When we were asked to join a team that would be riding across Honduras to benefit UrbanPromise/UrbanTrekkers Honduras we thought that this was something we could do.  Sure it sounded challenging, 9 cities, 8 days, 335 miles, but if we trained we knew we could accomplish this task.  Little did we know that we would be challenged in more ways than we could imagine. Turns out the devil does not want to see us do good.

As soon as we signed up for the Costa a Costa Ride everybody immediately started telling us how dangerous Honduras was known to be.  Family members were less than excited to hear about our upcoming trip. A week before we were scheduled to leave we found out that our airline would not allow us to take our bikes on the flight. There was a snow storm on the day we were flying out of New Jersey. Then to top everything off we had to deal with forgotten and lost luggage. With the help of some friends and a lot of prayers we were able to work through all of these obstacles.

As it turned out we met 80 of the most amazing riders all with a heart to serve. There were people from the United States, Canada, Holland, and of course Honduras. Everybody was there to support educational awareness in Honduras but we also had our own personal reasons as well.

I quickly learned that Honduras is a beautiful country with warm and caring people. Every afternoon in the cities where we stopped we were welcomed with a big celebration and they honored the top students of that city. We got a chance to take a walking historical tour of Comayagua and a friend we met on the ride showed us around his home town of Tegucigalpa. Never once did we feel unsafe or in harm’s way.

We were able to raise funds for UPH as well as 3 bike donations and some biking gear so we can share our love of cycling to the next generation.

When you set a goal for yourself don’t allow anyone to put negative thoughts in your heart or mind. Keep your focus on the Lord and he will guide your way. You will be truly amazed at what you can accomplish!

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this journey!

-Beth Stengel Bahm (Coast to Coast Rider)

 “You don’t conquer a mountain, you conquer yourself.” – Edmund Hillary