Sea-to-Sea NA Day 57 Today was the first day I have had to do any serious climbing since switching to my single bike. The first 2/3 of the ride was a roller coaster type ride, up and down, some hills a little steeper than others some a little longer. The landscape was mostly forested interjected with farms, mostly dairy. Josh K., Josh II Aretia and Jason caught up to me fairly early in the ride and I rode with them for a stretch till they dropped me on a hill and I gave up chasing them. They were insight at the next rest stop and pulled over as I continued. I passed Rita at another rest stop well into the ride. Next of note was George, who did not give chase today. The last part of the ride consisted of a 1000’ climb at a pretty constant slope but there were several false tops before the real top was reached where there was another SAG stop. We were now in New Jersey and Sussex County so I figured that I must have been getting close to the end. The road down the summit was not as wide and smooth as the one up so I had to be careful choosing my path and braking for blind corners till I could see around them. The run-out varied so my speed did as well, anywhere between 30 and 70kph. I started seeing welcome signs along the route outside of Sussex and more in the town itself. Upon arriving at the church/school there were only Sea-to-Sea people there plus Reuben. Rick had passed me but had stopped for a bite to eat so came in a little later. Aaron came in soon after me but there was another rider between us. We decided to go to the local hotel just back a bit and wait there for more riders to arrive, the shower shuttles to get started and the unloading of the gear truck. Rita came in good time. Her bike doesn’t have the best gearing for serious hills so I was worried about her but she made it up each of them and at a good clip too. She has done very well on the whole tour and I’m very proud of her accomplishment. Most people seem to prefer the short steep hills to the long steady grades like we had at the end today and out west and didn’t mind the ride at all today. Tomorrow is a day of mixed riding and many other activities. Today was the last serious riding day.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 56 Today was cloudy throughout the 93 km ride. The sun had pocked out briefly about 7:30 and the vapour could be seen rising from the wet tents but it did not last. I chose to ride in just my jersey and shorts but it was quite cool for the first 20 minutes until I got warmed up. The route was quite complex through the city of Binghamton and suburbs and we appreciated the road arrows once again. Once I reached Pennsylvania I crested on a long grade and then started a gentle downward slope. The speed went up to around 35kph but I had expected more considering the 30+ I was doing on the uphill portion. The slope is hard to judge when it is a long one with no reference point. This down slope was probably 10km or more in length and as the road levelled or went up my speed went up instead of down. I think I was just in a strong pedaling mode so I kept on trucking. We saw 2 long concrete train viaducts, which looked like Roman aqueducts, today. They make a picturesque variation to the country scenery. Tonight we are in Lackawanna State Park, several miles from any town but the park is blessed with a concession stand like no other I have seen. It has Italian opera music playing and all sorts of Italian food. Rita and I had eggplant on a bun smothered in a tomato based sauce and Parmesan cheese, very good. The only thing missing was the red wine. We have two days of riding left, one relatively hard and then the wind-down day on Saturday. Now our thoughts start to turn to the other life we led before the tour but it is hard to really think about that because many of us do not know what has gone on in the world except for some contact with family. We see election signs now for anything from president to local roads supervisor but other than that we have not a clue what has gone on in the rest of the world. The tour takes over your life, you are busy from before sunup to after sundown. You need to stay focused on food, preparations and recording either in journals or on blogs (ahich can’t be posted). Sure there are days when you have more time than others but that is spent primarily in discussions with fellow riders about the last ride or the next ride or other things tour related. Like the last tour, near the end you start to wonder what the others do outside of the tour and questions about their future come up. During these 9 weeks most conversation is tour related.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 54 My team was on sweep today, but with 19 people since Grand Rapids we have enough so that all of us don’t have to help all the time. The ‘newbies were put on breakfast detail and the veterans divided between clean-up, loading and sweep. George, Rob and I took off somewhere before 9 with George setting a fast pace to start. As I warmed up after a few km I took the lead and we rode through the upstate NY countryside. At the first T intersection I came to there was not an C arrow. Checking the instruction we saw that we should have made a right turn a long way back and so we turned down that way. Rob had a good map, which we checked at the correct distance south and we figured out where the route was. Joining it we soon saw some riders making us feel better. We continued at setting a good pace past the first, second and the third SAG stops. We picked up Marty for a while till she stopped to take a picture and without me knowing it Rob slipped off the back (he is riding his full fendered touring bike). At the 86 km mark we reached our morning goal; the lunch stop put on by East Palmyra CRC. I had been using Harry’s gift of special Mango juice that morning as energy drink and have no other explanation for the 31+kph speed through the 86 km up and down the hills. It was a great stop with sloppy joe’s, beans, great potato salad and many delicious desert items. I ended up drinking 3 and a half cups of coffee. I think I better stop saying that I don’t like coffee because there were other choices available. After a long stop, waiting for Rita to arrive but it was taking too long, we set out on the last 50km for the day. Geneva is situated at the north end of Lake Seneca and we figured this would be the last town before the State Park so we decided to look for some refreshment. Having finished a pint we went out and got ready to ride again. George thought we would be able to continue along the railway track and find a place to cross but the road turned to bricks and then gravel after only a short distance. We turned around again risking our tires on the gravel. Arriving at the corner, George wanted to stay on the left side of the road on a bike lane but because of the oncoming traffic we had to ride close to the curb for the 100 or so meters. We both noticed the chips of glass spread all over the place. I tried hard to avoid all I could. As we set off down the road on the route again we saw Joe’s SAG stop after less than a km and thought we had better apologize for our earlier stop instead of his. We explained that had we know he was there we still would have done the same thing. As we pulled in George noticed his front tire was getting softer by the second. Sure enough he had a flat. He proceeded to change it without finding the cause. He said that he was sure it was a small piece and it would be OK. I was not so sure and told him that was wishful thinking. Off we went and sure enough, we were less than a km down the road and fisss went the tire again. He told me to proceed and he would go back. George always has a theory or explanation for everything but this time he wasn’t quite sure if it was a second hole in the patched tube he had put in, whether he had put the punctured tube back in or if it really was a second flat. I guess we will find out tomorrow. Last time I saw his bike before dark he had hung an inflated tube on it to make sure it would hold air. Rueben mentioned to me that some of the boys might be interested in a team time trial before the end of the tour. I offered a 100km ride with teams made up of riders from the individual ride plus maybe one other person who was not able to do the earlier ride. Initially there was interest but there seems to be some hesitation setting in late tonight. We will see what develops; at least this will be fodder for some good-natured ribbing if the young lads are not up to the challenge. We have not had our own Internet connection for weeks now and have depended on schools and neighbours for access to posting opportunities. I hope to post this tomorrow sometime but the pictures will have o come later.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 53 Several people were yelling at me “Bill get in the left lane”, “Bill we are supposed to be in the left lane” as if I didn’t know. What I was trying to do was ride as close to the right as I could to get a decent photo of Niagara Falls as we crossed the Rainbow Bridge on our way to the USA. There were no cars behind me, so I took advantage of the space. The boarder crossing had been clear sailing, we actually just rode our bikes right through the customs/immigration booth while the officers wave us through, all 200 riders. Before that we had a nice ride from the Brock monument along the river to the falls. After that we took the opportunity to view the falls from the American side, something I had never done. We were advised to ride in groups through Niagara Falls NY and the regulars teamed up as if a natural phenomena; Rita and I, Anne, George, Dora, Joan and Andy. Soon others joined us and we had a long train as we exited the city. I had promised to ride at 24kph unless the wind changed to make it easier and this I did for the remainder of the ride -90km, stopping every 30km or less for a short break. Our numbers decreased at the rest stops, as some were not ready to leave yet when we pulled out. The roads were clean and smooth the wind at our side or even at our back as we twisted and turned through the NY countryside. Tonight we are in an RV park and some of the folks here have joined us around a campfire (the first on the trip) with their musical instruments and we are having a kind of impromptu country hoedown.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 52 ‘It’s raining out’ came the report from those coming in for breakfast. Our tent was closed except for the back vent flap and I figured that by the time I got out to the back of the soccer field to close it that I would be wetter than the tent if it was coming in thru the flap. Anne however went for it and closed her tent , my flap and another tent in the area. The rain didn’t last long and we went on the bike ride to Niagara-on-the-lake as planned. John Vandersteen decided to come with us sort of at the last minute. He was raised in St. Catherines and shared many personal anecdotes with us during the tour. Rita and I had biked in the area before but Anne had never been and I thought that it would be a shame not to see some of the homes, wineries and flower gardens in the area. This area played a very important roll in the shaping of Canada and the town is full of beautifully restored historic buildings. This is a tourist town and the restaurant prices reflect that, $12 for 4 cups of plain coffee. The bakery down the road sold nice cinnamon buns for $1 each so that offset the coffee price. Next we made our way along the Niagara River bike trail to Queenston for the Celebration Service. The sky had been threatening and not long after we got to the park the skies opened and it rained in varying intensity for the next 2 hours as all the others arrived, including 8 members of my family. We saw lots of other people we knew and had an enjoyable afternoon. The sky cleared as people were making their way from the pavilion where we had the peach social to the open-air amphitheatre and before long the sun came out. The service itself was a mix of singing older familiar song and new one some familiar and others not. The sermon was a broad overview trying to cover all the issues of poverty elimination as applied to the prescribed text about the fruits of the Spirit followed by more singing. A meal of salads, hamburgers and hot dogs was served for all who cared to partake. I would say that over a thousand people attended and most took advantage of the meal, many haven driven for several hours in order to attend this local celebration.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 51 Last night we stayed at the Peter and Rita Beerda’s place - a kind of reunion of 2005 riders. We left camp after pelaton and returned for breakfast before 7AM so it was a short but nice visit. Today John Bloomendal joined me on the ride. John is one of the many avid bike riders who would love to do a Sea-to-Sea ride but can’t take the time at this point in their lives to do so. These people read blogs and dream about what we get to do every day. So when the tour comes close John likes to ride and did the same in 2005 for 2 days. The ride today was from one feeding station to the next. Tomorrow will be a repeat performance with the stops even closer together. The weather was great today and promises to be the same tomorrow. The reception and enthusiasm shown by the Canadian churches has been special to us. These people too want to be part of this great event in their church community and help in some way and they can do this by feeding and welcoming us. Many conversations between young and old, riders and supporters have taken place. Today we had stops in Ingersol, Woodstock, Brantford (two) and the last one in Ancaster when we arrived at Redeemer University. There were many families along the roads with signs and some with refreshment too. John and I set a pretty strong pace for the first leg to Ingersol, gathering other riders as we went. After that we rode with the two of us at a good clip until we were both ready to slow down some on the third and forth legs of the day.

Sea-to-Sea NA Days 49 & 50 5..4..3..2..1..Go! I was pushed out of the starting ‘gate’ and away I went on my first time trial ride in too many years. The sun was now high enough to have warmed things up a little including me. It was still very cool when I started out at 7 AM to get to the race starting point, some 45 km away, before 9. Racing against the clock means that every second is important so a fast start is too. My left calf started to tighten up soon after since I usually start at a slower pace. I eased up a little to let it relax. Yesterday nothing had bothered me all day. We had started earlier than usual and many of us were nicely settled into a café on the US side by 9. As has happened many times now when we descend on such an establishment the waitresses are run off their feet. We crossed the boarder on a ferry and arrived in Canada to a rousing welcome and tables laden with all kinds of food. The pictures will save me a lot of writing but in short it was great. From here we rode the 52 km to Chatham in one go. I was leading and Anne was behind. We were passing all sorts of people and eventually came up to Marty who decided to join us. We made great time despite the wind coming onto our shoulder averaging 31.1 kph. The entry ride into Chatham also had people along the street here and there with signs welcoming us or sometimes just a particular rider. At the civic park were we camped there was more food and liquid refreshment, along with shuttles to various places, pools, laundry, bike store and any other places people wanted to go. The cramp is gone now and I’ve been waved through the first stop sign. Entering a small town Brent, the corner marshal there, signals the all clear and I take all 4 lanes to make a wide right corner without slowing down. A left turn in the same town requires a little more manoeuvring but I successfully complete the turn, cross a railway track and that is it for the hazardous stuff from here on it is a straight road. The wind is ever present on my right shoulder. A slight change in the terrain or the wind intensity affects my speed by several kph. I cannot relax my concentration on making my pedals go round. I try my next higher gear when I’m at 35 kph but it is too difficult and drop back down to the gear I was using before. I have prepared a water bottle with honey and have it upside down in my holder. Grabbing the bottle I manage to squeeze some out onto my tongue trying all the time not to loose speed. I swallow the honey but the effort has left me a little short of breath. A shot of water a little later does the same. I decide no more of either till the finish. The 30km marker passes and I try to force myself to go a little faster. It works for a while and then another uphill, or slight slope would be a better way to describe it and my speed drops again. Hills have always been my downfall. The 3 km to go marker comes into view a few minutes latter. I can’t see anyone ahead nor can I see anyone in my mirror and don’t want to turn around for a better view. I just might make this without anyone passing me. I was the third to start (determined by a draw) and passed one rider early on but am disappointed that I’ve not caught the second rider. The 1km marker passes. Now I should really push to make the end. Then it happens, first Kyle comes by me and a few seconds later Nick (on Andrew’s triathlon bike) cruses by me. I don’t give chase, the finish line is in view and at best it will save me a few seconds. These boys have ridden well, their first time trial and at the finish they are excited about how well their bodies have performed. Now they know a little more about themselves and that is what this is about. The other riders come across fairly quickly now. Reuben wins, with John matching him for speed in the last half of the race and placing second. Nick gets third. The winning average speed is 38.6. Mine is 34.2; which placed me 10th of the 26 participants. That is a good speed for me and is pretty much what I expected under these conditions. All the young people are excited after this test; they have experienced something new. At camp many other people ask how it went. At Pelaton I hand out the prizes, cinnamon rolls, a cereal bar and some old cookies, and we all have a few laughs. I must mention the great lunch we had in Mount Bridges. They pulled out all the stops; roast beef, chilli, all sorts of fresh salads and fruits in season. After the lunch Rita, Anne and I rode the rest of the trip to London together. Rita pulled a lot of the way and set a good pace. She has become a lot more confident in her riding and ability. She too knows herself better.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 48 For once the weather report was right on, we had winds from the ENE, in other words a head wind for most of the day. The day started with me sleeping an hour longer than I usually do. I keep my strapless watch in the tent and when I checked it it was 5:55 but when Rita came back a minute later it was 6:56 and she reminded me that I would miss breakfast if I didn’t get going. I had not changed it to Eastern Time yet. It was around 8 when I finally got on the road and most riders had left, only the sweep team and a contingent of young riders remained. I was going to ride with them but after a few delays I set out on my own. I determined I would stop a coffee shop after the ½ waypoint. The headwind was about as strong as the tail wind had been yesterday. When I ride a long ride such as today I break it down into sections; for instance at the 15 km point I tell myself I’ve already done 10% of the ride, at 30 I’ve done 1/5 of it, at 40-45 I eat something often a banana since they are the heaviest in my jersey pocket. And so it goes thru the ride at the 80km mark I tell myself only 70 more to go - just 2 ½ hours and continue to count down to the finish. My second item to eat would be half of my peanut butter/honey end crust; which was in the pouch under my seat. Getting it out is not difficult, opening the zip lock bag is a single hand and teeth affair. Getting half the sandwich out and holding it while I put the other half into the jersey pocket is a little trickier. Things where going well, arms resting on the aerobars, sandwich to be eaten in the right hand, baggy and other half in the left but then all of a sudden a great big bump in the road heading my way, bang, control the bike, sandwich in right hand goes into orbit, left hand hold the remaining half securely. S—t so much for a good sandwich. I got most of the other half down eating from within the bag but then the constant jarring even popped the remaining last bite out of my hand like a watermelon seed being shot from between two fingers. Latter the baggy of Fig Newtons went much better; I held the baggy tight in the left hand while at the same time holding onto my handlebar. The half way-point came and went and I started to look for either bikes at a café or just a café, I finally saw one quite a bit latter but was already past it and in keeping with my ‘don’t go back’ policy I kept on figuring I would see another spot. By the time that came I was well over the 100km mark and just 1.5 hours to go so I thought I would just stop in the town where we were going, Richmond, and get something there. In the meantime Reuben had caught me, dropped me on several hills and finally I told him to carry on. Earlier in the day I had several people on my wheel taking advantage of the draft but they dropped off either at a SAG stop or another eating-place. The scenery was fairly consistent, neat farms and homes but nothing out of the ordinary. We passed thru one town with many homes from the mid 1800s but other than that mostly fields of beans of one type or another. There are no pictures today. Interest is growing in the time trial and I will make a pelaton announcement tonight to get people to sign on. Tomorrow we cross into Canada via ferry and need to get an early start.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 47 Last night at the pelaton meeting we heard that the wind would be in our back today. A loud cheer went up when we hear the news. Too bad it was only a 103km day. It was warm enough to ride quite comfortably in our riding jerseys even at 8 AM when we started to depart. We had a send-off meeting in honour of the new riders just prior to that and so most riders left at that time. I spent some extra time looking for a $20 bill; which I had put into my jersey pocket intending to transfer it to my bike bag later. When I went to do it, it had disappeared. I retraced my steps but to no avail. Fairly early into the ride there was a church stop for drinks and snacks but it was off of the route a way so I decided to bypass it. As I heard later they did have some real food so I missed that opportunity to eat. I was carrying enough food for what I thought was a 126km day. The roads were generally smooth and certainly not busy once we got out of the Grand Rapids area. The favourable wind and flat countryside made the riding fast and enjoyable. As I neared the 80km mark I decided to check the distance for the day on the route outline and saw it was only 103 km. I also checked my average speed and total trip time and could see that with a little effort I could probably do the ride in 3 hours. I was now running along at around 40kph give or take depending on the wind, stop signs and terrain. I checked the clock again at the 100km mark and saw that I had about 6 minutes to do the last stretch. We never know where Ed starts to count the distance, at camp or once we hit the road. Today there was quite a difference between the two. In any case at the 3-hour mark I was at the park gate, a distance of 104km, average speed 34.6kph. Latter in the day the wind picked up more and helped all the riders have an easy first day out of Grand Rapids. Tomorrow we have to go 1.5 as far. We’ll see how that goes.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 46 Celebration Day in Grand Rapids started with bit of a sleep-in followed by a breakfast in the lobby, packing up the now dried out tent, clean and lube the bikes, lunch and a bus ride to the ball park where we had the rally. A well-choreographed entry by the riders to ‘Do Something Beautiful’ started the service. Shane Claiborne spoke inspiringly about living your life in ways that break the poverty cycle on a local level. Kyle Meyerink, one of our riders, played and sang a song; which he composed while on the tour called ‘Hear Our Cry’. All the riders stood in his honour after he was finished. The whole service did not come close to the celebration we had in Guelph during the 2005 tour both in attendance and level of celebration expressed by the participants. We like to sing and to do so we need familiar songs to aid our celebration. This event like several others we have had was missing that critical element. This week we have 60 new riders starting most of who are riding for the final 2 weeks. We had about 12 people leave the tour this weekend. This morning I put up a notice announcing a 40km time trial to be held this Thursday along the route for the day. Participating riders will start at 1-minute intervals and race against the clock. The winner is the rider who finishes in the shortest time. This will add an interesting twist to the day’s ride. More on this as the week progresses.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 45 Injuries, whether from strain or an accident have a huge emotional impact on the injured rider and to a lesser extent on the whole group. Every one of the riders has their heart set on completing the portion of the ride that they have committed to. Last night we had 3 injured riders return to the camp. Arnie is on crutches after a tendon operation. Tyler marked out the route into Grand Rapids and was to having a drink-stop at his home showed us the long cut on his shoulder where a plate was inserted to hold his collarbone together. Cynthia, who suffered a cracked pelvis was back to ride today with her son Andrew riding guard for her and plans to ride the shorter days next week. Lynn who has a bruised kneecap has missed several days of riding-rode yesterday but not today because of the pain. Today in a moment of exuberance Josh went over his handle bars while standing to accelerate got off lucky with a major scrape on his arm and a few other minor bumps. Each of these people deal with their injury in their own way but the support of the group, family and friends is very important to them. Most have been involved in planning and training for the tour for a year or more. Their pain can be read in the expression on each of their faces. We all go through various emotions and today was a high day with the group ride into Calvin College in Grand Rapids. The hoots from the riders the road lined with people cheering especially as we entered the campus but also at various places along the road. The weather was perfect after we started going east and benefiting from the warmth of the sun. The first part of the ride I rode with Rita, Anne and Bill vL (Florida Bill). We missed the first right turn (new style direction arrows, shadows, inattention who knows?) and ended up in Grand Haven, a place we had debated going to. We eventually found a road that we figured would join up with the designated route and it did. The road was good and fairly flat. At 24kph I asked if Rita was OK. She said yes so I sped up to 25/26. After a while the same question, yes came the reply, so I sped up to 27/28kph. After a while the same question, now she was catching on and said “I’m not saying” which I took as a yes and sped up to 30kph. I was riding in a fairly straight up position to break wind as best I could (cut thru the air not the other). Anne as always stuck to my wheel also cutting more wind. Rita came next and benefited from the turbulence in order to keep this pace (her usual speed is 23/24kph). Bill was the back rider and also had to work to stay with the group. We came across Walter’s motor home SAG stop after riding at this pace for quite a while and passing a lot of riders; both day and sea-to-sea, at which time we stopped. Both Rita and Bill were now hot enough to take their jackets off. The next stop was Lamont CRC for drinks and cookies. Bill stayed back when we left as he was trying to locate his wife Dorothy. We met up with Dorothy at the next church stop. This one had coffee available as well as the usual cookies, bars and other assorted drinks. Next stop was Tyler’s house. From there it was a final ride to the Calvin staging area where we arrived about 12:15. The ride departed about ½ hour later, a short mass ride to the campus. We are booked into the hotel on campus for the next two nights according to the concessionary agreement I have with Rita for accommodations.

PS my regular readers may remember that I went back to the trailer the other day to give my camera a partial charge, well I never completely charged the battery and that’s why it was dead yesterday at least that’s what I’m thinking today.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 44 Today we swept Holland, Rita, George and I. We also swept Saugatuck and Graafschap. Being final sweep means you ride last and make sure that no other riders are left on the road. Saugatuck is a town on the shores of Lake Michigan and has the requisite marina, shops and restaurants. We went off of the main road because we met up with a slower rider at that point so took the opportunity to see the town and have a coffee. From there we went to the small town of Graafschap where the first CRC church is located. Actually there is a new large church on the site with a museum in the basement. We had a tour of the museum and lunch there while we waited for others to leave. This town is one of about 12 set up by the Dutch immigrants to this area in the mid 1800s. The next and one of the largest of these towns today was Holland. This is a clean town with a very nice downtown. From there it was an hours ride against the wind to the CRC campgrounds and conference center, our home for the night. Total ride for the day was about 80km under a sunny sky broken with clouds in temperatures in the mid 70s. Tomorrow we ride into Grand Rapids, another ride of about 75km. Sorry no pictures again, dead battery after 2 days, must be something wrong with the camera.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 43 Today we had a 130km shoreline drive. Well not quite all shoreline at some points we went inland from time to time to avoid driving on Hwy 12 for some reason. I think the police get nervous when they hear about 140 cyclists and get Ed to move the tour off of the main roads but in so doing we add a lot of distance by zigzagging all over. We don’t mind the diversions when they are along an interesting shoreline road but when they go out into plain country well… And so it was we went thru the town of Michigan in Indiana and saw many nice shoreline and homes built up on the dunes along that road. Then the route swung out into the countryside, where I met up with Dirk and since his speed was respectable I decided to ride a while with him. As we were riding and talking we came back to Hwy 12 and turned onto it but realized that neither of us had seen the directional arrow on the road. We tried to turn later to get back on route but the road only led us back to #12 so we decided to stay on it even when the route swung back into the country side. Good thing because we came across a nice bakery and another lost bunch, ‘the London Hard Riders Club’ I call them, who needed help getting back on track. Dirk and I went farther down the road and eventually we were overtaken by a group of 5 riders. We all stopped at a local food/drink stop set up by people from a local church. Dirk and I took off first and reached the next SAG stop before the group, left again before them and then they overtook us at some point down the road. Dirk was feeling good so we latched onto the back of the group. I swung in behind him to make sure that he didn’t get behind, coaching him a little from time to time. Our speed had increased from 28-30kph to 32-40kph depending on who was leading and the terrain. Eventually Dirk tired and I carried on with the group until we reached the town where we were staying, another nice beachside town with many nice beach homes. If the truth were known, I was by myself at the time and rode past a school and seeing no trucks there I assumed that it was still farther along especially since there were no arrows. Then I came to the highway again and followed the C2C arrows on the road turning left. Two or three kilometres along my distance indicator was telling me I should be at the school by now. I pulled out my instructions and could not find the road name on my list. I turned around and went back to the school; which was the correct place after all. The road arrows had been for the ride the next day!

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 42 Late afternoon sun, a wide sand beach and nice cool Lake Michigan water awaited us once got into our camp. The day started with a send-off service at Trinity, a nice change in several ways. It brought us together in the morning at a reasonable time –8 AM- and it was a good way to start the day. The group slip in two for the first part of the day, some going to a shelter/food bank/housing development in the Rosedale area of Chicago and some going along the planned route through the city. From the shelter, Aaron our guide for a group of 8, took us to see the Pullman district; which was a factory/housing complex established by the railway car builder Pullman in the late 1800s. The original head office, hotel for the site, church, market square and all the row housing is still standing but only the housing and church are in use today. This development was a little more upscale than your typical factory town and of course it was located in the city. The rail car industry declined because of Henry Ford and the development went into decline because social regulation doesn’t work for long. Aaron led us from the Pullman area through the city to Indiana and the 2nd CRC of Munster where the good folks of that area provided a great lunch. Just down the road from the church was an area that had severe winds a few days ago. The evidence of many toppled trees and broken branches was still being cleared up. From there we followed a paved rail trail for most of the rest of the ride. Indiana Dunes State Park is sandwiched between the steel mills of Gary and a power plant. The dunes here are large and the beach very wide with nice fine sand. Tomorrow we enter Michigan and the Eastern Time zone. The food fest will continue.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 41 The day started off well but somewhere along the way it went all wrong. You see I let my taste buds rule my head, that was probably the first mistake or maybe it was getting up early-at the same time as Rita early. I had spotted a Swiss Bakery on the town square yesterday and so I thought it might be special to have a nice pastry and a coffee on the square before leaving. So I got up with Rita and did my usual chores ending with packing a soaking wet tent. Off I went to the bakery, cinnamon roll and large coffee for $2.50, ate it on the bench outside the bakery. No matter how large these things are they are always gone too soon. Now for my second chore before leaving town, a picture of the square. I scout out a nice location; turn the camera on and nothing – dead battery. You may recall that I rolled the camera up in the sopping wet tent the day before. I had a long debate with myself; picture or no picture? Back to camp and recharge or off on my ride? The picture won and I will post it tonight with this. That set the timing for the ride for the rest of the day. We had a 60km rail trail to ride after a few kilometres of road riding. I started the trail having passed several riders on the way there. At one point I passed a nice coffee shop full of our people, soon after while negotiating a detour (yes on the bike trail) I came across George vK again and we started to ride together. We biked and biked along the trail side by side talking from time to time. As we approached the marked distance I casually mentioned to George ‘what idf we are on the wrong trail? Dumb question the end should be right up here we figured. As we crossed a road I spotted a trail map and decided that I would have a look see. “You are here” irt said but scanning the map further it had an arrow pointing off of the other end of the map to Aurora; the place we were supposed to be. We had ridden over 8 miles in the wrong direction! As we were standing there along came another 5-6 riders also going wrong. We figured out how to get back to the route via another trail. Now we were more careful to watch for splits in the trail and direction signs even though they were confusing at times we eventually found our way to the end of the trail. We were now well over 100km when the correct route indicated 77! We saw riders at the SAG stop that we had passed hours before. Rita had gone through wondering if I had passed yet (she does worry about me). Pack-no-lunch George was now in need of food, even though we had stopped for a milkshake at a 50s style dinner along the way. So the search was on, this pastry shop too fancy, this pub too dingy, this restaurant too big a meal, this one would take too long and 15 km later an Arbey’s was OK so in we went, ordered, ate and off we were again. Now I was stalling, no energy (even though I had an Italian sub ). George was riding beside me on the paved shoulder (something I have difficulty doing), I spotted some glass, he went through it and 10 minutes later we were stopped to fix his flat. We pulled a piece out of the tire; put in a new tube and off we were again. Another 10-15 later George is yelling at me again. Turns out he has another flat and tells me to go on, he will have to check his tire more closely. Off I go, no reading glasses, the road is marked so why worry. Sure enough there is an arrow on the road in our familiar orange with the C below it. I proceed to follow the arrows. Now when you pass an intersection you are never sure if the cars that are stopped are covering the arrows or if in a moment of inattention you miss an arrow or maybe they missed a corner, especially when they are busy paving the road, have they covered the arrow? My od0meter has now rolled past 150km and I really don’t want to go wrong again. Boy this road is long and I haven’t seen an arrow, even the reassuring straight thru arrows in a long time, better stop and see if my arms are long enough to read the instructions. Yes they are today (the type size is different every day) but it doesn’t help because the name of the road I’m on is not on my instructions and the full map we get covers too large an area to see anything. I notice a person reading quietly beside the lake that I’m stopped beside and asking him he says go a little farther and you will find this road that is on the instructions. Sure enough there is the arrow and I turn left, go a long way, wonder if I’ve missed another arrow –traffic is heavy now, rush hour- when along side the road up ahead some kids waving flags, some signs, a typical welcome Sea-to-Sea reception and sure enough I’m a mile from Trinity. Riding a little farther I hear shouting, even sounds like a familiar voice but I can’t be sure, glancing sideways I see yellow safety vests, turn into the plaza and sure enough there is Rita with Joan, Peter and Theresa having a tall cool beer. They ask if I would like one (dumb question) and we proceed to swap getting lost or nearly lost stories. My Odometer reads 170km on a 135 km day and my wife nearly beat me to camp. But so my reputation would not be totally ruined I passed her on the way to Trinity. Tomorrow we have more city to negotiate and I hope no rail trails.

ea-to-Sea NA Day 40 What a lunch today. Delavan CRC put on a very nice spread for us. Roast Beef on a bun, Sloppy Joe type mix, salads of all kinds, brownies with ice cream and coffee or other drinks. The church was at the 80km point in a 130km ride so ideally suited for a break. The ride itself was through rolling mixed farming country. Old oak trees surrounded the family farm type operations. The roads for the most part were excellent, the temperature in the high 70s with scattered clouds. All in all a beautiful day for riding and a beautiful ride. For the first part of the ride I took it easy; riding by myself so I didn’t have to watch anyone’s wheel and could look around. The second part I turned on the gas a little after having eaten two helpings of beans and a bunch of jalapeño peppers. Passing George vK always leads to a debate on his part, do I continue at my pace or jump on Bill’s wheel? It usually takes him a while to decide and he usually decides to catch me after I’m ahead by a few hundred feet. This pattern repeated itself today and we set a good pace after that, alternating the lead, for the rest of the ride at speeds of 40-45kph for a lot of it. Today I rolled the camera up with my tent and didn’t realize it was missing until I got on the bike so as a result I did not take any pictures today. Tomorrow we enter Chicago land so the scenery will change from rural to urban.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 38 & 39 “He holds his peace though men accuse him falsely…so we when called to suffer wrong should try to be like him and in affliction hold our peace”, the words of St. Matthews Passion. Sunday morning music in my ears. What a change from the wind in my helmet, the sound of truck tires on the pavement, the whistles of trains, the hustle and bustle of early morning weekday preparations, the mad rush when we entered Madison to get bussed to showers, set up camp, to get bussed to the laundromat and then hurry to eat. My usual ritual both here on the road and when at home is to sit quietly on Sunday morning and listen to some glorifying music to set the mood for the rest of the day. Yesterday, the short ride day for the week (116km) or so it seemed after riding more than 520 km the three-preceeding days. Dordt College just a few days ago, just a memory now, so long ago. Try to think back to the first week of riding in Washington, only 6 weeks but almost impossible. Saturday started out raining, heavy at times then letting up as if it were stopping. I was not in a hurry to pack up a sopping wet tent, to get my recently cleaned bike all dirty again, to get wet. How much rain gear to wear? Take? I proceeded to pack slowly stretching my time a bit more and took off when there was another break in the rain. As it turned out it was the last shower for the day, the roads soon dried up and eventually the sun came out. Part of the ride was along an old railway bed now covered with packed sand/limestone screenings/pavement and all in various states of repair so this called for some careful riding on our skinny tires. Before this stretch the pavement had been good, a light wind in our back and the scenery nice with the rolling hills. I stopped in Mt. Horeb to post for the day before as planned knowing that once we got here there would be a lot to do. The 2:30 ride to the church went off well, we had to funnel 140 bikes down a two-bike wide cycle path but there were no spills. The welcome band was out for a festive arrival. Shuttles and other services were provided both Saturday and all day Sunday.

Sea-to-Sea NA I'm trying to post yesterdays notes and some photos for the week from the library in Mt Hored, a town at the 80km mark in our ride for the day. They say our internet system is working but I have some time today so thought I would try this. At first attempt the photos wouldn't download so I may have to do those tonight from Madison. Sea-to-Sea NA Day 37 We are now in Wisconsin, having crossed the Mississippi River about 30km back. There was a nice downhill to the river valley; which is much broader than the river is now. Of course we had to climb out of the valley again. This climb was about 10% of the total climbing for the day. The hills have increased in size over what we had the last few days. The forests have returned and they break up the landscape. The rolling countryside is dotted with dairy farms; which look more prosperous than those we saw in Iowa yesterday. Early in the day the road was terrible. I’ve heard of loose spokes, flats due to hitting holes and now of someone seriously injured. Latter the paved shoulder was strewn with gravel to various degrees due to recent grading work on the gravel shoulder past the pavement. This meant crossing the rumble strips to avoid the gravel, a tricky move –dashing into the traffic lane using the 10ft long break in the rubble strip which come along every 50 ft or so at speeds of 30kph plus. This is where Don broke his collarbone today. This 160km ride was completed in 5.5 hours riding time with two very short stops. The wind was almost non-existent for the day except at the end there seemed to be a slight headwind. Temperatures in the high 70s and scattered cloud made it a very pleasant ride on mostly quiet roads.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 35 The lobby of the residence we stayed in last night is full of people at 6 AM and many of them are wearing raincoats. Many thoughts run through you’re head then; rain on the longest day, it’s a long way to breakfast, what about the bags we left outside overnight? Going outside it was raining pretty hard and the temperature was cool – better get the leg warmers out. I rode the bike to breakfast and by the time we finished that the rain had subsided quite a bit. I got on the road about 6:30 and promptly missed the second turn, realizing my error a mile down the road. Riding in the rain with sunglasses on you can’t see the markings on the road. Sunglasses came off and stayed off for the rest of the day. I don’t know why I missed the turn latter on again but I ended up on a 4-lane highway. I figured that I would stay on it if it was going my way but then it turned south and just as it did, two cyclists crossed the highway in front of me- that must be the road- so I followed them. For the rest of the trip I watched for road markings and strained my eyes to read the print on the guide map. The rain turned into a light rain, the kind that doesn’t get you wet when exercising because your body heat evaporates it almost right away. This serves to keep you cool and as a result I didn’t drink very much water at all but this also raised another problem; that of having to go to the bathroom. Three hours into the ride, just as I was going to head into the cornfield, there was Corrie and his portable outhouse. I watched my odometer turn over 100km, more cornfield and more calf operations (you can smell them before you see them). By this time I had passed most of the riders, either on the road or at rest stops. The rain had subsided and the wind was shifting to a tail wind. I realized this because of the speed I was riding at. You see my leg effort is pretty constant, you shift gears to keep the pedal RPM constant and so your speed changes according to the terrain and wind. I kept track of the time trying to eat something every half hour. Today for the first time on this tour I managed to eat a peanut butter sandwich while riding. On previous days my mouth would be too dry but today it worked fine. By 150km I had a good tail wind when traveling east, the primary direction for the day, but we did have to change to north or south to connect the paved roads. The ride ended at 184 km and a riding time of 6.2 hrs for an average of just under 30kph. The favourable winds made it a pleasant ride into camp and pretty well everyone made it in before 7 PM. Tomorrow is another ride of the same length but judging by the sky now it will be sunny and thus hotter.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 34 Here we are at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. Air-conditioned dorm rooms for everyone tonight. That makes four nights in a row of air-conditioned sleeping accommodation for those who wanted it. It is a nice gesture but for me a lot of moving of gear through doors, up stairs etc. I’m in the ladies wing so my washroom is at the other end of the building (I took my night bottle into the room with me). There will be a dinner and celebration service here tonight. This morning we were on sweep duty so were late getting out of camp. George and I rode together all day, with 3 or 4 stops to check on people or to talk to SAG people. It was a short riding day with only 95km of riding on quiet roads through rolling countryside covered with green beans or corn. The cloud cover kept things cool so all in all it was a nice day. Tomorrow is the longest day so far, over 184 km, but the winds are supposed to be favourable

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 33 I’m riding down another endless road. I’m fighting another head wind and my speed is slowly dropping. I verbally abuse myself and pick up the pace a little only to watch it drop again a few minutes latter. A transport truck comes from the opposite direction and bashes me with its wind, Katrina it said on the truck. Then almost immediately after that a truck called Rita (not my wife but the hurricane) comes along and bashes me again. My speed drops even though I duck to try to avoid the wind off of this one. As I look ahead at the endless road I wonder what it must be like for those struggling to get ahead with no light at the end of the tunnel, like this road. Constantly being bashed and battered by poor up bringing, poor education, being born in the wrong place, poor government and then natural disasters, wars and disease. I can see how they would like to just lie down along the side of the road and give up. Me I have a map, I know there is a camp at the end of the road somewhere even though I can’t see it, I have hope. If I can just keep going a little longer, I will get there. Pity those who have no maps, who constantly get bashed by big trucks and who have no hope. That is what this ride is all about. Earlier in the day we had shorter distances before the next road change, we had manageable targets, we had curves in the road, hills we could crest and valleys to descend into. It was much nicer riding that way. That is what this tour can do for the poor – give them just a little hope, help them accomplish one small manageable goal and then maybe they will have hope and strive to reach the next goal on their own or with a little less help. The sky was overcast for most of today’s ride but the winds were far from favourable. Some riders had a nice shower along the road; I had only a few drops. The scenery had changed early today to more rolling hills but then went flat latter on. It looks like most riders will make it in on their own today and that’s good. My time for the non-stop ride of 144km was just over 5 hours for an average speed of 28.3. That should tell you that there was a lot of head/side wind or that I had a rough weekend, the latter I don’t remember so it is probably the former.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 32 and 33

Ice Hockey in Nebraska in August with the outside temperature at 95F! That is what the boys are doing at the Fremont Family YMCA. The ice stays in the arena all summer and tonight is public skating. When you come out of the arena building, not even the rink, the heat and humidity hit you like a wall. Yes it is now humid something we have not yet had to endure along with the heat. Just slowly walking between our tent and the gear truck makes you hot. I don’t know how we bike in this heat. After the ride today I have probably drank 1.5 gallons of various liquids and only gone to the bathroom once in the last 6 hours. There is a nice wind – nice once you are in camp - but it wore out a lot of people on the last leg of today’s ride. There were a lot of rolling hills, no shoulder and the hot southeast wind. We were riding mostly east which was tough and part of the time heading north so there the wind helped lift the spirits and the speed. Average speed just over 29kph for the 154km ride. Tomorrow is a day off, then we head into another long distance week, problem is the first two days are light and we make up for it towards the end with 2 - 180km days back to back but that is next week. Now we get to relax for a day, and fix bikes, go to church, do laundry and any other chores that need to be done. There is a small water park for kids here just 200 ft from my tent. I have been in it twice and am sure I’ll do so again tomorrow. I mentioned yesterday about being able to ride long and hard. The one physical gift I have been blessed with is that of endurance and so the ability to work hard at anything for a long time. I have trained for cycling for many years so my whole body is in tune with that except one part keeps complaining, especially when I first get back on the bike seat. It is now Sunday afternoon, 100F outside but we are enjoying the hospitality of the Good Sheppard Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod; which is right across the road from our camp. Some of us attended each of the two morning services here and they offered to let us use the facilities and provide food and drinks right away. Some of our group are sleeping in the building as well. Last night it didn’t get much below 80F and remained humid all night. Most of our group went to two CRC churches, one in Omaha and one in Lincoln, both quite a drive away. Lunch was provided but it was a long trip. Thanks for the words of encouragement and support both written and unwritten.

Sea-to-Sea NA Days 31 and 32 Maybe I'm having tandem withdrawal, but since giving it up the teranain has changed from boring sagebrush to boring corn feilds. Having ridden 2005 I know that I can ride this one and not having to pull Rita through the mountains leaves me with not much of a challenge. Those who know me know that I get bored quickly with no challenge, from my grade 1 teacher to now it has always been the same. So I have rode the last 4 days without stopping, solo for more of a challenge but that too is no big deal for me (I had some hitch hikers today for a while). Today the wind was against us most of the 150km ride, average speed 25.5kph, yesterday we had a sside wind and some tail wind in the latter part of the ride so the average was much higher 34.6 kph - at least I think that was yesterday. I think we are in August now but am not really sure, not even trusting my watch. This is how it gets on the tour, I know tomorrow is Sat. of week 5 but that is about it. We get no news of any kind, some where I saw there was a hurricain 'D' around Texas. We have absolutly no idea of what is happening in Canada. Our only worry is tires, water, food and such. I helped several late comers put up tents tonight and will volunteer to break wind for (not before) some people on the really long days next week even if there is a tail wind. Tomorrow I'll ride solo again to finish the week off.