Sunday night we spent a great relaxing evening at Claire Elgersma & Hank Zwaanstra, watching the Olympics while I was writing my blog for the weekend. Tragedy struck when I tried to publish it - the site crashed and it was erased and not properly saved! All the time lost, so all I could do was to publish some photos. That took till 2am and at 6am we were up again. After a nice breakfast we drove to Calvin to pack our lunches and attend the send-off at 8am. I was glad to see that Bill Van Wyngaarden (Trike Bill) was busy attaching the new red flag we had bought him to his recumbent, as he was really in danger to be run over by a big vehicle unable to see him.
My friend Cheryl Harris from Bethel CRC, Newmarket, ON, was on the sweep team on her very first day on the tour, which meant that she had to help clear up at breakfast and leave last of all with the other sweeps. At 8:45am I called her out of the kitchen so we could ride together today. Ten km out we found Trike Bill with a flat tire and I helped him to fix it while Cheryl went ahead with Gayle. We met up 20km later at the church refreshment stop again.
At the first SAG stop we were greeted by the cutest cuddly kitten from the farmhouse nearby, and it shared chicken and ham from our sandwiches with us. Cheryl is a fitness and spinning instructor and a fit and strong cyclist. The scenery was beautiful and pleasant with red and white barns and farm houses contrasting against the green landscape. The freedom of flight on wheels felt amazing and millions of bugs sang in stereo with the tune that the wind whistled in our ears! We scared a snake today, as the guy in front of me on the bike path narrowly missed the slithering creature of 24". It curled up like lightning and I managed to avoid it by six inches as that was the quickest I could respond.
The day proved to be very enjoyable as we rode together so nicely and used the tail wind to our advantage, cruising at about 35km/h. The road was undulating and I think Cheryl powered up the hills in too big gears putting strain on her knees, and consequently developed pain in the left knee. We raised her saddle half an inch and I sincerely hope it will be better tomorrow, as we have to ride 154 km into a headwind! An early start would be the wise thing to do before the wind picks up too much. We arrived at camp simultaneously with the gear truck and Cheryl got interviewed by a TV news reporter for 10 minutes. This guy also photographed us earlier cycling together on the main road.
The camp site at the Sleepy Hollow state park is very bushy and the huge gear truck had to back up all the way into the narrow lanes...Good job Steve! Soon we had our tents set up and did Gayle's too. Many cyclist went swimming in the lake, while others lined up at the showers. Kobie & I went to the beach where complete strangers decided to cut a watermelon for the cyclists there after hearing of our cause...how nice of them! We certainly notice that there are now far over 200 of us, as everywhere lines need to be formed. So many new faces that even us multi milers feel strange to the group! All new group dynamics to explore and the family experience feels somewhat faded for now. Fortunately all went well with the first day and everyone had an awesome ride, as it was not too hot, the roads were not too bad and we had a tail wind....cyclists' heaven for sure!!
What a richly blessed day, with nice treats at a CRC church and a good supper at the camp. I still marvel at our kitchen staff handling such large numbers and quantities so efficiently with 2 serving lines to speed up things. Two more cyclists left the tour today because of nagging injuries that make cycling too painful. But Joss Krabbe who tumbled over his handlebars on Saturday while sprinting for a road sign with the wolf pack, dislocating his shoulder and destroying a $500 wheel, was bravely riding the 104km today again, arm tied up to his body, his teeth clenched in pain.
We are crossing into Canada on Wednesday as a group.
Tonight as I sit here at the picnic table in the dark, blogging, the choir of millions of insects continues in multi-voiced harmonic perfection as only God can create. The moon is shyly hiding behind some clouds and branches, and happy campers can be heard laughing and chatting in the distance. Many of us already went to bed when darkness descended and are snoring away, oblivious of the vibrant symphony of the night being performed around us. Crickets are happy to enjoy this moment without a care in the world, except to avoid becoming part of the food chain. Some night owls like me are still entertaining little bugs and mozzies attracted to the brilliant computer screen, a square moon in their wild bushy world. The cool air is carrying fleeting earthy plant fragrances as the light draft moves the leaves ever so slightly, and a few stars are winking through the frayed clouds. It feels good to be enveloped so intimately by nature!
The blessing and goodness of God embrace us all so gracefully in this tranquil sphere.... unmistakably, undeniably evident to those who care to pause, look and listen ... to experience His reality for real. May we slow down enough at times to smell the roses, and allow the soul to catch up with the body, the spirit to soar above physically confining limits to appreciate great friendships for the treasures they are. What a life!
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