June 30 America the Beautiful

Today we rode 107 miles in 7 hours, averaged 15 mph. We started off the morning averaging 19 mph for the first 20 miles or so. After that the side wind picked up and we slowed done quite a bit.

After we had passed through Browning, Montana, the landscape really opened up and we began to see large fields. I still had some energy at that point so as I became inspired by the view and burst into song with what I am sure was a fairly unique version of “America the Beautiful”. We have definitely seen spacious skies, waves of grain (not sure if they were amber or not, looked green to me) and mountains, but they weren’t purple for sure.

Anyway, I am singing this song with passion and zeal for my homeland and it suddenly occurs to me that I am riding with Paul, a Brit and Arek, an Armenian from Lebanon. They didn’t share my sentiment but seemed to be entertained by my spontaneity and interpretation of a time-honored classic. I am thinking Ray Charles/David Crowder-ish?

Tonight at Cut Bank Community Church we shared our program with a lady named Carol who is walking around, not across, the U.S. She praying as she goes for the nation to turn back to God. The thing that is particularly notable about this journey is that she is accomplishing this task with one prosthetic leg. She walks 15 to 20 miles a day, planting a wooden cross every mile. She plans to complete her journey over a period of several years. It was quite challenging and a blessing to meet her and talk with her about her passion for God and for our country.

We also met some kids from Chewelah, WA who were there to offer VBS to the elementary children of the community on behalf of the church. We had a great time getting to know them, encouraging and being encouraged by their commitment and availability.

Thanks for your prayers. We have been protected and safe over the many miles.

Dan

June 29 A Day of Rest

We spent Saturday and Sunday nights at Bison Creek Ranch near East Glacier. Sunday was a wonderful day of rest. The ranch is run by Keith & Karen Shaw and their daughter Molly. They fed us very well. We had great time enjoying the quiet setting at the ranch.

After breakfast we had a time of worship in music, Stuart shared some thoughts from scripture and we prayed in small groups together. Most of our group went sight-seeing for the afternoon into Glacier National Park. This park actually straddles the US/Canada border and is officially an international park. It has been cool learning about this area as we are taken in by it's beauty.

Dan

June 28 Crossing The Continental Divide

Today we rode 80 miles and averaged 12.5 mph. We rode 4000 feet of ascent to gain 2000 feet in elevation. We crossed at Marias Pass because Logan Pass was still under 75 feet of snow! This is unusual for June but not unheard of. They had to bring surveyors to locate the pavement as part of the snow removal process. After the bulldozers are done the plows can do their thing.

Water flows west from this point to The Pacific and east from this point to The Mississippi River.

Today was harder than anticipated because we had done a lot of climbing already, not expecting all the downhills before the summit. Also, upon reflection, I realized that this was our first time to ride six days in a row.

A unique addition to our day has been a flower called Beargrass. It looks kind of like a snow cone on a stick. The cool thing about this flower is that it only grows at or around 3000 feet above sea level. We saw thousands of them! This is borrowed computer. I will get a shot on the blog soon.

June 27 - You Know You're Getting Old(er)

We rode 67 miles today.
I averaged 15 mph and spent 4.5 hours on the bike.

The financial update on the trip is that we have raised $22,378 on the way to our $43,000 goal. We are sponsored all the way to Stillwater, Minnesota with a few sponsored miles spread across the miles from there to Bar Harbor. Thank you for your generosity!

If you have not sponsored any mileage on the trip it's not too late. We will be accepting your tax-free donations for the Sea to See Ride until August 31.

I have decided to add a new feature to this blog that will appear as I receive a new insights. It's called,

"You Know You're Getting Old(er) When...

• You look forward to the long steep down hills, not to set a new personal maximum speed, but to rest.
• The first thing you check out when you are done riding is not a basketball and the nearest court, but the kitchen looking for ice to ease the inflamation in your joints after a long day's ride.

Tonight, we stopped at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Columbia Falls. Tom Phillips, a teacher from Northern California (originally from Lapeer, MI), Stuart Rowell from Ireland and I are staying in the home of Al & Carey Chery. We have the added blessing of meeting their grandchildren Samantha & Dalton who are staying with them this week.

We love to receive your comments in response to our blog postings.

Mike Rinehart, thanks a ton for the encouragement. :-) I did arrive ahead of Zack today, but I am pretty sure he smoked me on average speed.

Tomorrow we will be climbing approximately 2000 feet to East Glacier where we will take our rest day on Sunday. This week has gone very quickly.

One Mile at a Time,

Dan

June 26 Riding Up & Riding Down

We rode 72 miles today.

Five and a half hours on the bike.
I averaged 13 mph.

Among the highlights of today's ride:

• Five flat tires for Zack (he walked the last 1.5 miles to the church).
• We rode up many hills and down many hills. On the altitude diagram it looked like an EKG readout from somebody's heart.
• Riding into Eureka I was in a hurry to get to the church, but as I came up over a hill 3 miles out the lanscape opened up and I slowed right down to take it all in. The mountains were 3 different shade and they had to be 50 miles long. Right next to the road a farmer was cutting hay and the smell was so familiar and fresh. Welcome to Eureka.
• A medium twist ice cream cone at one of the local establishments in town. I was having trouble locating the church (fortunately) and had to stop and ask for assistance. The lady did not have the information I needed, but the ice cream was the best soft serve I have had in several years.

We thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality of The First Baptist in Eureka. We had a good time getting to know several people over the delicious dinner & breakfast they served us.

June 25 No More Idaho

I rode 74 miles today in 5 hours on the bike, averaging 15.4 mph. Zack averaged 18.2 mph(getting strong now). I rode with his group for 7 miles after lunch but had to drop off the back of the paceline. While we were riding we saw a Bald Eagle fly right over us about 20 feet in the air. That was a first for me.

We cruised into Montana and completed our 66 miles in Idaho. State number two is a wrap, with 12 to go. We visited Kootenai River Falls after lunch about 20 miles west of Libby. It seemed small at first but as we got closer you could feel and hear the power. It was pretty cool. Zack stood right at the edge of the water at the top of the falls for a photo op.

We will be riding in Montana for 773 miles and will arrive in North Dakota on July 5.

Don Busfield, thanks for turning me on to aerobars. They are the best! I am probably in them half the time.

Timmy O'Hare. Your idea for using the no-skid material to secure those bars is working great. Thanks!

We appreciate all of you praying and giving to help make this possible. It's making a difference in us and for the kids.

One Mile at a Time,

Dan

Staying on Course

I hope you all enjoyed Zack's blog entry yesterday.

Last night we were guests in home of Pam Lacey and her family in Newport, Washington. They were great hosts, as was the First Baptist Church. We had venison chili and bear sausage for dinner, among other dishes. It was all so good.

Today, we rode 62 miles, averaged 14.2 mph and did not miss a turn. I am sure I have told dozens of people that I thought it would take Zack a week or two to adjust to biking every day and then he would pass me in his riding strength. Well...on day two he passed me climbing up Rainy Pass and I hardly saw him the rest of the day. I rode with him and 3 other riders for 20 minutes this morning and I could not keep up. He is riding strong and I hope to be able to ride with those guys for a day or two next week.

Yesterday when we arrived in Newport, Bruce the bike mechanic was waiting at the church to help us with any repairs or adjustments we needed. We visited him in his shop, Sports Plus in Sandpoint today. He was so helpful with my rear derailer as well as bike and riding knowledge and I got a great deal on a pair of riding tights (don't worry Ronda, their black).

The last couple days I have been riding with Stuart, who is from Northern Ireland. He is 62 and we ride at about the same pace. Time for great talks and lots of laughs. Stuart is a pastor to missionaries all over Europe and has a wealth of experience to share.

While I was riding to the park for lunch today, I saw the accounting office of Frank Chapin. I stopped in and introduced myself, met his wife Sydney and their grandson Riley. We had a brief chat and determined that we are both decended from Deacon Samual Chapin. I grabbed a business card and met the team at the park.

We stopped at Starbucks after lunch (you would have loved it Mary, we sat on the deck overlooking Lake Pend Oreille) so Stuart could enjoy an Iced Coffee Something-or-other. I had an iced tea. We had a great conversation there with Colleen, who, with her husband, is preparing to work with Campus Crusade at The University of Montana in Missoula.

We ended our day at the Filling Station, which is a drop-in center in Clark Fork, Idaho. Bill Smith, one of our support team and I are guests in the home of Gary & Carol Deaner. I just had a wonderful piece of Rhubarb pie that Carol made.

Tomorrow we ride to Libby, Montana, which will take us into our 3rd of 14 states.

I will do some catch up of weekend exploits in the next couple days.

Dan

Great Day...Long Ride

Today was an awesome day from start to finish. The ride felt very smooth even though it was really long. But there were a few interesting points today still. Dad got a flat tire before we even left town this morning which put him and Stuart a ways behind everyone else right off the bat. Then they managed to get lost a couple of times throughout the day so the 95 mile day turned into 107 or so for them. I was under the impression we were going to eat in Ione which was a mile off our route and since I was in front i went on ahead to find the park in town. I waited about 25 mins and no one showed up so i went back and rode around a while but didn't find anyone. I met up with the group eventually got lunch and then a small group of us hammered ou the rest of they day. When I pulled into town and checked my odometer i realized i was less than a mile from hitting 100 so i rode around a couple blocks of the church, and now I can say I have ridden my first century. The welcoming in Newport was amazing. We actually had a sign 45 miles back welcoming us into the county. Then there were people waiting at the entrance to the town outside their cars, and many people were already gathered at the church. The meal was awesome, especially the stew that had bear meat in it.

Zack

June 21 & 22 Riding into Colville, Washington

Today we rolled down from Sherman Pass, our highest elevation for the entire trip. It was an 18-mile downhill to a park on Roosevelt Lake near Kettle Falls. This town is unique due to the fact that the whole town was moved in the 1930's when the Grand Cooley Dam was built. The river was going to expand it's banks and become a lake so they either abandoned or moved all the buildings and re-established Kettle Falls just a few miles away.



We spent Saturday and Sunday nights in the home of Steve, Wendy, Jake & Asher Kenney. They told us how every Spring the water level of Lake Roosevelt is allowed to get very low in order to make room for the water that comes off the mountains in the Spring Thaw. When they do this, there is a brief period of time when people can visit the site of the old Kettle Falls and see where the streets, building foundations, etc. were. Very unusual!



We had a great time with the Kenneys. Very soon after we arrived in their home we feasted on a dinner which included freshly smoked chicken. The meal was delicious and we had a great time Saturday and Sunday just getting to know our new friends. Steve operates a 73,000 ton machine that harvests trees to be used for lumber. Wendy is a teacher in Kettle Falls. It was very cool learning about the lumbering industry from a very hands on perspective. We also enjoyed hearing about what it's like to be a public school teacher in the Northwest.

We enjoyed the worship service at The Colville United Church of Christ with the Kenneys on Sunday morning and had lunch at the church with our team. Tim O'Hare and John Duncan left the trip at this point. John will be riding with us the last two weeks to the ocean but it looks like Tim may not be able to re-join us.

Sunday night we sat around the kitchen eating pizza & ice cream and telling stories. Jake and Asher were a lot of fun as well. Zack showed them how to take fun pictures with his phone and we had a lot of laughs as they took pictures of their dad, each other and us.

Thanks Steve, Wendy, Jake & Asher for taking such good care of us while we were in Colville.

Dan

The Bike Shop, June 19 & 20

On Thursday, June 19 we rode from Twisp to Riverside. As we rode through Okanagon, we stopped at a bike shop named The Bike Shop and picked up a few things. After lunch, we rode to 20 plus miles to our host church in Riverside. The last five miles, I only had one gear because my rear shift lever decided to stop working. (The damage was done the day before when I bounced off a guardrail while riding through a dark tunnel)

After a quick trip back to, you guessed it, The Bike Shop, the bike part was on its way. That night, I stayed with four other bikers at Lynn's house 25 minutes outside of Riverside. She has an incredible backyard. Quiet, no artificial light outside, it was a wonderful log cabin built by her husband over 8 years. Zack stayed at Rick & Marilyn's house, the host pastor at Riverside. They stayed up late just telling stories and laughing.

The next day, June 20, Zack & I, along with Paul, a fellow rider from England, hung out in town waiting for the part to arrive at The Bike Shop by UPS. We visited The Famous Omak Suicide Stampede (scary incredible what they do in that race), checked out the local Walmart and spent time with Bill and Julie King, and their three daughters. They pastor the First Baptist Church of Okanagon (we met Julie in The Bike Shop and some of our team had talked with Bill the day before in front of The Bike Shop). I had a good time talking about ministry with him while I held his adorable 8-month-old daughter, Lily, on my lap. The guys were playing ping pong and foos upstairs so when I went to The Bike Shop to pick up my bike, Zack played a couple games of ping pong with the Bill. It was fun to get to know Bill, Julie and their girls.

Zack, Paul and I started riding from Riverside at 1:30 and arrived in Republic after climbing 3300 feet to Waucanda Pass. We found the time to stop for a milk shake, made with real milk and ice cream in Waucanda before attaining the summit. It was delicious!

The shifter is working great and I even got some cammo handlebar tape in the deal.

We will catch up the blog a couple days at a time. Thanks for your patience.

Dan

The Longest Climb (so far)

Today we rode 96 miles and Dan averaged 12.7 mph, Zack did much better than this today. Started riding at 7:30am and the last rider (Dan) arrived at the church at 7pm, due to minor bike repairs. I don' know exactly how many feet we climbed but I do know that we road to the top of Rainy Pass, elevation 4855 feet above sea level Five miles later we reached the summit of Washington Pass, elevation 5,477 feet above sea level. The climb to Rainy Pass was not real steep most of the time, but

it was 31 miles long!

After Washington Pass we enjoyed a 7 mile downhill! Zack hit 50 mph in that stretch.

Dan Johnson, thank you for urging us to look for a triple chainring for Zack's bike. That decision made a big difference for him today. Rode very well and finished strong.

The team is getting more and more comfortable with each other and gelling as we ride. Very cool to see.

I (Dan) met George on the climb to Washington Pass today. He was pulling a small trailer and taking his time getting to the top. He had ridden coast to coast 3 times on 3 different routes! I figure if he can do it 3 times, I can do it once.

I enjoyed about 10 miles of alone time on the climb to Rainy Pass today. The stunning beauty of the Cascade Mountains made it easy to be drawn into worship...and I was.

We will try to get some photos from mountains on the posting tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Just the facts

Zack says I only get one corny, reflective email a week, since his name is on the sign off too.

I used it last night so it's just the facts tonight.

Today was our first day of riding and we logged 85.2 miles.

Averaged 13.7.

We climbed a total of 1500 feet today & got to fly down the other side of many of those "hills."

Tomorrow, we climb to the top of Rainy Pass, elevation 5,400 plus.

We wish you could have seen the beautiful mountain scenery we saw as we road through the valleys of the Cascade Mountains (pictures later).  You can be glad you don't feel the way we are feeling right now.

Tired.

Sore.

Going to bed

One peddle stroke at a time,

Dan & Zack

Seattle/Anacortes

Our flight was on time.

Luggage and bikes came through.

Our Lebanese team member spent over an hour in customs.

His luggage and bike arrived 36 hours after he did.

We arrived at our host home at midnight (Pacific Time).

Eight hours of sleep.

Monday was getting acquainted, assembling bikes, logistics, meetings.

Today has been exciting, frustrating, humbling, anxious, boring, interesting, lonely, hilarious.

It's been that "driving from Kingston to Grand Rapids to meet you after not having seen you for 4 weeks while we were dating, not knowing what is going to happen with this relationship" kind of feeling. Remember Ronda?

Our Team.

Eighteen people.

Thirteen riders.

Five support.

From four different countries.

College students.

High School teachers.

YFC staff.

Homemakers

Retired businesspeople.

Engineers.

Husbands & wives.

Father & daughter.

Father & son.

On this trek together to experience our friendship with God and with each other.

To help reach kids across the world.

With the life-changing message of Jesus' amazing love.

Thank you Jesus.

And thank you, our family and friends for joining us on this adventure. 

Tomorrow we dip our tires in the Pacific Ocean.

Tomorrow we ride.

Dan & Zack