We had completed over half of our planned route. Average speed was about 16 mph, and distance traveled was 20 miles. As we made it up the mile long hill in Cascade Hollow...
Wonder if Jeff is up yet? Don't know. Doubt it. Bet Stace and kids are up. Think so? Maybe. Probably watching cartoons. What time is it? 7:45. Lets wait till 8 and go by there. At 8AM, on a Saturday morning, we stopped and parked our bikes in his driveway. At the front door, we could hear the TV, so we knocked quietly and waited. Stace greeted us with a big smile, and invited us in. The boys were up too, but Jeff was in bed. First of all, we said, we apologize for knocking on your door at 8AM. Stace seemed glad to see us, and said it was not a problem at all. So we told her we needed Jeff to go with us for a bike ride. call it an intervention if you will.
She laughed, and said she would go get him. Jeff came into the kitchen rubbing his eyes and smiling. We told him we were here to get him and go for a ride. He laughed at us and said he's be right back. Stace offered us some breakfast, and the boys kept watching their cartoons. We talked and laughed with Stace till Jeff was ready.
We left his house and rode the last ten miles with Jeff. We went through neighborhoods, and stayed off main roads and big hills. Those last ten miles were tough. Jeff was really sick. By now he had undergone surgeries and treatments and was weakened as compared to where he was before. He never complained. He asked us about our kids, and wanted to know what each one was doing and what they were busy with. Typical Jeff, he didn't want to talk about himself at all. The last ten miles of that ride were the last ten miles we would travel with Jeff on a bike. The intervention was more for us than for Jeff. I think we needed that time with him. I'm thankful he was willing to go with us.