Rich Dixon is taking us along on his next ride.

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The day after our field trip, the team cycled out of Cincinnati.

I won’t provide a crank-by-crank account of this ride, but there are a couple of stories worth relating.

One of them is about Una.

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Dr. Uname Mulale (pictured with Becky) grew up in a dirt floor village in the African country of Botswana. When we met her, she was a pediatric critical care specialist on the faculty of a New York City teaching hospital.

Una read about our July ride in March on social media and believed Jesus called her to join us. She was quite fit, but there was one tiny problem – she had literally never been on a bicycle!

She bought a bike and hired someone to teach her to cycle…in New York City. When she arrived in Cincinnati she could ride pretty well, but hadn’t quite mastered stopping or starting. She wasn’t about to let minor details deter from what she believed Jesus asked her to do.

The team learned, with a bit of humor, to give her space as she stopped and started.

Una was a great teammate and friend who loved Jesus, but she didn’t love cycling. She and Jesus engaged in loud, passionate conversations as she rode.

“Jesus, I don’t know why you want me to climb this hill on this bike. But I’m doing this for women who are suffering much more than me. Help me remember their struggle, and help me get to the top.” (She couldn’t stop on a hill without falling.)

Hill after hill, day after day, Una and Jesus talked as she rode.

When she reached the destination on the first day, her odometer said “96.0.” She asked the leader to ride 2 miles farther, then turn around. We all cheered as she slowed, stumbled, and nearly crashed after completing 100 miles on her very first road ride!

Not because it was easy or because she enjoyed it.

Because she was following Jesus.

To be continued…