Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Day 29 Denver to Fort Morgan

Today stats. Sorry in transferring my bike computer into to my laptop, the info some how got lost or erased.

This morning we got up early 5AM so Brian could drive Hank and I back to the Christian High to start biking from there. When we looked at the map, we realized that we could have started from Sarah and Brians and saved ourselves about 20 miles. However we had too much stuff to carry on our bikes to start from Sarah's.

Hank and I both got our on the road about 7 AM. I started riding with Len and Joan. 2 miles down the road we picked up Augie Faber a new rider starting in Denver. Later we added Nancy Niuwenhuis from Connecticut. Half way through the ride we picked up Clare Dornbos and Roger Feenstra. 15 miles from the end we picked up Dave Teitsma. Riding in this paceline worked well for us, as we rotated regularly and the pace was not too face. We had some head winds today so riding in a paceline really helps. We got into camp about 320. This gave us some time to ourselves for showering and organizing things. At 5, I had a meeting with Ed, Jen and Erinn so I did not get time to enter info on the blog.



The ride today went well inspite of the 100 degree temperature, as we were in a paceline pretty much all day. Joan is not really crazy about riding in a paceline because you really need to keep your eye on the bike in front of you. Joan likes to look around and chat as she rides. Because we did not have many towns to stop in and the scenery was very flat, she agreed riding in the paceline helped make the ride go faster today.
In the village of Keenseburg our group was interviewed by the local paper and they took a picture of all of us. Lots of people want to know if we are in a bike race and what we are all about. This gives us an opportunity to share our stories and to witness about what God is calling us to do.


Our directions were a little confusing today and there was construction on the route that made us change where we rode. We rode on Interstate 76 for over 20 miles. The interstate was in better shape than the frontage road we were suppose to ride on. The last 15 miles we had rough roads and a headwind. So riding in the pace line bade a big difference for us.

At supper time we again saw a double rainbow. God is again telling us he is with us and caring for us even when things do not always seem to work the way we think they should.


When we got into camp we heard that Cynthia Aukema from Chatham Ontario had a serious accident riding on the interstate. Apparently there was lots of debris on the highway and there were 2 larger pieces. Cynthia was riding with a group of people who al managed to avoid it, but Cynthia caught the corner of one piece and went over the handlebars, landed on the ground and rolled several times. She suffered a concussion and broke her pelvis. Unfortunately she is not able to ride the rest of the way.

The recent accidents of Tyler and Cynthia are traumatic for the camp in that the last two day rides we have had two people who have had accidents that caused them to leave the tour. Everyone has been saddened by these events and know they need to be more careful while riding.

At the peleton meeting, we also heard stories of God moments. Stephanie Webb has been having lots of knee problems and was having a difficult time connecting with someone in Denver to help her out. As it was Len had forgotten his passport at Joy Engelsma house and when Erinn connected with her to pick up the passport, Erinn mentioned Stephanie's problem and Joy told her they have specialist in the congregation. Joy immediately connected with him and Stephanie meet with the doctor for 1.5 hours.

Marcus Lise also shared about the free lunch lots of cyclists got at a restaurant when they heard what we were doing and why.

Ed reminded all of us to enjoy the journey of our lives. This is not a race. People need to take time to look around to view the scenery and do not worry about being the first one into camp.

I almost forgot to mention that I had my first spill today. I was riding along the bike path in Denver and as I was riding up a hill and around a corner, there was water on the path that caused by rear wheel to hydro plain. I tried to keep my bike from going over and almost managed, but I did go down. I got a long scatch on one leg, and a bruise on the other. My right shifter was pushed over a little. Fortunately no major scatches or damage to my bike.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Claire:
Just wanted to say hello and say that our family continues to pray for you, Hank and the group. What a disappointment for the 2 riders who have been injured. Keep peddling and be careful. Your blog is great. I look forward to it each day. Hey, no more spills please!?

Paul and family

john van sloten said...

Claire,

Keep up the great ride. You look terrific in all the pics I've seen. I can't imagine the heat you're dealing with, or the climbs!

Remember the day we rode up Manning together? I'm praying for you and all the riders.

And Ed's right... go slow so you don't miss anything.

John van Sloten

CR said...

I just read Tyler's blog reporting the accident and sent him a birthday card. I hope he can get involved in the Grand Rapids celebration. David Bosch from COS who wanted to help as a technician on the tour, was hit by a car while riding on Leonard yesterday and sustained a broken arm. He still would like to come to the safety training that we're holding on Saturday morning at Calvin's Youngsma Center. Rich and I will go there. We are doing very well, but on Monday when we were riding on Broadmoor a truck came very close on my left and I leaned to the right and fell onto the grassy area. Didn't hurt myself, but watched the truck whiz past Rich just as close and I felt like screaming, but of course that wouldn't help because if Rich heard me he would have turnedand something bad could have happened. Yikes, these motorists can be so clueless sometimes. I've noticed that my right knee actually feels better since I took the little tumble. Sometimes falls help, I guess.