On Top of the World

and literally it felt like that....I spent a few days skiing at Whistler last week - there's a run out there called "7th Heaven" and we wondered if this is what heaven could be like or what we would want heaven to be like. Not a cloud in the sky, perfect snow conditions and wonderful friends to share the experience with, what more could you ask for? The only problem was that thousands of others wanted to share this experience with us - it was President's Day in the US and many Canadian students had a reading break. Who says that BC doesn't have beautiful weather? We had temperatures of +17 there and came home to -17 last evening on the way home from the airport. On one of mornings the group decided we should do the "Peak to Creek" run which goes right from the peak of Whistler to the bottom - a mere 11 km. run - an excellent workout for the legs - will this get them in shape for cycling, we'll find that out next week. We took our time coming down enjoying the panoramic view all around us - what an awesome God we have who created this majestic scenery for us to enjoy. We were able to eat lunch outdoors each day - a real treat for us from Ontario who have loads of snow to deal with yet. Skiing is so much easier than cycling - no gears to change, there is only one way to go and that is down. Going up the hill is easy - you sit in a chair and don't have to work at it at all.

Now the serious training has to begin - Florida here we come.....no snow or ice on the roads and hopefully no heavy traffic either. My bike is there waiting for me, I bought a new helmet today and our clothes are packed - we are ready. We are leaving a few days later than originally planned -a friend from church was tragically killed in a work related accident late Thursday and we want to be able to support his wife at the funeral service - shows us again how fragile life is and how it can change instantly.

British Columbia is getting ready for the 2010 Olympics and has erected this beautiful Inukshuk at the top of Whistler - it's visible for miles (km) and is a excellent place to meet up with others. I picked up a piece of paper describing what the symbolism of Inukshuk is - it's an Inuit word meaning "in the image of man" and they are/were built for a variety of purposes. It can serve as a guide post in a barren landscape - a silent messenger showing the correct place. It can also symbolize the value of friendship and can remind us that we are not alone on our journey - others too have walked this path. Probably not sound theology but irregardless it's a unique monument on top of the world.

Hanging up my apron...time for serious training..

We're home again from Louisiana - we had a wonderful time meeting new friends and at the same time doing what we could for a three week period to help those still in need after Hurricane Katrina. There is still so much to do in the New Orleans area but it seems that politics stands in the way of really getting the job done fast. It's been 2 1/2 years since Katrina hit and still there is such devastation that we see as we travel the freeways. Downtown New Orleans is even worse and some of our crew did go there to check out some possible future work and came back with stories that break your heart.....one elderly grandmother living in a motel room with 7 grandchildren ranging in age from baby to 9 years old just waiting to get back into her own house and I could go on and on relating stories of need. Those that we were able to help were so thankful for what we could do for them. The "green shirts" of the DRS division of CRWRC are very welcome sights in this area. Everyone seems to know of them...and we were very thankful to be able to show God's love to the people especially in Slidell where we were staying in a hall owned by the Presbyterian church there.

I had hoped to get lots of cycling in on the weekends but that did not happen. On our way down we had to make a stop in Laurel, MS and did manage a 35 km ride on the Saturday morning - it was a balmy 54 degrees with blue skies so we explored the country side there. Must say the roads were narrow and have no shoulders but it wasn't busy traffic either. Felt good before getting back into the van to continue on our way to Slidell. Our first weekend in Slidell the weather didn't cooperate so no cycling - I know we may/will have to cycle in rain during the SeatoSea but during training, I'm not too game - I'll use the excuse I don't have rain gear yet.

The following weekend we drove down to New Orleans and we did get to cycle on the bike path that is on top of the levee and runs parallel to the Mississippi. This is very safe - only used by joggers and cyclists. From our vantage point higher up we see areas of New Orleans that had not been affected by the hurricane and were actually very affluent neighbourhoods. We managed to cover 25 km in just over an hour before we had to meet up with our "SAG" wagon which was waiting for us at the River Shack. Here we needed to quench our thirst from all the hard work. Mind you we had a head wind on the way out so was looking forward to the trip back but it seemed the wind changed direction and we were heading into the wind again so naturally we needed refreshment.

While visiting New Orleans we took in the Imax production of "Hurricane on the Bayou" and watched one of the many "Mardi Gras" parades. Seeing the film did give us a better understanding of what damage there had been as a result of the hurricane and it was also sad to see and hear about the losses experienced by the people there. To us it seems that Mardi Gras is just an excuse for partying......everyone gets caught up in the excitement. I think we left just in time before the big celebration of "Fat Tuesday" this coming week. Everything is shut down in the city and it's one big party.

My responsibility during the three weeks was to feed the troops and they did get fed well, all 22 of them - meat, potatoes and vegetables followed by dessert every working day.....weekends, everyone had to fend for themself - won't say that all meals were low cal so now the challenge will be heavy duty training starting tomorrow already. Wasn't much opportunity to get exercise in during the day time as we were all busy and at night it wasn't safe to walk/jog the roads there. I think the muscles in my tongue and the muscles that you use to laugh got the most excercise the last three weeks - as you can tell, we had fun!! This small group of 22 people formed a community that I was so happy to be part of - just a foretaste of what the SeatoSea will be with so many more people to meet and fellowship with...how rich these experiences are! So for now, I'm hanging up the apron and taking up serious exercising. Joe won't be getting the same calibre of meals that we had there and I certainly don't need that - maybe it's good that Lent is coming and we can give up these extras for that. We will hit the slopes yet for some downhill skiing in the next few weeks and then we will head to Florida for some real cycling at the end of February.

Stay safe in your training on the roads....we did have a mishap in Slidell where two cyclists were out for a short ride one Sunday afternoon just before supper and they did get too close together, touching wheels, and one of the cyclists landed up with some fractured ribs when he hit the road....needless to say Adri was in much pain for several days. Adri will be in fine form once he gets to Seattle at the end of June. He's off to Florida now to heal more....it could have been so much worse.....pray for each other while we are in training, it could happen to any one of us.