Arrived at U of Wash Huskyland

Today we arrived in Seattle and checked into the dorm we are staying at for the next couple nights at U of Wash. Saturday, we will need to transfer to another dorm just a couple buildings away to join the others of the tour there. We met one other biker that came in today, Bob Winkel, from Waupun, WI....the town Julie and I lived in when first married and before we moved to MI. A few other tour guys are here in the dorm also....the ones that drove the gear truck and mobile kitchen and one of the CRWRC vans.

Julie and I took a 3 hour tour of the city with a guide to hit the high points. We saw various neighborhoods, the Pike St. Market, waterfront, downtown buildings, fishing terminal, Sleepless in Seattle houseboat, locks and fish ladders, and a history lesson from a good guide. The city is very scrunched together, as there is only so much real estate, being surrounded by water and mountains. The real estate is very expensive and the homes have very small lots. There is very little lawn mowing needed here. Today is was cool, in the 60s, but mostly sunny. We had a partial look at Mt. Rainer today and could see the middle section, but not the bottom or top. Apparently there are few days to see it all clearly.

Tomorrow, we plan to return to the Pike Street Market area and walk around and have some fresh seafood for lunch. There are a lot of bikers in Seattle and maybe tomorrow I will get my bike out and see if Bob Winkel wants to go for a ride. Also, a lot of people will be arriving via flights tomorrow and will be shuttled to the campus here. Maybe there is something we can help out with tomorrow and tomorrow night.
That's it for now.
Love, P & J

Almost there!!

Today we put on another 715 miles and made it to Ellensburg WA. We are less than 2 hours from Seattle now. We went through some very long, narrow canyon roads today in MT, ID and open plateaus in WA. Most of the mountain streams and rivers are quite high and fast as there is a lot of snow melt coming from the peaks. All the major mountain ranges that we have passed yesterday and today, the Big Horns, Crazies, Rockies, and Cascades all have a lot on snow on the peaks for this time of year. At one time we had considered going up to Glacier Natl Park on our way, but ruled it out on account of distance and time. Well, at breakfast this morning a couple told us they had just come from there and the "Going to the Sun Road" is not open all the way through the park because of snow and they could only go part way and then had to turn around. So, we are not feeling as bad about not being able to do it.
Today it hit both of us, as to how long we have been sitting and riding in the truck to get to Seattle, and that now the tour will be doing this on BIKE and even longer than MI to WA. That is sobering and scary. We will just need to focus on one day, the next camp at a time.
Today we are thankful for the beautiful country that God has given us and the opportunity to participate in this adventure.
P & J

Big Sky Country

We put in a big day today. Left Sioux City IA at about 8:00 EDT and stopped tonight in Billings MT, a 819 mile day. Today we saw a lot of wide open country in SD and WY. We saw lots of antelope and a few mule deer. Tomorrow will bring new and beautiful scenery, after Bozeman MT, as we have never gone through the part of the country beyond Bozeman. I have been to the Bozeman area a couple times elk hunting.
Love to all....
P & J

Seattle or Bust!!

This is really happening!!
We left home about 7:00 this morning and drove til about 7:30 tonight. We made it to Sioux City, IA, 690 miles. We kind of putted along at 65 MPH to conserve on petrol. Gas is cheaper in IA... I paid $3.77 (am I really saying $3.77 is a bargain??) for 89 octane, which was cheaper than 87 octane. Go figure. E85 is cheaper yet...$2 something a gallon. We had a stopage on I-80 about an hour west of Chicago. Traffic both ways came to a complete stop and everyone was out of their vehicles looking up the road ahead. I had my binocs along and could see about a mile ahead that at least 2 semi trailers were overturned and one was burning. After sitting there about 1/2 hour, I cut thru the median grass and backtracked about 3 miles to an alternate route and bypassed the accident scene. Traffic was backed up for miles. Tomorrow we plan to make into MT, maybe around Bozeman....we'll see.

Sunday afternoon I got a bike ride in with my grandson, Tyler, and Pete Drost. Tyler is planning to join me from Grand Haven to GR when the tour bikes through West Michigan and Pete Drost also plans to ride along with the tour sometime in West Michigan.

That's it for now. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.
P & J

Patience Tested

Well, this past week sure did not go the way the training schedule and packing schedule were layed out. It started with 5+ inches of rain overnight on Saturday night that caused some flooding in our finished basement. It was limited to one bedroom, closet, and bath and did not harm the walls, just carpet soaked. But, took time to move all the furniture out, wet vac out the water and try to dry it all out. We ended up having the carpet sanitized and professionally cleaned and have a couple industrial blowers going all weekend and a dehumidifier going all the time. Can't wait for the next electric bill.

Then, on Tuesday night, I came down with something. My body just ached, stomach was rumbling, and had to lie down to keep it together. I missed work on Wednesday, made it back to work for Thurday, and then the bug hit again on Friday and I stayed home from work again and missed a golf outing on Saturday. Bummer!!

So, I not only lost valuable training time and packing time, I now need to recoup some lost strength.

I'm having one of the Spirit's fruits tested.

My 1st "Century"

I managed to complete my first 100 miles bike ride...though not without a battle against heat, humidity, and wind. I biked in the Grand 100 for the 1st time on June 7. The tour route was described as having gentle rolling hills. Well, the person that wrote that was probably riding the route in a car! It was a very pretty route and the hills I am talking about are out in the orchards near the Sparta area and Dale Sprick's buffalo. They may be gentle and they may be rolling, but they were also quite a challenge in the humidity.

I made a mistake on the route and followed the wrong group of riders and missed the turn for the upper loop that makes the course 100 miles. I ended up finishing on the 65 mile loop route. So, I packed up my bike, rode home, jumped back on the bike and put another 35 miles on in Allegan County. By that time it was the hottest part of the day and I needed to stop about 3 times to rest up and cool down. On my second stop, I layed down on the front lawn of the Benthiem elementary school, in the shade of a small maple tree. It was breezy and the shade helped cool me down and I think I even dozed off a minute.....only to be waken by someone calling out...."You ok?...you ok?". I looked up and it was one of Allegan County's finest, getting out of his cruiser and coming toward me!! I assured him I was ok, just resting, and thanked him for checking. It must have been my crimson face that called his attention to me.

Anyway, I completed my first 100 mile day/ride!! Now I know how much pain will be coming in Iowa, when we face 3 consecutive days of 100+ miles in the middle of the summer.

Check Out This Support!!

The company I work for has been very supportive of my trip. They have even added a link on our company website to highlight my trip. Check it out at www.lodeso.com and click on the over-burdened biker cartoon (me!! just ask my wife when I am packing for a trip). It has a neat map that shows the daily stops of the tour and can be viewed as a road map, satellite, or combo. This link is being seen by our customers, agents, and others on a national, daily basis.
Thanks Lodeso!!

Renewed faith in humankind

I had an experience tonight that renews my faith in humankind. I was out riding after work and I always have my rear pack mounted on my bike. It is roomy and I keep my stuff in it like billfold, sandals, rain jacket, tube, pump, etc. Well it is a snap-in attachment and I had it once that it fell off, but noticed it right away. Tonight I was about 15 miles into my ride and looked behind me and the pack was gone. PANIC! Not only my stuff mentioned above, but my hearing aids that are worth about $4,000! I turned around and retraced my route and boy did I pedal hard.
Nothing was lying along the road all the way back home and my heart had sunk and was already thinking about cancelling credit cards, new drivers license needed and all the other things involved. I just prayed that some honest soul had found it and would call in the next day or so. I went in the house and the answering machine had a msg on it. It was from a Michelle whose husband had been out for a bike ride and found it along the road. What a relief and what renewed confidence in humankind that there are good, honest people out there.
I went and picked it up and all is well!

Prayer Requests.....

Want to get involved in the SeaToSea Tour but don't know what you can do?

Well we sure could use some prayer warriors! For a list of current items to pray about, go to the seatosea.org link on "My Links" and on the home page, click on "Get Involved", then click "Prayer Requests". We have seen some amazing answers from God for several items already!

Winter Training

So, what does a person do during winter months in the North country to get in shape for biking across the country? Beats me....I have never done this before!
I have developed my own array of muscle building and cardio training. I have the following equipment that I trade off on.....
---A loaned Schwinn AirDyne from brother and sister-in-law, Rick and Bonnie.
---A loaned bike trainer stand that I have my trail bike on, from Pete Drost.
---My own treadmill for jogging/walking.
---My son's rowing machine.
---Arm weights.
---Exercise pad for doing back and abdomen strengthening exercises.

I hate jogging, so I have been spending most of my sessions on the Schwinn AirDyne, riding 20 miles at level 3, which takes about 70 minutes. I have found this to be harder than level terrain bike riding and is a real workout, as if you were riding uphill the whole way. This gets my heart rate up in the 150+ area. I am trying to do this 3-4 times a week.
I have dropped about 15 pounds since last Fall and hope to trim some more off before Spring comes and the more enjoyable outdoor training begins.

Riding for a Cause.....

More important than fulfilling my dream of riding in a cross-continental bike tour, is the cause for which we are riding. The primary purpose of the tour is to raise awareness of global poverty and raising monies to break the cycle of poverty for one person, one family, one community at a time. Read more about this and where the monies go, on the tour website at www.seatosea.org. As participants, we will need to keep that primary in our minds, as there will be plenty of temptation to turn the focus on ourselves and what we are doing. It needs to be all about doing what Christ would do and told us to do.... helping the hungry, the poor, and oppressed.

The beginning of a blog.

Well, here I go....creating and maintaining a blog is new to me!

I have been involved with getting ready for the SeaToSea tour since the Summer of 2007. When I received a postcard announcing the tour, I knew I had to check it out further. I checked out the early web site information and Julie and I obtained our home church's, Haven Christian Reformed, sponsorship approval in August. We applied and I was accepted as a full tour, coast to coast, cyclist and Julie as a volunteer for the tour as a SAG (support and gear) vehicle driver. Since then, I also gratefully received the sponsorship of South Olive CRC as well. As a sponsoring church, that congregation promises to pray for the cyclists and tour, encourage them, and support their fund raising efforts with scheduled offerings.