Since I haven't yet learned how to put a description under each picture as I post them I will do in in the order of appearance.
1. So you think you have tan lines?
2. I have them in stranger places than you do.
3. RR bridge built in 1915, 240 feet tall over 1/2 mile long
4. Oh, that second breakfast is so sweet!
5. On our way to Liberty Park with police escort
6. Dipping our Tires
7. Clara and I celebrating together.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE ARE HOME!
It has come to pass. On June 30 as we dipped our tires in Puget Sound, I wondered what it would be like to have completed the journey before us. Now I know. It happened so fast that it is still hard to believe it is over, even though Clara and I have been home since late Sunday night. On the other hand it is hard to believe that there ever was a time when I didn't get up in the morning packed up my tent and went biking. It seems like that is what we have been doing forever and ever. And you know what, I can't do anything else. Walking stairs was painful and it took at least ten times up the stairs before it felt comfortable and I felt like my sense of balance had returned. Yesterday afternoon my feet ached, and I realized that they were sore because of the "great" amount of walking I had done that day. And Clara feels she should not let me drive because I can't seem to maintain the speed limit, and I stand patiently in line behind a line of traffic that is going nowhere, etc.
The most common question I am asked is: "What have you learned?" Well, I'm not sure I have learned it, but the most striking thing I have experienced is the joy and contentment of living one day at the time, and the truth of Jesus' words "each day has enough trouble of its own" I worried about that second day, climbing Steven's pass, and it was tough, but we made it. The next day we had Blewett pass to climb which wasn't nearly as hard and after that I seldom looked ahead. I waited for the peleton meeting each night to get instructions for the next day. What I discovered was this: when you stop worrying about tomorrow you truly live into today and you can live deeply into it, so even if it is a difficult day, you discover beauty and the joy of a fresh baked cinnamon roll. and you discover that you are capable of far more than you thought you were. But above all you discover the face of God all around you, in the strangers you meet who bless you as you pass and exchange conversation, in the glory of a perfectly reflected mountain in a calm pond, in the encouraging words, and that gentle push in the back as your friends literally sweep you home, or set up your tent when you come in extra late. I also discovered how little I actually need, and the importance of relationships. I discovered anew that happiness and joy are not found in the things we have but in the relationships we build.
I said, that I wasn't sure I learned these things, I said that because to me learning them means that I will continue to carry these things with me, and already now I discover how easy it is to just fall back into old ways of living life without that awareness and sensitivity to God's presence and the need to concentrate on today as the only day that counts and requires our concern and as a gift from God.
It has been said often among us, that this is not the end, only the beginning and that the real work starts now that the tour is over. How true. So I really seek to continue to walk in the way I have experienced, and I pray that you too will find this is a new beginning, a new awareness not just of God in our lives, but of God's call to us to care for the widow and the fatherless and to stand up for the oppressed and afflicted.
Thanks to all of you for your loving care, your prayers, your support.
PS I lied, I actually lost more weight in the last week, so that in the end I have lost nearly fifteen pounds.
The most common question I am asked is: "What have you learned?" Well, I'm not sure I have learned it, but the most striking thing I have experienced is the joy and contentment of living one day at the time, and the truth of Jesus' words "each day has enough trouble of its own" I worried about that second day, climbing Steven's pass, and it was tough, but we made it. The next day we had Blewett pass to climb which wasn't nearly as hard and after that I seldom looked ahead. I waited for the peleton meeting each night to get instructions for the next day. What I discovered was this: when you stop worrying about tomorrow you truly live into today and you can live deeply into it, so even if it is a difficult day, you discover beauty and the joy of a fresh baked cinnamon roll. and you discover that you are capable of far more than you thought you were. But above all you discover the face of God all around you, in the strangers you meet who bless you as you pass and exchange conversation, in the glory of a perfectly reflected mountain in a calm pond, in the encouraging words, and that gentle push in the back as your friends literally sweep you home, or set up your tent when you come in extra late. I also discovered how little I actually need, and the importance of relationships. I discovered anew that happiness and joy are not found in the things we have but in the relationships we build.
I said, that I wasn't sure I learned these things, I said that because to me learning them means that I will continue to carry these things with me, and already now I discover how easy it is to just fall back into old ways of living life without that awareness and sensitivity to God's presence and the need to concentrate on today as the only day that counts and requires our concern and as a gift from God.
It has been said often among us, that this is not the end, only the beginning and that the real work starts now that the tour is over. How true. So I really seek to continue to walk in the way I have experienced, and I pray that you too will find this is a new beginning, a new awareness not just of God in our lives, but of God's call to us to care for the widow and the fatherless and to stand up for the oppressed and afflicted.
Thanks to all of you for your loving care, your prayers, your support.
PS I lied, I actually lost more weight in the last week, so that in the end I have lost nearly fifteen pounds.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Help! I'm Gaining Weight
Sunday Morning August 24. 6:30 AM
It is early, although not early by the standards of other mornings. Right now most everyone is sleeping, Friday, more than half of cyclists were on the road and all but a few dozen tents were gone. But this is Sunday, the cooks have the day off and many people have accepted billets or went to the falls last night and all is quiet. Me? Well I was tired last night went to bed as late as I could make myself stay awake (10:15) and at 4:30 I was ready to get going. I forced myself to stay in bed but I finally couldn't stand it anymore, showered and decided to use the school's computers to get on line. So while I can post, I can't access my own computer so I can't put any pictures up today.
What reception we have received here in Ontario. We entered Canada Wednesday morning around 11 from Marine City, MI. We traveled the St. Clair River by ferry and arrived to a cheering crowd, and more goodies than we could cope with. One lady had baked 400 cupcakes with Canadian flags, there was Tim Horton's coffee and timbits, fruit and zoute drop, and on and on it went.
Yesterday we arrived in St. Catherines where once more we were treated to goodies, a person giving foot massages, transportation to laundromats and bicycle shops etc. etc. I'm afraid we could even take advantage of all of it. To get to St. Catherines was like running a gauntlet of goodness. Beamsville church served lunch, and two others served refreshments. I made the mistake of stopping in an ice cream shop that advertized home made Gelati, which was TERRIFIC only to discover freshly picked peaches served over ice cream at the Grimsby church two kilometers down the road. Think I could resist? Not on your life. I did resist the temptation to stop at the dutch bakery where Eritia works which had a big banner out and served free coffee and pastries. But besides the churches there were at least three family stops welcoming family members and serving up juices, water and freezies. In Grand Rapids, I stood on the third scale in a week that indicated I had lost 8 pounds, which is the average of all three, but at this rate I will gain it all back before Jersey City.
Along the way I have met up with one of Clara's cousins, Theresa Vander Sluis in Chatham, Dan and Ida Tigchelaar in London and Theresa and Arnie from Chilliwack who happened to be at Niagara falls and came to visit camp last night.
My bike had been acting most of this past week, it wasn't shifting well leaving me only about 7 or eight usuable gears, which in itself wasn't a problem but accessing the gears had to be done in a very specific order or else I was stranded, so I actually walked several hills because I got caught in a gear I couldn't use up the hill and had no way of shifting down., but all these nights being billeted out meant I couldn't get at it. So yesterday as we came into St. Catherines there was a bike shop which fixed the shifting problem for me and then I spent much of the afternoon cleaning up my bike real thoroughly. So now it runs again, smooth as silk.
I can't imagine that we have only one week left. For the past eight weeks my entire life has consisted of biking, putting up the tent, taking it down, eating sleeping and doing those tasks absolutely necessary to keept going, like doing the wash and in a week it will be all over. This has been a very regimented tour. The activities of each day are almost identical and spell out for us by the tasks assigned. You really don't have to make very many decisions except how often you stop for ice cream. It's become a way of life and next week it ends. However as one of our speakers reminded us the other night, it's not over in Jersey, it's really only just beginning. After the tour the monies raised will be designated and spent and persons we have all become will have to adjust to the new reality and seek to maintain the vision and dedication we have acquired.
It is early, although not early by the standards of other mornings. Right now most everyone is sleeping, Friday, more than half of cyclists were on the road and all but a few dozen tents were gone. But this is Sunday, the cooks have the day off and many people have accepted billets or went to the falls last night and all is quiet. Me? Well I was tired last night went to bed as late as I could make myself stay awake (10:15) and at 4:30 I was ready to get going. I forced myself to stay in bed but I finally couldn't stand it anymore, showered and decided to use the school's computers to get on line. So while I can post, I can't access my own computer so I can't put any pictures up today.
What reception we have received here in Ontario. We entered Canada Wednesday morning around 11 from Marine City, MI. We traveled the St. Clair River by ferry and arrived to a cheering crowd, and more goodies than we could cope with. One lady had baked 400 cupcakes with Canadian flags, there was Tim Horton's coffee and timbits, fruit and zoute drop, and on and on it went.
Yesterday we arrived in St. Catherines where once more we were treated to goodies, a person giving foot massages, transportation to laundromats and bicycle shops etc. etc. I'm afraid we could even take advantage of all of it. To get to St. Catherines was like running a gauntlet of goodness. Beamsville church served lunch, and two others served refreshments. I made the mistake of stopping in an ice cream shop that advertized home made Gelati, which was TERRIFIC only to discover freshly picked peaches served over ice cream at the Grimsby church two kilometers down the road. Think I could resist? Not on your life. I did resist the temptation to stop at the dutch bakery where Eritia works which had a big banner out and served free coffee and pastries. But besides the churches there were at least three family stops welcoming family members and serving up juices, water and freezies. In Grand Rapids, I stood on the third scale in a week that indicated I had lost 8 pounds, which is the average of all three, but at this rate I will gain it all back before Jersey City.
Along the way I have met up with one of Clara's cousins, Theresa Vander Sluis in Chatham, Dan and Ida Tigchelaar in London and Theresa and Arnie from Chilliwack who happened to be at Niagara falls and came to visit camp last night.
My bike had been acting most of this past week, it wasn't shifting well leaving me only about 7 or eight usuable gears, which in itself wasn't a problem but accessing the gears had to be done in a very specific order or else I was stranded, so I actually walked several hills because I got caught in a gear I couldn't use up the hill and had no way of shifting down., but all these nights being billeted out meant I couldn't get at it. So yesterday as we came into St. Catherines there was a bike shop which fixed the shifting problem for me and then I spent much of the afternoon cleaning up my bike real thoroughly. So now it runs again, smooth as silk.
I can't imagine that we have only one week left. For the past eight weeks my entire life has consisted of biking, putting up the tent, taking it down, eating sleeping and doing those tasks absolutely necessary to keept going, like doing the wash and in a week it will be all over. This has been a very regimented tour. The activities of each day are almost identical and spell out for us by the tasks assigned. You really don't have to make very many decisions except how often you stop for ice cream. It's become a way of life and next week it ends. However as one of our speakers reminded us the other night, it's not over in Jersey, it's really only just beginning. After the tour the monies raised will be designated and spent and persons we have all become will have to adjust to the new reality and seek to maintain the vision and dedication we have acquired.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Here we are two weeks from the end of the tour, in Grand Rapids, MI. It's hard to believe that we are this close to the end. It has been fun to visit with family and friends. We came into the GR via Leonard St. and a friend of ours, Char lives in a nursing home just two blocks off the route, so I surprised her and popped in. She has lived with MS since about 1970 and no longer has any use of her hands or feet, so is totally dependent on others. When I walked in the home care worker was just getting her ready so she and her husband could get to Calvin College and watch me and the other 300 bikers ride in. She was so surprised, it was fun. We had a short ride yesterday, only 75 km, and 8 stops along the way. Most were stops organized by families of bikers along the way and three were organized by local churches. It's blueberry season in Michigan and I ate more blueberries than I could count. If you do that you will pay for it, and I did.
The ride in was impressive. All of the long distance riders in official jersey, followed by another 150 riders who were just riding for the day. We blocked up traffic quite effectively. Clara, 2 of my sisters and their husbands plus Clara's sister and her husband were all there to cheer us on, but I didn't see any of them until after we had all reached the parking lot.
We are getting ready for the service at the ball park. Over 8000 people are expected. I bought a new camera so I will post some pictures later.
For those of you who haven't heard, I've been riding since last Monday and things have been going great. Far better than I could have hoped or dreamed for. I thank God for healing which is occurring at a much faster rate than the doctor predicted and look forward to a couple of great weeks of riding.
Here we are two weeks from the end of the tour, in Grand Rapids, MI. It's hard to believe that we are this close to the end. It has been fun to visit with family and friends. We came into the GR via Leonard St. and a friend of ours, Char lives in a nursing home just two blocks off the route, so I surprised her and popped in. She has lived with MS since about 1970 and no longer has any use of her hands or feet, so is totally dependent on others. When I walked in the home care worker was just getting her ready so she and her husband could get to Calvin College and watch me and the other 300 bikers ride in. She was so surprised, it was fun. We had a short ride yesterday, only 75 km, and 8 stops along the way. Most were stops organized by families of bikers along the way and three were organized by local churches. It's blueberry season in Michigan and I ate more blueberries than I could count. If you do that you will pay for it, and I did.
The ride in was impressive. All of the long distance riders in official jersey, followed by another 150 riders who were just riding for the day. We blocked up traffic quite effectively. Clara, 2 of my sisters and their husbands plus Clara's sister and her husband were all there to cheer us on, but I didn't see any of them until after we had all reached the parking lot.
We are getting ready for the service at the ball park. Over 8000 people are expected. I bought a new camera so I will post some pictures later.
For those of you who haven't heard, I've been riding since last Monday and things have been going great. Far better than I could have hoped or dreamed for. I thank God for healing which is occurring at a much faster rate than the doctor predicted and look forward to a couple of great weeks of riding.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Friday evening the forecast called for rain, so I took my camera out of my handlebar carrier and put it in my gear bag which I store in the vestibule of my tent under the fly. A perfectly safe, dry place, or so I thought. Tent material does go slack as the evening grows cooler and when the rains came about one o'clock in the morning the fly collapsed enough to form a funnel which directed the water off my tent directly into my gear bag. So when I reached into my bag to get my stuff bag for my sleeping bag I found my camera floating in an inch of water. I have spent two days drying it our and recharged the battery, but so far no luck, so until I resolve this one I will not be able to add pictures to my blog. So I suggest that for pictures you go to the Sea to Sea website, there you can find lots of pictures both those taken by Jonathan, our official photographer or if you click cyclist's pictures you will find pictures posted by various riders on the tour.
I'm glad I decided not to ride Saturday, I feel much better and ready to ride tomorrow. Assuming that this time our satelite problems have had a permanent fix I should be able to update you on a much more regular basis. The next two days are still fairly long, 130 k and then we get a number of shorter days into Grand Rapids.
I'm glad I decided not to ride Saturday, I feel much better and ready to ride tomorrow. Assuming that this time our satelite problems have had a permanent fix I should be able to update you on a much more regular basis. The next two days are still fairly long, 130 k and then we get a number of shorter days into Grand Rapids.
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