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!