C2C Day 8

Our word for the day was patient endurance. "...and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus..." Revelation 1:9. Even though we are so close we needed to take extra care today with the extra fear of more traffic.

Today we had some pretty cool riding. It started out a little scary because the roads were narrow, curvy, and downhill, which means speed. Our support vehicles did a great job of trailing each group of about 8 bikers to slow traffic down. On the flat parts today we were getting some good speed as well just riding behind eachother. The road took us from Boaco to Managua which was about 85 kilometers. For a short distance we cycled on the Pan American highway. At one point along the road we drove along side an artifical lake for almost 20km. The river was dammed in the 80's to irrigate a huge plain for sugar cane production. It's no longer functioning nor is the land being used.

As we got really close to Managua we formed one large group and stayed close together. We had a support vehicle in front, behind and on our side. We were all eager to get to our destination. This night we had treated ourselves to a stay in the Best Western which is just on the edge of town. Since this wasn't our final day none of us expected the reception we received upon entering the hotel parking lot. Some of the bikers' families and the office staff from Accion Medica came out to cheer us in. They were holding big banners in greeting and the US, Canadian, and Nicaraguan flag. It caught me by surprise and spurred a few emotions; I must be honest. Shortly after our arrival Channel 12 came to tape video and interview some of the participants.

That night was a neat time for us because we all felt that the end was near. I think it is safe to say that we all enjoyed our time together and we realized that we would miss eachother. The hotel put on an amazing meal for us even though we said we could have something simple. They said no way they wanted to put on this meal for you. The tables and chairs were decorated for a fancy banquet and the food was delicious especially being on the road for so many days. After living in the same cloths night after night we didn't have much to dress up in. That night we did some more reflection on our trip in a more light-hearted way. We split into groups and had to write and share a song with some memories from the trip. That evening some people stayed up to catch the news clip on TV that featured our story.

Stay tuned for the final day tomorrow when our front tires hit the Pacific Ocean!