#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!
#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!
3 comments:
You are better than Letterman. I lost 6 lbs. High maintenance? Moi?
Hey Suz - I'd love to stay in touch - do you have an email address?
Sheri (the one in Washington) msjansma@comcast.net
Post a Comment