Rode 98.5 miles in 6 hours averaging 14.7 mph.
Zack and I rode together today. It just sort of happened, I thought, as the riding groups formed up 5 miles from the start. It was very apparent that he was riding with me because we were riding way below his usual pace and a bit below mine as well.
I hadn’t eaten much over the weekend for obvious reasons so my energy was way down. Fortunately, the terrain, like much of Illinois, Indiana & Ohio, was very flat. Not sure I could have stayed out of the van if there had been any hills.
It wasn’t until we were 20 miles from our destination in East Springfield, Pennsylvania that I realized that he was riding with me to make sure I made it through the day OK after having been sick over the weekend. When I asked him about it he just smiled and kept riding. I have been looking out for him most of my adult life. It’s a bit odd and humbling to be on the receiving end of him looking out for me.
What a good son! A grateful dad, and proud.
I was tired but we had a good day together.
My friend Peter, who is the Executive Director for YFC Erie, helped us connect with our host church on this stop. He was there when I got in and we were able to share a bit of ministry update since I had seen him in February. Things continue to grow under his leadership and God is helping them overcome the challenges they face. It was so good to see him. A wonderful surprise.
Connie & Marcie Hopkins are my hosts tonight and I am rooming with Mike. We had a good time fellowshipping with them in their home and enjoying their hospitality.
Dan
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
August 2 New Experiences
Today we rode over 100 miles. Seven hours on the bike averaging 14.7 mph. Staying in Cleveland, Ohio at The Nehemiah Mission
Long day!
Yesterday was a first for me because I can't recall being that sick. From 7pm to 9pm last night, it was difficult to know which end to put in the toilet...so i found a paint bucket. Fortunately it was short, thank God!
I am feeling better now and beginning eating and drinking s l o w l y. I am expecting to ride the whole day tomorrow but we shall see.
We heard recently about another group os 7 guys riding 3500 miles coast to coast just a few days ahead of us. All of them have crashed at some point except one. We have had no serious collisions or injuries of any kind and we are very grateful.
With 2 weeks to go, having ridden 3200 miles, we are all feeling a bit run down, physically, emotionally. We will be averaging 95 miles a day from this point on.
We will try and do a better job this last 2 weeks to keep the blog up to date. We really do enjoy sharing this experience with you as we travel from town to town.
Thank you so much to so many for your support through giving and prayer.
Dan
Long day!
Yesterday was a first for me because I can't recall being that sick. From 7pm to 9pm last night, it was difficult to know which end to put in the toilet...so i found a paint bucket. Fortunately it was short, thank God!
I am feeling better now and beginning eating and drinking s l o w l y. I am expecting to ride the whole day tomorrow but we shall see.
We heard recently about another group os 7 guys riding 3500 miles coast to coast just a few days ahead of us. All of them have crashed at some point except one. We have had no serious collisions or injuries of any kind and we are very grateful.
With 2 weeks to go, having ridden 3200 miles, we are all feeling a bit run down, physically, emotionally. We will be averaging 95 miles a day from this point on.
We will try and do a better job this last 2 weeks to keep the blog up to date. We really do enjoy sharing this experience with you as we travel from town to town.
Thank you so much to so many for your support through giving and prayer.
Dan
Friday, August 1, 2008
August 1 Gibsonburg, OH
Today we rode 96 miles in 6 hours 15 minutes averaging 15 mph. Long ride, flat road.
While we were riding today, it looked like a small wind up toy fell out of Mike’s bag onto the road. I cut back to check it out and it was a dragonfly-type bug stuck on it’s head in the road. It was rather strange but it just stayed there beating it’s wings against the road.
On our route we saw probably 6 or 8 wind turbines and they were very close to the road we were riding on. It gave us the chance to realize how very large they actually are. The gear box at the center of the fan is the size of a motorcoach, but it doesn’t look near that large until you are right next to it.
We have seen dozens of these wind turbines across the country and expect that windustry is going to play a larger and larger part in our country's energy situation.
I was a guest in the home of Larry & Kim Bowers along with Paul Luedtke and Stuart. They are in the process of remodeling a large, old farmhouse. It reminded me some of home in Millington with the high ceilings and original fixtures.
Talk to you later.
Dan
While we were riding today, it looked like a small wind up toy fell out of Mike’s bag onto the road. I cut back to check it out and it was a dragonfly-type bug stuck on it’s head in the road. It was rather strange but it just stayed there beating it’s wings against the road.
On our route we saw probably 6 or 8 wind turbines and they were very close to the road we were riding on. It gave us the chance to realize how very large they actually are. The gear box at the center of the fan is the size of a motorcoach, but it doesn’t look near that large until you are right next to it.
We have seen dozens of these wind turbines across the country and expect that windustry is going to play a larger and larger part in our country's energy situation.
I was a guest in the home of Larry & Kim Bowers along with Paul Luedtke and Stuart. They are in the process of remodeling a large, old farmhouse. It reminded me some of home in Millington with the high ceilings and original fixtures.
Talk to you later.
Dan
Friday, July 25, 2008
Riding Past Caledonia...Minnesota Delayed Posting
As we rode south of Brownsville, Minnesota on Wednesday we passed a sign that told us Caledonia was 20 miles away. Made me feel like I was a lot closer to home than I was, but it was a good feeling.
As I was climbing up the hills in northern Iowa the thought occurred to me that Iowa is supposedly flat. Let me assure you that there are large parts of Iowa that are not. We climbed more than one 12% grade today but when we also rode along the top of several ridges today.
The shapes of the land, the colors and different textures in this very rich agricultural area was a beautiful scene. It reminded me of the hymn "This is My Father's World" so I sang a couple verses when I could get the breath to do it.
Sorry no mileage info, etc. Can't find it right now.
Dan
As I was climbing up the hills in northern Iowa the thought occurred to me that Iowa is supposedly flat. Let me assure you that there are large parts of Iowa that are not. We climbed more than one 12% grade today but when we also rode along the top of several ridges today.
The shapes of the land, the colors and different textures in this very rich agricultural area was a beautiful scene. It reminded me of the hymn "This is My Father's World" so I sang a couple verses when I could get the breath to do it.
Sorry no mileage info, etc. Can't find it right now.
Dan
July 25
Today I rode 93 miles, averaged 14.7 mph with 6.5 hours riding time.
Our route ran along the RAGBRAI route today. This is a ride across Iowa that has been going on for years, having grown to thousands of riders. People come from all over the world to participate in this event. We had some fun conversations with many of the 20,000 riders as they were riding their sixth day of seven. Stuart and I talked with Retha, who was riding bandit (unofficial rider) from a local community. She and her husband rode across the country East to West a few years ago unsupported together. It was great to talk with her about all the unique challenges and blessings of a ride like that.
We also talked with a couple at one of the larger rest stops in Mechanicsville. Both were very interested in the purpose for our riding sea to see and we received a $20 donation on the spot.
At the end of the day today we encountered a real detour and had another detour on that route. It turns out that everyone else rode through the first detour as it was passable with a bike and had only 75 total miles. As you read at the beginning of our blog, we rode 93 miles. That proved to be a costly decision for us.
We are hosted tonight by two churches in Muscatine, Iowa.
One more day of riding this week and we will be enjoying a weekend visit from Ronda and a few of Zack's friends.
Talk to you later.
Dan
Our route ran along the RAGBRAI route today. This is a ride across Iowa that has been going on for years, having grown to thousands of riders. People come from all over the world to participate in this event. We had some fun conversations with many of the 20,000 riders as they were riding their sixth day of seven. Stuart and I talked with Retha, who was riding bandit (unofficial rider) from a local community. She and her husband rode across the country East to West a few years ago unsupported together. It was great to talk with her about all the unique challenges and blessings of a ride like that.
We also talked with a couple at one of the larger rest stops in Mechanicsville. Both were very interested in the purpose for our riding sea to see and we received a $20 donation on the spot.
At the end of the day today we encountered a real detour and had another detour on that route. It turns out that everyone else rode through the first detour as it was passable with a bike and had only 75 total miles. As you read at the beginning of our blog, we rode 93 miles. That proved to be a costly decision for us.
We are hosted tonight by two churches in Muscatine, Iowa.
One more day of riding this week and we will be enjoying a weekend visit from Ronda and a few of Zack's friends.
Talk to you later.
Dan
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Things That Are True
Ronda loves me.
She misses me.
She is coming to see me.
It is a wonderful and powerful thing to be loved deeply and completely by another person. The three statements above still amaze me sometimes (I am not always easy to love) but they are true nonetheless, I have no doubt.
That there was a point in my life where I found myself looking into the eyes of a beautiful woman, with love, and realized that she was looking back at me...well it's a gift from God.
I will be riding to meet her in a couple days as she drives to Kewanee, Illinois to meet me.
Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.
I am a blessed man.
Dan
She misses me.
She is coming to see me.
It is a wonderful and powerful thing to be loved deeply and completely by another person. The three statements above still amaze me sometimes (I am not always easy to love) but they are true nonetheless, I have no doubt.
That there was a point in my life where I found myself looking into the eyes of a beautiful woman, with love, and realized that she was looking back at me...well it's a gift from God.
I will be riding to meet her in a couple days as she drives to Kewanee, Illinois to meet me.
Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.
I am a blessed man.
Dan
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Saturday, July 19
As we rode out on Saturday morning, we were accompanied by Pastor Brad and Hank Larsen, the host that Paul Bayfield, Mike Scott & I stayed with. Hank was 68 years old on Saturday and rode at the front for 10 miles before he and Brad turned back. Hank is celebrating by competing in a triathalon today (Sunday). He has a very cool racing bike and recently averaged 21 mph over a 25 mile race route. Way to go Hank! An update later on how he did in the triahalon.
It was wet in the morning and rained lightly on and off. Things cleared off in late morning and we had hot weather as the afternoon went on. I rode strong in the morning and then seemed to run out of energy after lunch. I rode with Mike the last two-thirds of the day, which is kind of like having GPS on-board except that Mike can actually carry on a conversation. We always have a good time when we ride together. During lunch this day, Ralph King, a local farmer stopped by to chat with us. Ralph is 85 and was out for his daily 2-mile walk when he saw our vehicles. He was pleased to hear that we are riding to help tell more kids about Jesus' love. He encouraged us on our way and committed to pray for success and safety.
Mike's navigational skills notwithstanding, we could not find the bike path where it should have been, 3 miles from our destination in Northfield. We ended up coming in on County Route 246, or something, and before we knew it we had joined the route of a local 300-mile fundraising ride. The picture top right is me with the three ladies that encouraged us as we arrived in Northfield and finished off our 77 mile day, averaging 14.3 mph with 5.5 hours of riding time.
An entertaining, unique end to the day.
Dan
It was wet in the morning and rained lightly on and off. Things cleared off in late morning and we had hot weather as the afternoon went on. I rode strong in the morning and then seemed to run out of energy after lunch. I rode with Mike the last two-thirds of the day, which is kind of like having GPS on-board except that Mike can actually carry on a conversation. We always have a good time when we ride together. During lunch this day, Ralph King, a local farmer stopped by to chat with us. Ralph is 85 and was out for his daily 2-mile walk when he saw our vehicles. He was pleased to hear that we are riding to help tell more kids about Jesus' love. He encouraged us on our way and committed to pray for success and safety.
Mike's navigational skills notwithstanding, we could not find the bike path where it should have been, 3 miles from our destination in Northfield. We ended up coming in on County Route 246, or something, and before we knew it we had joined the route of a local 300-mile fundraising ride. The picture top right is me with the three ladies that encouraged us as we arrived in Northfield and finished off our 77 mile day, averaging 14.3 mph with 5.5 hours of riding time.
An entertaining, unique end to the day.
Dan
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