August 9  Relaxed Rideand Adventure

 The day was overcast and cool, but by mid morning the sun was out and the skies cleared.  It was another perfect day for cycling.  Maggie,a friend of Claire from the ’05 ride joined us for the day.  We left the school at 7 AM.   Riding along the country roads was so beautiful, my legs were working well, and it just felt good to be on the bike.  A song kept coming to me all day:  “God Is So Good”.  I sang it over and over as the day went  on.  Sometimes I just feel overwhelmed to be part of this great tour!   We, were joined mid morning by Jane and Barb and stopped at a restaurant for a second breakfast or early lunch.  Peanut butter and jelly every day for those who are cycling the whole 9 weeks gets rather tiring!  There were about 40 cyclists there overwhelming the 3 staff.  Cyclists poured coffee after bringing out cups and assisted the staff as much as they could.  Harry got us to give the staff a big round of applause.  Claire and Isplit a vegetarian omelet which was great and I had my second cup of tea for the week.  Sweet! . Claire and Maggie know this area well, so suggested we go off route through a Mennonite Community.  We called to let the appropriate people know what we were doing so that no one would come looking for us.  On the way to St Jacobs we saw huge beautiful farms with houses that had been added to many times.  We stopped at the Blue Moon for  brewed “hydration”.  The little town of St Jacobs has a huge market area which was not open today and lots of nice shops.  We spent a little time looking around before heading to the Christian school in Breslau where we were camping.  Each time we stop or meet people, we take the time to tell them what we are doing and that we are raising funds for poverty.  We hand them a card and encourage them to go to the web site for more info, or to give a donation.   Every night at our Peloton meeting, one of the things we talk about is “money stories”.  Every meeting several people talk about those they came in contact with and the donations they received.  Tonight someone told a story about a non-Christian whom he had been talking with who donated over $1000!  So amazing!  We arrived at the school at about 4 PM, likely one of the last groups in for today.  We added 10 miles to our ride today for 81 miles.Tonight at Peloton the small groups acted out a challenge to use the bells and whistles on bikes for some kind of a presentation.  These people are creative!  We laughed until our sides ached.  

Ken VanWoerkom arrived tonight at about 10.  Phil helped him set up his tent.  He is joining the tour for a week.  Ken and his wife Shirley biked with us on the“08 tour.  Shirley died last summer of cancer.  We are so happy to see Ken come for this week.  

August 7. Rain, crossing, and welcome?

Claire had decided to give her heel some time to rest,  so did not ride today.  I asked "the two Bettys" if I could join them.  Betty A had spent time riding with Claire and I on Monday.  The sky was threating when we left.  We were told that there would be 3 thunder squalls going through today.  We left at 6:55 and by 7:15, the rain had started.  We were on a fairly busy road with a shoulder.  It wasn't long before the rain was heavy, coming down in huge drops.  We kept on, concentrating on the road and our surroundings.  We all had on rain jackets, and I had a helmet cover which not only keeps my head dry, but also keeps me warm.  My problem was my sun glasses - I kept moving them up and down my nose.   When they were down, I could look over them and see better.   When they were up on my nose where they belong, the road dirt stayed out of my eyes.  The bikes kick up a large "rooster tail" of road water which sprays dirt over the person behind.  We kept on going to avoid getting cold.  After the first SAG stop, the rain lessened to a drizzle and then stopped.  I had to work hard to keep up, especially after Donna joined us.  The road surface was poor and at about 35 miles the bumps zeored out my odometer.   At that point we had a 16.2 average speed, even with the rain and poor roads.  Construction was the next challenge.  The top of the road surface was stripped making it extremely rough.  It felt like a foot massage, but jarring to the body.
We were to arrive at Marine City by noon. We arrived at 11AM.   However, I hit the wall about 5 miles before Marine City.  I could not make my legs work.  I knew that I needed some food.  I sent the others on, slowed way down, and ate the peanut butter and jelly sandwich from my bike bag.
We spent an hour and a half with everyone gathering in our matching jerseys waiting for the ferry to Canada.   Many people asked what we were doing.  It gives is a chance to tell others about our concern for the poor and we often receive donations.  All went smoothly with the crossing of the cyclists and trucks.  The Canadians were cheering us into Canada on the other side.  
I by then was feeling much better and cycled into Sarnia.  It was a beautiful ride along the St. Claire River with the wind at our backs.
The Sarnia Community prepared a feast of grilled pork, sweet corn, salad, and home made pies.  Delicious!
During dinner I felt something in my hair.  I reached up and was stung by a bee.   Since I have had severe localized reactions, I panicked.   I ran to my bike,  took a Zyrtec, and grabbed my epi pen.  I went to the kitchen for ice and someone suggested windex be applied!   She found some amd immediately the sting was gone and the swelling went down.  Amazing!!  I have had no further problem!  I am so grateful!
After dinner I asked Jacob of he coild try to download some pictures from my Windows phone to Phil's computer.   It would take a 2 hour download,  so that will not happen this trip.   Phil canot be without his computer.  After we are back in the states,  I will post some to facebook.

August 8. WIND

After thunderstorms last night we awoke to overcast skies with a stiff NW wind.  The day started with Phil misplacing his glasses.  We found the tent bag on the gear truck and opened the tent bag to check the pockets - not there.   He was thankful to find them in his truck.  Breakfast as usual was eaten sitting on the curb since our chairs are packed first thing in the morning.
I left at 7:15 with Claire, Barb, and Jane.  We headed straight east on a major road.  With all the wind to deal with,  we were thankful for the coolness of the air, the good road surface, and a wide shoulder  We took turns leading the line with 3 of us following closely behind and a bit to the right to get the greatest benefit of the first person blockimg the wind.  We changed leaders every mile.  At about mile 18, Mary and Mike joined our line and the shoulder disappeared.   Mike pulled us for awhile until Doug, Dave, and Russ caught up with us and joined our pelaton.  We cycled the rest of the day with a pace line of nine!
I was again running out of fuel before the second SAG.  I positioned food in my front bike bag and was able to break off pieces of bsrs to keep my energy .  I can't seem to get enough food to keep me going.
We stopped for coffee and tea late morning.  When we returned to our bikes, we had the pleasure of turning south with less wind, and it was at our backs.  The last 5-10 miles took us on London's
beautiful bike trail along the Thames River.   It was a really fun trail winding through the park.  It felt like we were riding in circles over and under the road and river.
We arrived to cheers and welcome at London Christian High school at 1:15.  The bonus of arriving early is a nap!  Most people blog in the afternoon, but I have to wait until Phil returns from marking the roads to use the computer or tablet.
I found a site for our tent close to a place where Phil can park his truck.  He has electricity in the truck and is able to plug in his cpap machine.
67 miles today at 13.8 MPH.

August 6, day 2. A good ride in spite of some rain

I was so thankful to awake at 5:30 this morning and not have any hip discomfort.   It did not bother me all day.  Amazing!  The day was cool and cloudy with some rain predicted.  Claire and I were on the road by 6:55.  We rode through beautiful green farm land, and even saw a covered bridge across a creek in someone's yard. The route was to take us through the city of Flint.  As we arrived in the city, a group of guys passed.  Claire asked if they could slow down a bit and accompany us through the city.   Thanks to Howard, Peter, John,  and Len for riding along with us.  We saw  the evidence pf poverty:  parking lots overgrown with weeds,  closed buildings, strip malls with  very few cars,  crumbling roads, boarded up houses,  and burned out shells of houses.  Howard saw five burned out hoises, I only saw one.   I was concentrating on missing potholes.  It was drizzling off and on.  The guys moved ahead and we looked for a place to stop.  We went off route in Davidson and found "Bear Claw Soup Deli".  It was the best place to stop on a cool wet day.  We had delicious Taquilla Black Bean Soup made from scratch.  It was delicious and warmed us up.  When we left, the rain was more steady so we were thankful to have warm stomachs.  Claire began to have increased discomfort in her Achilles tendon.   We slowed down the last 10 miles and arrived in camp at 2 PM.  The rain had stopped,  and we set up our tents.  Phil marks roads in the late afternoon,  so I am learning how to set up our tent alone.  Actually it is a new tent and goes up easily.  Our dinner was again great - it is amazing how hungry we get after biking.
I have so much more to say , but am having a hard time finding the time.  I also hope to incude some pictures, but no time :).  Please check others blogs for pictures.

August 5, day 1 for Jan

We had a prayer send off from Pastor Mary Hulst.  Thanks Mary, much appreciated!

The day was cool and cloudy - a perfect biking day.  I rode with Claire Elgersma.  The road was mostly flat, taking us through green farm country.  We did not linger at the SAG stops and   with 67 miles covered, we arrived at Sleepy Hallow campground at noon.  I have never arrived at a bike tour destination so early.   Since I started this tour behind on sleep, it was a bonus for me!  After putting up our tent, I slept for an hour.  At the end of my ride today, I had a sore hip, which concerned me.  I did lots of stretching and took Ibuprophen which helped.  Hopefully this will not continue.

Apparently Canada requires all cyclists to have a bell on their bikes or a whistle handy.  Not doing so can incure a $90.00 fine.  Claire, Barb, Jane and I went out looking for whistles.  All we found were cheep plastic whistles that make a minimum of sound.  Hopefully we will find something better, but meanwhile we do each have a whistle.

We had a delicious dinner including fresh sweet corn.  It was drizzling a bit, so Phil and I sat in his van to eat.  A very nice perk!  It is amazing how much food one can consume after biking!

Peleton tonight was early,  so we were in our tent by 9 and had a good night sleep.

This tour has had a number of surprises which causes some anxious moments for the organizers. There has been deadly heat, a forest fire in Colorado causing us to re-route for three new sites,  There was a  washed out highway in New Mexico. We have had riders with broken limbs - leg and arm. A kitchen worker cut her hand requiring emergency room treatment.  One had a heart condition which cause him to be airlifted to a hospital in Denver. (He had artery blockage which was fixed with stints {sp} and was back in camp the next day.  He intends to ride again in a couple of days.) One went went home to be with his wife who had a medical emergency.  Two riders crashed into each other.  One landed on her head, but no concussion. The other got scrapped up but nothing broken. Both are sitting it out for a few days.

Can you imagine a washed out US highway in arid New Mexico?  We couldn't either.  Neither could the locals.  They had not had rain in 8 months, and when we got to Rehoboth NM it poured.  A monsoon rain.  It washed out the highway 40 miles north of us.  The State Police called and said we could not go that way.  BUT, there was no other way for the bikes.  A half hour later they called and said the bikes could go across the temporary fix but he vehicles would have to detour 130 miles around the wash out.  I did take that detour and went through Crown Point, NM.  I remembered that there was a CRC there and looked it up.  I found that there was a team of college men using the church a a base for a mission project of building homes.  This summer they intend to build three new homes and repair a bunch of others. Wow.  That was impressive.

About the forest fires:  Colorado is experiencing huge wild fires. We had intended to ride through Wolf Creek Pass, but it was closed.  Even if we could go through, the high school in Del Norte called us and told us we could not camp there because it was a staging area for the fire fighters.  Even when the pass opened up again, we were told it was too smokey to ride through. SO what to do.  Terry Barnes, a C2C staff person, took off with a car and found three new sites east of Shiprock NM.  He was very resourceful and made it happen.  One spot was a winery.  It was a beautiful place in the middle of no-where.  The owner rigged up three showers, brought in 8 port-a potties, opened up the wine tasting room,  gave us a lesson in wine making, and didn't charge us anything.  The next spot was a campground in Chama NM. The third spot was a Recreation Center in Alamosa, CO.  From Alamosa we went directly north to Salida Co and then we were back on our original route.

The Salida camp site was a fairground.  It didn't have any grass to camp on, but it did have and exhibition apace for folks to sleep in if they chose to. We made it work.

In Canon City we were on the grounds of a former monastery called the Abbey.  They had a lodge which rented us rooms for $14 per night.  Many bikers did that.

The next day (Saturday) we were in Colorado Springs on the grounds of Colorado Springs Christian Schools.  The route into the school took us along bike trails through the city avoiding a lot of the city traffic.   Sunday we worshipped with the Craigmor CRC.  They provided us with a lunch after the service.  There was a rain storm.  Colorado needed the rain, so we didn't dare complain too much.

Monday 7-15 the route took us to Limon CO along us 24.  The next few days we traveled generally down hill. My Garman said I was dropping 1 foot per second.  The riders however said they really didn't notice the drop in elevation because of winds.

Tuesday 7-16 we had to ride on I-70 for 44 miles toward Burlington CO.  There was no other way. When the CO State Police heard about our plans they said we could not do it unless we had a permit, because they considered us an "event" since we had more than 50 participants.  The bill was $750!  Bummer.  We paid it and they assigned two cars to the group.  Before taking off in the morning, they talked to each biker giving the rules.  The Burlington camp site was a city park with nice grass and a pool.

Wednesday 7-17 to Colby KS.  Another city park with a pool.

Thursday 7-18 to Prairie Dog State Park near Norton, KS, with a colony of Prairie Dogs.  A beautiful setting but very windy.  (Go to seatosea.org, BLOGS and see the blog of Jane Brower for picture.)

Friday 7-19 to Red Cloud Nebraska.  Another City Park with a pool and an air-conditioned community center where folks could sleep if they chose.

Saturday 7-20 and Sunday 7-20.  Fairbury, NE.  Another city park with pool and air-conditioned community center to sleep in.  We will worship with a Presbyterian church.  The congregation will feed us afterward and pastor Steve Fraiser says they are going all out - food, food, food.

However I will not be there for the festivities.  Claire Elgersma and I are visiting John and Susan Dahm in Lincoln.  John and Claire's husband Hank are first cousins.  Susan and Jan are first cousins. We stayed Saturday night and will be returning to Fairbury early Sunday PM.

More later.

Its July 20 and I haven't posted anything for almost three weeks. We will be halfway by mileage at  end of the ride on Monday.The stuff I have been doing is not nearly as interesting as the riders.  

My day is full of miles.  I have to go ahead of the riders and mark the turns with a liquid chalk.  When I reach our destination for the night, I continue toward the next days destination to "paint" the turn by turn from twenty to forty miles out, and then turn back to camp.  I have little contact with riders during the day.  I find out what really happened during the day when I pull in.  

The turn by turns have been pre-printed, but there have been occasions when a map had to be revised  Then my job is to re-do, which takes a few hours.  (See how exciting this bike tour is.)
  
I am driving the technology van which is a mobile office.  It is equipped with a work table, file storage, and a printer and a locked safe.  The electrical system allows me to keep all my electronics plugged in and fully charged.  That with my hot spot keeps me in touch via the internet.  So there is really no excuse for not blogging.  Except maby fatigue and the heat.

I am also the finance person.  I have to see that those who have paid expenses out of their pocket get reimbursed. Riders collect money on the road from strangers.  I have to keep and accounting of all that. Really fun stuff.

I am in Lincoln NE tonight at the home of John and Susan Dahm. .  The rest of the tour is in Fairbury where they will be spending two nights.

OK I know this is hardly a catch-up posting, but I can't stay awake any longer, I will attempt to  do better soon. 

To find out what's really been happening, I suggest that you go to seatosea.org and find the tab BLOGS.  Check-out Jane Brower and Claire Elgersma, two riders who blog everyday.