Bruce’s Biking across the USA thoughts and observations:

Pam and I left Wichita on September 11^th on our way to Florida to begin our adventure. When I left I was excited for what was ahead but admit that I was at a low from the negativity in the press I was experiencing. This was due to the circumstances of Covid-19 and all the political fighting over this issue and our Presidential election. In addition, we had the racial issues and backlash of some angry people with police departments across the country. If one were new to the United States or visiting and watched the news or were on Facebook, they might think our country is going to fold in the near future or that a civil war is soon to happen.

Let me encourage you my friends. My take away from traveling coast to coast (not quite finished yet) is that the US is still an awesome place to live. I have experienced nothing but kindness from people of all walks of life as we have traveled from state to state. I had a number of flats during the first weeks of my trip due to riding in the rain and I think every time that I stopped to fix it, someone in a car asked if they could help or asked if I needed anything. When we were in a town in Mississippi that was extremely poor, we stopped at a coin laundry to do wash. We were the only white folks in the laundry. Pam was not exactly sure how to run the machines, but a nice lady came over and helped her. I think that we as Americans have a lot more in common than that which divides us. Yes, I am a conservative but I have friends that have different life views. One of my dearest friends is a biker named Jerry. On the political spectrum, he would be considered left of me, but we share many other things in life in common like cycling. We often end our Saturday morning bike rides with breakfast. Sometimes we have good discussions about social issues with which we disagree, but the conversations are always civil. Sadly, our country is losing the ability to disagree with someone but still have a mutual respect for each other.

So the next time you are packing your arrows to fire a shot at someone who thinks differently than you, consider pausing a moment and thinking about what you both have in common. Focus on that. Understand that the other person probably has many of the same desires and goals for their family as you do, they just see things differently in how to get there.

A bible verse that has been popping into my head recently is Psalm 15:1 NIV “A soft word turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”