While nine weeks might have been a little long to be a nomad, I truly appreciate the opportunity that I had to experience God’s creation as well as the interaction with His people. Even before the tour started I told myself to expect the unexpected, and I would say that my anticipation of what was to come was certainly met, and even exceeded. I recall from my first blog listing several things that I would miss while on the tour – and while the coffee and beer often left something to be desired, this was made up for in other, more important areas. The sense of community and the relationships that were formed as we traveled together from one location to another made this experience a great blessing. The idea that this was essentially a church on wheels (forgive the terrible pun!) gave deeper meaning to much of our actions and interactions.
Furthermore, I was excited to see the church take hold of a cause, poverty in this case, and genuinely engage the members of the communities through which we rode, bringing awareness to the needs of others. There was much discussion during the tour regarding the practicality of investing so much money into a bike tour – why spend so much on bikes and food and lodging and other ‘stuff’ for ourselves when we could have each stayed at home in our respective communities and invested that money in other agencies that directly assist the poor? And while there might be some truth in the math of dollar figures spent in areas of need, I don’t think that it is our place to judge the value of something that is done in the name of Christ. All along the tour, we as cyclists interacted albeit briefly with numerous individuals, and it is difficult to determine the effect that our words or our actions might have had on them. We may never know the lasting changes that were set in motion by the ‘simple’ act of riding across the country, but we can hope and pray that lives were changed for the better because of this tour, and that those affected by the ministries of the organizations we raised money for are blessed in tangible ways.
What now? During our last communion together my friend Julie gave a brief testimony, and in it she referenced a book – I think it was called ‘Touching the Void’ – about a man’s journey up Mount Everest. The main idea described here is that the top of Mount Everest is just another plot of land, no different from another except that there is nowhere else to climb. Julie made the link that in our tour, the last day of riding is no different from any other except that there would be nowhere else to ride. While at the end of such an epic journey some of us might have been searching for a memorable climax in that final day, it is really just another day with its own challenges and decisions to be made… which will in turn lead to yet another day at its close, and so on and so forth. What is important is not how many miles we biked and how fast we did it, or how many flat tires we changed, but rather the attitude we have and the decisions we will continue to make in light of what we learned while on the tour. Let this not simply be an end of something that will be missed, but an encouraging beginning to what lies ahead in each of our lives, and let it cause us to be mindful of the plight of others and receptive to how we might be the change in this world.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, if you have any input, questions, responses etc. I’d love to hear them. Feel free to e-mail me any time: r_vyn@hotmail.com.
Cheers,
Reuben
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Week 9 recap
Sorry for the delay in posting my last blog - I apologize for passively assaulting you with the title "ode to flatulence" at the top of my blog for so long! During the last week of the tour I just couldn't bring myself to write, mostly because I wasn't feeling my clever self - partially due to mental and physical exhaustion, partially due to homesickness etc. However, now that I find myself safely at home and sleeping in the comfort of my own bed (which was unknowingly kept warm for me throughout my two month absence... another story for another time!), there is no excuse - especially since my post-tour life has not exactly been characterized by a flurry of deadlines and responsibilities as I’m sure it has been for other riders. Therefore, here begins my final reflection, thereby bringing closure to this wonderful journey, sob sob...
After leaving the comfort of Southwestern Ontario, and the many positive interactions with family and friends, it was difficult to be motivated to get up every morning and ride. The thought of finishing was still ahead of us at this point, but yet seemed far enough away that there was still some grunt-work to be done. This was where my mental and physical exhaustion reached its peak, and I spent a few days at the back of the pack pedaling slowly and coming into camp late after multiple coffee breaks. Monday we had our last taste of Tim Horton's which was slightly sad - i have to say that Timmies doesn't compare in quality to Stumptown (awesome coffee had here in Portland), but its aroma embodies, nay personifies, the memories of my younger years in Canada - ah nostalgia!
Anyway, I snapped out of my funk when Billy D. told me that he expected me to perform on Friday, which was a day that saw nearly 7,000ft of climbing from Dalton, PA to Sussex, NJ. Now these Appalachian hills aren't as long as the Rockies, but several of the grades were much steeper than anything we had seen thus far. I went to bed early that night and woke up with the old folks before 6am - even to my surprise as i didn't set an alarm! I still didn't leave until 7:20am because of my absent minded nature - i had the hardest time finding several key objects: id, money, pump etc. Once I was on the road however, I quickly made up the time I lost by aimlessly wandering around camp. I wish that I had brought my speedometer that day since the steep grades which caused several riders to dismount and walk up, also provided for some great descending speeds! Many of these roads were winding and narrow, thus very scenic, and thankfully well maintained. About half-way through the route I found myself in the lead, and I arrived in camp shortly after 12:30pm as the gear truck and kitchen truck were getting situated. It felt great to hammer out the last ride before the easy stroll to the beach the following day.
The last day was quite a memorable one – I rode with the group of friends that I had become closest with during the tour: Hans, Nick, Julie, Kincso and Aaron. Despite some early sprinkles and a gash in the sidewall of my tire (which I managed to fix temporarily with a map and some crazy glue – thanks Nick!), the rest of the day was thoroughly enjoyable. We made one final coffee stop before meeting at the staging area for our police escort. At the staging area, which was still a good 7-8 miles from our final destination, Liberty State Park, we gathered for a group photo with all the cyclists. Riding in that escort with about 200 cyclists taking up entire sections of highway and city streets was pretty impressive – we took up one lane for the most part, and stretched the length of 3-4 blocks! When we arrived at the park we had a great view of New York, as well as the Statue of Liberty. We continued on pathways for another mile or so until we were welcomed by a large gathering of friends, family, and other supporters – it was a really neat way to end the tour. I had told my parents not to surprise me at the end of the tour (simply because I was going to be flying back too quickly to make it worthwhile!), so I didn’t have anyone waiting for me at the end. But after the tire dipping ceremony I pulled out some champagne – which I stealthily procured earlier that day and had been carrying since the staging area – and shared it with my riding buddies. Due to a busy schedule for the remainder of the evening, we were quickly carted back to our camp to prepare for dinner and celebration service at a local CRC.
The dinner was great, a nice catered outdoor picnic, but the service was much more meaningful in the end. The church was small and intimate, and I was sitting up in the balcony with my friend Annette where I could look out and see all the other cyclists, many of them with their friends and family. This was rather overwhelming, simply from the thought of the stories of each of these individuals and sacrifices that each of them made to be a part of this tour. It was one of those moments that cannot be described, except to say that there was a great sense of community and love, and the presence of God was certainly in that place.
After the service many good-byes were said as several people were leaving almost right away. I still had some packing to do, so I returned back to camp to arrange all of the ‘stuff’ I had acquired along the way, and pack it safely along with my bike for my plane ride home. The next morning involved a good amount of work as we had to strip the two semis down and get them ready for the return trip to Grand Rapids. The lovely decals which decorated these two trailers were nice to look at but very difficult to remove – I still have the blisters to prove it! The flight home was relatively uneventful, and I smiled as the pilot announced ‘cloud cover and light rain’ as we neared Portland… finally I was home!
After leaving the comfort of Southwestern Ontario, and the many positive interactions with family and friends, it was difficult to be motivated to get up every morning and ride. The thought of finishing was still ahead of us at this point, but yet seemed far enough away that there was still some grunt-work to be done. This was where my mental and physical exhaustion reached its peak, and I spent a few days at the back of the pack pedaling slowly and coming into camp late after multiple coffee breaks. Monday we had our last taste of Tim Horton's which was slightly sad - i have to say that Timmies doesn't compare in quality to Stumptown (awesome coffee had here in Portland), but its aroma embodies, nay personifies, the memories of my younger years in Canada - ah nostalgia!
Anyway, I snapped out of my funk when Billy D. told me that he expected me to perform on Friday, which was a day that saw nearly 7,000ft of climbing from Dalton, PA to Sussex, NJ. Now these Appalachian hills aren't as long as the Rockies, but several of the grades were much steeper than anything we had seen thus far. I went to bed early that night and woke up with the old folks before 6am - even to my surprise as i didn't set an alarm! I still didn't leave until 7:20am because of my absent minded nature - i had the hardest time finding several key objects: id, money, pump etc. Once I was on the road however, I quickly made up the time I lost by aimlessly wandering around camp. I wish that I had brought my speedometer that day since the steep grades which caused several riders to dismount and walk up, also provided for some great descending speeds! Many of these roads were winding and narrow, thus very scenic, and thankfully well maintained. About half-way through the route I found myself in the lead, and I arrived in camp shortly after 12:30pm as the gear truck and kitchen truck were getting situated. It felt great to hammer out the last ride before the easy stroll to the beach the following day.
The last day was quite a memorable one – I rode with the group of friends that I had become closest with during the tour: Hans, Nick, Julie, Kincso and Aaron. Despite some early sprinkles and a gash in the sidewall of my tire (which I managed to fix temporarily with a map and some crazy glue – thanks Nick!), the rest of the day was thoroughly enjoyable. We made one final coffee stop before meeting at the staging area for our police escort. At the staging area, which was still a good 7-8 miles from our final destination, Liberty State Park, we gathered for a group photo with all the cyclists. Riding in that escort with about 200 cyclists taking up entire sections of highway and city streets was pretty impressive – we took up one lane for the most part, and stretched the length of 3-4 blocks! When we arrived at the park we had a great view of New York, as well as the Statue of Liberty. We continued on pathways for another mile or so until we were welcomed by a large gathering of friends, family, and other supporters – it was a really neat way to end the tour. I had told my parents not to surprise me at the end of the tour (simply because I was going to be flying back too quickly to make it worthwhile!), so I didn’t have anyone waiting for me at the end. But after the tire dipping ceremony I pulled out some champagne – which I stealthily procured earlier that day and had been carrying since the staging area – and shared it with my riding buddies. Due to a busy schedule for the remainder of the evening, we were quickly carted back to our camp to prepare for dinner and celebration service at a local CRC.
The dinner was great, a nice catered outdoor picnic, but the service was much more meaningful in the end. The church was small and intimate, and I was sitting up in the balcony with my friend Annette where I could look out and see all the other cyclists, many of them with their friends and family. This was rather overwhelming, simply from the thought of the stories of each of these individuals and sacrifices that each of them made to be a part of this tour. It was one of those moments that cannot be described, except to say that there was a great sense of community and love, and the presence of God was certainly in that place.
After the service many good-byes were said as several people were leaving almost right away. I still had some packing to do, so I returned back to camp to arrange all of the ‘stuff’ I had acquired along the way, and pack it safely along with my bike for my plane ride home. The next morning involved a good amount of work as we had to strip the two semis down and get them ready for the return trip to Grand Rapids. The lovely decals which decorated these two trailers were nice to look at but very difficult to remove – I still have the blisters to prove it! The flight home was relatively uneventful, and I smiled as the pilot announced ‘cloud cover and light rain’ as we neared Portland… finally I was home!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Ode to Flatulence...
One of the possibly lesser discussed topics on others' blogs might be that of flatulence, so I just wanted to address the issue, lest it be forgotten!
Let me preempt my rambling by saying that we have all appreciated the food provided for us by the kitchen staff - Lavone and her team have done some very wonderful things inside that kitchen truck, and they continue to amaze us with new savory dishes.
That being said... something in the change in diet that we have all undergone during this tour has caused the large majority of us to experience increased flatulence. At first this was slightly embarrassing because no-one was certain whether it was just themselves, or if others were possibly suffering from similar symptoms. As we grew closer to one another - physically, emotionally... and chemically - we quickly realized that nearly everyone was powered by more than just their legs - we were now gas-powered!
Early on, most people tried to be somewhat modest in their emitting of the aforementioned substances, however it did not take long before all caution was thrown to the wind and one could hear a symphony of farts blasting from tents in all directions. It would be great if this were the only place that farting was witnessed, however, several riders have been so bold as to fart in the gear truck, in the dinner line, and other unmentionable places! I must admit, I'm not innocent on this matter, but i do strongly advocate for a return to our more modest days when one didn't have to worry about what type of scents one experienced around camp, and we could simply appreciate the lovely aroma coming from the kitchen truck.
Enough said!
Let me preempt my rambling by saying that we have all appreciated the food provided for us by the kitchen staff - Lavone and her team have done some very wonderful things inside that kitchen truck, and they continue to amaze us with new savory dishes.
That being said... something in the change in diet that we have all undergone during this tour has caused the large majority of us to experience increased flatulence. At first this was slightly embarrassing because no-one was certain whether it was just themselves, or if others were possibly suffering from similar symptoms. As we grew closer to one another - physically, emotionally... and chemically - we quickly realized that nearly everyone was powered by more than just their legs - we were now gas-powered!
Early on, most people tried to be somewhat modest in their emitting of the aforementioned substances, however it did not take long before all caution was thrown to the wind and one could hear a symphony of farts blasting from tents in all directions. It would be great if this were the only place that farting was witnessed, however, several riders have been so bold as to fart in the gear truck, in the dinner line, and other unmentionable places! I must admit, I'm not innocent on this matter, but i do strongly advocate for a return to our more modest days when one didn't have to worry about what type of scents one experienced around camp, and we could simply appreciate the lovely aroma coming from the kitchen truck.
Enough said!
A triumphant return to the motherland!
Disclaimer: I apologize in advance for the length of this post. However, if you refer back to my original post, I believe I warned you all about this 'narcicistic' endeavor, and as you may know - i do have a tendancy toward verbosity. So without further ado...
On Wednesday we crossed the border by ferry into Canada and were welcomed by a large group of supporters - as well as plenty of tasty Tim Horton's coffee and other delights! Since that time I have been enjoying the company of family and the warmth of a real bed.
I arrived in Chatham and was met by my grandpa. We went back to his place near Ridgetown and had the typical meat, potatoes and vegetable dinner - i hadn't had grandpa's meatballs in quite some time, so this traditional meal was a welcome bit of variety to my normal diet! Then, as tradition would have it, after dinner we went for a crop tour - although I think grandpa recognizes the fact that I intentionally left my agricultural career behind for a reason, and so rather than the more extensive tour that i'm sure my brothers and father would still get, he simply pointed out which of my uncles or cousins owned which plots of land, and we returned to the homestead for a couple cold ones. I always enjoy visiting my grandpa, and was happy that Chatham was a stop on this tour. I did hear a few of the same stories retold again, but no trip to grandpa's is fcomplete without hearing the one about the little old lady in the back of the church who stood up told the pastor that her husband's first wife was perfect.
The next morning (Thursday) grandpa dropped me off back in Chatham and I continued on to London where I stayed with my brother Richard. On the route leading to London, one of the participants of the Canadian Sea-to-Sea tour in '05 organized a 40km time-trial for us. I obvioulsy couldn't back down from a little friendly competition, although i was slightly nervous because my title of the fastest rider on the tour was now on the line, and time-trialing isn't my strongest suit either! Anyway, luckily the rider who I was most concerned about began just in front of me, so i had my sights on him the entire time. I caught up to him about 20k into the race (he started 1 minute ahead), but i couldn't get much of a lead on him after that. he caught back up to me shortly thereafter, and for the last 10 miles of the race we rode side-by-side. This really helped as we pushed one another to keep up the pace. We finished together, and so my victory was secured - my final time was 1hour and 3 minutes (unofficially). This was about as fast as i had hoped for considering the slight head-wind we were riding into. At any rate I was relieved to have endured that effort and retained my title. We then proceeded to ingest several pounds of tasty roast at a nearby CRC church that was hosting us for lunch.
Later that day, upon entering the city of London we were greeted by a group of people from one of the local churches. I was about to blow right by when I heard some one call out my name - it was my cousin Hannah. This was quite a surprise to see her out there, and it was nice to catch up briefly. When I arrived at my brother's place he was "working" outside on the deck, but he quickly put his laptop away and we enjoyed a couple of Mr. Sleeman's finest in the shade of his new gazebo/tent. When Tara came back from work we drove over to the high school where everyone was camped out and picked up my stuff. It's always nice to give friends and family a better picture of our set-up and introduce them to the people we constantly blog about. After chugging some chocolate milk provided by the local church (this is a rare treat, and therefore worth highlighting!) we returned home for dinner, which was awesome and healthy - way to go Tara... and Rich!
I signed out of the tour in London, and printed off some rough maps to guide me on a detour that I had been hoping to take for some time. I went to visit my Uncle Jake and Aunt MaryAnne in the Guelph area - they live close to where I grew up, and our families were quite close when we lived there. I had the chance to pass by my old high school on the way, and I took the same route that I had taken on several occasions when I had biked to school in the past... ah, nostalgia! My cousin Jeremy showed up that evening as well which was nice, and we caught up on our respective life situations and aspirations (isn't it amazing how you can make something so regular sound so much more sophisticated with the right choice of words? ok Reuben, too much coffee!) Right, so the next morning I slept in and had a relaxing coffee with Jake and MarryAnne on their new patio, and finally got on the road after 10am - that's the way every morning should go!
For those of you who worry about my safety on the roads I won't describe in detail the route I took to arrive in St. Catharines, but I will say that I am safe and sound at my Aunt Yolanda and Uncle George's house, and am looking forward to seeing my parents and other relatives this evening.
More interesting and more concise posts to follow...
On Wednesday we crossed the border by ferry into Canada and were welcomed by a large group of supporters - as well as plenty of tasty Tim Horton's coffee and other delights! Since that time I have been enjoying the company of family and the warmth of a real bed.
I arrived in Chatham and was met by my grandpa. We went back to his place near Ridgetown and had the typical meat, potatoes and vegetable dinner - i hadn't had grandpa's meatballs in quite some time, so this traditional meal was a welcome bit of variety to my normal diet! Then, as tradition would have it, after dinner we went for a crop tour - although I think grandpa recognizes the fact that I intentionally left my agricultural career behind for a reason, and so rather than the more extensive tour that i'm sure my brothers and father would still get, he simply pointed out which of my uncles or cousins owned which plots of land, and we returned to the homestead for a couple cold ones. I always enjoy visiting my grandpa, and was happy that Chatham was a stop on this tour. I did hear a few of the same stories retold again, but no trip to grandpa's is fcomplete without hearing the one about the little old lady in the back of the church who stood up told the pastor that her husband's first wife was perfect.
The next morning (Thursday) grandpa dropped me off back in Chatham and I continued on to London where I stayed with my brother Richard. On the route leading to London, one of the participants of the Canadian Sea-to-Sea tour in '05 organized a 40km time-trial for us. I obvioulsy couldn't back down from a little friendly competition, although i was slightly nervous because my title of the fastest rider on the tour was now on the line, and time-trialing isn't my strongest suit either! Anyway, luckily the rider who I was most concerned about began just in front of me, so i had my sights on him the entire time. I caught up to him about 20k into the race (he started 1 minute ahead), but i couldn't get much of a lead on him after that. he caught back up to me shortly thereafter, and for the last 10 miles of the race we rode side-by-side. This really helped as we pushed one another to keep up the pace. We finished together, and so my victory was secured - my final time was 1hour and 3 minutes (unofficially). This was about as fast as i had hoped for considering the slight head-wind we were riding into. At any rate I was relieved to have endured that effort and retained my title. We then proceeded to ingest several pounds of tasty roast at a nearby CRC church that was hosting us for lunch.
Later that day, upon entering the city of London we were greeted by a group of people from one of the local churches. I was about to blow right by when I heard some one call out my name - it was my cousin Hannah. This was quite a surprise to see her out there, and it was nice to catch up briefly. When I arrived at my brother's place he was "working" outside on the deck, but he quickly put his laptop away and we enjoyed a couple of Mr. Sleeman's finest in the shade of his new gazebo/tent. When Tara came back from work we drove over to the high school where everyone was camped out and picked up my stuff. It's always nice to give friends and family a better picture of our set-up and introduce them to the people we constantly blog about. After chugging some chocolate milk provided by the local church (this is a rare treat, and therefore worth highlighting!) we returned home for dinner, which was awesome and healthy - way to go Tara... and Rich!
I signed out of the tour in London, and printed off some rough maps to guide me on a detour that I had been hoping to take for some time. I went to visit my Uncle Jake and Aunt MaryAnne in the Guelph area - they live close to where I grew up, and our families were quite close when we lived there. I had the chance to pass by my old high school on the way, and I took the same route that I had taken on several occasions when I had biked to school in the past... ah, nostalgia! My cousin Jeremy showed up that evening as well which was nice, and we caught up on our respective life situations and aspirations (isn't it amazing how you can make something so regular sound so much more sophisticated with the right choice of words? ok Reuben, too much coffee!) Right, so the next morning I slept in and had a relaxing coffee with Jake and MarryAnne on their new patio, and finally got on the road after 10am - that's the way every morning should go!
For those of you who worry about my safety on the roads I won't describe in detail the route I took to arrive in St. Catharines, but I will say that I am safe and sound at my Aunt Yolanda and Uncle George's house, and am looking forward to seeing my parents and other relatives this evening.
More interesting and more concise posts to follow...
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
More random pics
Hans and Nick showing off their tan lines for the camera...
Me looking pensive... contemplating life at a coffee shop near Dordt College
Julie and I trade bites from two very delicious doughnuts, mmmmmm!
Julie and I trying to perform the same stunt while biking... we didn't fare as well this time!
Me looking pensive... contemplating life at a coffee shop near Dordt College
Julie and I trade bites from two very delicious doughnuts, mmmmmm!
Julie and I trying to perform the same stunt while biking... we didn't fare as well this time!
Three states later, and the first one to GR!
Last week, in 5 days of riding I travelled through 4 different states. Monday started in Wisconsin and ended in Illinois. Tuesday (which ended up being one of my longest riding days ever!) we arrived at Trinity Christian College outside of Chicago. Wednesday we stayed at Indiana Dunes State park in the northwest corner of Indiana. Thursday we entered Michigan, and on Friday a few of us pulled a double and found our way to Grand Rapids a day early.
Here's a little recap of this weeks highlights:
Monday was the infamous ride with my mom, see previous post.
Tuesday was my sweep day and we were on a bike path for about 35 miles. However, several riders (yours truly included) took a wrong turn at a fork in the road. We successfully navigated our way back to the route and stumbled upon the usual suspect, everyone's favourite 'long day rider', Gayle Harrison. When we got to the next SAG we took a good half hour nap to give her time to get ahead. Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of her... she made it in safely, but our crew had a few problem flats that kept us out until 7:40pm. This was too bad too because I was supposed to meet my parents at Trinity that afternoon... although as this was the place where those two lovebirds first met i'm sure they were lost in the memories and didn't even notice my absence(jk)! So mom said her final good-byes to everyone she had met on the tour and my parents were off to return home to the real world. That night I enjoyed a few local brews at Aaron's parents' place - I highly suggest the Goose Island 312 if you can find it!
Wednesday was a very eventful and enjoyable day. We were well fed by one of the local churches along the route, after which I joined up with the usual suspects: Hans, Nick, Julie, Carrie (who returned to the tour for this week), as well as Stephanie. We were laughing and carrying on as usual, and enjoying a beautiful bike path which lead us away from the urban mess which some might more affectionately refer to as Chicago. At one point on the path Nick was pulling three of us... literally pulling, yes! Carrie grabbed on to Nick's safety vest, I grabbed on to hers, Hans grabbed mine... then Julie tried to grab on to Hans and things went wrong. Hans went down and landed square on his rear end, and i'm still not quite sure how I didn't go down with him. Steph was behind us the whole time recording this scene with her camera, i'll try to get the clip soon. Somehow my rear wheel went out of true in this incident, but it wasn't too bad and I was able to get it fixed in Holland on the way to GR.
Thursday we entered Michigan and I stopped to visit Lesa, who is back from her Peace Corps assignment in Guatamala, as well as her family at Ben and Mindy's house in the St. Joseph area - the route came within three blocks of their house, so it was easy to find. I showed up earlier than expected - around noon - and I surprised Mindy who was cleaning the house in preparation for the family's arrival. In typical fashion, I figured Lesa (aka Mota) would have let them know I was meeting them there, and Mota figured I would have called ahead of time, but everything worked out fine and the rest of the crew showed up an hour later. It was good to see them all again, albeit a brief visit.
On Friday, Kevin, Kyle and I decided to skip the night in Grand Haven and head straight to Grand Rapids. After a quick pitstop in Holland we carried on to GR and arrived much faster than we anticipated even though we were biking straight into a headwind. With extra time to kill I found my way back to the ole butter factory to surprise some of my former co-workers. It's been two years since I worked at Butterball Farms, and not much has changed since then - I did found out that my position is once again vacant... But as much as I would love to work with that crew again, I just couldn't move back to that city.
We stayed at kevin's old house in east town, and we completed the typical GR experience by going to Yesterdogs for some late night hearty grub. It was great to wake up Saturday and know that I didn't have to get on my bike, other than a short 10min jant to the alma mater, Calvin College, to meet up with the tour again.
Here's a little recap of this weeks highlights:
Monday was the infamous ride with my mom, see previous post.
Tuesday was my sweep day and we were on a bike path for about 35 miles. However, several riders (yours truly included) took a wrong turn at a fork in the road. We successfully navigated our way back to the route and stumbled upon the usual suspect, everyone's favourite 'long day rider', Gayle Harrison. When we got to the next SAG we took a good half hour nap to give her time to get ahead. Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of her... she made it in safely, but our crew had a few problem flats that kept us out until 7:40pm. This was too bad too because I was supposed to meet my parents at Trinity that afternoon... although as this was the place where those two lovebirds first met i'm sure they were lost in the memories and didn't even notice my absence(jk)! So mom said her final good-byes to everyone she had met on the tour and my parents were off to return home to the real world. That night I enjoyed a few local brews at Aaron's parents' place - I highly suggest the Goose Island 312 if you can find it!
Wednesday was a very eventful and enjoyable day. We were well fed by one of the local churches along the route, after which I joined up with the usual suspects: Hans, Nick, Julie, Carrie (who returned to the tour for this week), as well as Stephanie. We were laughing and carrying on as usual, and enjoying a beautiful bike path which lead us away from the urban mess which some might more affectionately refer to as Chicago. At one point on the path Nick was pulling three of us... literally pulling, yes! Carrie grabbed on to Nick's safety vest, I grabbed on to hers, Hans grabbed mine... then Julie tried to grab on to Hans and things went wrong. Hans went down and landed square on his rear end, and i'm still not quite sure how I didn't go down with him. Steph was behind us the whole time recording this scene with her camera, i'll try to get the clip soon. Somehow my rear wheel went out of true in this incident, but it wasn't too bad and I was able to get it fixed in Holland on the way to GR.
Thursday we entered Michigan and I stopped to visit Lesa, who is back from her Peace Corps assignment in Guatamala, as well as her family at Ben and Mindy's house in the St. Joseph area - the route came within three blocks of their house, so it was easy to find. I showed up earlier than expected - around noon - and I surprised Mindy who was cleaning the house in preparation for the family's arrival. In typical fashion, I figured Lesa (aka Mota) would have let them know I was meeting them there, and Mota figured I would have called ahead of time, but everything worked out fine and the rest of the crew showed up an hour later. It was good to see them all again, albeit a brief visit.
On Friday, Kevin, Kyle and I decided to skip the night in Grand Haven and head straight to Grand Rapids. After a quick pitstop in Holland we carried on to GR and arrived much faster than we anticipated even though we were biking straight into a headwind. With extra time to kill I found my way back to the ole butter factory to surprise some of my former co-workers. It's been two years since I worked at Butterball Farms, and not much has changed since then - I did found out that my position is once again vacant... But as much as I would love to work with that crew again, I just couldn't move back to that city.
We stayed at kevin's old house in east town, and we completed the typical GR experience by going to Yesterdogs for some late night hearty grub. It was great to wake up Saturday and know that I didn't have to get on my bike, other than a short 10min jant to the alma mater, Calvin College, to meet up with the tour again.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Wisconsin Experience
In a short span of time (only three riding days) we passed through the great state of Wisconsin. The most noticeable difference compared to Iowa was the quality of roads as well as the coffee, not to mention the wonderful people who hosted us in Madison. They treated us like royalty all weekend long - from shuttles to do laundry, to movies and great food, we were very well taken care of.
My dad came up Saturday night to retrieve his wife, and they found a campsite not far from where we were staying. They kindly lent me their vehicle that night so that a number of us youngen could go out and enjoy all that the downtown had to offer. We went to the university district which is set on the beautiful lake Mendota, and tasted a variety of local micro-brews at an open air patio. On Sunday after the celebration service and lunch - where I gleefully consumed 4 brats in addition to several salads and handfuls of cookies - Amanda came to visit for the second weekend in a row. After sending both my mother and Amanda for a ride on Billy's Harley, we set out in search of a coffee joint to relax for a bit. We drove for a while but couldn't even find a starbucks, so we ended up going to the arboretum for a walk. The rest of the evening was very relaxing, and i sent my mother to bed early since she had a long day ahead of her on Monday...
This was to be my mother's last hoorah on the trip. For several weeks she had been planning on cycling for a day, and that day finally arrived as we left Madison and headed for Woodstock, IL. She was very excited, although slightly anxious as well, but before I even had a chance to say good-bye to dad and Amanda she was already a mile down the road - i had to work pretty hard just to catch her! She kept a faster pace than I had anticipated, especially since her bike weighs twice as much as mine and she doesn't have clipless pedals either! The day was very enjoyable, it was good to spend some quality mother-son time together - we both were amazed that during the two weeks she was on tour we hardly saw one another, so this was very special for both of us. We passed several groups of riders, and were in the first third of those arriving in camp that afternoon - which is pretty good since we didn't leave any earlier than i normally do myself! Maybe it was her fast pace, or maybe it was the excitement of the weekend's events, but i needed two naps in order to recover after this eventful day...
pics to come later, sorry - it's supper time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)