Thanks and Praise God

I believe now that we have exceeded our goal of $30,000. Going into this I was intimidated by just raising $10,000 for just one participant. God totallly surprised us and more than tripled that. God is at work here and now. What a joy it is to work with Him - meeting so many great people and having so much fun! Thank God! Encore!

August 29, 2008

Today we rode 82 miles from Lackawana State PArk to Sussex. Breakfast was 1/2 an hour early for this big, hilly day. I think that this may have been the hardest day of the tour for me. I rode with Annette all day which was absolutely great. It was like riding with a hilarious, fun-loving sister. This morning at about 10 am we got free fudge samples at a general store that we hung out at for like 1 hour. I ate to much of my lunch right then because I think my stomach was doing more work digesting than my legs were doing pedaling in all this hilly country. We stopped at Susies's Canday Shop, a little pink candy shop with pink picnic tables outside, and got a free Bailey Irish Creme for mentioning Sea to Sea. I felt so much better after that chocolate. It was so good! I think I released some chocolate endorphins. Walter also had chocolate truffles at his stop. We biked two really high points today. We climbed 1.5 miles off route to High Point in High Point State PArk in New Jersey. What a view! We stopped at a local bakery in Sussex for Smash pie and scones. Sussex CRC gave us the full potluck spread for dinner tonight. Thanks so much. Last day tomorrow.

August 28, 2008

Today we rode 57 miles from Binhampton to Lackawana State PArk, PA. We moved from NY into PA today. It was another one of the most beautiful rides that I have been on. I would love to come back to PA or NY to hike or canoe or bum around. The route was auite hilly the last 10 miles, very steep and fun. We camp down a hill once to a very beautiful, placid lake that stood still in time. I talked to a senior in high school who works at the state park renting boats. He loves to mountain bike in the state park and go downhill skiing around here. More talk about the end of the ride in peleton. Yikes! 3 different police escorts the last day, shuttles, etc. Many people are joining us for dinner the last day at a local church, friends and family of cyclists. We stopped at a sweet bike shop in New Milford. I have never seen so much stuff packed into such a small place. It definitely had character. I wouldn't mind running a bike shop like that some day. At a coffee shop in town I had a stellar cranberry-orange muffin. Hans rode Claire's 3 wheeler for the last 10 miles and Claire rode Hans' two wheeler. I don't think he knew that all those big, steep hills were coming. Suppossed to be a skreamer tomorrow. So excited! Tonight we celebrate communion for the last time in peleton. The state park here has great pizza and ice cream.

August 29 Friday: Lackawana State Park, PN to Sussex, NJ

Hi from Larry. We had a great bike ride today. Overcast and occassional morning misty rains. Some steep hills - I hear an early climb in the day was about 14% grade and that one was hard on me, all I can do is try to keep the pedals turning and huff and puff rapidly. Other ones went well, some even fast. The rolling terrain and I get along fine and speedy sometimes. Supposedly we climbed and rolled down about 7000 vertical feet over 86 miles. This helped us remember our mountain climbing out west. We needed a little more climbing after the last peak so we went up 400 more feet to the monument in High Point State Park, also climbing about 270 steps in the tower. It got hot toward the top and the views were only out small closed windows (the patio area at ground level was better). This is the highes point in NJ at about El 1600 feet I think. At High Point you can see NJ, NY, and PN. We had great sag stops from our sag teams and a CRC church greeted us at the top of the last mountain at High Point with much needed drinks, cookies, oranges and watermelon. Nice to see Ruth Herringa and grand kids there, as they waited for daughter/mom to bike in. So we had energy for the last few climbs Mark and I ate at a Milford Diner on the east side of town (gyro and a BLT). NJ's afternoon weather gave us a bit of sunshine and humidity (we started with 50 F, ended at about 88 F, reminding us of the warm to hot days out west and in the midwest. A highlight was Clove Brook Market and Bakery as we entered Sussex 1.8 miles before the school. First we had a couple scones, then a summer smash pie (thank you for that!) that we shared with about 8 including Eric, Heidi and Denise, and we tried two danishes and an almond roll. Wow was this all good! The Sussex and Goshen CRC churches hosted us tonight for dinner - burgers and hot dogs plus 100 +/- salad/casseroles and baked goods. Meals on the road in camp and by host are GREAT. Thanks to every church hosting us - that is one of the highlights of the tour we will always remember - God bless you as you have blessed us. We played "Cycle bingo" as part of our last peloton - we were not winners. In that game we learned who wore the same bike clothes for 3 days (without washing it), who had no flats, who had more that five flats, who did a volunteer activity, etc. Parting thanks were spoken to all support staff, sags, nurses, chaplian and others (even Johnny who alwas with a loud voice reminded us "lets do something beautiful". Tomorrow we do out last 60 miles to reach Liberty Island State Park for the Atlantic tire dip and conclusion of the tour. Bitter sweet, good byes to many new friends, now about to rejoin family, bikes that may not get ridden frequently, soggy gear from dew and what we exhale (it is raining tonight). Hope to post more pictures of these great things soon. God is good, all the time! We are so thankful we could participate in this bike tour and support ending the cycle of poverty.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Today we rode 76 miles form Romulus to Binghampton through some of the most beautiful New York country ever – finger lakes, hills, rivers, and forests. Gotta come back to New York someday to enjoy these forests and waterways. The ride was absolutely beautifully gorgeous. We left camp at 7:30 am and arrived at 2:30 pm. The day was another cool air, warm, sunshiny day. At the end of the day Valley CRC surprised us with donuts, chips, and water right across from the school that we were staying at. I played with Ed’s 2 little kids for an hour in camp this afternoon throwing tennis balls around on the tennis courts. Oh the joys of being a kid. Tonight we are having a special New York menu – speedies (marinated chicken and pork sandwiches), some other stuff, and ice cream. In fact it is happening right now. Time to chow down.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Today we rode 76 miles from Byron to Southwoods RV Park. It was quite a hilly day. We must be getting to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Upstate New York is a beautiful place to ride with not so busy roads, smooth roads, and wide shoulders and beautiful scenery with rivers, finger lakes, and lots of trees. A local CRC brought out lunch to us at a farm along the route. We had sloppy joes, ice cream bars, fruit, and lots of other homemade goodies. We spent 2 hours at this lunch stop just eating, napping, and socializing. The air was cool but the sunshine was warm, perfect weather for riding. We arrived in camp at 4:30 pm and played on the sweet playground equipment at Sampson State Park. The park is on one of the finger lakes of New York. The lake is the view from the door of our tents, so beautiful. I ate dinner sitting right on the edge of the water. Tonight we reflected on the significance of the tour for us in our small groups. The things that stand out to me are the people, the scenery, and the day to day lifestyle, sometimes pedal to pedal lifestyle. Some big questions are – What has this trip meant to you? What was your motivation for going on the tour? What has been tugging and pulling at your heart? God knows. This questions will take some thought and reflection especially when the tour all of a sudden ends. I am so grateful for this experience. I never thought I would get to know so many people on this tour, especially so many Canadian college students. It has been lots of fun.
Last night at Southwoods RV park a group of campers came out and played some music for us on their cello, violin, and keyboard. We got some good old swing dancing going and ate lots of s’mores.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Monday, August 25, 2008

Today we biked 76 miles from St. Catherines, Ontario to Byron, New York at an RV park with a swimming pool. So guess what we did when we got into camp. We went swimming in the pool. It felt so good even though it was such a beautiful, bright, sun-shiny cooler day that we thank God for. Breakfast was a half hour early this morning because we had to cross the border from Canada into the U.S. today across Rainbow Bridge. Rainbow bridge is right near Niagara Falls and has a beautiful view of the falls as we crossed the bridge. The border crossing was completely smooth. We cycled through just like we were crossing a normal bridge because the border patrol was surprised at how organized that we were. Upstate New York is beautiful country to cycle through with forests, cabbage fields, and corn fields. We stopped at a small restaurant/driving range for lunch. We took quite a few swings at some golf balls. It was only $3.50 for a small bucket of about 30-40 balls. So much fun and such a good break. We actually had no snack stops today. We missed them very much but when you don’t have to stop the biking day really flies by because your free to just keep riding. We arrived in camp at 4 pm and had spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, and fruit for dinner after we went swimming in the pool. We are not having small groups after peleton tonight and are instead having a campfire. The campground brought over a bunch of wood to us with a tractor so we could have a fire. We are even having s’mores. Yes! We are starting to thinking about the end. There is a lunch stop on a farm tomorrow by a local CRC. In peleton tonight Chaplain Len called forward all those who are going back to school to pray for them. Thanks Len. I don’t really want to think about the end and I don’t know if it will really hit me until we get back home. There will be a lot of reflection to do if things don’t turn around too quickly. I just want to thank God for pouring out His blessings on this awesome experience.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

The churches in St. Catherine's served a phenomenal breakfast this morning! The meal consisted of tons of mixed fruit, granola and yogurt, and quiche (however you spell it). Quiche is a dutch dish of scrambled eggs with meat and vegetables in like a pie crust - very good. So after breakfast, I, Mark, needed to burn some time before the church service held at Maranatha Christian Reformed Church. Thankfully Art Smit challenged me to a duel in chess with a tile floor as the board and about 2 foot tall pieces. I was black, he was white. The battle started slow, Art taking only a few of my pawns, but then it became fierce, our pieces flying left and right. Sad to say, we had to finish our match without a winner because it was time for church, but I think Art would've won.
The official Sea to Sea rally started at 2pm in Queenston. There we had a "meet and greet" from 2-4pm. However, it was raining, quite hard at sometimes, so we all huddled together under trees and park shelters. Just as worship was about to start at 4pm, the rain immediately stopped. What an amazing act. You could really tell that God was at work. It had been overcast and rainy all day. David Raakman led worship with Brian Walsh speaking about the "fruits of the spirit" for our message. I don't know how many people attended, but it was a lot. All the rain umbrellas made it hard to count.
For supper they fed us hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, and pasta salad in the park. It was great, especially since we were all hungry after having only a light lunch this afternoon at the school.
We rode buses back to the school. Just when we arrived, Dale Mowry challenged me to a chess game. So, having to prove myself, I accepted. The match was back and forth, but eventually I gained an upper hand. However, peleton was starting so we had to end early. I guess it's just not meant for me to finish a chess game. At peleton we received instructions about tomorrow's border crossing into New York on the Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls. Hopefully it goes smooth. If anything, at least we'll get to look at the falls once again.
Well, that's all for now. I'm going to try and get some extra sleep for tonight before our last week. It's just amazing how fast time has gone by. Seems like only yesterday we all were arriving with our bags at the University of Washington.
Eric rode on the Maid of the Mist, a boat ride that takes you into the mist at
Niagara Falls, on Sunday morning with a local family and then joined the rest of camp at the celebration service.

St. Catherine's

The churches in St. Catherine's served a phenomenal breakfast this morning! The meal consisted of tons of mixed fruit, granola and yogurt, and quiche (however you spell it). Quiche is a dutch dish of scrambled eggs with meat and vegetables in like a pie crust - very good. So after breakfast, I, Mark, needed to burn some time before the church service held at Maranatha Christian Reformed Church. Thankfully Art Smit challenged me to a duel in chess with a tile floor as the board and about 2 foot tall pieces. I was black, he was white. The battle started slow, Art taking only a few of my pawns, but then it became fierce, our pieces flying left and right. Sad to say, we had to finish our match without a winner because it was time for church, but I think Art would've won.
The official Sea to Sea rally started at 2pm in Queenston. There we had a "meet and greet" from 2-4pm. However, it was raining, quite hard at sometimes, so we all huddled together under trees and park shelters. Just as worship was about to start at 4pm, the rain immediately stopped. What an amazing act. You could really tell that God was at work. It had been overcast and rainy all day. David Raakman led worship with Brian Walsh speaking about the "fruits of the spirit" for our message. I don't know how many people attended, but it was a lot. All the rain umbrellas made it hard to count.
For supper they fed us hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, and pasta salad in the park. It was great, especially since we were all hungry after having only a light lunch this afternoon at the school.
We rode buses back to the school. Just when we arrived, Dale Mowry challenged me to a chess game. So, having to prove myself, I accepted. The match was back and forth, but eventually I gained an upper hand. However, peleton was starting so we had to end early. I guess it's just not meant for me to finish a chess game. At peleton we received instructions about tomorrow's border crossing into New York on the Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls. Hopefully it goes smooth. If anything, at least we'll get to look at the falls once again.
Well, that's all for now. I'm going to try and get some extra sleep for tonight before our last week. It's just amazing how fast time has gone by. Seems like only yesterday we all were arriving with our bags at the University of Washington.

St. Catherines

The churches in St. Catherine's served a phenomenal breakfast this morning! The meal consisted of tons of mixed fruit, granola and yogurt, and quiche (however you spell it). Quiche is a dutch dish of scrambled eggs with meat and vegetables in like a pie crust - very good. So after breakfast, I, Mark, needed to burn some time before the church service held at Maranatha Christian Reformed Church. Thankfully Art Smit challenged me to a duel in chess with a tile floor as the board and about 2 foot tall pieces. I was black, he was white. The battle started slow, Art taking only a few of my pawns, but then it became fierce, our pieces flying left and right. Sad to say, we had to finish our match without a winner because it was time for church, but I think Art would've won.
The official Sea to Sea rally started at 2pm in Queenston. There we had a "meet and greet" from 2-4pm. However, it was raining, quite hard at sometimes, so we all huddled together under trees and park shelters. Just as worship was about to start at 4pm, the rain immediately stopped. What an amazing act. You could really tell that God was at work. It had been overcast and rainy all day. David Raakman led worship with Brian Walsh speaking about the "fruits of the spirit" for our message. I don't know how many people attended, but it was a lot. All the rain umbrellas made it hard to count.
For supper they fed us hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, and pasta salad in the park. It was great, especially since we were all hungry after having only a light lunch this afternoon at the school.
We rode buses back to the school. Just when we arrived, Dale Mowry challenged me to a chess game. So, having to prove myself, I accepted. The match was back and forth, but eventually I gained an upper hand. However, peleton was starting so we had to end early. I guess it's just not meant for me to finish a chess game. At peleton we received instructions about tomorrow's border crossing into New York on the Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls. Hopefully it goes smooth. If anything, at least we'll get to look at the falls once again.
Well, that's all for now. I'm going to try and get some extra sleep for tonight before our last week. It's just amazing how fast time has gone by. Seems like only yesterday we all were arriving with our bags at the University of Washington.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

So pretty much I just lost the blog that i typed up for the day b/c we lost internet connection. So here is a summary...

last night:
bonfire with Peter's friends by Redeemer College at his friends' house
sight seeing from the Niagara Escartment at 11:30 pm at night
Thanks so much Peter.

Today:
Wake up at 6:40 am and decide to rush into camp today to go to a Toronto Blue Jay's game in the Roger Centre or Skydome.
Thanks to Brad and his family for taking us to the game, serving us dinner, and putting us up for the night

We have been so blessed on this tour. Blessed to be a blessing, eh. As one man who opened up his pool to us said, "You cannot out give God."

Last week ahead. It will be hard to say goodbye to friends made, maybe we can have a reunion in like 5 years and do it all again. Just kidding.

Well there was more detail and reflection but that was the just off what i lost typing up in the last 45 minutes or so. Wow has Canada blown us away with supporters cheering along the road, snack stops, etc. Thanks. I don't know how to show my appreciation other than enjoy the hospitality and say thanks and God bless.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Today we rode 47 miles from Hamilton to St. Catherines, Ontario. Last night after peleton Peter took a group of us college students on Sea to Sea to his friends' house for a bonfire for an hour. It was fun to hang out with some kids from Hamilton and here about Redeemer College and their lives here. That would be our normal lifestyle over the summer - working and hanging out on the weekends - but we are on this bike tour that I have no problem trading a summer for. In fact, I would gladly do it again but it would be nice to have a break too. Only one week left. So weird and crazy to think of. It will be so hard to say goodbye to all the friends I have made on this tour. It has been such a blessing and I greatly thank God for this opportunity. Life will turn around so quickly after the tour is done though with classes starting up again in a week for me (Eric) for my senior year, my dad going back to work, family, and soccer practice, and my brother Mark starting his first year at Calvin College right away on the Monday that we get back. After an hour at the campfire Peter took us to the Niagara Escarpment, a 500 km long cliff that that gives way to Niagara Falls at one point, that looks over the city of Hamilton at about 11:30 pm so it was pitch black except for the city lights below. We got into camp a little after midnight, the latest that I have been out yet but I knew that we had a short ride today so no worries.
I woke up this morning at 6:40 am. The night before I had heard some rumors about Brad taking a group of kids to a Blue Jays game. He had mentioned last night that they still had one more spot and encouraged me to go, but they were leaving at 7 am to get into camp today and be ready to go to the baseball game at 11:45 am. The baseball game was to start at 1 pm. This morning as I was climbing out of the tent I saw Brad and he asked me again if I wanted to go. After some quick deciding and second guessing and...yup...sure...I'll go. I left camp at 8 am with Theo to hit the road hard to be ready to leave for the game by 11:45 am. There were 5 planned stops along the way today with Tim Hourton's muffins and coffee and donuts, sandwiches, tons of homemade bread, cookies, and bars, and even vanilla ice cream with peaches in Grimsby because of a peach festival I think that was going on now. So amazingly, spectacularily scrumpuous. What a bad day to have to race to camp, but we squeezed in all the stops in excellent style and even packed some in our bike bags for later because we could not eat it right then on the road. We thank everyone along the route to day for all their preparation, planning, cooking, baking, and cheering. I thoroughly apologize however that we had to rush through the stops to get to the baseball game. I especially apologize too for trying to grab a freezie pop from a supporter on the run who was braced and ready to hand out freezie pops to riders on the go but missed it and had it splatter on myself and on the road. I felt so bad. But we had so much fun on our ride today pushing hard and eating hearty. It really made the ride fly by. We quick showered at Beacon Christian School and the headed off to the Toronto Blue Jays baseball game. We ended up arriving at 2 pm because of busy traffic but had a blast at the game anyway. It was so neat to drive into Toronto. It is such an exciting experience now to even ride in a car because we have been biking so much. You can go so fast in suc a short period of time with little to no effort. After the game we went Brad's house for dinner in Georgetown for hamburgers and salads and played so street hockey until it was dark. Again I was the only American out there playing hockey. I thank Brad's family so much for all their hositality - for taking us to the baseball game, serving us dinner, and putting us up for the night, and taking us to the celebration service in St. Catherines tomorrow which I encourage everyone in the area to attend. Georgetown is quite a beautiful small, hilly town. I kind of feel like hanging out with all these Canadian college students is kind of a cross-culture experience, but it is also so similar. Playing hockey is really just the thing to do around here. It is quite a family affair. Brad's sisters even came out to play with us. It has been such a joy traveling trough Canada with warm welcomes and cheering all along our routes. It will be a bummer to leave Canada. Thanks so much again! I don't know how to show my appreciation other than just to enjoy your hospitality and say thanks and God bless you for being such a blessing to us. I this trip I have seen and experienced God pouring out so many blessings on us to overflowing support and desserts.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Today we rode 77 miles from London to Redeemer University in Hamilton, Ontario. There were probably like 8 snack stops along the way with various baked goods, fruit, and drinks. The main stop along the route was in Woodstock. It was a lunch stop with the full spread and sub sandwiches. Thanks so much to all the people generously gave their time and baking skills to encourage us along the way today. The Ontario countryside was beautiful and the roads were quite smooth and less traveled which made the day more relaxing and enjoyable. It has been lots of fun to see those on the tour from around here meet up with friends and family at our stops and along the route. Thanks especially to the Bentum's who fed us a delicious shepherd's pie, ice cream, and homemade cookies and put us up for the night last night. We really enjoyed this. Last night camp was in London at London Christian High School. We were absolutely blown away by there hospitality. In fact, they did such a good job that they even over fed us and had much left over which they said that they would donate to the mission. There were probably five long tables filled with desserts after a hamburger dinner in camp last night - ice cream, brownies, homemade bread and muffins, pies, goodie bars, etc. - pretty much whatever dessert you could think of. Wow, what support and what a warm welcome in Canada. People here in Canada have been so support and encouraging. They have really gone the extra mile, I mean kilometer, to make us feel welcome. Tonight we are at Redeemer University. Denise gave me a walking tour of campus. It looks like a fun place to attend college and has a very nice campus. Redeemer fed us dinner tonight. The kitchen staff has really been getting the break they deserve these past few days and I think they have more to look forward too. Some friends may give us a tour around Hamilton tonight. I am looking forward to the weekend in St. Catherines. We plan to visit Niagara Falls tomorrow night. I am skipping peleton right now to write this in Redeemer's library. Until next time...

Chatham to London

Our tent was soaking wet this morning. Maybe it's the strong dew from the freezing cold of night up here in Canada, or perhaps its our heavy breathing after a long hard day of cycling. Either way, our tent was soaked. So what do you do, but simply pack it up for the morning and await with anticipation the time of reopening. Despite the soggy tent, our morning was a tad cold. Hot chocolate warmed me (Mark) up during breakfast and everything started to turn out all right. We got on the road by 8:00am to advance through this "Canadian wilderness" called Ontario. It's actually very much like the states with cornfields, soybeans, trees, and houses. The only thing different is that all the road signs read kilometers per hour. What in the world does that mean? And then there's this Tim Horton craze we, Americans, just can't understand. It's been a good experience so far though I'd have to say.
We had a headwind today, quite strong. I don't think Canada has tailwinds. I believe that Canada is simply all flat with the wind always blowing at you. That's okay though, because after seven weeks of cycling, I've started to develop some pretty strong muscles. I can plow through that wind. My dad is the one who really can though. he kept us going around 17-20mph the whole day. At first we (my dad and I) started out riding with Matt and Cheryl, two new riders who started in Grand Rapids. They stuck with us for about 35 miles until Walter's stop with his famous "Waltermelon."
Now, there was a "Sea to Sea Time Trial" going on today. You were supposed to sign up last night; we didn't. Well, the time trial started about 30 miles into the route, so what do we have to do, but "unofficially" do the time trial. We went fast, but not as fast as we could have. Actually, my dad was bursting with energy and I was worn out. I just didn't eat right this morning or something. Maybe it's just that I'm so full from all this food the Canadians are feeding us. They are amazing cooks.
AT mile 54 there was a church stop in Mt. Bridges. Here was spread before us a feast of roast beef, fruit, rice krispy treats, baked beans, etc. We ate like kings. The churches in Canada really know how to feed us. They have amazing hospitality which is just too good to be true. And, sorry to say since I'm American, I think that the Canadians have outdone the Americans so far. We'll see though once we get back into the US and into New Jersey. Anyways, the food was amazing at the church and then there were two stops later on in the route. The last one in London gave us watermelon and Canadian Dry Green Tea - pretty good stuff. Our welcome into London was tremendous. There were tons of people cheering us on with shouts and banners. People were out in their driveways cheering and waving us on. Riding through London reminded me of Grand Rapids. Canada really isn't that different I guess.
So, we arrived at the school. A crowd greeted us and so did the Bentums at their house near the school. We entered the parking lot and were immediately led to the food tables which were bursting and sagging under the weight of donuts, cookies, homemade bars, ice cream, chocolate/white milk, and pounds of fruit. I couldn't believe my eyes. We had just eaten lunch an hour or tow ago and now these Canadians were feeding us again. I think I'm going to burst! We still have supper tonight. It's going to be a barbecue. I don't know how long I can handle this, but somehow, I'll survive.

Our thanks to all the Canadians with their tremendous welcome and hospitality. We appreciate you for making us Americans feel like we're at home.

Eric's Richmond to Chatham, Aug 20

Today we rode 56 miles from Richmond, MI to Chatham, Ontario, Canada. 20 miles into the ride we arrived at the U.S.-Canada border along the St. Clair River. At 9:45 am we all meet to take the ferry across into Canada, about 70 of us at a time on the flatbed ferry. This is how all our support crew vehicles including the gear truck crossed. The border crossing went very smooth. All we had to do was show our passports. Right when we got off the ferry there were people lining the streets cheering. They surprised us with droppies, cup cakes with white frosting and maple leaf-shaped sprinkles, fruit, homemade bread, Canada stickers and pins, etc. Wow! The whole route today in the U.S. and especially in Canada was completely flat. We had a brisk 10-15 mph headwind that we had to work against. We took a photo shoot at Tim Hourton’s in front of Tim Hourton’s and going through the drive through. When we got into camp in Chatham we were welcomed with yellow watermelon, red watermelon, cantaloupe, apples, and oranges. At camp a map was posted with six locations that might be of interest to us bikers in the area like the homes with pools, computers, laundry, etc. Shuttles were also available to where ever. I had my first Canadian junk food the other day – passion flakes and Joe Louis. This afternoon a group of us went to a neighbor’s pool. It was a blast and we thank that couple so much for their open arms and hospitality. We had a great time visiting, swimming, and just hanging out. Johnny got $107 in bike repairs paid for by some nice guy at a bike shop. Thank God for these good surprises and these great people in Canada. For dinner we had a lavish potluck hosted by 3 churches from Chatham. So good. Thanks a ton to those churches! Looking forward to our second day in Canada. We have heard of great things ahead here.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Today we rode 95 miles from Sleepy Hollow State Park to Richmond. Today was my mom and dad’s 30th anniversary. My mom and two younger brothers and my aunt and uncle and cousin also camped at Sleepy Hollow State Park last night. We had our second campfire of the tour last night with s’mores. So good. This morning my brother, dad, and I joined my mom and relatives and brothers for pancakes and eggs this morning. We hung out for a while and then left about the same time as the sweep crew. It was a cool 64 degree F morning. We left camp at about 9 am and arrived in camp at about 3 pm. My dad, brother, and I all stuck together again today. We had a brisk 10-15 mph northeast headwind. It took some work today, but we all loved the cooler weather. We road on many rolling MI country roads. Someone spotted at Tim Hourton’s in Richmond so before dinner we road a mile and a half down the road from camp to enjoy what the Canadians talk up so much. I had a stellar banana nut muffin. Tonight we were surprised with blueberry, peach, and cherry cheesecake for dessert and spaghetti pizza as the main course. Did I not mention that we have an awesome kitchen staff. Tomorrow we cross the border into Canada. I am so excited. We actually get to ride the ferry across the border. Tomorrow will be a big day.

Monday August 18 2008

Monday, August 18, 2008

Today we rode 65 miles from Grand Rapids to Sleepy Hollow State Park. It was a beautiful, bright sun shiny day with quite a nice tailwind. My dad, Mark and I all rode together today with an average of 19.7 mph thanks to the generous tailwind that God gave. We had a great stay in Grand Rapids at Calvin College. The churches again surprised us with their hospitality breakfast, lunch, and dinner including homemade coffee cake, pizza, sub sandwiches, ice cream, etc. Many people were hosted this past weekend so camp was a little less occupied. We added I think about 50 new people this weekend. It is so exciting to have all these new people. Their journey is just beginning while our journey is beginning its ending with only 2 weeks left. Bummer! I really don’t mind this lifestyle. I am looking forward to meeting all my friends again in going back to Calvin but classes are looming slightly ominous. I can’t say that we have gotten the greatest mental exercise on this bike tour but we have gotten lots of social, physical, and spiritual exercise. I love being back home in Michigan. I had taken for-granted how nice MI was with all of its beautiful country and shade trees. Shade-filled, wooded Sleepy Hollow State Park is many, many yards apart from the sagebrush filled, dessert-like
West which is neat in its own way. The cooler weather and shade is appreciated though. My family is camping with us tonight including my uncle, aunt, and cousin. We even get to have another campfire tonight, our second one of the tour, with s’mores and cherry pies. Yes! We all left Calvin with a short send off service at 8 am and arrived in camp at about 1 pm. We got to share lunch with our family. This afternoon we went swimming in Lake Ovid at the state park. Len, our head chaplain, just jokingly said in peleton, our after dinner meeting, that the route has been changed and we are no longer going through Canada. That would be mutiny if it was true. I am looking forward so much to riding into Canada. I have heard so much that I am excited to see. Tomorrow we are bumping up our mileage to 95 miles. These past few shorter days have been great. Just to let you know it was just announced in peleton that we cannot use the port-a-john now because they don’t want to have to declare the contents at the border. It is going with us into Canada. Okay, sorry, too much information. I highly recommend this biking lifestyle. I would encourage everyone to try it some time no matter what excuse you may have. It is quite a exciting adventure and a great way to get to know new people and travel.

Aug 14 to 16 South Haven/Grand Haven Conference Grounds/GR

This is Larry writing. Wow, we are passing through our West MI home area already. Nice being in a familiar place. It is really good to see family, cousins, and many friends. Thursday Mark hustled into South Haven from Indiana State Dunes State Park on Thursday, leaving about 6 am to meet friends at the north beach in SH. He got there about 1 pm. Eric and I pushed hard after doing the morning sweep duties (breakfast, clean up camp, and loading the gear truck)to get to cousins in St Joe for an early afternoon lunch - the VanderPloegs. A beautiful ride along the southern portion of Lake Michigan with blue sky, with some NW head wind. We did about 52 miles with no stops, like Mark, to get to our cousins in St Joe, trying to make up for an hour time change. Mark had visited mid morning on his way through. We were suprised to find my wife Sherry, and younger sons Joel and John there waiting for us as well. They looked at me a bit goofy because I had a grey beard! John says I look better without it. Probably should have asked Dave VP to sail me north, but instead we biked. Joel biked with us about 30 miles from St Joe to SH. We got to SH about 5pm, and we were greeted by many more friends (Dawn Brown and kids, her mom, and Kalamazoo kids and more friends). Sherry got 4 Little Ceasers pizzas so they could eat with us in camp, and see how well we eat. Sherry got a VanBuren State Park camp site and will tag along a few days by camping with Joel and John.

Friday we enjoyed another sunny biking day along the Lake. Eric went off ahead with friends. Joel joined Mark and I biking from Graafschaap CRC lunch stop (a great feast, and blue berries too) for about 20 miles to the conference grounds by GH. Larry stopped by P&N Holland while Mark, Joel, Sherry and John got a nutty paddle pop at the Peanut Store. Then we regrouped by Holland State Park and a visit with the Drooger's at their trailer. We encouraged many cyclist to visit HSP, to bad we have to head east so soon. To our surprise my parents and Uncle Ken greeted us as we arrived at the conference grounds about 4:30. Like us, many friends and family are visiting cyclist. It was a beautiful sunny day, but a cool breeze came off the lake in the evening during the steak dinner. The whole family enjoyed that, and John ate two steaks!

Saturday was an easy bike ride to Calvin in GR. Many cyclist left normal times, and the one day riders came between 7:30 and 9:00 to do the ride. Mr Jeltema, Mr. LeMaire, Mr. Scripture to name a familiar to us. Eric had to scurry out to get to Calvin, but he is social and visited a bit getting there. We moved slower so we got to have the pancake breakfast in the Conference Grounds before Larry and Joel, and Mark and Jared set out about 10 am. M&J took the scenic way via GH State Park, Larry and Joel visited Larry's parents in Spring Lake, and then Bill and Barb in Lamont. Sad to say, we missed the Lamont food stop being later in the day but the Eastmanville folks treated us well! Joel wished mom picked him up in Lamont as planned but John was enjoying the GH skate park and Sherry the sidewalk sales. So Joel got rescued after about 35 miles on the west side of GR. Larry and family arrived at Calvin about 3. Having missed the fan fare and snacks, we headed to Big Bob's for a Braizzo pizza feast and Junction Station for ice cream. Eric stayed to camp. Mark and I, with family, returned home for bed rest and laundary tasks. We slept well in real beds, until about 9 am.

Sunday we finished some home chores (soccer emails, pool cleaning, minor repairs, mail) and headed up to GR for the afternoon celebration service. Again, greeted by many friends from Kalamazoo and church. Shane Clayborne spoke, and we were awed by Kyle's song! Mr. Steak feed us a lot, the shakes were great. Eric went off with a Calvin friend Rachel, so they missed out but I hear the ice cream stop of Saturday was in their route. Tonight Sherry and the young boys are off to Sleepy Hollow State Park camping two nights with my favorite broither-in-law Dave and family. We bike there on Monday. It will be great to see them. Maybe they will bike out to meet us 10, 20, 30 miles?

I love this trip (and home and work someday again). And take note - it is our 30th wedding anniversary the 19th. Love you Sherry and I thank God for all the joy and happiness we continue to share, and four great boys!

Hope we can post some prior days and pictures soon. God Bless. Larry