Endomondo Cycling Workout

Endomondo Cycling Workout: was out cycling 32.89 miles in 2h:29m:46s using Endomondo.

Week 1 of training 77 of 1000 miles in- nine weeks till start of ride

As I write this blog I note the temperature is 25 degrees early this Sunday morning. The weather this past week has not been conducive to great training rides.  Sunday to Wenesday the weather was a little reasonable with temperatures between 40-65 degrees and some sun. Late Wednesday it started raining in buckets into Thursday when we had 3.5 inches of rain in 24 hours. Grand Rapids area has record high water levels and many roads are closed due to flooding. On Friday we again had rain which turned into snow.  Ugh. Tired of the cold and snow. When will spring weather arrive? Saturday morning it was 30 degrees overcast skies  but we had no precipation. I told myself if it gets above 40 I will get out to ride, but it stayed at 38 degrees with strong cold winds. I could not convince myself to get out to ride in the cold and wind. I had managed to get in 77miles of riding in between Sunday to Wednesday. My goal for the week was to get in 100 miles.  Each ride was challenging as there were strong head winds that made me really work hard.  My average speed went from 11mph to 12 to 13 back down to 11.7mph. This is a far cry from my 14.5-15 mph I was doing last fall. 

My fund raising has gone well and I am very thankful and appreciative of all the people who have donated to Sea to Sea. I am working on helping others in my church (Church of the Servant) to meet their fund raising goal.  We are planning an area fund raising ride on May 18th and inviting people to join West Michigan Sea to Sea cyclists on one of their training rides either for 5, 15, 25, 40 or 60 miles.  We are providing snacks and support along the route and have lunch planned from 12-2 at East Paris Nature Park in Kentwood for time of sharing and meeting fellow riders.  We are looking forward to warmer, sunnier weather, but know we may have to ride in the rain  to get all our training miles in before June 24th 2013.

This week  staff at World Renew held a prayer time for Sea To Sea 2013.  The following were prayer requests:

• cyclists as they train and put in 1000 miles that they are safe and not injured, gain strength and endurance over the next 9 weeks in order to handle the challenges of each day’s ride .
• That all cyclists are able to achieve or exceed their fund raising goal.
• Additional people are lead to cycle a segment or two as we still have capacity for others to join,
• For the planning currently being undertaken for worship and Celebration events planned along the route.
• For staff who are feeling the pressure of many tasks still to be completed and praying everything is in place and in order when needed.
• For logistics to ensure a safe and enjoyable ride for everyone participating.
• Thankfulness for all the volunteers who have signed up to provide support for the tour.
• Praise and thanksgiving for the Spiritual Support committee who worked and completed the daily devotional for the tour.
• Thanks for praying for Sea to Sea. We pray it may be a blessing to all who participate but also to the agencies and the people they serve.

 If you are reading this blog will you join us in these prayers. We know that the Lord works and there is tremendous power in prayer.

 

 

 

Will I bike when it rains?

Rain Rain Rain. I know the farmers are loving the rain as the soil has been very dry in the last couple of summers, but for someone who is looking to get outside to start some serious training it is not a joy to see it rain everyday. April showers bring May flowers they say and we should be thankful, but Lord we could use some sunshine and dry days too.  I am trying not to be anxious, but with the weeks starting to count down, it will be more challening to get in the necessary training miles. My back up option is to do the bike spin classes at the gym which help with some conditioning, but does not really replace riding outside with the wind and hills. It is April 13.  9 weeks from today I will probably start my drive out to California for the start of the Sea to Sea tour in Newport Beach.  I hope to put in 1000 miles by then.

While I was laying in my soft warm bed hearing the rain, I was contemplating our bike ride this summer and wondering how much rain we might have.I thought of myself lying in my cool tent, on the hard ground, hearing the rain, wondering whether it would still be raining in the morning riding in the rain.  Not a good thought.  I had to remind myself, not to worry today, but to take one day at a time and to enjoy whatever God brought me today. I could worry and fret, but that does not change what the weather is doing outside. I could only change how I viewed my circumstances and control how it affected my attitude and feelings. Maybe not today because it is 36 degrees, but soon I will put on my bike clothes including a rain jacket, get out and bike in the rain because the Lord has brought that to nourish the earth and the farmers and the ground need it.
So Claire get ready to suck it up, get tough, get out and enjoy each day as God has given it.

This week I celebrated my 65th birthday, I am blessed with good health.  How many people do I know who at this age are preparing to bike across the continent for the 3rd time. Not many. Rejoice and be glad in this day. The Lord is good and gracious. Do not worry, trust the Lord. 

Foreword for new devotional

As Chairperson of the Steering Committee for the 2013 Bike Tour, I am preparing the foreword for the new devotional called "Reflectors"  This devotional is for cyclists, volunteers, prayer partners, and all the people who have and continue to support this tour. I pray that as you take this journey reading this devotional, you will fell that challenge facing cyclists every day, anticipate the excitement and beauty each day, and you will feel called to do more than just to read this booklet. As each of us contemplates God’s words to us, we respond by taking action riding, volunteering, praying, and making a donation or by actually serving the needs of the poor in communities locally and globally.


For the cyclist this might be the most amazing journey ever undertaken and life will never be the same. This bike journey of 9 weeks, 3900 mile/6000 kilometer bike tour, from Los Angeles to New York City via Montreal will carry the message of “ending the cycle of poverty” in a very unique and profound way. It is much more than just an ordinary bike tour. It is a bike tour with a purpose that we hope will change thousands of lives locally and globally through prayer and providing financial support for health, food, work, and business opportunities.

During this nine-week journey cyclists and volunteers on tour will have many different experiences from great highs to deep lows. As cyclist pedal, they will face wind, rain, steep mountains, sore muscles, extreme fatigue, hunger, and loneliness. Each will be challenged emotionally, physically and spiritually. At times each person will wonder whether they have what it takes to finish the ride. They are vulnerable to the elements, and speeding traffic. The wind can be a friend or foe depending on which way it blows. Cyclist will question the wisdom of having undertaken such an arduous journey.

This time also provides a great opportunity to be close to God 24/7 and to see his majesty and glory. Listen carefully to hear God voice calling, feel his hand pushing you up the hills, brushing your cheeks with a cool breeze. I encourage everyone to ask yourself each day: Where did I see God? Through whom did I see God? How did people see and experience God through me? As we reflect on our calling and purpose may we grow closer to God and gain a much deeper understanding of who God is and who we are in our relationship to God. Use this time to journal your thoughts, feelings, anxieties, joys, and blessings. Record how your life is being changed each day. Journal what you see, think and feel on this amazing journey. You life will never be the same.

During this time, reflect on the lives of the poor. They do not have a choice in how difficult their life is. When the heat overwhelms, remember the poor have no air-conditioning to go into to eat or sleep. When you are hungry, remember the poor may only eat one meal today. Their vulnerability to the elements continues day in day out for years. For people on the tour, the bike is a recreational vehicle, which is great for exercise and is a source of enjoyment. Remember the poor for whom the bike is their livihood, it is their source of income or the only transportation they have available or can afford. Remember and pray for the poor of the world who have no options and barely survive each day.

As we follow the devotional and reflect on God’s hand on us and his call to us, may we grow in our awareness to the needs of the poor, may we not leave this ride without committing ourselves to helping at least one person, one family, one community this year. For those of you reading this devotional in the comforts of your home will you also take up this challenge? Together we all can make a huge difference.

May you experience God’s presence and blessings when you lest expect him. Look and listen for him. I pray each of us may experience God’s blessing as we participate in this awesome and audacious journey.

updating my blog look

For the past couple of weeks I have been trying to update my blog pictures and look and to have it linked to my FB page. I find blogging is very different than posting on FB. After numerous attempts and reading various pages, I think I have managed to change my blog for 2013 Sea to Sea Bike tour.  It has been frustrating to try to navigate through all the pages and info, but I think of have settled on a view that is simple but allows me to get out the info in a manner that I like.
You will also notice I did not delete my posts from the 2008 ride. I found it interesting to reread some of my posts.  I had forgotten some of the details and events so found it interesting to look back on that adventure. It will be interesting to see how the 2013 tour will relate to previous tours and what new and exciting experiences life will bring during that time.
Hope you enjoy the journey with me.  I do encourage all my readers to live your lives with joy and adventure, sharing and giving to others, and making a difference in someonelses life that brings a smile and joy to others. I feel richly blessed and thank God for each day.

Finally signed up for 2013 Sea to Sea Bike tour

Well I finally went through the process of registering for the Sea to Sea Bike tour 2013. Now that I am signed up I need to get in gear communicating what I am doing, why I am doing it and asking for money to support the causes the tour is raising money for. 
My kids, Jonathan Elgersma, Scott Elgersm and Sarah Boonstra think I am a little crazy to do this again. Their commments "Wasn't one enough, maybe two , but three. Come on,  Mom, aren't you a little crazy and too old to this again?"  Don't you love your kids for their encouragement and support? Well inspite of this, I think they still love their crazy Mom and put up with my out of the box experiences for older people. Maybe when they get old like me, they may do some things their own kids say are crazy.  Life has a way of getting you back.  
So I am at again, but I do think it will be my last big, big audacious bike ride. I do not look forward to sleeping in a tent on hard ground every night, listening to it rain and thinking about packing up my tent in the rain. I am not looking forward to biking day in and day out, day after day, up mountains and hills, mile after mile,  for 6 days a week, for nine weeks. I do not look forward to having to bike in the rain and wind,  and very hot dry days. I know I will be exhausted most days and crash after setting up my tent.  So why, oh why am I doing this again I ask myself.  Because! I remember riding along the babbling brooks and streams, putting my feet in the cool refreshing water, seeing the mountains, prairies, hearing the birds whistle, watching wild life in the mountains, feeling the wind on my back and the gentle breezes on my face.  Feeling the presence and power of God in his vast creation. Being in awe of the beauty and splendor of the birds soaring in the sky, wild flowers along the road side, quietness of the morning as the wind ripples through the corn and wheat fields and hearing God speaking " I am here with you all the way, with each paddle stroke and each mile.  Trust me in all things" Somehow I do not experience this closeness when I am speeding across the countryside in my van, or flying across the country in a plane to visit kids in Colorado or Californis.
There will be lots of time for reflection and thinking about life and what we are doing and why.  Lots of miles to pray for people we are biking for. The challenges of the bike ride makes me realize that millions of people around the world who may not have a roof over their heads, but sleep in houses with leaky roofs if they have a roof with cock roaches running around, walk where they are going in the wind and rain every day, year in and year out because they do not have a bike or vehicle to get around in.  For these people they have no choice but to accept their lot.  I will be reminded that I have a choice and at the end of the 9 weeks I will be able to go home to a comfortable bed and listening to the rain knowing I do not have to be out in it on my bike if I choose, but can ride in a comfortable car.
So why am I riding, because there are more poor people today than 5 years ago even in North America. They need our help in regaining some dignity and pride. They need to know and feel others love and care for them. I know we raised money in 2005 for poverty and that money went to help many people.  Unfortunately the world has changed again since then.  Many people in the US lost their jobs and homes in the last 4 years due to financial meltdowns. Most of you might know people who have experienced this. So for me the call to make a difference in another person's life is still compelling me to do this ride again.  Will it be the last bike ride?  Probably not, but it will probably be my last big cross country one.

Stay tuned   

Thinking about the start of Sea to Sea 2013 June 24

A year from today, I will be starting my third bike trip across the North American continent.  Next year's ride will see the start in Los Angels, heading to Phoenix up to Colorado Springs, across to Pell Iowa, up to Grand Rapids Michigan over to Sarnia, Toronto Ontario, up to Montreal and then down to new York City. The trip will take 9weeks covering almost 4000 miles. The puepose of the tour is to celebrate what the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed
Church of America hav in common, to raise awareness of issues surrounding poverty, to raise funds to end the cycle of poverty for individuals, families, communities locally and globallly.  As the whole world seems to be affected by the current economic problems, there are greater numbers of poor every day. 

This morning in my devotions I am reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. This morning I read about an epiphany she had on page 197 using Isaiah 58:10-11 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.


Ann’s conclusion: “It’s the fundamental, lavish, radical nature of the upside-down economy of God.”

I also read out of Seeking God’s Face another devotional the following verse from 2 Sam 22:29-30 You, Lord are my lamp. The Lord turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop, with my God I can scale a wall.



It struck me as we are planning for Sea to Sea and our focus is on cycling to reduce poverty that these messages are powerful. I do not know where this might take me but as I plan and train for the next ride God's message of this morning is one I do not want to forget in the business  of the next year.

I hope as I share this journey with you, you also will be challenged to hear God's call to make a difference where God has placed you and to hear the call of those in need whoever they might be.