Thursday night 2/26/2022, my son was driving me to New Mexico so I could begin one of the biggest, longest, greatest adventures of my life.  I had been planning and preparing and training for over a year and I'd never felt better prepared for a tour.  

It was then that I realized that in my haste to leave, I'd forgotten a critical piece of gear - my helmet. Not good. I texted my wife to ask her to ship it to me in Colorado and assured her that I would figure out a way to get a helmet. 

Well, as we passed through Lordsburg, NM, (about 9:30pm) my son asked if I wanted to exit and find a Walmart to see if we could find anything - even a cheap helmet to provide some kind of protection. Lordsburg seemed the only chance to find a helmet until Silver City (two days away). The other towns were tiny and wouldn't have anything like that for sale. We had been in a hurry to meet up with Jeffrey Sharp - a man who coordinates travel and accommodations for cyclists (& CDT hikers?), and perhaps for that reason, I declined and we continued our drive to Hachita.  

Upon arrival in Hachita at 10:40pm, we first came upon the Hachita Food Mart which was dark except for one light inside the store. I could faintly make out the silhouette of a person and thought it must be Jeffrey Sharp. I hopped out of the car and as he opened the door to the store, I said with excited anticipation, "Are you Jeffrey?" He confirmed that he was, and invited us into the store. He asked if I was getting ready to ride the Great Divide and I excitedly confirmed that I was. We talked excitedly about the adventure and at some point in our conversation, I realized that, though his name is Jeffrey, he goes by Jeff and his last name isn't Sharp. This Jeff was actually the owner of the store. What a strange "coincidence"! He asked if I needed anything and helped me find tortillas and other essentials. As we talked, I realized why he was so eager to talk about the GDMBR - he would be riding the Tour Divide in two weeks! It starts June 10th in Banff and heads South, eventually passing right by his store on the way to Antelope Wells. So cool!

After we had paid for the goods and our nights stay at the community center, I had the thought to ask where the nearest store was that sold helmets, because I'd forgotten mine.  He thought for a second, the said "hang on", as he walked to the back of the store - then returned a minute later with a helmet. He said, "Here. This one is old and ratty but I don't use it anymore and you can have it."

Just 107 miles later, that helmet protected my head when it smacked the ground - hard - on the dirt road to Silver City.

Here are the facts:

• I needed a helmet
• The helmet I was to use resided at the Hachita Food Mart
• The Food Mart is where I was supposed to pick up the key to the community center.
• The Food Mart closes at 10pm
• Jeffrey Sharp said that since we would be arriving after the Food Mart closed, he would unlock it for us, but I was unsure whether that meant he would meet us and open it up or whether he would unlock and leave it open for us.

• If it weren't for that uncertainty we would have skipped the Food Mart (assuming it was closed). We would have gone straight to the community center and missed our opportunity to obtain the helmet.

What are the chances that: 

• The Food Mart where the helmet was, would be open at 10:40pm - 40 minutes past closing time, and in a town of 47 people, and with no other customers
• The Food Mart owner would be the one working that night

• That his name would be Jeff and would answer to Jeffrey
• That he would have a spare helmet
• That the helmet would be at the store that night
• That he would be willing to give (or sell) it to me
• That the helmet would be my size
• That it would be in good enough condition after many years of use, to protect my head

You may chalk all of that up as a long string of coincidences. Personally, I believe that "coincidence" is when God chooses to remain anonymous.  To me, it is amazing to see that He orchestrated the whole thing. Why?  Because He loves His kids, and watches over us with loving kindness.