We started out early Saturday morning, no alarm needed at 2 am to wake up. We rolled out of bed to the tune of thunder in the distance again. Our chauffeur to the truck stop and the rendezvous with the shuttle bus from Robert Q was not around when we woke up. I started thinking maybe the power was out due to the thunderstorm and he was going to forget us. He didn't. Thanks Matt. We ended up waiting at the truck stop for almost half and hour. The rain started and was heavy at times. We certainly were hoping that the skies would wring themselves out before we ever got onto our bikes.
We entered the shuttle bus a little later than scheduled and it turned out that there were other cyclists already on board. They were Louis Bosma of Aylmer and Pete Vannoord and Andy Devries of St. Thomas. They got on the shuttle after no sleep at all. At the border we had a slight delay due the requirement for all riders to entrance the customs building and producing documents in person. There was a slight delay as some of had more questions to answer than others. Another story for another day.
Arrived in Detroit and we soon meet Christina Nyehuis of Sarnia who would be flying on our flight as well. We were all able to sit together on the plane both on our connecting flight from Detroit to Chicagco and on our flight to Seattle.
Did you know that there is actually quite a bit of snow still in the mountains? I had no idea and was shocked. Hopefully it will provide a cooling effect after a hard day of cycling. While flying, all three ladies wrote in their journals and the men talked about the fact that they were going to do some journaling too. Then we had a nap. When not napping, we had fun taking photos of people taking photos of….
Seattle is a beautiful city with many trees and interesting neighbourhoods nestled in the rolling landscape. The are bays all around and the water looks so inviting. It is unusually hot (both Saturday and Sunday). I heard that it was 97 degrees F (please do the metric conversion yourself, I am in American mode now. I will switch back in 7 ½ weeks).
We assembled our bikes in the parking lot where the gear truck is located and then brought them UP to our rooms. It was a 5 minute climb up a 11% slope. I asked myself "DO WE HAVE ANY MORE LIKE THAT?" I already knew the answer.
We have met many old friends from 2005 and already starting new friendships.
We had our in-class safety training this morning. Teresa in currently in her training as leader of a small group. I am waiting now for our on-bike safety training, which down that hill to the parking lot. CAN I SLEEP THERE TONIGHT? Again, I know the answer.
Talk to you again soon.

nerves

Time is ticking and soon, oh so very soon, we will be on our way.  The nerves have started to kick in too and my heart rate has increased, my mind won't stay on one thought at a time and I am in a cleaning frenzy.  The house will be clean when I leave and then, I sure that Matthew will do a fine job keeping things up while we're gone.  A difficult job - with that dog and cat! 

On a different note, we have been so blessed by all the cards, thoughts, emails, hugs, prayers and words encouragement that has been sent our way.  Thank you all!  It is so appreciated (and needed).  Your support makes all the difference in the world.  Your financial gifts have been very impressive too.  Today (and they keep coming) we have a grand total of $39,705 that we (Paul, Cynthia and I) have submitted.  A truly remarkable amount considering all the other projects on the go.  Thank you one and all.

I have a song that runs repeatedly through my head as I cycle - "All Things Bright and Beautiful".  It seems to have a verse for every circumstance.  Even when the storm clouds (which I think are absolutely beautiful and awesome to behold) form and the nerves set in.  Right now, I couldn't come up with a single verse if my life depended upon it.  Nerves!

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How fast can a storm roll in?

There is a severe thunder storm watch in effect for Chatham Kent today.  Seems to be quite common lately and I really wanted to go for a bike ride.  Problem was, I had no padded shorts, my fast black stallion was on its way to Seattle already, no gloves and no bike shoes.  But I  do have my faithful steed and a helmet.  Away we go...
I decided due to the pending weather and absolutely no tools, (in case of flats or breakdowns) that we would do the short block.  When you live in the country every block adds up to at least 10km.  We headed to the Dillon, the overpass was being ground down to be repaved, we crossed it (good thing it was my faithful steed with his 38cm tires)and turned onto the 6th.  The sky had already darkened considerably. 
How fast can I go?  It seems that the darker the sky, and the more lightening bolts that I see hit the road in front of me, the faster I can ride.  We turned right on the Bloomfield (there are no choices in between these roads) and another right to head back home on the 8th.  By that time it looked like it was dark at my house (3.5km to go yet)and I could see bolts hitting the road in the distance. 
I'm home, my bike is in the garage and it looks like we're in for another round with mother nature. 

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last minute preparations

Today was the last Sunday before the tour that we attended our home church, Grace CRC.  Next Sunday, Paul and I will take part in the send off service at First CRC while Cynthia participates in the Grace Church send off.  Knowing we wouldn't be back until September brought many feelings to the forefront.  Its exciting, but scary and sad all at the same time.  I enjoy being there each Sunday and sharing in the joys and sorrows of our church family.  We have been blessed to be a part of such a loving and caring community. 

The last batch of cheques have been sent in.  Before we leave on the tour, we would like to inform you of where we are both locally and collectively in our fundraising goals.  Together, Cynthia, Paul and I have submitted, with your help, $37,459 (our goal was 30,000).  These moneys were raised using a combination of fundraisers, church, family and community support.  Collectively, the cyclists have submitted $1,265,214.68, which is 85% of the targeted goal.  We could not have done this without your help.  Thank you one and all.  The CRCNA has set up a website where you can view photos of the tour, read the cyclists blogs and receive a weekly newsletter before, during and immediately following the end of the tour.  If you are at all interested visit www.seatosea.org.

I went for my last ride on the 'black stallion' (my trek 1000C road bike), cleaned him up and dropped him off at the bike shop to be tuned up, dismantled and packed up in a box (I do hope that I can get him all back together again).  Early Thursday morning, real early, we will be heading off to Grand Rapids to drop off our gear and bicycles to begin the journey to the west coast. 60lbs.  That's it.  That is all we are allowed to carry along with us.  All of our medicinal needs, cosmetic, hygiene, clothing, footwear, bicycle replacement parts, dishes, cutlery, bedding and shelter must add to no more than 60lbs.  Tomorrow I will unpack and repack my bag for the last time, ensuring that I haven't missed anything of importance and that I haven't included anything that I really don't need. 

Soon we will be finishing up with all of our lasts and beginning...

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Be careful what you say!

I was concentrating on remaining upright as truck after truck tried to sweep me off the road when I came upon the thought that, "I asked for this!."  Way back in 2005 when I had completed the ride, had been off my bike for an entire week and was well rested, I spoke in front of the church and said this,

"It is good to be back.  I left Chatham 82 days ago and have spent the majority of those days riding my bicycle across this great land.  What an awesome opportunity this turned out to be.  It was exciting and it was frightening, as we did not know what to expect or even where we were going.  We stepped out in faith and trusted that someone would be there to guide us along the way.  It was a very spiritual journey.  We relied very heavily upon prayer.  We saw and felt God's presence in everything we encountered along the way.  Our God is indeed a great and awesome God.

We started our journey in Vancouver with the dipping of our back tires into the Pacific Ocean.  We started off as a group of strangers with many different reasons for being there and we ended up a family.  Young and old, male and female, employed or retired, CRC or of another denomination we ended up united, "all for one and one for all".  This was especially evident when we met for last minute instructions on our final media and peloton event at the All Nations CRC in Halifax.  Dave Raakman suggested that we ride into Pier 21 together and then individually work our way to Point Pleasant Park to dip our front tires into the Atlantic Ocean.  This was met with an unanimous "NO".  We had already decided weeks earlier that we would all ride to the Ocean and then we would wait, perhaps just feet from the end of our journey, until every last one of us had arrived and then all together we would advance towards the finish line, a united effort.  All for one and one for all.

Canada is a very beautiful place to live and travel across.  From the majestic Rocky mountains, the foothills, the Okanogan Valley, beautiful Lake Louise, the Prairies, the Canadian Shield, little explored Quebec with its mountains, hill and valleys to the rolling Maritimes with its tidal bores and wet welcome from hurricane Katrina, it is a great and wondrous land.

We were able to enjoy the outdoors on a whole new level.  Rain or shine.  We had days where we stumbled with heat exhaustion and dehydration, when we were sunburnt and sore, wind burnt and defeated, fatigued beyond the desire to do anything but sleep.  Other days were spent shivering in the frost laden air, curling up our frozen toes and fingers and cringing in pain as we attempted to walk on legs so cold the muscles had cramped up.  We had days of glory, when clouds followed you across the sun-baked land, when the wind caressed your back and the gentle breeze cooled your sweating brow.  And we had hurricane Katrina.  But through it all God kept us safe.

You become rather attached to your bike.  My partner, a blue TREK X500 touring bike, served me well.  Of the 550 flats that we encountered throughout the trip, only 2 were mine.  I also had to change the tire, fix the derailleur after a small accident, and replace the back rim.

A special thank you to all who have kept me 'pumped' through prayer, visits, cards and letters.  Thank you also for allowing me the opportunity to represent First CRC on the first Sea-to-Sea trip across Canada.  After all of the weather, food, shower, repair, road and camp facilities are taken into account, would I do it again?  YES!"

What was I thinking?  Words can come back to haunt you...

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Two weeks have gone by since our last entry and the weather has finally warmed up a bit. In southwestern Ontario, spring ends abruptly and it goes directly to hot and humid. It is still verrrry windy. Paul and I participated in the 'Trot to the Beach' bike tour (55km local ride from Blenheim to Lake Erie and back)and then continued on until we had 100km accumulated. The weather was great with the exception of a strong headwind but I told everyone, 'It builds character'. I'm not sure if they bought that line or not but I did notice that the optional bus ride back to Blenheim after 40km wasn't being used by a few who said they were going to bus back.
Today was also my first long ride since I hurt my meniscus (some muscle near the knee). I have been seeing the therapist, doing my exercises, icing, heating and took a whole week off. Fortunately things began to improve and my first ride was a whole 7 km. It hurt so bad I turned around and went back home. But perseverance counts for something and two days later I tried again. I was able to do 17km, improvement but far to slow for us impatient patients. This was my 3rd attempt, the pain and discomfort didn't hit until after 40km this time and oddly enough when we stopped to help someone repair a flat tire, it disappeared. I thought, 'I'm on to something". When it starts to hurt, I'll stop and walk around a bit and see how that goes. Well, here we are 100km later and I feel pretty good. I may need to wear a knee brace and regularly stop and stretch but I can do it.
Only 4 weeks before the big adventure begins.

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