…a passenger van appear out of nowhere, and I struck him….My yellow Wing bled green coolant and black oil; the forks got twisted terribly. I merely had a scrape on my elbow.

And so the audacious ride ended, one bike crapped out, one totaled. Jerry, unable to trust his, sold it the next day to a bike shop, took the train to his daughter in Maryland and flew home. I rented a car and drove home, stopping to see my sis in Kentucky.

But was God behind it? Did we ignore his earlier hints in our ambition to achieve the states? Only he knows, but…