Liberty and Sadness!

(This is Nate copying and pasting Mike’s text — FYI)

Miles – 63.3  Avg speed – 12.8

Left – 07:00  Arrived Liberty Park, Jersey City (NJ) – 2:30 pm

What a day this this was – the final one of the tour!  It was a day of liberty—seeing the Statue of Liberty at the end, liberation from the grueling physical exertion of the past weeks, and being liberated to enjoy time with family and friends and contemplation of this journey and what it has meant to all of us.

First, though, let me say how much I enjoyed the very short time I spent Friday night with Rosina and Richard Byma of Sussex, NJ.  They gave me a spare bedroom in their farmhouse (dairy farm) and I enjoyed talking with them and their daughter until late (for me!) into the evening.

The trip to Liberty Park on Saturday included a few challenging hills, but mostly exhilarating downhills and pleasant stops along the way for refreshment and conversation as we anticipated the end of the tour and enjoyed the transition from farmland to exurbia to suburbia to urban congestions.  We made it!  The 10-mile police-escorted ride into Liberty Park was unforgettable–riding en masse in our C2C jerseys, whooping it up (especially the younger riders) and taking pictures of each other as we rode.  Then to see the NYC skyline and, as we neared our destination, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and finally, our finally members and friends greeting us with cheers and looking on as we dipped our front tires into the water of the Atlantic – an emotional high.  It was a pleasure to have Annie and Kate greet me and then to see Jack and his sons John and Justin there as well.  I’ll have pictures to post later that Anne took at the end.  I somehow got so caught up in everything that I forgot to take pictures of my own.

The evening meal and celebration event was at Cedar Hill Community Church (CRC) in Wyckoff, NJ, and consisted of a fine message as well as singing, prayer, and reflections on the part of a few of the cyclists.   At the meal, Annie and I enjoyed conversation with pastor Jack’s parents (whom Anne’s dad married years ago in Midland Park, NJ) and brother and sisters.  It was very late by the time Anne and I turned into the motel we had reserved for the night.

Thank you for your comments, your prayers, and your support!  I am so grateful for it.  More later.

Mike

Never-ending Hills

Miles – 82.4, Avg. speed – 10.8 mph


Left camp – 06:52, Arrived Sussex (NJ) Christian School – 3:30 pm

I’m writing from the computer lab at Sussex Christian School in northern NJ, where our tour participants have been welcomed and feted and fed extraordinarily!  I will be staying in the home of a local church member tonight, but at this point don’t know who it is.

We did over 6,500 feet of climbing today.  There were loads of downhills too, of course, because we ended up at a lower elevation, than we started (I think), but it made for a supremely challenging day, at least for yours truly and for many others.  (And then again, there are those–in the minority–who love the hills and bound up them like antelope).  The climbing culminated in a four mile uphill at about 69 miles, going up and up and up to High Point State Park in NJ, the highest point (duh) in the state.  From there we had a glorious, and I mean glorious, seven mile downhill through the fertile and beautiful farmland and forests of northern NJ to the small town of Sussex, where there is an active CRC community, and has been for many years.  My riding partner today was Claire Elgersma and I’ve written about her before, but not said previously that she’s a native of Sussex, so one thing we did on the ride into town was stop at the cemetery where her parents are buried and take a picture of her in front of their tombstone.

Despite the rigors of the day, there were the pleasures of:

• the natural landscape (going on back roads, in contrast to freeways, sure shows one what a huge amount of pastoral countryside still exists in both the US and Canada)
• a pleasant lunch on the veranda of an historic hotel/restaurant in Milford, PA
• returning to New Jersey, my second home state (after Michigan), where Annie and I lived for eight years and started our family and she resolved to become an accountant and I went to graduate school and then worked seven years for the NJ Legislature
• riding with Claire again, who seems related to half of NJ, and many other people along the stages of our journey; we are matched for riding pace too
• the sense of achievement of cresting the High Point hill

Tonight is our closing peloton meeting.  I’d better leave soon to attend it.

It was great to talk to Annie by phone today (couldn’t talk yesterday because of lack of cell phone reception for me in the park), and to anticipate meeting her and Katie at Liberty State Park tomorrow.  We’ll stage together at 1:00 pm, just 10-15 miles from the end of our journey, have our group photo taken in our Sea to Sea jerseys, then be escorted by, in turn, the police departments of Kearney, Jersey City, and Liberty Park itself to our final destination by the sea, where as riders we’ll dip our front tires into the water.

Claire Elgersma, my riding partner today & fellow C2C Steering Comm. Member

Entering NJ, my 2nd home state

Welcome sign in northern NJ

The Allure of Nature and History

Miles – 55.0, Avg. speed – 13.6 mph

Left 07:15,  Arrived 2:00 pm at Lackawanna State Park in Dalton, PA.

Today we crossed from NY state into PA.  We noticed an immediate difference in road quality–from a biker’s perspective, anyway.  The shoulders were not as wide nor as well maintained nor as clear of debris.  I say taxes are good if they result in good roads and good shoulders!

This was our first cloudy day, and it was cool too.  Actually, the lack of sunlight was just fine.  I’ve had some sunburn to contend with.  The ride was a pleasure today, relatively quick and short, allowing for stops and conversation along the way.  I rode with Phil and Jan Quist and Claire Elgersma again, and we stopped twice, once for pie and coffee, and once for lunch.  At the end, though, there was a monster of a hill (16 degree incline, I was told) that really tested our mettle.  The rolling lakes and forests of this part of PA are very pretty.  But there’s history too in these old towns–some look a little dilapidated because many jobs in this area have been shipped overseas: a reminder that poverty in our own countries is very real too.  The railway bridge of the Erie and Lackawanna Railroad was massive and glorious, as impressive as the huge Roman aquaducts of southeastern France.

The State Park we stayed in was beautiful and our campsite secluded and quiet.  We had a closing communion service that was memorable.

Interestingly, there’s talk in the camp about doing a tour like this again–although there are different ideas, of course, on route and length, how long we should wait before doing it again, etc.  An evaluation of the tour was distributed and opportunity given on it for riders and staff to write any ideas or suggestions.  These will be collected at the end of the tour, providing good material for our Steering Committee to consider at our final meeting in Grand Rapids next Friday, September 5.

That’s it for today!

Me entering PA. Can you read the sign?

Erie & Lackawanna Bridge (they call it “the viaduct”)

View of gear truck & gear & Lackawanna State Park.

Ups and Downs, Continued

76.8 miles today, averaging 12.7 mph.  A little lower than average, perhaps, because of those New York hills.  As with yesterday, though, it’s absolutely gorgeous country.  Michael is still in love with those New York roads and their 10 foot wide shoulders.

• A flurry of other highlights which I have been instructed to relay with bullet points:
• Last night the small groups for the tour had their final meeting, for which Michael did their closing reflection.  He had a great small group: himself, Rod Boorman, Jim DeGraaf, Gary Sinkewicz, and John Fekkes.
• The Tioughnioga River (no, that is not a made up name) was pristine flowing through the town of Chenango Forks.
• Hot fudge Sundae 2/3 of the way through.  Yum.
• The hospitality of Valley CRC members was lovely — both refreshments right after the ride, and dinner later on.
• Rode with Mike Talsma of London, Ontario.
• Had a closing midweek meditation service in the dark with about 30 riders and staff.

Enjoying hot fudge sundae en route to Binghampton.

View of camp, Binghamton.

Gear truck & duffel bags awaiting pickup.

Sobering memorial on Ithaca street corner.

Ups and Downs

(Hi all — this is son Nate instead of wife Anne transcribing the day’s events.  Following the tradition of many famous bloggers, Michael is allowing guest posters like us on his blog.  However he is doing this in lieu of posting anything himself, and is telling us exactly what to say.  Infer from this what you will about Michael.)

Clear weather, favorable winds, and the many hills of upstate New York made for a tough but beautiful day.  81.4 miles; 14.3 mph.  The roads were particularly nice for riding — nice and smooth and with plenty of room on the side for the bikes.  Goes to show what taxes can do.

Michael rode with Hans Doef, who he had worked with on the Spiritual Support Team for Sea to Sea.  Keeping up with Hans was a bit of a challenge so he’ll be taking it a little bit easier tomorrow.  Tonight they camp on the shores of Lake Seneca on a gorgeous summer night.

The tour is winding down, and everyone can feel it.  There is a certain amount of relief at the thought, after so many miles.  But there is also a sadness knowing that a once-in-a-lifetime experience is coming to a close.

Hans Doef

Smoothly Back into the USA

88.4 miles today from St Catharines Ont to an RV park in Byron New York, avg 14.0 mph, started the day at 7 am and ended at 3:10 pm.

(no internet access, so once again a roughly transcribed version of the day)

Lots of highlights:  beautiful ride in the morning along the Niagara River, sunny but cool, good quality roads and the wind mostly at their backs, photo of a Great Lakes freighter in the lock.

Rode much of the day with LeAnn Talen Guisterfer, Dave Dethmens,  and Ad DeBlaeij.

Had an amazing re-entry into the US – the whole gathered at Niagara Falls to cross the border together and, thanks to the hard work and earned trust of Ed Witvoet, the border guards just waved them all across without looking at a single passport!

Great spaghetti supper tonight – Michael commented that he’s never drunk so much milk in his life, a cold glass tastes so good after a long day’s ride.  Settling into a routine and at the same time starting to be aware of only five more biking days to go, feel the end coming…

Cold temperatures predicted for tonight, down into the 40s.  Until tomorrow….

PHOTOS FROM SUNDAY

Neal Jasperse & our hostess in St. Catharines, Wilma Vos:

Volunteers serving dinner to riders, support crew, and guests

View of the crowd following the celebration service at Queenston Park south of St. Catharines

Rest and Reflection Day

Today was how I imagine the ancient sabbath was supposed to be after a hard week of physical labor – refreshment for body and soul.  We went to worship services this morning at Covenant CRC, where friend and former colleague Jim Dekker is pastor.  The 25 or so Sea to Sea people present were invited by Jim to come forward along with the church’s young people who had been on various service projects.  Fellow rider Neal Jasperse and I have been generously hosted by Wilma Vos this weekend.  An interesting thing about Neal Jasperse is that he grew up in Sheboygan, WI, as a member of the 1st CRC there–the same church and town where dad grew up.  That makes two pastors on this trip who hail from Sheboygan.  The other is our lead chaplain, Len Riemersma.  Len told me tonight that his computer crashed and consequently he won’t be able to keep up his blog.  A shame, since it’s always so interesting and contains great pictures.

Wilma drove us about today, including a little sightseeing.  We saw the Welland Canal that links Lakes Erie and Ontario and also the lovely garden- and flower-rich town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.  There’s a lot of history in the area too, including an association with the War of 1812, as many of you probably know.  There’s a restored fort from that era, Fort George.  The area is also very biker-friendly, with a lovely series of trails.

This afternoon we worried that steady rain would cancel the celebration service at Queenston Park, in front of an outdorr ampitheater, but it subsided and the skies cleared.  We heard an excellent message and there was a spirited band leading the music, with (I estimate) about 500 people present from the 12 churches on the Niagara peninsula.  I enjoyed meeting people I knew, including Bill Veenstra and Keith Oosthoek.

At the peloton meeting tonight we learned a) that tomorrow’s weather will be great–70 degrees F high and sunny and wind out of the North/Northwest and b) we need to leave early enough to gather in a staging area at 09:45.  We’ll be crossing the border into the US at the Rainbow Bridge, right by Niagara Falls.  We’ll cross en masse in one of the lanes of the bridge and on the other side ll be channeled toward two immigration booths, where they’ll check off our names against a previously-screened and approved list.  But we have to remember to have our passports with us!  Ed says the roads in NY state are great, with good shoulders for the most part, so that’s encouraging.

Back to Neal, he told me that he was a student at Calvin College when my faither-in-law, Bernie Pekelder was chaplain, and once “Pek” (his nickname) gave a message that was a great comfort at a time of soul-searching in Neal’s life cncerning his future.  The message was from Genesis 12 about Abraham going away on his long journey not knowing very much at all about where he was going, but nevertheless going in faith.

No pictures  with this posting, unfortunately.  I’m not able for some technical reason to send them with my smartphone, as I have been doing.  I hope it’s a glitch due to the phone line connection in this area.

More tomorrow.

Hospitality Plus!

Hamilton to St. Catharine’s, ON

Today’s miles: 48.5 (including a side trip to a bike shop in St. Catharine’s)

Average speed 14.5 mph

Today was magnificent, but first let me write about the pleasure of billeting last night at the home of Hans and Rita Te Grotenhuis.  Paul Wassink and I were picked up by Hans at the Redeemer College parking lot around 8:15 pm and driven 20 miles or so the Te Grotenhuis’s home in the country.  They have renovated an old farm house and it is beautiful.  It sits next to a three acre greenhouse where they grow flowers for export as a living.  The rest of their acreage is in forest–trees they planted when they bought the property 30-some years ago.  Paul and I enjoyed an evening swim in their heated pool under the stars and then some conversation with Hans and Rita before retiring to comfortable beds.  Beds, get it?  Not a 3/4″ pad in our tents.  In the morning after a sumptuous breakfast, Hans drove us back, with a detour to see the little town of Lynden, Ontario, since Paul is from Lynden, WA.  Thank you, Hans and Rita!

Paul and I rode together, but it really was a day of riding near many others as well, since we stopped so many times.  First, there was the spectacular view of the city of Hamilton from a point on the escarpment that sits above it.  In the distance we could see Toronto (just barely).  Then we had five other stops at refreshments points set up by different Christian Reformed congregations.  We ate and ate–and I have to say I still don’t feel full.  So I don’t know if I’m losing much weight–maybe a little.  One memorable treat was fresh peaches from the orchards of this Niagara peninsula, set on top of vanilla ice cream.  I went back for seconds.  Everyone was so hospitable and generous.  The day was just a joy.

Katrina Miller of Gaylord, MI, reads out the next day’s weather forecast each evening at the peloton meeting and of course everyone is eager to know if the wind will be in our favor.  Today she said it would be–a breeze from the south–and she was right! Because we had “only” 46 miles to ride today, we could relax a bit and make these extra stops.  One of them was at Shalom Manor, a retirement home, where we greeted and talked with some of the residents who were sitting outdoors waiting for us.  It was good to hear some of their stories and to share ours.

Again today I had a conversation with a driver at a stop light about what this tour is for.  “Unbelievable. That’s just great,” he said, though this time I wasn’t given a quarter.

Now we have the luxury of an off day in a pretty city.  Again I will billet in somebody’s home, and I”m looking forward to meeting them around 6:30 pm, after supper in the gymnasium of this school where we’re able to park our bikes and gear.  Just now I enjoyed a free massage from Michelle, a local church member, who is providing this service to the bikers.  I had to wait about two hours, the list was so long, but it was worth it. She asked me what muscles and joints especially needed attention and I felt like saying,”All of them,” but settled for shoulders, thighs, and wrists.  Mmm, I feel great.  I asked someone to take a picture of me on the massage table and I may or may not post that. Not too flattering.

I also talked awhile with tour manager Ed Witvoet and his wife, Denise, and Ed’s assistant Jen Van Beek, and will post a picture of the four of us at a table.

Sorry if this account is not too polished or professional.  I just write what pops into my head.  I will say that it’s very good to know of your support and prayers.  Thank you for your comments–those of you who have posted them.  It’s great to read them when I can. They help keep me going.

This is a floating community.  We were strangers and now we’re united in a common journey and purpose.  Today I met and talked with sisters Heidi and Denise Bentum, from this area of Ontario.  Denise is a student at Redeemer College and Heidi has graduated and is interested (perhaps) in a career in hospitality management.  She was interested in hearing that my daughter Kate has a job in that area in New York City and would (along with Anne of course) be meeting me in Jersey City.

Well, that’s it for today.

Photos from Tuesday

the first is of Dave Tietsma,  & James & Marijo Bonner, and Stephanie Webb, taken on Tuesday’s ride.

The second was taken in Marine City MI – Michael is standing behind the welcome banner from a group of Baptist friends.