Day 44 August 12 Woodstock to Palos Heights
Today’s stats
Not available as my bike computer was not working properly today. It shut down by itself twice thereby mileage and time were not accurate.
The ride today was harder than yesterday but it was a beautiful ride. “We rode along the Fox River on a bike trail. The communities were rode through along the route seemed very interesting. The communities have really capitalized on the waterfront on the river. It was a very enjoyable ride. Several people did comment to me that today was a hard ride. All the stop signs and traffic lights slowed people down and the traffic was very busy. For some people the bike path was too curvy and busy. I find it a beautiful ride and would have liked to take it at a more leisurely pace, but because we had 82 miles and Kerrie would be waiting for us at Trinity, I felt compelled to move on at a steady pace. Hank also enjoyed the ride as well and really enjoyed his cheeseburger from Portillos in Napierville.
Hank rode with Bill and Mary again today. I rode with Barb Mellema and John Vander Steen’s group again. Some people think I am crazy as this group bikes faster than I normally do. But John and Barb invited me to join them today again and said they would not drop me. They did not, and I was quite pleased that I could keep up with them for the most part. I fell behind on a couple of steep hills, but one of the group would always make sure I was pulled up to the main group. It was a fun ride. Along the route we saw a homeless person sleeping on a bench. John Vander Steen gave the man his lunch. We also stopped to talk to a mom and her three children who were riding bikes. Barb stopped to helped the two young boys put on their helmets properly and explained why it is important to have your helmet properly buckled. We also past two cyclists who were walking their bikes and ended up helping the one person fix his flat tire. These diversions made the trip more than just getting from point A to B. We did get off the main route as we end up taking a wrong turn on the bike path. We took the Batavia spur path instead of the Fox River trail. Directions to continue on the Fox River trail were not at a Y so we went left instead of going right. Once we discovered we were off the route, the group decided to still push ahead, they would ask for directions along the way if need be. We eventually got back on the route about 30 miles form the end of the route. I understand we were not the only ones who had diversions on the route and got misdirected.
Today’s stats
Not available as my bike computer was not working properly today. It shut down by itself twice thereby mileage and time were not accurate.
The ride today was harder than yesterday but it was a beautiful ride. “We rode along the Fox River on a bike trail. The communities were rode through along the route seemed very interesting. The communities have really capitalized on the waterfront on the river. It was a very enjoyable ride. Several people did comment to me that today was a hard ride. All the stop signs and traffic lights slowed people down and the traffic was very busy. For some people the bike path was too curvy and busy. I find it a beautiful ride and would have liked to take it at a more leisurely pace, but because we had 82 miles and Kerrie would be waiting for us at Trinity, I felt compelled to move on at a steady pace. Hank also enjoyed the ride as well and really enjoyed his cheeseburger from Portillos in Napierville.
Hank rode with Bill and Mary again today. I rode with Barb Mellema and John Vander Steen’s group again. Some people think I am crazy as this group bikes faster than I normally do. But John and Barb invited me to join them today again and said they would not drop me. They did not, and I was quite pleased that I could keep up with them for the most part. I fell behind on a couple of steep hills, but one of the group would always make sure I was pulled up to the main group. It was a fun ride. Along the route we saw a homeless person sleeping on a bench. John Vander Steen gave the man his lunch. We also stopped to talk to a mom and her three children who were riding bikes. Barb stopped to helped the two young boys put on their helmets properly and explained why it is important to have your helmet properly buckled. We also past two cyclists who were walking their bikes and ended up helping the one person fix his flat tire. These diversions made the trip more than just getting from point A to B. We did get off the main route as we end up taking a wrong turn on the bike path. We took the Batavia spur path instead of the Fox River trail. Directions to continue on the Fox River trail were not at a Y so we went left instead of going right. Once we discovered we were off the route, the group decided to still push ahead, they would ask for directions along the way if need be. We eventually got back on the route about 30 miles form the end of the route. I understand we were not the only ones who had diversions on the route and got misdirected.
Along the route we stopped by a gentleman who is really into railroad parafinalia. It was very neat and interesting.
We also were greeted by women from Wheaton CRC at the dutch mill in Batavia who served us fresh baked cookies and cold water.
When I arrived at Trinity College at 230 I was greeted by Kerrie, Hank’s daughter and two grandkids Rebecca and Trent. It was a very warm welcome. Hank arrived at 440 and was also very pleased and happy to be welcomed by his daughter and grandchildren.
We went out for supper to the Country House Restaurant just 1 mile from Trinity. The owner will donate 20% of all proceeds for today to Sea-To-Sea if we mention Sea to Sea.
At 7 we had meet and greet and a mini peleton meeting in the Chapel at Trinity. I met a number of people from Trinity today who were from Palos Heights CRC and knew Scott. Peter Hamstra, Bryce, and the Ohms are names I can recall and all said they really appreciated Scott and his sermons. Some commented about Scott not being here when I arrived, but I indicated that Scott did not think about the Sea to Sea tour when he booked his vacation to California. It was OK because Hank and I did get to see them last night in Woodstock.
We are now at Roger and Kerrie’s home and looking forward to sleeping in a real bed tonight. We are also doing some laundry tonight that should get us through to this weekend.
Tomorrow we will be biking south of Chicago. Please pray for safety for all the cyclists. We know it can be very dangerous on busy roads especially when shoulders are none existent or in poor condition.
1 comment:
Thanks so much for remembering my birthday - it was a nice surprise to get a card from you and Hank. We have been following your journey via blog and devotional and trust that God is keeping you safe and healthy. We hope to see you in Niagara on the Lake later this month.
Take care and God bless you both.
Joanne Oosthoek
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