Night before the final ride......

Tonight all the thank you's were made to those who helped make this trip possible - so many people were involved and in all different ways. Tonight's supper was hosted by the Goshen CRC and Sussex, NJ CRC - they put on the biggest and best buffet supper I've seen in a long time.

Joe was able to cycle for the last three days and he thoroughly enjoyed himself which means that I did not cycle - the hills in this part of the country were just too much for me when I could not use my granny gear - they were just too long and too steep to master using only the mid range. I do plan to cycle tomorrow.......

Today's ride was supposed to be one of the toughest on the tour according to the organizer and it was very interesting to hear the rider's comments as they came to the spot where I was at SAG - the young ones all loved the rolling hills, the older riders had mixed reactions - most people made it in but there were a few that had to be driven in. Sore knees seems to be a major problem. Many flat tires also today and a few falls - these are statistics that are recorded each day.

Speaking of weather, we have been blessed with such great weather - today there was cloud cover for most of the day which was a real blessing and it was not too hot out. It's muggy right now and there is a 30% chance of rain over night and there was a few rain drops as I walked into the school to use the computer so we will hope for a great day tomorrow. It would be such a shame if the weather isn't nice for the end of the tour.

We're up once more at 5:00 to get ready for the day....can't wait until I'm home again and can sleep in. Talking about sleep - I had better get back outdoors to our trailer to get some sleep in preparation for a very busy day tomorrow. Next post will probably be from home....

Countdown to the finish line....

It's Wednesday already - we haven't had internet connection since Sunday so this will be short and sweet. We drove for 1/2 hour to find a place in Binghamton to find a library and we have to be back for supper by 6:00 p.m. or we don't eat.

Crossing back into the USA on Monday was the simplest border crossing ever. I won't give you all the details now but it went without a hitch. We had a great day weather wise and road wise on Monday and did our 125 km very quickly - the first 30 were to the border. We stayed in a campground that night which worked very well. Tuesday morning we were up bright and early again and on the road just after 7:00 - great weather again but we did have a tail wind for a bit and the terrain became very hilly - just a taste of what's coming the rest of the week. We again did 125 km. I've been masking a knee pain for the past few days with ibuprophen and decided last evening to switch places with Joe for today which I did. I don't want to land up visiting my chiropractor for the next month to get the problem fixed and with my hand still being numb which prevents me from using all my gears with my left hand, I thought it best to take at least a day off and maybe more. Al Karsten wants to SAG on Friday using Joe's van so Joe will get to ride on Friday again and I will ride in the van with Al - that day will be the toughest of the whole tour we've been told. The scenery is beautiful here in the Finger Lakes Area.

Wednesday morning had us up early once again - Joe had to get ready to cycle and I had to be on the road early to beat the cyclists to the first stop at 30 km down the road. Joe cycled with the ladies that I usually cycle with and had a good ride with them. I enjoyed my day on SAG and had to wait until nearly noon before the last cyclist passed me before I could leave and head off to camp. Met up with Joe et al a few times during the day. At the end of the ride we were met by the friendly folks at Valley CRC for snacks and cold drinks and tonight they are doing supper for us - serving us some New York State specialties - we've seen the menu and it's looking really good.

Those that have been on tour for the whole nine weeks have mixed feelings about ending this week - some can't wait to finish and others would continue on if they could. The weight loss some people have experienced is noticeable - some up to 30 lbs. in total. We'll all have to adjust our eating habits once we stop cycling. It will be bitter sweet for some - reality will set in for each one in different ways. We will be leaving bright and early Sunday morning with 2 passengers who have to be home on Sunday for commitments so that's fine with me as well.

Hopefully we will be able to post again before the weekend but we can't promise - depends where we are camped. Till later....

End of an awesome weekend.....

Bright and early Saturday morning, Bryan, Geri, Trevor, Justin and Julia met us coming back from breakfast at Redeemer all pumped for the ride to St. Catharines. Bryan, Trevor and Justin were to join me along with others who were cycling for the day. The grandsons were chomping at the bit, the rest of us had to have our Timmie's before heading off. Before you knew it we were on the way - first stop was to say hi and bye to my sister, Dorothy who was waiting for me at the corner of Stone Church Rd. and Upper Ottawa. Next to come along was brother-in-law, Tony who was on the lookout to try to find me in the crowd of cyclists. He stopped for a hug and then we were off again. The next stops were out of Hamilton so now we could cycle for a ways without stopping. I must say I have never seen a view of the city that we saw yesterday - it was neat to see it from a different perspective and it was impressive - Toronto with the CN tower in the distance was visible and the haze had lifted.


Leaving the stop hosted by Fruitland CRC, I noticed that my front tire was soft so we pumped it up and I hoped we would make it to Grimsby and then I would have Joe change it for me while I visited with my mother at Evergreen Terrace. We pumped it up once more at the bottom of Woolverton Rd. and I made it. My mother was excited to meet up with my brother, Wally and myself. I hadn't seen her in five weeks and she had her 85th birthday while I was away so this was my birthday visit. Joe promptly changed both tire and tube so I was good to go again. My cousin, Ann Mary along with her husband, Randy and sister, Grace were at Evergreen to meet me as well. It was so special for me to see them - some of you readers will know her and will know why it was so special.....thank you for coming out.

The refreshment stops kept coming and they were wonderful and at every stop you knew someone so it was a chance to connect with family and acquaintances - all great experiences and I won't even try to list them all but I sure appreciated it. This way everyone got a chance to see the tour in action. We so appreciate the response from the communities. At breakfast that morning one of the cyclists made a comment that it was too bad that some of these churches couldn't have been in Utah where they would have loved to have had some of these treats and attention.


From Grimsby Joe drove to St. Catharines, parked the van and got on his bike to meet us so we could cycle in together. He met up with us and cycled the last ten km in with us. A real treat for the grandsons who did 75 km in all - for 13 year old Trevor that was easier than for Justin who is 12 but we had fun doing it. Memories are made of times like this. How many grandkids can say that they cycled with their grand parents?


Beacon High School soon became a tent city - we parked our van and trailer and stayed with DRS friends, Lawrence and Boukje DeRaaf who opened their home to us. Wonderful to sleep on a real bed and be able to do laundry, visit, etc. etc. This is so appreciated by the cyclists.....

It's now Sunday evening - we're back from the celebration service and supper, just waiting for our peleton meeting so I'll continue my ramblings.

We woke up early this morning and our hosts had gone to make breakfast for the cyclists at the high school while we stayed home and ate our breakfast there - much more relaxing for us this way. I had to reorganize my two laundry baskets which contain all the stuff we have with us on tour and there is still stuff that I have never used or needed. It's amazing how little you really need to have to make life possible on the road. It's good too to see what really is important to you or what you think you need to have.

We were back at the highschool for lunch and then we boarded a school bus to take us to Queenston Heights - the sky is getting darker and darker and we had talked to our daughter and found out that it was pouring rain in the Hamilton area. Oh well, we just had to keep the plan since there was no alternative mentioned to us. We arrived at the park and it was already raining and it kept on raining. Many guests also showed up and we were all huddled under 2 pavilions hoping that the rain would stop. This is at 2:30 and the service is to start at 4:00 - the rain would stop and then it would start up again.....by 3:45 we were told to start making our way over to the band shell area and it was just drizzling. Just after 4:00 the service started and the first song we sang was our theme song for the tour, "Do Something Beautiful" and while we were singing the refrain which goes like, "Go do something beautiful" - the sun came out - how good is our God to have heard the prayers of his people who wanted to have this service outdoors! The rain never started again and we had a wonderful service with Brian Walsh speaking to us on the Fruits of the Spirit and David Raakman as the worship leader. Our son and our daughter and their families joined us for the service - their encouragement and support has been awesome. Many of my church family also came out to greet Hilena and myself and offer encouragement. I feel so blessed but did comment to someone that I'm hoarse from talking so much to everyone today but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Tonight we sleep in a real bed again - we're up very early tomorrow to get ready for our border crossing and then one more week of cycling.

From London to Hamilton, almost home....

It's been a few days since I last wrote - probably due to the fact that so many familiar faces pop up along the side of the road and I have to stop and talk - it's so great to be in this part of the tour.....it's home!

We left London high school on Friday morning and made our way back to Dorchester where Rita had to stop for a photo shoot with fellow people from Dorchester at 8:00 a.m. Clara, we did not see you outside so we did not stop - did see your sign on the pole in front of your house. My brother, Wally, joined the "Margarita Express" that day and he travelled with us all the way to Ancaster. He claims he wanted a slower ride - he could feel the effects of cycling 5 days in a row. It was good to have him draft us along the way. First stop was for coffee at the Ingersoll CRC and then it was off to the Streutker farm for lunch. This just so happens to be relatives of Joe so met up with some of his cousins there. Woodstock CRC treated us royally among the hay bales - unique setting.... I never realized how rolling the countryside was in that area. It was hill after hill - good way to work off all the calories consumed already. Next stop was Brantford - a little treacherous getting through town with all the road construction but we made it without mishap. Our first stop was hosted by Cambridge CRC where I met up with friends and two of Joe's sisters - cold water was priority here - we had seen a sign telling us it was 36 degrees so it was warming up. A few kilometers away was Brantford CRC with all their goodies on Jerseyville Road.

My daughter and 3 grandkids were waiting just up the road in Alberton and the grandkids rode with me for a 5 km ride along the quiet road till Nicholas got tired and they met up with me again at Redeemer College. Now the final stretch and we were happy to ride into Redeemer's yard with lots of spectators cheering us in - another 124 km day. I should say that most days are longer rides than what is posted in the Shifting Gears booklet - you kind of make a mental note of how many km you still have to go and it has never been exactly what we think it will be.

Lots more familiar faces here - I won't try to mention them all by name for fear of forgetting someone but it was so much appreciated.....a dear friend did give me a wonderful neck, arm, leg, hand, feet massage right after supper - it did feel so good - thank you, Meghan! She could feel the tension and told me just to relax - wonder why. It did help for my left hand which is still numb. Two sisters and a brother-in-law came to meet me after supper for a short visit.

This was the closest stop to our home but we did not go home - our own bed wasn't available so we stayed in our trailer - next best and no problem. Saturday morning another surprise awaited me, our son, sister-in-law and their 3 kids were joining me to ride for the day to St. Catharines.

More later...

Canada, here we come, en masse.....

Well - we were all up bright and early Wednesday morning - excitement was building in camp especially among the Canadians - friendly teasing taking place right up until we boarded the ferry. It took 3 ferry loads to get all the cyclists across the river and then a few more trips to get all the vehicles across that belong to us. I was on the 2nd ferry load crossing very excited to meet up with our daughter and her 3 children. Everything seems to take longer when you are waiting.....each passport had to be checked off, etc. etc. before we were allowed to cross the bridge to where the spectators were waiting for us and there was quite a crowd. We were treated to Tim Horton's coffee and lots of baked goodies and other wonderful treats. The welcome was overwhelming from the churches in that area.

All of a sudden, I saw them holding a big poster with "Welcome to Canada, Grandma, we are soooo proud of you! and then we met up, a few tears flowed, I'll admit. It had been over 4 weeks since we had seen each other. Now we had to wait for Grandpa who was coming on another ferry. It was exciting to say the least.

Cynthia and the kids went off to camp and were going to ride out to meet up with us so they could ride in with us. Rita, Dora, Joan and myself took off for the final 60 km. of our trip that day leaving the ferry in Sombra and heading off to Chatham along country side that I had never seen before.

About 5 km from camp I met up with Cynthia and the kids and we biked into camp together, first of all stopping at the local Tim Horton's for a drink - it's been a few weeks since my last Tim Horton's stop so I was having withdrawal.....after having supper with us, they headed back to Waterdown.

Today's ride from Chatham to London took longer than we had hoped it would - even though it's very flat countryside, the winds were not in our favour and it took us until 3:30 to get in this afternoon under clear blue skies.......124 km in total. The people here in London have treated us very well - supper is here at the high school and then we are off to the Beerda's to sleep in a real bed tonight. The computer lab was open in the school so I've made use of it even before taking a shower. Those sitting beside me haven't complained of the smell so obviously it's not too bad.
Tomorrow, Hamilton, here we come - that is to Redeemer College.

Final Days in Michigan....

Sunday's family time was over before you knew it and then we were off to the Celebration Service with Shane Claiborne - an awesome service where Shane used as his prime example, Mother Teresa, in his message on "Revolutionary Gentleness". We can all learn from her. Memories are made of all the time that we spent together on the weekend with family.

Monday morning we were sent off with words of encouragement from the staff at Calvin College - and then we were on our way just after 8:00 a.m. We had a tail wind that day which was wonderful. Rita and I averaged 25 kph for the ride of 110 km and were in camp nice and early. Tuesday night was a different story - it was a 153 km day with head winds and it took us a lot longer to get in. Joe was finished at his SAG stop early and biked to meet us and drafted us in the last 20 km. The weather both days was great.

Now Joe and Peter are on as official support crew - Joe brought along the trailer so now I do not have to sleep in a tent every night - this does make it so much easier to get up and ready in the mornings. Rita shares the trailer with us....leaving Peter to sleep in the tent which is his choice..either he snores too much or he is too tall to fit into the trailer.

Tuesday night we got the message that we were all to be finished breakfast by 7:00 so we could make our way into Marine City for our ferry crossing on Wednesday morning. This had everyone up very bright and early.

The Final Leg....

Well, more than 2/3 of the trip is over - this is the place of changeover - 10 people leave the tour and 60 new ones start. It will be overwhelming for those 60 who are starting.

The last two days of cycling were the shortest so far 77 km each day and they were short days - a real treat to be in early and be able to sleep on a real bed for the last 2 nights.

Excitement built already early yesterday morning when another 130 cyclists joined us for the ride into Grand Rapids - needless to say the roads became crowded with the extra cyclists - a challenge some time when you wanted to pass them. My brother, Wally, was registered to cycle with us - he started out with Rita and myself but in the rush he got ahead of us and we saw him at all the stops. There weren't 12 stops along the way as we had been told earlier - we were thankful for that or we would never have gotten in on time. The push was on too to get to the staging area by 12:30 for the "grand entrance" on to Calvin College site. The cyclists led by Billy D on his motorcyle were first to ride in followed by our 130 guests and then the support vehicles. I'm sure there are photos showing this - we couldn't see it but we were told it was impressive. I was overwhelmed by seeing my relatives who were cheering from the sidelines. I feel so blessed to have had so many relatives who came to welcome myself and Ed to Grand Rapids...I thank God for wonderful family members.....Last evening we were all together for pizza and beer at a cousin's home as well - was great to have some time away from the big group.

Group time is also great but every now and then you need your own space and some of the cyclists from other areas chose to camp on campus instead of taking a billet for that reason. The weather was perfect for camping.

Later I hope to post some photos showing the tan lines we are all sporting. A group of guys were posing for photos yesterday and I managed to get some shots of this.

The tallest person on these shots is Marc VanOtteren who claims to be 5'19" - he hails from Ada, MI - a great bunch of young men!

Must let some others check their e-mails and be socialable....looking forward to the big celebration service this afternoon. We did as extended family all worship together at Neland Ave CRC - heard a message on "Faith Worth Keeping" - was good to have been there....