Day 62 Sugust 30 Sussex to Jersey City Sea to Sea 08

Day 62 August 30 Sussex to Jersey City Sea to Sea 08


I am finally posting this journal entry after several days of trying to type it up. It has been very busy since Friday and when I got home I was very tired and crashed everyday at 230. My body just said enough and I just did nothing the rest of the day and fell asleep every night at 8 PM.

Today’s stats
Not available as I had forgotten to take my bike computer to my sisters to download yesterdays stats and to recharge the battery.

This is our last biking day. After nine weeks of biking it is hard to believe that it will be over today. We have mixed emotions as it has been a great experience and we have had lots of good times with many people. But we will be glad to know come Monday morning we will not have to get up early to get on our bikes for the first time in nine weeks. We can sleep in or just relax and take it easy to do whatever. We will miss all the people who we have shared rides with and talk to about a variety of things. We will miss the freedom of just not having to plan much, know what to wear (bike shorts and shirt) not worry about what to cook for supper. Come next week we will have to think about what clothes to wear, what we will be doing each day and what we will be eating, doing the grocery shopping, and lead a normal life again.

Last night it had been raining, so when I woke up I was anxious that we might finish our last day of biking in the rain. In fact we only had 3 days when it rained during the whole tour. I was awake early, 330,as I was upset with myself with leaving my bike computer and my sister’s camera somewhere at the campsite and I could not remember where. The battery in my own camera had gone dead and I had left my charger at home thinking the battery would keep its charge for three weeks as it had lasted that long before. My sister Grace had lent me her camera till Saturday.

As it was our last ride and Ed wanted everyone to be at the staging area for the group ride into Liberty Park, breakfast was only from 6-7. The gear trucks were all to be loaded by 8 so that the trucks could all go the school and the staff go to Liberty park for the tire dipping ceremony at 230. Everyone was up early and eager to be out on the road on time.

Hank, Mel and Sylvia got up at 530. Anne had a breakfast of scrambled eggs bacon, orange juice, coffee, and fruit salad. It was great. We left for camp at 610 as I was anxious to find my stuff. I immediately went to the gear truck and saw my stuff right where I left it lying on the floor below my baskets. No one picked it up and placed it in the lost and found where I thought I might end up looking for things.

Hank and I than quickly made our lunches, checked our bikes, put all our gear away, and headed out for our last ride by 650 AM. I left with Hank, Phil and Jan. It was very over cast as we left with a very light drizzle. I wore a jacket in case it started raining.

Our first stop just outside of Sussex was the Holland American Bakery owned by my cousin Dot and Sam Valkema. I bought an apple turn over for the ride and Phil and Jan bought a cinnamon roll, which they ate right away. Sam and Dottie had hosted several cyclists for the night including Rich and Carol Rienstra. They enjoyed hearing the stories of the tour.

Shortly after we left the bakery, I had my fourth flat tire of the tour. Phil was helping me change it, when along comes Rod Kloet, who is an expert at changing tires and quickly helped us get it changed in 15 minutes. We were on our way. Down the road we saw Ken and Shirley VenWerken stopped with a flat tire and Rob stopped by there as well. He was really being a good Samaratian today helping people who were having problems.

We stopped at about 19 miles. There was a Dunking Doughnut shop that was over run by our cyclists. No one else was there expect about 40 cyclists. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their day as the mileage was not too high and we had some time to stop and enjoy the ride. We knew we had lots of time to cover the 52 miles from Sussex to the staging area. We left before 7 and did not have to be there till 1. This gave us lots of time to get there and offered us opportunities to stop along the way.

We thought we had an easier day today, and were surprised to be climbing as many hills as we had. We thought Ed, had a sick sense of humour by putting these hills on the last day. One person biking past me yesterday commented on how the second day into the start of the tour we were tested with a difficult day right out of the gate with our climb up Stevens Pass in Washington. Yesterday being the second to the last day before the end of the tour, we were being tested with the most climbing of any day of the tour, even more than the highest level of climbing in the Rocky Mountains. However I think yesterdays ride over all which much easier for everyone due to cooler temperatures and good roads as well as most cyclists are much stronger after biking for nine weeks.

As I am writing this I am just about falling asleep and will pick it up in the morning.

It is now 530 Monday morning, I am hoping to finish posting the events of Saturday.

Mike, Phil, Jan and I stopped for a light lunch in a small town along the route. I do not even know the name as all the towns we were riding through today just ran into each other and I did not see signs that told us which town we were in. Our maps just tell us the streets to take but do not mention what town it is in for the most part. We were about 8 miles from our staging area and it was just after 11 when we stopped.
Along our route one of the churches served us refreshments and welcomed us to NJ.
We arrived at the staging area at 1215. Lots of cyclists were already there just relaxing. At 1PM we took a group picture. As we were taking it cyclists were still coming in and we kept adding them and taking more pictures. I do not know if all the cyclists made it one time. I did not hear that anyone was left behind.


We also took a picture of all the cyclists who rode on a Brookes Saddle. We hope Brookes will be interested in this and support our tour in a small way.


At 130 we were lead by the Kearny Police at the outset with Bill D on his motorcycle behind the police and all 200 cyclists behind him. Behind us we had another police cruiser bring up the rear. We would be riding with police escorts the finale 10 miles or so of our tour to Liberty State Park. It was an amazing experience to be in this long line of over 200 cyclists being escorted down busy highways where traffic was stopped and we all rode through red lights all the way to Liberty Park. This part of the ride itself was somewhat of a blur as we needed to concentrate on all the cyclists around us to ensure we did not hit each other as we were riding fairly close together to keep the police escort fairly tight. It was very challenging as there was lots of holes in the road and cyclists were not maintaining a constant speed. We were all yelling out “holes” “slowing” Stopping” on a regular basis to let other cyclists know what was happening in front of them. Quite amazing that no one got hurt nor did any cyclists hit another in this tight process.

As we biked into Liberty State Park, the police escort took us onto the bike path and lead us all along the water front. We biked past by Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. This was really cool. I remember my Dad talk about going through Ellis Island when he immigrated in 1947. Some day I hope to visit there and find his name in the records there.

When we got closer to the area for dipping our tires, we were greeted by lots of wellwishers. Many family members either drove or flew out to greet the cyclists and welcome them to the end of this long journey. It was quite emotional for everyone. My sister Grace and her family were there to greet Hank and I. This was very special to Hank and I. Thanks Grace and John, Julie and Tim for your support and encouragement.

As all the cyclists gathered to get ready for the final dipping, the cyclists and everyone gathered said the Lord’s prayer together. It was a very special time and we wanted to honour God in the final moments as it was through his power, strength and care that each of us could accomplish this great journey. None of us could have done this alone.
Here are Clare Kooistra, Clare Doornbos, and myself Claire Elgersma.
It was a time of celebration and congratulating each other that we did it. Praise God. It was a long journey.I am being interviewed by the press.
Tim, John and Julia Abigail and Ava
Now we needed to get to the school as it was 30 miles away. We loaded our bikes onto 2 large trailers. The cyclists got onto school buses. Hank and I rode with Mel and Sylvia to the school.

Once at the school, it was a matter of finding our gear bags, sorting through our baskets, repacking everything for the trip home. Hank and I decided to put our gear on the truck that was going back to Grand Rapids. We packed most of our cycling clothes and extra stuff into our bags. Our bikes went back in Rich and Carol Rienstra’s van as they had their own van brought here by someone from Grand Rapids. Hank and I would be heading out Sunday morning with Mel and Sylvia. We also had decided to stay in a hotel the last night, as Grace and John and Julie and her kids were also there.

While I was packing up our gear, someone called out my name that there was someone here who wanted to see me. When I went up to the school, I immediately recognized my cousin Henery Jaarsma who I had not seen in probably 40 years. I met his wife Joyce. His brother Dave who I met in South Haven Michigan, reminded him I would be in NJ and he should look me up. It was good to see him. He invited us to stay with him, which we would have loved to do, but we were already booked into a hotel for the night.

Many of the cyclists either were staying with family or in hotels. Cyclists could not camp at Eastern Christian and were only allowed to stay in the gym, which a number of them did not like to do. Having one’s privacy and not hearing all the noise of people snoring is very important to some of the cyclists. They prefer to sleep in their own tents. Since sleeping in tents was not an option they choose to stay in a motel rather than sleep in the school gym. Now some of you might think that odd, but with nine weeks of camping and being with this large group privacy and quiet time is necessary to maintain ones equilibrium over this long period.


Both Friday and Saturday were such busy days that we did not have time to post to the blog. Both days were whirlwind days with lots of activities and people to see.

Our schedule for Saturday was packed. Here is the one Ed handed out to us.
6-7 AM Breakfast – Get up early Wear Jerseys
7 AM clean up
8 AM Support Vehicles leave for Eastern Christian Middle School
1 PM Cyclists gather at staging area for Media op and Police Escort
130 PM Police Escort to Liberty State Park Freedom Way, Jersey City
2-300 Tire Dipping and closing remarks and prayer Liberty State Park
230-300 Start Loading the bikes in 2 trailers and cyclists shuttle back to Eastern Christian Middle School
4-530 Unload bikes, gear truck and get ready for evening events
530 cyclists/support shuttled to Cedar Hill CRC for dinner
6 PM dinner at Cedar Hill
730 PM Celebration Service at Cedar Hill CRC
930 PM Shuttle back to Eastern Christian

As you can see it was very tight and as cyclists we needed to ensure we were all at the staging area on time. If we were not able to make it, a support vehicle would pick us up. If are bike broke down (eg. flat tire) while we were riding with the police escort for 10 miles we would be picked up by a support vehicle and brought to Liberty State Park.
I know of several people who had a flats near the end of the escort, but kept riding as they did not want to be picked up by a support vehicle the last mile or so.

At 6 PM we were at Cedar Hills CRC for dinner. It was a great meal with chicken, spare ribs, and sausage, salads and various potato, and pasta dishes. They served over 700 people for dinner. This gave cyclists an opportunity to meet lots of people and to share some great times together for the last time. I took a picture of all the cyclists who had done both the 05 ride and this one in its entirety.


In the front row: Andy Hiesmstra Bill Wybeinga Bill VanderLinde Alita VanDyk Kyle and Joleen Witvoet
Back row Dave Raakman Teresa Hoekstra myself, Hans Doef, Claire Kooistra (he did 5 weeks of 05) George VanderKur, John VanderSteen, Dora Vander Woude, Fred Folker, Anne Mushumanski, Ed and Denise Witvoet.

The Celebration Service started at 730. It was a great service and we had a good speaker. Unfortunately I was so tired, I could hardly stay awake. I heard a lot of the message, but did not take notes in order to record important points for the blog. My body was starting to say enough and you need to get to bed. The program ended at 930. We quickly said goodbyes to various people knowing we probably we never see each other again. We also promised to organize a ride next summer and out the note on the cyclists forum or send out an email. It will be interesting to see who will continue to ride the bikes regularly in the future.

Total flats for the tour was 819 and total falls was 192. Eritia Smid has the most flats with 28. Hank had 7 and I had 4.

Hank is ready to hang up his bike for a while. I hope to do some more riding this fall as I am not sick of riding and enjoy the exercise. I especially like riding in the fall with the cooler temperatures and the bright fall colours.

We were truly blessed during this tour. God provided for us and cared for us in amazing ways. We only had 3 days of rain the whole tour. Even Saturday the last day we had a drizzle that evaporated by mid morning and by the afternoon we had sunshine for our final 10 miles.

I hope to do a couple more posts to this blog for a wrap up and conclusion over the next couple of weeks.

This is one of the signs on the road we would follow for directions each day. We had our maps, but often these signs really helped us stay on route and get to our destinations.

Day 61 August 29 Dalton to Sussex Sea to Sea 08

Day 61 August 29 Dalton to Sussex Sea to Sea 08

Today’s Stats
Distance 82 miles
Time in Saddle 6 hours
Average speed 11.9
Ascent 6600 feet.

Today was an amazing ride even though it was a very hilly ride. Most cyclists enjoyed the day even though it appeared to be a tough day in the beginning. Many were anxious, and were concerned that they could not do it. The weather was cool and overcast which as a real blessing considering the length of the ride and all the hills we needed to climb. The roads were also very good considering that did not always have wide shoulders. With the cool weather and good roads, I think it helped all of us handle the ride much better than anticipated and was rather enjoyable overall. We climbed over 6600 feet today. As we went down one hill we saw another hill ahead to climb. It was a day of one rolling hill after another, mile after mile. Often the roads had a canopy of trees and provided us much shade when needed. It was all

We got up this morning at 530. It is the last night we will sleep in our tents as Hank and I are staying at my sister’s in Sussex and a hotel on Saturday night. We are not sorry to give up our tent after nine weeks. Having to get up in the middle of the night, get out of my warm sleeping bag, to walk a ways to the restroom was not always appreciated by myself. I rather like have a restroom close by. We were told there might be bears in the area so when I had to go to the restroom in the middle of the night, I was alert to possibly seeing a bear. Fortunately, I did not see or hear one.

I left camp at 650 with Mike and Phil and Jan. Hank decided he would take a SAG past most of the steep hills and ride up High Point. Within the first couple miles we had several big hills that set the tone for our days ride. Jan and Phil were a little slower than Mike and I going up the hills. When Mike and I got to Carbondale we stopped at Dunkin Doughnuts for a coffee and doughnut and to wait for Phil and Jan. They decided that we should not wait for them the rest of the day as they were not going up the hills as fast as we were and did not want to hold us back. Mike and I finished the day together at about 330. Jan and Phil came in about 6. Jan had a blow up on her tire so this slowed them down somewhat and they climbed up to High Point Monument which Mike and I did not. Jan’s sister had been involved with the restoration of the Monument so Jan felt she had to visit it. This was an additional climb of over 300 feet and 2 miles in.

We rode through very forested areas and lots of hills and valleys. We also rode through the Poconos and past Lake Wallenpaupack, a lake I went to on an 8th grade outing. This area is very beautiful and there were lots of wealthy New Yorkers who own country property out here.

We stopped for lunch at 1230 PM in Milford, which is a quaint town with lots of old homes and interesting shops.

We headed to Sussex and figured it might be 2-3 hours before we would be in camp because of all the hills we thought we would half over the remaining 22 miles. We were pleasantly surprised that the next 9 miles from Milford to Port Jarvis were flat and we sped along at 17-18 miles per hour.

We started the climb over High Point a 4 mile climb at about 2 PM. I was determined not to make one stop climbing this hill. I was pleased that I got all the way to the top without stopping once even though we had grades of 8-10 % in a couple of places. Mike and I both felt very strong. We were very pleased to reach the top. On top we were welcomed by Cory’s SAG and the family of Sandy Westra, a cyclists from NJ. We took a picture at the top but mine did not turn out great. The Applachian Trail runs along the top of High Point so we took a picture of the sign indicating the trail is here. Lou Haveman one of our cyclists walked the whole trai,l which runs from Georgia to Maine over 750 miles, during the summer of 2005.

The downhill from High Point is very, very steep. I used my brakes all the way down as I knew there was a curve at the bottom. I was afraid to look at my speed as I was very focused on the road and keeping control.

On the way to Sussex, I rode past my parent’s grave. My parents were John Aukema who died in 1967 and Grace Jaarsma Aukema who died in 1994. My parents were instrumental in establishing both the Sussex Christian Reformed Church and Valley Christian Reformed Church in Binghamton. They immigrated in 1947 from the Netherlands and settled in Sussex County for 17 years before moving up to Binghamton NY in 1964. Sussex church was one of three churches established in the area by Dutch farmers after WWII.

We arrived at Sussex Christian School and I was immediately greeted by Hank and Mel. Hank had taken a SAG to Milford and than rode his bike to Sussex. Mel did not ride today as he felt he could not handle all the hill climbing. I also saw my niece Ann Mary Amels and my nephew Charley Kuperus and my nephew Miles and his wife Lisa, my cousin Dot Aukema Valkema and her husband Sam.. I saw lots of people I knew as I had grown up here and moved away when I was 16 years old. Lots of people remarked about how much family I have. It seemed either I had family or friends in many of our stops across the country,

Hank and I and Mel and Sylvia Hugen were invited to stay with my sister Anne Kuperus for the night. We headed out to her house so Hank and I could take showers before supper. When I was at Anne’s my brother Bill Aukema called and wanted to come to see me. He and his wife Gloria and his daughter Christina came to see Hank and I for about an hour. It was good to see Hank's kids and all my family including kids, grandkids and brothers and sister.

At supper, I again saw lots of former acquaintances and family members. It was great being in Sussex. Both Sussex and Goshen churches served a great meal of hamburger and hotdogs pasta dishes and potato dishes, apple crumb dessert, which was really enjoyed by the cyclists. Thanks so much to Sussex and Goshen for their hospitality.

Hank and I finally got back to Anne’s at 930 and were ready for bed since we had gotten up fairly early and had a good day of biking. We were looking forward to finishing our last day of riding.

My nephew Brian and his wife Crystal and their son Brycen.

Cleaning out the porta-potty one last time.

A bunch of my relatives: Rich and Carol Rienstra, Grace and John Roossien , Pat and Doug Aukema

Day 60 Binghamtom to Dalton

Dave Ditmer and Julia Zwart from Hope RCA
Phil and Jan Quist with myself at Peter's SAG stop

Mike Bruinooge at Peter's SAG
View of the road we were cycling on to Dalton

Reststop were we had pie and muffins
Strangers we met in Nicholson who wanted to know all about the tour and directed us to the farmers market store where we find the information about the bridge.

View of The Tunkhannock Viaduct taken from the restaurant in Nicholson
View of the viaduct from the road to our camp site
Mike Bruinooge climbing the 16% grade hill.
Jan Quist pedaling hard to climb the hill too.

Phil you can do it. Go for it

I uploaded these pictures finally, but had trouble moving them into the text.

Day 60 August 28 Binghamton to Dalton Sea to Sea 08

Today’s stats
Distance 57.12 miles
Time in saddle 4.16 hours
Total Ascent 1928 feet
Current elevation 1126 feet.
Temperature this morning 55 degrees

We got up this morning at 515 am. As we were staying at Grace and John’s we did not have to pack up our tent. We had a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, melon, blueberries, yogurt, orange juice, and coffee. We left for camp at 6 and were there by 630.

When we arrived Mel informed Hank he was on sweep so he could not ride with Hank. Hank was a little disappointed he was not going to ride with Mel today. He ended up riding alone for most of the day. I started riding with Phil and Jan Quist. We left at 7 AM and arrived at camp at 230PM. We had made lots of stops and took our time coming in, as we did not want to arrive in camp before the gear truck arrived. Hank arrived at 330. Mel and Sylvia were just leaving camp when I biked in. Sylvia had picked up Mel and they were heading to Sussex as Mel decided he would not be riding tomorrow.

It was cool this morning; so I wore my leg warmers, arm warmers and jacket. Both Jan and Phil had jackets and either arm warmers or long sleeve shirts on. We did not take off our jackets till the second coffee stop at 11. I took off my leg warmers at our lunch stop. My arm warmers stayed on for the whole ride.

I rode past a company I worked at during high school Eureka Tent and Awning Company on Conklin Ave in Binghamton. I could not believe it was still there after all these years.

We stopped at Peter’s SAG at mile 32 at 1100. We were over half way. We decided to stop in Nicholson to see if there might a public library with Internet. We kept running into Dave Ditmers and Julie Zwart who are both RCA and represent Hope Reformed church in Grand Rapids on the tour. I told Dave I should take their picture and let Joan Jelkel, my neighbor who is looking after our home and a member of their church know they are in good shape.

We stopped for coffee twice today and also had lunch in Nicholson. At our second coffee stop I had tea and apple muffin that the waitress grilled. Jan, Phil and Mike had coffee and blueberry pie. It was very good. We met Mike Bruinooge here who asked if he could ride the rest of the way with us.

When we started out from this coffee stop, we expected to bike up a high hill. According to our map and it elevation we were suppose to have huge hill at mile 40. It did not materialize. The ride from here to Nicholson was a breeze. We averaged 16.2 miles per hour for the 10 miles. It was pretty flat and we seemed to have a tailwind.

We stopped in Nicholson hoping to find Internet. It did not. There was a very interesting bridge there, which the locals were eager to talk about. The bridge was called the Tunkhannock Viaduct. The Tunkhannock Creek runs under it along with route 11. It is owned by Canadian National Railroads today by was original built by the Lackawanna Railroad from 1912-1915. It is considered the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world, by the locals, and has 10 arches spanning the creek and roadway. It was pretty impressive. I took a number of pictures of it one with a train going over it and several pictures of cyclists with the viaduct in the background.

We ran into other cyclists who had stopped at a great restaurant and said the food was great. We decided to also have lunch there. Jan and I had their hamburger vegetable soup which really hit the spot as it was still cool. Mike and Phil each had a hamburger.

We started out for camp to complete the last 7 miles. I biked past Hank just on the outskirts of Nicholson. Within a mile, we saw the hill we were to climb. It had a 16% grade and was a 1.5 miles long. Many cyclists walked up it.

Our showers tonight were ice cold. I decided I would not stand under a ice cold shower and felt a sponge bath was good enough today. As it is not very warm out, put on slacks and long sleeve shirt and my fleece.

Everyone seems to have gotten in fairly early. People are relaxing, playing cards, reading, cleaning bikes, sleeping and others sitting chatting. It is a great time to get caught up on lots of things. It is good people have a chance to relax this afternoon, as lots of people are anxious about our ride tomorrow with the most feet climbed in one day being tomorrow. We are climbing more than any day through the mountains.

I am enjoying typing up my blog before supper. I will not be able to post tonight, as we do not have Internet access. Our satellite service is not working. Apparently the satellite repairs will not be completed till next week. We have been very disappointed with the lack of Internet access and the unreliability of our satellite service through the tour.