Whiteley Creek Homestead

This morning I served breakfast to my bed and breakfast guests and I finished my cleanup. Dick had left mid-morning for the annual "Back to the 50s" vintage car event at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. I thought, "I have no new arrivals coming in today. I can spend the afternoon in my office tackling paperwork or I can pull the weeds in my garden that seemed to grow 6 inches overnight with the recent rain we've had. Neither thrilled me immensely, so I chose to give my friend Sheila a call to see if she wanted to bike the Paul Bunyan Trail from Brainerd to Nisswa and back. She eagerly agreed to meet me at 2:20 after she got off work. After packing some granola and apples for our energy snacks and filling my water bottle, I set off to meet Sheila… happy that I had made the decision to do a good-for-my-body activity and spend some time with a friend. 

Arriving in Nisswa 18 miles later, we stopped to watch "minnow races". Turtle races have been held every Wednesday afternoon during the summer months for as many years as I can remember, but minnow races… that's a new one for me. 

After slurping down a bowl of fragrant tomato basil soup at the Adirondak Coffee Shop in Nisswa, we pedaled to a church just outside of Nisswa for a 5:00 p.m. book presentation/book signing by Brainerd author Pat Bluth. Pat, in her book From Pain to Peace, describes how she managed to work through the anger, depression, and healing process after her 17 year-old daughter was rear-ended and killed by a drunk driver on September 13, 1985 as the car she was a passenger in was waiting to turn into the parking lot of a restaurant that was called Hasse's at that time. Hasse's, which is presently under new ownership and now called Matty's, is 1/4 mile from our driveway. I vividly remember the scenerio surrounding the accident and the driver who struck her car. After 4 years of grief and thoughts of suicide, Pat attended an 8-day retreat through her church that was the turning point in helping her through the healing process leading ultimately to forgiveness. She was instrumental in starting a local MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) Chapter, frequently speaks to groups about her personal journey, and has worked to change laws regarding drinking and driving. 

A thirty-six mile adventure… my kinda day. 

For a little over 6 weeks, I have gradually veered away from my monthly challenge of logging a minimum of 50 miles and reading my Bible each day. I allowed myself to skip a day, then two… which became a week. Without realizing it, several weeks had gone by. During that time, I was deep cleaning to prepare for opening our bed and breakfast for another season and planting and tending my garden, so it wasn't like I was sitting on my rear and doing nothing. However, I missed the sustained stretches of areobic exercise. So I'm here to tell you that I am back on target and have resumed posting my progress.   

June 18, 2009

Today's mileage: 36-mile bike ride

Total mileage for June: 36 miles

Bible reading? No, but it's gonna happen tomorrow.