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.

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.