Camp life ....

Morning "chaos" - stacking tents at the gear truck for loading by the sweep team.
We learned to share many things - even a milk crate for a breakfast chair! Kincho and Nick here, sharing.
Gayle in front of her abode and with her sturdy steed that carried her across the continent.
Corrinne Schmienk in the morning with her cute beaver cap and a big smile making sandwiches for lunch.
Many tranquil lakes look like mirrors on the early morning rides.

Steaming oats is just the thing on a cold dark morning!
Early morning, making sandwishes for lunch...
Yoghurt and cottage cheese are usually on the menu at breakfast.
The ever faithful and busy kitchen ladies, already prepping stuff for the dinner of that day. Dini and Gerry are hard at work in our mobile kitchen.
Sitting or standing around having breakfast on a chilly morning.

Day 61 - Lackawanna State Park to Sussex, NJ, 132km

Last night we enjoyed the Lord's supper after dinner, while the whole group stood in a huge circle, listening to hymns played on flutes. No bears sighted after all during the night! Slept well, just too little as usual thus somewhat tired, but all smiles this morning. With Kobie out early again, I left on my own, riding relaxed. Not for long though, since hardly out the gate they started.....those steep ones! Pennsylvania and New Jersey are surely the lands of endless hills and mountains! I guess these were the most number of hills I ever climbed in a period of 8 hours...almost 7,000 feet of them ... UP! I should have counted those hills! Some were really steep, 14% grade, but fortunately few were very long! The last hill climbing up to High Point outside of Port Jarvis, NJ was 4 miles long and about 5 to 6 % grade. At the obelisk monument up there it is possible to see 3 states from the same vantage point!

The day was overcast, and blissfully cool, with even a few tiny drops of rain at times. Fantastic cycling weather! The scenery can be described as some of the loveliest we've enjoyed on the whole tour. Huge trees and dense forests, big rivers, lakes like mirrors, farms with red barns and the greenest pastures, with the blacktop road snaking through it all like a giant roller coaster. The ride was tough, but a great joy as well, as the cool air and greenery made it wonderful! I can not remember a time when we weren't going either up or down....few level roads in this state, it seems! My glutes and quads got a great workout today and I can feel them tonight when moving around. The climbs took long and slow because they were so steep that I seldom could use previous momentum to "overcome" them. So no choice but to patiently churn away in lowest gear snailing up with much effort and sweating buckets full. This took lots of time and most people got in much later than they anticipated. Some of the downhills turned out to be quite awesome and I effortlessly reached 80km/h at times without even trying, just by letting the bike run. At times the traffic was dense and dangerous. I got cut off by a truck once but saw it in time to avoid it. John Vandersteen was less fortunate and got run off his bike by a lady cutting him off. He was so thankful towards the Lord that he was able to walk away from that with only roasties and bruises! Drivers really seem not to realize how swiftly these racing bikes can move, and if they omit to check their mirrors, trouble is in the air! Another young guy slipped on gravel while cruising around a corner and fell really hard but could carry on. Cheryl Harris from my home church did an excellent job and enjoyed the ride despite having much knee pain. Gayle Harrison astounded us all by completing this whole arduous climbing ride on her heavier-than-lead hybrid in time for dinner! She is a real trooper and I'm proud of her to have completed this immense ride from Coast to coast on "that" bike, with all the health and other challenges she had to overcome. Gayle, I am totally speechless and in awe of what you will have accomplished tomorrow despite all odds! Congrats Girl!!! I doubt if I could have done it if I were in your position!

On the way up to High Point, Dan Baarda came along, a good friend from Hamilton, ON that Claire Elgersma and I cycled with on the 2005 tour, and he is Manley's dad. He is fast and a great climber with a wonderful smile and kindly waited for me at the top of the long climb. Down the big hill we went, at an exillerating speed, maybe approaching 80km/h. I dared not look down to check the speed as the road curved constantly and there were oncoming cars regularly, so it was vital to control one's line and speed through curves in order not to land on someones hood or hit a pothole that decorated the black top here and there! It was such awesome fun and like kids we enjoyed every second that the world flashed by. Speed is a total thrill, but we do realize it may harm seriously if things go wrong. Closer to Sussex we were flagged down at a cute fruit stall, where Laura, Leanne, Lorie and Travis, with broad smiles, treated us to a huge ripe peach each! Good stuff!! Thanks guys, you were awesome! (Photo to follow). Closer to the town were more welcome signs, and the Dutch bakery owned by CRC members treated the cyclists to "gebakjes" and coffee.



There is just nothing level in this part of the world, except what man bulldozed level with huge expensive machinery. To get up to the Christian school required even more climbing, and once inside the building, I was so surprized that even their hallways go uphill towards the restrooms! (As if we didn't have enough of inclines today!!)

The reception and dinner here were truly exceptional. It was presented by the CRC churches of Sussex and Goshen. They fed about 400 people and had many diverse scrumptious potluck dishes...way too many to try out. Also had hamburgers and hotdogs and "melt in the mouth" corn on the cob! Lots of desserts which I steered clear of since I need to unlearn this cyclist's habit of eating like a horse, since the tour is almost just an amazing memory, and thousands of calories just won't do our battle against the bulge any good! We had our last peloton meeting tonight...... We are so thankful towards all the support staff, who worked tirelessly and often unrecognized behind the scenes to make this enormous tour run like clockwork! Also the management and media staff.....all of you did an incredible job!!!

One day more of cycling - we have to get up extra early, to be at an assembly point 10 miles from the ocean at 1pm, where 3 different jurisdictions of police will escort the whole group towards the completion of our epic ride! I look forward to this closure with mixed feelings: anticipation to experience the sense of accomplishment of completing what I set out to do, enormous thankfulness towards the Lord for
His profound blessing and protection, so very visible and tangible over the whole tour, and some sadness to part with awesome friends that I shared so much fun and hardship with over this 9 weeks. Some, I know, I may possibly see again, but others maybe never again this side of heaven. What an amazing way of creating a tight knit community - sad that such great things have to end. I look forward to be home again and appreciate and enjoy the things that I have always taken for granted, but now realize they are precious gifts that billions of less fortunate humans have to do without! I look forward to love and spend quality time with family and dear friends, to get to know newer ones better and to invest much more time learning people skills and cultivating my own and others' positive and hopeful outlook on life. I also hope to find tangible ways to continue the poverty relief mission of our Sea to sea tour around the area where God has placed us to work, grow and encourage others to grow.

It is raining buckets outside now, and I am comfy in the computer lab of the Christain school here in Sussex. The tent is 200 yards away tonight.....and I have no jacket with me.... how to get around that one? Oh...Gayle to my rescue, just offered that I can borrow one of hers..... What will one do in life without dear friends?

Day 60-Chamango Forks to Dalton (State Park)90km

Teamwork does make life easier! Like getting up and breaking up camp on a cold dark wet morning at 5am if you went to bed at 1:30am making all possible use of the school's wireless internet access,that has become one of the most sought after conveniences on the tour. Kobie is an early bird and I am a night owl, that's why I lived much more of my life being awake than sleeping. But together we achieve more, for sure! Today was to be a shorter hilly ride with two steep 8 to 10% climbs, that turned out to be quad biters but nothing like Rabbit's ears pass was. The odd hill kicked up at 12% but for those we just stood up and buldozed up them.
Kobie, our arrow painter, went out real early, and I had a leisurely breakfast after he left, feeling a bit dim and sleepy. It was cold and most wore jackets. Fall is surely approaching and we can see the leaves are starting to turn on some trees. Upon leaving I realized that the front tire I just inflated had deflated itself when I turned my back. Not sure if the valve was malfunctioning I rather replaced the tube. I left much later with a group of delightful youths like Hans Doef. They were singing and laughing ...keeping a relaxed constant pace that allowed me to enjoy the surroundings while keeping an eye on the road surface as well. Most falls result of distraction or lack of concentration on what is happening in the 24" ahead of one's front tire. The road had huge potholes at times, especially after we entered Pennsylvania. I wondered out loud how many cars may have disappeared down those craters...
The hazy morningscapes later cleared up to reveal some smooth ponds reflecting perfect inverted mirror images of colourful wild flowers and lush vegetation framed by huge trees. We travelled along rivers for long stretches, the road was therefore mostly level. At Julie's SAG stop on the border of Pennsylvania, it was time for Kodak moments again, with cyclists milling around the signboard for photos. There was Dale again, and we rode together for the rest of the ride. Dale is now really fit after almost 9 weeks of intensive training (he signed up one week before the start of the tour, and got his new bike only 3 days before!)...so we cruised mostly at 35km/h or more along the holey roads. Entering a town we came upon a house that was converted into a museum of old Coke memorabilia, old gas pumps, and even Superman in a phone booth! So cute! Later we crossed under two enormous concrete train bridges/aqua ducts built between 1912 and 1915, probably with the big money of the tycoons of that time, as a pride thing for America. They are 240 feet high and really impressive, like the wall in China! At a broad quiet river I photographed a lovely reflection of this exceptional structure with its arches, while two blue King fishers were skimming the water surface looking to catch some fish unawares.
The ride up the steep hills turned out to be fun, but we worked up a good sweat in the process. At some stage we saw the gear truck in the distance behind us, and knowing it won't be able to travel too fast along the winding and steep narrow road, proceeded to try and beat it to the camp! This almost cost me dearly, as the turnoff arrow appeared suddenly while we were tearing down a hill. I braked hard and took the right hand turn way too fast, causing my back tire to skid out wide and I could already feel the ground coming up to meet me like a grater to cheese....! Instinctively I released the brakes, eased my grip on the handlebars and used the momentum and every inch of pavement to let the bike right itself. Wow...close call for sure...
The camp site is way up a hillside with very rough roads leading up to there, which caused Dale to long for his mountain bike like I did. The terrain is awesome, tucked between fantastic trees. As I was the first girl through the shower, fortunate to get hot water, I used it very sparingly, thinking of the many that would follow behind me. It was still early and at 2pm I finished putting up Gayle's and Claire's tents and decided to take a sweet nap while Kobie went out to paint the first stretch of tomorrow's arrows. That sleep was really so awesome and healing! After a nice chilli dinner, peloton started in the fading light. we had a special time and some cyclists shared thoughts about their experience of the tour. Mary Dracht said that she was so aware of God empowering her every day, every step of the way since Seattle. She knew that it was impossible to do in her own strength and just asked for grace for one day at a time...and the Lord was ever faithful! Bill Dracht mentioned that he had a triple bypass some 20years ago in Michigan, which was supposed to last around 12 years....and here he was, pedalling across the continent, defying those odds by the grace of God! Fred Myerink commented on how amazingly adaptable the body is, and how the physical dissipline has transformed us all! The positive "I can" attitudes paid off and this encouraging, caring community nurtured us all along to achieve far more that we ever thought we were able to!! The love and faithful support and prayers of our loved ones at home, and the enthusiastic support of our church friends at home and along the route made all the difference and empowered us to give our best day after day, enduring the hardest parts with a smile despite the dripping perspiration and perhaps a tear at times. We still look forward to getting on that chafing triangle of thorns every morning, knowing that we are an integral part of "doing something beautiful" that is so far bigger than anything we could ever dream to do on our own! We see the world and society now in a much different light and broader scope, with sincere caring concern for those less privileged and hopefully a permanent involvement in making a real tangible difference in future wherever God has placed us to live.
This labour of love has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life! I had the opportunity to put in practice the most valuable life and relational skills taught to me by a most precious friend, and to prove that a positive, faith filled attitude can pull one, and those around one, through the toughest situations imaginable. I can see how my fellow cyclists developed and matured on the tour, and how the fruit of the Spirit grew in their lives...and I hope in mine too. It will be hard to so leave this caring community, with the great friendships we establihed, and the fabulous times of total freedom, tearing holes in the wind! The luxury of being truly happy like a child in enjoying the moment... the rides, the chats, the coffee times, laying one's tired body to rest on the green grass....savouring the simplest pleasures and appreciating what God has blessed us with in a renewed way! No one of us has been left unchanged...and I pray that Jesus through His spirit will continue the work that He has started in each of us. I learned that "I can" make a difference...I can "choose" to make a difference...in my own life, my family life, my church and community life, and in the lives of those who never had even the most basic choices that we take for granted! I can empower myself and I can empower others....attitudes are created. I can choose to be a positive encourager, no matter what!
Right now I'm sitting in the kitchen trailer in Lackawanna State Park, writing this blog at around midnight, for the simple reason that I need a power outlet, and it is warm in here, light in here, dry in here and there are no prowling bears in here...I wonder what was that noise I just heard outside the door....the door leading to our tent a hundred yards away in the dark....?!

Photos - day 59 (Blogs for weekend and D58/59 follow below pics)

The scene at Joe's SAG wagon. Below is the Taughannock falls, viewed from the lookout point. To get there we had to climb a 12% grade for a mile.

Pics - day 59

A family in mourning erected this memorial on a street corner in Ithaca, where the accident happened that took their beloved one away....
The gear truck beinhg loaded in the morning at Romulus state park.
Sweep team or sleep team? Nick Ellens waiting for people to clear out of the gear truck so the tents can be loaded. So early in the morning additional rest may come in handy...
On the road again with Johnny singing to us: "Oh what a beautiful morning....!" and below...down the hill.....wheeeeew.........!

Great friends!

Claire Elgersma and I rode together all day, as we did so many times in the past. She is an amazing person who crossed the continent now twice on her bike, and she was the iniotial envisioner of this present tour, and also on the steering committee. She is a gifted speaker and always interviewed the media everywhere along the route.
Jim Holwerda, Anne Mushomanski, Ralph Fledderus, Marti & Claire Elgersma at Chamango Forks....Valley CRC
Cycling along the Chamango river.... Anne M, Jim Holwerda (who overcame MS and a wheel chair, now cycled across the continent!) and Claire Elgersma.
Jerry and Linda Dykstra doing very well on their tandem....but hills are never easy! They can still smile!!! Their derailleur broke but could be fixed at a bike shop, so they did not miss out too much on the route.
Claire Elgersma enjoying the beautiful ride with me.
A lovely upstate New York farm....with a great welcome for us on the silage tower!

Gezellig! Support staff relaxing a bit... well deserved rest!
Camping at the school in Chenago Forks. Below, trike Bill Van Wyngaarden playing with Ed Witvoet's cute kids on his recumbent. He is so kind with kids.

The nice lunch stop, catered for by East Palmyra CRC. Below are some of the faithful members serving the cyclists! We say THANK YOU!!!
From another angle....

The roads are sure dangerous!!! A very visible reminder for all cyclists that traffic is lethal!
Nathan Beach chatting with me about South Africa.
Camping at Romulus. below from another angle....

Our Nissan, tent and Kobie relaxing in his camp chair before dinner.
Jim Holwerda is a good cycling companion and very strong if he gets going. Below is Claire Kooystra on his recumbent with several friends.

Celebrating our Canadian citizenship with C2C!!!

Anne Mushomanski serving cake to all! Below is Kobie and Marti VERY happy and blessed by the love of the group, and especially the kitchen ladies who bought the posters, T-shirt and cakes!

The festive cake closer up!
Dinner is served at Romulus state park, for 230 of us... Below is sweep team G serving.... Bradley is enjoying to help....

Pics of Tuesday and Wednesday (Day 58/59)

Our tour manager Ed Witvoet discussing the route at peloton. Ed is actually a Canadian too! Below is my small group, Julia W, Eritia S, Marti and Kathryn Matzigkeit. Kincho and Alida are not here for reasons.....

The FABULOUS kitchen ladies who bought all the festive stuff for us....also my T-shirt and the poster and cakes....THANK YOU!!! Love you all!!! You are the best catering team ever!!!
Barb Mellema congratulating Kobie and I on becoming Canadians. Below is La Vonne Koedam with us....what a wonderful and caring person she is!!!



x

Wednesday Aug 27: Romulus to Binghamton 122km

Sweep team G started already at 5:30am this morning to help with breakfast. It was a really
cold night, but we slept snugly for the most part. Kobie left soon after 6am to go do his
road paint job. After finishing all chores we sweeps cycled out of camp at 8:45. The mood was happy and playful, and guys like Johnny sang out loud and teased and joked with everyone.

Earlier I did have a chance to go down to the water where I walked out on the fishing pier.
The water of Seneca finger lake was so clear I could see the water plants at the bottom and
even some fish lurking below. Dozens of white birds descended in a noisy squabble when I fed
them my leftover sandwiches of yesterday. Some are so sharp and able to catch a morsel in
mid air, but the young ones are too timid and missed out! Many boats were out on the water bright and early to fish. Lovely scene!

The very crisp air reminded us that this amazing adventurous summer is sadly drawing to a
close. Cycling through upstate New York is just so lovely, as it is green, green, green!The
route goes along some of the finger lakes, and many nice homes and cottages were interesting
to look at. The landscape became all the more forested and progressively more hilly. We
encountered some real steep ones, even up to 12% grade where we turned off to look at a high
waterfall at Taughannook.

I rode all day with my friend Claire Elgersma, as we are on the same sweep team. It was such a good day of sharing friendship and some memories from the past, as Claire did the 2005 bike tour, of which I did the last 3 weeks. Claire grew up in this area where we are cycling today and tomorrow, and has 3 siblings living in this area. Later we were joined by Anne Mushumanski and Jim Holwerda, also on sweep.

A good cup of coffee and lunch hit the spot at Ithaca, where the coffee shop looked out over
the water and eagerly begging ducks and small birds. The owner had a young and adorable
husky...more catlike than doglike in many ways. It watched us quietly but intently with those
deep blue eyes, and loved being stroked and petted.

Going out of Ithaca presented us with the hardest and longest hill of the day, aggravated by
the fact that our quads were now cooled off and stiff after lunch. So it was a case of "ogen
dicht en doortrappen".... Squint the eyes and pedal through and UP! Many of the cyclists that joined in GR struggled with the inclines, also the tandems and recumbents. On Thursday (3245ft) and especially Friday (6875ft) there will be lots of climbing. Friday we will reach the highest point in the state. For most of us that started in Seattle these hills do not feel like much, as we are so conditioned after almost 9 weeks, and compared to the mountain passes these feel easy. But we do have lots of empathy for our new friends' challenges and encourage them as much as we can along the way. The temperature today was mild and huge trees provided constant shade along the route. The road surface was good for the most part, which added to the enjoyment of today's ride. The last few miles went along the Chenango river and therefore flat road, except for the last couple of miles kicking up sharply, before we arrived at Chenango Forks School.

Tonight's dinner was catered to us by the hospitable members of Valley CRC of Binghamton: "Spiedies", spuds, salads & desert (brownies & ice cream) went down so well. "Spiedies" are a regional delicacy and consist of smoked pork and chicken kabobs served on italian bread after the meat cubes were removed from the sticks. Apparently the name was deducted from the Italian word "spiedo" that means "spit-roasted". All these meat sticks were cooked in an enormous wood fired smoke-oven built on a trailer, pulled behind a mini ex-school bus painted black.

Some rain was forecasted to possibly start during the night, and a 30% chance of rain for the next 2 days. I look forward to the last 3 days of cycling, as it is so pleasant to do in this gorgeous
part of the country! Kobie is having fun marking the roads and enjoys his job as he loves
playing with his Tom-Tom GPS.

Day 58 - Tuesday Byron to Romulus (state park): 122km

Our alarm went off at 1:30am this morning at home in Newmarket, as we went home from Niagara in order to attend our Canadian citizenship ceremony on Monday in Barrie,ON. Kobie did sleep for 4 hours, but I never went to bed as I was uploading photos on my blog, enjoying the fast internet at home. On tour I learned to count all these taken-for-granted conveniences, and I vowed to never complain so easily about things! We got on the road just after 2am to join up with the tour at 6am in Byron. I slept most of the way.It would be the first time we use our citizen cards to cross the border, and we were amazed at how quick and smooth it went. Two questions only, and in 3 minutes we were on our way again, in stead of being pulled over and having to enter the building to buy I 94's because of our SA passports. The wonder of being Canadians has not properly penetrated to our minds yet!

We arrived at camp at daybreak, but many were already up and moving. I felt very tired and slept in the car for another half an hour. No need to pack lunch because it would be provided 90km into the day, and we had a breakfast sandwich at Tim Hortons earlier before crossing the border. It was quite and cyclists wore long sleeves. I set out at 7:45ish at a calm pace into the beautiful morning. Gradually it heated up, and the ride became one of the loveliest on the tour. Green fields, lush farms, quaint little villages with century homes, and roads that were in fair condition for the most part! I happened to ride behind Nathan Beach, and we started chatting about South Africa after he congratulated me on becoming a Canuck. Keeping up a fair pace, we discussed current and historical poverty issues there and the numerous contributing factors that keep people poor, as well as famine challenges in the third world.

At about 40km we went through the town of Avon and saw that the coffee shop there had swallowed up dozens of cyclists. I stopped for a break, and soon suffered from an intense cramp in my right foot, which took the best part of an hour to go away! Outside of Avon I came across a striking memorial for a loved one that died on his bike at that spot. The cyclist's jersey was there, as well as a small cross and a road bike painted white, with a message of caution attached. Striking!

The lunch catered by East Palmyra CRC was great - sloppy Joes with lots of salads, fruit, ice pops and pop. Some,like Gayle, jumped on the trampoline in pairs with lots of fun. Some cyclists were sighing because of the many sharp hills we had to climb today. I hardly notice these climbs anymore, as I just gear down, stand up and get them over without any fuss. After Geneva the road went along the shore of one of the finger lakes, Seneca. This was a day without haste, full of moments that will last a lifetime in my spirit! At peloton, Pastor Len asked us to start formulating and share in the small groups what the tour meant to each of us. A difficult assignment... how can one capture 9 amazing, life changing weeks in a sentence or two?

Kobie was already back and I was glad to catch a quick nap in the car again. Tonight a great surprize awaited us at dinner. The kitchen ladies were so very, very kind to celebrate our citizenship with the whole group. They decorated the wall with balloons, a "Proud to be Canadian" poster, an "I am Canadian" T-shirt, and delicious cake for us all. One cake said: "Congratulations, Kobie and Marti!". We were blown away! Thank you Ladies...you're the best!!! We feel humbled by the affectionate response of the group....What a great community we are having here....so sad that such great things need to end too!We sure hope to keep in touch with the great friends we were privileged to get to know on the fabulous Sea to Sea tour of 2008!

Sunday at Niagara and Monday becoming Canadians!

Some of the best days of our lives....!!!

Isn't it true that what sometimes may seem a huge discomfort often change around to become the greatest blessing? It was like that when we drove to the Brock monument on Sunday and the rain is coming down in buckets. Hundreds of people were huddled together under the two huge picnic pavilions near the outdoor stage where the service is to take place. Delicious ripe yellow peaches were offered for all to enjoy, and I washed the tiny hairs off the skin of the most tantlizing peach I had seen in years, under the water that streamed off the roof. How convenient small inconveniences sometimes are! It worked as well to wash the juice off my hands afterwards. It was still 30 minutes to the start of the service and I loved to introduce many of my new cycling friends to our dearest, most faithful friends ever that came to enjoy the Celebration rally with us. People started to sing at the stage, and one minute before the start of the service, the rain stopped! We could all sit outside enjoying the sun and huge shady trees with the crowd of 1,500, praising the Lord along with the great worship team lead by songwriter Dave Raakman, communications director for the tour. With so many people prayring for the tour, it must have been the Lord altering the weather so we could listen to His word undestracted. I've witnessed things like this happen several times during the tour, and it felt totally awesome to experience God alive amongst us in such vivid ways!
To be continued...shortly, about the citizenship day!

Celebrate......we are Canadians now!!!!

Monday August 25th, our long awaited citizenship ceremony took place in Barrie, ON. We are so thankful towards the Lord for the privilege to live in a wonderful country like Canada, welcoming and accepting, kind and gentle, generous, peaceful and peacekeeping, embracing the diversity and dignity of all people....and so much more! One can write volumes .... we have fallen in love with awesome Canada! There were people from 19 countries involved in the ceremony, and we met another new South African family too. On the left is our 21 y.o. son Albert, and on the right our dear friends Marten and Anne Mol of Aurora, ON.
A toast on a positive hopeful future with our new friends the Van Wyks (only 5 weeks in Canada from SA) and our dear friends the Mols who helped us immensely adjusting to Canadian culture and understanding, valueing and appreciating our Dutch heritage better during the last 3 years. Below we are in front of our home in Newmarket, ON with the red and white petunias we planted this year to celebrate our citizenship. I missed one day of the C2C tour, but this was the best reason one could imagine!!