  Tonight I would like to recognize some of the specific young people who have been following our ride and have supportive in their own special way.  I hope that each of these individuals become inspired to do their own community project that will help other people less fortunate than themselves. The greatest gift we can give to others is to give of ourselves and make someone’s life better because of what we do.  Each day we have the ability to touch someone’s life in a special way.  Today’s’ blog is dedicated to all of the young people and their teachers or family members who have supported our bike ride by following our trip and wishing us well. Some of the special young people and their teachers and family members from across the United States include the following:

A Special Thank you to …

• Mrs. Coyne’s 7th grade class at Holy Trinity Middle School in Charlotte North Carolina.  Your daily prayers and best wishes are really helping all of our bike riders, especially Joe DeLamielleure.  He really does need your help!
• Gideon and Grace Geisel for your thoughts, prayers, and support.  You are very special.
• Anna and Zoe Bair for your interest and support of the bike ride.
• Courtney Comar Junior at Marinette High School Wisconsin
• Abby Comar 2nd Grade Park Elementary School   Marinette, WI
• Elena Manzo for her research on our trip. Special thanks to all her classmates and the students at Barnard School in Troy Michigan who have supported our trip. Also, special thanks to Elena's teacher at Barnard Elementary, Mike Hayes.
• Jaime Larsen a freshman at Strongsville High School near Cleveland, Ohio
• Andrea Larsen a seventh grader at Strongsville MS.
• Nathan Comar, Michael Manzo, Genevieve Comar, and Adeline Comar

These are some of the wonderful young people, their teachers and family members who truly inspire us to take on Day # 14 tomorrow.  We will pedal extra hard knowing that you are all behind us.