The bad news arrived in Grants NM, nighttime. Appropriate. In the midst of a two-week bike trip with friends, Jerry and I received word that key family friends and church members had passed. Totally separate events and people, but we each had to abort the ride. The next AM we left Mick and Tom behind and headed the over 700 miles to SoCal across the desert, with temps nearing 118. Beaten by the heat, we stopped for gas in Needles, after 455 miles, with 270 left. I remember …