Experience C2C with Marti!

Camp life ....

2008-08-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-29T17:45:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-08-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-08-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2008-08-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-08-27T20:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-27T19:52:00.001-07:00

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

2008-08-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2008-08-25T21:36:00.001-07:00

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!!

Vineland and Fruitland.....Niagara

2008-08-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

Lush vineyards near St Catherines, ON. Below a delightful snack stop where we were treated to fruit salad and I got to chat to Ed Witvoet's parents, Bert and Alice, who rode the 2005 tour. Alice broke her shoulder blade a week ago, and therefore could not join our tour for a bit as she had hoped. We pray for a speedy recovery for you, Alice!

Pictures of day 54 to 56

2008-08-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Entusiastic supporters all along the route in so many places ,loudly cheering us on, many times brought tears to my eyes!

Nice lunch at Providence CRC, Beamsville, ON, Manley Baarda's home church. His dad, Dan, did the previous tour and we cycled together lots.

Lovely escarpment scenery near Grimsby, ON.
At the Oasis senior's residence in Grimsby...Claire Elgersma & I. Below we are chatting with the seniors, still having their breakfast.

Grimsby CRC treated us to peaches and ice cream...mmmm!... and boterkoek and good Dutch coffee!
Lovely vines and stately houses with beautiful gardens near grimsby, ON.

Photos of Day 54/55/56

2008-08-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

My good friend Claire Elgersma enjoying the lovely morning ride with me.
Cheryl Harris from my home church enjoying the visit from her boy friend, Jeff, at Redeemer and St Catharines. Jeff also rode part of the route.
The great breakfast catered to us by Redeemer Univ, enjoyed by Kobie, Margaret and Bradley geerlings, the guy who did the 97.5 km/h draft behind the truck as well as riding rodeo bulls with 2 friends, all of them getting thrown good by the bulls....just so glad it wasn't more serious than bruises.
Bill, son and grandsons of Ralph Flederus encouraging Opa!
Bradley & co riding up and down the 12% grade escarpment several times...just for fun!!??!!!
The sizable1,500 crowd at the Brock Monument near Niagara for Sundays lovely celebration service.

Some of our dear friends from Bethel CRC, Newmarket. More than a dozen came out to support us. Below we are fixing the broken derailler of Joy. Below the group riding with Pastor Len Riemersma, having a snack after riding on the 5c carousel at Dalhousie, ON

Day 54/55 - London to Hamilton/Redeemer 121km and on to St Catherines 74km

2008-08-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

The peloton meeting at Redeemer University.

Kobie had to be out real early today to continue marking the road, so I was on the road early too. pedalled quietly and joined up with Dale and Scott at the first snack stop, on a farm, where we were welcomed with great enthusiasm, and treated to nice coffee and donuts and other gebakjes. The ride was very enjoyable, with very pretty farmscapes. We encountered groups of people cheering us on along the side of the road many times, and all this support for us is immensely appreciated!!!! We enjoyed about 4 snack stops and a nice lunch stop. Everywhere people were just marvellous and we were blown away by their love, hospitality and generosity! The route was quite undulating and we enjoyed rushing down the hills in order to get up the next hill with the momentum gained with the previous one. At some stage we noticed some loose dogs but were too fast for them. At the next stop Rick Ritters on the very low recumbent and Joy and Doug Lutke following behind us shared that those critters chased them and caused Doug to fall hard when they ran in front of him. We doctored his bleeding elbow and knee, speculating how fortunate Rick was that the dogs did not manage to bite him in the face, as he is so low on the recumbent! I met so many people at the stops who mentioned reading my blog and others'. Also good friends I haven't seen in a while. After savouring the nice fruit at the snack stops, we arrived at Redeemer University around 2, where we were treated to more good stuff and ice cream at Meadowlands CRC church, Ed Witvoet's home church with it's beautiful modern buildings! We camped at Redeemer and had the privilege to use their fabulous computer lab and the wireless internet, where I could catch up on blogs as we had lots of internet problems again this week. At 6pm we were treated to a great dinner of brats and salads in their admin building, and we felt spoiled and blessed indeed. For the whole 5 days in Canada the kitchen truck never had to prepare a single meal for us, as the Canadian churches rose to the occasion in an amazing way, hosting us with the greatest generosity. Many of us were being billeted every night as well.

Kobie and I camped at Redeemer as he had to be out early again. Redeemer treated us generously to the best catered breakfast we had on the whole tour...totally scrumptious! Each of us received a light material carrying bag with their logo on it as well. Claire Elgersma suggested that we ride together today. It was a perfect cycling day, cool and very pleasant. The route went along Ridge road where we had the nicest view over Hamilton and lake Ontario, but it was too hazy to see the skyline of Toronto in the distance. It was great to meet ralph Fledderus' son Bill, family and grandsons waiting with posters and freezies to cheer on their hero grandpa!

We enjoyed cycling along this picturesque route, and again enjoyed many snack stops, treated to lots of fruit, peaches and cream and donuts. We went down the escarpment at a 12% grade into Grimsby which was a great thrill, but there was a dangerous stop right at the bottom of the hill. we went by the Dutch store where Eritia works and were treated to cake and coffee. Before stopping at the Grimsby CRC for goodl Dutch coffee, boterkoek and donuts, we went by the senior's residence to chat the to residents. Not too far from there at Providence CRC in Beamsville we had a real nice lunch and drinks of various kinds.

Continuing on, at one stage I was photographing the lovely vines along the road, when a passing truck and landscape trailer promptly stopped dead in front of us, causing Doug and Joy Lutke to collide with it and Claire to hit Joy's bike from behind with such force that the derailler was bent 45 degrees up, rendering it useless, and Claire to fall of hard into the path of oncoming traffic which fortunately managed to stop in time! Claire was OK but shaken up, scraped and bruised. There was no road shoulder so I had nowhere to go but to choose the ditch expecting to fly over the handlebars. Wonder above wonder I somehow managed to stay upright!Rick managed to get the derailleur working somewhat by bending the hanger back cautiously. We were so happy to discover that the route later went by a bike shop where Joy could get the hanger replaced. At the Christian school in St. Catherines we were treated to huge fresh peaches....delicious! We could sign up for footspa, 20 minute massages and haircuts (not for me this time, as my hair's never been this short in my whole half a century of life!). The foot and body massage was fabulous, as the lady has 19 years of sport massage experience. My quads were immensely sore when she massaged it deep and I felt like climbing up the wall of pain, which I tried to endure as best I could as it is vital to do a good job on those big muscles. Again, lovely fresh huge peaches for us to enjoy....fruit of this fertile soil in the land of vines and orchards!

Saturday afternoon, shuttles transported the cyclists to Niagara falls to experience the wonder of it. The Maid of the Mist could be boarded to go up the river to the foot of these immense falls. This is quite an experience, as the boat is kept at full power, straining and shuddering against the breathtaking, thundering power of the water falls, while the spray rains all over the deck. The legend of the Maid of the Mist was shared with me by Magda Wills, a friend from my church who faithfully interceded for the whole tour and sent me daily devotionals and thoughts to share, like the following:

"Today you will cycle through the beautiful countryside of the Niagara Escarpment which leads to one of the wonders of the world - Niagara Falls. At the bottom of the falls tourists can take a ride in The Maid of the Mist. There is an Indian legend behind the name of the boat and my aunt Lini Grol, who lived in the area for much of her life here in Canada, has recorded this legend in a book Lelawala, a Legend of the Maid of the Mist.

Long ago, a peaceful tribe of Indians lived beside the Niagara River. For an unknown reason, Indians were dying, and it was believed that the tribe must appease the Thunder God Hinum, who lived in a cave behind the Falls. A beautiful maid, Lelawala, daughter of Chief Eagle Eye, sacrifices her life in order to save the people of her tribe. On the appointed day, Lelawala, wearing a white doeskin robe with a wreath of woodland flowers in her hair, stepped into a white birch bark canoe and plunged over the falls to her death. By her spirit, Lelawala told her people the cause of death. Lelawala returned to the cave of the God Hinum, where she reigns as the Maid of the Midst.

As you stand before the falls and see the Maid of the Mist in the water at the foot of the Falls, may you be mindful of the One who made the ultimate sacrifice for our lives.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 "

Thank you Magda!!!

Day 53 - Chatham to London, 121 km

2008-08-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

The hospitality and good will we cyclists have experienced in Canada amaze us! Groups of people along the road regularly cheer us on with encouraging posters. Snack stops happen many times too. Last night's dinner consisted of a nice pot luck, all brought in by the CRC Churches in the vicinity. Arrived in camp almost earliest yesterday from the ferry, doing low flying drafting Bill Wybinga. I got a real nice shady spot for our tent close to a nice parking spot for Kobie's car, so the tent was drier in the morning, standing beneath a tree. The gear shifter on my bike was replaced with an old manual shift system, which was the best they could do for me in Chatham or London, as high end replacement parts need to be ordered in. I'll have to ride it like this till after the tour, and have my home bike shop fix it for me. Clumsy and slow for sure, but it shifts the gears. The other effect is that my "Flight Deck" bike computer is out of action because the right cable is removed, and all I can see on it is the speed, not distance or anything else. Imagine riding a time trial without knowing how far you have progressed in what time....but, I'll just have to wing it in today's time trial without the details...no other choice!

I adjusted the handle bars downward for more aerodynamics and left just before 7am, a while after Kobie, who has to beat the early birds to the point where he stopped marking the road yesterday. When I inflated the tires, I was surprized to see how deflated the rear tire is. No time to change tubes now since we had to be at a point 45km away by 9am for the start of the time
trial. Arriving there, the tire was again around 40Psi in stead of 120PSi. So I hoped it would hold till the end of the time trial, which it did while slowly deflating, but caused so much drag in the last 10km, combined with the strong head wind, that I performed much worse than I had hoped. But, it is about taking part in a spirit of sportsmanship, not about being the best. The interesting factor is that most of us, more than 20, finished within a time span of 15 minutes. Best time was 1 hour 3 minutes by Reuben Vyn, Eritia did 1 hour 10min, Bill Wybenga did 1 hour 11min and I did 1 hour 14min, amongst many others. The big equalizer here was the strong head wind. None of us could ever use our fastest gears and it all boiled down to strength and cadence.

The cyclists were treated to a scrumptious lunch at Hope CRC in Mt Bridges...Meat on the bun and lovely salads. There I could replace my tires' inner tube and found out that an old cut in the tire caused the tube to wear through a tiniest hole. A kind church member went to buy me a small roll of Duct tape to patch the tire on the inside so it won't eat the tube through again. The ride into London was lovely as we first went by awesome properties, and then along the beautiful bike path that runs along the river. At the end of it we had another stop with pop and watermelon, amongst flower beds bursting with colour. Then we rode through the older part of the city, with much poverty related issues for sure, like street children, street people, house fights, drinking, drugs, etc. which keep the emergency services and the police busy even at night.

At the Christian High school we were treated to an unsurpassed welcome, with ice cream as much as we wanted, pop, chocolate milk and baked goods galore! Later we enjoyed a barbecue of hamburger and brats with corn on the cob and scrumptious salads. After peloton there were more desserts....so much the 250 plus of us could not finish it, all sponsored by local people or businesses, even the meat! Thank you Londoners for a fabulous welcome!!!

The visit to the velodrome was a total blast!! Thirteen of us went, and were trained from scratch as it is so different to ride a fixed gear bike with no brakes. Step by step we were taught until we could go around on different heights at speeds up to 45km/h which feels fast in such a small indoor track. Going around the steep 50 degree corners is awesome as long as you keep pedaling hard. It resembles the feel of an old wooden roller coaster, as it seems the bike is coming up at one going around the sharp turn. The secret is to drop one's shoulder into the bend to keep the bike in line, otherwise it wants to climb up the wall. Totally awesome!! We rode for about 90 minutes on top of the time trial the morning, so we were really tired afterwards. There are only 3 such indoor bike tracks in N America. I wish I lived near one, as I would just love taking it up as a sport, as one can do it year round and it is thrilling!

Photos of Southern Ontario

2008-08-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

What a life!! We were treated to snacks four times today!! And tomorrow the same thing as well. The generosity that we experience is amazing! Out in the desert areas out west this would have been divine!
Second from the left is Cynthia Aukema, who rode today with us again. She broke her pelvis in Denver, and we are overjoyed that she healed so well to ride carefully again for short distances!
Dale and I playing cowboy gun draw with our cameras! He won this round as his camera flashed first.
A snack stand in a garden under a shade tree. So much appreciated! I met some friends there unexpectantly.
Kobie in the great computer lab at Redeemer that we could use to catch up on our blogs. To see the cyclists' delighted faces when they walk in here was priceless!
Enthusiastic supporters at the ferry when we entered Canada.
Our camp at Chatham.
More enthusiastic, cheering and applauding supporters at a refreshment stop en route to Hamilton. Below is the tent with the great people and good stuff.
Below is the crowd from Cambridge's refreshment stall. We appreciate the love with which these people treated us so much!!!

Day 52 - Richmond to Chatham 90km.

2008-08-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

Last night some of us sat on the doorstep of the public library in Richmond,MI in the 8C
chill till after 11pm, blogging and posting photos to the blog, since we this is the only place in town where we could get wireless internet that is freely accessable. Great that the library happened to be 50 metres from the gear truck, unlike other towns where we would sit outside the library and then had to cycle back two miles to camp with the clumsy laptops over our shoulders.This was necessary since there were many times problems happened with our satellite internet.

We have learned to be content in all circumstances and to accept things as they are without
complaining and make the best of whatever conditions we found ourselves in. In that way the
tour has changed us for the better. Having experienced so many different places,communities
and people, we have matured and wisened in many aspects of our lives and realize how
thankful we are about our own circumstances.

Last night was one of the coldest on the tour, and everyone zipped up tightly. In the
morning the tents were all dripping wet from condensation. It was dark when we got up and we
went about the morning routines shivering somewhat. Everybody was looking forward to a day
full of exciting things and therefore eager to get underway, since we all had to be at
Marine City at 9:30 to line up at the ferry to cross as a group into Canada. The coffee shop
near the ferry was overrun with cyclists, while we waited. It took 5 ferry trips to move us
and the vehicles over!

What a joy for us Canadians to step onto land! Our passports were briefly checked as
everything was pre-approved, thanks to Ed Witvoet's excellent management and organization.
We were overwhelmingly welcomed by a couple of hundred excited supporters in Solara, with
Timmies coffee,watermelon, ballons, welcoming posters, fruit and the best cupcakes I've ever tasted! Everything was decorated in red and white, with many flags and welcome posters.

Carol was overheard saying " I think I should move to Canada!". Dale said he should have dodged the draft when he had the opportunity! I caught Barb Mellema, who in good spirits joked so much about us Canucks being a bit slow in ways, actually enjoying a Tim Hortons coffee and a cup cake! Picture will follow. She had to admit that there are many great things about Canada!

I immediately felt the gentleness of the country, reflected in the very polite, quiet and respectful way that the border staff talked to us. Even the rumble strips are smoother and gentler on our bikes than in the US.... mmm.....I must admit...I am prejudiced because on Monday the 25th
Kobie and I are receiving our Canadian citizenship!

The ride along the shore was so lovely, lined with houses full of character. Everywhere the Canadian flag flew! I rode alone for a short while, enjoying the scenery, then joined Bill Wybenga who typically time-trialled the 52km to Chatham at 31.3km/h against the wind with me in hot pursuit. Bill can NOT ride slowly...ever! He always has a twinkle in the eye and enjoys the thrill of speed immensely....and dropping the young'uns (and me many times) on the hills!

Disaster struck when my gear shifter broke, and could not be repaired, so I had to get used to a very manual shifter on the down pipe. It seems my bike is too old a model and I will have to
upgrade both shifters and the cassette at the back wheel to 10 gears. Expensive wow. else I'll have to search on the internetor ebay to find some 9 speeds. By the time the bike problems were sorted out, it was too late to find internet anywhere to blog.

In Chatham we were treated to dinner by the local CRC's potluck style and very enjoyably so!

I need a good sleep because tomorrow we are having an informal C2C 40 km time trial and in
the afternoon some of us may go try out the velodrome in London! awesome!!!

Oh Canada!!!! Festive moments on Canadian soil!

2008-08-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

Nicholas rides with Claire on the recumbent trike!
The Canadians did show their love and support for us and our cause in an overwhelming way!!! We thank you!!!
Walter drives off the ferry with his RV SAG wagon amidst cheers and whoops from the whole excited crowd. His SAG always stood at the top of passes or halfway, and in the scorching heat he many times had a piece of watermelon for each of us! He is much loved by all and is affectionately called "Waltermelon" by the young guys.
Chief Chaplain Len Riemersma in a meditative mood, glancing into the future like a true visionary! Looks like Canada kissed him on the cheek! He posed for this one and this pensive moment caused much fun.
Enthusiastic supporters of all ages with Canadian flags enjoying the festive atmosphere!
Some of my real favorite things: Tim Hortons coffee, home made fluffy cupcakes with a Canadian flag on top, and watermelon, which happens to coordinate with Canada's colours! Whenever I return from a trip into my new country, Timmies is the first place I stop!
Al Karsten, who also rode the 2005 tour and was the first person to initially envision the possibility of the cross continental mega tour back then, He is riding with us now.
Kobie and Marti happily savouring Tim Horton's coffee and Canadianized cupcakes! We are happy campers, literally!
Barb Mellema had to recognize the superior qualities intrinsic to Tim Hortons coffee, as well as that Canada has a surprizing number of good surprizes and great people! Below is Gayle with one of the fantastic supporters who made our entry into Canada so memorable!

Ferry moments!

2008-08-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

Whose finger is this pointing the direction to Canada? I never knew this was in the picture! Below are a mast and proud flags flying against the blue sky! We thank God for an awesome country!

Nick Ellens on the ferry trying to restrain his bike that rears up, roaring to give Canada a go! "Hi-Ho Silver!!!"
The enthusiastic cheering welcome at the ferry! We as Cyclists appreciated this immensely and we THANK everyone involved!!! AWESOME!! Belpow is Dora riding off the ferry.

Assembling at the Light house...

2008-08-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the ferry.... In front with the red pants is Cheryl Harris from Bethel CRC, Newmarket, our home church.

Marti and Cheryl wait for the ferry. Cheryl is enjoying the tour lots and her injured knee is much better now.
Bradley Geerlings and Jonathan. We got instructed to erase the US shore photos for security reasons. Brad does not look too happy with that. He is the guys who drafted the heavy truck at 97.5 km/h and he and 2 friends Alex and John VD veenwent to ride real rodea bulls, got thrown of good, and had a few tender areas the next couple of days!
Orderly chaos on the ferry ride.
Andy en route to the ferry.
A coffee shop being taken over by cyclists descending on it!
A Welcome at the ferry crossing & light house. Below is Kobie with my bike.
Cheryl Harris at the ferry.

Animals I met on tour... and great people...

2008-08-22T12:48:00.001-07:00

Cheryl and Marti with Cutie cat that shared our lunch. Below is Walter at his SAG stop with the Tennessee walking horse.

Ralph Fledderus and Larry Meyer having cheesecake for breakfast at 6am at the CRC conference centre at Grand Haven,MI
Nick Ellens at the ceiling of the gear truck looking for stuff in his laundry baskets. Below is an early morning start ...breakfast at 6am at Richmond, MI, still dark and below 8C....we were shivering a bit, but all excited for the crossing into Canada!

Some flashbacks of the past week

2008-08-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

Our sendoff service at Trinity
Roseland Ministries in Chicago, for the homeless.
Joan Doornspleet chatting with two street people at Roseland in Chicago
Crime in Chicago seems to be really gun - violent. This 1" bullet proof windows at a gas bar reminded me of similar protectivesecurity measures that Kobie and I lived with in South Africa, where most grocery stores have armed guards around the clock.
Below are the sleeping dorm on the second storey of Roseland Ministry's building, where 80 women and children are housed.

Moments from last week and yesterday

2008-08-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

Cutie happily sharing my chicken and ham lunch
Early (fast) birds waiting in the shade for the gear truck to arrive Sleepy Hollow state park, Laingsburg, MI
Our send-off Monday morning at Calvin, GR. Below is Bill Van Wyngaarden on his trike recumbent, sporting the flag that we gave him to make him more visible for traffic.
Some shacks in Gary without running water & electricity.

Our head chaplain Len Riemersma relaxing with a snack after we arrived at Calvin.
Cheryl and Marti ready to roll on Monday Aug 18th at Calvin.
The covered bridge over the Thornapple river near Grand Rapids.
Enthusiastic supporters cheering us on along the road

Photos of Monday & Tuesday 18/19 August

2008-08-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

Jerry Dykstra and his wife Linda on the second day of the Eastern section of the Tour. They are smiling bravely despite the brutal relentless headwind and the 95 mile ride of the day! Below they just arrived in Richmond after a 10 to 11 hour ride. They made it!! Tired but happy and still smiling!

The dream machine of nearly ten grand. Rick Ritters' friend rides this to speeds up to 60 miles per hour! Made in Norway. The rider lies almost on his back only inches off the ground. I feel the ground is way too close for comfort. He feels we riding up on our bikes are way to high off the ground for comfort!
All ultra light, super strong carbon fibre.

Marcia Van Hoff sharing about her late husband and read Isiah 58 to us.
Cheryl Harris starting out her ride on a high note, and below, finishing in great time at the state park where we are to camp.

220 hungry eaters lining up at two service points for dinner. Below is Cheryl and Marti with the cutie farm kitten that shared chicken and ham with us at a SAG stop along the route during our ride together.

Day 51 - Laingsburg to Richmond - 154km

2008-08-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

The day dawned overcast and cool, and the wind was stirring the branches ominously. Even at 6 it was still almost dark enough to use a flashlight. The sleep was healing and I felt good and ready for the headwind which I knew would cause agony for lots of us, and a great long workout at best. Tried to encourage as many of the new riders as possible, and hope they had followed advice to get going asap. Cheryl still had lots of pain in her knee and we only got out the gate around 8am. The wind was strong from the outset, and her knee became very painful right away. Facing a day of struggling with the relentless wind for 154km, I advised her to take the day off, elevate and rest the knee so it could be OK for the rest of the 2 weeks. She did, and it was the right dicision, as it turned out to be a brutal struggle with the wind for many. I rode on my own for 3/4 of the day, and got a thorough workout in the process. The solo riding was good and enjoyable, as I had time to think about many things. Selecting a sustainable lower gear/higher cadence, I "kept on keeping on churning away" the miles at an average of 25.1 km/h, which is OK for such a windy day, solo. The environment and landscapes became all the more familiar, resembling southern Ontario's. Very rural and we went through a few small towns. I stopped at a saddlery shop to look at their beautifully engraved Western saddles, and enjoyed the few minutes there. I got stopped 3 times today by people who wanted to know what these 200 cyclists populating the road is all about. I gladly told them and handed them our info business cards. In most towns some of us get interviewed by journalists and the local papers run the story. Great that the tour and the poverty issue get so much media exposure! At dinner tonight we invited all the football players of the high school where we are camping to join us, since we can not take leftover food into Canada tomorrow and it would be so wasteful to throw good stuff away. Earlier in the afternoon, a friend of Rick Ritters came by on his space age carbon fibre recumbent made in Poland, with which he rode with us today. Fast thing on 2 wheels for sure, as he reached 44 miles per hour today on the undulating route and none of us on bikes could catch him!

At tonight's peloton meeting, Marcia Van Hof, wife of the late Mark, addressed us and shared in a very touching way about her husband's passion for reaching out to people so they can meet Christ. He wanted to participate in a section of the tour on his recumbent, but suffered a fatal heart attack in February '08. His recumbent did participate though, ridden by his namesake Mark in the central leg in honor of Mark Van Hof. I did post a photo of Mark Deckinga on this recumbent a while ago on my blog. Marcia read Isiah 58 to us and we sang "Father/Jesus/Spirit we love you", which was her husband's favorite song.
Singing all together, I realized that I really miss singing much. Unfortunately we never get to sing at peloton meetings, just on the weekends at the celebration services.

An interesting impromptu rescue mission presented itself today, as a turtle found itself trapped on the busy road while trying to cross to greener pastures. Every time something roared by, it would retract into its shell in fear, but I knew sooner rather than later it may be squished by the big rigs thundering by often. So I picked it up, dodged the traffic and released it safely in the grass on the other side. Felt good about that!

Tonight it is really cold here, 8C, in contrast with the unbearable heat of 3 weeks ago!

Tomorrow and Thursday will be exciting days! We cross into Canada by ferry as a group, and plan to descend on the nearest Tim Hortons in mass! On Thursday 20 of us are going to have a "formal" 40km time trial on quiet roads with traffic control at intersections. The afternoon a dozen of us will have the privilege to go ride on the velodrome in London on their gearless bikes. Great stuff! Comments welcomed to my e-mail at mdp@rogers.com. Thank you for responding!

Monday Aug 18th - Grand Rapids to Laingsburg, MI 104km:Newbie day!

2008-08-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

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!

We've come a long, long way!

2008-08-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

Looking back at where we've been, my heart is filled with thankfulness towards the Lord who helped us through the desert areas at temperatures of 90's to 110F, and over those long high passes with 8 to 10 % grades. We have all gone over those...the young and the old, the strong and fast, and the much slower and determined ones did it too, crawling painfully up the passes in the searing heat! Each of them has earned my respect and love because of their determination and endurance under much hardship.
I have tested and encountered the limits of my physical abilities, but also explored the limitlessness of how high my soul can rise, soar and fly.... I have discovered one can be strong despite being vulnerable... I have seen the most unlikely people do the seemingly impossible ... because they set their hearts on it, believed in God and themselves and had the greatest positive "I can" attitude!!!

We are happy to welcome 60 new faces to the tour, with excitement, hospitality and generosity. I sincerely pray that we all can accept each other without judgement. None of us relly know what another person has to deal with, also healthwise, so who has the right to judge?
"Be kind to one another, because each person has his/her own struggle and is fighting his/her own battle!"

The ball park in Grand Rapids with about 8,000 attending the celebration service.
Arnie, our beloved friend, determinedly hobbling up the incline on his crutches at the ball park in GR. He injured his achilles tendon after traversing the mountains and had to get an operation. His courage and great attitude earned him the respect of us all while he was riding with us!!
You'd never hear a word of complaint from him! Always flashing the greatest smile, even if he looked ready to faint.
Dinner and Peloton in the CRC Woodlawn at Calvin.
Jerry and Linda Dykstra will be joining us on their for the next 2 weeks!!
Below is Snane Claiborne, the speaker at the celebration in GR, and I. What a message! Straight talk about our responsibility to live as real Christians towards doing something real for the poor, without being judgemental or hypocritical. Well worth listening to, this young man!

2008-08-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

La Vonne Koedam's mother and family treated us to the most delicius treats in Eastmanville, lovely village. Thank you!!!
The crowd of family and friends welcoming the 300 cyclists to Calvin. It was great to experience the enthusiasm for the short moments it took us to pass under the skywalk. I wished somebody could have addressed all of us for a few minutes, and prayed for us thanking the Lord for our long safe travels. Maybe I'm too sentimental but I craved such "emotional bear hug", since we went around the corner in 15 seconds and only our dear gear truck was there......a bit of an anti climax for some of us having had tough travels....and looking forward much to this reception. The awesome celebration service made up for this, as it, and everything else for the cyclists were extremely well organized. We thank all those involved for their hard work!
Clair Elgersma in front of her lovely home & garden. She invited us to sleep there over the weekend. Below Kobie and I are enjoying a scrumptuous breakfast on the deck, with Hank and Clair.

Westview CRC treated us to nice snacks and fruit too. Thanks!!!
Johnny riding his brother-in-laws' trike for the day into Grand Rapids. He got injured in a hunting accident and can not ride an ordinary bike anymore. Johnny wanted to honor him by doing this. Great guy, this Johnny!

Below are family members of some of us cheering us all on and feeding us drinks and fruit...delicious! Thanks!!!

Grand Haven and South Haven........

2008-08-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Kobie & I on the beach at Grand Haven
Lord's supper with famly & friends, a good bye also to those 10 who are leaving us in GR.
Good friends and family!!! On the right in Arnie next to me. Photo below at the CRC conference camp grounds, Grand haven....lovely place!

Walter and the tennessee Walking horse. Below is the original copper cock that was in the second church bult at graafschap. It is full of bullet holes as some naughty guy did some target practice.
Below is Kobie with our car as support driver. He scouts the route and marks all the turns on the road for us...great help!

Purplr wild flowers in Holland Mich. Below is gayle riding tandem withRuss. Gayle is the happiest and most determined rider on tour. She has more courage in hr little finger than I have in my whole body.
Below, the steak dinner we were treated to went off awesomely...WOW!!

2008-08-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

Michigan pics...

2008-08-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

Hans Doef on the beach at South haven.
Gayle and Dale in his flying squirrel outfit. These two made me laugh so much each day!
Nice lunch at Graafschap CRC!
The historical display in the basement....amazing!! Our tour guide playing some old hymns - lovely moments!

Day 47 -South Haven to Grand Haven 76km.

2008-08-15T19:02:00.001-07:00

A most pleasant, laid back day, with perfect weather, except for a fresh head wind in the
afternoon, which is to be expected near a huge lake. The vegetation is starting to feel a bit more familiar to me as we are moving closer to Ontario. I left camp after 8:15 only, as it was to be
a short ride. I am reluctant to commit to ride with any particular person or group, except on sweep days, since that leaves me with much freedom to get going when I'm ready in the morning and then to ride with many different people as it happens. This way I'm relaxed and get to have many interesting and diverse conversations. Each day is a new gift full of surprizes. Often it so happens that I meet up with people of similar cruising ability along the road somewhere, and then we ride together.

The road wound its way through the coastal lake forests with striking beauty, and impressive scenes of outstretched beaches, soft golden sand and blue water! The towns are much geared towards
tourism, and there are lots of places of interest, which would make a future holiday around
these parts worth the while! Some exquisite boats were plentiful, and some of us had the
privilege to be invited aboard the beautiful yacht of Dave Geerlings. dave has been doing the annual National 24 hour road endurance challenge near Grand Rapids for the past 25 years and has a best distance of 360 miles in 24 hours, whereas I did it twice since 2006 with a best of 335 miles. I look forward to see him next year in June again (DV)!

There is so much to see in Holland, Michigan, and the colourful flowers are in full bloom.
We were treated to a great lunch by Graafschap CRC, and we spend almost 2 hours there
enjoying their wonderful historical centre, depicting the history of the CRC in America and
the early immigrants' challenges. Outside is a replica of the first little log church. Life
was surely very hard then!

Just before the turnoff to the church, I happened to ride with Eritia and Dale, who did not see a thick sandy patch in time and called out in surprize. Eritia looked
back and at the same time touched my back wheel, and....unfortunately down she went on the
pavement for the second time in 2 weeks! Dale had to avoid her and performed a graceful
involuntary dive onto the sloping soft grassy shoulder, the lucky duck! He did however,
remember I encouraged him 2 days ago to hang another tire "bumper" from his other hip in
case of just such an incident as transpired this very day, as he landed on his unprotected
side! Wow, two wipe outs in a week! But I guess one should aim for a balanced life so what is done to the one side should be repeated to the other side to prevent inequality. My delightful friend sat up grinning in his disarming way, and I felt so tempted to gather photographic evidence of this feat for posterity, but felt too concerned about them,
especially Eritia, who injured her sternum again and clearly experienced pain though she
insisted she's OK. I think she should have it x-rayed as soon as we enter Canada. Dale may
now be more convinced than ever that this hip bumper thing may have some patent value for future sea to sea expeditions! Oh, and .... he wore his green flying squirrel outfit again today! Maybe that is why he managed to land so well!

The CRC conference centre near Grand Haven is a real pleasant place with a beach to dream of
and great facilities. The wind blew up fair waves and it reminded me of the awesome Indian
coastline I grew up with, this being just without the salt and the tides (and sharks!) Tonight we were treated to a great barbeque steak dinner with salads, courtesy of Home Missions and we as
cyclists appreciated this gesture enormously!

After peloton we celebrated the Lord's supper together with all the family that came to
visit. Very special moments! I had the privilege to meet many of my friends' family,
especially Jim's, Dale's and Arnie's. Arnie came to say hello, as did Tyler and Cynthia, the
injured cyclists that had to leave the tour. They are all doing better and Cynthia may be trying to ride a little bit with us in Ontario. We greeted the 10 that are leaving us, including Dale for
a few days due to business commitments, but he hopes to join up in Ontario again.

There is a great sense of community among the group, and strong friendships were formed. I will miss these good friends dearly when all this is over in a couple of weeks!! The tour meant much to many on various levels. One friend sheared with us how he enjoyed the 3 weeks of reprieve and the exuberant joy of free flight on a bike, as he is a care giver and very much tied up in a strenuous situation of responsibility. To him this time was divine! He earned my respect in great measure when I heard his story!

A splendid day, which I enjoyed the more because I got to spend much of the day with Kobie,
as Tyler did the road marking for tomorrow. We enjoyed some sight seeing together, and spent some time on the awesome beach where we are camping. We are both enjoying the camping life l and the tent works nicely for us. Kobie is used to the camp routines now and will get much busier as we are welcoming 60 new riders in GR and we'll be well over 200 on the road every day from now on! The tour is steaming on and we are keeping it rolling! God is good and protecting us in stunning ways, if one listens to the accounts of narrow escapes and near misses! Those protective angels sent by the Lord to fly with us must be totally exhausted every night ... or maybe they have a relay system in place....!?

Photos of Indiana and Michigan

2008-08-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

A place few of us can resist...... they had good coffee too!

2008-08-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

The arrows Kobie puts on the road to keep us all on track...a huge help and comfort for cyclists
Lovely scene in South Haven, Mich.
The beach in South Haven - some cyclists like hans Doef (left) brought swimsuit along & enjoyed the water in South Haven
Dale Mowry "hanging on" to the tour..... he is the greatest jokester and good friend!
Nathan having dinner with Dave Geerlings in Indiana Dunes below, and abocve, riding his bike
Packing the gear truck in Indiana Dunes State park.
Awesome forests in the lakefront state park!
Marti on the beach at Lake Michigan's Indiana Dunes, and below with La Vonne Koedam, our Head Chef

2008-08-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

Poverty stricken areas near Gary, Indiana - shacks without running water or electricity, where Pastor John has his ministry. The Old Fire house, refurbished repeatedlyby Paster John after being fire bombed - used for the ministry in Gary's poor areas.
Cyclists enjoying a great lunch at Highland CRC
Big Lou Haveman losing his balance at a stop, leaning over to steady himself on Joanne Tipple's shoulder, and both of them taking a dive to the pavement!
Pastor John's Beacon Light CRC church in Gary, Indiana.

The old Methodist cathedral on the inside in total ruins. Fabulous architecture sadly all to waste!
This board says that the Jackson 5 is playing there tonight! This theatre has long been abandoned and boarded up like so many buildings in this dying city.
Pastor John, a man with a burning passion for Jesus Christ and a love fr the lost, praying for us amidst the ruins of the once magnificent church cathedral in Gary. Below are the ruins on the floor ... rotten woodwork fallen down over the last 40 years....SO sad!!!

Guess what!! The little square house on the right is where Michael Jackson grew up as part of the Jackson five! How nice would it be for this community's self esteem if this house could be developed like Graceland for Elvis, or would they have to wait till Michael passes on...?

Day 46 - Indiana Dunes to South Haven -130km

2008-08-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

Good day again! We crossed into Eastern time and into Michigan. I was up real early as Kobie needs to stay well ahead of the early bird cyclists in marking the road with arrows. So my usual laid back way of getting up and going had to adjust to more urgent matters. Being blessed by a higher cruising speed I could start later and still finish fairly early, but today I was on the road just after 7am. Took some great pictures on the beach and settled into a sustainable speed. After a while George V overtook me, and I hopped onto his tail, so we cruised at 30pluskm/h, taking turns to pull. My quads were feeling heavy and unresponsive today, so it required some effort and self discipline to stay the course. The road was wet since an early morning shower moved over. The lake forests smelled fresh and earthy, and many squirrels chirped their staccato alarm calls at the colourful cyclists whirring by. The roads' pavement were very broken up, especially on the side roads, and required a sharp eye to avoid a pinch flat. The road wound along the shore of lake Michigan, and I marvelled at the fantastic houses, gardens and impressive lake forests! Some log type homes nestled hidden away under dense forest canopies... I was awed, for the brief glimpses I could get of these homes while traversing the "holey" roads. Couldn't help to contrast this with the shacks and trailer homes I saw yesterday...
At an elevated rail crossing we were surprized by huge holes lining the wood...too late I tried to brake and skidded right into them, bunny hopping the bike out & over the rail...I still wonder how I stayed up, and marvelled at the great Bontrager rims we are testing, that were able to take such an impact without damage. Later in the morning when I was pulling we came to a Y in the road, intending to take the left leg. A car came rocketing by without indicating a turn and cut to the right very closely in front of us going at 35km/h. George shouted a warning and I instinctively jerked the bike to the right to follow the car's turn. George drafting on my wheel did the same but had the crucial task of avoiding touching my back wheel! Miraculously we escaped calamity! The car sped off with a roar, and we had the impression that this was deliberate, since motorists become enraged at the 140 of us on the road and therefore sometimes act nasty. Lois Craven got hit by a sidemirror on the behind and narrowly escaped serious injury, and arrived back at camp on crutches after spending the day at hospital. Some abusive language was also directed at several cyclists today. This is a matter we need intense prayer support for, as on Saturday we will be joined by 150 day cyclists that will ride into Grand Rapids with us...so 300 on the road!!! The weekend more new cyclists will join, so we will be over 200 on the road every day for the next couple of weeks! After a lunch stop at "Dale's Donut factory" for coffee, and the said treats, we headed into the strong head wind for 65km, which we kept churning into steadily. George in very strong, and I had my job cut out to pull into the wind when my turn came around. The town of Haven has a strong tourist infrastructure, a lovely marina and an even lovelier beach. Many of us came for a swim, but Kobie and I opted to go to the Wellness Centre, where we could sauna, whirlpool or swim for free. We sat in the whirlpool for an hour, being massaged by the water jets...oh....divine!!!

Lake Michigan has a lovely blue hue and golden sand that reminded me of the awesome ocean beaches in Africa...only without the salt fragrance on the wind. We passed several marinas with boats to dream of, and many happy sails on the horizon. Enjoyed an ice cream on the beach and some glasses of ice water later, proceded to camp where the gear truck was not even opened yet. Being near GR, many family members came to visit some of us....happy reunions! A great, fast riding day ending in the cutest town in the best of weather...a scrumptious dinner with lots of ice cream, and great friends to share it with!!! God is good!

Day 45 Trinity college to Chesterton

2008-08-13T21:11:00.002-07:00

Today, being a short day, some of us opted to ride an alternate route through the Southern suburbs of Chicago to visit Roseland Christian Ministries" shelter for the homeless, after we had a send-off service at Trinity in the morning. An interesting experience. What struck me was how clean the city keeps the streets, although the buildings were old and in need of repair. This created a much better impression than in some of the third world countries where you cannot see the street for all the litter people just throw down without caring. In Africa they say it is good to throw stuff down anywhere as it creates jobs for those that have to clean it up! Only in Africa one finds logic like that! The shelter houses 80 homeless women and children. Some of us were taken through the accommodations on the second floor. On street level is a drop in centre where 250 additional meals are served to street people. We learned about their strategies to help people for 4 months there, help them find jobs through skills training and resume assistance, and then move them to apartments and eventually to house renting and eventually ownership. Sixty houses that have been boarded up for long have been acquired and fixed up for this purpose. The houses are very small and old, but mean the world for those people. In the centre is a daycare to look after the kids of single moms moving into employment, and a small computer centre as well. The impression I went away with, is how much unconditional love and long term commitment are needed for such ministry, as poverty is an immensely complicated issue with so many facets to focus on, such as creating hope and faith to convince people they can change their mindset and circumstances, and helping them step by step to get rid of addictions and build a better future. Only people called by God and empowered by His Spirit can keep doing this mammoth task for so many years in conditions that would drain most of us!The streets were quietish and here and there we were cheered on by locals as there was a good fullpage article with pictures in the southern Chicago newspaper about our cause. I never felt unsafe, although we were encouraged to ride in groups of 6 and more. I guess that compared to the level of lethal violence, crime, aids and poverty I was exposed to in South Africa, this seemed like a Sunday school picnic. Not that I want to take away from the fact that these people here have real needs and need understanding and real help from us all. I did however, engage my mind in a controversial line of thinking, maybe because I am so tired of senseless violence and killing that I saw way too much of in my life, and because us Canadians lean towards peace loving and gun hating. I thought...what if the government would spend a little less on unbelievably expensive overseas offensives and a lot more on upliftment, hope and opportunities for the very poor right here in America?

We were treated to a wonderful lunch of subs and fruit at the CRC church Second Highland. What a blessing! Looking at all the delicious stuff, my heart went out to those who never see this much, thinking of the kid's eyes I saw at the shelter this morning, and the countless ones in far more hopeless desperate conditions on the dusty dirt streets between the shacks in African townships where life has precious little value. I stood in those places with little kids with toothless smiles hanging onto me like bunches of grapes, and others jumping up and down doing antics hoping to be noticed....and experienced the peace of Christ that transcends understanding, knowing deep in my spirit that God feels entirely at home there, maybe more than in our own, way too sophisticated lifestyles.

A group of us got picked up by Pastor John of Beacon Light CRC to be shown around in Gary, Illinois, a declining city of 100,000 with lots of buildings boarded up right in the main street, many houses falling apart, and a most stunning cathedral that could rival many in Europe, in total shocking ruins, overgrown and inhabited by rodents and some street people. Built in 1925 by Methodists, it flourished until the violent racial riots caused whites to move (flee) out to greener pastures, In 1975 the methodists could no longer keep this enormous cathredral in shape and abandoned it. Another church group tried for a while, but then decay took over, and in less than 40 years it is in irreperable ruins. Only a tiny section of its once magnificent stained glass windows remain as a sad reminder of the majestic glory it once had. Those tall proud gothic arches and enormous pillars failed to keep the ceiling and roof from disintegrating, and piles of splintered wood litter the floor. I was at a total loss of words in astonishment!
John drove us through the extremely poor community he has been serving for the past 18 years since he met Jesus Christ at the age of 27. He has a passion for his tireless work and calling to uplift these people that I had never experienced before! He neatly fixed up an old fire hall and adjacent house for use in this direly needy community and teach kids karate and sports for free. The premises had been fire bombed twice and he had to rebuild it over three times!! But he stays because he says God wants him to!!! He mows peoples' lawns, spends time with them, listens to their every story, hurts and worries, knows the kids' names, invites the whole community for barbeque regularly....and he truly loves them....even the unlovables. It is like this man sees the potential of heaven where the opposite reigns painfully.....and he is bringing hope and change through his undying devotion and faithful commitment, earning their trust through many hours, days and years of sharing their tribulations and carrying their burdens. He shared stories of success and of failure, of hope and of violent deaths in gang related shootings. Up to 160 young people die per year in that city...a whole generation getting wiped out in the most senseless way, dimming the last shimmer of hope in their bereaved loved ones' eyes.

We drove by the birth house of Michael Jackson..the Jackson 5 that took the world by storm with their music. A tiny square house of maybe not even 1,000 square feet...I really don't know how seven people could have lived there. On a main street is a boarded up theatre, with the rusty sign board advertizing that the Jackson 5 are to play there tonight! But the letters are rusted, hanging sideways, and some were missing, and the theatre long since abandoned and boarded up. Not far from there is a huge sign next to the road, that says "Prayer, not violence!" So sad to see the obvious results of many sins of the fathers through the years! A city of skeletons, with few people quiet and joyless on the streets, and an atmosphere of lack and decay hanging in the air like a blanket of despair. God's hope is sorely neded here!!! Amazing experience, and so much food for thought! We saw many uprooted trees and some homes without roofs, as a F2 tornado went through some sections a week and a half ago.We stayed way too long enjoying and experiencing John's enthusiastic sharing about his ministry, but it was well worth it, and we seven cyclists made it to camp only after supper started. What a nice campsite here at Indiana Dunes. Enormous trees and a beach to dream of! One crowd that were extremely thrilled to experience us, was...inevitably, the mozzies! Sitting outside blogging, I must have provided dinner for a hundred of them...despite the repellent I put on liberally!!

Day 44: Woodstock to Palos Heights: minus 8 miles!

2008-08-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

The morning started with the now familiar creaking and clang of metal on metal when the gear truck gets opened up by Billy D, our camp sergeant major. We slept well but got somewhat harrassed by the mozzies. They just can not pass by Kobie without having a taste of him....
Kobie was eager to get out on the road with Art to continue marking our route. Some 38 miles is suppoesd to be on a bike path, so no marking required, or so we thought. The car can anyway not go on the 6' wide path, so we had to navigate that on our own. Much construction and signs for "bike detour" threw many of us a curve ball, as we never realized that this area contained a vast network of trails which is very confusing to say the least. I must admit that I am very prone to losing my way, since I lack Kobie's instinctive sense for direction. So if there is a chance of getting lost, I propably will!
It just so happened that upon leaving this morning, I got into the same group with Dale and Jim H. Dale wore an oversized green wind shirt, that would easily fit any of the Clydesdales in the group. It was a bright green, flapping in the wind, enough to cause many squirrels to gasp in astonishment, squeeking alarm at this huge flying squirrel whirring by with purring chains. It crossed my mind that his shirt might work great as a sail in case we get a tailwind! At Dale's side, tied to his hip, hung his precious folding tire, which I found hilarious. Later at camp Dale told me with great dignity that it saved his skin when he wiped out around a turn on the bike path, skidding on the gravel. He fell on this tire, which he now calls his "bumper". He confided in me that he is actually considering to hang a similar tire from his other hip in order to have protection on the other side as well! What a delightfully funny guy...we have loads of laughs!
The first section of the bike path was pure joy, paved and running through a green tunnel of foliage. I could smell the subtle forest fragrances, the dew still fresh on the leaves. Birds and crickets formed the background voices for this ensemble of nature. On the forest floor some startled small critters darted out of our way. Even a raccoon crossed hastily in front of our long line, fortunately not causing a pile up.
The coffee shop on the way provided us with a savoured moment of rest. The bikers cleaned out the shelves of all the tasty pies and treats to go with the good coffee. The path went along the Fox river, and some handsome frontage work has been done in several towns. The construction caused us to lose our way when diverted anto a "bike detour", which left the river and ran east, which we didn't notice for long since we were tunneling through the green foliage! Much later we crossed some paved busy roads and the sun didn't appear to be in the right place. We discovered we're many miles off course, but we did the stop-think- plan-act procedure to find our location and a new way to our destination without alarm. We bought a map and navigated through very dense Chicago traffic, prayerfully of course! Inthe process we shaved off 8 miles from the original route and saved sore saddle time!! Realizing our predicament I got some energy from within and put the pedal to the metal as good as we could do so safely. Jim is a real dependable calm trooper and as a team we managed to find our way back, and be some of the first to arrive at camp! So we can add "lost in Chicago on a bike" to our list of adventures on tour!

The Bentum sisters got cut off by a car and fell, damaging the one bike's back wheel to an irreperable state. The offending lady drove away, but got rounded up by the police. Bruises only from the falling, ... we praise the Lord for that. After returning from marking the route, Kobie had to drive out the 40km to take a spare bike out to the sisters so they could finish the ride - which they insisted on - and bring the damaged bike back. Good to have an extra SAG driver around!
Tonight we got treated to nice pizza and movies, and tomorrow we are cycling through the real poor areas of Chicago in teams of minimum six to get a sense of poverty.

Tuesday: Woodstock to Palos heights (Trinity)

2008-08-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

Big trees closing in like a canopy over the road...a green tunnel! The bike path was a fantastic experience today, till we got hopelessly lost on the vast network bike paths in the greater Chicago area. More later....
Lake near Trinity Christian College with tall purple prairie flowers. Saw many kinds of wild flowers along the roads.
Dale took a wipe out today when he slid on gravel on the bike path. Forunately he carried a folded tire around his waist, which took the brunt of the blow. He said he fell on his "bumper" and considers to hang another tire on his other hip just incase he falls to that side! He is such a delightfully funny chap!
Computer lab at Trinity, which we may use!
Good dinner of pizza and salad with fountain drinks and ice cream.
Peloton in the foyer of Trinity College's auditorium. We were treated to documentaries about history and poverty issues around Chicago.
Dale and Jim on the bike path, with wild flowers in the background.
A restaurant built to resemble a river boat.
A great french coffee shop on the bike path. We all descended on this place and gave them a week's business in a few hours.
Trees closing over the bike path to create a canopy and a green tunnel effect.

Sunday Aug 10th - Madison,WI and Monday to Woodstock, IL 130km

2008-08-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed some great time with our new friends, the Mullers, and shared stories over coffee till late, chatting about shared experiences and concerns about our land of birth, SA. We are so excited and thankful towards the Lord because on August 25th, Kobie, I and our son, Albert, will become Canadian citizens! The Mullers are almost through their process to become Americans. We had a great night's sleep between real sheets - the first for me in 6 weeks. Lovely subdivision they live in....so spacious and not so crunched up as the Canadian developers insist on creating to save a buck.

Sunday morning broke crisp and sunny, with the promise of turning into a wonderful day. The well attended celebration service at Crossroads CRC was beautiful and the jazz band playing exceptionally good! The worship was a total delight, as the musicians played strong and confidently...real masters of their art. The pastor delivered a good message. His wife has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs disease and really needs our prayers as she is struggling. Eight of us were asked to take up the collection using our helmets lined with foil. More than $3,000 were collected to be divided between the ministries at the ministry fair. All the cyclists wearing our yelllow shirts paraded into the audutorium together. Always heart warming to feel the unity and the positive enthusiatic spirit, blending into that sea of yellow sunflowers! What an amazing privilege we have!!! Time is flying by too fast...
Crossroads is a lovely CRC church with a very nice well equipped building, and a thriving youth ministry. The hospitality we experienced here was truly amazing! Saturday night a movie "The flying Dutchman", was screened. After a very nice lunch of bratwurst and salads, there were various trips and activities scheduled, like to see the wetlands, and prairie preservation projects. I stayed since I promised to clean 3 bikes for my friends. The dirt and wet sand clung all over the dirty bikes and it was quite a job, but I enjoyed doing it for them as an encouragement. Also caught up on my blogging a bit, using the churches' Wifi.

Another good night at our friends and Monday morning dawned quite chilly. We had prepared and put all our stuff in order yesterday, so Kobie could leave early with Art Smit, his navigator, to mark all the turns with orange marking paint on the roads we are about to cycle. The ride was nearly perfect in all respects. I started on my own at a leisurely pace and enjoyed the solitude, peace and quiet. The roads were nice and smooth...and the landscapes generously treed and lush green. Many more horse farms, and many acres of corn and soy. Enjoyed seeing the Americans living the American dream. Noticed some controvercy locally about the whole corn to ethanol issue, as some negative picketing signs were erected across from a big ethanol factory. Some huge trees grace the landscapes and the streets in the towns we passed through. A scrumptious lunch of beef on the bun, salad and ice cream brownies were provided by the CRC in Delavan. Quite a spread and we appreciated it all so much! Around the state line nature was really spectacular with immense trees and homes hiding in the forest and under the tree generous canopies.
The town of Woodstock is very picturesque with a marvellous cobblestoned town square with one-of-a-kind buildings. Some movies were made here, I heard.
Just outside Delavan near the state line between Wisconsin and Illinois a special moment awaited us cyclists. Four residents of the Inspiration Ministry Centre for adults with disabilities handed out bottles of ice water. Phillip and Sarah, severely challenged, in their wheelchairs touched my heart deeply as I saw heaven in their eyes as they cheered us on, so excited to see us all stopping by. Chad and Lori handed out the water. Sarah is unable to speak or focus her eyes, but so affectionate and laughing from ear to ear. I so appreciated the dignity and respect that they were treated with by their caregiver, Linda. Kobie and Art had dropped in much earlier to phone from there when unsure about the route, and when the staff learned about our mission, they decided to share what they had on hand with us....water, their special selves and all the love in their hearts! (see www.InspirationMinistries.org). A tremendous blessing for us indeed, and the highlight of the day for me!

Photos from Sunday and Monday Aug 10 - 11'

2008-08-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

Lovely horse farms in Wisconson/Illinois.
Mark Deckinga on his recumbent.

Marina at Milton, IL.
Huge shady trees along the road to Woodstock, IL.

Monday's photos - Aug 11

2008-08-11T15:25:00.001-07:00

Hans Doef and Nick Ellens enjoying the exuberant freedom we enjoy on our bikes.
Local controversies about corn prices for ethanol production.
Entering the lake forests...huge trees lining the road, and in some places truly breathtakingly majestic!
Gerry Loonstra from Red Deer, AB, happily holding up the piece of watermelon he is about to enjoy.
"Gezellig!" Cyclists eagerly enjoying the nice treats we were blessed with at the CRC church in Delavon, WI. Usually we only take sandwiches along, so this was a real nice lunch with meat on the bun and scrumpteous salads. We so appreciate it when churches do this! We even got cheered upon arrival!

Monday's photos - Aug 11

2008-08-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

The banner welcoming us at the CRC church in Delavon that treated us to a scrumpteous lunch.

Phillip, Sarah, Chuck and their caregiver, Lindaat the driveway to the Inspirational Ministries Centre, handing out cold water to the cyclists.
Cyclists stopping to chat with the folks blessing us with water and cheeriung us on with great joy.
Marti giving Sarah a hug and reaching a hand to Phillip. They are both in wheel chairs and Sarah can not speak or focus her eyes, but they both radiate joy and affection despite their challenges. It was very moving to me.
Julia Wissink, member of my small group. She is a strong rider and we rode into camp chasing each other and did the remaining 30km in less than an hour, having much fun.

Ready to roll forward in the procession into Madison's Crossroads CRC church.

2008-08-10T21:37:00.003-07:00

Comments welcome to mdp@rogers.com

Bike moments to remember en route to Madison.

2008-08-10T21:12:00.003-07:00

Negotiating a rough hard packed dirt bike path. Our chains were gritty with sand after this. Some sections were so rough that it would rather be fitting to ride a mountain bike there, not our $3,000 road bikes! I longed for my mountain bike...
Coffe shop in Mt Horeb served free coffee and iced tea to us cyclists...popular resting spot!
Ed Witvoet addressing the whole group of similar looking cyclists ready lined up to have the media shoot and procession in to the church at Madison.
Ready to go on Ed's word....
Kobie and Anne M are beholding me enjoying this royal treatment at Madison"s Crossroads CRC. Haircut, footspa and quad massage! The dear hairdresser lady got a bit over enthusiastic. I told her to trim my hair fairly short, but there was no mirror and when she was done, there were astonishingly little hair left..... may it grow back soon in the next 3 weeks... What a way to lgthten up one's bike and reduce wind resistance...lose the hair!

Enormous graceful eels.....

2008-08-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

The 130 feet long blade of a power generating windmill on a flatbed trailer, delicately contoured but enormous!
I'm dwarfed by this huge fish of a blade, made of carbon fibre and aluminum, made in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Note the many fastening bolts on the left. Below, the blade laying like a gigantic eel en route to green energy production from through harnessing wind power.

Scenes from the great weekend in Madison

2008-08-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

Lunch in the shade at Crossroads CRC Church, Madison
Using the Church Wifi to write blogs
Flowers in the garden of the church
Dear friends in Madison, Jan and Ingrid Muller, ex-South Africans like Kobie & me, whose hospitality was dearly appreciated, as they invited us to spend the two weekend nights at their lovely home.
Cleaning bikes next to the gear truck in Madison.
We were spoiled beyond words....my sore quads being massaged here.....what a life!! Thanks to the wonderful people at Crossroads CRC in for the wonderful reception we enjoyed there!
Andy Hiemstra's feet being massaged after a footspa bubble treatment.
The praise team at the celebration rally at Crossroads church. The best musicians ever. Great brass section and played jazz style with confidence and flair. What a delight to listen to them!
A ministry fair and a delicious lunch of brat sausages, buns and salads happened outside under huge tents. We got treated to Slush ice and fountain drinks as well. The weather was perfect!

Our great new friends of South African heritage, Jan and Ingrid Muller. They grew up in the same area I did back in South Africa. They have lived in Madison for 10 years now and Jan is the Clerk of council for Crossroads Communiy CRC in Madison. We met them when the bike tour visited the church for the weekend, and they invited us to spend two nights with them in their very beautiful house. We hope they can come visit us in Canada next year as they have not seen Niagara yet. It is great that Kobie can be part of the tour now as support vehicle driver.

On the way to Madison....

2008-08-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

Cyclists engaging in a different effort to irrigate the corn field...
Dear Walter so tired and catnapping after dinner in his chair amidst the noise. SAG drivers spend looong hours out on the road on the cyclists' behalf and we appreciate them very much!
Dini, Betty and Geri cubing aples for the delicious apple salad we were to eat at dinner. Great friendly team of ladies in the kitchen!!!
La Vonne Koedam, our chief chef and the brain planning the menu. She was up at before 5am in the dark and pouring rain this morning at New Hampton to start our breakfast served at 6am so we could get away early to do the 116km for the day. Below is my tent one of the last to be broken up as the rain came down again just as I was about to do it. In the front the blue canvas covers the gear bags of us all against the rain.

Fun times and more...

2008-08-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

"Alligator wrestling" in Prairie des Chiens on the banks of the Mighty Muddy Mississippi. Enjoying some and laughs with Dale Dowry en route.
Hee-ha...!! Riding the bucking bronc of a Sturgeon fish!
Wat gezellig het ons hier! Young ones having a great time on the Mississippi shores.
The Wiscansin border sign! Below the slow climb out of the Mississippi valley. Lovely natural woods here. In old days these were chopped down to fuel the steam river boats.

Pics of Thursday & Friday Aug 7&8

2008-08-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

Wisconsin farms ..lovely!
Hills aplenty....the prairies are not flat! Earlier this day outside New Hampton, for 20 km we had to ride on the worst broken up road ever! Huge gaping holes and cracks eagerly waiting to swallow up a bike wheel.... !
These fat cows in a feedlot were intrigued by my bright outfit and came running to the fence to behold this huge green grasshopper!
McGregor (1837) on tthe Mighty Muddy (below).

Day 39/40: Algona to New Hampton 182 km and to Madison 116km

2008-08-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

On Thursday the blogging thing had to go real fast, since we had to cycle 2 miles down to the public library with our laptops slung over the shoulder in order to get internet, be back for a lovely dinner of meatballs and veggies at 6pm, then rush againto town for an hour and make it back for peloton! Lugging things around on our bikes is a necessary evil, as one has to be really careful to avoid said matter getting into the spokes! Manley Baarda became the latest victim when his laundry bag got caught into the spokes, causing him to be catapulted over the handlebars, landing on his face, resulting in 14 stitches and horrible bruising! Praying that it'll heal fast and that it won't leave scars. Like his dad, Dan, who's joining us in Niagara, Manley is the nicest person, always easy going and ready to help anyone that may need it.
Many of us were quite tired last night, including me, as I was on sweep and coming in after being out so long makes me much more tired than riding hard and fast and getting there sooner. It was enjoyable riding with Jim though, as we had lengthy discussions about aspects of faith and how people deal with addictions and mental health, as this is the field he works in. Our satellite internet system's rotator broke down and is scheduled to be fixed Friday night, we hope.
Friday morning was a slower start for me as I felt tired in the quads because of the fast riding yesterday. Since I missed part of peloton returning from the library, I was under the impression that we were to ride a 100km today, and not 100 miles. So when we came to Walter's stop at 80km, I was amazed to find we are only halfway! So I pulled myself together and got into a brisker pace. Soon up with Dale en route and finished together, having some good laughs as he has an incurable sense of humor. dale told me he joined the tour only a week before the time and only had 3 days to get used to his bike before flying out to Seattle....!!?!
Bradley Geerlinks came whizzing by us, drafting a heavily loaded transport truck at 97km/h!!! Just prayed "Lord have mercy and protect our precious overly fit young friend from himself!". He did..... as He did several times to John Vanderveen who has the same dangerous attraction to trucks....sort of like a moth to a candle!
We took the steep fast descending business loop into McGregor, a sleepy little village from 1837 nestled on the banks of the Missisippi. Lovely old preserved buildings. Saw a bald eagle near the river. Went over the huge bridge over the "Mighty Muddy" into another village Prairie du Chien, where the border into Wisconsin is. Delightful Kodak moments happened mock wrestling an alligator and riding a big Sturgeon fish like a bronco....Hee-ha! Visited the local bike shop en route, before attempting the big climb out of the Mississippi basin. At New Hampton we found that the library closed already at 4 and no internet therefore where we camped on the edge of town. Dear Cory, one of our sag wagon drivers patiently shuttled dozens of us to the local pool where we showered and had a free swim....divine!
The landscape changed and became much more treed, but still very hilly. We did 3600 feet of climbing today and my quads were somewhat sore. Tonight I cleaned my bike chain and while having the dirty equipment out for the oily job, also cleaned Jim and Dales' bike chains. Sunday will be Claire's and Gayles' turn. During the night it started to rain heavily and later I felt water trickling in at a downhill spot in the tent. It was a soothing sound ... the water pattering on the tent, but still kept me awake. I heard dear La Vonne getting going in the kitchen truck at 5am, rain or no rain, all wrapped up in a blue caped rain poncho like little "Blue Ridin' Hood". Saturday mornings we get our favorite bacon and pancake breakfast...mmmm! I waited for the rain to clear up a bit and got up at 7am, tents were dripping wet. Enjoyed leisurely breakfast and got going at 8:15am, on a shiny clean bike on which I spent an hour the previous evening, as Brad the wheel guy from Bontrager would be inspecting our wheels in Madison. No use, because more rain on the road and the long unpaved hardpack dirt bike path that followed did an awesome job of undoing my hard labour!! Dale had left early, but got lost and we happened to meet again on the bike path. In Mt Horeb, cute town, we got treated to free coffee at a real nice coffee shop. Needless to say....it swarmed of cyclists! Later we came upon an awesome spectacle....the 130 feet long windmill propellor blades being transported on enormous trucks from the factory in Grand Forks, North Dakota. A fleet of 6 blades were at a truck stop, laying on the flatbed trailers like massive eels, delicately sculptured to catch the wind most effectively once installed.
Made of a carbon fibre - aluminum mixture. Lots more climbing followed, till we reached a park a mile from camp where we were all to assemble for a unified parade entry to Madison for a photo shoot. We looked striking in our yellow and blue jerseys. Kobie was waiting for me at the park and it was a joyous reunion for us after 6 weeks apart! At the Crossroads Community CRC churchin Madison we had a royal reception complete with a brass band playing! Saturday protocol was followed re cleaning gear truck & the mozzies started eating us as soon as dusk approached. We met a great ex- South African couple here that's been in this church for 10 years and they invited us to come sleep at their house. Divine to sleep between sheets the first time in 6 weeks!

Aug 7th - Algona to New Hampton 183km

2008-08-07T17:39:00.001-07:00

An awesome day for cycling for sure! Left camp at 7:30am and picked up real fast rides, one after another, so i was able to be in camp before 3 after enjoying the 183km much, but not off the bike much....kept going most of the time. Rode with about eight different groups or riders - I love that since I get to chat with more people. Got chased by dogs much in the past couple of days! Worst one was a great Dane, who nearly got Jim Holwerda behind me! Amazing what emergency acceleration comes miraculously from within when prompted by an outside source like the snapping jaws of "man's best friend?!" Lovely scenery once again....nice place, this Iowa! Today's ride was much more hilly, especially towards the end. i don't notice it so much any more...nust be getting stronger in the legs I think! The tour is still a blast, and we are enjoying everything and honoring God for taking such excellent care of us! Looking forward to the next 3 weeks, the more since my husband Kobie is joining us in Madison the day after tomorrow. Thanks for all the e-mails I received from many friends..love you all!!!
Daily peloton meting at Algona...we are all wearing yellow t-shirts since Jonathan Stoner, our media guy,tooka group photo. Right front is Ed Witvoet, our excellent tour manager, respected and loved by all.
On the road again....riding with Claire's group.
Today I won the helmet-hairdo competition for sure!
Going through the beautiful tree lined streets of Charles City, Iowa
The open road with blue skies to New Hampton, Iowa. today it was arond 29C and such pleasant cycling weather. I was assured by residents that this cooler weather is exceptional for August here. Usually is is HOT, and humid and sticky....so you'd need a cold wet cloth on your face and one under your neck just in order to sleep at night! We thank our Lord for this merciful coolness.
Confusion in the gear truck packed with bodies early Wednesday morning when the rain came down strongly at the time we needed to put our stuff back and make our lunches. Outdoor living is a vulnerable existence!
Some of our dear kitchen ladies peeling potatoes in the morning, preparing for the scrumpteous dinner that night.
Billy D, our gear truck and camp manager. He can be a real sargent major and scoot us out of the truck when he needs to lock it up at 10:30pm EXACTlY. Also can he be painfully insistent on cleaning the truck meticulously every Saturday afternoon...everything removed and the truck rinsed out with a hosepipe and shelves and floor dried afterwards. BUT...we all love him dearly, since he is up and down the roadon his Harley, checking on us... every day, and brought many of us water on the mountain passes when we ran out.
Billy nodding off after dinner in the midst of all the noise, exhausted by the heat and being out all day on the Harley. He opens the gear truck at 5am in the morning. Below is Jim on the concrete roads that can be very rough and broken in Iowa.

August 6th -Sioux Centre to Algona - 185km

2008-08-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up to rain. Amazing that we got two thirds throught the tour getting up dry! Unexpected, and it caused some good chaos, as we needed to start extra early because of the 113 mile day. The gear truck was a sight to see, with bodies jam packed and squeezed in to pack away gear and to rescue stuff from the wet outside. I could only laugh at the consternation caused by the rain. Our big gearbags outside were quickly covered with a huge tarp. The lunch goodies were in the kitchen trailer with very restricted space, so that didn't work to have 140 bodies squeezing in there, so we as the sweep team quickly put up the waterproof canopies over the tables outside. We could eat a sponsored continental breakfast at the campus, but still had to pack our own lunch like every day. After cleaning up and loading the gear truck we sweeps set out at around 8:30am, prepared to spend a long day on the road, which happened as we came into camp at 6:30 and the last ones at 7:15pm tonight. Just in time for the group photo of us all in our yellow t-shirts.After peloton and small groups I managed to find the YMCA just before closing time for showering, after biking 4 blocks down to it. Nothing beats the refreshed feeling of a clean tired body!
We rode all morning in the rain, with light jackets on. But it was cool and crisp - a blessing compared to the intense heat we had last week. The miracle happened....we had a tail wind at last!!! This made for an easy ride, although long. The landscapes were gorgeous as yesterdays' with green healthy crop fields from horizon to horizon. We were treated to snacks twice today by churches...donuts, etc. Jim Holwerda got a pinch flat when riding over a rock accidentally. While I helped him fix it, a local farmer dropped by, wanting to know if we need help, and asking what this invasion of 140 cyclists in their quiet farm environment meant. I explained and had a happy chat with the kind man...a salt-of-the earth farmer. He was so impressed with the cause that he donated $20 to Sea to Sea. He owns a feedlot nearby and offered us a guided tour, but we were running low on time and had to decline. At noon the sun came out and it got quite warm. we again had great discussions on the bike about church, people skills, and how to really relate to God, and Jesus and the work and gifts of the Holy Spirit.All taht on a bike cruising through the gorgeous Iowa. The last 30km of the day we really motored at 40km/h.
Today was proof again that attitude supercedes aptitude, and that when the mind is strong and focused, the body can follow easier.
We are camping at a primary school. Tomorrow's ride is again 182km and the wind forecast predicts a side wind, which will make the effort required all that much more. But the tour is stilla blast and we are all enjoying the triumphs and the hurts. About half the cyclists never before attampted a distance of over a hundred miles...and today.....they did it!!! Even Gayle Harrison exceeded her best expectations! Congrats to you all!! We are proud of your commitment and tenacious endurance.

Aug 5th Sioux City to Sioux Centre 100km

2008-08-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

Great sleep in a corner of the gym of a church in Sioux City, with a hundred of my buddies. No snoring or lights could keep me awake, as the brutal battles against the headwinds caused tired bodies to drift off quickly. Morning broke beautifully and Claire woke me early, but I slept in half an hour more. The wind looked calm and we felt optimistic about the day, which is supposed to be a "recovery day" before the demanding 3 days of 184, 182 and 160km. This morning I felt my nearly 50 years as my legs were heavy and unresponsive. Thinking back I discovered that I may have had too much V8 tomato juice due to salt cravings, but I had forgotten about the high acid content, which, combined with lactic acid residues in the hard working quad muscles, could be responsible for this lethargy. So I set out alone with the intent to have a quiet ride in solitude, to revive the body and soul. This happened, and I enjoyed the lovely farmland and unbelievably tall corn (8 to 10') I kid you not...see the picture elsewhere! This, and soy bean stalks of 3'high are produced without irrigation on this fertile land, which obviously had lots of rain this season. Passed by many smaller feed lots and several...uh...really "evident" piggeries right next to the road. Just how long can a cyclist keep one's breath before dropping dead off the bike? I know....I know we all love bacon..... and farmers gotta live, and we have to endure the smell of money in order to enjoy the smell of frying bacon!
Some mischievous young guys drafted vehicles, or tried to. This is unsafe and not allowed, but young goats have to push the limits, eh? I just prayed for them, and admired their energy which I seemed to be a bit short of today. The CRC church in Ireton spoiled us with banana and strawberry smoothies, and root beer floats....what a delight with the "Blue Bunny" ice cream!

The profile was rolling hills, enclosed by a velvety green carpet of soy and corn as far as the eye can see. I'm speechless at the millions of acres of food grown here. Saw seed lots where new hybrids of corn and soy are being developed. The total climbing today was 2600 feet, but I hardly noticed it as my quads are apparently getting stronger and these little hills are nothing compared to the climbs we did in the mountains. Some people mentioned they were hurting much because of our wind wars the previous 3 riding days and the 105F temps.

Dordt College gave us a delightful and well planned welcome, all very organized and professional. We could sleep in double dorm rooms - air conditioned with powerful superfast Wifi in the rooms!! Wow, what a delight! Being early, I took a nap, a shower and a fantastic hour in the hot tub with massaging jets at the fabulous swimming pool nearby. We enjoyed a sponsored dinner of fried chicken, pizza and homefries, with bottomless fountain drinks. Local ladies served us delicious pies of all kinds for desert. I chose the homemade pecan pie with Blue Bunny ice cream....totally unequivocally.... divine!!! Then came the celebration and peloton in the big auditorium, which was packed out. Great event and appreciated by all. Our media team created a nice new video with glimpses of the tour in many aspects. This will be online soon.

Dordt is a great place with a special atmosphere and now I understand why alumni are so passionate about it. Great improvements are being made and nice landscaping projects are in progress.

Tomorrow we have the 184km day, and I am on sweep which means us as sweep team must remain behind the slowest riders all day. So it is going to be a looong day on the road! Nice opportunity to try more of that Blue Bunny ice cream and good coffee...I hope! Tomorrow we are going to take another group photo and we all have to wear our yellow cycling jerseys.
Looking forward to the rest of the tour...it is flying by.....great stuff!

I posted many photos today but don't have time now to add subtitles, so please look at them only by night when I can complete it, as it is past midnight and we have to be up at 5am.
Responses welcome to mdp@rogers.com. Thanks for all the e-mails - much appreciated!

Two nights in Fremont and one in Sioux City's gym

2008-08-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

Photos from last weekend in Fremont

2008-08-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

Sleeping in the merciful coolness of the Lutheran church in Fremont, Nebraska
Markus Lise enjoying lunch at the celebration service at the Nrthern Lighthouse, Linclon, Nebraska
Dad - daughter team Bob & Lisa Brouwer in the church foyer in Fremont
Markus Lise catching a catnap in the bus on the way back from Linclon to Fremont, over an hour's bus ride.
Gone to snoozieland.....
A small group in prayer. Praying is Cory, one of our SAG drivers and very well loved, always happy and encouraging.
Passed out on a sidewalk in the shade before attempting the last 30 km in the heat of the day into Fremont. Tired after fighting the headwind all day. Jim eating a snack and the young ones just flopped flat on their backs on the concrete.
Ad de Blij playing air hockey with Corrinne Schmienk at the arena in Fremont.
Peloton in the church at Fremont

Gezellige samesyn at a coffeeshop en route to Fremont

Pics on way to Dordt College and the celebration

2008-08-05T21:15:00.003-07:00

New landscaping being done at Dordt college, with huge yellow sandstone blocks being placed by a crane.
Enjoying a scrumpteous sponsored dinner of chicken and pizza and homemade pies at Dordt college,
Barb Mellema and Cheryl Taylor were responsible for fantastic and professionally planned and executed arrangements for the Tour's stay at Dordt. They made it a stop to remember! Below, we are all gathered in unity in the auditorium of Dordt for the celebration service and peloton. We are all proud to wear our yellow C2C shirts!

Desert and ministry fair afterwards in the student centre. A few hundred guests attended the service and the ministry fair. We had the opportunity to have ourselves weighed and our BMI assessed by a trained professional. I won't disclose what the verdict was, but....I do have less fat and much more muscle on the quads.

Aug 5th - Sioux City to Sioux Centre (Dordt college!) 100km

2008-08-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

Aug 4th - Fremont to Sioux City 144km

2008-08-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

What a sweet sleep I enjoyed in the Lutheran church foyer in Fremont! Already at breakfast we saw the American flag flying straight in the wind, and we didn't like the direction where it pointed at all. Another day of stoic struggling with the wind ahead, it seemed. I thought working our way from West to East over the continent meant that the prevailing winds would be from behind...but I suppose fighting wind wars are better to endure on a bike than the soaking rains these parts saw a couple of weeks ago. It was a bit cooler today with nice cloud cover and even a bit of light rain. We rode through more lovely farmland, with every visible growing thing a lush green. Nice horses and lots of corn and soy beans again.

I rode with Eritia Smit today, a great cyclist and athlete half my age. We are in the same small group as well. We worked the wind well together taking turns to pull. Just before crossing the Missouri river, it happened. We were coasting downhill at 30km/h with Eritia leading, when suddenly a white Blazer cut her off to turn into a gas station. Eritia was looking sideways at the time and never saw it coming although I yelled a warning to her. She hit the mirror with her chest and went sprawling, fortunately only sustaining bruises and a few cuts. The lady driver said she had seen us way up the hill, and I guess she never knew bikes can move so fast, as she didn't look in her side mirror again and never indicated a right turn before she cut into the entrance. When I went to her to get her info her son started an avalanche of unsavoury language and it was hard to calm them both down, as she was on her way to dialysis she said. When the police officer arrived, he mentioned that there was an outstanding warrant for these people on his computer. After being patched up by Betsy our nurse, Eritia insisted to finish the ride despite hurting. We soon crossed into Iowa after negotiating the steel meshed bridge over the Missouri river. Not nice on a bike for sure. Best not to look down and keep your eyes on the other side while letting the bike find its own way slipping around a little on the steel. Falling on that would resemble something like a cheese grater...... Mark and I rode with Eritia and shielded her from the brunt of the wind. Tonight she is sleeping at Barb Mellema's house as she is still shocked and needs a bit of pampering.

In Sioux City we are staying at Sargent Bluff in a church again with nice airconditioning in the gym we sleep in. Quite a sight to see all the bodies and luggage strewn all over the floor. We are like an enormous family now ... knowing and accepting most of each others peculiarities. This church has a computer lab with 10 computers which are firewalled so we could not get into our blogs. My laptop refused to log onto the Wifi so I'm storing the blog on a memory stick to be posted hopefully tomorrow with some more pictures....maybe in a public library, who knows.... Tuesday is our only short day this week, 100km, and we are thankful for the reprieve before the 180km each of the following 2 days. We had a nice swim and shower at the lovely public swimming pool next door, and a nice pasta dinner tonight. Looking forward to the rest of the tour although I miss my loved ones, dear friends, home, garden and pets very much!
(Response to mdp@rogers.com if you feel like it will be appreciated)

Sunday Aug 3rd, rest day in Fremont

2008-08-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

So thankful for this day of rest...our Lord knew what He was doing when He told us to rest on the sabbath, as He created our bodies and He knows we are vulnerable and often frail. Sleep came eventually last night after a long time of tossing and turning and jumping up out of the baking tent in search of a draft of air to cool down. Even at 2am it was still 22C with dripping humidity, that made any physical activity an exertion. Out of desperation I tidied and ordered all my stuff that had to be removed from the gear truck like every week so it can get cleaned by the sweep team. Being outside is more tolerable than in the tent. Many of us slept in the hockey arena, but in there it is the other extreme (50F) and I did not want to catch a cold. However, it was great to put my liquid-molten chocolate bar on the ice to stiffen it up so I could eat it without a mess. It was a good evening last night with lots playing air hockey or skating and hockey games on the ice. Just we had no internet...tech out of our control again....so I cycled to the public library at 2pm todayafter we came home from a great celebration service in Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska. There was an avalanche of photographs on my memory stick, as the previous public library I tried some time last week wouldn't allow posting to websites. I can't send them from camp as they are too big and I don't have software or the know-how how to shrink them. Hope to learn soon if there is a way.

The celebration service was great and the pastor spoke on examples from the Bible that show how we should respectfully treat and help the poor, as all people have dignity and society unfortunately rates people according to their income, and they get the corresponding amount of respect, which is so wrong. He recommended we leave a margin in all aspects of our lives, time, skills and funds, so we have something to draw on to help another person in need when our paths should cross. He stressed the importance of developing a good biblical attitude in ourselves and our environment about the challenges related to poverty. also stressed the importance of helping the poor develop good work ethics, not just receiving hand-outs. Attitudes can be created and changed, and the Holy Spirit is there to help us in that, also to change and renew our lives for the better. This church has a strong prison ministry, and an inmate was baptized today, after we viewed his testimony on DVD, as well as another man. The sign board in front grabbed my attention immediately upon arrival after a bus ride of an hour. It said: "Welcome to Northern Lighthouse, a place of acceptance and direction". So often we sadly tend to cause churches to become places of judgement and rejection, with much heartbreak and pain, also for Jesus! Before I reached my seat to sit down for the service, seven different people had welcomed me and shook my hand warmly...wow! We were treated to hamburgers on the lawn where we chatted happily with the church members. The other half of the cyclists went to a church in Omaha.

When I came back in the searing heat from the library, I heard that some of the cyclists that stayed behind to guard the camp went into the Lutheran church service across the street. Beautiful brand new church with 900 members, who promptly decided to open the church up for us to sleep inside in a cool airconditioned environment so we can rest well for the arduous week ahead. They treated us all afternoon with all kinds of snacks and watermelon and other fruit, and welcomed us into the hall where we could use free Wifi! All of this quickly put together on the spur of the moment after church this morning when they learned about what we are doing. God's children are so great and their hospitality can be astonishing! I see divine intervention in this, so that we can get a good rest before tackling this arduous coming week. I'm sleeping in the foyer of the church on my air matress, cool and purring like a cat about this unexpected oasis of comfort ..... the world is as it should be tonight (our small and simple world, that is!). What a life!!! I feel like liking my chops like my dear cat Spot at home, who is searching for me all day, following Kobie around the house like a shadow and jumping on his lap with every opportunity. I miss her dearly!
Any comments from my blog readers welcomed to my personal e-mail mdp@rogers.com

Sat Aug 2nd, York to Fremont 154km

2008-08-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

The wind woke me at 5 by pulling hard on my tent. I prayed in my spirit: "Lord, please let
this wind be a tailwind". It was not to be. Sometimes the Lord allows challenges into our
lives to make us stronger for the day of tomorrow, and this was it. As we rode out of camp
we immediately had to form a rotating double paceline, since a 15mph wind was blowing in our
faces. Some gusts from 45 degrees to the right were much stronger and sometimes threatened to blow us off the bikes. The flat broad spokes on wheels I'm testing for Trek don't take kindly to a crosswind and act like sails, so the bike veers over with each gust of wind and i have to be careful to hold my hands on the bars because the other riders ride so close in the paceline. Concentration and focus are key here. In times of trouble it is good not to "freak out' and get all upset or disheartened about the prospect of having to fight a numbing struggle for a hundred miles, but rather focus on team strategy and coping for the next pedal stroke.

Claire Elgersma and friends left 45 minutes before me, so I only managed to catch up with them at the first SAG. The plan was that I'd pull for them if the wind remains strong, which it did. I stayed with Claire's for the rest of the day, till 6 miles from Fremont, when I went ahead fast to
go set up the tents so long. The day was very, very hot and humid! At Walter's SAG, to our
delight, he treated us to watermelon again, one piece each.

Half of the way went east so we got battered good by the diagonal wind. The terrain was
undulating with some steep rolling hills and a rough road surface that added to the
resistance.Turning north twice occasionally gave us a breather as it was a tailwind then.
I pulled Claire and some others into the wind most of the day, and we came in at 4ish. Many
others did the same and helped out some slower riders to make their life easier today. We
are camping at the YMCA ice arena in Fremont. The guys and some girls are playing hockey on
the ice as they could rent skates and sticks. Even Markus Lise joined in the fun on the ice.
They are all enjoying the games lots. My legs are tired after 6 days of 150km/day, so I
thought it better to leave the skating to enjoy back home.

The ride went through some of the best agricultural areas in the state, and we saw lots of
soybeans and millions of acres of corn under irrigation. This part of Nebraska has more
mature trees than we saw yesterday. Tonight we had hamburgers and fresh corn on the
cob....delicious! The thought crossed my mind while riding through the corn fields that it would be nice to have corn on the cob for dinner one night....and see...it happened! The heat got to us all. 38 C plus the reflection off the pavement..plus humidity! I'm sure one can fry an egg on the road top surface! It is now late at night and still so hot and humid outside that it is hard to breathe. Today the perspiration dripped off everyone in buckets. We were all glistening in the sun, lubricated with lots of and perspiration.
I took some photos of the multiple rolling hills we climbed today, more than 2000 feet all added up. I had hoped to go to bed early tonight, as I am tired since I had several late nights this
week due to technical difficulties trying to get on the internet, combined with the more
than 500 miles we cycled in 6 days. Next week we will have two 180km days. This
means we have 3 very demanding weeks one after another. One week of climbing mountains, and two of very long distances and extreme heat. But we love being on the tour and are enjoying each others company and all the sights, sounds and places we are privileged to get to see every new wonderful exciting day!
If any reader of my blog wish to respond to me personally, my e-mail adress is mdp@rogers.com

Of comforts and heroes

2008-08-03T13:37:00.001-07:00

Alex and on a wood swing at York college, trying to go higher still, and the swing is creaking its protest. Alex is the nicest, most laid back guy and here cranes his neck like a gopher to see what Marti is doing on the ground....click!
The broad Platte river flowing through York
Ralph, shy and quiet, but a real trooper when it comes to helping others pull on the road against the wind.

Ahhh...the comforts of home rediscovered in York college's rec room..Wifi & TV. Julia has a bandage on her right elbow since she bit the dust earlier...fortunately only roasties.
Johnny, our camp cryer, the greatest guy and much loved by all. Laid back, funny without trying to be, strong as an ox on the bike and always happy to help anyone. His "Let's do something beautiful!" in resounding tenor became our inspirational call to action.
Pulling into the brutal wind is Dale Dowry ("Dale the Dart") riding slowly to help Bill & Mary Dracht and Hank Zwaanstra negotiate this challenge. We had to ride into this wind for more than 50 miles, and strong gentlemen like these showed their compassionate hero hearts by pulling faithfully when needed.
Ahhh...nothing better than a nioe coffee break to rest from that strong headwind! Claire Elgesma is waiting for me to finish the Kodak moment so I can pull the group further.
The hills beyond...biting rollers and a headwind as well as temps of 38C and humidity like I couldn't believe near Fremont. The Saturday night Aug 2nd many struggled to sleep as it felt as if the matress and one's clothes were burning the skin. It was hard to breathe as well...suffocating humidity and heat in the tents even at 12pm. Welcome to the Mid west during the hottest time of the year!

The Middle of the Tour

2008-08-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Claire Kooystra from AB on his trike recumbent. He is a very knowlegable person about geography, vegetation, animals and forestry and often shares with the whole group some interesting facts.

Mark has joined the group in Denver. He is a pastor and a very interesting person to chat with.
Early morning on the road outside York, NE

Exactly halfway into the tour (3123km) we celebrated with dear Cory at the Sag stop, with these great young folkse I happened to leave camp with and fought the strong headwind with a double rotating paceline.
Joanne, Leanne and Claire Elgersma fighting the good fight against the wind.

Nebraska

2008-08-03T13:25:00.001-07:00

Jerry Traylor, amazing inspirational speaker, who jogged across the US in 1985 - on crutches! He is a living testimony of the fantastic potential latent in every person. We need to learn to unlock that potential by thinking positively, believe in God, develop confidence in oneself and never be afraid to try and keep trying the next and next challenge. If you believe you can, you CAN!

Sunrise as we're leaving camp. Most of my photos I take(carefully!) one-handed while cycling, as it saves lots of time. I also perfected the skill to peel a banana with one hand and teeth, as well as to unwrap a cheese string with tongue and teeth, all on the move.
Crops galore!
What we see lots of every day - awesome scenery, rolling hills and the backs of our buddies!
Cattle on rolling grassy hillsides

Special times

2008-08-03T13:18:00.001-07:00

The best helmet hair-do of the day contest won by Hans Doef!
Jonathan Stoner our media guy doing the 150km on a borrowed bike in the heat!
Another flat....500 already in the whole group and the tour is halfway!
Camp life ....Bill Weibenga (time trialer) and Anne Mushomanski relaxing in the shade with an orange and a yoghurt after a hard ride, tents pitched, showered and clothes washed. Peloton meeting

Moments from our tour life

2008-08-03T13:11:00.000-07:00

My tent just right of the tree. I'm sure I will be able to pitch it blindfolded now! Many mornings when we get up it is almost dark anyway.
More playing with the camera on my own along the road....
Looking at the crops they produce in Nebraska, I'm sure it is the good life...but thr farmers work hard....good life, not lazy life! her I am with George Vanderkuur and Eritia Smit, after doing half the daily ride at 31,3km average, taking 4 km turns at pulling our little fast paceline. George is an ex bike racer and strong as a race horse on that bike. Eritia is in my small group and a very talented bike rider that can easily keep up with even the fast young guys. I wonder who did target practice on the sighboard with a gun?
The fastest recumbent .."Rick the Rocket". Rick is our bike mechanic and the nicest guy around, so helpful, efficient and always smiling. When he gets going on that ride of his, very few can keep up or catch him!
Linda, a friendly lady who, standing in from of me at the cashier, paid for my V8 juice, without me having told her anything of our tour!

Pics galore....

2008-08-03T13:05:00.001-07:00

The road through my spokes...playing around with my camera on a lonely stretch all on my own.
Silage towers in a corn field, making food for the huge feed lots full of beef cattle.
Dave Geerlings catching up to draft in the headwind. He is an accomplished 24 hour endurance rider who did the national 24 hour endurance Challenge in Grand rapids for 27 years in a row. I hope to see him there next year, which will be my 3rd attempt.
The gear truck being unloaded ...soon the tents will spring up like mushrooms. Lekker "gezellig" in the shade, a precious commodity most days, and usually quickly occupied by the early bird hard riders. We are getting too used to this life now....

More impressions from the road

2008-08-03T12:59:00.001-07:00

8' Tall corn being irrigated in Nebraska. Many days we wish to jump under those sprayers when it is so extremely hot. We are being roasted from above and below, as the black road top radiates the heat like a stove top. But the tour is an adventure of a lifetime, despite the hardships! Farm fields of many kinds...abundance of beautiful crops in Nebraska, bountiful and lush.
A few Oil wells with pumps we saw closer to Denver.
The bike path along the river in Denver....awesome 20 mile ride.
Walter's SAG again, with lots of social activity going on. Here the RV with kitchen staff joined for a while to chat and seek shade. They are great people, always smiling and ready to give a hug where encouragement is needed. We love and appreciate every one of them!

Photos of tour life...

2008-08-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

Always a welcome sight...halfway into the ride, Walter's SAG wagon with cold water and often a special treat like a small piece of watermelon or candy. Below Walter is offering Augie some candy...."Only one piece each", he'd say with his little endearing smile. Everyone loves Walter, he is there for us in the heat of the day, all day, like all of the other great SAG drivers that are there for the cyclists through thick and thin...baking in the sun for long hours till every cyclist has passed.

Kitchen staff and some willing helpers having fellowship peeling potatoes. Great bunch of people with servants hearts and awesome attitude!
The river out of Denver along which we cycled on the bike path, the day when Cynthia Aukema fell and broke her pelvis, not far from here. Below some waterfowl and geese preening their feathers in the morning sun.

August 1 - Minden to York 154km

2008-08-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

A perfect ending to a demanding day! Riding into the campus of York college in Nevada felt like entering an oasis of comfort. Huge shady trees, soft green lawns to pitch our tents on and the use of free fast Wifi and a big screen TV in an airconditioned rec room mean total comfort! It is interesting how small comforts get to be so appreciated when living outdoors for 24 hours a day...even the divine privilege of basking under a hot shower after being on the road for 8 hours, and the royal delight of sitting down on a soft couch and not like very recently on that hot "bed of nails" of a bike saddle! Here Gayle Harrison saved all our behinds.....literally! She got a pharmaceutical company to donate a whole box full of sample packets of pink ointment that heals while we sleep, as well as soothes the chafing during the day.

The camp and trucks are so nicely set between attractively styled buildings. We had a scrumptuous pasta dinner again....how we appreciate our cook team and La Vonne Koedam, their very efficient and able leader and such a dear, kind and affectionate person....loved by all!
The atmosphere around camp is happy and optimistic, despite the hurts and chafes of many miles and some that bit the dust recently. Today we passed the halfway mark....3123km....which we celebrated last night with a real treat of plenty of strawberries and ice cream. Luv'd it!!! So far we had 106 people that fell off their bikes and 500 flat tires. Only 3 very serious injuries, but lots of roasties and sprains. Manley Baarda fell right on his face and had to get 14 stitches in his lip and nose. he is enduring the immense discomfort bravely and kept riding despite his pain. His dad, Dan, a delightful friend of mine, rode with me on the 2005 tour and will do the last week with us again.

After the immense heat of yesterday, I fell into an exhausted sleep after calling my husband Kobie on Skype while the mozzies were devouring me alive. About 12pm we all got jolted awake by the ear splitting whistle of the night train which felt as it was moving right through the tents with the ground shaking. This happened again at 4:30am so I was thankful to have such a tremendous wake up call which enabled me to be off bright and early out on the road! Not before I discovered that I had forgotten my sunglasses inside my tent which was now tightly squished under a pile of luggage waiting to be loaded on the gear truck! No choice but to tediously dig it out.....patience 101!

Having had a nice tailwind yesterday, we paid for that today by being relentlessly battered by the strongest headwind we had on this tour yet....all day except the last 30km! This caused extensive struggling for especially the slower riders and the loners. Today was a prime day for strategizing around a team approach. The examples of stronger ones helping out were numerous, for example the 67 yo Ralph Fledderus that dedicatedly pulled a group of slower riders for 60 miles! Some great Dutch born cyclists were not put off by the strong wind at all, since that was how they grew up in Holland during the second world war. Precious experiences were shared with me by Gerry Loonstra of Red Deer, Alberta, a fascinating, very well read man with an astonishing general knowledge and amazing memory, but quiet and non assuming. He shared of riding heavy bikes with no gears as a boy, just standing on the pedals bulldozing one's way into the Dutch winds. That is how he developed his strength, resillience and staying power, keeping a constant and unwavering moderate pace throughout the day. He told about how he rode bikes without inflatable tires during the war, using strips of old car tires around the rims. That, he said with a twinkle in his eye, is real heavy pedalling for you! Today he was one of the heroic gentlemen that helped out others that suffered a hard struggle with the wind. Other strong guys like the unanimously beloved Johnny Pierce, our town cryer, did their best to fight the good fight on our behalf, generously and patiently pulling us the hard way for miles and miles! Johnny's signature chant-cry "Let's do something beautiful!", as quoted from our theme song, has become an inspirational call to action for the whole camp, a far carrying drawn out call that stirs instinctive energy from deep down, and ignites our passion for our cause....and gets our hearts to move our bodies out of camp on the double bright and early! No day is complete without Johnny's vocal inspiration!

I arrived in camp around 3pm, after deciding that it is of no use to fight the wind to gain any speed. I opted to ride a reasonable slower pace and had the nicest discussions with great friends about church issues and life philosophies. This made the tedious miles roll away in a most pleasant way.

We are moving through the corn belt for sure! I have never seen so much corn in my life! Fields as far as the eye can see, 8 foot tall lush green genetically engineered corn plants. Saw Ethanol production factories and all corn related industries, from breakfast cereals to corn oil. Some questions crossed my mind about the pros and cons of green fuel, and the shortages of staple grains caused by this on the world markets....affecting the most vulnerable poor populations with famines on a scale we may yet be able to imagine. On the other hand, it helps the farmers with much needed cash flow.... complicated issues for sure.

Tonight again, the cicadas are singing their best metallic hits from the trees. Amazingly, these little guys take turns from different trees to sing their love invitations to females. It has a stereo effect...first the one tree's choir, then a tree from the opposite side, and maybe another tree as well after. They live for up to 7 years under ground, and then come above ground into a tree for a month to morph and find a mate before they pass on to insect heaven! It is a mild 20 C outside, and the camp is resting deep, evident by the sawing sounds emerging from some tents.... No one minds as we are all too tired to be bothered by it in comparison to that steam whistle last night! Life in camp can be wonderfully simplistic...evidenced by the fact that I never needed to comb my very short hair for 5 weeks now. I just run my fingers through it upon waking up, and the wind styles it through the slits in my helmet during the day in the most creative ways ...! My scalp even gets sunburnt through those helmet openings!

We are establishing great friendships. as we are struggling and laughing and crying together with each others' triumphs and hurts. Instinctive cameraderie is developing... a feeling that these are all a bunch of just great people! Affectionate high fives after great rides happen all the time, with big smiles and a great sense of buddy-hood!
In many ways we are becoming playmates of the wind and the sun and the motion.....and an intensified experience of being children of our awesome Creator, Whose omnipotent presence we sense in every impression, discussion and breath inhaled along this incredible journey! Biking alone at times provides an amazing time to chat with Jesus.....

July 31st - McCook to Minden 154km

2008-07-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

It was still almost dark when we woke up at 5am, as we had moved into a new time zone yesterday. Not cold at all, since we had 105F yesterday afternoon. Because of my long struggle to get onto the internet last night, and lack of typing speed, bed time for me was only at 1am, and we had to be up at 5am! Woke up with a big headache and neck spasm, thinking of the 154km that lay ahead in the heat. Dwelling on aches won't do any good, so I got up as best I could, deciding that this is going to be a great day and that hurts are not going to change that. Dear friend Gayle fed me some pain tabs during our morning routines and off we went, mind over matter. Upon leaving I took a photo of the rising sun through some tree branches, and rejoiced in this beautiful day that God has given us to enjoy. The birds and crickets were chirping happily around me. The area towards Minden is intensively farmed, and green pastures and fields rich with produce of many kinds were gliding by my bike in the early hours. Sometimes it is a blessing to ride alone, as one has time to think and get perspective and a balanced calm outlook on all the busyness that happen all around one on a tour like this. The information fed to one's brain through constantly changing places and landscapes can easily become overwhelming. There has not been any day on this tour that I did not look forward to getting on my bike, even if I did not feel all that good. The first challenge in the morning is just to get to sit on the saddle, as it sometimes feels like sitting on barbed wire depending on the current grade of tenderness of ones foundation. Then to spin the stiff muscles easy at first and warm them up into submission, which takes the best part of 10 km to happen. If the first climb of the day happens to fall within that distance, just tough it out and suck it up!
The morning was pristine, just perfect and still cool. Sweet smelling air.... I settled into a sustainable 25 to 30km/h. The road had a wide shoulder, but it was full of cracks and wide openings that threatened to hammer one's spine into the base of the brain....te-dum..te-dum...te-dum! Road bikes don't have suspension! The road surface was smoother, so the lure to ride there is very strong, to the annoyance of passing traffic, especially trucks. The deep rumble strip lies in between, and one has to jump-cross that obstacle with the bike to escape into safety from an oncoming truck. If you don't, you get angrily honked at!
Gradually my head felt better. The sights and sounds of the morning drifted to my senses....cocks crowing and familiar cattle sounds from farm steads, some dogs barking.... the wholesome "farm-fresh air" that is hard to appreciate for the city slickers amongst us. Also the dozens of passing ...uh...less fragrant cattle trucks. Barb Mellema's group got splashed with something questionably wet from one such truck yesterday, she said. Good thing it got all of them, like eating garlic, it would only be noticable to the odd one out that didn't get it...(I guess)!

At the first SAG I met up with Jim Holwerda, a real kind and understanding person to ride with. So the day turned out great after all. There were a couple of big rollers soon after the start, then a long flat section, and all of the second 50km consisted of big rolling hills. Soon the sun bit into our skin, especially when going slower uphill. At Walter's SAG we each got treated with a piece of watermelon, and I took a 5 minute powernap on Walter's doormat since I started to fall asleep on my bike, with Jim patiently waiting. The last 40km was a real blast since finally we got a good tail wind, and Jim and I moved briskly at around 35km/h to be in camp at 2. We beat the gear truck! What a joy to be riding through beautiful agricultural landscapes, tall corn yellow in seed, green pastures with cattle, and lovely rivers and streams to complete the picture. At one point I saw a small herd standing belly deep in the river. I will never grow tired of experiencing the world around me close up from a bike.....those little sights and sounds that get engraved in ones mind.....the things great memories are made of! Long live the tour!!!

30th July - 150km - Wray to McCook

2008-07-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

A wonderful ride today, though long and hard and HOT!(105F in McCook!) We all got up very early before 5am to get as much as possible of the 150km behind us before the heat and headwinds get at us. I was fortunate to meet up with George Vanderkuur and Eritia Smit on the road, and we promptly formed a flying paceline, where the 3 of us took 4km turns to pull. This made the miles melt away and around halfway we had an average of 31.3 km/h. Enjoyed coffee with the earlybirds (Barb Mellema, John vd Steen and others)and had some delightful laughs. We crossed the time line and a state line today, and went within 2 miles of the Kansas border, so some cyclists did the detour to get a photo at that border sign. For the last part of the ride I chatted for a while with many of the cyclists that I passed, as I am enjoying the social part of the tour lots and find the human interest side fascinating. Our much loved media man Jonathan Stoner, wished to experience for a day what we cyclists are living every day. I admire him for being so brave, to attempt a 150km day in 105F temperatures and heatwinds without any preparation! But he persevered so bravely and DID IT! Jonathan, we are all proud of you! May you not hurt too much tomorrow in places that you did not know you had!

The landscapes were rural agricultural, but greener than yesterday. Lots of grasshoppers about and their sad little demolished bodies were all over the road. Saw some oil pumps on farms, and lots of silos for silage. Corn fields for miles and miles!
We hail our fabulous kitchen staff for preparing a scrumptuous dinner for us in the intolerable heat inside the kitchen trailer today! YOU are our hero's...Thank you all!!

Tonight we had a fantastic visitor, an inspirational speaker, Gerry Traylor, who was born with cerebral palsy. Despite his immense challenges he did some unbelievable things, like running marathons and crossing the whole continent in 7 and a half months, doing 18 miles per day on crutches!!! (In 1985). He speaks to lots of VIP's and is a celebrated motivational speaker. He was born in this town of McCook, Nevada, but lives elsewhere now. I'm reading his autobiography. He is a living testimony of the power of God in one's life, and how much a person can achieve with a positive "I can" outlook on life.....If you believe you can...you CAN! "If you believe that you are going to or that you are going to lose....you will be right!" The mind, spirit and attitude of any person are immensely powerful. Just think of Canada's Terry Fox.... and the heritage he left behind! One's mind's eye and view of life can make life heaven or hell...a delight or a depressing misery ....happy and loving life or critical, sarcastic, negative and always cutting each other down with the tongue. The choice is ours!

If one starts the day choosing to be optimistic, cheerful and with faith in God, the day will be good, despite huge challenges one may face. A friend I respect immensely always says: "How you start off, is how you'll end up".... so true in all aspects of life! On this tour, as I see around me some people that defy the odds every day...doing the almost impossible, making the utmost of what limited giftedness they may have as athletes, or physical challenges due to health or age, finishing each brutal testing day with a blind faith, tenacious determination and "never give up" - courage. Day after day they face hardbreaking suffering due to their challenges and limitations....it sometimes bring tears to my eyes. It is a very humbling experience for me to see the brave and dogged determination of some, enduring on the road what I don't need to and can avoid or escape because I may be younger or faster or riding an easier bike....so I can be in camp earlier. Honestly, if I were in their shoes, really doubt if I would have in me what it takes to do what they are doing day after day. With every passing day my respect grows for those ones that have it so hard, but make each long, searing day pass with a resolve and passion for the cause of the destitute, one grinding pedalstroke after the other.....till it is done! I salute those of you! Experiencing you at times leaves me without words, but with a growing admiration for the potential God placed in each person....waiting to be unlocked....by choosing life!

Tuesdat July 29th -Wray to McCook

2008-07-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

Somehow I managed to lose yesterdays blog....our intermittent internet signal remains a challenge at times, but we are thankful to have it and also for our great media staff that do their best.. Couldn't log on last night, thought I stored my blog after 12pm, very tired, and can't seem to retrieve it now, sorry. Monday was a good fast day and I rode with Dale Mowry at an average of about 28km/h. We started with a very long stretch on a bike path hugging the river. Later an even longer stretch on the interstate. We did good time as we worked as a team, taking short turns at pulling against the strong headwind.
The landscape was mostly sage brush. At one time I could not see any sign of civilization anywhere all around, except a couple of deserted windmill waterpumps. It was so hot that even the sky seemed to lose its deep blue...seemed as washed out as we felt being pelted by the stinging rays, sweating buckets. It felt to me that I'm cycling in a huge blue dome, the rim horizon dotted with scattered woolly cotton ball clouds. Higher up there were some broad white paintstrokes, almost carelessly applied, looking down on this grey sea of sage brush and sparse grass quivering in the heat. It crossed my mind that size is a matter of perspective...like a russian matruska doll within a doll witin a doll... If I should cup my hand over a few square inches of soil, it would cover a universe of millions of micro-organisms. This huge blue sky dome covers this seemingly lifeless landscape, which actually teems with millions of small animals, and humans... elsewhere. Gods hand covers the globe, the planets and the universe of galaxiesthat He had created in intricate detail. Our awesome God...indeed!

Last night at around dinner time we had a windstorm again. Despite that I cleaned some bike chains and bikes in a protected corner.Wonderful that my tent stayed up, but I got new stakes at Walmart, big enough to anchor an air balloon!
The custodian at the school in Ft Morgan is a Christian, and very much in favor of what we are doing. So he allowed us to set up dinner in the foyer. He makes little crosses of nails wound with copper wire, and gave 20 to our support staff. During the night a helicopter landed at the hospital across the road, where the road, where the injured Cynthia Aukema was, and took off an hour later right over our camp, louder than the trains nearby.

This morning dawned crisply, and people were eager to be off to try and make use of the cool time of grace before the forecasted headwind comes up. I rode with Bill Wybenga for half the ride before I gave it up on the last climb of the day. Bill is a rocket.....like an over-powered tractor trailer without the trailer, as he is riding a single bike now, as Rita is. Their tandem is resting....and got swopped for single bikes in Denver. Bill did the whole 140 km at an average of 33km/h into the wind. I rode half of it with him real fast, but then decided I had my speed fix for the day, and wanted to take some pictures and stop once in a while. The road was like yesterdays a bit monotonous compared to the mountainscapes. Here it is not flat, but low rolling hills. The headwind once again punished everyone. There were many cattle ranches, and the largest feedlot I've evr seen - Yuma feedlot, with more than a mile road frontage with cattle paddocks, and as far as the eye can see going inland. Several hundred thousand head of cattle, the rumour says. Towards Wray there were lots of irrigation again. Many corn farmers also have huge silage silos where they make food for the cattle in the feedlots. Towards the end of the ride the wind got really strong and I was glad to get into camp. I was back early and got a nice shady spot for my tent, and set up 3 other tents for people that are coming in late.

People are being kind to us because they identify with the reason why we are biking. Yesterday a restaurant gave about 40 of us free lunch and today free watermelon from a guy selling them on the street. The campsite is lovely, but the showers are 8 blocks away and cold, at the local swiming pool. We could swim for free, and was that ever good! Tonight we are having a pool party from 7 to 9. It is hot here, and will be for the rest of the week. Tomorrow we are going to McCook, 150km and a forecasted temp of 40C....WOW!!! The tour reaches its halfway mark timewise tomorrow, and distance wise Thursday. Tomorrow we are entering a new state Nebraska, as well as a new time zone. Time really flies, as happens when people enjoy what they are doing. The tour is in full swing, pushing ahead to the east! We miss all our loved ones at dearly and covet your prayers for our safety, as we had two serious accidents in two days, causing the injured to leave the tour. Our prayers are with Tyler (collarbone) and Cynthia(pelvis)!

Sunday in Denver

2008-07-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

Happy day, and we were spoiled and treated! Breakfast looked so colourful with all the cyclists in their yellow cycling jerseys getting ready to ride in a prosession together to the rally site, two miles away. It is always a delight to do this, and it gives us a real sense of belonging and achievement, all glory to our Lord who has His hand over this whole amazing tour. At the celebration rally there were many tents of ministries. I found the "Kalahari candles" from Namibia and the Beadwork from Kenya very interesting. The beads are made from rolled up magazines that are glued, varnished and nicely painted. I bought earrings that look like little bicycles, all made of recyclable wire and beads. These are all outcomes of projects run in the third world to get impoverished people to break the vicious and confining cycle of deprivation, and to give them a sense of self esteem and "I can". all cyclists got to ride in a procession around the stadium before we took our places on the bleachers. The band played our theme song "Something beautiful" as we lifted our hearts in worship to the Lord. The music was uplifting. A beautiful program followed, and Gerry Dykstra delivered a good message. The sun baked, and cold water bottles were handed out. Everyone was treated to a nice light lunch of Sloppy Joes and watermelon, chips and cookies. We cycled back and some were bussed into downtown Denver for sightseeing. I enjoyed that much to savour the flavourof the heart of the city, and we came back on the transit system after a couple of hours. Tonight we were again surprized by the wonderful church community here in Denver, with a great dinner of spuds, pork and chicken. Wonderful, enthusiastic, generous and hospitable people here in Denver! The 15 new cyclists were welcomed at peloton and we are looking forward to getting toknow them. This coming week has 6 days of near 100 mile rides, though fairly flat and definately no passes! It is a hard start for the newcomers, as it is going to be hot and long days this week.
I thank you all for your support, prayers and the mail I received here in Denver. It made my day to be loved in such a way! Since I slept on the stage in the gym, I need not break up camp tomorrow and hope to get away early. yes we climbed around 32,ooo vertical feet from Saturday to Saturday, and Mt Everest is only 29,000 feet high! O yes, and I learned that the Oreo cows are Lakenvelders or Dutch banded Guernseys.

The computer lab at Denver Christian School

2008-07-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

Celebration Rally in Denver

2008-07-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Corinne Schmienk and Bill Marble( right behind her) in the front of our procession at the Denver rally
Claire Elgersma ready to roll around the track at the Celebration in Denver.
People beginning to fill the bleachers at the rally
Gerry Dykstra delivered a beautiful message. Next to him is our tour chaplain, Len Riemersma, who is cycling Sea to Sea. Gerry and his wife Linda will be joining us in GR.
Below is a scene on 16th avenue in downtown Denver, which has been closed off for traffic, decorated with lovely trees with lights, and lots of colourful flowers. Interesting shops and cafe's. We went exploring there on Sunday afternoon, and returned with the "Light rail"

2008-07-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

Amazing Rockies!

2008-07-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

At the top of Berthoud's pass....11,300 feet, with a stunning view over the range of mountains and deep valleys below.
Looking up, I saw the towering magnificent rocky peaks, and looking down the rushing river and rapids.....

The warmest welcome imaginable at Denver Christian School....happy colours, a festive mood, upbeat music, an announcer welcoming the cyclists, care packages and cool treats!
Most of us got mail here as well....delightful....it made us feel very special and loved....THANK YOU to everyone at home who remembered us on the long, tough road! we love you!!!!

The deep tree covered valley as seen from the top of Berthoud's pass. The red hue is due to the millions of dying trees. Fortunately a use has been found for the wood of those trees. The beetles stain the wood blueish on the inside, and it is becoming quite popular for furniture. No cure has yet been found to stop the beetle infestation.

Berthoud's pass - Rockies towards Denver

2008-07-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

Art at the SAG stop withwater before the real climb started which is visible in upper left corner
Always a welcome sight that make us whoop and wave....our home away from home, the gear truck honking its encouragement for us up the mountain pass!
Jim Holwerda, riding up the mountain steadily. A great cycling companion and a very positive person, who was bound to a wheel chair with MS and recovered enough that he can do this challenging tour!
Markus Lise, Brother of Henry Lise of Newmarket,ON halfway up Berthoud's pass. He has a vivid interest in birds and wildflowers, of which there were many along this road.

George Vanderkuur, a ,knowledgable and strong cyclist. I rode into Huntington with him one day doing 54km/h on level road.

2008-07-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

The young guys who did the 225km route over the highest paved road in N-America
Early morning road
Huge bronze Moose
The suffering of man & horse that made our way of life possible today expressed in bronze
Bucking bronco in bronze

2008-07-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

A nice stop at Walter's SAG at a bird refuge observation area near Granby, CO. Our well loved camp sergeant -major Billy with his Harley is joining in the fun.
Those mountains still need to be crossed....
The impossible animal that the cowboy antler seller -animal stuffer put together,
called a Flying Jack-a-lope!
Antler chandelier
The high altidudes caused my head to feel dizzy....and legs with little juice for the climbs.

Impressions along the road

2008-07-27T11:39:00.000-07:00

Audrey, our guest rider from Quebec city, switched bikes with Nick,who is having a challenge driving her 80 pound machine. Secret is to go faster to get enough momentum so steering is easier with the huge pannierbags. She scales mountain passes on this! Sharing in the fun is our own brave Gayle,in the middle.
Awesome rockfaces on the way to Snow Mountain ranch.
Sulphur deposits on th erock at the hot springs
More great landscapes and rocks...

Snow mountain ranch YMCA to Denver Christian school - 140km, not 129.

2008-07-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

The best day of the tour for me as far as the beauty of nature is concerned! Up at 5:30, I went through the morning routine asap and left at 7:30am. The visit to the 5000 acre YMCA facility was great - and my air matress did survive the rough camping ground! We had pancakes and bacon for breakfast - very popular with the cyclists. The area towards Winter Park, a ski town, is very scenic with colossal mountains on the other side of town. There are numerous ski resorts all around, also famous ones like Aspen.
In the town there was a carnival atmosphere, as it is Saturday and art and craft fairs were taking place. There are exceptional bronze works of art in town, a double life size moose bull by R B Tate, and two depicting the pioneers on their horses (by Remington). One depicts a pioneer cowboy breaking a young bucking colt, and the other one really touched my heart, as it shows a pioneer going down a very steep mountainside on his horse, with the animals' nose almost touching his hooves and ears hanging because of the stress and exhaustion. It reminded me of the extreme sacrifices of man and horse for many years, to make it possible for us to enjoy this easy and safe life style today, and smooth highways to drive on.
Right after Winter Park we started climbing slowly at an easy grade. I happened to come across Jim Holwerda and we chatted about life issues while climbing the initial approach to the real pass. It was so interesting to hear about his ministry among substance abusers and mental health, that the miles flew by. We noted that many cyclists are starting to share about emotional issues or struggles they face personally, as the trust grows in the group. Last night when we said goodbye to those who are leaving us, there were many emotions shared, as Pastor Len gave each one a turn to greet the group and then someone else could say some good things about that person. It is amazing how closely knit the friendships in this big family of ours grew in only 4 weeks....maybe because we struggle, sweat, laugh and eat together so much.
At the first switchback Cory waited with water and the portajohn. Dear Cory is very meticilous about his job, He stood next to the road to welcome us all with a cheer and always a smile.
The climb started with a sharp kick up at maybe 7%, for a mile, then switched back again. Ascending vehicles roared by, especially the heavy ones. Soon our very own gear truck came around the switchback, honking happily at us, and I got a nice picture of our "home away from home"! The road went on switching back like this for many miles, and I stopped at scenic areas to admire the pristine mountain views! Near the top at 11,300 feet was a place with a breathtaking view of the whole mountain range. Kodak moments followed. I rode with Jim Holwerda and later with Markus Lise as well for a while. Took nice pictures of them, as I do for many others as not many cyclists can do photos in motion while riding. (Balance/coordination/craziness issue). The grade of the pass was not as difficult as Wednesdays'. The traffic was very intense and their emissions and the lack of oxygen above 9,000 feet were the biggest challenges, as it weakened many of us. I could only climb at a slow steady pace, to avoid blowing up and panting too hard. The mountains really fascinate me....I can't stop admiring them. The views are stunning, to say the least! Still lots of snow on the summits. It saddened me to see the devastation that the beetles are doing to the trees. Whole mountainsides look reddish-brown because of millions of dead trees. apparently it is because of global warming that these beetles don't die off in winter any more, so they attack the trees in vastly overwhelming hordes, totally out of control. The dead trees don't sponge up water, which runs down in greater quantities causing erosion and floods below. What have we humans done to this fabulous and generous earth that God has given us to live on?
At the top of the long, long pass some C2C friends were waiting with water melon and jelly beans. Awesome! The views were absolutely breathtaking!!! The downhill on the other side went really fast, but I had to feather the brakes continuously as the sharp switchbacks, cross winds and heavy traffic made it dangerous. Did reach 74km/h at some spots. We descended into a beautiful canyon leading down to Denver. We shared it with a fabulous river with rapids and trout, and the highway. This pass was just a delight for me to ride! The sheer beauty that God created all around gripped me deep in the heart, and the wind dried some tears of exuberance and thankfulness from my cheeks as my bike flew down unaided. What a delightful, willing, smooth and fast little thing it is...such a joy and blessing to ride! A few times on the down I stopped to photograph the towering majestic mountainsides above and the rushing rapids below.Along this narrow canyon there were many small towns that were very touristy, alive with people. By this time I rode with Dale Dowry, a fast strong guy. It was fun seeing the many picturesque small towns squeezed into the canyon. The river gets used for commercial white water rafting. After a Pepsi in a village, halfway, we continued. Some local church members had freezies for us where the road twists around sharp bends in a narrow "gulch" I think it was called. Dale and I had great fun whipping around those bends at 50 to 60km/h, and many times we went faster than the cars or motorbikes could, so by the time we saw the C2C welcome posters and freezies we could not stop in time and just waived and shouted our thanks.
Some of the way we rode on a bike path. Our fun had to be tempered with two more long uphill grinds in the heat of the day, but we survived. Many groups of motor bikes, vintage cars, 50cc mopeds and lots of cyclists passed us from the front. Everyone is having a great summer!

We arrived at the school at 4:30ish and were overwhelmed by the warm welcome. Upbeat music was playing and a MC welcomed us to a table of cold drinks and cookies. We've never been welcomed like this before! The Christian school is so kind to let us use their nice facilities, and internet in the lab. We could sign up for a free haircut, which I did, and also a sight seeing tour tomorrow. About 2 dozen of us are billited out to hospitable homes. Tonight we had an ice cream social....mmmm!
Our sweep team had to clean out the gear truck - everything to be removed and the shelves and floor washed (hosed) off and dried. Big job, as we were only 4 as some went with the young jocks on a different route for the day in which they climbed the highest paved road in North America, and did 225km, up to 14 210 feet of elevation. They were freezing when they went above the tree line. One girl , Eritia, went with the group of 8 guys. Brave girl!
One great young guy, Tyler Buitenwerf, fell off his bike today and broke his shoulder in 2 places. He is OK but to his utter disappointment won't be able to continue the tour. This accident happened in a paceline when the front runners braked suddenly without warning and wheels touched. We thank the Lord that Tyler's injuries were not worse.
Just heard that the sprinklers on the field went off and some tents got it! See....NEVER trust a sprinkler head....looks dead, but they are silently conspiring underground to catch us unawares!

Friday, 25th - Kremmling to Snow Mountain YMCA -53km

2008-07-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

What a great day this was! Slept in till 7, left at 9, and feel much better after a good night's sleep, though I'm still a bit light headed due to the altitude. It is really cold at night here in the mountains at 8,750 feet. The sleeping bag I brought is still from Africa and not up to even 5C, but it is very compact, which is its main advantage. So I'm sleeping wearing all the warm stuff I brought in layers!

Today's route was a short, very scenic road winding along the Colorado river. Saw many flyfishermen. Going through the Byers canyon, on the left there were the most magnificent rock faces! I got so enchanted by the raw rugged beauty of the rock faces that I drove off the road, fortunately not crashing. I surely have a thing for magnificent mountains! Colourful Colorado is .....for sure!! Many people call Colorado "God's country", because one can so clearly see His handiwork in these majestic mountains and landscapes that would inspire any painter to greatest heights! The landscapes are incredibly beautiful, wide, free and open, with mountain ranges in different hues of blue, with huge white bellowing cumulus clouds contrasting against the deep blue sky...funny that I never noticed that in the dusty semi desert conditions. There the sunsets were very stricking. Maybe the lush green accentuates the other colours sharper.

Just after the canyon we stopped at the hot springs, just to look, (though some of us did swim at the special rate of $11) and a candy store where they sell candy looking exactly like smoothed river pebbles. The next town was Granby, where the rodeo cowboys were practicing for a roping and cutting contest tomorrow.This part of the world focuses much on "cowboying" and rodeos, and along the roads we see herds of beautiful horses. One gruffy no nonsense cowboy sells antlers, in all shapes and forms and applications (chandeliers) as well as stuffed animal heads at the entrance to Granby. He put together the most funny looking animal: A rabbit with antlers, and the wings and tail of a pheasant! (Photo coming).

The YMCA ranch we are staying at is really beautiful! It is high on a mountain and the views all
are breathtaking! Distant mountain ranges and forests aplenty. So sad that millions of fir trees are brown and dying because of an overwhelming beetle infestation. The green foliage looks red-brown due to the dying trees. I wonder how these landscapes will look without these fabulous trees?
We have a whole pavillion to use, and we could use the lovely swimming pool for free. There is also large laundromat which we used gladly. There is a huge rustic looking cafeteria with wireless internet and a big flatscreen TV where I got to watch the only stage (19) summary of the whole Tour de France! This year is the first in many years that I could not follow the TDF, but that's with me- we have our own exciting tour on the go, and awesomely so! Our managing and support team are top notch people, very capable and well respected and appreciated by all the cyclists. We feel very blessed by the way it is all coming together!

Our tents are pitched where a forest was taken down so we will have to find a symbiotic relationship with all the humps and logs under the tent floor. I hope my air matress survives the test!
This day was unhurried, relaxed and laid back, lots of laughs and playfulness....no pacelines and scurrying around, no apprehention of huge climbs....a real nice recovery day. I can't believe we've been on the tour almost a month. Time just flew by, since we were so active and busy all the time. Sometimes it feels almost unreal to be on the tour... and that we are actually cycling through the Rockies, in such great weather surrounded by this awesomeness of God's creation. Tomorrow the reality will surely hit home again when we have to scale that Berthoud's mountain pass up to 11,500 feet...... 3,000 feet in about 18 miles!

Everyone is in a happy mood tonight. We had a scrumtuous dinner again. Some parents and spouses came to visit. A few couples on the tour rented rooms in the lodge just for the feel of luxury, but the rest of us are happy to camp.

A lovely nineteen year old girl from Quebec City, Audrey, joined us yesterday for a couple
of days. She is touring the States all on her own, unsupported, with huge panniers on her bike. Her outfit weighs 80pounds! Concerned about her safety, I asked if she had some close calls. She said she keeps a spray can of mace to fend off bears and guys! Wow! (she had on occasion needed to sleep in her tent at the side of the road..... ???!!!)

Tonight at peloton meeting we had communion, and Dave de Ridder blessed us with a beautiful message) and said in a very speacial way to the 15 that are leaving us in Denver.

July 24th Craig to Kremmling -153km

2008-07-25T21:59:00.000-07:00

Spectacular scenery met us along the way today. Upon leaving the school in Craig, the world started to look different than in the weeks before. No more semi desert! As we travelled along US 30, the hills were covered with grass interspersed with shrubs. The valleys and flatlands were boasting thick lush 3' tall grass. We passed many cattle and horse ranches, with interesting names.
The road winded along the lovely river, thus fairly flat, but the wind let us have it. From the outset we encountered this fresh headwind, which made the first 70km very strenuous indeed, especially for those that do not ride with someone else. It feels like going uphill all the time, as the wind keeps a steady and energy sapping resistance. After about 25km alone, I teamed up with three youngsters and we formed a paceline at a steady 28km/h - the best we could do in these conditions. Since last night I started feeling dizzy, and this morning as well.Some others have the same problem. One theory is that we may be feeling the effects of altitude, since we are sleeping at an altitude of 7400 feet, and have climbed up to 9500 feet three times in a week,while crossing the mountain passes. I decided to sleep an hour later in the hope that I may feel better, and left again at 8am. This time I had to fight the wind on my own since I did not encounter a suitable riding group to join. At 70km we entered the ski town of Steamboat Springs - a delightful and interesting tourist town. Impressive mountains loom tall over the town, with the green grasssy skislopes tantilizingly etched against the darker trees. I'd really love one day to try and ski on a real mountain, since in Ontario we ski on high hills, as those are the best we have. I learned to ski 5 years ago when we came to Canada, and find it delightful.

After a visit to a coffee shop, the next challenge was "Rabbit ears pass" - kicking up at a slope of about 5 % and sometimes more. We kept climbing since leaving the ski town, and it could have been 12 miles or so. I had little energy to climb and struggled without a granny gear, since the lack of enough oxygen and some dizziness presented some challenges. The views were magnificent! At the first "false" summit Julie's SAG waited with water. I was so thirsty! Today was cooler than yesterday, what a blessing! At the real summit a family member of one of us waited with freezies! To our left were the two rock towers, resembling rabbit's ears. On the downhill there were dangerous crosswinds and lots of traffic, so I did not dare go too fast. Long Sections of the road had no shoulder, so it was risky in the heavy traffic, especially the hugetrucks that can easily blow a cyclist off the road. The Lord protected us all once again! It was a long long 153km for me today, and I am very tired and still somewhat dizzy. The ride was great as I just loved the fabulous landscapes...wide, open and green.No wonder people talk about "colourful Colorado"! The mountains are also green, with brown rock faces in interesting shapes. The intense blue sky was filled with huge white clouds, and the sharp colour contrasts made for magnificent scenes! One fabulous mountain not too far beyond Kremmling has many snowbanks on, still at the end of July!

I had barely put up my tent and Gayle's when we had some rain just around dinner time. Tonight it is going to be ony 6 degrees C up here, so some of us may sleep cold. I'll just layer with what I have. Tomorrow we have a short 53km ride, but all uphill. My legs are pleading for mercy, as the cumulative effect of all the climbing since last Saturday and the relentless heat and very long distances really wore them out, as did some hard riding...but I loved that immensely.
WE ARE SAYING GOODBYE TO 15 CYCLISTS IN DENVER ON THE WEEKEND: WE WILL MISS YOU ALL!

A good moment for Marti.......

2008-07-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Experiencing a sense of achievement and relief on top of Rabbit's ears pass, with a thankful heart to our Lord for the privilege to be part of this awesome experience of C2C08!

Colorado landscapes

2008-07-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

Colourful indeed!
Rock swallows nesting in this interesting rock face
Mountains, rivers and blue skies.....and lush green

is the Rabbit's Ears mountain, with 2 protruding rocks on top, after which the grueling pass was named.

2008-07-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

A cheering family member of one of us greeting Johnny at the top of Rabbit's ears pass with a high five and a freezie!
Jim doggedly churning the pedals up this seemingly endless pass.
Beautiful Colorado en route to Kremmling!
A 15' high bronze statue of an Elk at the Elk river in the ski village of Steamboat Springs, CO

A nice reflection in a farm pond, Steamboat Springs

Wide open spaces....

2008-07-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

The rolling hills en route to Craig....some were 7% grade and nearly 2 miles long!

Lynn Veros doing her best....
Mountains and colourful hardy schrubs

The chimney stone en route to Kremmling

2008-07-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

Up the 8% grade we did on Monday, nice forests
At the top, Jess Fox relaxed on a stone with a drink among the flowers
In camp, so "gezellig" having dinner together after a hard day's riding
The road stretches on and on.....

Fred and Andy en route ....

Oreo cows and rainbows, not storms

2008-07-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

"Oreo" cows near Salt Lake City - I wondered what kind of breed this is, as I never saw them in Africa. Thanks to Bert Witvoet (Ed's father) who let me know that these are "Lakenvelders", because it looks as if a white sheet (laken) is draped around their bellies.
The rainbow that the Lord sent in stead of the angry looking purple clouds (storm & winds that flattened some tents) that we expected, so we could have a picnic FEAST and a lovely service at Jordanelle, Salt Lake City
John Van der Steen and his Sister Rita, who organized the nice celebration at Jordanelle, with family members..... it looks as if they have a "halo" over their heads!
Our tents in the uncut natural field at Jordanelle.

Juliee's SAG after a 12% climb - short but biting the quads

July 23rd Dechagne to Craig, 140km

2008-07-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

A week of lots of climbing and very long, hot days are taking its toll. Very tired, I overslept for an hour, not hearing all the noise and commotions around me of people breaking up camp! Still got everything done real quick but left at 8am. Hopped onto a fast moving paceline of other late but fast cyclists like the Stehouwer father Larry and sons Mark and Eric, and tried to do my part to help keep the line flying. The very dry, rocky desertlike landscapes around Dechagne soon changed into open range sage brush and other tough schrubs, and later more grassy hillsides, and herds of cattle. After about 50km of steady 1 to 2% climbing, we encountered some huge roller coaster hills...I mean huge! Some grades were up to 7% and up to 2 miles long! At the 3rd one of these I could no longer climb with the guys and dropped off to do them at my own pace.

The first part of the day we had merciful cloud cover, but a head wind. By 11am I was halfway and the sun came out and started stinging. Walter's SAG at the highest point of climbing was a welcome sight. We each got a string of candy, and happily went on our way flying down the descent towards Craig. The landscapes are really much more colorful like the Colorado signboard said, the one where I carried my bike high for all the years it has carried me so faithfully. The miles flew by, as I rode with the tandem, Bill and Rita Wybenga, a delightful couple that really can make that machine go, the more when the wind changed to catch us from the side and rear. We were in Craig at 2pm - the 140km in 6 hours including water stops. This town is bigger with a Walmart and all the franchizes. Feels nice to be back in "civilization" after many miles of just nothing. Upon leaving Descagne there was a sign to say that there are no gas stations for the next 57 miles! I did enjoy the lovely landscapes and cloudscapes very much, though when drafting it is not wise to look around too much, as one's wheel is only 12 inches away from the rear wheel in front of you, and sure disaster if not paying attention!

All in all this was a wonderfully happy day: the wind in my face, tugging at my hair through the slits in my helmet to create the most interesting hairstyles when I take the helmet off....and the freedom of singing wheels, the speed, energy and zest for life surging through my veins with every heart beat and the pure joy of being part of such a magnificent operation......"to do something beautiful" for those who need it most! The love and prayers of our dear ones at home mean more to us than any words can express. Thank you so much! God is good!

A flashback of Salt Lake City....

2008-07-23T15:29:00.001-07:00

The famous Latter Day Saints Temple (Mormons), reflected in the mirror smooth pond.
The eagle symbolically hovering with protective wings over the street leading up to the Temple and the government buildings, looking down with an allseeing eye. Amazingly, we had God's symbolic rainbow covering our campsite the next day, after a windstorm and an angry looking sky passed us by so we could have a wonderful celebration service. We are very aware of the Lord's protective hand over us all...with so many wonderful people praying for us!!! We all thank Him and you!