Week Nine

Jersey City and New York Harbor, New Jersey - August 31

The start of this week saw us scale the Queenston Bluffs and on to Niagara Falls. In conversation with American cyclist many had not hear much of the war of 1812 and the defeat of the American invading force by General Brock and the Canadian Forces. They were truly Canadian as they not only included the British regulars but also regiments of the settlers, United Empire Loyalists and even a black regiment. It is strange how history is told in ones country to reflect what we want to hear about our past. Our ride up the escarpment was by a cycle path and up to the Queenston Heights. We collected before the Rainbow Bridge and crossed the falls on mass. The American customs just waved us through as we had all been cleared previously. My easiest crossing of the boarder ever!

Niagara Falls form American Side.

The American Falls and perspective on the Canadian Falls was quite different than on the Canadian side and we stopped to take it all in. Then we cycled through Niagara Falls, New York and on into New York State. The terrain was fairly flat with but as we got to the Finger Lakes the rolling countryside arrived. The group I was riding with did and extra 10 km. on the Monday as we took a right fork where we should have taken a left. We were not the only ones as it was confusing. But we did find a great ice cream stop as a reward and even though the weather is cooler it was great.

Cycling along Martin Creek, Hwy 11, Hop Bottom, Penn.

The Finger Lakes are a beautiful area of New York State but with steep climbs, especially the rise out of Ithaca. This was good practice for the Appalachians that we had to face on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The country is beautiful and I especially enjoyed the ride along Martin’s creek on the Lackawanna Trail; hardwood forest all around, a gentle downhill ride for more than 20 km, interesting old towns like Hop Bottom, and amazing rail bridges spanning the valley floor.

Lackawanna Rail Bridge, Nicholson, Pennsylvaina

Mirror Lake, Blue Mountains, Pennsylvania

The Appalachian Mountain, Second last day of ride.

We were again treated to great support by the CRC community where we found it. Lunch stops and a great supper in Sussex were excellent. We made it through the Appalachian Mountain to New Jersey State and finally into Jersey City.

Echo Lake Road, New Jersey, Last Day - Fall colours.

The last 10 km were escorted by police and into Liberty State Park, past the Statue of Liberty and on to a pebble beach to dip our tires into Atlantic Ocean tidal water. It was great to be there, said a prayer of thanks, lots of congratulations and goodbyes and almost a stunned realization that it was over. The evening of supper and a celebration final service and it is all over. A short sleep in the East Christian Middle School , a day travelling back with Joe and Margret DeWeert and Dirk Van Wyngaarten to southern Ontario and to my sister’s home in Brandford. It seems a sudden end to so many weeks of nomadic life; the reality of all of this will take some time to sink in. I know I will miss the friend of the tour and the fellowship of the wheel but ‘regular’ life intrudes again.

Welcome at Liberty State Park, Tour's End.

Dipping Tires into Atlantic Tidal Water - Tours End!

Statue of Liberty from New York Harbour

My last part of this journey was a real highlight however. Myself and Jim Beeshold from California took a offered ride on a sail boat with New City Kids Church, a inner city ministry in Jersey City (newcitykidschurch.com). The sail boat was skipper by Pastor Trevor Rubingh and crewed by some of the inner city kids that had learned how to sail this summer in busy New York harbor (citysailyouth.org) , just one of the many activities of the Church. The boat was donated to the ministry as well as the berth. It was great to meet the kids and Pastor Trevor and just enjoy their company as we sailed by the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island (Port of entry for countless immigrants into USA) and the now abandoned train terminal. Across the harbour is New York (Manhattan Island) and the Empire State Building and looking out to the Atlantic, the Verrazanno Narrows Bridge. I was even asked to be the helmsman for a small portion of the sail! We sailed into the Jersey harbour and then toured the facility this ministry has in downtown Jersey City with the kids being proud guides.

The kids of New City Kids Church and our sailor/guides, New York Habour

What a way to end the cycle ride with an introduction to this type of program that is making a difference to those in the city and in poverty. This is the reason we have cycled all these days and kilometers! If our funds raising efforts can go to causes such as these maybe we riders and all who supported this fundraiser to End the Cycle of Poverty can by God’s Grace be change agents in this world. It has been a privilege to have been part of this grand venture this summer. I thank all of you who came into my life this summer and most especially to my fellow cyclist. May God keep you all safe and well as you transition back to ‘ordinary’ life. Keep cycling!

Week Seven

Grand Rapids, Michigan, Aug. 17

We are in the holy city for the Christian Reformed Church! Last weekend it was Madison Wisconsin at an outreach church which was very good. We traveled down from Wisconsin to Illinois and stayed on Tuesday night at Trinity Christian College. We were hosted there very well with a great meal of pizza and ice cream. I got to do a load of laundry at no cost which was great. These little things are so important when you live out of a duffle bag for weeks on end! I am surprised how little I really need on this trip and it will again make me re-evaluate the stuff I have at home.

Fox River Bike Path Coffee Stop - Great Pies!

The ride this week was eventful to say the least. Chicago was very difficult on the ride into Trinity as we were on very rough roads during rush hour. I found the ride very nerve-racking and at one time had a vehicle drive so close that the mirror on my trike was swept forward as it passed by. Another few cm. and I would have been hit in the front wheel. Thank God for his traveling mercies!
Some of our tour went to the inner city area where the CRC is working with the poor to make a difference. It was a good experience to see the face of poverty and what some solutions may look like. We also stopped at churches for lunch and witnessed the destructive power of a tornado that had hit south Chicago a few weeks ago.
Cycling took us to a number of cycle paths in and out of the Chicago area. These were mostly very good as they are abandoned rail beds and thus the grades are gradual and smooth. We are truly in the eastern forest ecosystems as the trails were often arched over by ash, oak, maple and other species of the Great Lakes-Carolina Forest. The contrast with the wide open spaces of the prairies of a few days earlier is remarkable.

Sherman's Ice Cream, South Haven
South Haven, Michigan Lake - east shore

Thr ride up the east shore of lake Michigan was enjoyable and not hard. We visited South Haven and sampled Sherman’s famous ice cream which was very good. A few of us took a unique hand ferry across the Saugatuck harbor that can only take 20 people and a few bicycles at a time. The ferry has been in service since the 1800’s. This served us well and was a preview of the ferry to come across the St. Clair River next week.

Graafschap CRC, Holland, Michigan

On our way to Holland we visited Graafschap CRC Church which is the first one in the denomination. They had a great interpretive historical center in the basement of the church showing the immigration of the Dutch settlers in the 1840’s and the reasons the church began as a split from the Reformed Church of America. It is good to be able to do this cycle trip with fellow Christians form the RCA and hopefully heal some difference. Having ridden and talked to some RCA members it is apparent that we have much in common and we should continue to work

together .

Sunset, CRC Conference Grounds, Grand Haven

In Grand Haven we camped for the night at the CRC conference grounds, were treated to our first steak supper and enjoyed the lake. I went for a swim in the 62°F water which was refreshing, but most enjoyable especially with the large surf. Beautiful sand and an evening topped by a awesome sunset. The next day saw our ride into Grand Rapids. A good ride and helped by church stops and the buying a single large juicy peach from a local road side producer. The ride through Grand Rapids reminded me again how much easier the country riding is than the city; I was glad to arrive at Calvin College and to be hosted at the home of a friend and fellow cyclist Dale Mowry.

Week Six
Fennimore, Wisconsin, August 8

Endless corn Fields, Iowa!

The week started with the heat of Nebraska as we cycled towards Iowa it was a relief to had the cooler weather by Tuesday night. I am in Wisconsin now and over the past week I am impressed by the amount of corn and soya beans growing in this country! The fields of either spreads from horizon to horizon. It is a green carpet that refreshed the eyes after the dryer landscapes of the first 5 weeks. Along with the green field we are seeing more trees planted by farms and greater abundance of wildflowers. The flora is changing to the eastern continental species as we move across the prairies to the edge of the eastern hardwood forest region. Underlying the landscape is limestone and its availability as the raw material for cement is evidenced by the fact that many roads are cement rather than asphalt.

Iowa Roads, no shoulders!

This week I have had to cope with a migraine while riding and this did take its toll. I did not do the full ride for two days this week due to the pain. But I am fully recovered and am thankful to be able to do the full days again.
We were hosted by Dordt College, Sioux Centre, on Tuesday and this was great. Dorm bed slept very well as the alternative to the tent. We had a celebration event that evening and focused on the reason for the ride in its efforts to make a difference in poverty issues around the world. We have also been informed that the Sea to Sea ride has raised 1.9 million to date. Thank you all who have made this such a success in the fund raising and in all aspects of the venture.
Again this week we have been taking to lots of people along the ride. I was interviewed by a local TV station along the road on Thursday as I had just had my 3rd flat that day and was waiting for the SAG vehicle to offer support. The interview went well but the front tire could not be repaired and as it is an unusual size (20inch) I had to ride in the SAG vehicle the rest of the way (my spare tire was on the gear truck but is now with the SAG drivers).

Corn Kernels on Road, Iowa

Lou, our small group leader reflected the other night on the amazing abundance of food that Iowa can produce. He contrasted this with his work some 8 years earlier in Rwanda where he witnessed a father and his children gathering corn seed from the dirt and the mud for their supper. The corn had spilled from relief supplies that Lou had unloaded that day. Such poverty, that even the few spilled grains are gathered for food. As we ride along the road we frequently see corn kernels on the shoulder spilled from the grain trucks that move grain to storage or ethanol plants. How do we deal with this disparity? We have so much we do not worry about spilled grain while others a few spilled kernels may be their only supper. This is why we are riding to make a difference in this disparity; I hope and pray that it will make a difference!

Week Five
Fremont, Nebraska, Sunday , August 3, 2008

Soya bean fields under irrigation, Nebraska

We have definitely left the mountains and the desert behind. We have come into corn country more and varied trees and birds. And we have hit the humid air! Yesterdays ride was a real challenge with the heat and humidity taking its toll. It was hard to ride and we had head winds most of the way. But I am always encouraged by the support from fellow rides and support staff, the contacts we make and large glasses of cold water. Ice cream of course is always welcome!
We had a great service this morning with the Lutheran congregation adjacent to the YMCA grounds we are tented at in Fremont. The church has been most welcoming and has graciously opened it’s new fellowship hall to us this afternoon so we can go somewhere cool. The temp today is 38°C and the air conditioned church is great. A beautiful building that was just dedicated in June. The good people here have also provided food and drink for us as well as the cool space. It is truly amazing at the hospitality of people we meet.

Coffee Shared with local towns folk, Arapahoe, Nebraska

This coming week will be the longest rides of the tour. Wed, Thur., and Fri. will all be over 160 Km long and if we have wind against us it could make for very long days. But we have already covered over half the distance and time of the tour and despite difficult days have been able to meet the challenges. I trust God will be gracious this week as well as we cycle trough the rolling prairie landscape of Iowa. We have had some riders that have had to cut short their rides due to accidents. This is very sad for all of us but we are heartened by the reports that they are doing well and recovering.

My trike is doing well and despite some adjustments is still carrying me across the continent. I will have to replace tires before I reach the Atlantic but have not had any other major concerns to this point. I have brought to much stuff again on this ride but it is hard to predict the weather. I have not used any cool weather clothes yet and the forecast still holds for hot weather into the future. Hope all is well with all who read this and I will write again later in the week.

Week Five
July 29, 2008, Fort Morgan to Wray

Sunrise, July 31

Denver and the great hospitality of the folks there is behind us. Denver is a city with many accommodations made for bicycles and we left on one of their beautiful bike paths along the South Plate River. We spoke to some of the other users of the path and after some confusion because of construction on the bike path (complete with flag people for cyclists)we left the city and on to the plains.
I just want to say to you who visit this blog that last week I could not blog as I had altitude sickness. To my knowledge I have never had this before but it does take its toll on health and energy. Head ache, stomach ache and fatigue are the most common symptoms. So I did not blog last week and will likely only blog tonight this week as we are doing 150km rides for the rest of the week and the weather is again very hot. (40°C). When I have finished the days ride at 4 or 5 in the afternoon little time is left for blogging. So I am excusing myself form filling this blog in more frequently but this is the reality of the life I am leading now. Some other more speedy riders are able to blog regularly so please check the other blogs.

Windmill for water, a scarce commodity in in the sage brush country

Tonight we are in Wray in eastern Colorado. The ride today was enjoyable and only 140 km long. We did have a head wind for the last 20 km but I was able to get in by 3:00 pm. These rides are easier than the mountains but longer and we are all very tired at the end of the day. Tomorrow will be longer and hotter so early rising and riding to try and beat the heat.

July 16, Gooding to Burley, Idaho

The morning was early as we got up at 5:30 and left at 6:30. A wheat field close to Gooding caught fire last night and burned, lots of smoke but mostly downwind from our camp. This morning the sky was filled with haze and the sun came up as a red ball. We cycled out with it over our left shoulder as we peddled south to Twin Falls. Just prior to Twin Falls, we stopped at a large dairy to view the operation. My impression is that this type of farming although impressive, has truly become a factory for milk and very little of a life for the cows. They milk 1700 cows and this is a medium size operation for this area. Is this really what farming is meant to be. Is this really better for farmer and animals? Is this true stewardship of creation?

A few km further we were surprised by the gorge of the Snake River. A truly beautiful and astounding canyon with vertical basalt cliffs ringing the river plain below. From there we were hosted by the Reformed Church to a meal and told to visit the Shoshone Falls also in the Snake River canyon. It was a site worth seeing. The rest of the day was hot again and the ride long to Burley. We covered approximately 150 km today and have to do a little less tomorrow. We are getting into longer rides but it felt OK today. The muscles still complain but the distance is doable. I’ll sign off for now as the sun has set and I must sleep to prepare for tomorrow’s ride.

Week One!
First of all, my apologies to all who have been signing on to check my blog. We have been experiencing technical difficulties with our satellite internet connections and I have not been able to send any blogs out. But they are working on the problem so who knows what week two will bring.
Week one is already over! The days have flown by and the routine of road and camp life is taking over our lives. Let me recap the week for you.

Sunday, June 29
The day of departure arrived after on Sunday morning and with that uncertain mind checking to see if I had forgotten anything, I set out for Seattle. I hoped to be there by early afternoon but I was wrong. I was stopped on the connector out of Kelowna because of a burning mini-van: had a 2 hour wait to get across the border at Sumas in very hot sun; was stopped for 1.5 hours on the I5 by Bellingham and finally arrived in Seattle at 5:00pm. I did get to attend the kick of celebration event at the U of W., register and connect with Jon and Erica Bakker who will kindly store my car at their home over the summer. The weather is warm, the dorm rooms at U of W are hot and sleep is difficult.

Dipping of tires in Pacific Ocean

Monday, June 30 – Seattle to Sultan
We started the day with collecting at the gear truck to load our early possessions that we have for the next 9 weeks. This is a supported ride which means we do not have to carry our gear as we ride but our tent, sleeping bag etc. are all stored on highway trailer truck. All we take with us is what we need on the road that day, i.e. lunch, rain gear, tool kit for simple repairs, first aid kit, etc. We have two highway trailers, the gear truck and the kitchen truck.
To start the day we cycled along the Burke Gilman wonderful bike path for 10 km to get to Golden Garden Beach. With the peaks of the Cascades in the background and the blue Pacific waters in the fore, we dipped our tires in the sea water and, with a prayer for our safety and impact, started the 2008 Sea to Sea ride.
The ride was quite easy today, 80 km but no big climbs, I managed the ride quite well; no flats or mishaps. We road through the Coastal plain, flowers everywhere and lush coastal forest. Sultan is a sleepy town at the base of Steven’s Pass. I needed a camp chair but non to be had in town. There is no Hardware store or camping supply store here but friendly people none the less.

Falls on way up Stevens Pass, Cascade Mts.

Tuesday, July 1 – Sultan to Leavenworth
Woke up to cloudy skies which were very nice to keep the temperature down. I left early from camp today to get enough time to climb the Steven’s Pass. I rode with a friend form the 2005 ride, Fred Folkerts, and our speed was good up to the switchbacks. The morning ride was beautiful with lush coastal rain forest along the route. The last 30 km before the pass was very steep with a constant grade of more than 6%. And the going for very slow for me but also for the other cyclist. Amazing waterfalls and streams acted like great air-conditioning on this very hot climb. The route down into Leavenworth was a scream with long downhill rides of speeds up to 75 km/h. the last km was along the Wenatchee River in full spring runoff which again aced as a cooler as we rode by its banks. We have crossed the cascades and are in the rain shadow with interior Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine being the main species. Very tired but happy to have made the pass! Oh yes, we Canadians celebrated Canada Day today and sang the national anthem at out group meeting tonight. Canadian flags and cycling jerseys were evident everywhere.

Blewitt Pass, Hwy 97

Wednesday, July 2, Leavenworth to Ellensburg
What another pass? Climbed out of Leavenworth to the top of Blewitt Pass though beautiful forest and canyons. A very good climb with more ease than yesterday. I have been speaking on the nature surrounding us on the ride to the group meetings in the evenings. It has been fun getting others to look more carefully at what we are riding through. We believe God revels himself through two sources; the Band we should learn from both as we ride on this trip. We dropped into Ellensburg at the end of the ride and have left the forest behind for the sage brush and bunch grass ecosystems. The heat is building and effecting all of us by making us very tired. I am drinking incredible amounts of water! Sore quads are the order of the day but I am adjusting to the effort.

Yakima River Canyon, Basalt Cliffs from lava flows some 200 million years ago.

Thursday, July3, Ellensburg to Yakima
Today we rode through the Yakima Canyon on our way to Yakima. A spectacular part of creation with vertical basalt cliffs surrounding the river as it flows south. Almost completely treeless. This is desert and we will be cycling through it for many days (weeks). Please see the pictures to get the idea. Short ride so enjoyable except for the flat as I rode through some roofing tacks on the rode today. I have as yet not been troubled by ‘goat heads ‘ which are seed pods that has spines that puncture tires.

Our Hosts, Sunnyside CRC

Friday, July 4, Yakima to Sunnyside.
I had sweep duty today which is to serve supper last night and breakfast today and then clean up camp and leave last as a safety practice to sweep all the other riders into camp safely. It again was a short km day ant the ride was uneventful from the view of problem. We were hosted with refreshments in the morning at Zillah CRC and supper by Sunnyside CRC. Great food and fellowship . We are in irrigated farm land today and lots of fruit production. This is extremely dry country ( 6-7” of rain per year) and we rode through rain on the way to Sunnyside. The reports are that 1/2 “ fell today which is almost 10% of the annul rain. If not irrigated this would be a desert. See the pictures. Attended the Sunnyside 4th of July celebrations with a great fire works display. Rode with American Flags today to honor the US holiday.

Basalt lava cliffs on road from Sunnyside

Saturday, July 5, Sunnyside to Kennewick
Another short ride through agriculture made possible by irrigation. Again the basalt cliffs are evident but much smaller. The volcanic origin of the underlying strata are evident along the ride. Wineries are common and very large dairy farms. Rode into Kennewick to stay on the banks of the Columbia River in a city park. Spacious and shady setting. I have finished week one. Good week and camp life is a routine again. Amazing that 1/9 of the ride is already over! I am staying in camp this weekend to get some rest and prepare for next week. Went to a pub tonight with other riders and that was lots of fun and good to get to know these fellow travelers.

Shaded Camp site, Kennewick Park on Columbia River

Sunday, July 6, Kennewick
We had a great church services in the park this morning and saw some of what the local churches are doing in helping the poor . The Kennewick CRC has sponsored a number of Krin families for Burma/Thailand as they are displaced people due to the Myanmar regime. The spoke and sang for us; a moving experience. Took it really easy today as I had a migraine and needed time to recover. Swam in the Columbia to cool off. Did laundry and shopped at REI to bye a new on-top-of-the-rake bag to replace my ailing pannier.