Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

I've been home a week now and thought by now memories of the bike tour would be fading somewhat into the past and the day to day responsibilities would take over my thoughts. It is not to be. I am able and happy to be fulfilling my roles as a mother, wife, and dog trainer again, but I find myself doing most things with pleasant Sea to Sea memories "swimming" in the forefront - it's funny how we forget so soon any unpleasant memories, though I could count these on 1 hand. I am also surprised by my new-found interest in my computer as it seems the life-line to any information regarding those who shared this experience. I check my e-mail multiple times a day and am even happy to open all those "brooks saddles" responses even though I know they will only say, "I did, ...(name)". It's great when someone actually gives us an update on how things are going; I can now match most names with a face and even personal experience(s). Can't even imagine trying to readjust after 9 weeks of the tour.

I joked on the ride about not getting on my bike for at least a week after I got home, and that is exactly what happened. Even though I did have some "biking withdrawal", I couldn't fit a ride in until today (Sunday) what with my 2 year old, older kids starting school, and tropical storm Hannah hitting the East Coast. It felt great to get pedaling again. After changing my tire (yes, I too succumbed to the bad road conditions last Saturday with thankfully, a slow leak) and cleaning/lubing my chain yesterday, my bike granted me a smooth 30 mile ride in hilly New Jersey. I decided to celebrate by climbing up skyline drive (about as steep as road to High Point, but only 1 1/2 miles long - not surprisingly, they close this road in bad winter weather) - I had taken that route 2 other times in training. I was hoping to fly up that hill at breakneck speed to prove I hadn't lost the strength I gained on the tour, but I had to settle for 6mph, at bit faster than in training.

I found myself smiling and greeting other bicyclists on my route, something I got used to doing as I passed or was passed by many other sea to sea riders. I think I took some of these serious Jersey riders by surprise - Sandy and I had noticed the "serious" ones while training that keep their head down or gaze to the front with no intention of acknowledging your feeble biking attempts on the other side of the rode - their jersey, shorts, gloves, helmets, and even their bikes usually match=) Strange to be biking alone again - I had to stop my hand from pointing out road hazards and signaling a stop. All in all, it was great to be riding again!

I'm posting more pictures for the fun of it - hope you enjoy!

Tom's mom seems to always take pictures of me at family gatherings with my mouth full, so I thought I'd keep up the tradition. See, I really did eat thousands of calories each day. In fact, all the wonderful food is one of those "pleasant memories" I wrote about above=)













Mike is demonstrating a bicycling technique called "crashing at the end of the day."

















To go along with my embarrassing picture theme, I thought I would show you what Sandy's hair looks like "undone". Now you know why we tolerated her daily blow drying ritual - just kidding, Sandy.













Someone thought it was a good joke to insert an extra 1 in front of the 12% grade sign (112% would leave you upside down), a sign that warned us of the very steep grade to come down the Niagara escarpment. This incredible decline was no joke though and I definitely felt like my bike was fighting an impossibility as I climbed back up just to prove that I could.


















This is Gayle, a rider Sandy and I thought was quite a fun "character" just reading her blog before the tour even began. Our hypothesis about her was proved during our 2 week ride. As you can see just from her bike basket and handle bar tassels, Gayle rides to her own pedal-stroke and provided smiles and a great attitude to accompany the rest of us. I even pet one of her pet ferrets who came for a visit in Ontario.













Our Bridgeway church family rocks as they greet me and Sandy and the rest of the riders with cookies, watermelon, signs and smiles. The kids (Faith, Aidan, Grace, Natalie, and Caleb) showed true enthusiasm for each bicycler who was coming down French Hill Rd. What a great encouragement for our last day.













Sandy and I hoist our bikes in the air to celebrate making it to the Atlantic Ocean - actually to the smelly, algae-laden water of the Hudson Harbor. The water was still a welcome sight and smell. Can you tell I am begging for this photo session to be done soon since I am lifting the "heavy bike".













I give much credit to my wonderful family who survived for 2 weeks without Mom with help from both Grandparents and Aunt Sherry (my twin -yes, there are 2 of us). I will never forget your encouragement and sacrifice that allowed me to say yes to this privilege to bring greater awareness and funds to the plight of those who have so little. I love you all!

10 Most Memorable Experiences of the Bike Tour

#10. Being asked by Mike to pump up his tires each morning - thought he might have been impressed with my expertise with the bike pump until I remembered he was riding with a fractured collar bone.

#9. Sharing communion with 200 other riders and support staff in a state park on Thursday night, feeling our connection not only with the purpose of the Bike Tour, but as brothers and sisters in Christ.

#8. Being able to eat 4000 - 5000 calories a day and still losing 7 pounds in less than 2 weeks.

#7. Sharing the gear truck with everyone - having the opportunity to greet others in the gray of the early morning with, "Good morning Randy." or "How's it going, Jim?" or "Did you finally tell your daughter she can have a dog, Rod?" Knocking into one another on a constant basis and not taking it personally.

#6. Trying to kill a spider in our tent the first night with Sandy who is has arachnophobia tendencies as strong as mine. Our loud debate over who would do the "deed" making sure not to let the 8-legged monster escape and the ensuing laughter about this and anything else we could think of until late probably tipped every one around us not to camp next to us in the future.

#5. Our first day of riding in Michigan with Sandy - a tailwind on flat roads in great weather. Our hilliest day riding in PA & NJ mostly with Chris & John - 82 miles of steep hills up, flying down the other side, and feeling a thrill to climb to the highest point in NJ without any carbon footprint.

#4. Living in close quarters with the "movers and shakers" of the CRC, seeing them as fellow bikers and campers - knowing Jerry Dykstra as one of the couples on a tandem and calling out "On your left Jerry" as you both trudge up a steep hill, playing cards with Len Riemersma, brushing your teeth at 5am as you share a sink with Claire Elgersma. Realizing each biker has a responsibility to move and shake our CRC churches where we live to action.

#3. Basking in the glow of hundreds of Americans and Canadian who waved and encouraged us as we made our way through their towns - we felt a part of a much bigger purpose than 200 riders making their way across the country.

#2. Being called an "ANIMAL" as we rode the hilliest day last Friday. Chris clarified his description later with "You're an animal! but a really nice animal." Much better than his description of another female rider as a"stout" rider.

#1. Hanging out with a great group of fellow-riders that I now call friends - Chris, the quiet guy with a great sense of responsibility and integrity, Johnny, Mr. High Maintenance who kept us laughing and has a loyal streak to never leave anyone behind, Mike, our comic relief with his Canadian quirks and friendly banter, and of course, Sandy, who put up with me for 2 straight weeks and is the best encourager a gal could have!

P.S. Some of you who would like to leave a comment were confused by the "leave comments" page and thought you needed to have a blog to leave a comment. Not true - my blog is open to anyone, just type in your comment and click the "anonymous" line and it should let you send a comment - thanks for reading - I started this blog so others could follow this journey from training till the end, but I realize it is now mostly for me to remember this awesome experience. Still love your comments!

Is it Finished or Just the Beginning?

Two days later I am finally writing about our last day of riding on the Bike Tour. What an awesome thing it was to see hundreds of people at Liberty State Park reciting the Lord's Prayer and giving praise to God who orchestrated and oversaw the entire 9 weeks. We culminated the celebration by dipping our front tires in the water of the Hudson Bay. After yielding to others who needed to "dip", Sandy and I hoisted our bikes in the air by the edge of the algae-laden, smelly water and posed for pictures of our victory stance - of course, my picture card was full and I am still waiting for friends to send me pictures of this moment. The song "This is the Time of My Life" by David Cook played through my mind images of the last 2 weeks flashed in front of me (check out the song through this link http://www.popeater.com/2008/05/22/david-cook-the-time-of-my-life-song-premiere/).

Of course, the journey to Liberty State Park this day was not without incident. Tom had decided months ago to join me in riding the last day of the Tour, a great opportunity for him and 10 others to get a feel of what riding 61 or more miles felt like. Each "day rider" also had to raise $100 for this privilege.

Here we are all ready to go from Sussex Christian School with Tom in his mountain bike garb - his spandex covered by camo hiking shorts. You can take the mountain biker off the dirt trails, but you can't make him show his tight shorts...

Little did either of us know how providential it was that Tom had 2 layers of shorts on that day. We left a bit earlier than The Troop (Chris, Mike, John, Sandy) to get a head start. 15 miles into the ride Tom hit a very bad patch of glass on the roadside while cruising down a hill and proceeded to take a spill. I didn't notice my missing husband for half a mile and was relieved when others informed me he was hurt, but not seriously as I trudged back up the hill in my search for him. Besides a roadrashed elbow dripping blood on his shirt and a mild rash on his right cheek (that's not his face, but the cheek you sit on - hence the providence of have both shorts on, both of which ripped.) Tom looked shaken, but ready to ride again.

Here Tom is fixing number 1 of 4 flats he had on his journey to Jersey City that started with this fall. He is still replaying the accident in his mind - What came first, the flat or the fall? Besides the flats and the horrible road conditions - more glass than the previous 2 weeks combined, potholes, freeze cracks, crazy Jersey drivers, narrow shoulders, we made it to the staging area in Carney, NJ. During the celebration rally we learned that there had been around 30 flats the last day on Jersey roads, a record. I felt strangely responsible as a Jersey resident.

Not surprisingly, the Troop had caught up to us early on and we were able to ride together most of the way. I was particularly proud of my husband who easily kept up with us "seasoned" road riders even with injuries. I had been concerned he had not been training on the road enough as he tends to steer his bike toward a dirt trail after even 10 miles of road riding. But Jersey trails must have been muscle-building enough. It was fun to bask in the welcome of the Goldens on Hamburg Turnpike and our Bridgeway church friends who set up a refreshment stop on Alps road. Thanks you all for showing everyone hospitality - Jersey style.

In Carney, all 200 plus riders followed a police escort through Carney, Jersey City, and Liberty State Park with Billy D and his Harley in the lead. What a sight we were in our Sea to Sea jerseys all riding in a pack. People stopped on the street, waved out of their honking cars, and came out of their businesses to encourage this Sea of riders down their city streets. Rounding the corner, we saw the Manhattan skyline and Lady Liberty herself (it was killing John not to be able to wear his statue of liberty jersey). But the best sight was the crowds of Sea to Sea supporters who lined the path at the park and cheered us to the finish line. John's wife and sister-in-law were so animated you'd have thought they were seeing Elvis reincarnated=) My friends Trish & Dan & 3 boys, Beth(ers) & Ralph, my sister, parents, and husband (he had to get a SAG ride after his last flat) and 3 children yelled and waved their "Suzie" banners as we passed. I will never forget this day and the feeling of accomplishment Sandy and I had that 2 middle-aged mothers of 3 could complete over 800 miles of bike riding and return in 1 piece.

I'm thankful that feeling is not the goal, as I know our glowing faces will fade with time. Speakers at the Celebration Rally that night reminded us that the end of the Tour only starts the real journey of our hearts changing to follow God's heart for the poor and to put our feet and hands to a new purpose of doing our own part to help end the cycle of poverty right where we live.