I’m going to spend most of this post with pictures and videos. A lot of people have told me they enjoyed reading the blog and my sense of humor. I tried to share the trip with you the reader in as candid a manner as possible to give a taste of the fun, the toils and the issues that I as a rider faced. I tried to keep it clean but not sanitized of the human emotions and flavors. So like life it was sometimes funny, sometimes boring and most the time in between.

Let me get you caught up. On Friday we rode from South Haven to Grand Haven. On Saturday we rode from Grand Haven to Grand Rapids which was my shortest day. We gathered at a central point and rode onto the grounds of Calvin College in mass formation. It was fun. On Sunday we gathered in Fifth Third Ballpark for a rally and listed to Shane Clairborne speak. If you get a chance to read one of his books you should. Look him up on Amazon or find him in your local library. He spent years working with Mother Theresa and his outlook on what it means to serve is right on with alot of issues.

The rally marked the end of my portion of the Sea to Sea ride. It also means that 60 people are joining for the last 2 weeks to the Atlantic ocean. I can’t imagine what it will be like in the gear truck, the bathrooms, the food line and of course the evening digestive symphony with the extra 60 wind instruments!

In Grand Haven those of us leaving had to give a few words of goodbye to our fellow riders. What I shared with them was: 1) On the first day of the ride I imploded and the people who helped me were just a sample of the caliber of people who are on this ride. They are good caring people who are sacrificing for something greater than themselves. 2) I was proud to be part of something that was working to fight global poverty and hoped that all of us would continue to do something after our part in this ride was over. 3) I looked forward to the day when I’m in heaven that someone walks up to one of us and says “I’m here because I saw these people ride by on a bike and learned that they were sacrificing themselves for others.”

I hope this ride has made you think about what you can do to help those around you. It does not have to be something big and huge like this ride. It does not have to be about people on the other side of the world. Make it small and about those people in your town. Walk through your house and ask do I need two of these and three of those? Will I ever really use that thing I’ve been saving for someday? How many coats, pants, shoes and gloves do I really need? Couldn’t I share these with people who don’t have even one? Could I sell this stuff and give the money to those who need help? Do I need a vehicle the size of a house in many places around the world? Do I need a house this big? Do I need to use so much of the worlds resources for my own personal pleasure? Then go do something to help those around you. Do anything. Its easier to just go do something than it is to plan or research or decide. Just walk around the corner to the local shelther, food pantry or other organization and say “I’m here, how can you use me?” Here are the pictures and videos and thanks for sharing this journey with me.

Terry

Final Ride Stat’s

Flats – ZERO!!

Crashes – Zero

Mechanical Failures – Zero

Click any picture for a bigger shot

Today we rode 82 miles from Chesterton Indiana to South Haven Michigan. We rode into a 7 – 10 mph headwind all day but it was clear skies and temps in the 70’s. Overall a beautiful day and a nice ride. A rider today was hit in the hip by a truck’s side view mirror on the road. I saw her walking on crutches. She hopes to be able to ride tomorrow but is badly bruised. I think she will be very sore tomorrow. Maybe you could encourage those around you to give us just a little more room.

The Hares in the group love to tease the tortoise (me). But I get to camp about the same time. Oh sure I have to ride non-stop from beginning to end and they still pass me 6 or 7 times in a day. Each time they pass me I know they have just stopped for a cold pop or ice cream or breakfast or second breakfast or lunch or second lunch. They love to cheerily say hello as they fly past quickly becoming just small dots ahead of me and disappear. I still help unload the gear truck. There is another group called the London Express, its about 8 riders from London Ontario who ride a paceline everyday and make very good time, they are fast. They are not as fast as the Hares.

I was starting to wonder if I can make the transition back to being an inside dweller. I spend all day on a bicycle creating my own breeze being outside in the sunshine, rain, cold and hot. Then I sleep in a tent sometimes freezing and sometimes sweating puddles. But last night at the campground we were told the raccoons are quite numerous and aggressive. So here I am sitting in a dome made of fabric designed to be as light as possible (that means thin) wondering how I can protect myself when the Rocco the Raccoon takes his razor sharp claw and slices his way into my tent looking for those sweet treats that I ate yesterday. I could use my bib shorts and try to smother him or I could bludgeon him with my jar of chamois butter. So there I lay tossing and turning listening for the slightest sound of Rocco creeping towards my tent. This morning I decided I’m ready to return to a building with walls that keeps out Rocco, freeways, trains, mosquitoes, big crawly bugs. I’m ready, I’m ready oh boy am I ready! I don’t think I’m a wimp but I am ready for a night of sleep where I’m warm, dry, bug free and noise deprived.

Tomorrow we ride to Grand Haven and then Saturday we ride into GR. There are going to be about 130 “guest” riders who will be joining us on the ride. Then we are going to all accumulate about a mile from Calvin and ride in as a mass group. It should be a good photo op. I also heard the service on Sunday is going to be 3 hours long. I hope that is an exageration because that’s a long time to sit out in the sun.

I took some more nice pictures today. What I’m going to do is post them all on Saturday night after my last ride. So stay tuned for a massive finish with lots of photos from the the last week.

Ummmm today I ate 15 different kinds of cookies. They were all fantastic. But I had to, I did not want to be rude and we made 3 stops at area churches along the route who wanted to treat us to snacks. You can’t say no to people who go out of their way to be a part of this fantastic cycling event. So I was extra courteous as were all of my Sea to Sea brethren. It’s amazing how much food we can eat. Last week at Dordt and last night at Trinity we ate them out of food and they had to order more. I mean we ate like a hundred pizzas last night. In honor of us being in the chicago area they served deep dish chicago style pan pizza and salad and lots of cookies. Today not only did we have the 3 church stops but we also had a church here at Indiana Dunes State Park with at least 30 different kinds of cookies laid out for us when we arrived. So overall its pretty good I only ate 15.

I’m really impressed at how well the human body was made. There are alot of people that I call a senior with ages in the late 60’s and 70’s who are just crushing the bike everyday. No tape, wrap, ice or pain killers. And its this way with pretty much everybody who has not had a fall or crash. It seems that impacts and failures of pedal clips cause most of the limps and hobbles.

Once again I have alot of cool pictures for you.  Sigh.

Today we started at Palos Heights Illinois and ended at Indiana Dunes State Park. It was 55 miles and took us 6 hours including the cookie and lunch stops. We passed from Illinois to Indiana which makes 7 states I have cycled through. The temps were in the mid 70’s again with a wind 5-7 mph from the east. We rode in groups of 6 or more today for safety as we biked through lower Chicago and Gary. I did not feel threatened or unsafe in any manner on the road. I think today’s route was actually safer than yesterday because traffic was much lighter. Some of the areas we rode through were very poor and was a good reminder that some of the money we raise during this ride will be used to help the poor. At one point of the ride we were on a bike path for about 10 miles. In the middle of this stretch the path was closed because they were building an underpass through the road for the path. But it was not done yet and we had to portage our bikes across the expanse of broken gravel and sand. It was fun. Overall todays ride was alot of stop and go as we traveled through the city. It was a big change from miles of unbroken road to stopping every quarter mile for a light.

Tonights meal was baked beans, ground turkey and hotdogs all mixed together, with salad made of raw broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. It was good and the night symphony will be playing at full volume! In case you did not read the earlier post the night symphony is the symphony of sounds made by all the bikers digestive systems. I bet some of those tents would go up like the Hindenburg if there was an accidental spark.

Tomorrow we ride to South Haven which is 74 miles. That will be my last ride over 50 miles before the end of the tour. So far I’ve riden the bike far enough to ride from Grand Rapids Michigan to Disney World in Florida.

Today I woke up and put on my biking clothes, grabbed some food for the road and road to a new place. I did that yesterday. I am pretty sure I’ve been doing that almost everyday for weeks. Its like Groundhog Day.

We rode 86 miles to Palos Heights which is a suburb of Chicago and are staying on grounds of Trinity College. I’m actually inside their computer science room using one of their machines. I still have not found my cable for my camera so no pics. I took quite a few nice ones and I guess when I get back to Grand Rapids I’ll get a cable and post all the pics as a final hurrah. It will give you a reason to check my blog next week.

Trinity College is also going to feed us dinner tonight and that means PIZZA, ummm I love pizza. Tomorrow our start is going to be delayed until 8 am. Then everyone will leave together. We have not done that while I’ve been on the tour so it’ll be interesting to see how all the riders shake out.

We only have one more ride over 60 miles this week and then its all short rides as we time our landing into Grand Rapids. There is a rumor going around that on the Saturday we ride in from Grand Haven there will be 11 stops provided by local churches.

Yesterday we stopped at a church in Delavane IL and they provided awesome food including sandwiches so if its like that then I think we will all gain a few pounds on the way.

Last night we stayed in Woodstock IL which we learned was the place where they shot Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. I think the movie came out in the early 90’s. The town square that they show in the movie is actually Woodstock IL, its a very nice little town and the opening to my blog today is a tribute to the town and the movie.

Todays ride started a little chilly with winds from the south at about 5mph and temps in the high 50’s this morning. We rode down for about 35 miles on the Fox River Trail which is a bike path that took us from 10 miles south of Woodstock into Aurora. The trail has alot of twists and turns and other trails branch off and merge into the Fox River. So alot of people got spun around today. Once we got to the streets in Chicago it was a little hairy. Cars here don’t like to move over. Most of the roads we were on had no shoulders or narrow shoulders and the traffic was pretty heavy. So far I have not heard of anyone being hurt today so that is a real miracle considering the number of cyclists, the drivers attitudes and the amount of traffic. At one point in the route we were coming up to fresh asphalt as they were repaving the lanes on one of the roads. The asphalt was so fresh that we had to stay off the new stuff as it would melt our tires! I could hear it hissing and sizzling next to me. As we entered Trinity College we were warmly welcomed with cheering throngs of well wishers (ok maybe it was like 10 people). It felt good. It feels good to be doing something to try to help those who are in poverty. The key is to act. Do something in your own town. I don’t know what you should do but think about it and find a way. If your already doing something, great keep it up and Thank You. Pretend I’m your personal throng of well wishers.

It’s Monday and I’m in Waterloo Illinois. Yeah I thought it was in Wisconsin but it seems as if the third age of cheese has come to an end. Todays ride was a short one, only 81 miles. Got to camp about 1:00 and then had to go tour the town while waiting for the gear truck. Yes you heard right, I beat the truck. But so did about 12 other people so we went into town to see if we could get people to ask what we were doing. The day started at about 49 degrees and ended up in the mid 70’s with winds from the east at about 5 mph. The countryside is starting to flatten out with the hills getting smaller and steeper. Overall a beautiful day and a beautiful ride. This is my last week of riding and it ends with some very short days. I’m hoping I can find a cord to upload my pictures so you don’t have to read endless lines.

Hey I don’t know if I mentioned this but my fingers have tan lines. All the parts that stick out of my gloves are tan while the rest of my hands are pale. I also have a circle right on the top of each hand where the hole is on my gloves for the velcro straps. I’ve been wearing my glasses as little as possible but I’m starting to get that reverse racoon look. You know where the eyes and temples are several shades lighter than the rest of the face? I’ll take a picture to show you. Overall between the dark face with white bandit strip across, arms that are all flakey and brown, hands that are two colors and feet with flop tan lines I make quite a nice picture. I don’t really think I look bad this way, but boy oh boy do the other riders look weird! I guess I just have an ability to pull that look off well. I’m sure it’s not my looks that make convienence store clerks act so nervous when I come up to the counter.

We had a church throw us a lunch today at mile 51. It was nice. They even had a hot relish made with jalapenos, man that was good and the first thing I’ve had with any spice in over two weeks. But the food is still good. It’s amazing how much food the kitchen puts out for dinner. I’ll take a picture of the kitchen and someday upload it for you to see.

Madison is a really nice town. They have lakes, a huge college and lots of bikers. But I’ve noticed the bikers are not all very friendly. They won’t give you back the biker nod or the biker wave as you pass. They just look steely eyed and pretend they can’t see you. I know they can see me, com’on I’m on a red bike.

The nicest part of a day off is that I don’t have to sit on that little leather thing that was invented during the Inquisition and is now called a saddle. Whooooweeee am I sore. Well a rest day means rest for everything. I hope I figure out a solution to the camera thing. Otherwise these topics may become very disturbing.

When you drive along in a car you see the occasional road kill. When you ride a bike you not only see and smell that stuff but you also see an incredible number of dead birds on the side of the road. So I wonder, did they get hit by a car or did they just land there and then pass away or do they fall out of the sky? Because if they fall out of the sky there must be thousands in the fields around here. But I rarely ever see a dead bird in my yard. So I think they must hit a wall of air rising from the road and die of surprise or they almost get hit and are buffeted by the wind from the cars or trucks and die of fright. I don’t think they get hit because they are whole and don’t look broken or spread out. Their wings are all tucked in and its like they are sleeping on the side of the road. Hmmm what do you think?

Well this is my last off day and it was a busy one. Between the service, ministry market place, lunch and afternoon activity it wasn’t until about4:30 before we could call it a day. Next week though I’ll be writting my entries from the comfort of my living room.

Tomorrow we head to Woodstock, WI which is 81 miles away. I’ll let you know how it went. Hopefully we will have connections over these next few days.

See ya

I cannot find my uplink cables for my camera. I’m afraid that if I don’t find a solution you will have to suffer endless pages of just words with no pictures.

I wanted to write a separate thank you to all the people at Calvin CRC who took the time to make me a care package and send it ahead here to Madison. I’m enjoying the treats and sharing them with fellow riders. The mints are a big hit, the Red Bull will come in handy on those sleepy mornings, the sunflower seeds are good anytime or anywhere but especially when you need salt. The prop-ell and crystal light (light?) will be nice to flavor my endless bottles of water, mmmmmm beef jerky, after which I’ll chew a stick of gum. I’ve already devoured the animal crackers and some of the trail mix, the mints are a big hit with the group and a special thank you for your thoughts and prayers as signified by the card. Thank you very much.

I have been in the wilderness. 40 4 days I wandered and thirst in the great plains. And lo when I thought I was lost the chorus of the GPS rose up and said “A hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles you can hear the whistle blow………. look its a train track, that must be our campsite!!

Since we left Dordt College we have not had a connection to the outside world. Without TV, cell phones, computers, radio or motorized transportation the world quickly shrinks down. The conversations of those around you and what needs to be done to get through today is all that enters your mind. You think about getting water, food and sleep. The day starts before the sun and ends long after sunset usually with the help of a little 3 LED headlamp. I live like a marginalized person with no electricity, no running water, no bathroom of my own, if I want to go somewhere I have to walk or ride my bike. But today (actually tonight) I am clean, my clothes are washed, I am air conditioned, I am sitting under electric lights, using electrical outlets to charge my computer and camera. I am back in the wealth of the western world and it feels really good. So lets get caught up.

Wednesday

I woke up after an incredible sleep in a real bed. I never slept in a bunkbed before and man that header from the  bunk above me was a rude awakening as the alarm went off. But it was my own fault, I was trying out my cell phone as an alarm clock. Usually I wake up to the sounds of the local diesel locomotive or tent zippers. But I was in a room with walls and windows and was afraid that I would sleep late. So I figured out how to set my cell phone as my alarm clock. My son does it all the time so I figure it can be done. It was easy. I just forgot that I had the phone volume on high so I could hear it while it was in my pocket. When its in your pocket and on high its not too loud. But when its about 3 inches from your head on a night stand its VERY VERY LOUD!!!  I sat right up when the alarm went off and immediately found myself laying back in the bed holding my forehead and looking at all the pretty stars. Once I regained consciousness I dressed to ride the first of 3 consecutive 100 or more mile days. I tottered down the stairs holding both handrails stepped into the lobby of the dormitory and noticed everyone had on rain jackets and leg coverings. I look outside and what do I see, lots of rain. Do I have a rain jacket? Yes I do! In Grand Rapids! Because I did not have room for both the computer and the rain suit. So I walk to the cafeteria and enjoy a yummy breakfast of scrambled eggs, waffles, syrup and coke. Ummm love that coke especially for breakfast. I’m trying to keep my streak going as I have not had coffee since I started this ride.

The ride was great. It rained until about noon but even that was a really good thing. It was a great change from those 100 degree days. I must have a motor that runs hot because in the cool air with the rain falling I was chugging along and feeling great. We even had a tail wind! Part of the ride was on a closed road that had been freshly paved and not yet open. It was so fun!

Wet, smooth and flat as a pancake

This ride of 114 miles was the longest distance I ever rode. I started at about 7am because of the rain and arrived into camp at Algona Iowa around 3pm with 6 stops for water, water, water, water, Gatorade and beef jerky the ultimate long ride food.

All on a little leather seat

A taste of camp life, in order to ride you have to clean your clothes by hand and find a way to dry them. So anything that can hold clothes up to the sun and wind gets used.

After all the worries about the 3 long days for the first one we were given rain to cool us, clouds to shade us, a wind to push us and a beautiful sunset. I don’t think it was coincidence.

Thursday

From Algona Iowa we headed off to New Hampton 113 miles away. No rain and no tailwind but just as important…. no headwind. It was about 55 degrees and it started with a wonderful sunrise.

This day was a little harder, no tail wind but cross winds. Did you know that Iowa has like a million windmills? I mean it seemed like every 20 miles there was another crop of them sprouting out of the ground. When you stand next to them while they are spinning the make a slow low woooshing sound. And they are BIG. If you look carefully in the next picture you can see a crop duster in the middle right of the frame.

The blades are about 100 feet long

Did you know that pigs smell really bad? I mean really really bad. While I’m on these roads in Iowa and Nebraska there was a livestock truck that would pass about every minute. After a while you can tell whats in them without looking. I started wondering, do you think that if those open air trucks are blowing past me and the air is rushing through that trailer and then past me that I’m breathing in little tiny bits that distressed cows and pigs are dropping on the floor of the trailer? I bet I am. I wonder if I have worms yet. Anyways back to the subject: pigs stink. They stink when passing you on a truck. They stink when you pass them in a barn and they stink when they are on the side of the road. I feel bad for pigs. I never really thought of them as anything other than ham, bacon and pork chops. I guess I never thought about their inner beauty, well inner inner beauty because bacon, ham and pork chops are the inner parts of pigs.  Pigs lead crappy lives, literally. I don’t think I’ll be eating a lot of pigs, who could eat such a cute little ham animal.

All right, I still like pepperoni, and BBQ baby back ribs, and italian sausage, and salami, and hot dogs, and smokey links, and brats, and ham, and pork roast, and pork sandwiches, and……

I should finish this so enough about pigs.

The sweep team I was on started on Thursday when we rode into camp. That means when we arrived we needed to empty the gear truck of all the duffel bags, help set up the tables and tents for dinner, get the food out, serve the riders, eat and then clean up the tables. After riding 113 miles it made for a long day. The next morning (friday) our chores continue and that means waking up before the others, getting breakfast out onto the serving tables, serve our fellow riders, clean up after breakfast, tear down the tables and tents and put them back in the semi, load everyone’s bags onto the truck and then ride the ride to make sure no one gets left behind.

Thursday I was in New Hampton and on Friday morning it was off to Fennimore Wisconsin a 100 mile ride. We left around 8:30 and arrived in camp around 6:00 as the sweep team. The end of a long day but also the end of 3 long rides. There is a big difference between Iowa and Wisconsin and I’d take Wisconsin any day. The farms in Iowa and Nebraska are all huge industrial farms while Wisconsin seems to have these small farms where the cows graze out in pastures of grass or in one case shoulder high grass fields where you could only see the heads poking up out of the grass. Our ride out of Iowa included a huge downhill to the Mississippi River where at one point I hit 40 mph. Then across an under construction bridge into Wisconsin and up the slope on the other side.

Fennimore is a cool little town with fresh Wisconsin cheese curds that people eat like potato chips. They come in the same flavors like garlic dill, ranch, onion and of course cheddar. The camp is along the edge of a baseball diamond with a long slope from the road down to the field. We were all sleeping with our heads pointed uphill. From the ball diamond we road a bus to a local pool and used the showers. It was unique to have 3 guys sharing each shower head. You rotate like when you share a sink to brush your teeth. First you get under the water and rinse, then you step out and soap up while the other two guys take turns under the water, then when it’s your turn again you rinse and step away from the shower head. Once you step away from the shower head you are standing in a room that is four walls and no roof, nothing but the open Wisconsin sky. Just one rule about shower sharing, no touching or bumping please! It was also great that it was windy or cold during shower time.

Here are some pics about the ride

Weeeee 40 mph on a bike

windmill blade

a windmills worth

Mississippi Queen, Iowa on left

Wisconsin, ummmmm cheese.

Well that’s all I have for now. I would tell you about a beautiful ride that I had today (Saturday) as we rode through lovely small towns and a hundred rolling hills. I could tell you how it was raining this morning as we woke up and so I left my camera in the truck as I did not want it to get wet like on Wednesday. Even better I could tell you about this really nice town that I recommend you visit called Mount Horeb which is the the “Troll Capital of the World” www.trollway.com but I don’t have any pictures so it seems a waste.

I’ll take some pics tomorrow and update you on my current location Madison Wisconsin.

Today our joy ride wore everybody out. It was 60 miles of riding up one climb and then going down back to start another climb. I did not take any pictures today because I was either gripping the bars to pull myself up the hill or holding on going down. The roads today were narrow concrete two lane roads built right after the war. There is no shoulder to speak of so when one of the 1000 grain/livestock/milk trucks gets behind you and there is oncoming traffic all you hear is the change in pitch of the motor, the whooshing of their brakes and the squeaking and clanging of their trailers as the come to an 8mph speed while I toil up the hill. Just think about grinding up a big hill while behind you there is the chugga chugga of a big diesel motor who is waiting to pass but cannot because they cannot see what is coming down the other lane because of the hill. Oh man is it fun. I try very hard not to look up into my rear view mirror during those times because I’m afraid of what I’ll see and I don’t want to lose my concentration going up the hill.

I think whoever led me to believe Iowa was flat was also in charge of the altitude charts.

I have two new favorite animals, the tortoise and dragonfly. A couple of riders told me that truckers call a rig with an undersized motor a dragonfly, it drags up the climb and then has to fly down the other side to make it up the next hill…..dragonfly. Thats a very accurate description of my climbing style. The tortoise as in continuing on steadily to the finish line the hare zips around. So the next time you happen to see a tortoise or a dragonfly you can remember me.

Tonight we are staying at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. We are staying in the dorms. YES! We have a bed, we have air conditioning and best of all there is not a train track on the other side of the street. Since I left Denver almost every night has been with the train tracks within one block. Tomorrow we bike 113 miles to Algona, Iowa and the map shows a nice railroad right next to the school where we are staying. So tonight we feast on silence. Dordt is a nice place and the school has gone all out to take care of us. Its really humbling to think of all the work they have done to help us for just one night.

We have 3 very long days back to back so if you don’t hear from me for a few days it may mean one of 3 things:

1) We do not have an internet connection (the most likely scenario)

2) I was too tired to write (very likely).

3) I have become a SAG (support and gear) driver and don’t want you to know (unlikely).

Thanks to all of you leaving comments, I love reading them and they help me get on the bike and ignore the messages coming to me from the parts that are actually touching the bike. So keep them coming and I’ll try to answer you every now and then.

Finally and most importantly. Remember what this ride is about………Its about helping the poor and fighting poverty. So find a way to give with either your time, your skills or your financial resources. Find a group and pitch in against the fight. If you need a reminder flip over the the page on my blog called why I ride. If you want to give click on the links in the blog titled “I need money.”

Talk to you later