August 13 - Silver City to Flagstaff: Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far and Grace will lead me home

God is so good! Today’s ride was beautiful but the main event for me was experiencing yet another serious issue with my bike and seeing how God provided help through just the right people at just the right time. I left Silver City this morning with the intention of getting my rear brakes fixed at the nearest Harley Davidson dealership in Tucson. But by the end of the day, I had also discovered a flat rear tire and managed to get it and the brakes back in working order before continuing on to Flagstaff.

I am so incredibly grateful for all of the kind and generous people who have helped to keep me on the road this summer. It’s normal for things to get broken, stolen, or lost when you’re on a cross country trip. However, this trip has had far more occurrences than typical. So far this summer I have had issues with both touring bags, my saddlebags, a saddlebag liner, my helmet, my selfie stick remote and tripod, two phone chargers, three tether grips for my RAM mount, two hydro flasks, the zipper pull and snap on my chaps, my journal, the antenna for my security system, the back brakes, and my rear tire.

It has been amazing to me how in each and every case God has either helped me learn to do without or provided for repairs or replacements, often through the help of others. The first dealership I went to today with my rear brake problem explained that the rotor and pads were not connecting well enough and recommended I replace both. Since they didn’t have the parts in stock, I drove another one and a half hours north to the Chandler Harley Davidson to get the bike repaired there.

As I was turning into the dealership my front handlebars wobbled, a sensation I am now all too familiar with because I have already had two flat tires since the end of April. Herman Cazares, the master mechanic there, figured out that I had a slow leak in my tube that was reducing pressure in my tire, preventing the rear brakes from functioning properly. What are the odds that I would discover a flat tire literally the minute I am pulling into a dealership? The timing could not have been more perfect! Once Herman put a new tube in, the tire pressure improved, and the rear brakes started functioning again.

What a wonderful day it turned out to be. Leaving Silver City this morning I was a little apprehensive about the upcoming repairs but comforted by the beauty around me. The mountains and fields in front of me were bursting with every color of the rainbow – pink, purple, blue, orange, green, and yellow abounded. Then when I was leaving Chandler this evening, the sun was setting and sending a burst of orange through the white clouds around me with the dusky plateaus and green fields below.

I am happy to still be on the road and look forward to more adventures before I return home. I am reminded of a verse in a song I like to sing: “Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come. Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far and Grace will lead me home.”