iron river, michigan

One of the major attractions on Michigan Route 2. (Hmmmm)

 A little bit of rain, lots of hills, and at least a million mosquitoes! (That may be a slight exaggeration but it's close!) There's really not much to talk about for today's ride. We went back to the 32 mile marker where we stopped yesterday and headed toward Iron River. We did find Barry Rd, somewhere along Michigan Route 2 but that's about it for photo opportunities. The rest of the ride was pretty much the same with great scenery, rolling hills, and a flat tire. (And the mosquitoes.) But . . . when we arrived in Iron River, the little city was having a Father's Day Tractor and Car Show downtown on the main street. Phil and I walked through, took pictures, and found our evening dwelling places about two blocks away.

My two favorites.

Counting the 51.55 miles we pedaled today, we are now at 1,893.47 miles. We are over halfway even with most of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine to go. According to Google Bike Maps, we have approximately 1,670 miles to go. We are over halfway! There's a light at the end of the tunnel and it's not a train! We are on the way! That's encouraging. We're  a bump over halfway!

Halfway is often a place where many people just quit. I don't know why, but it's a dangerous spot to be. I'm glad we're over it, not that I've ever thought about quitting. To me, halfway is like a boost in the adventure. It's like going over a mountain . . . it's all downhill now. Well, mentally it's downhill. We still have mountains in New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire! We''ll get over them!

There's a guy in the Bible who had to deal with the dangers of halfway but he successfully made it through the stress of it all. He faced ridicule, threats, opposition from enemies and from his own people, bribes, and lies. But he made it past halfway. His name was Nehemiah. He was a cupbearer to a king, a general contractor for the walls of Jerusalem, and a government official. He was also an encouragement to a lot of people. When he faced the halfway point of the wall-building process, he had one gigantic thing going for him. The people had it in their minds that this wall was going to get finished no matter what. "So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work." (Nehemiah 4:6) They were over the top, even with all the opposition, they saw the finish. And, finish they did, in fifty-two days! Then they partied, praised, prayed, and worshiped! What a time they had. Why? Because sometime during all the uphill battles, Nehemiah was able to turn their hearts and minds from fear to finish. It was a battle but the victory was sweet . . . and the enemy was furious!

So wherever your halfway is or whatever your halfway is . . . don't quit. It may be college. Maybe a relationship. Maybe reading through your Bible. Maybe a project you've spent years on. Whatever. Go for it. This is not the time to quit. Go for it.

Make your enemies/obstacles furious.