Admin: Ministry Notes

To answer some questions I’ve had: I’m finally in a position to branch out into another area of ministry. It may sound like a hobby to you, but I’ve long felt led to engage in faith outreach through my cycling. I wanted to do this several years ago and events hindered me; God wasn’t ready for it yet. This year it seems like He has put the package together for me. I’m planning on riding my bike around Oklahoma — bikepacking — ostensibly to promote cycling and bicycle tourism in the state. In the process, you can be sure I’ll mention my faith when there’s an opening.

Part of the issue is that most people in the state don’t think about cyclists touring and camping here. I’m hoping to nudge folks into giving it some thought. That means making a lot of calls to little towns, law enforcement agencies in particular, to ask for help in accommodating camping. Most “camp sites” are for RVs only. Tent or hammock camping is simply not on the menu in most places, and there aren’t all that many in the first place. Yes, public lands are generally open to camping, and just getting through the bureaucratic hassles is challenging enough, but most of them are far enough out that I would need to make at least one overnight stop on the way. My first few targets will be single overnight trips.

I’m currently training up to ride multi-day trips with overnight camping. For now, I’ll be using my Zizzo Forte folding bike. I’m pretty sure it’s up to the task, with the added bonus of drawing more attention. Few people ride folding bikes in Oklahoma, and most people don’t recognize what they are on sight. It increases the likelihood of people asking me about the whole thing. Of course, with the stuff I’ll need to carry to survive, I will be getting a trailer for the bike. The one I feel best fits my bike is the Burley Travoy. If you want to help me pay for this, you can just purchase an Amazon gift card, because Amazon sells this trailer. I won’t be able to do any camping until I get that.

In addition I’m hoping to get a better saddle for the bike (leather is the best and the most expensive) and a decent digital camera. For now, it’s just my cellphone. If you want to see videos, I’ll need something like a GoPro to do any good.

Meanwhile, I’m focused on longer rides, and when weather permits, I’ll be at this 6 days/week. If this works out as I hope, by next fall I plan to start riding into other states. To make this all the more interesting, I’ll be wearing those t-shirts in various colors that say “Bikepacking Oklahoma” on the front, and “Share the Road” on the back (thanks Linda!). I’ll keep my bushy white beard and long curly hair to add some peculiarity, rather like a costume. If this works out at all, I’ll open up a blog for it on Substack. Pray with me, in particular about the hope of changing a few lives.

The email account for all of this is jehurst@gmail.com.

Tracking donations:

$50 from TR
$200 from anonymous
$100 from LC

Trailer has been ordered. The balance and any further donations will go toward a leather saddle and full leather riding gloves.