My Sea to Sea adventure

Final thoughts of my Sea to Sea Adventure

2008-09-04T06:56:00.000-07:00

I’ve just finished reading Barb’s final blog and I’m tempted just to say, ‘scroll down and read hers’. She echos my thoughts and sums up the trip very well. Thanks Barb, you did great.

We arrived in Chatham late Monday morning. The border crossing was backed up and by the time we hit Woodstock Sunday evening, Ralph had enough driving so we stayed overnight at my sisters and carried on in the morning.

Now it’s Wednesday. I’ve been fortunate that I don’t need to get back to a job asap. All of that will wait another week while I slowly readjust to life and my role as wife, mother, friend, cook etc.

Like Barb, when I wake up I wonder how many kms (while, she still thinks in miles) do I need to bike today? And then I remember, it’s over. The biking part of the trip is over. No more purrel everytime I make a sandwich or wash my dishes. When a transport truck honks, it doesn’t mean my supper is ready and that I should go and grab my dishes and stand in line. Laundry gets done in the washing machine, not with my clothes on in the shower. I am now responsible for cleaning more than 22 square feet (approx sq footage of my tent). I can actually sit down on a toilet seat…no more squatting. The alarm at 5 a.m. is now a thing of the past. My bike, the mode of my transportation for most of the summer, now sits forlornly in the garage. How does one adjust to all these changes?

My summer usually consists of swimming in the pool, camping, long walks and maybe a few sprint triathlons (just to mix it up). So in some ways, I feel as those I didn’t have a summer. The leaves are changing colours, it’s time to clean out the flower beds, close up the pool. I won’t even think of trying to even out the tan lines created by wearing bike shorts all those days.

I’ll carry with me forever the friendships made on this 9 week tour. It’s amazing how close you can become in such a short time.

I’ll be forever grateful for the prayers and encouraging notes that made my recovery time speed by. The fact that I could finish the tour (and not be ‘sagged’) will always stand out as a testimony that God hears the prayers of his people and that miracles still happen.

To all the people that worked behind the scene for almost 2 years to make this tour a reality….thank you. I won’t even begin to list names, because I’ll surely forget someone. To the cooks, nurses, sag drivers, kitchen & pantry and gear truck drivers….thank you. To Jen who made sure everything was organized in camp, to Billy D (the only biker in leather on the tour) who was there whenever you needed water on climb up a pass and the one who made sure the gear truck stayed tidy, thank you. To Ed who mapped out the route and our accommodations …to his wife, Denise for her willingness to travel along with their two young children and live in a nomad existence for the summer….Thank you. To the churches that fed us, organized our mail, hosted celebration services…thank you. To our billets (hosts) your generosity to us was amazing. To the many people that prayed daily for our safety, thank you. To the many people that donated monies so that we could meet and exceed our financial goals, thank you so much for participating in this very concrete way.

So how do I address the issue of poverty now? I’ve lived out of two laundry baskets for almost 9 weeks (and some of the items I took with me I didn’t even use). My walk in closet haunts me, our fully stocked pantry makes me cringe and the excess rooms, not needed in our home embarrass me. Why am I blessed when others struggle to stay alive? If this tour instills me a heart of gratefulness for what I have and extinguishes the fire in me to want more, than I believe it was worth it.

Not everyone is called or has the gifts to go on a ‘third world’ serve project, but I can attack the issue of poverty in other ways. I can recycle my outer plastic bags of milk or LCBO bags so that they can be cut into strips, looped together and crocheted into mats for mission fields. Children who would otherwise sleep on bare floors sleep on these mats. I can donate unused clothing or items to women shelters or local thrift stores, and the list goes on….the local food bank, etc, etc. Maybe one day when retirement is a reality for Ralph and I, we will be able to volunteer with the CRWRC on a work project. For now, I’ll strive to be more aware, to be grateful and open to change.

This past summer approx 200 people answered the call to cycle across North America to raise awareness and funds to help eliminate global poverty. The motion has started; can we continue to build momentum? I pray that the answer is yes.

Till we meet again, Cynthia

Day 62: Sussex to Jersey City 98.7km Uphill 2972 ft Downhill 3466 ft

2008-09-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

One p.m. everyone needs to be at the ‘gathering place’, which is only 80km away. So last evening Barb and I decided that we didn’t need to get into camp till 6:45 a.m. My alarm started to beep at 5:10 a.m. I ignored it, rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. Ten minutes later it beeped again. This time I took care of the problem. Barb was kind enough not to say anything about the beeping till later in the day. Although she did say several times in the ride that she was tired (maybe this was her way of saying she didn’t appreciate her sleep being so rudely interrupted…(I’ve only caught on to that as I’m typing up this blog one day later!)

Our host, Rob Dekker drove us back to the school by 6:45. Not just John, but all the guys are waiting for us, helmets on and everything. A quick photo of the entire pace line and we’re off in two groups. Within 5 minutes we’re stopping at a Dutch bakery for some sweet rolls and coffee. This was a quick stop, no sitting, just drink your coffee standing up and get back on the bike. I left with Andy, Gerry and Jake. The others are just ahead of us.

The route today is pretty rolling with a few steeper climbs. The air is humid and thick. I’m wondering if it is going to rain. Several cyclists cannot bike because of asthma related issues.

During one climb Gerry’s chain broke (again). Jake and Andy stayed behind to fix it and I sprinted ahead to catch Barb, John, Louie and Pete. The repair didn’t take long because they caught up to us around 30 minutes later. Today we are seeing a lot of encouraging signs for Sea to Sea cyclists posted on light poles or people’s front lawns. There are also quite a number of impromptu refreshments stands set up being manned by relatives or friends of the cyclists.

Around 10ish we stopped for our second breakfast (we are just over the 60km marker). Two of us ordered a ‘normal’ breakfast while the others overindulged in nut rolls, apple turnovers etc. We were sitting at the back of the restaurant, I was facing a window and a mirrored wall…now I wish I could blame what I said next on the lack of coffee, but I’d already had two and I might as well share what I said because I know Barb and Pete will probably blog it as well. Much to my dismay I noticed cyclists going the wrong way, so I said, ‘hey look at those guys, they’re going the wrong way!’ I couldn’t believe that on the last day someone would get lost…how awful for them. What I didn’t realize was that I was looking into a mirror. The guys got a good laugh at that one. Hmm, maybe that concussion was a bit more serious then I originally thought. Oh, by the time we left the restaurant the sun was shining; it’s not going to rain. Hooray.

We were at the ‘gathering spot’ by noon. Pete decided to go back up the hill and grab a coffee, we told him to bring one back for each of us. It was just to much of an effort to climb up that hill again. This parking lot is were we should have had a SAG or a Johnny on the spot’. Many cyclists are taking advantage of the grouping of trees in the one corner of the parking lot (if you know what I mean).

By 1:15 we gathered for a group photo and then at 1:30 we lined up to be escorted by a sheriff and his vehicle. I’m up at the front of the pack. Tyler (who broke his collarbone) rode today and he is also at the front. We both don’t want any extra bumps. Jake is beside me and the others are close by trying to make sure that no one crowds me in. We are riding three abreast, and I’m trying to stay close to the centerline (no rough shoulders to bother with). Ahead of me are several of the younger guys and as we cycle along more people squeeze in front. Everyone is hyped and excited. When we turned a corner I could see the long line of cyclists. It was impressive. People in vehicles are honking their horns, strangers are waving at us from the sidewalks, and occasionally we noticed several others taking photos out of their apartment windows. We’ve definitely created awareness.

Just before we headed out Ed mentioned that if anyone got a flat their bikes would be picked up and they would be ‘sagged in’. With 2 kms to go Kyle’s back tire blew. We all heard the hiss over top of Billy D’s bike. To Kyle’s credit he kept on biking….I’m certain his rim is damaged but he made it to the park. I think Marti also had a flat but she rode in on it.

We rode a bike path into the park. Family and friends lined both sides. You could see how happy they were for us. They cheered and clapped as we cycled by.

The beach front in Liberty State Park is rocky and small. Somehow we all managed to get our bikes lined up. We saved some room for our pace line because we wanted to walk in the water together. The only one missing was Louie (we figured he was still handing out cards or talking to someone!). Our head chaplin, Len said a few words then everyone recited the Lord’s prayer and together we dipped our front bike wheels in the Atlantic ocean.

My family that came to see me bike in....Cassy Werkema, Jo, Cynthia, Ralph and my sister; Betty-Anne Werkema

Family came forward to hug and congratulate us. We were kept busy introducing our family members or friends to one another. Many photos later we headed back to our vehicle and made our way to Eastern Christian Middle School in Cedar Hill to empty my two laundry baskets and drop off my ‘borrowed wheels’ that I tried out this summer. Next stop was the motel. Quick shower and presto chango we were heading out for the dinner at Cedar Hill CRC. They’ve sold over 700 tickets for the dinner. Again, a good variety of food and it all tasted great.

The closing celebration service started at 7:30 pm. We’re sitting in the front row of the balcony and have a great view of everything. The worship team did a fantastic job leading us in worship. Both John Vandersteen and Barb Mellema participated in an interview, answering questions about the tour (this was to give some insight to the audience that didn’t cycle as to what the tour experience was all about). Two cyclists, Christeena Nienhuis and Mark (sorry, the last name escapes me) both shared their testimonies. Thank you both for sharing, you did a great job. Rev. Mark Gornik, the Director of City Seminary of New York shared his story of how he and other members of the community helped facilitate a dramatic change for the better in the community of Sandtown (Baltimore). Many key people were thanked and acknowledged for their work with the tour and then we closed the evening in song.

Now the hard part of saying good bye. After a few tears and many hugs we called it a day and headed back to the motel.

I’ll post one more blog later in the week where I’ll attempt to give my take on the tour. For now, it’s time to sign off because my battery is quickly dying. Later, Cynthia
P.S. We broke our record of flats today, totaling more then 35ish in one day….that beats the goat head territory!

Total km biked 103.3km Time on the bike 4:47:57 Max speed 54.3km

Day 61: Dalton to Sussex 132 Km Uphill 6857 ft Downhill 7356 ft

2008-08-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

We’ve been told that today’s ride will be difficult. Nine weeks ago we started off with a difficult climb (Day 2 up Steven’s Pass) so it is only fitting that the second last day be somewhat the same. Todays climb of 6857ft is the most we’ve ever climbed in one single day. To say that people are a bit uptight is putting it lightly. We’ve heard talk of rain and that would make the descents tricky.

My alarm went off at 4:50 a.m. (a record for me). Since I’m on sweep today, my goal was to pack up my tent and be ready to set out breakfast by 5:45. Thankfully I was excused from packing up the gear truck and was able to leave with the gang at 6:50.

Whoa, the climbing continued where we left off yesterday. Someone had an elevation button on their watch and most of the climbs where between 10-12% with a few at 14%. The saving grace was that the climbs are short and for a lot of them you can power down and coast quite a ways up before you start to downshift. We had a gap in our pace line but met up with each other at SAG stops or restaurants along the way.

First stop was Julie's. She was handing out pototo chips….mmm salt is always good. Oh I should mention that just before Julie’s SAG we had to make a quick left hand turn. We where going downhill and didn’t see the marker till it was too late. We stopped our bikes and turn them facing the right direction. The only problem was that it was on a rather steep incline so when I went to start my left foot was clipped in but I didn’t get the right foot clipped in on time so down I went. Just a scrape to my right ankle and a possible bruise on my left hip but I could still continue on. My second attempt to get started was much better. The guys held up my bike and gave me push to get me going. Talk about being humbled, thank goodness no one got that on video!

Second breakfast was just past the 60km marker. Waffles with strawberry sauce and icing sugar. Very good. The coffee hit the spot and we were ready to tackle some more hills. Lots of dairy farms today.

Walters SAG was next. He is still trying to unload ‘waltermelon’ but in honor of the second last day he was handing out chocolates. They weren’t dark chocolate but I still enjoyed them. After Walters the route wasn’t as difficult, just one rolling hill after another.

Just before the last major climb of the day we stopped in Portjervis. It was decided that an ice coffee was in order to help power us up. McDonalds to the rescue. When we were ready to leave Jake stepped outside and to his surprise there was his wife and his brother and sister in law. He wasn’t expecting them till tomorrow so now Jake is on a mission….get in as soon as possible.

No sooner on our bikes and there was the Welcome into New Jersey. Photo op.

Climbing High Point wasn’t as hard as I expected. I found that you would do some climbing and then you’d have a bit of break before the climbing started again. At the top of the summit I was greeted by Grandma Rose and her 3 grandchildren that were manning the booth. ‘Would I like lemonade, or water? Chips, cookies, or nuts?' Cory also had a SAG set up, but he wasn’t doing a lot of business. Too much competition.

When we left this stop there was a sign stating…. ‘It’s all downhill from here’. Not quite true but I’ll let it go. One last brutal climb up to Sussex Christian School. The gear truck was unpacked and several volunteers were on hand to shuttle us to the showers, show us where to set up our tents, direct us to the computer lab, etc, etc. Very well organized.

I had just finished setting up my tent to dry when my husband Ralph and our youngest daughter Jo arrived. My sister, Betty-Anne Werkema and her youngest daughter Cassy also came along to share the last days of the tour with me. My plan was to stay in a motel with them but I’ve since learned that the motel is an hour away and with an early start time tomorrow its best if I just stay in camp. Barb to the rescue. She had signed me up for a billet (hosting) but crossed me off when she saw Ralph. Now she has uncrossed me and I’m staying at a lovely home with Barb, being hosted by Rob and Carol Dekker. Thank you soooo much. No wet tent to take down tomorrow morning.

Supper was served by the Sussex and Goshen CRC community. So much food. They’ve even invited our families to join us for supper….that’s a total of over 500 for supper. It was fantastic. Thanks again for all the work these two communities did to make our stay at Sussex as enjoyable as possible.

Peloton tonight was all about saying thank you. The cooks, support staff, Jen, Ed, Cory, and the chaplins were thanked. Ed went over the route. We are actually being escorted by 3 different police vehicles (different jurisdictions) over a 10 mile ride. This will be slow going. Pray for safety as we finish off this journey.

Total km 133.7 for the day. Max speed of 69.8km Time on the bike 6:11:43

Way past my bed time. Till tomorrow, Cynthia
P.S. Not too many photos. I guess like Jake, I just wanted to get in.

Day 60: Binghamton to Dalton 93km Uphill 3245 ft Downhill 3154 ft

2008-08-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

Every evening before I zip up my tent and call it a night I ask John what time we’re leaving in the morning. John’s reply is, ‘don’t worry, take your time’. But you’d think I’d know by now that by 6:30 a.m. there is John, helmet on, sitting on his bike just doing circles in the parking lot waiting for me. To be quite frank, this morning I stalled John because Barb wasn’t quite ready. Anything for a friend.

The morning started off cool. Most cyclists had leg and arm warmers on. I haven’t used the leg warmers yet. I’m trying to stay tough.

Pete is on sweep today so I started off with John, Jake, Barb, Gerry, Andy, and Louie. The first 20km were okay but then I had a breathing problem. Just couldn’t catch my breath. I blame it on emotions. I was fifth from the back of the pace line with John and Louie behind me but I couldn’t see what was on the road in front of me and we were clicking along at a good pace. I knew that if the pavement became rough or that if there was a piece of debris on the road that I would have a hard time missing it simply because the further down the line the less reaction time. So I panicked. The solution to the problem was to break up the pace line, which the guys did quite willingly. I finished the reminder of the day biking with Andy, Jake and Gerry. No more panic attack, thank goodness. My cadence is back to normal (around 90 revolutions pr minute) and I can keep up with the guys on the flats. They still beat me up on the hills but I think guys are just naturally stronger and they have more power at their disposal than most women.

Today was a short day. Last evening during peloton Ed told us that the elevation chart was not correct…not as many climbs as were indicated in the Shifting Gears book.

Our first SAG was being manned by Julie. She was at the border sign welcoming us into Pennsylvania. We told her we would stay at her SAG if she wanted to go for a coffee. We even suggested that she just put out the water jugs and chips and hang up a sign…. ‘Be back in 5 minutes’ and join us for a coffee. But Julie is too devoted to her duties that she couldn’t be persuaded. We thanked her to all she does for us and continued along to find a coffee stop.
We had a few rolling hills early this morning but by the time we stopped for a coffee at 8:30ish we were mainly going downhill. Gerry had left Julie’s SAG just before us and in the next town we saw his biked leaned against this sport bar building. We have a rule, never let a cyclists have a coffee alone, so in we went. As always we handed out cards. When we asked if they had any pastries the owner said. ‘no’, but then a little while later he came back with two platters of timbits that he had purchased for us. Cyclists kept coming in and when it came time to pay the owner said it was on the house. Such random acts of kindness are always appreciated.
We stopped at this cement bridge to take photos and to peel down. The temperature outside is heating up so it’s time to lose the arm warmers and jackets. Walters RV was our next SAG stop. I’m not sure when we reached the town of Nicholson, probably around 11ish. At this point we only have around 10km to go. The gear truck won’t be in camp for another hour, so we figured why not stop for another breakfast. The town of Nicholson is pretty desolate. We decided to eat at Nicole’s diner; good food and great coffee. After breakfast we investigated a few of the shops. The one shop still had Easter candy out. Gerry was trying to get Andy to purchase this Halloween witch that laughed whenever you walk by it. He thought Andy’s wife would loooooove it. Andy knew better….no laughing witch for you, Siska. Empty handed we went back on our bikes and continued on our way.

Now heres where the ride became interesting. With only 6km to go we faced some terrific climbs. On the way up the first climb (I’ve heard some talk that it was a 12% grade) Gerry’s chain snapped in two. Jake didn’t noticed what happened and he continued to sail down the hill, leaving Andy and I with Gerry at the top of the hill. Now Gerry has a bit of everything in his bag (just like John) and he had the tools to fix it. I took a few pictures of the guys working away and then decided to remove my helmet and sunglasses to cool off. Jake waited at the bottom of the hill for around 15 minutes and then decided that he should go back and check out what was taking us so long. Up the hill he goes, just as he comes to the top we are getting on our bikes ready to head down the hill. We did say he was a good friend to go to come back for us.

When we sailed to the bottom of the hill I noticed that I didn’t have my sunglasses on (I had left them on the side of the road. You guessed it; they were at the top of the hill. Gerry decided it was his fault because he had the broken chain and went back to the top to find my glasses. Later on I told Gerry that I wish he had been the man in the Garden of Eden because then Eve wouldn’t been blamed for anything! Andy told me never to take those glasses off ever again.

The last couple kms where nasty. I think I know what tomorrow will be like; very difficult but hopefully manageable…one pedal stroke at a time is my motto. I guess we are cycling thru the Pocono’s tomorrow.

Tonight we are staying at Lackawanna State Park. The rain has held off and we are optimistically hoping that our clothes will dry.

This is the last supper that our cooks are preparing for us. Below are a few photos of the cooks in action.

The last few evening Peloton has been devoted to 'life after the tour'. One evening those who where going to school were asked to go to the front and a prayer was said for them. The next evening concentrated on the ones that had jobs to go home to or know what they are doing (retirement). Wednesday evening we prayed for those that either quite there jobs for the tour or do not know what they are going to do. Last evening several people spoke on what the tour has meant to them and how they view life now after the experience of the tour. We also formed a circle and shared communion . Another meaningful worship.

Just as I retired for the evening, the rain started coming down. I'm glad, that means there's less to fall tomorrow during the ride. Good night one and all. Cynthia

Time on the bike 3:41:06 Max speed 62.7km Total km biked 91.4km (first time on record that we are actually under the kms for the day).

Day 59: Romulus to Binghamton 122km Uphill 3676 ft Downhill 3362 ft

2008-08-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

Decided to set my alarm for 5:25 a.m. It’s suppose to be foggy out so I figured the guys would leave a bit later. Surprise, no fog so I had to quickly finish getting ready so I wouldn’t keep them waiting to long. Not too much dew on the tent, so packing up was a pleasure.

I believe we set out just before 7. Cory Nyhuis is biking today (no pulling the porta potty, instead he gets to experience the tour from the seat of a bike) so we split up the pace line and set out. Cory is biking with Barb, John, and Louie. I’m biking with Andy, Pete, Jake and Gerry.

Cynthia, John, Barb, Pete, Cory, Gerry, Louie, Jake and Andy all set to go

The ride today was fairly hilly. The only thing good about climbing is that you get to go down again. We started looking for a coffee shop around 8:45. In fact when we came to Walter’s sag we told him we wouldn’t stay long because we were ‘dying’ for a coffee. We didn’t locate one till 9:30ish. At that time we looked at our accumulated kms for the day and realized we were already at 70km so we had finished the ‘big’ climb. It was in three parts, first 600ft then 200ft and it finished off with another 200ft. I managed it quite well. Hooray.

The remainder of the day was still rolling. The Valley CRC had a water spot close to the end of the day. We came upon this sign welcoming us into the community of Chenango Forks. The young people created this sign and hung it on a silo so that we couldn’t miss it. The CRC is close to the Chenango Forks School. They had water, doughnuts, and chips for us. After a refreshing stop (and sufficient time to make sure the gear truck was almost unpacked) we headed over to the school. The guys still helped to unload the gear bags but I’ve decided not to lug any extra weight…biking is enough for now.

My tent is up, I’ve showered and then I went back into the school to plug my computer in and blog; wouldn’t you know it……I got an internet connection!!!!! So happy. The school is under some major construction and the tech guy set up an internet site for the contractors to use. So put a hard hat on me, I’m blogging!

We are being served supper by the Valley Christian Reformed church. They are serving us a locally known dish called spedie. This is a chicken dish that is marinated in garlic and lemon served on a kobab. Can't wait, I’m hungry.

They’re calling for a possibility of rain on Thursday and Friday. No sense worrying about it till it happens.

P.S. If my Mom is reading this, I promised that I would call her on Monday (2 days ago) and let her know if I was going to continue to with the tour. Guess what, Mom….I’m continuing! Pay phones are difficult to find and I still don’t have a calling card. So, sorry about that. I promise to call you when I’m home next Monday.

Time on the bike 5:10:42 Total of 125.3kms

Till tomorrow, Cynthia

Day 58: Bryon to Romulus 122km Uphill 2889 ft Downhill 2991 ft

2008-08-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

It’s amazing what one forgets; like what its like to pack up a wet, wet tent….unpleasant sums it up pretty good.

I should back track and add that last evening we were treated to some wonderful music. Some people that were staying in the RV camp belong to a 4 piece band and they just happen to have their instruments with them plus an extra violin for Vonda to use. Since the campground had already donated a bucket full of free firewood they thought why not add a sing-a-long. Small groups were cancelled and instead we enjoyed a variety of gospel (or should I say, gossip) music. They also played some lively tunes that made you want to get up and move around. The kitchen staff had purchased enough supplies for smores for everyone. So it was a true campfire experience. I went to sleep with the sound of music still playing in my mind.

As I stated earlier, it was a wet this morning. I managed to have everything packed up and ready to go on the bike shortly before 7a.m. The guys were already hanging over their handbars asking what took me sooooo long. Not to fear, as it turned out we waited around 4 minutes for Louie ……miscommunication as to where we were too meet. Oh well, better Louie than me!

We split up the pace line for safety reasons, so today I started out with Andy, Jake and Rick D from Hamilton. Barb, John, Gerry and Pete were always in our sight. Lunch is being served along the route by the East Palmyra CRC members, but it doesn’t start till 10 a.m. So we killed some time at a gas station drinking some coffee.

The route for the first part of the day was up and down. Wonderful to ride the hills down and then coast up the majority of the way up. It wasn’t difficult and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. We are seeing a lot of dairy farms on our route today. Someone also mentioned that this area has a lot of high tech industry as well.

We were the first group in for lunch. What a spread! Coffee, cold drinks, sloppy joes on a bun, baked beans (not great when you’re at the back of the line….if you get my drift!). They also had a lettuce salad, pasta salad, fresh fruit and a ton of baked goods. We took a good bite out of the cherry cheese cake pan, everything tasted great. It was also good to visit with the people gathered there to support, cheer and feed us. I should add that some women started to talk to John Vandersteen and pretty soon I think they had come up with a way that they were related. Go figure, dutch bingo at it’s best! When we left the lunch spot it was Andy, Rick and I but we lost Rick when we stopped to talk to Andy’s son Chris and his wife (Amanda) with their two children. They stayed in the RV camp last evening and are traveling to the State park that we are staying at tonight. Julian is excited. He’s three and he has promised to set up Andy’s tent.

We caught up with the gang at a sag stop with under 15km to go. Andy, Pete and I started off before the rest because we said that they would catch up with us. I wish they had….instead we ended up missing the turn onto Lake Rd E and traveled to the town of Seneca Falls. We received several directions as to how to head back onto the right track. One got us onto a side road that started out paved and turned into gravel; very bumpy and slow going. We ended up flagging down a woman in a yellow mustang. Her was name Kathy Felis and she was very familiar with the area. She gave us great directions and told us a bit of history about the park that we are staying at. It used to be a military base and her dad actually bought one of the barracks and dismantled it for wood. Not too worry we only added an additional 30km to todays route. That translates to 153.3km and a total time of 5:47:22 on the bike. We weren't the only ones that did a bit extra mileage. Here the bikers are waiting for the gear truck and kitchen truck that got lost. The kitchen staff is busy peeling eggs for tomorrows egg salad that will available for us to pack in our lunches.

We are staying at Sampson State park. Lots of trees, a grassy site and an enclosed picnic shelter to eat in. It will probably get cool tonight, so great for sleeping. The tour technical support has told us that we will probably not have internet serviced for the remaining of the tour, very sad news for those of us who regularly blog. I’m feeling really good. The biking is not too much of a problem. After 4 hours it does get uncomfortable in the seat so tomorrow I’ll try to look out for those orange arrows that mark the route and maybe I should pull out my map once or twice rather than relying on the guys to get me there. Currently I’m sitting on an ice pack. The kitchen staff is generously allowing me to store it in their freezer so it’s ready to use whenever I need it.

Now it’s time to collect my laundry and make sure everything is set to go in my tent. Last evening when I went into my tent it was very dark so I put on my head lamp only to discover that the batteries had died. I hadn’t used it since my crash. It was very interesting smearing face cream on my face (was it really face cream or some form of butt butter?)

P.S. Marti DP (a cyclists) and her husband (he has been marking the route for the past couple of weeks) became Canadian citizens yesterday. Tonight they served cake to everyone. They also hung up that t-shirt that I quoted from in yesterday’s blog. It’s great to see how happy they are to be Canadians.

Till later, Cynthia

Day 57 St. Catherines to Bryon 124km Uphill 2026 ft Downhill 1692 ft

2008-08-25T16:47:00.001-07:00

Breakfast was served at the school from 6 – 7 a.m. Ed W wants us to have everything in the gear truck by 8 a.m. so that the trucks can cross over the border asap. We have been asked to carry our passports and meet by a designated parking lot close to the border by 9:30.

Barb is on sweep so we set out in two groups. First line: John, Pete, Jake and then 50 ft back we formed another line: Andy, Louie, Gerry and myself. We figure this is the safer way to travel. John knows the area (one of the many places he has lived in his life) so he biked us by the Floral clock but unlike Saturday evening no one was around, so we could take some great pictures. (Opps the person taking the photo for me didn't quite take it, so I cannot share this photo with you).

Next stop, the Falls Next stop, Tim Hortons. I don’t have the photo on my camera but Pete has a picture of Gerry K with a Timmies coffee in one hand and a doughnut in the other. He can say that he has experienced what it means to be a ‘true Canadian’.

When we were touring Niagara on the Lake I came upon the following script and I would like to share it with you. If any of you caught Barb Mellema’s blog the day before we crossed into Canada you would have read that she wondered where all the igloos where. So I thought I would enlighten any US citizens that have been reading my blog. Here goes………

I, Cynthia Aukema do not travel by dogsled
A loonie is a dollar not a relative
I live in the second largest country in the world
Winter only lasts one season
I live in a house not an igloo
I do not know your second cousin John in Saskatoon
Our currency was not based on Monopoly money
The Parliament buildings are not made of ice
The maple leaf is our national symbol
We are the BEST hockey players in the world
I AM CANADAIN

Anyways, back to the blog.

All the cyclists were at the designated meeting place by 9:30. We followed Billy Den Harder (the guy on the motorcycle) to the Rainbow Bridge. I have never experienced an easier crossing. They opened 3 lanes up for us and just let us cycle across. We didn’t even have to show our passports. I’m not too sure what Ed did in advance but it sure was sweet.

We had been warned to say in groups of 3 or more because of the rough neigbourhood just as we passed over the bridge. I didn’t really notice that much (I’m used to Detroit).

The remainder of the day was very smooth. Great shoulders to ride on. We had some side wind and Louie generously allowed me to use him as a wind break. For most of the ride it was a tail ride. Barb bumped into us at a snack shack around 30 km from the end. She expressed surprise and then asked where we had turned wrong! We had to admit that we were heading in the right direction but then Billy D came by on his motorcycle and said that we were going the wrong way so to follow him. Which we did……WRONG move. After 7 ½ km we came upon Billy and he said ,’opps, I think this is the wrong route’. We asked some locals how to get back on the route. So instead of a 123.1km day we did 138.9km. The upside is that the route was very flat so the extra km weren’t too hard on my body. Time on the bike 5:36:22

Tonight we are staying at Southwoods RV park. It’s a great place. We have a nice grassy site. We can log on to the parks internet (fantastic), and the camp has also donated free firewood for us to burn tonight. The downside is that our tents are parked downwind from the campfire…oh well, life goes on.

Tomorrow is 123km day with a few shorts climb. It will get very cool tonight so a great evening for sleeping. Till tomorrow, Cynthia

Sunday, August 24, 2008

2008-08-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Oh how I wish my body could sleep past 6 a.m. This morning breakfast wasn’t being served till 8 a.m. and there I was wide awake wondering how to kill 2 hours. I decided to hit the computer lab and finish typing out yesterdays blog. Next a shower and then wouldn’t you know it, it was 8 a.m. breakfast time.

This morning we worshipped across the road at Maranatha CRC. The service was led by Pastor Ken VanDyk. His sermon, ‘Christ’s Ambassadors’ tied in beautifully with our Sea to Sea theme. The singing was phenomenal. During the singing of ‘How Great Thou Art’ I’m almost certain that the ceiling rafters lifted up a tad. Fantastic! When we walked out of church we were greeted by Ralph’s brother and his wife; Flo & Shirley Aukema. They came early to spend some time with us and with several other people that they knew on the tour.

Lunch was served at the school by the church folk. They have generously feed many of our visiting family as well. This goes beyond our expectations and again, thank you.

Rain was threatening so we hightailed it to the nearest Starbucks so that I could post yesterday’s blog using their internet. This means I didn’t pirate the internet from anyone (like I alluded to in yesterday’s blog) but actually did the right thing and paid to get connected…so no crime was committed. It started to rain buckets while we were in Starbucks. We checked the weather network and it verified that the system would last several hours, so with umbrella and rain jackets we headed off to Queenston Heights Park in Niagara Falls.

Ralph plugged in directions to the park…big mistake. The fastest route was the QEW but somehow we didn’t hear the correct instruction because before we knew it we where in a long line trying to cross into the States (and I’m not suppose to be going across till tomorrow!) Quick call to my family that we were meeting at the service to inform them of our dilemma and no sooner had Ralph finished the call when Flo noticed a way out. Quick U-turn and within 5 minutes our GPS informed us that ‘we have arrived’.

It is still raining so everyone is seeking shelter under the pavilion. First two people I saw where John & Betty-Anne Werkema (my sister) with some of their children…. Michael (and Carolyn Kuipers) and Cassy. Next I saw my uncle and aunt, Harm and Margaret Bremer from Aylmer. He generously prints off my blogs for my parents to read and if I understand correctly he also keeps the people who live at Heritage Place informed of my process. Aylmer CRC was the church my family worshipped at for many years until Tillsonburg CRC started. Then because it was closer to were we lived we became part of the original families that founded Tillsonburg CRC. Cynthia, Aunt Margaret, Uncle Harm and Barb Mellema

Kees & Liz Vreugendel with their daughter Helen gave me a hug. George Douma found me (a Chathammite and friend) and told me where his wife was located but I never got around to her……..sorry Hilda and I could continue on with the dutch bingo but it’s suffice to say that it was another great day of seeing familiar faces, receiving hugs and generally feeling loved.

At 4 p.m. the rain stopped, the sun came out and the service started. God is good. David Raakman was our worship leader and the main speaker was Brian Walsh. He gave a powerful message on the fruits of the spirit; challenging and providing us with much to think on. Alida Van Dijk a cyclists from the beginning of the tour and a ‘St. Catherine’s’ native shared her perspective of the tour. She represented us well, thanks Alida. The service ended with some songs and then the cyclists and support staff was asked to come up to the front for a blessing. Wow, to look out at all the people sitting on the hill side was amazing. I couldn’t see the end of the crowd, and I’m not going to speculate on how many people attended because I’m bound to be wrong. When the service ended the local CRC community started feeding the cyclists. We decided to go out for dinner with our visiting families. It was nice to sit and talk about the plans that everyone has for the fall.

We made it back to the camp in time for Andrew to say good bye to his friends. I packed up a bag because I’m being billeted tonight at Henrietta Hunse’s home (Ralph is bringing the 5th wheel back to Chatham….good bye bed, good bye Ralph). Barb M and our head cook, Lavonne K stayed at Henrietta’s home last evening and there was one extra single bed so they’ve graciously allowed me to use it.

It was difficult saying good bye to Andrew. He leaves on Tuesday to attend Regent College in Vancouver. He plans to be out west for at least 2 years, maybe more. While I’m excited for him it means that we’ve officially cut the apron strings. He’s starting his own life and that’s the way it should be. So now Jolene will get our undivided attention (lucky Jo!).

After peloton we went to Henrietta’s home. She is a very welcoming host and quickly made me feel at home. She also shared that she will be married in 6 weeks and we got a sneak peek at the dress she is designing. She will make a beautiful bride and we wish Jim and her many years of wedded bliss. Henrietta also showed us some of the wonderful fabrics she has taken home from Mila when she worked for CRWRC. It was a pleasant evening and bed time came all too soon.

Tomorrow we cross the border. Six more biking days. Later, Cynthia

Day 55: Hamilton to St. Catherines approx 74km (I don't have the map anymore)

2008-08-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Another picture perfect biking day.

Today I got to sleep in till 5:50 a.m. because I’m sleeping in the camper so no tent to pack up and breakfast wasn’t being served till 6 a.m. When I arrived at the dining hall there was Andy, John, Gerry, Jake and Louie. Pete & Lynda and Barb showed up shortly afterwards. Mike is on sweep duty today so he will not be biking with us. John, Barb and Louie are signed up for a service project so they want to be into St. Catherines by 11 a.m. I’m biking with Andy, Gerry, Pete and Jake today.

The kitchen staff at Redeemer did a great job on supper last evening and also on breakfast. Lots of variety and we could get thru the food line quickly. I think they’ve done this before! I also wanted to mention that last evening I met a former teacher from my LDCSS days, Herman Proper. He also acted as principle at our Christian High in Chatham. Just as I was standing there shooting the breeze with him, Marsha (Batterink) came and said hi. She has spent countless hours in our home many years ago babysitting our children. She did feel slightly older when I introduced her to Andrew. Sorry Marsha, I know you are married to Jim but I’m uncertain as to what your married name it. Helen Vreugdenhil also looked me up at Redeemer to say ‘Hi’. Good to see so many faces from the past.

Started out on the bike at 7a.m. Pete has a band-aid on his left elbow and knee and he also put a matching white wrap on this left handlebars (and they say guys aren’t vain!) We had no sooner left the college when we past a gentleman raking the front of the church lawn, without so much as a warning Pete did a U-turn and told us to carry on without him. Pete caught up with us ½ an hour later and explained that this gentleman had taken him to the bike shop yesterday and Pete wanted to thank him.

Today’s route was like a pattern of the last few days; many people cheering on the side of the roads, handing out baked goods and we noticed a lot of homemade signs welcoming and encouraging us. We’ve been told that we have around 5 planned stops.

The first stop was by the Scenic lookout…..freezers

Second stop…Was by the top of the escarpment. A stand was just being set out by the Fruitland CRC. Since it wasn’t quite up and running we waved and cycled on.

Third stop, ‘The Dutch Shop’. One of our C2C cyclists works here. We thanked them for giving Eritia Smit the summer off and told them how lucky they were to have such a fine employee. Eritia, I think you can ask for a raise when you get back; we really ‘talked’ you up!

Fourth stop, Shalom Manor…a retirement and assisted living facility. We walked into the dining hall just as someone was on the ‘mike’ telling them that we were stopping by. Great timing. We waved and carried on for a few block till we reached the Mountainview CRC in Grimsby our fifth stop. Coffee, doughnuts, fresh peaches and ice cream were some of the food they had set out for us. We’ve vowed to pace ourselves on the food, so just a cup of peaches and ice cream, then we had to tear Jake away from the pulpit (I think he’s missing his Sunday duties) before we headed out to the sixth stop. Sixth stop..Providence CRC in Beamsville. We reached this stop just after 10 a.m. They had a lunch spread out that would make your eyes pop. So much food and again people cheering and wanting to talk to us. We obliged them on both counts. Seventh stop was being manned by Pieter Pereboom's parents. The temperature outside is heating up so the freezers that they handed out at this stop were much appreciated.

Seventh stop Jubilee CRC. Again more people to talk to and this time we had cups of fruit salad.

The area we traveled thru today had a few dairy farms, a lot of fruit farms and wineries.

A view of the grapes

Ten km to go before we hit our destination for the day. I wanted to get in rather early because I’ve heard they’re offering pedicures, massages and haircuts. I plan to take them up on two of the three. Several hours later I’m sitting in the truck blogging away. I’ve had my shower, pedicure and massage. Three local CRC are serving us supper. Oh, I met my cousin, Ed DeVries today. I haven’t seen him or his wife Michelle and their two children for…well lasts just say that it’s been awhile.

After a fantastic supper Ralph, Andrew, Gerry K and I took a scenic drive to see a few sights. Some of the things we saw were:

The flower clock :
The town of Niagara on the Lake; beautiful flower beds and many quaint shops to wander thru .

The mighty Niagara Falls :So that’s my day. St. Catherines has opened their computer lab for us and many people are taking advantage of it….but you can’t connect to the internet on our laptops so now Ralph and I will drive around the neighbourhood in hopes that someone has an unprotected internet connection that I ‘borrow’ in order to send this blog (and on a Sunday, no less).

P.S. It’s official. I’m going to stay on and attempt the last week. I’m not sure if I can actually do all the climbs but I don’t want to live with the regret of giving up before I’ve even attempted it…so here’s to next week. May all the cyclists have what they stand in need of, both physically and mentally. Till later, Cynthia

Day 54: London to Hamilton 121 km (actually 126.5km...but who's counting).

2008-08-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Uphill 2592 ft Downhill 2626 ft

Two words sum up the day….rollers and food.

Our day started a bit later than usual. . I think we were off by 7 a.m. We said goodbye to familiar faces but we know that we will see them again on Sunday or in my case, tonight. No need for arm warmers, I just wore a sleeveless jersey and shorts. It was a great day for biking, only getting warm (90F) by the end of the day.

The pace line...Pete, Cynthia, Gerry, John, Jake, Louie, Andy, Mike and Barb

John led us out of London and before long we were cycling along country roads. For those not familiar with the area, Southern Ontario is home to a lot of agriculture. Dairy farms, chicken and hog operations, vegetables and we even went past a few tobacco farms (the tobacco industry has taken a huge hit in the last number of years and you see less and less of these farms). Large trees lined both sides of the road and provided us with a great cover throughout most of the day.

When we weren’t cycling we were eating. I think we had 5 planned stops and this isn’t counting the people and children standing at the end of their drivesways offering cold water, etc. It was almost overwhelming. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating…. Canadians rock in the hospitality category. The support you’ve shown us is phenomenal. I won’t list all the churches and communities for fear that I’ll forget one. An interesting bike stand

I need to mention that I was impressed by the Porta Johns in Woodstock. I’ve never been in one that you can actually flush and then press down on a foot pump for fresh water to wash your hands in a sink. Awesome! Now thats what Cory should have been pulling along behind him for the entire tour.

I’ve also seen a lot of familiar faces but again I’ll refrain from listing them because if I forget to mention someone they may feel slighted which is not my intent at all. To the many people that came up to me and offered me encouragement, thank you, I appreciate your words and well wishes.

As I mentioned early in this blog, we’d no sooner go up one hill and then the next one would be before us. We did have a relatively flat area after Woodstock but that was only for a few kms and then we were back at it again. Our pace line was 10 people long so after Ingersol we split up for the safety factor. I biked the remainder of the day with John, Barb, Mike and Louie (he was busy talking in Woodstock so we left without him, but he did his own 40km time trail bike race and met up with us in Brantford…the sweat was just pouring down his face. You’re welcome Louie for leaving you behind, now you know how fast you can bike.)

Tonight we are staying at Redeemer College. Again people greeted us as we came in. Volunteers were quick to sign us up for billets, or pedicures. If we were still in need of food we could go down the bike path where another church had refreshments set out. Since we had stopped at all the other places we felt compiled to go. Supper could prove to be a challenge tonight.

Before we headed into the shower, they had someone behind a desk handing out fresh towels for us to use (no need to get ours wet). They’ve opened their library up and we have access to computer and wireless internet. I see a lot of happy cyclists busy blogging away and checking their emails. Oh happy day. The kitchen staff is off tonight, Redeemer cooks are preparing our meal.

Tomorrow evening I need to make the decision if I’m going to stay for the last week. I don’t want to hold up the pace line, but I may have to change my strategy and bow out of the pace line. When I’m at the back of the pace line going downhill, the first person is usually pedaling away but because I have less resistance I tend to go faster and in order not to pass the person in front of me I have to slow down and apply the brakes. So that’s mean when I’m at the bottom of a hill I have no speed left to go up. If I’m not in a paceline I can pick up speed going down and use that to propel me up. The guys usually still pass me because they are stronger but this second scenario is easier on my body.

The ride today went fairly well. I was glad to get in and again am sitting on a ice pack. Better get this posted because it’s almost supper time. Till tomorrow, Cynthia

P.S. Pete went down today. He brushed tires with Gerry. His favorite shorts are ripped and he has some skin off on his elbow and knee, but he still biked in.

Time on the bike 5:06:43 Average speed of 24.7 Top speed 57km

DaY 53: Chatham to London 118.3km Uphill 1817ft Downhill 1566ft

2008-08-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

So there is a 5:10 in the morning.

Lynda had gotten up at 4:30 a.m. to put the breakfast casserole in the oven (thanks Lynda. She prepared it for me last evening and now cannot even taste it because she is on kitchen duty back at the Kinsman.) I set out breakfast (help yourself) plus some items for them to pack in their bags. We don’t have to pack an actual lunch because Mount Brydges (and Strathroy?) is providing this for us. Pete hadn’t returned back to our home when we set out but we had full confidence that both Pete & Andy could catch us somewhere along the route and they didn’t disappoint.

I’ve been told that the wind is suppose to be on our back hence the departing from the west coast and going east. Someone ought to tell the wind….it was in our face for most of the day. We did have a great pace line going. I never had to take a turn at the front. The guys would bike 5km and then switch off. We clipped along at a good speed, averaging between 26-27km. I think I’m going to play my ‘sick card’ for all I can, it’s sweet just tagging along!

We pulled into the CRC church in Mount Brydges (P.S. if this is spelled wrong it's Randy's fault, he just told me the correct spelling..but I think it still looks wrong!) just after 10 a.m. Wow, beef on a bun, salads, fresh fruit, juice, coffee. Someone asked if we had eaten breakfast. I think they were shocked to see how full our plates were.

I should mention that cyclists could sign up for a 40km time trail race. They left the start point at 9 a.m. The winner would receive a ‘texas size cinnabun’. Second prize, a day old cinnabon and third prize….left over baked goods from Sombra. I might not have all the prizes correct, but you get the gist. Not too sure who won, but my bet is Rueben Vyn. .

My sister, Betty-Anne Werkema met me at the entrance of the bike path into Storybook Gardens. She joined me for the last 14km of the day, nice to visit as we biked. This is a great biking path. London had set up a booth on the path and they were handing out ice cubes and watermelon.

John receiving a 'heros' welcome into his own home town

We received a great welcome into London District Christian Highschool. Again so much food. My sister gave me a tour…it’s been a number of years since I graduated from this facility and things have changed. Go figure!

We’ve parked the 5th wheel at John & Irene Vandersteen’s home. Ralph and Jolene will return home to Chatham tomorrow (someone has to work) and then Ralph will pick up the 5th wheel and deliver it to Hamilton Friday evening. Andrew will be joining the tour for the next two days…he’s not biking with me. He believes that no one should be up and about before 7 a.m. I wonder who put that idea in his head!

Oh, how did I do today? Actually pretty good. I’m slower going up the hills and my acceleration time is not up to par. I did find an ice pack in the Vandersteens freezer and sat on that for a while till the ‘sit bone’ was numb. Feels much better……actually it’s so frozen that I don’t feel anything. Yahoo! It’s a go for tomorrow. Till later, Cynthia

Day 52: Sombra to Chatham, Ontario 60km

2008-08-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

I’m a day late with this blog but I have a good excuse. Does 9 cyclists staying at ones home qualify as a reason not to blog?

Yesterday started out earlier than usual for me. My father-in-law picked my bike and I up at 8 a.m. From here we headed out to Sombra to meet the cyclists as the came into Canada. What a lot of excitement in Sombra. Many, many spectators and well-wishers. Looking across the river we could see all the yellow cycling vests (they’re pretty reflective!). When I seen the Kitchen and Gear truck I knew that they would be crossing soon. First ones off the ferry where cyclists from the area….Christina, Matt, Paul & Teresa, Jake K, etc. We cheered enthusiastically for each cyclists. Someone was plastering Canadian stickers on the cyclists’ jerseys, their faces or arms. Tim Hortons coffee was poured out for many, and if they wanted to eat; well there was an array of food to choose from. You could have a cupcake decorated with edible Canadian flags, a timbit, fruit, baked goods and the list just goes on. No one walked away hungry. The American cyclists were very impressed by the reception that the Sarnia and Wallaceburg churches put on (I hope I’m giving credit to the correct source). As Canadian we said, ‘this is only the beginning….welcome to Canada!’

As the paceline assembles I’m introduced to Mike from St. Thomas. He joined the tour in Grand Rapids and now is a member of the paceline. He’s great to draft behind and the guy can pull. Welcome aboard. So there we are…John, Pete, Louie, Jake, Mike, Barb, your’s truly and Gerry pulling up the rear. When ever someone tries to latch on to our line, Barb quickly asks them to either pass or pull away. They are calling our every bump and trying to protect me as much as possible. A group of three riders did try to join and Barb had just given them ‘the speech’, so two of the three passed us and then we heard an awful crack behind us. John DePotter (who helped organize the Sombra crossing and he was joining us for the day) his front fork snapped and down he went. Barb called out to his two friends to come back because John was down. Cyclists were already coming to his aid so we continued. Apparently he was taken to the hospital and he has a broken nose, a deep cut below his lip to this chin and his face is rather scratched and cut up. Thank goodness for a helmet….it could have been a very different story. John we are remembering you in our prayers.

The rest of the ride into Chatham was uneventful. We stopped for a photo op by the Chatham sign, wave to Dave Noordhoff who was busy clicking away with his camera and then headed to the Kinsman.

Again, you guys are amazing. What a reception Chatham gave! It was wonderful to see all the support from the churches and community. It took me two hours to make it home from the Kinsman (and I’m only two blocks way!) People cheering as we came in, wonderful food and ice cream bars.

The birthday girl, Barb and I

The 'tea gang' plus Shirley Singor and Wilma's sister, Flo

Many people volunteered their pools, or shuttled cyclists to the bike store, bank, drug store, Laundromat. As I mentioned earlier in my blog Barb, Gerry, John, Pete & Lynda, Louie, Randy and Fred, and Josh stayed over last evening. We (Ralph) had set up the camper in our driveway and this is where we spent the night. No big sacrifice as there is a queen size bed in the camper.

I also wanted to host a number of people for supper. We had enough food for 14…so that meant we could have 11 extra’s. Janessa prepared several of the salads for me, Ralph bbq’d and when Siska (Andy’s wife) and Ann (Bert Steenbergens wife) noticed that I was tired they promptly kicked me out of my own kitchen and took over the final preparation. We had plenty of food and Ann makes a great apple pie and coconut cream pie (no offence Mom, but it was good).

I heard that the area churches provided plenty of food for the cyclists at the Kinsman. Thanks again for showing your support in this very vital way.

We did head back to camp for the peloton, again…so many visitors. The big surprise was that today was Barb’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Barg. She didn’t mention it to anyone, but Dordt College had sent 3 cakes to be shared by all for this very special occasion. It’s great to know that you can render Barb speechless at times!

10 pm was the time I headed to bed. I’ve heard a nasty rumour that it’s a 6:30 bike start tomorrow morning, so that would mean I have to up by 5:10. How badly do I really want bike??? Till later, Cynthia

Sunday, August 17, 2008 Grand Rapids, Michigan

2008-08-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is my FREE plug for the Prince Conference Centre. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Calvin and need a place to stay consider the Prince Conference Centre, it’s right on the campus. Nice, clean rooms and the continental breakfast is great. More food than you can eat. My favorite…the 1” thick waffles. Many cyclists and their extended families took advantage of our discounted rate….thanks for everything, Calvin. Sleeping in wasn’t a problem since I’m not on the cyclists schedule anymore…is there really a 5 a.m.? We indulged in the terrific breakfast, washed everything down with a few coffees and then set about packing up our bikes (Andrew’s and mine) into the truck. By the time all was said and done it was around 11:30 and both Andrew and the pregnant one (Janessa) were complaining of hunger pains so we set about finding a place to eat for lunch to keep them quiet.

With full stomachs we headed to the Fifth Third Ball Park were the celebration rally is to be held. All the cyclists gathered in one area and watched as 1,000s of people filed into the park….my estimate is around 5,000 but I could be off by one or two. During our theme song, Do Something Beautiful all the cyclists and support team filed into the stadium.

The four cyclists that had to leave the tour because of injuries were all present at this rally and it was noted that even with our injuries none where so serious that we couldn’t attend the rally (thanks be to God for this). Tyler Buitenwerf gave a moving testimony and summed up what the goal of the tour is all about. Thanks Tyler, your words moved many and you represtented those injured very well.

Shane Claiborne was our main speaker. He has written several books, ‘Jesus for Presdient’, ‘The Irresistible Revolution’ and ‘Living as an Ordinary Radical’. He entertained and challenged us all at the same time. His life style may not suit the ‘average’ person but one should sit down and evaluate from time to time the questions…are you following your calling?’ ‘How can your light shine in today’s world?’ If you read any of his books you’ll get a good idea as to where he’s at.

One of my highlights was hearing our fellow cyclists, Kyle Meyerink from Halfmoon Bay, BC perform his original song that he wrote on the tour, ‘Hear Our Cry’. Kyle, you’ve been keeping this talent of yours hidden, so glad you decided to share your gifts with us today. It was a blessing.

We decided to forgo the dinner and peloton meeting tonight and instead our heading home to Canada (I’m writing this as we travel so I can post it as soon as we arrive home). Personally I’ve walked more and stood more in the last two days then I’ve done in the last 2 ½ weeks. So it’s time to get home and rest up. Wednesday will come soon enough.

Till then, take care, Cynthia

Day 48 Grand Haven to Grand Rapids 72km

2008-08-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our family (husband; Ralph, daughter; Janessa and son; Andrew) arrived in Grand Haven mid afternoon. The CRC Conference Grounds was a buzz of activity with many visitors checking out the gear and kitchen truck. How wonderful to be greeted and greet fellow cyclists. It’s good to be back.

We located my bike and I found a quiet, out of sight area where I could take my bike out for a short spin. Clipping in will not be a problem so it looks like everything is set to go for tomorrow.

The cyclists and visitors where treated to a wonderful steak supper by a team of volunteers from Home Mission. We had plenty of food and it was all tasted great. After the meal we had our regular peloton meeting and then each of the 10 cyclists that will leave the tour tomorrow said their goodbyes. Communion was then shared by all before everyone called it a night.

Saturday, Aug 16th
Last evening ‘the guys’ asked if I would be joining them for the ride today. I told them that they best go on without me because I would slow them down and also I’m a bit uneasy in a large pace line at this time. Gerry said he would gladly join Andrew and I so that we could take advantage of his map reading skills. We took him up on his offer on the promise that he wouldn’t add any ‘bonus’ miles to the ride.

One hundred and thirty additional riders are joining us today so I wanted to get an early start before things got too busy. Andrew was rolling out of his tent when we pulled into the campground this morning so we started closer to 7:30 a.m. than 7.

What a gorgeous biking day. Temperatures started off mid 50’s and quickly rose to the mid 70’s. We traveled on a few roads where the trees formed a canopy for us to bike under. Beautiful houses and how thrilling to see the groups of spectators gathered on the side of the roads with their, ‘Welcome Sea to Sea’ signs. Several churches also played host to us setting out baked goods, fruit, bagels, gatorade and water.

Since I’ve missed some of the welcome to certain States signs we decided to take advantage of the entering Grand Rapids City limits sign.

Tyler Buitenwerf and Arnie Issette set up a SAG where they served snacks to the cyclists. Earlier in the week I was asked to participate at this stop (it was to be manned by the injured cyclists). It was bittersweet to bike in. I was excited to bike but I felt for both Tyler and Arnie who would have loved to switch places with me.

All the cyclists gathered at a local school by 12:30pm from here we formed a peloton to bike the remaining 1mile into Calvin together. It was a sea of yellow and blue jersey’s. People cheered and clapped as we biked by. I wish I had the courage to take my hands off the handlebars because you, the people deserve the clapping. You’ve offered us your financial support, you’ve encouraged us thru replies made on our blogs, emails or in some cases thru the old fashion way….the mailed letter. You’ve cooked for us or for our families back home and most importantly you’ve remembered us in your daily prayers…so yes, I applaud you and all you do for us. We truly could not have undertaken this ride without all of your support. Thank you.

Oh, in case you are wondering, yes, I rode the entire 72km. My ‘sit bone’ is somewhat sore but I made it, something that I didn’t think was possible a week ago. Average speed of 24km. Thanks Andrew and Gerry for your protection over me today and also thanks to the other ‘pace line buddies’ for giving me the room I needed today. I’m confident we’ll be biking together again…you may have to slow down a tad but I’ll be there!

My plan still remains the same. I will return home to Chatham on Sunday evening and then join the tour on Wednesday when they cross the Ferry into Sombra. From this point on it’s anyone guess as to how much I can bike. I’ll take one day at a time…but wouldn’t it be cool to actually bike to the end?!? Ralph and I

Later, Cynthia

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 ~ The Road to Recovery

2008-08-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, it’s been 2 ½ weeks since my accident so I thought I’d give you a bit of an update on my status.

As I’ve stated in my last blog entry, our family has been overwhelmed by the prayers, meals, cards and visits. They’ve nourished and encouraged us. Thanks sooooo much.

To back up a tad. Ralph and I arrived home Wednesday, July 30. At this time I was using two crutches and still on meds (oh happy day, feeling no pain!). By Saturday I was down to one crutch and very few meds. My left side was still very, very sore. In particular my left knee was swollen and giving me some significant problems. Getting up and out of a chair or bed was proving to be quite the challenge.

On Sunday it was good to experience the communion of the body of believers. The morning service was so uplifting that we decided to return again in the evening…double the pleasure. Trust me, I’m not spottem here (p.s. Jake Janssens helped me with the spelling of spotten so if it’s wrong…email him!)

On Tuesday, Aug 5 I received a lymph node drainage treatment. What a difference this made. My knee returned to normal size and the pain was considerable less. By Friday, Aug 8th I had cast my crutches aside and was limping around on my own steam. Hooray! My sister and her husband came over for dinner and I actually helped prepare some of the food. (Now mind you, I could probably have done more, but when I can fill my days with napping and knitting….why would I want to take on other duties!). Oh, I have taken over the laundry…hanging it up, taking it in, etc….just to let my family know that I’m not quite ready to be ‘put out to pasture’.

So to sum it all up. Basically I’ve just been recuperating. In the morning I generally read the paper and then start off in this chair in the livingroom.

I check the blogs (why aren’t they posting…don’t they know people back home are waiting!!!!) . Then I check over my emails and knit. What am I knitting? As some of you are aware we are expecting our first grandchild in October and so I’ve embarked on an ambitious project of knitting the baptismal gown. I say ambitious because I usually end up knitting 5 rows, notice a mistake and then I’m down 2 rows.. I joked with Janessa and Sean that we may just be pinning the front panel to the Babes undershirt and we’ll just wrap a blanket around the back so no one will know that I never finished the project!

After I tire of sitting in this chair I either limp to the front of the house….
Or the back of the house….. Or the family room.......
Here is what I’ve finished on the baptismal gown

This past Sunday evening as I was reading over the blogs, Melissa Kloostra’s commented that my baskets where being stored in a safe place and that she now had my shelf. This proved to be all the motivation I needed to get back on my bike. Now, I have no problem with Sea to Sea storing my supplies but when they give away my shelf (prime location on the gear truck…..close to the ramp, middle shelf so you don’t have to bend down or reach up) it felt like they were giving up on me. So with a new resolve (translate to a very, very stubborn streak) I mentioned to my family that I would like to try to get on a bike. After all, my shelf is at stake here!

So on Monday when Andrew returned from work he set up the trainer in the garage and placed my trek on the trainer. He lowered the seat a notch to make it easier for me to reach the gear shifters. Low and behold I could cycle. Victory cheer! After supper with much fear and trepidation I put on two tri suits (all my bike shorts on still stored ‘safely’ on the gear truck), clipped on the new helmet, slide into my running shoes (I have cages, not clips on my trek bike at home) and Andrew and I went out for a ride. One hour and 20km later we came home.

Andrew and I

I admit to being somewhat stiff on the bike. My reaction time isn’t up to snuff. I need time to slow down and apply the brakes and my cadence is around 70 not 90 reps pr minute. Still it felt good. On Tuesday evening we biked for 30km, my average speed was around 24km and the cadence was higher than the previous evening.

How to describe the feeling of being back on the bike? Relief, scared, delighted, over joyed…….just too many emotions. I’ve asked so many people to pray that I would be able to rejoin the tour (not because of selfish reasons but it’s something I started and I would really like to fulfill my commitment if at all possible) and now it looks like it is a very real possibility.

Am I still in pain? Yes, sitting on the saddle is a challenge and this is my one big area of concern. The pelvic fracture is not entirely healed (although the doctor did say I can do what ever feels right because I cannot damage it any more). I also found out that my concussion was only for 30 seconds, so hopefully another fall wouldn’t result in me being spoon fed for the remainder of my life. So with Andrew by my side I hope to cycle from Grand Haven to Grand Rapids (78km) on Saturday, August 16th. Can I sit in the saddle for that length of time…..this remains to be seen, but I won’t know until I try.

P.S. Andrew thinks I should be sitting on this saddle during the next couple days...he says, 'good training'. I think, 'not'.

Will I remain with the tour? The plan is to return home to Chatham on Sunday evening, because the following Tuesday is a 154km day and I know this is way too much to put my body thru. Instead, if I return home then I hope to take advantage of two days of rest before meeting the group in Sombra and then I may be able to bike the remaining 60km into Chatham and hopefully continue to complete the reminder of the week with the tour in Southern Ontario.

It will be a busy weekend in Grand Rapids. I look forward to reuniting with the cyclists and support crew and also in participating in the celebration service.

Sixty new cyclists start on Monday. Please continue to pray for the safety of the group especially as they near the end of the tour. Also remember those who are still recovering from injuries as they have to watch from the sidelines as others continue their journey, a journey that they would love to be on.

May God grant us all what we stand in need of. To Him be the glory! Cynthia

Day 29 ~ July 31st Denver to Fort Morgan to Chatham, Ontario

2008-07-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

First off I should say that I’m humbled by your prayers and concerns for me. They have reduced me to tears. The reality of my situation has hit home, the drugs are wearing off and I’m finding it hard to accept that the biking part of the tour may be over for me. So were to go from here? I think I’ll take you back to Day 29.

Day 29 Denver to Fort Morgan 143km Uphill 2113 ft Downhill 3135 ft

No tent to pack up this morning, instead Ralph drove Pete & Lynda, Bert Steenbergen and I to the Denver Christian HS. While I packed my lunch, ‘we’ pumped up my bike tires and made sure everything was set to go. I admit to having a few tears in my eyes when I said goodbye to Ralph and Lynda. It’s been such a relaxing weekend and knowing the way the last 4 weeks have flown by, the 3 weeks to Grand Rapids will go by quickly.

Barb was distracted this morning. It took her around 5 minutes to find her bike helmet (located it on the hood of a pick up truck); she is also saying good bye to Brian but will see him in around 2 weeks.

Today Joel Schreus, one of the pastors of Denver CRC is riding tandem with Barb. He knows his way around the bike paths that we are taking so John has the day off from map reading (maybe we’ll get in the exact mileage today!) It’s going to be a sweet week…downhill all the way. Walter’s SAG was the first for the day. We filled up our water bottles, chatted and we’re on our way. Around 60km we stopped for our second breakfast and coffee. I was recalling the weekend and mentioned that this was the first Sunday that I struggled to listen to the sermon. Barb is across the table from me, doing something funny with her eyes, when it clicks it…..Joel is a pastor, Joel is a pastor from one of the Denver CRC, Joel probably had something to do with the planning of this service, Cynthia needs to do some major back peddling! I quickly blamed it on the heat of the day and again reinstated that the Denver community had done a bang up job from the stamped postcards, to the baked cookies, to the free haircuts etc. Pastor Joel graciously smiled at me, but I think inside his heart he was saying a prayer of help for me.

Back to the road. We were clicking along at a good speed (around 27-28kms or hour) today. When we got back onto the interstate we encountered a head wind so I tucked in behind Gerry’s back wheel (on the right side) to find a reprieve from the wind. I don’t recall anyone calling out ‘debris’ and this is probably because the wind sucked the words away. I know that when I saw the large black rectangle object in front of my tire I had no choice but to ride over it. I hoped in my heart of hearts that it was a ‘take out’ food container that would crush when I rode over top of it, but such was not the case. I remember trying to control the swaying of my bike and then the thought that I would be taking it to the ditch. After that I remember telling Barb she did not need to call 911. I can still see the face of Sara, the first ‘angel’ on the scene. The accident itself is a blur. You can catch the details on Barb Mellema’s blog dated July 28th and 29th.

The staff at the hospital said the waiting room looked like part of the ‘Tour de France’ Alida, one of the on staff nurses for Sea to Sea stayed with me initially but then she was called away because another cyclists had fallen and broken a rib. Barb came into the emergency room and was there when the doctor confirmed that I had indeed broken my pelvis bone. It seemed surreal because I wasn’t in a lot of physical pain. I’m not sure who took the news harder, my fellow ‘pace line’ cyclists or me. On a lighter note, when the ‘guys’ did make it into the room (one at a time because those are the emergency room rules) I was able to inform them that the brain scan showed ‘normal’ activity, contrary to their opinion. If you do (or have) read Barb’s blog I will say in my defense that morphine is a powerful drug and applying humor in this situation was the only way for me to face the brutal reality that the cycling part of the tour was over for me. I will remember always the struggle of emotions for Pete, Louie, Barb, John, Andy and Gerry as they came into the emergency room and expressed in spoken and unspoken word their concern and as they shared my grief and disappointment with me. The prayers shared were a testimony of the close friendship that has bonded us together in these last 4 weeks.

When I was finally moved into a private room (I needed to stay overnight because of the concussion) Len Riemersma, our Head Chaplin paid me a visit and was present when Paul & Teresa came in. Because of the morphine and my emotional state we decided it was in my best interest to limit visitors. When the orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Keller came in he gave me the good news that the break was clean, not dislocated and that it would take 3 to 4 weeks to heal. He mentioned that since I did not require surgery he would discharge me as soon as I felt strong enough to fly home. Erinn Swett, our GR go between and organizer of all the little details was flying back to GR on a direct flight Tuesday evening. It was decided that if I could cycle up 6 passes I could muster up enough strength (or drugs) to make it on a 2 ½ hr flight. Barb was able to secure a ticket and the hospital was generous enough to allow me to stay in the room till Erinn picked me up. There are too many ‘God moments’ to share with you. Barb has mentioned several on her blog. The staff at Fort Morgan was so accommodating; allowing Barb in past regular visiting hours and taking such good care of me. At 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning I heard the familiar tapping of bike shoes on a hard surface. First Paul & Teresa and shortly afterwards the guys and Barb came to say good bye before they headed off for their 138km day. John is on sweep (I was supposed to be with him) so both John and Andy Heimstra stopped in before they left. Bert, with his famous Colorado t-shirt (I wonder what t-shirt he will buy in Nebraska?) also stopped in as well as Ed and Jen. I’ve probably missed a few people (that’s where the drug line comes in handy).

Erinn drove the hour to Denver to switch her rental Mustang for a mini van for my convenience and comfort level. The Denver airport was very accommodating. My wheel chair driver was very much into speed. Poor Erinn was going at a race walk pace trying to keep up in her heeled strappy sandals. Several times we suggested that he slow down, but he assured us that he had been doing this job for 9 years and all was well. I should mention that he was slightly mentally challenged. He was very proud to be escorting me throughout this large airport. On a side note, Al Vander Hart, Development Manager for Sea to Sea had made arrangements for both Ralph & I to stay at his place overnight since our flight landed at 11:30pm. His wonderful wife, Jen drove us to their home, while Al drove Erinn to her destination. I’m pretty certain my head hit the pillow within 10 minutes of being in their home. The next morning Jen had left for work and Al had a breakfast meeting that would occupy him till 9 a.m. so after my shower we had breakfast and then we got up to leave. Ralph almost collided with Al as he came into the kitchen and this is one of those ‘God moments’. We had been prepared to leave but when Al came in along with his guest, Bill Wigboldy (Midwest Regional Director of Children’s Hunger Fund) we shared another cup of coffee and had a wonderful 1 ½ hours of laughter and encouragement. After a shared prayer, Ralph and I left with a renewed, enlighten spirit. Throughout this difficult transition I have been provided with the right people at the right time. God is good.

My family poured out of the house when we arrived home, quick to help. A meal had been lovely prepared by a friend and others have volunteered to also help in this regard.

To my fellow cyclists: I will continue to pray and follow your process thru the blogs. I regret not saying good bye but my prayer is that I will heal quickly and be able to rejoin the tour. The friendships and acts of kindness that I’ve seen demonstrated in the tour both encourage me and humble me. I feel privileged to have belonged to such a group and regret the time that I will not be able to share with you.

To the faithful readers of my blog: My blog has been an extention of who I am. Grammer, sentence structure, spelling are not my forte. In real life, I usually leap before I measure the distance. I try out new recipes for company. I believe it’s easier to seek forgiveness, then it is to get permission. But slowly I’m trying to be more aware of my surroundings. Life does not need to revolve around me, instead I look to the youth, my adult children, my husband, and my extended church family as mentors and I strive to be a better person; a more compassionate individual. I’m humbled by your emails and undeserving of your patronage. Below is a photo my husband took of me on Wednesday evening, just to let you know that I’m really not in that bad of shape. P.S. I had an appointment with my family doctor today and received some good news. My road rash is 90% healed and when I asked about my limits, he replied, that I could basically do whatever my body allows me to. I do have some water on the knee (still waiting for confirmation from the x-rays that this is indeed what it is), but by all accounts, if I can handle the bike saddle I could be back on the tour within 3 or 4 weeks. I ask for your prayers for the cyclists, the support and SAG drivers. Also pray that if possible I will be allowed to rejoin the tour so that I can continue the task set before me.

Sincerely, Cynthia

Sunday, July 27th

2008-07-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday, Janessa! Today, our oldest daughter celebrates her 26th birthday. We were able to connect on Skype early this morning and wish her all the best. I do wonder how I can have a daughter this old when I’m like only ____.

Worship Celebration

Today’s service was formed around the biblical theme Creation –Fall-Redemption-Renewal. It was the goal of the organizers of this service that the Spirit of God stir in us all a renewed hope and action in the name of the Jesus.

All the cyclists started out at Denver Christian high and biked the 2 miles to the outdoor stadium where we were joined by members of the Reformed and Christian Reformed Churches of Colorado. At the beginning of the service we got on our bikes and circled the track to our theme song, Do Something Beautiful. We received a really, really warm welcome, literally (94F!). The metal bleachers did nothing to cool off our bottoms, and the caps on our head weren’t helping, so Ralph and I sought shelter under one of the Ministry Fair tents. We could still hear the message that was delivered by Rev. Jerry Dykstra, Executive Director of the Christian Reformed Church of North America. Communion was served by 10 ministers representing the CRC, RCA, including our very own Sea to Sea Chaplin, Rev. Len Riemersma. After the service we were treated to Sloppy Joes, assorted chips, watermelon and water to filled our empty stomachs before we departed. These churches are also providing supper at the camp this evening. Thank you Denver for your warm welcome and for looking after all of our needs. It was very much appreciated.

Ralph and I enjoyed a leisurely afternoon. There was even a laundry facility on our floor, so everything is clean and I’m ready for the week ahead.

This evening Pete & Lynda, Bert & Ann joined us for a supper. We had a good time sharing our experiences of the trip. It’s been another great weekend. It will be sad to bid Ralph good bye, but hopefully the next 3 weeks will fly by as fast as the last 4 have. I wish I had a funny story to tell, but tis late and nothing comes to mind. Oh, during dinner they figured out that I probably had to start my sweep duties tonight, I hope not because then I would have skipped out (again…not good). It also means that tomorrow I need to be at camp by 5:30 a.m. to set up and serve breakfast and then sweep during the day. It could be a long 140km tomorrow .

P.S. When we were shaking hand during the opening of the worship service I mentioned that I was from Chatham, On and this guy overhead me so he came to see who was talking. Ralph knew him. So, Bill and Ann VandenBoogaart your son, Roger say, Hi!

Till later, Cynthia

Day 25 Winter Park to Denver 140km Uphill 4527 ft Downhill 7811 ft

2008-07-27T05:26:00.000-07:00

First off I would like to back track and write about last evening. Remember Barb talked me into attending the Peloton last evening…while it was kinda like going to church when you don’t want to. Maybe you go out of tradition or maybe you go because you’re afraid you’re parents will find out you skipped out…so you go. And then a marvelous thing happens. You’re blessed. Though unworthy of this blessing because of the attitude you went with, you’re still blessed. God is gracious and good.

I’m so glad I went last evening. The YMCA Ranch that we are staying at was a physical and spiritual interlude. We could sit in the lounge on their leather couches and blog or email to our hearts content. It was a much needed rest in a busy week, but back to the Peloton. The YMCA Chaplin delivered an encouraging message. He talked about his years in the mission field and then expressed admiration for what we are doing. Then the 15 cyclists that are leaving us in Denver came to the front and another person stood beside each of these cyclists (so a total of 30 people were speaking). Each departing cyclists said a few words and then the other person also said something. It was emotional and it provided me with insight into some of the cyclists that I had not biked with. We had communion and closed the evening in prayer. This entire service has strengthen and made our group closer. We are a community. It will be sad to see the 15 cyclists leave but we welcome the 15 (or more) that are joining us.

Now for today’s events. The morning started off cool…52F. I declined the leg warmers figuring that we would be climbing shortly. Wrong! We did not stay in Winter Park yesterday, in fact we were at least 10km short of Winter Park, so the climb didn’t start till almost a good hour after we had started peddling. John’s nephew, James is cycling with us today. He lives in Denver and knows the route. Someone commented that we should name this tour…’The John Vandersteen’s relatives tour, because we keep bumping into John’s extended family!’) Back to the route….It was decided early on that we would each ride alone and meet at the summit. I caught up with everyone in Winter Park, another tourists town. We left this town together, but quickly got separated on the first incline. Last evening the talk at supper was about how tough this climb was going to be….switchbacks and all. Several cyclists were so freaked out that they took a SAG ride to the summit. Seriously folks, it wasn’t that bad. I rather enjoyed the climb. At one point up to the summit I thought to myself, ‘boy this relatively easy, either a lot of people are praying for me today, or I’ve just gotten stronger as a cyclist.’ On the altitude chart the summit is around 15 miles of climbing, I think it was less. Several younger lads passed me on the way up. As they would pass me they would say and encouraging word. When I reached the summit I was high fived and congratulated. Elevation at Barthoud Pass is roughly around 11,200 ft. They are doing some construction at the summit, so they had taken down the elevation sign. We opted for a photo with the mountains in the background.

Andy, Louie, myself, Gerry, John and Barb (James was the photographer

and Pete stppped to take photos, so he is still climbing)

Just a quick note. I'm thankful that the elevation has not affected me. We do have several people that are walking a tad unstable this morning. Teresa Hoekstra has not been able to ride the last two days, in fact she is just a struggling to breathe. I know she'll breath a hugh sigh of relief when she can talk and carry on with her regular activities as we start to descend to a lower alititude.

It was a fast 13 miles to the bottom. I hit my top speed of the trip….73.1km. Very, very sweet. We had decided that we would meet in the little town of Empire (the bottom of the climb) for coffee. How exhilarating to see all the cyclists pour into this coffee shop. Everyone was pumped from the descent.

Pay close attention to the posted sign, 'No Bicycles or Skateboards on Sidewalk'

James led the rest of the way into Denver. Andy asked me how I enjoyed the climb to Barthoud Pass. I told him that since this would be our last pass of the entire tour I wanted it to be tough. I wanted to cry with frustration; instead it was slow going, but extremely doable. So later in the ride when we came upon a 8% climb for 2 miles, Andy said to me when we were panting at the top, ‘are you happy now?’ Be careful what you wish for! The rest of the day was fast paced and mainly downhill. We cycled thru a winding Bear Creek canyon.

John wanted us to stop for an ice-cream 20 km from the end, but Barb, and I wanted to get in early because our husbands have come for the weekend. So we comprised and decided to meet at the RCA church in Denver that was serving us refreshments…only 6 miles from the end of our day. Pete caught up with us at this stop. We didn’t stay long, but a sincere thank you for the warm welcome and refreshments that the RCA church put out for us.

A warm welcome from the RCA church members

Denver Christian School here we come. Although James said we had no more climbing (he lied) we still made it to the school in record time. 143.6km later, average speed of 23.1 and total bike time of 6:11:50.

Music was playing as we biked in the parking lot. Cheerleader from the school quickly handed out cold bottles of water. Home made cookies, goodie bags, free hair cuts, Colorado postcards with postage attached ready for us to use were just a few of the perks this community had ready for us. And best of all, Ralph was waiting for me. Ralph and I

I’m not sure who suggestion it but our regular pace line plus our spouses choose a quiet corner and we held hand and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for the many gifts that God has provided us with during the 1st leg of this journey. We also remembered Tyler Buitenwerf who broke this collarbone in two places earlier today and he will need to go home and have surgery within 3 days. It is the end of the journey for Tyler. We also remembered Elizabeth W who was paralyzed one year ago today in a training ride for the 2005 tour. We are all at the mercy of the drivers on the road, and both of these people remind us how fragile and how quickly life can change.

Next step was gathering what I needed to take with me to the hotel, no camping for me tonight, instead I’m slummin’ it at an Embassy Suites. Ralph flew in with Lynda Vannoord (Pete’s wife) and Ann S (Bert’s wife). What a luxury. We’ve shared a leisurely meal with Pete & Lynda and now it’s time to settle in my King size bed (a far cry from my little tent with my luxury edition 3inch sleeping pad!). Tomorrow we need to be the school by 9 a.m. for a 2 mile bike ride to the celebration service. I’m looking forward to this service. Now what to do with the 4 pillows that are stretched out on this massive bed!

Good night all, Cynthia

Day 26 Kremmling to Winter Park 54.7km Uphill 2540 ft Downhill 1085 ft

2008-07-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yes! During Peloton last evening Ed announced that since it was going to be short day we would start breakfast ½ an hour later, so that translates to sleeping in ½ an hour longer than usual. I loved it!

Today’s ride was very easy. We were traveling uphill, but I hardly noticed. We are cycling very slowly today, an average speed of 20.2km. We traveled 57.7km Actual time on the bike 2:51:07

It’s been an uneventful day. The ride was beautiful. It almost took my breath away when we rode thru Byer’s Canyon. Huge rock formation on either side. I was a tad worried when I read the sign, ‘Careful falling rock the next 2 miles’. A photographer from the local paper took a photo of our pace line as we rode by. He also mentioned a great coffee shop to stop in at Granby.

Walter was waiting for us at a water reservoir. He had picked a beautiful spot; washrooms, picnic tables and the view…….way to go Walter!
Next stop was Granby. We passed out some cards to the other people at this java place and even received a cash donation. From this point we had around 15km to go. I’m doing most of my climbing in my granny gear. My knees are feeling the effect of all the climbing (but I’m not complaining), instead I just took it easy today because tomorrow we have a long climb and I want to be in the best shape to handle the long climb. You know you've bike to much when you turn into this!

When we pulled into the Snow Mountain Ranch it became apparent that the area we were to camp was very rocky. No level ground. Barb and I looked at each other and quickly booked the last room in the lodge that is close to our campsite. I’ve spent some time cleaning my bike so it will be in tip top shape for the entry into Denver. As I type this up it is raining. I’m fearful of going down to the camp to eat my supper because I’m in luxury tonight and the rest of the campers will be damp and cold tonight. We’d take someone else in our room, but the rooms are not big enough to accommodate more than two. Anyways, I’d best get some food in me, I’ll need it tomorrow. So it’s time to face the music.

Suppers over, no ill vibes from anyone, could be because it’s stopped raining! I mentioned to Barb that I was thinking of skipping Peloton tonight because it will be lengthy. Around 15 cyclists are leaving in Denver and tonight they’ve asked 15 people to say a kind word about each of these cyclist and then each of the departing cyclists get to say something and then we still have communion. I just want to get into my warm bed and sleep. Barb told me that she is serving communion and if I don’t go then tomorrow justice will be served….like John could be at the top of the summit and I could be at the bottom with a flat (and I don’t know how to change one). It looks like I’m going to Peloton.

Till tomorrow, Cynthia.

Day 25 Craig to Kremmling 153.7km Uphill 4993ft Downhill 3804ft

2008-07-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

I am so exhausted that I fear if I close my eyes I would sleep. Sippin’ on a glass of ice-coffee seemed like a great idea at 5 pm last evening while I waited for the laundry to run thru all the cycles but at midnight I was still tossing and turning. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson from the ice tea a couple of nights ago! Oh and to top it off when we got to the high school last evening the area we could pitch our tents in was on a definite slope. I placed my tiny tent as close to school as possible to avoid the slope. Much to my dismay I got a drip, drip, drip all evening coming off of the overhang. I tried counting drips instead of sheep but this didn’t work so I went to the next best thing…meds. I think I started the day on 4 ½ hrs of sleep.

We are traveling on Hwy 40 again. The road was a bit busier then yesterday. Lots of campers, mini vans and trucks. The first 50 miles was a gradual incline. We grabbed a coffee in Hayden (although I could only drink ½ of my coffee before the guys were ready to go.

The next cyclists that came thru the door inherited my other ½. If I ever travel back to Colorado I would definitely investigate the next town we stopped in. Steamboat Springs. This is a quaint little town, very much a tourist destination. We stopped in at a small diner and she kindly refilled our water bottles before we started the climb.

The main street of Steamboat Springs

It was 7 miles of solid climbing before we got to the false summit. The view is like eye-candy. We rode up the west side. It was a welcomed relief from the brown sage grass plains. As we rode up we saw Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine. I also noticed significant patches of dead pine killed by mountain pine beetle. Everything is green. Looking back I could see large plots of farmland. Personally, Colorado has a lot more colour going for it than Utah (sorry, Utah). As we climbed the forest changed to lodge pole. These trees where used for making teepees. Colorado Blue spruce was up here, growing in the wild. (This useful information is being provided by Clare Kooistra.) Thank you Clare.

One view while I was climbing

One of our cyclists; Aaron Carpenter’s parents and grandparents were handing out freezers at the false summit. It's very deceiving. You get to the top and then they tell you you're really not there........there's more. I think God has a sense of humor! We had another 6 miles of rollers before we got to the actual summit, Rabbit Ears Pass. A beautiful area of open alpine meadows.

Rabbit Ears pass is named after the two rocks on the top of the mountain. Where's the carrot?

I sailed down from the summit hitting a top speed of 62.5km. We are now on the east side of the mountain, so that means we are back to the sage brush and brown mountains mainly because this area is in the rain shadow of the peaks. Ahead of us I can see the snow on the Rockies. The rest of the day was mainly ups and downs. Louie and Andy and I biked in together.

It’s been a long day. Average speed of 21.8km Total trip 154.6km Actual bike time 7:04:15

Tomorrow we have a short day but we’ll pay for it on Saturday. Oh, big news…..my husband is flying into Denver on Saturday. I won’t have to set up my tent for 2 whole days. I really wish Saturday was the short day!

Good night, Cynthia

Day 24 Dinosaur to Craig 141.1km Uphill 4299ft Downhill 3873ft

2008-07-23T18:20:00.001-07:00

Sleep, sleep, wonderful sleep. I woke up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. I had quickly wiped down my bike chain and oiled it last evening so I was ready to go. I should mention that some cyclists are struggling with colds, stomach aches and then there’s the problems of putting two squirts of disinfectant in the final rinse water instead of only one. One squirts does the job, two squirts guarantees that you’ll probably be running to the nearest facility to do the ‘job’. Yes, some cyclists are dealing with this problem. I’m happy to report that all systems are fine (as if you really wanted to know!).

On to the ride….John said, ‘okay we’re going to go slow today’, because he is feeling abit off. So much for slow….he did take it slow for the 1st km and then slowly he cranked it up. I will admit the pace was a tad slower than usual. Now I don’t care what anyone else writes in their blogs but today the ride was hard for me. I’ve talked to a number of cyclists as they've come in and some really enjoyed all the up and downs. I found them hard. You’d barely get to the top, and then I’d see the next roller in front of me. It was relentless. We started the day climbing. At miles 15 it was downhill for a short time and then we settled into the climb. Thank goodness for cloud cover. At one point we looked behind us and there was a partial rainbow and in front of us the sun was sending light rays thru the clouds. I felt a little like the Israelites did when a cloud led them by day and a pillar of fire at night. For me it was just a reassurance that God is always with us. I don’t think you can see the rainbow in my photo…just trust me on this one.

Looking behind

Looking to the right

After I took the photo Barb noticed she had a bulge in her back tire. John had just reassured her that she would make it to the next SAG when Betsy drove by. She seen us all gathered around a tire and suspected the worst so she stopped. Hooray for Betsy! She had another tube, both John and Gerry went about fixing it. Since you don’t need 6 people to do this job, several of us started up the climb. A pace line doesn’t work well on the climbs, because Barb and I are slower than the guys. I will give credit to the guys, they either wait at the top for us or they will ride beside us to help us up the climb. Andy stayed with me throughout the reminder of the day. We arrived in Maybell (it’s a very, very small town…a park, and variety store) shortly after 11 a.m. By this point we have covered roughly 94km and have another 50 to go. I purchased a coke for the sugar and then to make sure all my bases are covered, I added a choc bar to the order. Sugar high….give me energy please! What can I say about the rest of the day, it was tough but the company made it fly by.

Today we saw Round Top Mountain, Blue Mountain and in the back ground we could see Douglas Mountain. The Yampa River flows between the Blue Mountain and the Douglas Mountain. (Gerry has nicely gotten his map out to provide me with this info and now he is struggling to fold the map up again.). We traveled on hwy 40 for the entire day but the traffic was noticeably lighter. Nice wide shoulders as well.

Made it into camp around 2 pm. The highschool is located at the top of a hill (go figure). Set up my tent, showered and then Cory (bless his heart) drove several of us to the laundromat. We have peloton at 8pm and then we end the day with a mid week worship service.

Tomorrow we have Rabbit (Ear?) Pass to contend with. I think we’ll tackle the day much like the drive into Salt Lake City. Start off easy and reserve some fuel in the tank for the 12 mile climb.

Till tomorrow, take care, Cynthia
P.S. Teresa rode today and finished. I’m so happy for her.
P.S.S. Max speed 66.3km Average 23.5 Total trip 142km Actual Bike time 6:02:22

Day 23 Duchesne to Dinosar 145.3km Uphill 3625ft Downhill 3290ft

2008-07-22T18:49:00.001-07:00

I’m starting to get weary of these 5 a.m. mornings. I choked down my oatmeal this morning because all the guys had their helmets, vests and gloves on by 6:15 a.m. I’m wondering how I can get a hold of their alarms and set them back an hour without them knowing it.

Started out with arm warmers but discarded them within an hour. We are traveling on a very busy highway today. The police pulled over Cory and asked him to tell all the cyclists to stay single file and not to go over the white line. This is somewhat difficult with all the debris on the hwy. Oh and one mustn’t forget the rumble strips, so between the white line and the rumble strip you don’t have a lot of room to cycle.

The first 20 miles were downhill. Today we have the usual gang plus Dale M from GR. Three miles after we waved to Jake Kuipers at a gas station, he took a bad fall. He was on the hwy and his seat post broke so he hit the pavement. He landed on the road but thankfully no traffic was passing him at the time. A SAG picked him up and brought him to a bike store where they fixed up his bike and he was on his way again. (he only missed 20km of the ride). He does have some road rash on his chin but apparently his thigh and leg took the brunt of the fall. This is his second fall, they say ‘the third’s a charm’…maybe I’ll stay far behind him when he’s in our pace line.

The hwy is brutal on our tires. Debris from the trucker’s tires gets caught in our wheels and causes flats. Both Barb and Andy had flats today. Also the local traffic is not particularly happy to share the road with us. We’ve had a number of pick up trucks rev up and emit black smoke when they pass us. Really good for our lungs already taxed by the high altitude. The two major climbs today weren’t that bad, just long. After the first climb we hit a McDonalds (10:30) for coffee in the town of Vernal. At this point we are at the 95 km mark, only 50km to go! I will admit that I missed my home made pie, so tomorrow I will veto the McDonald and insist on the local Ma and Pa’s café. We had barely gotten on our bikes when someone spotted a bike shop. We had to make a quick stop to see if we need to purchase anything (don’t worry Ralph, no money exchanged hands!). Next stop the Pink Dinosaur. After all we are staying in Dinosaur tonight! This sculpture was outside of the bike shop....what not to do on a bike! Walter’s SAG was set up just before the second climb. He was treating everyone to Waltermelon (yes, I know its spelled wrong, I’m trying my hand at a pun). Our pace line broke up on the way up this last climb, Barb was behind John and then we had a space. Louie was behind me and when I told him to pass me, he generously slowed down and pulled me ½ way were we stopped at the lookout point. Pete Vannoord and I at the lookout point

The entire group stayed together for the rest of the climb. Andy got his flat 3 miles from our destination. John and Louie stayed back to help him and we continued on to the first ice-cream shop. $5.00 is highway robbery for a chocolate milk shake but the sugar and dairy product provided a great recovery drink. All in all it was a good day, long because of the heat (104F on my bike), but the altitude hasn’t bothered me yet and we all made it in without any major accidents. P.S. We crossed into the State of Colorado just after Andy got his flat. We are staying in the only park in Dinosaur. All the streets are named after various dinosaurs, ie. the street the park is on is called Stegosaurus, just off of Plateosaurus…you get the idea. The supper horn has sounded off, so time to eat. Tomorrow promises to be another long day in terms of km, but I don’t think we have any major climbs.

P.S. I just talked to Teresa. Since she was not allowed on her bike today she rode with Alida (our camp nurse) in her camper. Apparently they were traveling on the hwy in the 3rd lane when all of a sudden Alida lost all her power. They clipped off several transport trucks and ended up coming to a abrupt stop. The camper tipped to it’s side and the only thing that saved if from flipping was the sand hill that they were imbedded in. And Teresa thought that biking was the only thing that could cause her harm. I guess Gayle witnessed the entire event and ran up the hill faster than she usually bikes because she thought Alida had a heart attack. Alida is still not in camp. Apparently the reason she lost power was because she ran out of gas. At this point she needs to be towed out of the sand. It’s been a long day for Alida.

Till then, take care, Cynthia
Average speed of the day 24.7 Total km 149.3 Time on the bike 6:01:59

Day 22 Salt Lake City to Duchesne 144.5km Uphill 5,000 Downhill no elevaton info

2008-07-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

Up ‘n at em by 5 a.m. The park has nicely left a truck at the top of the hill so we can throw our gear bags in here and walk down and then up to the gear truck. Barb is on sweep today, so she is not riding with us. The group started out with Gerry, Pete, Bert S, Andy, Louie, Jake, John, Carl and myself. We have no elevation chart today, either it was just too scary for us to look at or the story that Ed is sticking to is that when he drove thru this area last winter the road was closed so he could not GPS it. Either way, the cyclists are a tad worried this morning.

The climb started 10km into the ride, and we continued up for around 15km. The last 7 km where at a 8% grade. The group that we left with this morning quickly split up. John and Carl where way ahead of us and the rest of us just took the hill at whatever we were comfortable with. I was in my granny gear for the entire hike up. Pete and Jake would pass me everyone once in a while and then I’d pass them. It was a slow climb. At times I was only going 6km especially when I was climbing the 8% grade. A number of cyclists are experiencing difficulty with the high altitude and cannot breathe. Teresa is one of these cyclists. She has strict orders from both the nurses here in camp not to ride for the remainder of the week, or she may end up in the hospital. This is a hard pill for Teresa to swallow because she so badly wants to bike it all (as do we all). Remember her in your prayers as she faces this difficulty.

Everyone had their photo taken the summit; Wolf Creek Pass. 9,485 ft AWESOME!!!!

The ride down was 20km long. I was in the highest gear and when I couldn’t peddle any more I got down into a crouch position and coasted. Top speed 68.7km. We coasted right into a small village called Hannah and ordered coffee with pie. Mmm good. I understand that they were run off their feet later in the day. One of our cyclists even stood in as a waitress; poured coffee, served pie, and cleared off the tables. I imagine they did a pretty good business today. Rita and Bill Wybenga

We are now ½ done our ride for the day. We went thru one more climb and again the group was separated. John was riding with Bert when they heard a loud BANG! Bert had blown out his tire. They managed to fix it with a rubber patch but it only lasted 3 more km. Thankfully someone biked by that had a spare tube on them and they could repair it properly. Most of us met up again at Cory’s SAG…UT-40. Cory was handing out cookies. One way to win the most popular SAG driver!

When we left Cory’s we had approx 30km to go. I left with Andy and Dave Geerlings (he just started today). Shortly into this portion of the ride I took the lead only to get a gust of head wind, so I called for a ‘mule’ and Dave just happened to be right behind me. He took the lead and we sailed at around 44km for most of the way in. It was very, very sweet.

Tonight we are staying at the Park/Fairgrounds. Today it was cloudy for most of the day and the sun was at it’s strongest at around 5:30pm. We have another long day tomorrow, so I’d best get off to my tent and organize my stuff for tomorrow.

P.S. Louie saw a moose today, I only saw a deer. He wins, his animal was bigger!

Later, Cynthia
Average speed today 22.6km Total km biked 146.5 Actual time on the bike 6:28:06

Sunday, July 20th

2008-07-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

How pleasant it is to wake up in a bed. I slept well and feel very refreshed. We’ve decided to attend the Lutheran Church that both Tom & Rita attend. The service starts at 9:30 so everyone piled in the car (it’s a compact car and Barb sat in the truck…it’s true, we have photos!). The things we do to conserve fuel.

How wonderful to worship this morning. We were greeting warmly, had communion and at the end of the service the 4 of us (Barb Melema, Louie Bosma, John Vandersteen and yours truly) were asked to come to the front of the church. Rita introduced her brother, John and we each told why we signed up and we also mentioned what the purpose of the tour is. At the end of this the minister asked if we would gather in a circle and the congregation would lay their hands on us and pray for us. This was so meaningful, we truly feel blessed to have worshipped here this morning.

Next was lunch, and then we met Rita’s daughter Dot and her husband Carl and their two young sons. Rita has been extremely busy making salads for the supper tonight at the campground. Dot & Carl are also bringing up their camper so that they can transport some of the food. Carl will stay overnight because he will be cycling with us to the summit tomorrow morning.

We arrived at the campground around 3pm. This allowed us time to set up our tents, put laundry away, prepare water bottles and clothing for tomorrows ride. Supper was at 5:30pm and what a spread they have put out for us. We even got to view a rainbow during the supper hour…just a reminder that yes, God is good. The evening service was held at the picnic pavilion. We had quite a few guests from the community churches. Singing praise to Our Maker with a rainbow in the sky and mountains towering over us was incredible. The guest speaker did a fantastic job. I wish I could remember his name. He encouraged us, shared his testimony and then went on to explain how the organization that he is affiliated with helps ‘at risk teens’. By the time the service was ended, small groups were held and then it was after 9pm. I hiked up the hill and settled down for the evening. P.S. Note to self…..never again drink 2 water bottles full of ice tea before bed….first off it makes for a rather uncomfortable evening when the way to the washroom is dark and who knows what lurks in the bushes and secondly, ice tea contains caffeine….so much for my sleep!

Till Monday, Cynthia

Day 20 Willard to Salt Lake City 153km (actually 161.6km) Uphuill 5723ft Downhill 3201ft

2008-07-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

It’s 9:30 Saturday evening as I start to work on this entry. John Vandersteen has invited us to join him at his sister’s place; Tom and Rita Cunningham. Now my parents would find this interesting. As we were playing the ‘dutch bingo’ game Rita found out that my maiden name was Dykxhoorn. When I mentioned that my parents were Tony & Corrie, Rita exclaimed that she knew them. Rita had spent 2 summers at my parent’s house when she was 16 & 17. She was doing field work to earn money so that she could finish her high school education. My parents were newlyweds at the time, and she remembers how sick my Mom was because she was expecting at the time. What a small world. Tom Cunningham, John Vandersteen and his sister, Rita Cunningham

Tom and Rita have generously opened their home to us. We’ve had wonderful showers (I’m even wearing one of Rita’s nighties because my pj’s are in the laundry) and they treated us to a ‘all you can eat buffet’ at a local restaurant. Boy, did we eat! Tomorrow we will attend their church in the morning and then head back to the park later in the afternoon so that we can set up our tents and attend the evening celebration service.

Now onto the day…

At peloton last evening it was announced that breakfast would be served from 6-7 a.m. so that everyone could get an early start to what promised to be a very long day. We have two climbs…the first one at mile 60 is just over 2000ft and the second one (which started as soon as we had the descent from the first climb) was around 1500 ft. The grades for these climbs ranged from 3-6%. Some cyclists have opted to only cycle to the church where Claire and Hildred provided a light lunch for us before we start the climb. This will give them a 100km day.

John and I were on sweep and that means we are to be the last ones out of the camp. If the climb was not done by 7pm, SAG was going to pick us up, so John was itching to go. I found him on his bike, helmet fastened, safety vest on circling the parking lot at 7 a.m. So I asked him what he was doing. John replied that our Sweep team leader had given him permission to leave early as long as he took a slow rider with him. So I joined him. Let’s not define the word ‘slow’ too much…does slow refer to bike speed or mental ability?!?. In my defense I will say that John and I unloaded the gear truck with some other cyclists on Friday afternoon and set up a lot of stuff before our actual sweep team came in and we also helped till late in the evening, when some others had retired for the night. We also reported for duty at 15 minutes earlier this morning then necessary. I’m still feeling a tad guilty but what’s done is done.

Today the map is rather challenging and John has promised that he won’t leave me. So off we went. Initially we had Dirk V, Pete W and Roger on our line. We set the pace easy (around 23km) in order to save our legs for the climb. After a McDonalds stop (to use the facilities) we left a few cyclists behind that had ordered coffee and continued on with Dirk. The 100km to the church seemed to fly by. We made it to the church within 4 hour and only had to turn around once because of a wrong turn. Pete, Louie, Barb and Gerry were still at the church when we arrived. They made a few more wrong turns then we did. We chatted with fellow cyclists and after a good ½ hour rest we headed out to tackle THE CLIMBS.

My goodness, as soon as we were out of the parking lot we had a short, very steep climb. Andy told me that at the top of this short and very, very difficult hill there was a sign pointing the direction to the airport. He contemplated throwing his bike in the ditch and buying a ticket home, but then remembered he didn’t have his passport on him, so he continued onward. Now remember John’s promise not to leave me….well, I lost him within 5 minutes of leaving the church! To his credit he was waiting for me at the top of the first climb and then he stuck with me for the reminder of the day.

I’m struggling to give you a description as to how hard today was and the only thing I can compare it to is childbirth. The pain starts off slowly but manageable (similarly to the first 100km of the day). Then the intense pain starts and it is relentless. Well that’s what the climbs were like. The climbs were doable but it was just such a long climb. The first one was around 12 miles or so. I just kept peddling, didn’t stop, just kept going and going till I reached the summit. Mountain Springs Community church had a booth up at the summit and were handing out gadorade and power bars. What a treat, I even scored a dark chocolate power bar. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loooooooove dark chocolate!

The ride down from the first climb was fast and all to short. We began to climb almost immediately. The second climb was a tad shorter (8 miles) but again it seemed to never end. Temperature on my bike read just over 100F. Our final destination is Jordanelle State Park. all
We stopped at Walter’s SAG and were told that we had approx 10km to go…wrong, it was more like 10 miles! You can also imagine my cry of dismay when we turned onto Hwy 40 only to see another hill. I thought to myself, ‘you’ve got to be kidding’. I just didn’t think I had enough fuel in the legs to do it, but that good ‘ld stubborn streak of mine kicked in and I made it into camp shortly after 4 pm. Once I stopped peddling my body rebelled a tad. I realized that I had been drinking enough water but I hadn’t really eaten anything substantial since breakfast so the world was turning. I quickly sat down with my head between my knees, ate some cookies for instant sugar, had several pieces of watermelon and John refilled my water bottle with cranberry juice. Felt better within 5 minutes.

I’m so grateful that I didn’t have to set up my tent last evening. We will go back to the park on Sunday afternoon to do this job. We were all exhausted, glad to be in and very glad to be billeted (okay, ‘hosted’ for you Americans). The state park that we are staying at is rather spread out. It is a hike to the tents, a 10 minute hike to the showers and the gear truck and kitchen trucks are down a trail. So nothing is in close proximately except for our tents!

It was great to do our laundry, wonderful to converse and laugh with both Tom and Rita and John, Barb, and Louie this weekend.
P.S. Just a funny aside….apparently on Friday evening there was a mouse scurrying under Bob & his daughter Lisa Brouwer’s tent, then it went under Louie’s tent. He could feel it under his floor mat and was afraid it would chew thru his tent. I told him it was a free massage. Thank goodness the mouse didn’t make his way to mine, the whole camp would have heard me screaming.

And that’s a wrap. Till next time, Cynthia
P.S. Total bike time 7:15 Average speed 22km

Day 19 Snowville to Willard 104km (actually 108.7) Uphill 1940 ft Downhill 2205 ft

2008-07-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

Again everyone is up again bright and early. Last evening we were camped in very close quarters. It was such a long day and no one wanted to carry their gear too far so we were almost on top of one another. I didn’t even need to set my alarm because I could hear all the alarms of my neighbours! We were out of the camp by 6:40 a.m. Today Pete is not biking with us because he is on sweep.

Today’s ride was nice and short. I fear the heat is getting to me when I think a 108km day is short! We merged onto I-84 (Interstate Hwy). It is being repaved and we were very fortunate to be riding on a newly paved lane and wide shoulder. With that said, I should also point out the problem of biking on a Hwy that is under construction. The Hwy crew sets out great big orange barrels to keep the traffic away from the workers but when a large truck or two comes close to these or hits them…they tend to fly. One flew up in the air in front of John, missed both John and Barb but Jake Kuipers was not so lucky. One barrel hit his front wheel, he was able to hold on tight and didn’t go down. Aside from this it was a one of the smoothest roads we have traveled on so far. When we exited the Interstate, there was Walter’s SAG. Across the road from the SAG we noticed several deer and a fawn frolicking thru the long grass. We watched them for around 15 minutes before carrying on.

We are surrounded by mountains on both sides. It’s an incredible feeling. I thought I would feel claustrophobic instead it feels like God is wrapping His arms around me. I feel safe and secure.

From I-84 we traveled onto UT-83 South. We biked for miles around the ATK Rocket Test Facility. At one point we stopped to take a photo and wondered how many cameras were pointed at us. Several security cars have passed us...have we set off the orange alert?

Right after the Test Facility we were into the North End of the Great Salt Flats. At one point it smelled like rotten egg (hydrogen sulfide…this information is being provided by Gerry Kobes. He is sitting across from me and he has decided that I my blog should be filled with some intellectual facts). Julie SAG was situated in the small village of Corrine. We said ‘Hi’, filled up our water bottles and then headed to the Golden Spike Café across the street. It was 10 a.m….coffee time. The interior of the café was interesting. The women’s restroom blew me away. One room, two toilets...I’ve heard about sharing a shower, but never a bathroom! We cleaned the café out of their carrot cake and upside down pineapple cake. One of the privileges of being the first group in these villages is that you usually get your choice of baked goods (although this back fired yesterday with the cinnamon buns). Coffee was great. Now we only have 22 km before we hit Willard.
On the way to Willard we passed thru the city of Brigham. John and Louie insisted on having their photo taken in the middle of a 4 lane hwy right under the city sign. Later on when we were talking to some of the locals they said that every year approx. 3 people die in this intersection. Ignorance is bliss.

The sun is hot so we decided to carry on to the Willard Bay State Park. We missed the road but got turned around in the correct direction shortly. We are staying in a group camping area; Pelican Beach. Thank goodness for the picnic shelter. I have my tent parked facing the lake (waterfront property), right beside the washroom. Life is good. The Wasatch Mountains are across the road. This is a 160 mile mountain range that starts at the Utah/Idaho border. Sometimes they are called the Eastern Boundary of the Great Basin or The Western Edge of the Greater Rocky Mountains. The mountains looms 9,700ft, just waiting for us to cross it. (Again credit goes to Gerry for providing this insightful tidbit of information).

I start sweep tonight, so that means setting up and serving dinner. We lucked out and our using the picnic shelter so we don’t have to set up tables or the dining tents. Tomorrow will be a long day on sweep. We will be the last to leave camp (probably around 8:45 a.m. or later). The climbs are at the end of our 150km day. Paul, Teresa and I and the others on my sweep team will be tackling the climbs in the heat of the day, probably around 4 p.m. or later. Pray for perseverance and strength to make it. Till tomorrow, Cynthia P.S. This was the view out of my tent just before I called it day.
P.S.S. Temp on my bike hit 99F Average speed of the day 26.1km Bike time 4:09:22

Day 18 Burley to Snowville 138.1 km Uphill 3272 ft Downhill 2933 ft

2008-07-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, 5 a.m. and I’m awake. How wonderful not to rush in the morning. We were on our bikes ready to roll by 6:30 a.m. The morning started off cool but the day promises to be a hot and long.

Yesterday Julie was there when we needed her and today Cory, the driver of our porta potty on wheels witnessed ‘the accident’ at km 15. We were all in a pace line clicking along at a good speed when all of a sudden Andy’s front tire hit my back tire. Thankfully, I didn’t go down but such was not the fate for Andy or Gerry K. Andy hit the pavement and Gerry who was behind him ran over Andy’s back rim and went for the ditch. Andy sustained some road rash on his right leg, Gerry looks fine. And the all important question, how is Andy’s bike? His computer cracked off so he will need to repair that once we are in a bigger city, but other than that everything is working well. Andy was able to bike the reminder of the day and really aside from a nasty looking knee, he looks as good as ever. After the first climb we tackled the highest climb of the day. Thank goodness for a granny gear. We had a short break ½ way up the climb and then once we hit the top we sailed down for the next 4 km. I didn’t even hit my brakes. Top speed of just under 70km. Besty, the day nurse was in her SAG vehicle at the bottom of the hill. We refilled our water bottles and continued on.

We pulled into a small town called Malta. If only we were 20 minutes later. They had just finished making homemade cinnamon buns but still had to pop them in the oven. Lucky for the riders after us. Coffee was only .50 and it hit the spot.

We had a miscommunication with our pace line when we left Malta. Barb, Gerry and I left ahead of the other guys because Julie was just 1km up the road and we needed to top up our water bottles. We stopped and then watched as John, Pete, Andy and Louie sailed by the SAG. That left Gerry and Barb to pull. Because of my slight frame no one benefits from me being at the front of the pace line…..not enough ‘drag’ off of me. I usually end up # 3 or 4 in a pace line. It was a slow ride up the final climb of the day (20 miles uphill). Walter’s SAG was at the top of the hill. How nice to sit in a chair (as opposed to the skinny, hard saddle I’m on for most of the day). Photo op…..we are entering Utah. Some cyclists are thinking of stopping in the town of Bountiful. I don’t think Mormons and spandex mix so I’ll just continue with the planned route.It was suppose to be a sweet 20 miles down to end the day. Instead we battled a head wind for the entire way down. It was tough. The wind kept switching. Both Gerry and Barb took turns with the lead and I just kept peddling. At the 80 mile marker we had to climb uphill to the small town of Snowville. Snowville has two diners, a Flying J, a variety store, and a campground. We are staying at the park. No showers and one washroom for the guys, one for the girls. Could be a long line tomorrow morning! They’ve set up a large blue tarp with a water hose and this is where you can ‘shower’. Girls first, then the guys. No warm water, only cold. I’ve decided to pay the $8.50 for a shower at the Flying J. Best $8.50 I’ve ever spent.

We’ve just come back from the peloton meeting. Several things happened today:
1) Three cyclists on the sweep team, Brad G, Theo and Nick E came into the town of Malta and seen the Pizza challenge. If you can eat a 15 inch pizza and a large coke within an hour it’s free. They went for it. It was a long hour. Two completed the challenge, the third had to pay. So if you’re ever in the town of Malta, look for their photos on the wall of fame.
2) Arnie Issette from Michigan tore his Achilles today and after a consultation with a doctor he will have to quit the tour and return home. He may have to have surgery. How disappointing for Arnie. We all feel badly for him.
3) Driving into Snowville the Pantry trailer became loose, and some groceries fell out. No serious damage…the people of Snowville probably think we have a strange way of donating food to the community.
4) And finally, poor Cory. He also experienced problems today. On his way to his second SAG of the day the porta potty let loose from the truck. It ended up in the middle of the road, upright. Len R witnessed the whole affair and then to his surprise as the porta potty was cruising down the hwy he witnessed, John, Johnny and Mark drafting behind the run away porta potty. (not very safe, but very fast.)

Now, it’s past my bedtime and I still have to go online and post.

Average speed 24.1km Total km 140 Bike time 5:47

Till tomorrow, Cynthia

Day 17 Gooding to Burley 141 km Uphill 2984 FT Downhill 2378 ft

2008-07-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

I woke up with a start at 5:30 a.m. The camp is alive, everyone is thinking about the 130km day and if we want to see Shoshone Falls it will add 10 more kms. Anyways, so much for my good intentions of an early morning start. It’s an awful feeling when you’re behind the 8 ball. You rush, rush, rush, gobble down breakfast, brush those pearly whites, pack a lunch, hurry and spray the legs and arms with sunscreen, grab the helmet, sunglasses, put on the bike shoes, grab the bike and finally BREATHE. It’s 6:30 a.m. and we’re on the road.

It was a bit nippy once we got away from the school, I’m glad I have my arm warmers. At 17km we had a quick stop at Cory’s spott-a-pot. Then just 2 km down the road, Barb had a flat. How providential that Julie (one of our wonderful SAG drivers) would pick that exact moment to drive past us. We flagged her down for another tube, borrowed the bike pump and were quickly on our way.

We’ve been invited to view Ted Miller’s dairy farm. It is on our route and I was interested in seeing this huge operation since I grew up on a dairy farm in Southern Ontario. Upon arriving we were treated to cold chocolate milk (great recovery drink). His son-in-law, Glen and grandson gave us a tour of the operation. They milk 1700 cows (only Holsteins…black and white cows). The cows are milked three times daily. The milking parlor is circular and milks up to 50 cows at a time. It takes 10 mintues to run the cows thru the parlor. It was difficult taking a photo of the parlor, so I went with a photo of the cows instead. I did take note of the manure pits, but didn’t notice any of that ‘fresh’ country air.

Next stop….Snake Canyon. We climbed over some rocks to get a better view. Wow, now that’s a sheer drop down. I feel so insignificant amongst such grandeur. A few photos later and we were on our way again.

The town of Twin Falls provided us with another view of Snake Canyon. From here we headed to the Twin Falls RCA church for a wonderful lunch (it’s only 10 a.m. but anytime is good for food). Subs, chips, choc, strawberry or white milk, watermelon and to top it off, ice cream bars. What a treat. The church provided with us with detailed maps how to get to Shoshone Falls, it’s a bit of a detour but we’ve heard it will be well worth it. A big thank you to all those involved in providing us with this wonderful stop. Shoshone Falls, now that was a sweet ride down, going back up was another story….granny gear the entire way. The locals compare this site to our Niagara Falls.

Barb started out ahead of us to take the climb up the Falls and then set out on her own for the remainder of the day. We waited at the top of the hill for Louie (once a preacher, always a preacher). From here we settled down to complete the final 70 km. The temperature is climbing (high 90’s) and I just want to get into camp. We arrived in camp at around 2:15. Total time on the bike 5:20 Average speed 26km

After a quick break we unload the gear truck. Just when we had all the bags out the sprinkler system went off. Now we’ve got this down pat….some people stand on the sprinkler heads (carefully) and the others move away the bags. Thank goodness the janitor was near by and he reset the system so that it shouldn’t happen again. I must admit that the spray off the sprinklers was rather refreshing. I quickly set up my tent, attempted to take a shower…..no water pressure in the girls showers so we take over one of the guys locker rooms, although this leaves us with only one toilet and two urinals…that should be interesting.

I found a cool, quiet spot on the upper level of the gym. Barb and I settled down to type up our blogs. After an hour or so, it’s time to wrap it up and call it a day. Supper will be serving in less than ½ an hour.

Till tomorrow, Cynthia

Day 16 Mountain Home to Gooding 99.9 km Uphill 2458 ft Downhill 1974 ft

2008-07-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

Boy, who needs an alarm when all the tent zippers around you start zzzipping at 5 a.m. I resigned to the fact that sleep would be no more and joined the gang packing up. Still no dew in the morning. How sweet it is to pack up the tent and ground cover dry. I did take advantage of the internet being up (the internet was rather fickle last evening) and quickly checked my email….this put me back 5 minutes and the ‘team’ was ready and waiting for me. Tomorrow I’ll have to be ready early to make up for this. Although in my defense, we have been leaving at 7 a.m. and today they were ready to head out at 6:45 a.m. Go figure!

Paul & Teresa headed out just before us. Our instructions were to turn Left on 6th S St. John turned Right and we all followed (we have maps, but they are tucked in our carriers, only John’s is right in front of him). Paul and Teresa watched us with much amusement. We corrected our error, passed them and then we missed the next turn….after correcting It, we again passed Paul & Teresa. I’m so glad we can provide them with these light hearted moments. Once we got on Old Hwy 30/Old Oregon Trail Hwy we were okay.

It’s kinda cool to see how the farmers irrigate their fields when they want the hay to grow. What a switch from Southern Ontario were you rely on the weather report as to when you should cut the hay and then you prayer for no rain. It appears to me that the farmers in Idaho set up the irrigation pipes, water the field, then they cut. Imagine the work and time of having to constantly move the pipes. Maybe relying on the weather man isn't all that bad! At the half way marked we stopped in the town of Glenns Ferry and treated ourselves to coffee and cinnabuns. Now we need the sugar to kick in from the cinnabun so we can peddle thru the headwind that is attacking us. The guys handle the headwind better than Barb and myself. Today we couldn’t find the ‘sweet spot’ so the ride today was a tad more difficult for us but we still made it in 4 hr 16 minutes. My computer has us traveling 106km at an average speed of 25. Top speed 50km.

Some photos of the day:

We seemed to be going thru some badlands. Pete VN

Here is a photo of the river. It’s nice to see a patch of green grass in the midst of all the dry ground. On our way to Gooding we passed thru the town of Bliss. Another photo opportunity.
Tonight we are staying at Gooding High School. Our tents are parked under the trees, wonderful shade. When we inspected the showers we notice that there was a washing machine. Barb and I ask permission to use it and the answer was Yes. Bonus! So now our laundry is hanging up. We’ve had our shower, and I’ve heard that the internet is up and running. Life is good.
P.S. Gooding has a population of just over 3,000.
P.S.S. John has the inside tract. He already has the map for tomorrow. 130km with another climb of 1,000 ft. Guess I’ll set my alarm for 4:45 a.m. and then I’ll be all set to go by 6:30 a.m. Don’t tell the guys, I want to surprise them!

Till later, Cynthia

Day 15 Boise to Mountain Hope 89km Uphill 1971 ft Downhill 1555 ft

2008-07-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

First off I must say that today was a sweet, sweet ride. No problems at all on the bike. I felt renewed, energized and ready for almost anything. I really believe that many people are holding us up in prayer and this makes the ride so much more doable. The relaxing day off might also have something to do with how great I feel.

Starbucks opens up at 5 a.m. and you can just bet who were the first ones there. John and Pete were at the door before the employees opened up. Barb & Andy quickly followed their cue. I chose to set my alarm for 5:09 (there has to be one rebel in the crowd), packed up a few things in my tent and then made my way over for the caffeine fix. Shortly after I asked Andy what time it was and he told me 6:50, so I quickly packed up a lunch, gobbled down my oatmeal, banana and juice, did the washroom thing, hurry, hurry only to find out he was joking. It was really 6:30. I guess that was repayment for holding up the pace line Sunday morning. Barb had another flat tire so after John had changed it we were off shortly after 7 a.m. It promises to be another hot day, thus the early start.

The devotional book elevation for the day looked really scary, but we hardly realized that we were climbing. Almost missed Pleasant Valley Rd, Gerry K caught that mistake before we racked up any additional kms. The Interstate hwy was free of debris and we sailed thru this section with the wind on our back. We came upon this truck and asked if he needed help (like we carry tools on our bike!...but Gerry had a cell phone if he needed it. He said everything was under control, so we carried on). We stopped for around 5 minutes at Walter’s SAG on our way to Desert Wind Rd. Then it was back on the bike.

We had one section that our pace line was working beautifully. Louie was pulling John who was pulling Barb. Pete was pulling me and Andy and Gerry drafted off of us. This section was the best. We had top speeds and everyone but Louie was riding in a ‘sweet spot’. Our devotion for the day described the ‘sweet spot. How fitting that you would read it and then we would experience it first hand. I’m told a coyote and a badger crossed right in front of us…..I was too busy concentrating on the wheel in front of me and missed this wonderful display of nature. Although I didn’t miss the dead raccoon that the person in front of me failed to call out. Andy, Gerry and I swerved and barely missed this wonderful specimen of road kill. As for the scenery, we noticed a lot of sage brush. The area we biked thru today was pretty desolate.Cory Nyhuis was just setting up his SAG station when we pulled in. We thanked him for the water, used the facilities and we were off. Just an additional note: we’ve been told the next two weeks will be very hard on us, with the extreme heat and the desert conditions that we are cycling thru. So we are not passing any SAGS, instead we stop and top off our water bottles. The trick is to stay hydrated. Pictured here are: Barb (Pete is 'busy'), Cory, Louie, Gerry, John and Andy

Arrived in Mountain Home before lunch. We stopped at a coffee shop, ordered yogurt shakes, followed by coffee and chatted with other cyclists as they came in. We probably stayed there for over an hour, then headed to Walmart to buy some cashola. I’ve misplaced my debit card, alas they will not give a cash advance on my m/c so now I’ve got to do some serious searching if I want to buy some cash.

Mountain Hope JR HS was just down the road. The gear truck had just arrived, so everyone pitched in to unload the duffel bags. I set up my tent, had a refreshing shower and then settled down in the cool hallway to type up this blog.

Mountain Hope is a nice community. This JR HS is quite impressive. When the temperatures reach the high 90’s -100’s F its’ a great to find relief from the oppressive heat in an air conditioned building (even if it is only the hallways and gym). Trees are something you don’t see much of in these hot, dry conditions.

P.S. Ralph never fear, I did find my debit card (so don’t go canceling it on me!)…it was in a ‘safe’ place. So now on my agenda for the reminder of the day.... I have a trip planned to Walmart and the post office. Then we’ll have the usual routine of supper, peloton and small groups before retiring for the evening.

I also want to give acknowledgement to Ed Witvoet. His work never stops. He is constantly on the phone or computer every evening making sure that the MT and police know we are coming thru. So far the daily routes have been fantastic. I know it has taken Ed a long time in planning to come up with the route and it shows. So, three cheers for Ed. We all appreciate all the work you’ve been doing.

Gotta go and see if the internet is working, and then it’s off to run some errands. Till next time, Cynthia
Average speed on the bike 28km Maximum speed 54.2km Bike time 3:14

Sunday, July 13th

2008-07-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

Last evening was so cool that I slept like a log. Breakfast was being served from 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. and church didn’t start till 10:30. Lots of time to shower, blow dry my hair (no blower) put on my makeup (what make-up?). I tell you, it makes getting ready a lot faster when you don’t have to do any of these jobs. Although I must admit that around 20 cyclists all called out my name because they wanted to leave for the park and I was still making the last washroom run, putting away my lawnchair, zipping up my tent, etc. It was just like at home!

The 3 mile bike to the park was pleasant. This morning’s church service is being hosted by Valley Life Community Church (RCA) and Boise Rescue Mission. Valley Life Community Church started as a church plant 10 years ago. It has around 100 members. We were able to interact with several members from the church and share with them some of our experiences along the route. The service was wonderful and just like last week, we more than doubled their church attendance. Afterwards they treated us to a hamburger lunch with chips and pasta salads on the
side.
I was able to connect with my family on Skype this morning, just before they left for church. We still have a two hour time change so this makes it a bit tricky to catch them. Two weeks and counting till I see Ralph in Denvor. This is the longest time we have even been separated in our 28 years of marriage. I hope the next two weeks fly by.

Another pleasant, sunny day. I’ve found a cool spot under the canopy of the school so that I can type this in the shade. Bonus, even an electrical plug! All around the campground people are napping, talking, playing cards, sorting thru their gear baskets and some are still out exploring the many bike paths that Boise has to offer. Christina N relaxing with a book

Markus taking a much needed nap

Yesterday the sprinkler ‘thing’ happened again.
Note to self: never set up your tent under a light pole (way to bright in the evening)
: always check for dog do do’s before staking ones tent, or else you have to
do some scooping afterwards, right Don?
: before setting up ones tent in the prime location (closest to the school entrance) one should always check for sprinkler heads. Last evening 2 tents were soaked at around 7pm and then at midnight several more where forced to sleep in the gear truck when other sprinklers went off. Fred Folkers opened his tent to see what all the commotion was about, forgot that his rear flap was opened and almost ended up with an ennema.

These are some of the things I’ve learned on this bike trip. Can’t wait to find out what else I’ll be able to add to this list.

Now it’s time for some R & R. Peloton meets tonight along with small groups. Tomorrow we continue to climb. Salt Lake City….we’re on our way!

Till later, Cynthia

day 13 Ontario to Boise 104km Uphill 2400 ft Downhill 1815 ft

2008-07-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

When my alarm beeped at 5 a.m. this morning I thought it was a cruel joke. Darkness was still all around me and I was still tired. So I rolled over and slept for another ½ hr. I’ll just pack my tent up super fast today.

Barb had a flat when she came in last evening, so John set about changing it and we were off by 7 a.m. We had only been on our bikes for 10 minutes or less when we came to the state line. Another photo opportunity. Idaho here we come.

The ride today is up and down. At 10 a.m. we happened to come upon a coffee shop, ‘Sandy Hollow’. They had the best cinnamon buns and the coffee was a great pick me upper.

Back to the ride. We had rollers and it didn’t seem that difficult. The area we biked through today had a lot of field crops that were irrigated by flood irrigation (ditches that allow water to flow to the crops in small amount). We saw sugar beet fields, beans, onions, corn, wheat and who could forget the fragrant field of mint. It was so fresh, a treat to my senses. One wrong turn had us miss a huge hill (so sad) but we did add around 3km extra to the day. Some local cyclists directed us back on the right path to Boise. They probably wondered how we'll ever find New Jeresy! I did have one moment of panic, don’t know why, but all of a sudden I couldn’t catch my breath. It was like I was hyperventilating. I was second from the back of a rather long pace line so thankfully the other riders didn’t realize what was happening. Andy stayed back with me till I was able to breathe normally again (it only lasted like 1 minute) and then we started to catch the gang, but it happened again. So we slowed down till the problem had corrected. The rest of the ride was uneventful. As we neared the town of Boise we are passing many equestrian farms. What an economical contrast to Huntington.

The line of cyclists keeps growing. We passed thru Hyde Park, a delightful village. Then we continue on to Boise. Tonight we are staying at Timberline High school. Another beautiful facility. The private showers were to die for, very private, lots of pressure and ever so clean.

I’m typing this at the Jiffy Clean Laundromat. Jean Hammond (a wonderful woman that has been following Gayle’s blog and came here to meet her) offered to drive us here. We are so thankful because the thought of getting on the bike and lugging our laundry 2 miles just seems overwhelming. That the internet is free at the Laundromat was an additional bonus. Should also mention that across from the high school we have a coffee shop, drug store, etc. No need to travel far this weekend. Tomorrow we need to cycle 3 miles to the park where they are holding the celebration service.

Temperatures ranged today, but it peaked about the time when I was setting up my tent (low 90’s F).

Jean is here waiting to take us back, so I’d best get this posted.

Till next time, Cynthia

Day 12 Huntington to Ontario 56.3km Uphill 1150 ft Downhill 1129 ft

2008-07-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

Last evening as we where eating supper one of the cyclists tent was lifted up by the wind and tossed over the fence and the freeway. It was rescued by two cyclists and returned to the rightful owner. This sets the stage for the evening excitement. Around 11pm I heard a lot of commotion outside of my tent. The wind was gusting and blowing sand all over. Did I mention that we were camped in a football field at the highest possible point of Huntington? Ed W came around and mentioned that if you felt safer you could opt to spend the evening in the gym. Around 2 dz cyclists took advantage of this offer. I was situated in the inner circle of the camp. Bill & Mary D were my neighbours and when I overheard Mary ask Bill is they should go inside, my heart stopped. If they went inside and took down their tent then there would be no wind block for me. Thankfully they decided to stick it out. Most people got around 6 hours or less of sleep.

The time zone changed for us today. Just outside of Huntington we had to bring our watches forward 1 hour. Ed W has made the decision that since the day is very short we will start breakfast one hour later (7:30 am). Our group of 5 (minus Barb because she was sweep) left the campground around 8 am.

We started off with the first climb right off the bat. No problem. On route we took some photos of the changing scenery. We are following the snake river. The farms appear to be doing well. We saw a variety of vegetables being grown; radishes, onions, cabbage, etc. It reminds me of the Holland Marsh area. Below is a photo of one of the irrigation systems they use in this part of the country. Only two SAG stops today because the ride is so short.

We took a different route into Ontario because we wanted less traffic. Once we had located the high school that we are staying at, we headed out for a breakfast/ coffee joint. Julie, one of the SAG drivers is off today, so she joined us in this little adventure. The pancake house fit the bill. I ordered 3 crepes with a tad of whipping cream. Below is a photo of what the waitress brought out.We handed out a number of C2C business cards promoting the tour at this restaurant. Two hours later, refreshed and full we headed to the visitors centre to pick up a map of the city. Found out that this city is actually named after Ontario, Canada. Yep, the name was decided on with a coin toss between two gentlemen and one woman. Then it was off to the campsite to set up our tents, etc. After showers several cyclists headed to the local library to send out yesterday’s blog and hopefully work on today’s. How disappointing to hear that the library closed at 4 pm and we didn’t get there till 3:45. I quickly sent out yesterday’s blog (without proof reading it…hope I don’t have to make any retractions!). Rumor has it that the internet is still not working at camp. This frustrates the cyclists as well as the people responsible to set it up. Again the motto, ‘just go with it’. If a situation is beyond your control then make the best of it. ‘ It is what it is.’

It is nearing 6pm so that means supper time. I need to wrap this up and get going. Tonight will be early to bed (I’m nodding off already). Tomorrow is the last of the short days, so I hope to saunter along and just enjoy it.

Till tomorrow, Cynthia

Day 11 Baker City to Huntington 73.5km Uphill 1124 ft Downhill 2417 ft

2008-07-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

Last evening during pelaton we were told that it was going to be a very, very hot day….high 90-100+ F. Our goal was to leave bright and early. It is quite wonderful packing up a tent that is dry (no humidity or dew in the morning). Today I’m biking with Pete, Barb, John, and Gerry K from Washington. Marti joined us 1/2 thru the ride. Andy is on sweep duty so he’ll be a late comer today. Pictured above are: Marti De Plessis, Cynthia, Barb Mellema

John likes us to warm up a bit before the actual ride, hence the climb up the WRONG hill right at the beginning of the day. I will admit that we all missed the US-30 sign but we like to blame these things on John, after all, he is the one reading the map.

Today’s ride was a breeze, everyone should make it in with out a problem. In fact, as I’m typing this up Andy came in, so that means everyone was in by 3:30ish. Once you were over the 450-500ft climb it was all downhill from there. You didn’t even have to pedal. Barb did have a soft front tire, but we managed to catch Cory on the way to his sag stop and after we, (John, that is) added air we were all set to go. Our We projects at home are defined as...I think of the idea and Ralph does all the work. I operate on the same mentality here at camp….We should pump up my front tire and either John or Pete does it. We have a flat….you get the idea.

First sag was Walter in his humble camper. He greeted us with a smile, told us where the facilities were….girls behind the first bale of straw, guys behind the second bale of straw. Walter even has toilet paper available along with a steady supply of hand disinfectant for us to use. After topping up our water bottles and a photo op of John pretending to be Lance Armstrong, we were off.

Second sag was Julie. She has no shade again today. It’s a long day for these sag drivers and we sooooo appreciate everything that they do for us.

It was a tad dicey on the interstate. We usually do not travel on the interstate but apparently when the valley narrows this was our only route. There was construction and I was grateful to get thru this one lane section with barely any shoulder before the traffic picked up. Andy said when they came to this section the construction workers told him to navigate thru the construction because they’d never get thru otherwise. Again, we appreciate all your prayers for our safety, we need them.

Imagine our surprise when we entered Huntington and some one had made a home-made sign welcoming our group to their town.We arrived shortly after 10 am and since the gear truck doesn’t usually arrive on site till after noon we found the local bookstore, grabbed a coffee and got to know the locals. What a riot. The women where invited to sit by the MAFIA table, which stand for Mature, Affectionate, Feminine, Intelligent, Articulate women.

This is a photo of the local women we sat with: Margie, Beverly, Mabel, Rhonda, Millie, Bev R and Sue.

I also joined some men for a bit and chatted about their lives. We found out that Huntington has a population of around 500 people, and that is counting the dogs and cats! 60% are either retired or on disability. They were grateful that we were staying at the local elementary/high school because that would generate funds so that textbooks could be purchased for the fall.

We also found out that there was a washing machine at the school, so Barb and I put dibs on the first load. Right now I’ve got the first load hanging on the back of the bleachers waiting for it dry so I can hang up the second load. We usually combine clothing so we have a full load. The wind is strong so it shouldn’t take long to dry.
The next two days will be relatively easy but sooner or later we have to get out of this valley and do some serious climbing. I haven’t looked ahead in the devotional book because it will just freak me out and as my son said, ‘Mom, it doesn’t matter what the elevation is….you still have to climb it. So don’t worry about it. Just do it.’ Wise word.

On my to do list for this evening is…shower (but at least today I will not have to stand in the shower with all my biking clothes on, spread soap all over, take off the cycling clothes, soap them down once more before actually washing myself…it really is a time consuming job but hey, if it’s the only way to get clean clothes you do it). I fear when I’m home that I’ll hop out of bed with my jammies on and just in the shower fully clothed. You can bet I’ll only do this once. Continuing with my to do list….hang up the second load, find internet service to post this blog, eat supper, pelaton meeting and get ready for tomorrow (which means, washing out the water bottles and refilling them and laying out my cycling clothes for tomorrow so that I’m ready to go. I should probably clean my bike chain as well….on that note, maybe we should clean my bike chain!

Maximum speed 60.8km Average speed 28.2 Bike time 2:40
Till later, Cynthia

Day 10 La Grande to Baker City Uphill 1443ft Downhill 817ft

2008-07-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

I know what the town of La Grande is known for….the trains! They kept us awake most of the evening with their shunting back and forth. Just when I thought it was over, another train came by. I think the conductor saw all the tents and decided to blow the whistle on us (lame, but I couldn’t think of anything else to write).

I’m typing this in the Baker City High school gym. It is nice and cool in here, but very, very hot outside. Temperatures on my bike read 102F.

Today I’m biking with part of my sweep team. I think we headed out of town around 8:30am (we divided the sweep team into three groups and left at staggered times). Our job is to make sure everyone keeps moving and to report any mishaps, tire blowouts, etc.

Lois C, Teresa & Paul, Cynthia (Cory, a VIP... he tows the Portal -John ) and Lavonne K

The climb today was very gradual. We encountered no significant problems on the road. The nice thing about being on the sweep team is that it forces you to take your time because we are not allowed to pass the last rider that we come upon. So we managed a coffee stop plus another stop for a refreshment in a little town called Haines. The restaurant that we stopped at was very western….washrooms where addressed as Heifers and Bulls. Three men with cowboy hats sat in a booth. I wanted to take a photo but didn’t dare ask them. They probably thought we were an oddity in our spandex, just like we thought the cowboys hats where a bit over the top (don’t take offence anyone in the west, it just that in Chatham we don't see the cowboy hats very often).

I noticed this announcement on the bulletin board (something I would never see on the No Frills board in my city!).

Think about this, if her last name started with a D, would she still want a personal license plate?

One thing about taking your time is that you notice more. Paul saw this skeleton in the ditch. Not sure if it was the remnants of a deer or cow. We may have to call CSI Oregon to investigate.

It cooled down nicely last evening so I’m hoping for the same tonight. Tomorrow promises to be another hot one. I’ll find out for sure during pelaton tonight.

P.S. Last Saturday we hit our record of 33 flats in one day. We are over the 100 flat marker.

Till tomorrow, Cynthia

Day 9 Pendelton to La Grande Uphill 4538 ft Downhill 2946 ft

2008-07-09T16:56:00.001-07:00

First off I must make a retraction. Someone pointed out an error in my Saturday blog. I have corrected it, but for those who read it…..no, you did not sponsor me $10,000 to spread the gossip (it should have read, gospel). Spell check didn’t catch it (gossip wasn’t spelled wrong) and I didn’t catch it when I proof read the blog. Usually my husband will tell me to, ‘open mouth, switch feet’ but this time it was my fingers that gave me the problem. So I apologize if I offended anyone, it wasn’t intentional. A few people in camp know about this error so before I rode off this morning I was greeted with, ‘have fun spreading the gossip’. I fear it will be a while before I live that one down.

Now, on to the day. We left early (6:30 am) because it promised to be another hot day and we knew we would be climbing quite a bit. We had some problems leaving town….the map can be a tad difficult to follow. I did get a photo of the fields of wheat before we started the climb. Oh, never crouch down in a wheat field to relieve oneself….you could end up with little prickles on the inside of your shorts. This makes for a prickly ride the rest of the day. Now mind you, I’m just giving you a ‘for instance’ here.

Today was my first experience cycling on switchbacks. The first long climb was over 10 miles. We started at just over 1,000ft and finished at just under 4,000ft. Someone figured that the climb was at a 5% grade. At one point I heard some rustling in the bushes, I put my head up and saw some cattle grazing at the side of the road. We also noticed to two fawns and several horses. In retrospect today’s climb was not as bad as last Tuesday. I found it quite manageable….difficult, but doable.

After the first climb was finished we had an up and down section, then another 500ft climb. The scenery changed from wheat fields to pine trees rather suddenly. The rest of the day whizzed by….downhill the rest of the way.

Just as we were coming into town (shortly after noon) we noticed an ice-cream store. The advantage of coming in early is that you beat the heat (when we climbed the first climb the temp was around 65F, for others later in the morning it was in the mid 90’) I had a peach cobbler ice-cream cone. Mmm good, another first for me (the peach cobbler, not the ice-cream cone.).

Tonight we are staying in Pioneer Park, a city park. Large shade trees offer much needed relief after a day on the road. We can also use the indoor pool and showers.

I’ve been told there will be no internet tonight. I wish I could post at the library, as some cyclists are doing, but alas I’m on sweep duty tonight. Not quite sure of all the details of this duty but we needed to unload all the cyclists gear bags before setting up our tents and then I helped set up the dining tents and tables. At 5:30pm we start setting up for supper, then we help serve supper and clean up the kitchen dishes. Tomorrow morning we will set out and serve breakfast (from 6:30-7:30am), clean up the camp site and then we’ll be the last cyclists out of camp. Our job is to offer encouragement and do whatever it takes to get all the cyclists in. We will also be the last cyclists in, so I hope that tomorrow has no climbs so that I’ll get into camp mid afternoon. One can always hope. As I type this up the sweep team from today is still not in (it’s 4:30).

Gotta go, I have to report to duty. Till tomorrow, Cynthia

Average speed 21.2k Maximum speed 60.0km Time on the bike 4:15

Day 8 Kennewick to Pendleton 111km Uphill 2777ft Downhill 2041ft

2008-07-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

Another hot day on the bike. Kristy returned both Barb and I to the camp by 6:15am Then there was a quick breakfast of oatmeal and a glass of oj. John Vandersteen kindly offered to do my breakfast dishes so that I could pack my lunch and then we were off shortly after 7am. Christine N from Sarnia has joined our group today.

The first 38 miles where relatively easy.

We did have a nasty side winds, and then when we turned the corner we had the wind in our faces. Just before turning the corner we took a break. John climbed thru some brush and came back with a huge onion. He sliced a piece off for each of us and encouraged us to eat it. I’m wonderoing if this is some kind of cruel initiation that I have to go thru in order to ride with the group. Apparently it is suppose to keep the misquotes away. I think it will also keep your friends away! Now for John, I believe it made him a tad delusional. Pete had pointed out the lake just beyond the hill, and John was certain that it wasn’t water. We all said that it was Lake Wallula. He only admitted that he was wrong when we where riding along side the lake. It will be a while before he lives that one down. We left the state of Washington and entered Oregon. Trooper J.L. Klundt welcomed us. Actually he pulled over to the side of the road and allowed us to take some photos with him and his cruiser. What a trooper! Barb is getting a rash from the sun so we were trying to get her into the camp or the town of Pendleton asap. We managed both the climbs with not too many problems. The first one was worst than then the second. I will admit to you that the devotional books make the climbs look a lot scarier than they really are.

The scenery has taken a turn to the colour yellow. Heads of wheat wave in the wind. Farmers have hay ready to be baled in the fields. We even noticed ‘dust devils’.

When we arrived in the town of Pendleton we stopped in at the local ‘Christian bookstore’, (can’t believe they sell refreshments and food). I order chili and fries while a few of the others quenched their thirst. Then it was off to the school. You couldn’t miss the school if you wanted to, it’s bright yellow. I’ve decided not to go into town later today because it is a rather nasty climb up to the school. It should be sweet going down tomorrow morning.

Oh, I could mention on other thing. The other evening when Andy DV was setting up his tent he exclaimed, “hey, I’ve got grass in my tent’. I replied, ‘that’s illegal’ and Barb kept up the one liners with, “didn’t your Momma teach you to share’. By this point Andy and was rolling his eyes. So today when we met the Trooper Klundt, we mentioned to him that Andy should be arrested because he had grass in his tent. The officer took it all in good humor . So don’t worry, Andy is coming home and you won’t have to pay any fines.

My average speed today was 24km Top speed was 56.1km Time on the bike 4:45

Sunday, July 6th

2008-07-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, we woke up with a start…7:10am and we’re suppose to be out the door for 7:30. That was one sweet sleep. After speaking with Kristy, we’ve decided to come back in the afternoon so we can post our blogs and just relax.

The church service was held in the park. We more than doubled their number. Pastor Dan Wolters opened the service and then Queen blasted over the sound system as all the cyclists and support people walked across the stage to the tune of “I want to ride my Bicycle’. Probably my first time I ever heard that during a church service (that’s a line from Barb’s blog, just thought I’d use it since everyone will read my blog first because it starts with an A). The setting in the park was one that just made you want to praise our Lord and Maker. After opening with song, several people took part in a drama using bikes and a tire pump as their props. Each person shared in a humorous way why they went on the C2C trip after which Pastor Dan delivered an inspiring sermon. This church has been very active in sponsoring a family from Burma and this family has in turn reached out to the Burma people in the community and so far the church has experienced growth (27 Burmese have joined the church). The Burmese people shared their gift of music with us during the collection. I can say with the Psalmist, “I was glad to go to the house of the Lord’.

The church provided ice-cream bars, cookies and refreshments and then hosted us for lunch. This is so incredible especially when you think of the size of the church. Later in the afternoon various members of their church provided rides to the many activities we could have signed up for. As I mentioned earlier, Barb and I took advantage of the offer to return to the Wolter’s home. We spent the better part of the afternoon and evening finishing up our blogs, and checking our emails. Tonight will be an early night as it promises to be a very warm day tomorrow.

Pictured here are: Cynthia Aukema, Kristy, Chris is on her lap, beside her is Pastor Dan with
Robert

Till later, Cynthia

Day Six Sunnyside to Kennewick 80.5km Uphill 1236 ft Downhill 1498 ft

2008-07-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

First off I must begin by saying a huge THANK YOU to the people at Sunnyside CRC. What a fantastic welcome and meal they put on for us last evening. Later on they held a ‘meet ‘n greet and treated us all to root beer floats. The evening finished with a BANG…fireworks of all colours sparkled in the evening light. I went to my tent before the show was over and promptly slept thru all the noise. Twas a tad tired, I’d say.

Last evening was my first really good sleep. I woke up refreshed and ready for an easy, downhill ride of 80km. The morning started off cool but quickly warmed up. Our bikes are cleaned, lubed, oiled and ready to go. Our fearless leader, Pete was biting at the bit to leave but we managed to hold him back till 7:30 am (I told him I needed to put on my lipstick and such….behind his darkened sunglasses I could see his eyes roll.) And so the day begins.

We are still biking thru the dessert. It’s interesting to see how they make the dessert bloom. This is quite an agricultural area. It’s quite common to see irrigation pump spraying water over the lush green orchards, and vineyards that dot the countryside. Passed some nice looking hay ready to be baled, and took a photo of a dairy operation just in case those reading this blog do not know what a holstein cow looks like. If it wasn’t for the endless supply of water this rural setting would not be possible. Oh, I even saw my first hops plant. Companies like Coors, Blue light etc are fans of this plant.
Haven’t heard how many flats we had today, but I’m sure it’s a new record. This area is known for its goat heads or as the native call it, ‘puncture plants’. A plant that has multiple spikes. It is usually found in patches of dried grass or on the sides of roadways. A bikers nightmare.

On the serious side, we are very aware of the purpose of this. If we are held up at a stop sign or take a break at a local diner we arouse curiosity (wouldn’t you look twice at someone with darkened glasses, helmet, and spandex to boot!) People ask, ‘where are you going?’ we reply, ‘Jersey City, NJ’. The next expression is one of disbelief. Then we hand them a business size card that explains the goals of the tour. We encourage them to check out the website, campsite, and if possible donate. Almost every evening Len, our head chaplan reminds us that we are ambassadors for the cause. Yes, the ride is a big part of it but we must also make sure the message gets out that almost every three seconds a child dies from poverty related issues. That the aid epidemic in Africa is slowly wiping out the middle age population (and children). That when disasters strike all over the world we can send teams of volunteers to provide help and at the same time spread the gospel. I could go on, but this is some of the goals of the tour. The monies raised from this tour can and will make a huge difference is peoples lives. Praise God for that.

Getting back to the ride. Again the sun was out in full force but thank goodness, no humidity. The ride was very easy, downhill most of the way with a few shorter climbs. We rode on some nice bike trails and managed to avoid the hwy for most of the day. Coming onto the Columbia Park trail was a treat. Again the scenery would knock your eyes out. Our campsite is right in the park. We were greeted from members of the Family of Faith CRC. Lemonade, cold water, along with fresh baked cookies (I think a younger member of the church, Hannah has a great career in baking coming up). Several cyclists decided to swim in the river. Very cold and numbing. They told me it was refreshing, I’ll just take their word on that one. The Family of Faith church is relatively small….40 families but they have gone far beyond what we could have imagined. On our gear truck they’ve posted activities that they will either host or bring us to. The activities range from floating down the river, to swimming in someone back yard and even a boat ride. They provided rides to local malls for either shopping, laundry, or just if you wanted to take in an afternoon movie. They stayed at the park for the better part of the afternoon but had to leave for a 4pm wedding. Later on they returned to arrange the rides for the billets (or as you Americans call it, ‘hosting’). Barb and I decided to take advantage of being billeted. We are staying at Pastor Dan’s and Kristy house. They are wonderful hosts. They are very, very busy people but still offered to do our laundry (‘no, just show us where the laundry room is and we can do it ourselves’). “Can we get you water, milk” ‘No, again, just show us where the glasses are and we can help ourselves.’ We have a quiet bedroom in the basement and use of the family room so we spent the better part of the evening catching up on our blogs and when we experienced brain freeze, off to bed we went. The end.

Day f Yakima to Sunnyside km 59.5 (or 37 miles for the US readers) Uphill 725ft Downhill 1123ft

2008-07-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

Today is Independence Day in the States. As Canadians we decided we should show our support for the US cyclists by flying their flag on our bikes. So yesterday we went to Walmart and purchased 150 flags. The manager even gave us the employee discount when she found out why we are cycling. We put the flags out after the pelaton meeting along with a donation jar (funny part is we thought of the idea but an American footed the bill, cool aye!).

As I type this I am sitting in the sports locker room at Sunnyside Christian High school. The radio is tuned to the local station and the sound of the younger crowd of cyclists bouncing basketballs is right by the door that I’m sitting at. How long till I have to dodge a ball is anyones guess.

The bike ride started and finished in the rain. Thankfully we left later than usual because from 9-12 noon the Zillah Christian Reformed church was treating us to fresh water, coffee, cherries, watermelon, peanut filled cracker and cheese filled crackers. This was a treat especially when you consider that they took time off from their national holiday to serve us.

The photo below is rather interesting. Imagine our surprise when we went into the handicap washroom at the church and found a scale. Photo op. I stepped on the scale first (to my dismay I have already lost 2 Ibs..I think it is mainly from the heat). Now every women that stepped on the scale kept it at my numbers….hence the smiling faces!
The area we biked thru today has many wineries and orchards. Sorry we didn’t stop for photos mainly because of the rain. The other reason we didn’t stop is because after the church stop Bill & Rita Wymenga (Pickerington, ON) headed up our pace line with their tandem bike. Now Bill is a powerful cyclists and with Rita helping we hit an average speed of 44km. It was a very sweet ride, to say the least. You can imagine our disappointment when we heard Louie call out, “Pete’s stopping; probably a flat”. We pass this up the line and bid our leader adieu. When Pete did catch us we found out he was taking a photo and was just letting us know to continue on without him. For penitence he had to take the lead and pull us along. We eventually got into a pace line and would switch off the front rider to the back whenever they got tired. I never did see 44km again. Guess we’ll have to wait till the tandem joins us another day. Our actual bike time was just over 2 hours. Almost all the riders came in with mud streaked faces because it rained for most of the ride. Thankfully the sun was shining when we pulled into the school so we could set up our wet tents and get everything dried (it rained last night as well).

Once the tents where set up most cyclists spent the better part of an hour or so cleaning off their bikes and chains. The nice part is if you don’t know how you’re suppose to clean a bike someone is always there to show you what to do.

Tonight the local church is treating us to supper so that our cooks can have a well deserved time out. Apparently there will be a fireworks display later in town. Afterwards we will be treated to ice cream. Bonus! (if we can stay awake that long.)

Not too sure of the distance tomorrow but they have some great things planned for us…billets, swimming, and……to find out more, tune in tomorrow. Hopefully we will have a satellite connection or you’ll have to wait longer. Later, Cynthia

Day Four Ellensburg to Yakima 68km Uphill 1670 Downhill 2069ft

2008-07-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, the pressure is on. Today we are in Ellensburg. As I was thanking Sandy, a woman from the local church for all the goodies they set us for us, she informed me that she had read my blog just this morning because I’m the first name on the list. Now that brings back memories of elementary school when I wished my last name started with a W or better yet a Y because then by the time the teacher got to me I could just copy someone else’s ideas or answer. Honestly folks, I do my best but my strong suit is talking, not journalism (as anyone who knows me in Chatham, Ontario will agree).

It was another wonderful day on the bike cycling thru the canyon that takes us to Yakima (sorry, I took a photo of the name of the canyon but sadly several cyclists are in front of the name….poor planning on my part. If a local wants to fill in the name for me, I be ever so indebted). I biked with the same people as yesterday, and ½ way thru Jake Kuipers from Trenton joined our pace line. We just took our time, snapping photos and marveling at the all beautiful creation that surrounded us. Every evening during our peleton they do a count of flat tires, falls and now wild life is being counted. We were told by a local cyclist that we might see some wild life. I don’t know if the skunk that crossed our path counts, but that was #1 for us. Two and three were the two deer frolicking in the meadow (one cyclists missed this because someone yelled out deer and he thought it was an endearment). Four, was a dead one at the side of the road. Five and six were two more deer by the rivers side. We were hoping to see a mountain goat but sadly it was not in the cards. So the final count for our group was six.

I’m not sure of the number of falls today, but in our group Jake took a nasty fall. His bike went towards the road and he hit the other side of the sidewalk. Thankfully he had a helmet on (children take that as a lesson to always wear your helmet). He sustained road rash on his right shoulder His fingers are a bit cut up along with his knees. If his wife is reading this, don’t worry, when we brought him into camp he was tended by the nurse and then he promptly went to unload the gear truck since it was his groups turn to take on this responsibility. So he’s going to be fine.

Temperatures on the bike reached just over 100F on my bike computer. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that the Christian school has welcomed us into there fine facility. The building is air conditioned, showers plentiful and as you can see on the photos we are all taking advantage of this break from the heat.
I do feel sorry for the cooks. They are busy preparing our meals in this heat (along with the sweep team…this is a group of cyclists that is assigned to unload the gear truck, help serve the food and clean up afterwards. The sweep team also makes sure the camp is clean before they leave in the morning and it is also their duty to make sure everyone arrives in the camp at night. They help any cyclists that are having a hard time, either with a word of encouragement or by just cycling along side them. They are also the last ones in.) Getting back to the cooks….what a job it is to feed us. They generally prepare twice the amount of food that a person would normally eat. I’m actually afraid to post any photos of the food we are eating because my family would be jealous. While they are surviving on Kraft dinner (not) I’m eating like a king. I really can’t say enough about this fantastic group of cooks. They have given up their entire summer to feed us nutritious food all for the end goal of the ride. I should also tell you about the SAG (support and gear people) but I think I’ll save that for tomorrow since this blog is quite lengthy.

I want to add one more thing. I’ve so enjoyed meeting new faces and sharing the laughter with everyone, especially on the road. When I first arrived in Seattle on Saturday evening I was roomed with Barb Mellema, she is in my small group and we just clicked. We have a lot in common. She has been married for 26 years (two years less than me). Our style of cycling is similar (although she is stronger than me on the flats). We both trained on the flats…no mountains for us. Her husband doesn’t peddle a bike, neither does mine and we share the same sense of humor. Oddly enough both our husbands enjoy the same brew of coffee. If you want to read an entertaining blog, check hers out. You won’t be disappointed because she has a way with words that will leave you in stitches. I look forward to getting to know the other cyclists, but for now its enough of a struggle to put a name to their faces.

Anyways, that’s the summary of the day. I still have supper, the peleton and small groups to look forward to, and as I sit here in the air conditioned gym two gentleman are busy trying to set up a movie for us later in the evening. How cool is that?! Tomorrow promises to be another short day (60 odd km). Can’t wait.

P.S. I have photos but I'm having a problem loading them to the blog today. I'll keep trying so check back later for the matching photo.

Till later, Cynthia

Day Three: Leavenworth to Ellensburg 93.8km Uphill 4002ft Downhill 3567ft

2008-07-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful biking day.

Up and at em by 4:30 and on the bike just before 7am. One of the advantages of leaving early in the day is that we get a lot of our biking done before the temperature goes up. The temperature on my bike hit 94F.

US.2 was under construction so we had to wait till 15 cyclists or more had gathered and then a MTO truck would escort us to the Blewitt Cut off. I shared the ride with Pete, Andy, John Vandersteen and Barb Mellema. Our climb today was at 4% grade for just over 26 miles (sorry, can’t and don’t want to do the conversion into km). The climb was a lot easier then yesterday (6% grade ). When we reached Blewitt Pass, 4,021ft we blew right thru it.

Then it was coasting downhill most of the way to Ellensburg with only one other short climb (500ft). We did have some head wind but I usually place myself at the back of the line and enjoy the ride while taking advantage of the drafting, hey a girls gotta do, what a girls gotta do. On the downhill my speed reached 58.4km. Arrived in camp at noon (101 F) just when the Sea to Sea trucks were coming in. We decided to find an air conditioned lunch spot in Ellensburg and then off to the bike store for a few minor repairs to my bike. I had leaned it against another bike in the parking lot before we left to go the beach on Monday and it fell. Tomorrows ride will be sweet since my bike is now working like a finely tuned grandfather clock.

We did have some water works at around 3:45pm. To lay the ground work, when I was setting up my tent we noticed that the grass was still a tad wet and it hadn’t rained. So you can guess where this is going. Several cyclists had pitched their tents close to the school because it offered some prime shade... the sprinkler system went off and starting spraying all the tents. The day was saved when people placed buckets, and empty water bottles over the sprinkler heads and this took care of the problem. Now I’m wondering when the sprinkler head that is close to my tent will go off!

The horn just blew for supper so it’s time to sign off.
P.S. Tonight we will an opportunity to participate in a worship/prayer service organized by a fellow C2C’er. They do believe in keeping us busy.

Can’t wait till tomorrow, only 68km.
Till later, Cynthia

Day One and Two

2008-07-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

Summary of Day One and Two

Day One: Seattle to Sultan…..83 Km (plus nine extra km biking to the beach to dip our tires).

All the cyclists were up bright and early to pack their supplies in the gear truck, grab their bikes and head off to Golden Garden beach. Seattle is such a bike friendly town that visitors can’t help but notice all the bike paths through out the city. Once at the beach the area churches had a wonderful buffet breakfast set up. Thank you, Seattle for all your wonderful hospitality.

9 am, cyclists, and support staff gathered at the water’s edge. We recited the Lord’s prayer and then on the count of three stepped back into the water and dipped our back tires in the Pacific ocean. After this cyclists left in assigned groups, every three minutes. We cycled on the bike paths and had to watch out for the posts, in fact one of the cyclists hit a post head on, tumbled over her handlebars, cracked her helmet and suffered a mild concussion. She will not be riding for a few days.

It was good to get off the bike path and pick up our speed. Today we climb just over 2000 ft. The first climb had me in my granny gear in the lowest possible gear. I fear what tomorrow will bring with the major climb of just over 4,061ft. Once these two climbs were out of the way we flew downhill for the rest of the day. Very, very sweet. Temperature on the road hit the high 90’s.

I arrived in camp shortly after 3:30. It was hot setting up, but I did manage to get the tent up on my own accord (another first).

We have a great cooking staff. They are very conscious of what we need in regards to protein and carbs. Another blessing.

The evening ended with a pelaton meeting, and then we gathered in small groups for a short time of devotions. I’m still working on that three hour time change so lights early for me. Tomorrow will bring enough challenges.

************************************************************************

Day Two: Sultan to Leavenworth …..127 km Net uphill 5056ft, downhill 4024ft

4:30am and I’m awake, so I take down my tent and proceed to pack and lunch for the day. It is already warm outside. Today I’m biking with Pete VanNoord and Andy DeVries, both from St. Thomas. Paul and Teresa left the camp just before 7am and we left shortly afterwards. I’m very nervous about the large climb, in fact I was almost reduced to tears before leaving camp… could I do it?

When we caught Paul & Teresa we biked with them till the first SAG wagon stop. We are going slow trying to save our energy for the 4,061ft climb that looms ahead. I wish I could have taken you all on my back (or rather that you where pushing me up). The scenery is breathtaking. Mountains all around us, the sound of rushing water, the feel of the water’s spray as you bike past. Words and pictures do not do it justice.

Today the challenge was to make it up to Steven’s Pass and I’m happy to report that I made it. We where greeted by another SAG wagon at the top, lots of smiling faces. Now all we have left is another few hours and it’s downhill all the way. We did make a stop in at a rest room that was advertisings FREE coffee. Had they known that there where approximately 140 (give or take a few) cyclist of mainly dutch descent, I think they would have changed that sign! When we pulled into the rest stop it was also cookies and lemonade…Bonus! One more stop to dip our tired feet in the cold water, very refreshing.

The town of Leavenworth is an eye candy treat. It’s quaint and I really wish we could have stopped to sight see, but we heard thunder in the distance so we pressed on.

P.S. Tomorrow I'll insert some photos, but it is now 1:35am and I need to get some sleep because tomorrow promises to be another day of climbing. Till later, Cynthia

Synod and Gear Truck

2008-06-20T05:28:00.000-07:00

Reality is setting in. If I want to see my bike, tent, summer clothing ever again I need to fly out to Seattle and claim them.

Yesterday, Ralph and I made the trek to Grand Rapids to drop off my bike and gear. We got a glimpse of the gear truck (lots of racks, plenty of power bars, and even florescent lighting above to help with the visibility). Very cool.

Synod is also in session this week. We where privileged to participate in a presentation updating Synod on the number of cyclists and the goals of the tour. It was great to meet a number of other cyclists and some of the staff that has been instrument in organizing this Bike Tour.

Only 8 more sleeps till Seattle.

The countdown

2008-06-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe that the bike training is coming to an end. The last two weeks I've spent several days at my parents home in Alymer, Ontario. This enabled me to do some much needed hill training with two fellow cyclists from St. Thomas; Pete Vannoord and Andy Devries. They allowed me to tag along on their 140km jaunts. Although 5 rides does not make a hill climber, I do feel a tad more confident and am thankful to them for showing me the ropes.

As I type this my cycling clothes are scattered in a spare bedroom. My 'borrowed' hockey bag has taken up permanent residence in our kitchen and is filled with all the necessary camping equipment. Beside the hockey bag is a weight scale so I can constantly check how close I'm to the 60Ib limit.

In less than three days, my husband, Ralph and I are on our way to Grand Rapids to drop my gear and bike off. We will also make a brief appearance before Synod....another first for me! Below I have posted a photo of my bike and tent. I'm not sure which of these items I will spend the most time in or on.....I'm hoping it's the tent.

I'm blogging

2008-03-23T17:04:00.001-07:00

Check out the offial Sea to Sea website by clicking here