After a wonderful night’s rest at Wisdom House we began this day’s journey after our usual morning reading of Genesis. It was a chilly beginning to the day.

First thing we experienced was one of CT’s wonderful hills. This would be the first of a few challenging hills of the day. We were on our way to meet our new friends at St. Mary Magdalene’s Church in Oakville. The ride was quite enjoyable with some great downhills. We made such great time we arrived earlier than expected. We were greeted by Victor and Sue Adkins and Deacon George and Roberta, the parish secretary, like we were old acquaintances. Our refreshments included some great homemade blueberry muffins which we devoured within minutes. It was a nice welcoming and sign of the hospitality we continue to receive each and every day. We took some time to share with them about this ride’s experience. We also used their computer hookup to get our journal entry e-mailed to CCHD and set up a meeting with Nancy Johnson whose office we would pass by in Waterbury later in the day.

We were also greeted by a couple of local reporters who interviewed several of us so we again had the opportunity to tell our story. We spent a lot of time with these folks just sharing with them.

Fortunately we had some time to spare before moving on to “In The Making” in Waterbury. Our ride through Waterbury took us through the city and we handed out our CCHD poverty statistic cards to individuals we met on the streets. We especially interacted when some of us spontaneously visited with aides of Nancy Johnson. One family we met (Mom and several kids) enjoyed sitting on our bikes and trying on our helmets and sunglasses. The interaction was remarkable. We discussed with some of them how poverty was affecting their lives. One man who was in poverty situation mentioned how important it was for us to vote for the right people, those that can make a difference. We could have continued this for hours.

When we made our way to “In the Making”, an organization that educates women who find themselves unable to make a decent living or live day-to-day because of some change in their life situation. We were greeted by Sr Marie Burke who told us about the organization and advised us of what to expect when we got to dialogue with the individual clients. This was one of the best experiences of the ride. We were served a great lunch and shared our meal with some remarkable women. We were asked to share why we did the ride and that led to a lot of discussion. The individuals there freely shared with us what they expected from being there. Most of what we heard was about empowerment and self-sufficiency. These women wanted to make it on their own. One woman, Violetta, told us how difficult it was for her to find a job. A four month search and nothing! But she would not give up, especially because she wanted her three children to receive a good education and she knew she had to make their lives better. That’s why she was there.

The women were proud of what they were doing and showed us some of the articles they manufactured there – baby Baptism gowns, pocketbooks, baby sleepers – all out of donated material.

They hung out of the windows of their third floor rooms waving and cheering us on our way.

We left Waterbury but not until we had to climb Waterbury Hill. Talk about Connecticut hills! This was a beauty, especially right after lunch.

Even though there were some hills, there were plenty of downhills as well. These we enjoyed. For the uphills, we remembered or reminded each other what each pedal meant for us. We were doing this for the poor.

As we had to be in Bridgeport by 4:30, we ‘sagged’ for a short time and re-biked at the outskirts of Stratford, Lou’s hometown. He was excited about riding through the streets of Stratford and was a tour guide for the rest of the riders. Joan also enjoyed her ride as we journeyed through the streets of Bridgeport, where she grew up. It was both fun and sad at the same time. There were so many signs of poverty, abandoned buildings, homes in disarray. This is a place we had to be.

When we got to St Ann’s in Bridgeport we were greeted by Edie Cassidy from CCHD and also our host families where we would be spending the night. To our surprise there were a few little children there playing in the school yard and they cheered and screamed for us as we arrived. We went over and gave them stickers and just talked and played with them. We even had our picture taken with them.

After a shower and change we headed to St James in Stratford and shared a meal and presented our story. Lou’s sisters and Joan’s cousins came to see them and our presentation. One of Joan’s cousins lives in Milford and is a member of their Social Justice Committee and wants us to come to her church next year. She may even ride with us.

We had the pleasure of meeting Steve Lombardo who represented ACORN, a CCHD funded group. He shared with us what good they do in Bridgeport.

It was a great day 5.