Sea-to-Sea Wrap-up The trip home went well, everything was on time, the luggage arrived, the bike boxes followed although I have not opened them up yet. I hope that all riders had the same pleasant experience. Reconnecting with family and friends, although started will take a few weeks. In our case we will finally make it to our home in the Picton area late Tuesday night. Now that the tour is over we will have to get used to many things again; the speed of car travel and the limited visibility and sensibility around us as we travel, for me getting used to a cold toilet seat will take a few days (the luxury of only 2 or 3 seats for 100 men is that the seat is always warm), sleeping on an elevated bed in a room bigger than 7’ square but we had some nice scenes in the morning out of that tent window, not having to scout out a new tent site every day and setting up etc. We have lived outdoors for 2 months, 24 hours a day and being inside will take some getting used to. Our life has had a very narrow focus for 9 weeks – that of riding a bike to the next appointed stop every day – and everything focused on that, eating, sleeping and conversation. It was almost all we knew and had to worry about. Now as we return home all the other issues of normal daily life close in on us and for a while we may seem overwhelmed by them. One adjustment that is more profound is a kind of time warp. I found this after the 2005 trip also; it is like having been in a dream for 9 weeks. When we left the summer was starting and now it is over but you have not been home to experience it. True you have done other things but they were out of the norm and do not count as summer. The trip seems to be classed as something else in your head. True it was hot but it was not ‘summer’ as you have known it your whole life, so now as I sit on the patio it is difficult to convince myself that it is September and not June. What permanent changes will we make in our lives as a result of hearing about and discussing poverty issues for the past 9 weeks? Will we continue to raise the topic in other discussions bringing out a new perspective on the issue? I for one am more aware of what our church is doing in the poor areas of the cities in the USA. I will continue to work for DRS (the disaster response service of the CRC relief committee) as I have prior to the tour but now I may look farther a field for projects that I can help with. Jesus said to his disciples that we would always have the poor with us. Proverbs mentions many times the plight of the fool and loose living people. The bible also tells us to love our neighbour but we are not expected to give everything we have to them so that we become penny-less ourselves (the good Samaritan) but we are to make sure that they are taken care of, that there is justice for all and we can do that on a small scale on our home front or some of us have the opportunity to do it on a larger scale. Thanks for reading this blog. As you know it is not always easy to post and thanks for your encouragement in that respect.

Sea-to-Sea NA Day 58 The police car came roaring by with siren blaring and lights flashing. Oncoming cars moved out of the way as best they could. Bikes shifted to the right tightening the pack. This was the escorted ride to Liberty State Park, close to 200 riders all in their Sea-to-Sea jersey. It was quite a sight as we drove through the poorer sections of Newark, people cheered, cars honked and trucks blew their air horns. Ladies hung out of windows taking pictures and shouting. Two local boys joined in the procession and asked what this was all about, then phoned his buddy to tell him while riding along with us. Kyle got a flat but continued to ride not wanting to be left behind. As we entered the park, more people, wearing Sea-to-Sea clothing and holding signs congratulating this or that son, uncle mother or the riders in general. In the water ahead were Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, not far from the peer we were riding on. At the end of the boardwalk/peer (which was really surfaced with paving stones) was a large group of family and other tour supporters all cheering in chorus with the hoots of the riders. Earlier I had wondered if the boat launch would be long enough to accommodate us all but it turned out there was a beach as well, which was just long enough for all the riders to line up. Len lead us in the Lord’s Prayer and we proceeded to dip our tires in the water. I did a virtual dip in my head. Brent was the only one who ventured in up to his neck with his bike held high above his head. Later he went for a swim. Pictures were taken, mutual congratulations offered, hugs of welcome and goodbye, a few tears were shed and then it was all over. The 9-week ride from sea to sea, finished as it began, at the sea but on the other side of North America some 6500km away. We loaded the bikes into 2 50’ trailers, packing them as best we could, then we boarded busses for the ride back to Sussex. Quick, quick unload the truck, set out the tent and sleeping bags thanks to the soggy night we had had, get a bike box out disassemble the bike, shower, dress, pack up the stuff that was drying, board busses go to dinner, attend a celebration service (which was very good) board busses, continue packing and saying goodbyes, prepare for sleep in the gym and finally at 12 midnight out went the lights and sleep. The day had started at 5:30 because wagon-train-master had decreed that we should start earlier and have the gear truck loaded by 8. It had rained during the night and there was a light drizzle when Rita, Anne, Val and I set off about 7:20 (Val is a GR rider from Manitoba). It was not exactly an insignificant ride as we climbed many small hills and rode 85km before reaching the staging point. Another group photo was taken on a lawn outside a factory among the evidence of at least a couple of Canadian Geese. We had a near record of flat tires because of the rain and roads littered with glass particles. I will make one more concluding post to the blog in a few days so please check again.

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.