Fulton Il to Shabbona State Park 88.5 miles

This will be a short post as I am beat on my butt after riding 88.5 miles in the rain and wind and some rough roads.  It was a tough ride for lots of people today, and some people had melt downs because we had to put on an extra 3.5 miles to get into camp.  Apparently the original route took us into the end of the park that was all gravel for a distance.  It was decided to take us to the other entrance which was paved, but was another 3 miles around.  When one is psych out to do 85 and you want to be done the extra 3.5 miles can really affect one's mind.
I started the ride with Barb, but was having difficulty keeping up with her as my legs felt like lead and I had trouble pushing myself to 13-14mph while Barb was doing 15-16. I told her to go on which meant I was riding by myself. Just before she pulled away from me we saw a silhouette of Big Foot and thought it cool to get a pic of him.

 

 At about mile 40 Dan Kiel, Herb Boven and Nancy Nienhuisn were pulling past me and I managed to jump behind them so I could draft for a while.  What a difference it made for me.  This saved me lots of grief.  At the 4 SAG I ran into Marti Du Plessis who told me she would pull me in the rest of the way which was about 30 miles. This too made a huge difference for me as I was almost spent and do not think I could have done the ride if it had not been for Marti and Dan pulling me along at times. When I rode with Marti, Betty Adams also asked to join, but before we could get started we had to change a flat on Betty's bike. We always have more flats on rainy days.  Thank you so much Marti and Dan for helping me finish the ride. This is what is so neat about this community.  People are always helping each other out providing support and encouragement especially on really hard days.
When I got into camp I was really cold so I quickly got out of my wet clothes and put on sweat pants, a fleece and for the first time on tour socks and running shoes just to get warm and feel dry.  It is 61 degrees.
We are staying in a lovely state park with lots of trees.  We can have a camp fire so lots of people are sitting around it.  However there is no shelter or inside facilities so we hope it does not rain when we eat

Last night we were really treated well by the folks in Fulton with a great supper of pork, chicken, spaghetti, as much sweet corn as we wanted, salad and numerous pies with ice cream. We could have as much pie and ice cream as we wanted and some people had 2-3 pieces of pie. the people in Fulton also provided live music for us and much of it was old time country gospel and other country. It was delightful and  entertaining.  Thanks to people in Fulton we were blessed with good food and hospitality. 

 

Daily stats

 

Distance88.49 mi

Duration6h:47m:40s

Avg. Speed13.0 mph

Max. Speed27.5 mph

Calories4130 kcal

Min. Altitude572 ft

Max. Altitude1005 ft

Total Ascent907 ft

Total Descent534 ft

Thanks for all the words of encouragement and support.  I feel blessed to be part of the larger Christian community.

Day 33 Beginning of week 6 Iowa City to Fulton IL 95 miles

It was cool when we woke up this morning, but the sun was shining and there was a little wind.  I had decided yesterday, I would have Phil drop me off at the second SAG to start riding today.  That happened to be at mile 40.4.  Phil and Barb were going to continue to mark the road and ensure there were no more issues for cyclists to encounter. Phil ended up changing the route after the detour sign , but managed to keep at the same distance of 95 miles.
It was a lovely day for a ride. The roads were fairly flat with some climbing, but not very much climbing and little wind.  It was a cool to start and warmed up to 80 by the time I finished at 1 PM.  I had little difficult with my leg and remembered to keep my right toe pointed down to ensure my Achilles tendon did not suffer additional strain.  It went great. My hand also was fine, but I will put the removable cast back on tonight when I sleep. 
I rode by myself most of the day.  Chad and Eric Verluis and Rick DeJonge caught up with me at the last SAG which was mile 86.  We crossed the Mississippi and entered Illinois together.  Over all just a great ride.  Hope everyone else also has a good ride today. 

Nice to have a beautiful day with no wind, rain, and lots of sun. God is good and it feels good to be in camp relaxing and enjoying the day.  Blessings to everyone thanks for your prayers and support.   

 

Stat for today

 

Distance56.26 mi

Duration3h:58m:09s

Avg. Speed14.2 mph

Max. Speed25.1 mph

Calories2667 kcal

Min. Altitude521 ft

Max. Altitude787 ft

Total Ascent232 ft

Total Descent395 ft

Sunday in Iowa City

When  Barb and her husband got up this morning they decided they would like to go have lunch on the Mississippi River so we went for a drive to Muscatine IA.  It is an old town famous for making buttons in the early 1900's. We saw some beautiful old homes and went to the Mark Twain Overlook overlooking the Mississippi River towards Illinois. Notice on the board noted that Mark Twain observed some of the best sunrises and sunsets from this spot. We also took some pics of Barb and I trying to ride some bikes that were stationed around town.

 

 

 

View for Mississippi river from Mark Twains overlook looking towards Illinois

Barb on her Bike.

Tonight we had a Celebration Service at New Life Community Chruch and they provided a spaghetti supper for us,  Much appreciated and many thanks for their kindness and hospitality
Tomorrow we have a 95 mile day.  Phil Quist reported that he discovered a bridge is out on out route and has to plan around the detour tonight yet before our maps are handed out. As Phil says another alligator has bitten us and we need to adjust.  Challenges keep coming and adjustments made. But isn't all of life like that. We have curves thrown our way and need to adjust.  Its how we handle these challenges that determine our characters and whether they throw us for a loop and cause us anxiety or do we see these as opportunities to see where God might lead us in new ways.  Everyone seems to be going with the flow right now and are handling the changes rather well.  Hopefully our route tomorrow will still go well and we see some more or God's beautiful creation here in Iowa that we might not have seen on the old route. We shall see what God has in store tomorrow.
It is cool tonight and people are dressing warmly for a cool nights sleep.
Till tomorrow. 

Day 31 and 32 Pella to Iowa City 94 miles.

It’s Sunday morning, it is quiet and peaceful. Something I really miss on this tour early in the morning as we are usually so busy getting ready, packing up everything, grabbing breakfast so we can get out on the road as quickly as possible.  It may be like that for people who are working as well, but as a retiree, I treasure the time each day I have early in the morning to watch the sunrise,  to do my devotions and to ponder and reflect on the events of the day and the week.  

I am being billeted (hosted) by Arlene and Dave Gibbons who are DRS volunteers.  We have had an opportunity to share our DRS experiences and how they came to get involved with DRS. I went through the list of sites they have worked on and discovered I knew a number of people they have worked with.  That is the neat thing with DRS you meet so many interesting and committed people who love and want to serve the Lord in this way.  Often we feel more blessed by the experience of giving our time and abilities than what we feel we give.   The Gibbons have done Needs Assessment and Reconstruction and hope to go out again this year.  They love the work and the people they work with.  Thank you Arlene and Dave for your passion and hospitality.

As I sit here a reflect on another  busy week as we moved another 400 + miles across the country and have past the midway point time wise and distance wise.  We have finished 5 weeks of cycling across the country and people are feeling the effects of numerous days in the saddle.  We still have 4 weeks left.  This weekend we add a large number of new people to the tour over 22 people and will need to work hard to enfold these people into our group.  Some are known to cyclists others are complete strangers. Hopefully all will find new friends and will feel part of our group quickly.  Some of the joiners are only on for a week which will make it challenging to get to know them before they leave while others are on for 3- 4 weeks.  One old friend for me is Marti Du Plessis and her husband Kobi have joined. They are originally from South Africa and I got to know them before the 2005 tour.  Marti help train me at that time as she has been a competitive rider and also does some timed long distanced rides e.g. (1000 miles in a weekend.) Not for me but Marti loves cycling.  Marti will be riding to Montreal while Kobi is driving to Grand Rapids and then departing. Kobi will be taking pictures of cyclists and hopefully present some quality photos as he has a great hobby in photography and has taken great pictures.

Yesterday we left Pella for Iowa City.  Our time in Pella was great and we really appreciated their generosity and hospitality.  One of the neatest things of the tour happened in Pella. AI young woman, Danita Blows from Geneva NY, was having difficulty with her bike.  It is a Giant  which is the make and her rear derailleur was causing her major difficulties. Apparently it gave loose and compromised her frame which meant she could not ride it, much to her dismay as she had just bought this 2 weeks before the tour. Now Danita came on tour knowing no one and had to make all new friends. Fortunately, she was enfolded by many people who rode with her over the past 5 weeks so she was able to share her frustrations and concerns.  Our bike mechanic Harold Veldman who is a lovely man and a great mechanic talked to Danita to help her process her options.  The Giant dealer would only work with her through her dealer at home.  What to do.  On Friday morning Danita got into Pella and decided to go to the Pella bike shop which sells Trek bikes to see what they had. Harold volunteered to go with her to help her figure out what she should do.  When in the shop she was told by the clerk that they had received a call from a person in Pella that this young woman needed a new bike and could pick up bike and they would pay up to $1000 towards her new bike.  Wow, Danita thought someone was playing a joke on her, but was assured it was true.  Apparently several cyclists had been at Appleby’s discussing Danita’s dilemma and this person overheard the conversation.  What a gift and blessing this is for Danita! 

Celebration service in Pella at Central College

Yesterday, I did not ride as my Achilles tendon was sore after three days of doing hills so I thought it best to take a couple of days off.  I was SWEEP for the day and made sure every cyclist got in safely.  It was a hard day for some as there were lots of hills and wind, but for others it was a great day and the miles flew by.  One hill apparently had a 13 % grade and was a brute of a hill but everyone did it and came in on their own stream.  I did not have to SAG anyone in who had started the ride.  A number of people were not riding because they had some issues before the start or decided they needed to take a day off, like me, which is OK because everyone needs to listen to their bodies and not push too hard that we damage our bodies further and do permanent harm. 

 

Cyclists started out the day riding to Sully IA about 22 miles down the road where they were served a hot breakfast of pancakes, bacon, fruit salad, boiled eggs.  This was a real treat.  The men of Sully CRC were busy flipping the pancakes while the women were busy inside serving everyone.  This breakfast was much appreciated and a great thanks to the people of Sully CRC who worked hard to put this on. Thank you so much.

The ride again was through rolling fields of corn, soybeans and hay.  We could see the farms were very prosperous and the crops all look very good. They seemed to have lots of rain and sunshine this year and hopefully will have a good season if they can all get the crops off in time.  Iowa farmers have been known for their generosity and have given lots to DRS and World Renew and Partners through the years because God has blessed them so richly. Thank you Iowa famers for your love and passion to give back so much of what God has given you.  Sometimes farmers do have difficulty getting crops off because of rain then they lose the good crop. One of the things we keep saying” Iowa is not flat” and we were amazed by the steepness and the number of hills we encountered.  But I think NY will beat these hills the last week of the tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

note I hope picture show up on blog I seem to be having trouble uploading these. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along the route, as we were parked at a SAG stop,  we  saw a parade of 100 antique tractors through the country.  Many of these were from the 40”s and 50’s.  You could see young people and old people proud of these pieces of equipment.  As they past our SAG I wonder who would be going faster the tractors or cyclists. Apparently, a number of cyclists were going faster than the tractors and got to past them on the highway rather than being passed by them.

Jane and her stash. Sorry could not get pic to rotate

Iowa City is also a mail drop location and Jane Brouwer steals the prize every time with the most pieces of mail. She received 0verr 10 boxes of goodies. Here is a picture of the stash she received everything from food , wet ones, to disposable urinals. Some people have a great sense of humor and love Jane. Jane readily shares all her stuff with the camp as she says her baskets are full and she has no room to store all this stuff on the gear trailer. People like being around Jane when the mail drops happen.

Today the cyclists can enjoy a relaxing day. I plan to clean my bike, my van, reorganize by clothes baskets as they become quite messy after a week of misplacing, losing and finding things.  Everyone seems to have that problem too. We are forever looking for stuff they we forgot, then needed in a hurry as we get ready to ride or get in from riding.  It is a constant hustle and bustle every day except Sunday when everyone is relaxed and finds order to their lives.  What a blessing Sunday’s are.  God knew what he was doing when he order his people to make a Sabbath and to make it a day of rest.  We will have a worship service at 530 with one of the churches in Coralville and will be served a supper afterwards. We are looking forward to worshipping with fellow Christians today and experiencing God’s presence, peace and love with others. 

May each of my readers, know that God is present in your life and may you feel his love and peace also today and every day.  I pray you too may be a blessing to others and may you be blessed as you love and serve the Lord.

Day 30 Chariton to Pella 51.7 miles

Woke up in the night to the sound of rain. It rained fairly hard and a number of cyclists got wet in their tents,  Oh the joys of camping in the rain. 
We were looking forward to having a short day into Pella today after some pretty long days.  Today I rode without my removable cast. My hand did not hurt even with all the bumps on the road. I started out about 645 and met up with Rick DeJong from Hamilton Ontario.  We rode all the way together again up and down hills much like the previous days. Some hills were 9% grade which slowed me down considerably and Rick would patiently wait for me to catch up.  Rick is a strong rider, but decided he was in no hurry to get in as it was a short day.  At mile 11 today we crossed the half way point for the tour in terms of actual riding distance.

Rick and I at half way mark.

We continued on into Knoxville at mile 37 where Celebration Church provided us with great pies, coffee and fruit. After Knoxville we only had 14 miles to go.  As Rick and I were biking along the road a gentleman is putting up lawn chairs along the route and shouts to me "Are you taking donations?" As we were riding quite fast I shouted yes and whipped around back to talk with him about the ride.  He knew all about us. His name was Jerry Weldon from Celebration Church and emphasized that they believe in taking the church to the streets and really liked what we were doing. He had us  $20 donation.  Thanks Jerry.

We continued on our ride into Pella.  We went down a steep grade when we got to the Red Rock Dam and took the bike path down.  We were warned it was steep and to be careful. The road had an 8% grade going down.  The trail was lovely and we biked along the creek from the dam for a while before it started into town.

 

 

We arrived in town about 11 AM which was nice and early to give us time to take a look around Pella before I did my serve project at the Bibles for Missions Thrift store at 2 PM. 
Pella is a very picturesque town with a strong Dutch flavor. Lots of Dutch looking buildings and many words in Dutch describing businesses and places.

                 
                                           Bike sculpture made of recycled bike parts

The canal in Pella

At 2 PM 9 of us went to volunteer to help sort clothing at the Bibles for Missions Thrift Center.  We were told they only started 4 years ago and make at least $25000 per month.  Sometimes they make $1000 a day just on their clothing. They have over 80 volunteers who work during the day and another 40-50 that work at night after hours sorting clothing.  We also helped unload one of the vehicles that was full of donated items.

Harry Drost from PEI and Rachel Kiers from BC hard at work unloading.

Nancy DeJager doing her part to unload the truck.

 

For the evening we had a great meal served at Central College giving our kitchen staff a much needed break.  At 7 PM we had a Celebration service lead by a praise group from Faith Christian Reformed church and Ryan Faber gave a brief message.  We also heard about the work of Partners Worldwide in Honduraus and work being done by people from Iowa  from Ken Van Zee. Lots of good work being done to help end the cycle of poverty with the help of business people who have a passion and care.

Tomorrow I will not be riding as my right Achilles tendon seems to be sore. It has been bothering me over the past several days, but at the end of the ride today it felt more tender. I thought it best not to push it too hard especially tomorrow with lots more hills and a 94 mile day. So I will be doing the SWEEP which means I will be driving my van behind all the cyclists to make sure the last cyclists gets in and or provide help to them if they need assistance. Being a long day with lots of hills, I expect the last cyclist might not get in till close to 6 PM.  We are also expecting some 15mph winds from the NW in addition to lots of hills. It may be a challenging day for everyone. Pray for strength and safety for all

 

 

Total flats on this tour 241 as of tonight.

Daily stats

Distance51.69 mi

Duration3h:54m:06s

Avg. Speed13.2 mph

Max. Speed35.0 mph

Calories2687 kcal

Min. Altitude695 ft

Max. Altitude1047 ft

Total Ascent892 ft

Total Descent1012 ft

day 29 Sydney to Diagonal Fogle Rec Area 87 Miles Day 30 Diagonal to Chariton North West Park

The talk of the camp early this morning was about the large branch that fell and Billie D's tent and broke the poles. We laughed and found humor in it but it really could have been worse in that the branch landed on Billie in the middle of the night.  What is interesting is that this happened on a very calm night rather than one where we had heavy winds.  Billie is now buying his 4th new tent for the tour. 


I left camp this morning at 7 Am.  It was a beautiful quiet sunny morning with little wind.  We rode down roads that appeared undulating ribbon weaving through fields of corn, hay and soybeans. It was hill after hill after hill. We climbed over 3700 feet on rolling hills for 85 miles. It was a long day and many riders were very weary at the end of the day.  Warm weather, lots of climbing wears out the body.  For supper, we had the best supper yet according to Brandon Haan with spaghetti, delicious sweet corn, salad, raw veggies, pie and ice cream. According to locals, Al bought the best sweet corn in all of Iowa from a local farmer in Shanondoah a town we biked through

Peloton meeting in Sydney- Waubonsie Park

Mark Van Otteren being dress by Betty Bandstra for his climb up Pikes peak with helmet, rain coat, rain pants.  Part of our skit night.

rolling terrain in Iowa with fields of corn, soybean and hay.

Matt Hoogsteen showing us what he carries in his panniers.  Part of skit night. 

At night we had people from Diagonal United Church sell pie and ice cream as a fund raiser for their new church. this morning they served a hot breakfast of eggs, French toast, biscuits and gravy.  The breakfast did not sit well for me but many others enjoyed the hot breakfast.

This morning Barb and I set out at 645 in 63 degree temps. We had another day of rolling hills with same scenery.  I arrived in camp at 1230 but stopped to enjoy a cold chocolate milk with Jane before we arrived in camp.  We are camp in a wide open field with no shade about a mile from the downtown of Chariton.  Shuttles are being provided to Pizza Hut, where there is Wi Fi. ( I am blogging from here) , to the library and showers at the armory.  I had taken a quick shower with my clothes on under our make shift out door shower. 

Looking forward to our short day tomorrow when we ride into Pella.

Time to sign off as we need to return to camp as Jane Brouwer, George VanderKuur, and I are on sweep team that is on duty tonight which means we have to help serve supper tonight, clean up after supper and then again help serve breakfast in the morning and help clean up the food and camp before we head out for our bike ride.  

 

 

Stats for today.

• Distance75.24 mi
• Duration5h:29m:56s
• Avg. Speed13.7 mph
• Max. Speed31.0 mph
• Calories3896 kcal
• Min. Altitude956 ft
• Max. Altitude1241 ft
• Total Ascent1063 ft
• Total Descent1234 ft

 

Day 28 Firth to Sidney Iowa Waubonsie State Park

 

We woke up early this morning to the sound of strong winds at 6AM.  All the cyclist camped outside were told to pack up their gear and tents and get inside the building ASAP as there was a weather alert for the area.  We could see dark clouds to the north and west of us.  Fortunately, the storm passed by, but cyclists get not get an all clear to go out till 8AM.  While waiting I checked the tires on my bike and found my front tire flat again this morning.  George VanderKuur and Rick Gritter both had checked it the two previous days and could not find what was causing the problem.  I had had to pump up my front tire every day for a week as there seemed to be a slow leak in the tire.  I had put a new tube in it already in Fairbury and it still seemed to have a slow leak.  Since my tire was flat, I decided not to ride today and would help Phil Quist mark the roads.

It was a relaxing and enjoyable day. I did not feel pressure or tired.  We had time to visit the Lewis and Clark Visitors Centre in NB just before we crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa.  Again it was interesting to read the stories of the explorers and the hardships they endured along with the amazing feats they accomplished in laying out the lands for people to know what was beyond the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

The campground here is very shaded and comfortable with good showers and restrooms.  However there is neither telephone coverage nor Wi-Fi unless I use someone’s hotspot if they turn it on and let me use it.

Phil and I also started to mark the road for tomorrow to Diagonal Ia.  It looks like we will be riding down an undulating ribbon of road cutting through vast fields of corn and soybeans. The deep green crops all seem to be flourishing with lots of rain and sunshine.  This is such a contrast to the brown barren landscape of parts of Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Each region/state has its own unique beauty, but I am still inclined to free most comfortable with the lush green of Iowa and states east.  I like lots of trees and green fields of hay, corn, and soybeans.

I did not take any pictures today as I was riding in a van and we were moving along.

I do hope to ride again tomorrow if my front tire is not flat.

Tonight the day ends with sunny  clear skies and no wind. It is very clam and peaceful and people are relaxing after a full day of biking up and down lots of hills.  It has been a good day for people.

Day 27 Faribury to Firth NB

It is Monday afternoon, and we are now half way in terms of distance on our cross country bike tour.  Wednesday afternoon we will be half way in terms of time. It feels good to be this far.
Today was a nice bike ride, not too many hills and not too long.  50 miles rides I can handle without difficulty and would be the distance I prefer. I started out at 720 with Barb which is the latest I have started so far.
We stopped for coffee and fresh pastry at a bakery in Beatrice for $1.80. Cheapest coffee and pastry yet. (Beatrice is pronounced Be atrice according to the locals in NB). After Beatrice, Barb, Jane, and I took the Homestead Trail for 15 miles.  It was crushed gravel, but it was very relaxing as there was no traffic to deal with, no hills, lots of shade from trees hanging over the path and its was quiet as we rode through fields of corn. It was an abandoned railroad track. Lovely ride.

Jane, Barb and I on the Homestead trail

We arrived at Oasis Bible Camp at 1200. 

We can stay in air conditioned buildings if we wish. The showers were warm and private. Nice treat.

 

Yesterday I moved from sleeping in a tent to sleeping in our air conditioned bunk house. There was a vacancy as Lavonne our cook left and there was a spot which I had indicated to Al our logistics manager if there was a vacancy could I take it. This means I do not have to set up or take down a tent everyday nor roll out my therma rest. Yeh!!! I also can leave some of my stuff in the trailer and can use the rest room at night and I can use my sleeping bag, sheet and pillow as I sleep on a couch or a bunk bed. This kind of camping is a little easier and more relaxing for me. I can enjoy this.

 

Yesterday the Sea to Sea group was treated royally at First United Presbyterian

Church. The minister had a great sermon about the wind using the story of dry bones from Ezekiel. The cyclists enjoyed the message. Afterwards the church served the biggest variety smorgasbord of food anyone had seen with more Tupperware containers with such a variety of food. There were at least 45 different salads, as many main dishes and desserts. The church really out did themselves and the cyclists were overwhelmed by their sincere hospitality. What a blessing they were to us.

In the afternoon, a number of cyclists went to see Rock Creek historical site where we saw remnants of the Oregon trail, reconstructed buildings that represented the ranch houses and pony express sites at that site. We read a number of stories posted on the wall about the bravery and hardships the pioneers experienced at that site.  Wild Bill Hickock also started his legacy here.  Looking across the prairies, I tried to imagine life 150 years ago and what people saw and experienced. They were brave, determined people who lived a very hard life at that time.

Bridge over the creek which was a toll bridge for pioneers to cross.

The rolling hills in the foreground are the left over ruts from the wagon trains going down to the bridge to cross Rock Creek.  Pictures taken from overhead show more clearly these ruts.

This is a picture of the interesting couple who allowed us to get out of the rain storm on Saturday. Bob was in the middle of pickling and was having quite a sparing with Barb the whole time we were with them.  Elba is a quiet gentle person that seems to just let Bob rant and joke with little reaction.  They have been married 59 years.

 

Billy D and Katie Ryzebol.  Billy he picked her up but Katie really wanted to ride along on his bike as she had fallen on Friday and her sore shoulder prevented her from riding today.

 

this week we have lots of hill climbing through Iowa so it will be interesting to see how much I will end up doing. Today was a good day but there were not many hills. My hand is still a little sore so I still keep my removable brace on when I ride.  I hope to try to bike a short day without it maybe Friday when we only have 40 miles biking into Pella.  I shall see.

Distance50.01 mi

Duration3h:36m:03s

Avg. Speed13.9 mph

Max. Speed24.3 mph

Calories2388 kcal

Min. Altitude1245 ft

Max. Altitude1458 ft

Total Ascent299 ft

Total Descent200 ft

Day 26 a relaxing Sunday mroning in Lincoln NB

This morning I woke up at 615 and took a 2 mile walk to get a coffee latte.  I came back to John and Susan's house to sit outside on their deck enjoying their beautiful flower gardens and listen to the morning doves coe and watch the birds feed at their feeders.  Feels so good to just veg for a morning savoring the stillness of the morning with no time pressure no hustle and bustle, scurring around getting breakfast, packing up tent, and checking the bike preparing for another days ride.  So thankful for Sunday and day of rest.
Yesterday I woke Barb up at 530 as she said she will sleep through anything.  We were both ready to ride at 635.  It was a great 69 degrees with overcast skies. Oh what a beautiful morning for a bike ride. We enjoyed the cool temps and overcast skies till about 10 AM when the sun came out and we could feel the heat starting to roll in. 
Our ride was up and down rolling hills today. The roads were fairly good but no shoulders so we were riding on the road and had to watch for cars in back and in front.  One driver past us very close and almost pushed the oncoming car into the ditch. It was scary to watch.  Some drivers have no concept of how to pass cyclists.  If there is no one coming moving over completing to the other lane is much appreciated.  If there is oncoming traffic waiting to pass till traffic is clear is also appreciated.  Some drivers are so impatient  they have to pass us even when there is on coming traffic coming very close to us.  They would never do this if we were vehicles but being cyclists we don't seem to matter to some drivers. Some even dare to see how close they can get to us by not moving over at all and just staying in their lane, traveling at their normal speeds, just weezing past us.  Our rearview mirrors are really critical in alerts us to traffic coming from behind and sensing if there will be any close calls.
Our ride went fairly well till about mile 65 when the weariness of the long day and rolling hills were starting to take their toll on me.  My left big toe started to go numb.  We stopped at our SAG stop were Connie and Roger Zystra were graciously handing out snacks and ice cold water.  I took some ice to put into my sandal so I could cool down my hot foot again.  It seems after about 60 miles and in the heat my feet over heat and I need to get out off my bike, out of my sandals and put ice or cold water on them.
Once I got feeling in my toe, I told Barb lets get her done as we had 15 miles to go. About 5 miles down the road we past Gilead and they had a sign out that said "There is a balm in Gilead"  We took a picture. 

As we started up we noticed dark clouds in the distance and lightening in the sky.  Both of us decided to needed to push hard to try to beat the storm.  We thought we could beat it but the rain cascaded down on us in buckets.  We could hardly see the road and I was afraid cars would have a hard time seeing us.  I said to Barb we need to find shelter to get out of the rain and away from the lightening. I saw a farm up head tore into the driveway and noticed an open garage door. I barreled in thinking Barb was right behind.   She wasn't. I went back out into the rain to find Barb under a tree and told her there was a garage we could get in out of the rain.  She asked if we had permission, I said no not yet but I would ask.  When we got into the garage we parked our bikes and went to the door to ask permission.  The lady so no we could not stay in the garage, but we could come into the house. She asked what she could get for us and immediately went to get some towels so we could dry ourselves off.  Her son was just leaving and her husband was busy at the stove doing come canning it seemed.  He seemed a little leery of 2 strange women barging into his kitchen like to drowned rats. He told us his son had seen us tear into the garage out of the rain. They wondered who we were and what in the world we were doing out in the rain storm.  We had to be a little crazy from their perspective. Barb started sparing with the old man and they immediately connected. The sparing went on for 45 minutes. We started at the first mat and the lady keep telling us to come in further. Eventually we ended up at the kitchen table being fed fresh bread with butter and cheese and dill pickles that the old man had made.  Their names were Robert (Bob) and Elba Schutz married 59 years. She was originally from Puerto Rico. Very dear couple that enjoyed joking around with each other. Lots of interesting stories from them. They told us they make 100 jars of pickles every year and give lots way. He puts one jalapeno into each jar which gives the pickles a bite.  By the time the rain stopped and we were ready to leave, we had their address and they had ours. We also got a tour to their bedroom as there was a brick wall in there that was the remnant of their century old home that ad burned and they wanted to show us their neat sanctuary. It was very nice. We felt like old friends by the time we left and Barb carried pickles, cheese and cucumbers in her pack back to camp.  What a delightful visit and in the middle of the storm. It made our day.
We arrived in camp about 130. We are camped in the city park in Fairbury. The town also opened up the community center for cyclists could sleep in as more rain was predicted for the night and Sunday.  The locals are delighted with the rain where as the cyclists could do with out it.  We now have had some sort of rain everyday for over a week. Sudden rain storms come up that last minutes or an hour. We have not had a full day of rain for which we are thankful.  This will probably come as we head further east.
So as I am finishing up this blog, Susan and John have prepare a breakfast of fresh cinnamon rolls, frittata, coffee and juice. Music is playing in the background. Oh how soothing and relaxing the morning is.  God knew we needed this and it refreshes our bodies and spirit.  Phil has finished his blog covering a number of days and I will be signing off the enjoy the delicious breakfast prepared.
May you too have a day of blessings and joy as God refreshes and renew your body and spirit today the Lord's day. 
Until tomorrow. I did look at next weeks route and the mile and hills we need to climb. Will see how my body handles all the hills over the next week. I may be SAGging part of the way several days.  I am not ready to be fully spent each day.

              At one point Phil had marked the road that we stay on 136 all the way to Fairbury. 


Daily Stats from yesterday
Distance75.78 mi

Duration5h:46m:52s

Avg. Speed13.1 mph

Max. Speed28.6 mph

Calories3541 kcal

Min. Altitude1194 ft

Max. Altitude1719 ft

Total Ascent528 ft

Total Descent900 ft

Day 27 Saturday night

Finished the week and Phil Quist and I are staying with family on our spouse's side John and Susan Dahm in Lincoln NB.  Too tired to write anything meaningful.  Mind is mush, body is crashing.  Will probably wake up early tomorrow morning so I will update info from today. Doing my laundry, getting everything clean and reorganized in my baskets.

Have a blessed night. I hope to sleep well in a regular bed for the first time in over 3 weeks. Tenting gets old.

Day 26 Norton Ks to Red Cloud NB 100 mile day

I am hurriedly, entering info on my blog as I am a the library in Red Cloud NB and it closes on Friday afternoon at 3PM.  It is 235. 
Yesterday's ride went very well for everyone.  What is amazing is that there were no flat tires.  This never happened on the 2005 or 2008 tours.  The roads yesterday were some of the best we have ridden with little junk on the side and really smooth pavement. We thanked the Lord of good roads today. Made the 74 mile ride very enjoyable inspite of the headwinds the last 2 miles.

Yesterday I determined that I would have difficulty completing the ride today so I arranged with Phil Quist to drop me off at the first SAG after our church stop in Prairie View RCA Church.  The morning was beautiful.  No wind and lots of sunshine.  A beautiful day for a bike ride.  I went with Phil to the church which was 22 miles down the road.

Ladies serving who are members of the church.

Trike outside antique mall in Agra

Christina Nienhuis, Barb Mellema and I taking a ride on this huge trike. Interesting place.  The fellow owning the place came up on his horse to unlock the doors from his horse.  Missed taking that pic.

Barb ahead with Smith Centre the place where we stopped for a free ice cone in the distance of 5 miles.  Thought it was all down hill, but found a few up hills with some pea gravel pavement.  Hard on the hands.

Sign entering Kansas which was not there when we entered 2 days ago.

Now in Nebraska.

 

I only biked 20 miles today as my hands were starting to hurt from some of the rough roads and my left leg was starting to cramp up when I started to push too hard. Being that there was still 35 miles after the ice cream stop I decided to just pack it in and not try to kill myself by biking in the heat and with my body already complaining.  My bottom was also getting sore and my lips have cracks on them so I thought it best just to ride it our in the van. 

Red Cloud is the home of Willa Cather who was a great American author in the late 1880 writing about life on the frontier. Interesting lady. 

Grassland view from the Willa Cather sign.  Apparently it is protected to indicate the prairie fields that Willa would have seen when she lived in the area.

 

Hope to up date more later as I need to post this