Sea to Sea with Sarah T

Thursday, September 4-Finally Out of the Hospital!

2008-09-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I just thought that I would let you know that yesterday (Wednesday), I finally got out of the hospital. After 12 days of being sick and 10 days of being in the hospital, I was really glad to get out.
My parents drove down last Tuesday and visited me during the week and I also was visited by lots of friends, my boyfriend (everyday :), and people from church. Yesterday, Bob got here and delivered the Sea to Sea card and my mail from Sea to Sea.
The worst part of being sick is missing the first day of school and having to take it so SLOW for a while. The doctor says it will be a while until I feel 100% and that I have to take at least a week off of work. Which means I won't be back to school until at least next Wednesday. It might be longer because my breathing (I had pneumonia as well) is very short and I walk like a grandma... very slow.
It is good to be out of the hospital though because I can eat the delicious food at the Van Ryn's (my boyfriend's parents and where I am staying for a few days) and go out if I want to. I am not really doing any work right now because my substitute has my curriculum and there's not much I can do without it. I think there are things I could be doing, but I haven't made a list yet and I really don't feel like doing much but getting better. My goal is to be able to do 100 kms on my bike before the snow is too bad. :) I really miss seeing my students as well and being part of the excitement at the beginning of school.
Thanks for your concern everyone and for reading. My plans next summer include a 7 day bike trip to finish the tour. Maybe Tim will come along. Also, has anyone thought about biking Europe? If you are out there, we should talk. :)

Sarah's in the hospital

2008-08-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

This is Abby, Sarah's older sister.

As most of you have likely noticed Sarah hasn't been posting on her blog for the last week, well here's what's been going on.

On Friday, Sarah had a lot of pain in her abdomen so she went to the hospital in Hamilton. She was told she had a bladder infection that had turned into a kidney infection so she was given some antibiotics and some pain medication. She had been biking with Tim (her boyfriend) through Canada so he went with her to the hospital and his parents also ended up coming down to pick them up.

On Sunday, they went to the Sea to Sea rally in Niagara, and she was feeling pretty awful and she was not looking so hot either, but she got to talk to lots of friends from the tour and her friend Jillian, so she was happy.

On Monday Sarah and Tim's Mom went to the hospital in Alliton and were told that Sarah had an abcess on her kidney and that there was fluid around her lungs. So, she was sent by ambulance to the New Market hospital (north Toronto) and she has been there ever since.

Yesterday she had a procedure to drain the abcess on her kidney but today after another ultrasound, the doctors realized that this didn't really work and she had to have a stint (drainage system) put in to drain her kidney. There is still lots of fluid arond her lungs and this is making it hard to breathe.

The doctor's are still not sure when she will be released from the hospital but she does seem to be getting better.

Praise God that this happened while she was biking through Ontario where she has friends, family, and health insurance and please pray for Sarah, that she makes a quick recovery and is able to get back into her classroom (school starts next week).

If you would like to reach Sarah she is staying at the Southlake Regional Health Centre in New Market. They do have a program at the hospital where you can email patient. (I believe they print off the emails and deliver them) You have to enter in the patient's name and room number (5-048) and your name and a message at this website:

http://www.southlakeregional.org/patientemail.html

Go ahead and send her a message, she would love to hear from you.

Thanks for your prayers!

Day 44: Laingsburg MI to Richmond, MI

2008-08-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 160 (oh yeah....another Century)

Overkill: 5 or so around town

Road Things: LOTS of racoons, squirrels and a dead dear.

Money Spent: $19 earrings, $2 donuts for me, Bob and Matt, $23 dress and nailpolish (gotta look good for tomorrow) and I also went to Tim Hortons (yes they do exist in the states) but used the gift certificates.

Most Interesting Person Pick: Claire. He rides a recumbant and today he said that I looked "very nice". I think it's because I am glowing with excitement for tomorrow.

Favourite Part of the Day: Painting my toenails behind the school while listening to Sufjan Stevens. I haven't painted my toenails in at least two years.

Worst Part of the Day: We had a wicked headwind all day but still managed to average 28 km/h with Bob, myself, Julia, Jeff, Matt and Brian.

Today we decided to get up and start riding at 6:30 but I was the late one this morning. We started riding at 6:45 and our group (listed above) paced ourselves well into the headwind. There were 5 SAG stops today to split up the long 153 kms. We had one long stop about 65 kms in at a donut shop.

About 20 km after that we were in a pace line (I was about third in) and we stopped at a stop sign. The next section of pavement looked like it had a shoulder, but it was actually gravel matching the colour of the pavement. The lead yelled "Gravel!" but by that time I was already in the gravel, trying to slow down, unclip and turn out of it at the same time. I realizied I was going to fall so I decided to fall gently on my right leg and scratched it up. My pride was hurt worse. Bob felt pretty bad because he was in the lead, but I just hopped back on my bike and said "We're in the middle of the road, let's keep going." And we did. As my Dad would say "If the horse bucks you off, get right back on".

So we got to camp early, around 2 pm and we were within the first 10 people in. Bob was motoring with me for the last 30 kms (aroun 38 k) and he was a little sore. But we unloaded the gear truck and then set up camp. I showered and then went shopping. Ironically I met Bob at K-Mart buying dishes. :) We went to Tim Hortans, had some delicious coffee and soup and headed back to camp for supper. After Peleton tonight I am going to call Tim and then I am going to try to get some sleep tonight. I am pretty excited to see him tomorrow!

The wicked $5000 recumbant bike a day rider had. At the pub with friends this weekend. But isn't she married? Proposing to my friend Jesi in the stands at the Celebration rally. I bought her a ring in Denver (her home town) and wore it until I saw her. :)

Ahh Kelly O'Brien. The gal I spent the weekend with and a very lovely friend. Also, her hat I wear when I wish I had dreadlocks.

The Geschiere's, my old Pastor from Riverside CRC (in Grand Rapids) and his family (some of them). I got the tattoo on my foot ("Love is epiphany")from one of his sermons and we laugh about it every time. I really enjoyed seeing them.

Will add more pictures later...have to got to Peleton!

Day 43: Grand Rapids to Laingsburg, MI

2008-08-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 108

Overkill: 2 or so to the beach at the State Park.

Roadkill: 2 dead racoons, one dead cat and one live cat.

Money Spent: $10 stamps and postcards.

Favourite Person Pick: Bob. We rode together all day today and he proved to be a great rider. He really was excited to go fast, so I kept up with him and at the end of the day when he complained that his knees hurt, I said "That's what you get when you pound it Bob...oh and my knees don't hurt"....that earned a swat from him.

Favourite Part of the Day: The tailwind was amazing. Bob and I were going 35-40 km for a good chunk of the day. Also, when we bet the gear truck and Ed looked at me and I said squeamishly "We had a tailwind! And a short day? I'm sorry??" :)

Worst Part of the Day: Knowing it is 2 days until Tim comes and trying to waste my time. We got in around 1pm....and there was no internet. So I went to the beach and wrote A LOT of postcards.

This picture is actually from Friday, but I thought I would put it in because of how excited we both look to be biking together.

Stop at Cory's SAG. We aren't allowed to use the jon because we can't import "waste" across the Canadian border. I think that might be because we can't guarantee it's all Canadian....just joking. Matt Zantingh drafting behind a wee little gator into the State Park.

Grand Rapids Celebration-Sunday

2008-08-18T03:58:00.001-07:00

After waking up in Kelly's white, window filled room with two cats sprawled on the bed, I enjoyed walking to Kelly's church-Grand River (which is downtown) and seeing all of those people again. I attended this church for about 6 months on Saturday nights during my last year in GR. It was good to see people praising God like that again.

After worship, we got some Chinese food and ate well and then took a nap. Actually, I called a bunch of my relatives to try to figure out where we are staying in Ontario. I have aunts and uncles and cousins all of the place, which is convienent and I think it will be fun to visit with them.

Then we headed to the Celebration Rally which was at Fifth Third Ball Park. It was massive and I really did feel like a celebrity as we walked in. I saw the Geschiere's (my old CRC pastor and his family), the Dykema's (a family from Riverside CRC), some RBC people and Jesi. It was great to talk with them all and see how they are doing.

The service was vibrant and Shane Clayborne was an excellent speaker. He spoke on what on being a dis-satisfied Christian...how we can be nonconformist to culture and transform the world through simple acts of love and charity. He worked with Mother Teresa for a while and now lives in Philadelphia with a community of people who try to minister to the people in the neighbourhood. He also has dreadlocks which makes him fantastic in my books.

Then Kelly and Amber and I went back to Kelly's for some sweet wine and reheated Chinese and we talked and fell asleep. We woke up later and headed out to camp, where Jesi met us and I showed them the gear truck, kitchen truck and we set up my tent. Then we headed to Founders where Jesi and I got the opprotunity to have a long talk. At the end of the night, we all said our goodbyes and Jesi drove Bob, Brian and I back to camp where we promptly fell asleep. We agreet to leave the next day at 8 but it's not looking so good....might be 8:30.

Day 42: Grand Haven to Grand Rapids, MI (JERUSALEM!)

2008-08-18T03:24:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 88 kms
Overkill: Lots. Probably about 15 k biking to Kelly's house before the mass meeting of cyclists and then biking back to her house afterwards.
Road Things: The road was surprisingly clean in Jerusalem (Grand Rapids). Perhaps a taste of things to come???
Money Spent: Okay a lot. Let's just say Kelly and I went shopping and eating. And I spent around $200 on food (a number of times), shoes, dress, shirt, cards, and other stuff. I'm going to call it "Back to School Shopping".
Quote: "Get to the back of the line, your not Sea to Sea yet Bob!" -Me when we all rode into Grand Rapids. All the new people had to ride in the back while us experienced riders rode up front. Bob was a little disappointed.
Most Interesting Person: Bob. Did I mention that I am excited to have my brother on tour. He's a little nervous because as he put it "I'm so out of shape" but I'm sure he'll do fine. He has one of the lightest bikes on tour, borrowed from a Michigan friend (Mike) and he also has a great windbreaker-a huge man beard. Anyways, he's excited and nervous to be on the tour so I guess I'll slow down to ride with him. He is, after all, my little brother.
Favourite Part of the Day: That would be a toss up between seeing Kelly or Bob. Also, riding with over 300 cyclists into Calvin was pretty neat. There were people lining the street cheering, with signs and lots of excitement. Holding our line at the front (5 cyclists wide) was fun as we followed Motorcycle Bill.
Worst Part of the Day: I'm in Mecca, there is no bad day!

Today was a fabulous ride. It was short, there were so many stops, I can't even remember where they were. There were random people sitting at their houses with signs, cheering us on. It was beautiful. I rode with Brian and Matt the entire day and when we got to Tyler's house, we decided to go visit my friend Kelly. She was very excited to see me (after I finally found her apartment door in this huge old house) and we made plans to meet up later.

Then we drove to an area where all the cyclists were meeting so we could drive into Calvin together. I saw Bob and gave him a big hug. I'm really glad that he is doing the last two weeks with me because I think it's going to be the best section. Plus, I get to see him cringe as we make some bigger climbs in NY.

We drove into Calvin and I immediately started the task of emptying the gear truck because I wanted to gget moving to Kelly's house. I grabbed my pack, took my stuff out of the gear truck so it could get cleaned and headed out to Kelly's.

We went out to lunch at this great place called "The Green Well" which is a gastro pub (an environmentally friendly restaurant with good quality food and a pub atmosphere). I think I had the best beer I had on the tour there. It was a dark stout with vanilla and java flavours and it was made in Detroit. Unfortunately I forget the name.

Kelly and I took the bus to Woodland Mall and we shopped until we dropped, which was lovely. Then we went to Founders to meet up with some of her friends and afterwords, we went to Mobcat, another bar and met up with some people from Sea to Sea and other RBC friends. It was a very good time talking with everyone about the tour and what they are doing. I was the DD, and afterwards took people home and then slept at Kelly's. This is probably the part of the trip that feels most like a vacation even though Grand Rapids is so familiar to me. I think it's the friends.

Day 41: South Haven, MI to Grand Haven, MI

2008-08-15T15:56:00.001-07:00

Actual Kms: 77 kms. Yah for easy days.

Overkill: Notta.

Money Spent: $4 coffee/bar in Sagatuck, $16 beer and nachos in Holland (I shared), $1 laundry, $3 ice cream/pie.

Food Eaten: Just for today, I thought I would include what I have eaten. This is a pretty typical day.

Breakfast: Four mini bagels with strawberry cream cheese and decaf coffee (no regular).

First SAG: Peach and two mini cups of fresh blueberries. Yum.

First Coffee stop: Regular coffee and Wildberry Oat bar.

Lunch Stop at Grafschap CRC: Turkey and Cheese sandwich, some fruit, and a cookie.

Holland Stop: Sampler of beer and nachos with cheese.

Afternoon Snack: Million dollar pie and single scoop of chocolate ice cream.

Dinner: Steak, fruit, chips, bun, half a brownie (I gave the other half to Brian).

If you aren't convinced that you should have joined Sea to Sea yet, read the list again.

Quote: "I got a great piece of meat." -Me refering to my great steak. "Tim must work out then." -Brian.

Road Things: Nothing of significance today. Some butterflies and one dead squirrel. Also, a lot of nice ocean views as we were driving around Lake Michigan.

Favourite People Pick: Henny and Henry Drost who we biked with today. They are from Fredericton and came up to see Brian and Renita. Henry had biked on the 05 tour and Henny was a cook I think. They were great people to bike with and like to joke with us as we went along. They also like to argue about who had to lead the pace line which was very cute. They bike quite a bit together with each other, putting on about 3,000 kms a year now.

Harry and Henny Drost from Fredericton.

Favourite Part of the Day: Probably at New Holland Brewery in Holland. I always wanted to go there when I was a student at RBC but never got the chance. Johnny, two of his friends, Brian and I sat in the sun and talked shop...which basically meant talked about biking and C2C. It was relaxing because we knew we only had 30 k left.

Worst Part of the Day: Peleton is now starting and I'm not done my blog and it is going to be a long one because tomorrow is Grand Rapids and I should go. Err. I'll be back.

So today Brian invited me to ride with Henny and Harry and himself. I was late as the time had changed and I was not in the mood to take down my tent, but they waited while I got ready and we headed out. We started a nice pace line and stopped at the first SAG about 20 kms down the road. There was a cute sign, which I totally agreed with.

This is the coffee shop-Uncommon Grounds that we stopped in the cute town of Sagatuck. It was VERY cute but pricey. Nice atmosphere-on the lake.

In the town of Grafschap, we visited a CRC for lunch and downstairs there was a museam related to the Dutch immigrants in the 1840's and of course, John Calvin. Here is our animated tour guide. He was very knowledgable and awesome!

Holland was just down the road and we found a different kind of museam. Here is Johnny (notice the Correctional Officer biking jersey) and Brian.

Once again, ordered the sampler. Which was a delight but pricey ($8).

Here is Johnny encouraging his friend to go faster because "Sarah said she's slowing!! We can't make Sarah go slower! GO, GO, GO!"

One mile from the conference ground, there was a group of people with signs, blueberries and water. I love this kind of treatment. The first question is always "Where are you from?" The second, "Are you doing the whole tour?" And the comment I hear most? "I can't believe this...they are all Canadians!"

Ahh the gear truck. Parked for all to see at the CRC Conference grounds (which are beautiful and very full by the way).

And tomorrow I'm looking forward to seeing Bob, my brother. It's not the man I'm looking for, but hey, it's blood.

Day 40: Chesteron, ID to South Haven, MI

2008-08-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

WE ARE IN MICHIGAN! LAST STATE UNTIL CANADA!!!!

Actual kms: 138 kms

Overkill: 5 or so. There was a short detour and I headed into South Haven right after my shower so I could catch up on blogging and hopefully get some work done.

Quote: "Michigan! Michigan! I like to ride my bicycle, I like to ride to Michigan!" -Me singing to the "I Like to Ride My Bicycle" song by Queen...with varied lyrics of course. I was really excited to get to Michigan today. As you can tell.

Road Things: Dead fox, racoon and a live great blue heron.

Money Spent: $2 Taco Bell potatoes/soft taco, $7 Frappalatte and Chocolate Eclairs. How long has it been since you ate an éclair? I forgot that they were that delicious.

Most Interesting Person Pick: Jim. His name is easy to remember because it is my Dad's name. He is from N.Y and I think is one of the only people who did the Denver to G.R leg. He is heading back home because he has to work but he's a great cyclist with a beautiful black Cannondale bike. He looks like a dutch immigrant straight from the boat, but he's actually a long time New Yorker. Great accent. He always says hi and is encouraging on the road.

Favourite Part of the Day: Getting into Michigan. It made me realize that the weekend and having Bob on the ride is almost here. I really think the last two weeks with Bob are going to be the most enjoyable and memorable. I loved having him at the same college as me because you get to reflect on that experience for the rest of your lives. Same for Sea to Sea hopefully.

Worst Part of the Day: Today, getting up. Especially with not talking to Tim last night and having a "longer" day today with headwind. Tomorrow and Saturday are short so that is exciting.

Today I started off with not wanting to get out of bed. Then I thought to myself "It's less than a week until you get to see Tim and only a few days until you are in Grand Rapids and get to see Kelly and Jesi and Bob." And that convinced me to get up even though I couldn't find my clock to see what time it was. Later I found out it was before 6 am and I thought to myself "Next time, don't try to convince yourself." :)

I started off the ride with Josh (the "new" guy), Nathan B and Jim from N.Y. I asked them if I could be in their groups as they were leaving and I was heading to the washroom. I told them that I would catch up but Jim said he would be embarrassed if I did, so they would wait. :)

We set a good pace and were racing along some bigger/busier roads. We had a wind, so we took turns pulling in a pace line. They wanted to stop at the first SAG, so I left them and kept going until Michigan, where I took this picture...and one of Indiana (since I didn't have an official one).

We drove by many amazing homes along Lake MI today. I thought that you would really like that drive Mom. I could just imagine hearing you say "Oh Jim, look at that!"

Then after biking by myself for about 20 k, Reuben, Nathan, Jim, Josh, Josh Crabbe, and Pieter caught me and kinda scared me just as I was turning at a stop sign. Nathan invited me to join them and as I did, I realized that these guys were going full tilt. We were doing 35-45 kms up and down these windy, wooded roads and it was a lot of fun. I had to push myself to keep up in the pace line, but it was a beautiful 10 k. Plus, keeping up with the boys is pretty much expected of me now. Alas.

Lake Michigan.

We stopped at Julie's SAG and Eritia showed up so I decided to bike with her. We did the next 80 kms at a decent pace (averaging around 30 k) and were pretty quite as we went up and down the black topped empty road. It was pretty windy (welcome to Lake Michigan I guess) and so we pulled for each other the rest of the way. We got into camp just before the gear truck around 1 pm, but with the time change today that was 2 pm. The middle school we are staying at is nice but the showers were not great you had to press this button constantly to shower and it was really stiff. :( Probably should have taken a swim in the lake. I set up the tent and took off to find wireless and here I am.

Here are two pictures from Brian last Saturday in Madison. This is when we all drove into the church in one big peleton (group of bikers). There is Bill (who is excited to meet you and your bikes Mom and Dad) on the motorcycle. Can you spot me? Look for a red helmet.

Day 39: Palos Heights, IL to Chesterton, ID

2008-08-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 98 kms

Overkill: Really 3 or so driving to the beach to call people. The map was a little off because of the bike path again. So this week is a “short week” technically but everyone seems to be putting on extra kms.

Quote: "What! THIS is our sign to Indiana?" -Me after seeing that once again, there was no state sign. Rethinking my words now, it was nice of the Sea to Sea people (namely Art and Coby who mark the roads) to put a sign to Indiana.

Road Things: Lots of ducks, small birds, chipmunks and squirrels again.

Money Spent: $20 on phone card…I think. I’m still not sure because my phone card didn’t work after I called Mom and Dad and the service guys hung up on me three times as I was trying to figure it out.

Most Interesting Person Pick: Brian. "What a friend I have in Brian, all my moods and griefs to bear (singing)"...but seriously, Brian is a great guy. When I'm tired and I go slower than I should, he just bikes with me patiently. When I'm moody because I'd rather be biking with my boyfriend, he just shuts up and gives me space. Brian is an all around good guy.

Favourite Part of the Day: Breakfast at Janessa’s house. We had bacon, eggs, English muffins, and freshly pressed coffee. Also, we got to just sit there and chill….fold some laundry, talk to Greg, before we had to get on our bikes.

Worst Part of the Day: Not being able to call Tim and driving back to the campsite in the pitch dark.

Breakfast with the Ferrell's. Janessa had to leave before the picture.

Today Brian and I got to camp around 8:30 after a long drive through rush hour Chicago traffic with Greg. We decided to visit the Ghetto with an alternate group. We wanted to visit Roseland Christian Ministries which houses women/children and feeds about 250 people each day in the south side of Chicago. Since we were heading into the ghetto, we were told to travel in a group. The picture above is my group. Today was a lot of starting, stopping and shouting, "Slowing" or "Stopping" or "Car back" or "Green, go, go!"

We stood in a circle, and did some introductions and prayed for the ministry. Then a lot of rich, white bikers left the ghetto feeling a little bit uncomfortable that not one of our riders is a shade darker than "cream".

Our sign into Indiana. I think the Sea to Sea people felt badly about having no Illinois sign.

Stuffing my face with Pieter, minister of First CRC in London. He's doing really well (he just started in Madison) and complimented me on my pace today.

This picture is finally getting to the park. We left at 9, had a long lunch in the middle so it was later rather than sooner getting there. I think it was around 2 or 3. I had a shower, set up camp after unloading the gear truck and had some delicious treats from some CRC ladies who set up over 45 plates of goodies and lemonade. Mmm. The beach at the state park was beautiful so a lot of people went swimming but I was good and did some planning for school and encouragment note writing. I just need some postcards so I can finish sending those.

Day 38: Woodstock IL to Palos Heights, IL

2008-08-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 155 kms

Overkill Kms: 25 kms. Brian and I got lost (as most people did) on the 60 km Fox Run Bike path today. It wasn’t exactly the most pleasant experience, but it was early in the day so it wasn’t horrible.

Road Things: A bunny that ran right in front of Brian. Lots of small birds and squirrels, a toad, ducks, Canadian Geese and a crane along the water.

Money Spent: Notta. :)

Quote: “I heard that there is a certain CRC in Chicago that hasn’t promoted the amazing Sea to Sea tour Pastor Fred….” –Me to Fred. He sheepishly agreed that he forgot.

Most Interesting Person Pick: Janessa Vankampen. Her face was like a ray of sunshine after the difficult day. She also waited for us because we got in late (close to 5!).

Favourite Part of the Day: Eating Tostitos and cheese dip in the car as Janessa took us to her Uncle Fred’s while we had dinner. It was good catch up time and then we got to eat a delicious meal.

Worst Part of the Day: In the middle of the day, about 15 kms left on the bike path, we didn’t know where we were and there was no markings because the SAGs couldn’t get on the path. It was frustrating because often we were like “Where do we go now?”

Today I rode with Brian for the entire day. We were on a bike path for 60 kms and we got lost. By the end of the path, we were both frustrated and ready to hit a road with road signs and those lovely orange arrows that Art and Coby mark out for us.
The tricky but beautiful bike path.

We stopped at this amazing library so that we could check my email and see if Janessa was picking us up. When one of the librarian's heard what we were doing, she called down the public relations library lady and she interviewed us and took this picture.

We did get to stop for lunch at a local CRC that provided lunch for us and that was wonderful! Here is me stopping to stuff my face. Mmmm.
This picture is for Kelly O'Brien. :) Up for a road trip?

Waiting for the train.

When we finally got to Trinity Christian College, Janessa and Renita and a couple from Frederiction (along with a painted van) were waiting there for us. That was an awesome sight. We drove to Janessa's (a good friend from PEI) uncle's house and we ate and ate. Then we showered, did some laundry, had a beer and enjoyed some very humiliating games of ping pong with Greg. I like playing people I can beat better....like Brian and Matt and Peter (well almost). :) I slept like a baby in the guest room. It was nice to have clean sheets.

Day 37: Madison, WI to Woodstock, IL

2008-08-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 141 kms

Overkill: 8 or so, meandering and going to the bike store in Woodstock and the city square (which is very nice).

Money Spent: $130 yesterday on school supplies at the Learning Store, which a resident of
Madison (Merle) graciously took me to. I am excited to have nametags and new posters! $12 eyebrows waxed (yes, I know, expensive but sometimes, you have to feel somewhat beautiful).

Roadthings: Racoon (dead). Lots of corn and soybeans. Oh, two live hawks.

Quote: "What we're in Illinois..oh man! We missed the sign!" -Me after realizing we were in Illinois and we didn't take a "Welcome to Illinois" picture. I think they forgot to put a sign.

Favourite Person Pick: Ann. Levina, you know her from the 2005 tour. She rode with Matt and I for the last 30 kms and she kept up a very good pace. She is 55 and a very strong biker with a good sense of humour. We talked a lot about the Canadian tour and how it compares to this one. Apparently they saw greater diversity (wildlife, nature) on the Canadian tour but we have less rain on this tour! Also, the first tour had less mountians (climbs) but probably more camaraderie in the group.

Favourite Part of the Day: Eating at the Devenian CRC at 80 kms into the ride. The food and generousity was amazing.

Worst Part of the Day: Last night I scratched a bug bite right on the top of my foot and since I don't wear socks when riding (don't worry, I wash my shoes out at least every ten days...which reminds me...), my scratch got a little sore while riding.

Today was an excellent riding day. Matt and I rode the first 80 kms and it time flew! Maybe it is because we realized that there are only 17 more riding days, or maybe it was the subject matter of our conversation. Not sure, but it flew. We were trying to be in early because we had "Sweep" duties of setting up tables and the canopys that cover the food. We stopped breifly in Wisconsin at a cheese and wine tasting place. It was a little early for the wine but the Salami Cheddar and the Chocolate Fudge Cheese were great.

But we did stop at Devenian CRC for some excellent stewed beef and sloppy joe sandwiches. There was tons of pasta salads, jello salads and brownies and ice cream for desert. Let's just say that if you love food, that is a major reason you should go on any foreseeable upcoming Sea to Sea's.

We left there around 11:30 and rode up the beautiful country roads in 75 degree (22ish?) weather. We rode with Ann for a while and went to the bike store when we got into Woodstock (around 1:30). Didn't find the detours stem bag that I was looking for, so Matt and I headed to downtown where he got something for his fiance and I got my eyebrows waxed. There were lots of Sea to Seaer's having a drink or enjoying the beautiful downtown square.

I headed back to camp after finding a St.Bernard in a bookstore (no spending though...thank you, thank you) and had a shower, set up the tent and helped with Sweep duties. Now I've headed to the library (which may be the most beautiful library I've ever seen and contributes to the desire I have to want to be a librarian). I'm planning on heading to the local Starbucks to have a little coffee and do some school work and maybe read. Ahh, the perks of being in early. :)

Unfortunately, the library won't let me upload the four pictures I took today, so I will do that later. Signing off.

Day 36: Fennimore, WI to Madison, WI

2008-08-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 116

Overkill: 2 or so going to the church and back to the park so we could travel as a massive group.

Road Things: Dead racoon and small birds.

Money Spent: $0 so far. It's a miracle.

Interesting Person Pick: Julie. She is a 29 year old gal who has done a bit of everything. Wilderness Guide, teacher in Prague and she's going to Japan soon. She has a nice Trek bike, very similar to mine and wasn't supposed to stay on the tour but decided in Denver that she just couldn't leave. We had some good conversation on the bike today and she is really easy going.

Favourite Part of the Day: Having Jess Fox pay for my amazing Raspberry bar and coffee. Mostly that was my favourite part because I knew that my "money spent" column would be $0.

Worst Part of the Day: Realizing I received 12 letters/packages from people and 0 from Tim. This makes you look bad Tim. :)

This is the bike path we (Jess, Julie and I) rode on today. I think it was the first time I have ridden the whole day with girls and it was kind of relaxing. We went at a 25 km/h pace or slower and it was nice.

This was on the wall at the little Norweigen bakery we went to. I had the best raspberry bar (actually 2) and enjoyed some good conversation. Pres. Kennedy had visited this place in 1960.

A very excited Sarah opening her mail when she got to the church. I recieved two packages and ten letters. This one is from my parents.

Finding my very old Powerpuff Girls lunchbox in the package...hopefully there is something inside?

Oh yeah! Red P.E.I hat and empty Tim Hortans cups....

And $20 of Tim Hortons money...score!

Here is the entire group riding together to the church.

Here are some pictures that Tyler took of us on the day we did Bertha's pass. They are pretty cool.

This is when I got to the top.

Day 35: New Hampton, IA to Fennimore, WI

2008-08-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 168 kms YAH TO THREE CENTURIES IN A ROW! (And hopefully no more).

Overkill: 3 or so to the Post Office, pool for showers and this restaurant that I’m sitting in now.

Road Things: A young deer split open (yuck), small yellow birds and a lot of butterflies again.

Money Spent: Ahh. This is like confession for me. $8 Omelet, toast and coffee at 11, $4 Frappacinno in Praire du Chien (They pronounce it Praire de Sheen…not the French way), $2 ice cream when in camp, and I’m going to buy supper because I need to catch up on blogging, which is a pretty bad excuse but I don’t care (and also I don’t want to have to drive back to town to call Tim), so $10. The good news is I didn’t buy a really cute $50 jersey with flowers on it at a bike store in Praire du Chien.

Most Interesting Person: Eric Stewhower. He is a third year Calvin College student who just changed his major from Engineering to Recreation/Youth Ministry; which is a pretty brave thing to do. He is very outgoing (think Bob), very innocent in a good way (don’t think Bob), and good looking in a young sort of way. When I asked him about finding a girl on this trip, he replied, “I just go with the flow”. J He’s a great rider and we rode for about 80 kms this morning, talking and pulling each other…mostly him pulling me.

Favourite Part of the Day: Breakfast (I absolutely can’t say no to omelet’s) with Eric in some little town (that’s right, I can’t remember and it’s today!). We had a good time and I found a card for Tim and sent it in the mail. Worst Part of the Day: The last 30 kms after Julie’s SAG were difficult because I was mostly by myself and I just wanted to be done. It was the first time that I thought for a brief second “I don’t want to do this right now”. It’s pretty amazing that that is the first time I’ve really thought that. About one minute later I remembered that I get to do this. It’s all a mindset. Also, after three centuries, my knees are starting to hurt.

Today I was going to ride with a larger group, namely Julia, Eric, Jon, Annette, Matt Z, Jenna and some others. We were supposed to leave at 7, but it ended up being 7:30 and the first road of 35 kms was horrible. It was actually a little dangerous to be riding in such a large group because you couldn’t see the six inch deep holes fast enough. So Eric and I broke away and started pacing up and down the hills (yes, we have hills again) at about 30 kms/h.

Eric S and I at breakfast.

My nifty handlebars and a letter on it's way to being delivered. Can you guess for who?

We had some good conversation about college, Grand Rapids, the tour and other stuff and then, we hit a highway with a very narrow shoulder. There were rumble strips to the left of us, a foot and a half of pavement and gravel to the right. Some truck driver slowed down and said someone had fallen up ahead, so we rode ahead and found Don who was dazed and had a some small cuts and bruises. We called Betsy and she helped him. When we kept going, I was a little anxious about the road, so I went a little fast and lost Eric.

After about 20 kms, we went over the great Mississippi River and then we were in Wisconsin. It was a town called Praire du Chien and I found out where the bike shop was and Peter K and Lawrence and I went. I didn’t buy anything on account of buying too much yesterday. But I did find out that Madison has a number of good bike shops where I might be able to find the carrying case I want. Also, I think I want to find a teachers store so that I can start making desk/locker name tags.

Welcome to Wisconsin.

We sat at a coffee shop for a little while and then hit the road. Right out of the town, we found this…the largest hand carved Sturgen with a saddle on it, so I had to take a picture. I rode by myself for a while, through the beautiful countryside. You could see farmland for miles and I passed a house that looked just like Randall and Elizabeth Nieuhof’s.

I rode with Lawrence and Peter K for a while, drafting at 40 km/h and it was the first time that I struggled to keep up, but we were going fast and I wasn’t going to be the one to say that it was too fast. Later when we were having ice cream, Lawrence said he was impressed that a girl could pace with them. J I’m not going to tell him that it tuckered me out.
I thought this sign was funny. We see a lot of interesting signs along the way.

So we got into Fennimore at 4, headed to the pool, showered, got some ice cream and now I’m desperately trying to get the Public Library’s wifi, but it’s not very successful. I’m at a little place called “Our Little Restaurant & Bakery” and the place is full because it’s fish fry night. I got a mushroom and swiss burger and the bun is the softest thing ever. I love small town diners.

The view from the road. Today's ride was beautiful.

Day 34: Algona, IA to New Hampton, IA

2008-08-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures from last night. After blogging, I went to a pub, ordered a beer and met some 50 something guys who wanted to know why I was wearing a helmet (sometimes I just forget to take it off). J They bought me a beer and invited me to join them but I choose to have supper first and read. Then I joined them and when I tried to leave I said, “Well I’m off to go find some cheesecake”. They said that I wouldn’t be able to find any cheesecake in this town and proceeded to offer to drive me to a restaurant twenty minutes away to get some cheesecake. I politely said no, but then they said that they would bring me cheesecake at the Elementary school (where we were staying). I thought they would probably forget.

The cheesecake and people enjoying the cheesecake.

Someone sent us a box of lifesavers.

Wrong! Forty-five minutes later, Julie comes up to me and says “There are people in the parking lot looking for you”. Sure enough, there are the guys and they brought me an entire cheesecake, whip cream, chocolate sauce, plates and forks! They said “Thanks again for doing this Sarah” as they left. So we had cheesecake.

Playing Euchre. Art and I won.

Actual Kms: 188 kms

Overkill: 0

Road Things: Honestly can’t remember.

Money Spent: $8 Amazing Beef Philly Sandwich and coffee, $125 batteries, bike lube (the wax kind), two red and black road tires ($60), new chain ($40), and inner tube, $4 ice cream/smoothie.

Interesting Person Pick: Denny O’Flattery…a 66 year old bike mechanic who is short, hard of hearing and a very generous person. He spent 3 hours with me, teaching me about my bike, talking about his biking days, and cleaning my bike with me and didn’t charge me a cent.

Favourite Part of the Day: Cleaning my bike with Denny…see below.

Worst Part of the Day: The middle kms, from 80 to 120 when we were going slow because of Brian’s knees. I wanted to go faster, but I also wanted to wait for Brian. It was just boring…a 40 km road of not a whole lot.

Today I woke up and Brian and I decided to leave around 7…which means 7:30. We booked it, pulling each other for about 80 kms. We did that in about 2.5 hours and it was great. Then we reached Julie’s SAG and Brian said that his knees were starting to hurt, so we decided to take it slow.

There were lots of air turbines in Iowa and Wisconsin.

We both hit the music and rolled onwards at about 23-25 km/h. Then we got to a little town and found the only restaurant open…Zak’s. I had a great sandwich and mashed potatoes, Brian had a burger and iced his knees.

Len, our chaplain in Bill, our motorcycle guy's helmet.

Then we headed out and after about 40 more kms we reached Charles City. We decided to look for the bike shop that the waitress had told us about. It was in a Radio Shack basement and we almost didn’t find it. The bike guy wasn’t there, but I saw some beautiful red and black striped tires that looked decent and matched my bike. I asked the lady at the counter and she said that “Denny” would be back in 10 minutes, so we waited and sure enough, a short Irishman returned and asked how he could help.

Denny helped a lot. First, we decided to put the new tires on my bike. Then we measured my chain and Denny showed me that it was quite stretched, so we put a new one on. We took off the cassette, sprockets and cleaned them furiously. We cleaned the clip on pedals with air pressure and I wiped the entire bike down. Denny was quite excited that I was cleaning my bike because he gets so many bikes into the shop that are so dirty. We spent three hours talking about his racing days, what kind of rides he does now, his bike, our trip and how he is helping some people ein the area with bikes of their own. One gentleman came in to get his inner tube replaced and because Denny was working on my bike, I did that for him. The whole experience was great. When he brought me to the cash register to pay, he said, “And it’s nothing for the labour, thanks for a wonderful afternoon.”

Denny and the other guy (the one whose inner tube I fixed).

So after the cheesecake incident and the bike mechanic blessing, I have to either admit to strangers generousity or my ability to get anything I want from older men. Maybe a little bit of both?

My clean bike. Notice the handle bar tape.

After that, I still had a 30 km bike ride into camp so I booked it and hoped to catch up with the Sweep team. I saw Josh and Gayle in the distance about 10 kms from camp and talked and joked with them until we got into camp at 6:30. Then I got to brag to the entire camp over my very clean, beautiful bike. After eating, showering, setting up the tent and phoning Tim, I went to bed.

Day 33: Sioux Center, IA (it's IA instead of IW...sorry) to Algona, IA

2008-08-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 187 kms

Overkill: 0...although we were thinking about doing an extra 13 kms just so we could say that we had biked 200 kms in one day.

Road Things: A disgusting squirrel with brains coming out of it's eye, a skunk with it's innards all over the road and a black cat that was very decomposed. Overall, not a good day...just picture me going "Ewh...yuck, blah!" and shaking my head when I saw them on the road.

Quote: "Are you peeing out of the side of your shorts Josh?" -Me after seeing Josh from Alberta pee out of the side of his shorts about 5 metres away from me. Apparently bib shorts aren't exactly easy to pee in.

Money Spent: $6 inner tubes and I know I will spend $10 on a beer and some kind of food in a few minutes.

Interesting Person Pick: Nathan Beach who is 25, from Ann Arbor, MI and is going to work at Google in September. He is moving to San Francisco (one of my favourite "I want to see it someday" cities) and is a great biker. We had a good talk on the bikes today and he said "Wow, for the amount of biking you've done Sarah, your a really good biker". Smile.

Favourite Part of the Day: Joining the group of bikers (7 of us) around the 6o km mark after I had my tire fixed. The road was very quiet so we rode two abreast and talked. When we finished talking with one person, we would ride up to the next person we wanted to talk to and talk to them. We kept a pretty good pace (30 km + with our tailwind) and had some good conversation too. It was very nice.

Worst Part of the Day: Waking up at 6:45 and thinking I was late.

Today I woke up and my clock said 6:45. I almost hit my head on the Dordt College bunkbed above me. I got my stuff together VERY quickly, headed downstairs and hopped on my bike. Then I realized it was still dark outside. Then I realized it was raining. So I asked someone what time it was. They said, "Almost 6 am, I think breakfest is being served". Alas, I realize that after setting the alarm for Corinne at 5:15 this morning, I must have pushed the hour button on the time setting while trying to reset the alarm. So, unlike the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, I wasn't late.

After breakfast, Matt and I left around 7 am. I was supposed to say hi to Chad Postmus who was working on campus and is an old friend from college, but totally forgot in the excitement of biking in the rain. We headed out and decided to try to name all 50 United States alphabetically. First we started on the large groups-namely the M's and the N's (there are 8 each). For a long time we could get seven of each but then asked Randy for the 8th N-New Mexico. And a van drove by with Massacheusetts plates, so we got that one.

A road sign that reminded me of Kelly O'Brien. :)

Then we tried for all 50 states and we got 49. It took us about 40 kms, over an hour, and then I blurted out "I got the last state-it's Vermont!" Ahh, satisfaction. We stopped at a church stop where we had gatorade, coffee and a power bar. A lady there told me I looked familiar and when I told her my name, she said "I read your blog! I really like it." So there you have it, Iowians like my blog. :)

Soon after, I punctured my tire and at Cory's SAG-about 60 kms out, Matt told me to check my tires, and sure enough, my back tire was flat. Rick Gritters (a recumbant biker) helped me change the inner tube. Matt went on and I left with a larger group-Steph W, Josh, Helena, Eritia, Katrina and Nathan. We had a great time talking and riding along. About 3o kms in though, I noticed my back tire was soft. So we pumped it up and hoped to get to the next SAG so that I could call Betsy's SAG wagon (she had my extra tires in her van). About 10 kms on my saggy tire, Betsy passed us in a small town, and I flagged her down. Here is a picture of Jono-the photographer and Art- a cyclist who can't ride right now, fixing my tire. I always say, if someone wants to fix my tire for me, have at it.

The larger group left, but I zoomed with the wonderful tailwind, passing people at around 45 kms/h and found them at Walter's SAG. The waited for me to use the jon and then we headed off again, contented with the promise of a few good downhills. We zipped along for the last 20 kms and talked about doing an extra 15 or so kms so we could say that we biked 200 kms in one day but then we decided it wasn't worth it because it was just bragging rights...or we tuckered out. :) You can decide.

Eritia, Josh, Steph, Katrina, Me and Bill's motorcycle. He took the picture just before my camera died.

Overall, even though the first 2-3 hours of the day was in rain, I wasn't cold or miserable. It was actually a nice to change to be biking in cool weather and it was nice to spend so much time talking on the roads. They were so deserted and in fairly good shape. The weather girl's (Katrina) promise of a tailwind turned true and it was a much easier day that most of us expected. We are camping at an elementary school, showering at a YMCA and I think most people will go to bed early tonight. That's all for now.

Day 32: Sioux City, IW to Sioux Center, IW (Dordt College)

2008-08-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from the weekend that I didn't get uploaded. This is the courtyard area of the Lutheran Church who randomly met us, gave us food and drink and let us sleep in their building.
Renita (from Fredericton) and I.

Actual Kms: 100 km...yes!

Overkill: 2 to the Bike store and to the Dutch store.

Road Things: Not really anything today of note. Oh, a huge man that was made out of tires.

Money Spent: $13 White and Black Handlebar tape (By bike now looks like a Holstein which I thought Wisconsin people would enjoy), $3 Fat Tire beer at pub (and free cheeseburger and onion rings from the owners because we are on Sea to Sea...yes!, $3 tip), $6 Willimena peppermints, fruitella and Stroopie, payed back Matt, $7 stamps and mailing letter to mom.

Interesting Person Pick: Barb Mellema. She is an administrative person at Dordt who is on the tour. She's a great biker, a masher (likes to use the harder gears even on hills..like me) and a great blogger (check out her blog via the website). She organized our stay and all the perks (great food, people to greet us) at Dordt. Everyone's a fan of Barb.

Favourite Part of the Day: Taking a nap today in the room I am sharing with Corinne at Dordt. Then having a bath in a real tub. Ahh.

Worst Part of the Day: Realizing my heat rash isn't gone yet. Yah...that's the best I could do.

Today Team Sweet reunited and rode through Sioux City together. We skipped the first SAG and rode through a slight headwind. The day was nice and a few of the boys drafted behind the Betsy's SAG for a little bit.

Team Sweet in Sioux City, taking up the empty road.

Then we got to the second SAG and Alex (19 year old Redeemer student) and I kept going. I felt like riding without stopping. I kept going until Ireton (I said Hello Craig :) and then stopped for delicious strawberry slushies and rootbeer floats. I talked to some of the locals and then moved onto the 25 km finish. We were welcomed well at Dordt, given maps, a room and I sent out some mail after being shown where the ATM was by a student there.

Then I headed out to the Bike store (which was small indeed) and got some nifty tape for my handlebars. Hans, Matt and Brian met me there and we headed to the Dutch store, where I bought some sweets.

Then we headed to a pub, I had a delicious bacon cheeseburger and onion rings on the house and we enjoyed our Fat Tire beer. Notice the label. :)

After I took a nap, had a real bath and ate some amazing supper (including delicious strawberry cream pie...you could go on this tour just for the food), we had a Celebration Rally where about 400 people applauded for us as we came in. I felt like a celebrity....well, except there were 150 of us and we were wearing yellow.

The eager faces of the cyclists after about an hour and a half of singing, speakers, and a dang good slide presentation.

After blogging, bed time. 180 kms tomorrow. Blah.

Day 31: York, NE to Sioux City, IO

2008-08-04T15:55:00.001-07:00

Actual Kms: 152 kms

Overkill: 8-Matt and I missed our first left turn by 4 kms. Opps.

Road Things: Lots of beautiful butterflies (especially monarchs...wait they are called Viceroy butterflies), a lot of dead racoons, and some other squished somethings.

Money Spent: $5 For a delicious meal with mashed potatoes, corn, homemade noodles, chicken and gravy and a coffee and $1.50 for the pool (I.O Matt Z). Oh, and, I confess $4.50 for a delicious sundae at DQ.

Quote: "Well, we're in Iowa." -Matt. "Yup. We're here." -Me. Burst out laughing at unexcitement.

Interesting Person Pick: Len our Chaplain. Today in Peleton he had to remind our group about watching our behaviour in public, especially when it comes to our witness in public establishments. He did it very tactfully and respectfully and firmly. It is difficult to say something tough and do it that well. I admire him.

Favourite Part of the Day: Dinner was really good today. Spaghetti, Ceasar Salad, Garlic Toast and Peach Cobbler with Ice Cream. Love it.

Worst Part of the Day: Matt and I left this morning and we had some good conversation, but after about 30 kms I got antsy and went hard by myself for about 60 kms. During this time, I thought a lot about Tim and I missed him. I kept having to remind myself "16 more days until I see him". I don't think I've ever biked so fast, especially in a head wind. It's hard to enjoy the ride when your thinking about the future. But something I read in "The Shack" (which I decided I didn't really like) is true. You can't live in the present when you are constantly thinking about the future. So I think the next few days will be about praciticing peace in the present in the midst of a strong desire to see him.

And sorry people, the pictures would not upload for some reason.

Day 30: York, NE to Fremont, NE (Saturday)

2008-08-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 150 some. I was losing count because once again my speedometer wasn’t working and I was on sweep, so I tried not to pay attention to how slow we were going.

Overkill Kms: 0. I got in at 7:15 pm. I wasn’t going anywhere.

Road Stuff: Small birds, snake, and we had lots of corn and wind.

Money Spent: $5 Chicken Corn Chowder and coffee, $0 for an ice cream…a lady bought me some because she thought what we were doing was great.

Wipeouts: 0

Quote: “What you doing over there, open heart surgery?” –Reuben in response to my effort to fix my flat inner tube today.

Interesting Person Pick: Lynn, Matt’s fiance. She drove 24 hours to see Matt today and waited for 3 hours to see him. She looked so incredibly happy when he rode in, all sweaty and cranky after a long days ride. I smiled.

Favourite Part of the Day: Eating at the “Café on the Square” where they had some great décor and we had good conversation. Also, riding in the last 10 kms hard and fast at the end of the day.
Worst Part of the Day: Getting to the ice cream store in Wahoo 35 kms from camp and it being 5 pm. It wasn’t “wahoo!” in any sense of the word. People were hot, cranky and just wanted to get to camp by that time. We had a nice road after that though.

Today I was on sweep, so I woke up late, did some blogging in the AC living room at York University, ate my pancakes and bacon slowly and drank my coffee with relish. Then I packed up stuff and helped clean up breakfast. We very slowly loaded the gear truck with everyone’s bag and then we very slowly headed out.

The sweep team taking our time. Jason's amazing invention: taping his ipod and speakers to his bike.

We looked for a coffee shop close to town but didn’t find one, so we biked to the next town, around 30 kms away. There was a headwind and we went slowly, but when we got there we were rewarded with a cute café called “Café on the Square”.

The awesome decor...an old tandem bike!

The desserts...I wanted to eat them all. However, I controlled myself and had none. A rare feat!

Later on we stopped at Julie's SAG wagon. She is so awesome that she let me and Brian clean our sunglasses on her cotton shirt. When your shirt is all sweaty, all you can think of is finding cotton.

This is Gayle. Who reminded us with a smily face balloon to "be happy" when we were on sweep. Some people didn't get it today because (as you can see), we were sweaty and hot.

Here I am, taking off to do a fast 20 kms to Wahoo by myself to find some ice cream and wait for the rest of team sweep.

The ice cream place was great. A lady bought me and Brian an ice cream because she thought what we were doing was so amazing. The place was decorated in 1950's decor, and this is an engine I am lifting. :)

When Matt Zantingh, Reuben and I finally got into camp (7:00), who should be there but Lynn, Matt's finace! Matt was hot, sweaty and dazed with excitement. Lynn had been waiting for about 3 minutes. She looks like she is about to play peek-a-boo, but she's really just blocking the hot sun. It was good to see them together at the end of a long day.

After supper, a bunch of people went to a bar across the street and we played "I want to ride my bicycle".

On Sunday, we had a great rally in Omaha with a CRC there and a fantastic potluck with pizza. It was a really hot day so everyone was glad we weren't riding. When we got back to camp, I took a nap, read a book in the hockey arena (very chilly but refreshing) and then watched Batman. It was a good rest day. (Money spent: $1 coffee...the coffee pot wasn't working on account of a breaker...not too uncommon. $30 new breaks that John VanderSteen bought me and helped me install, $7 movie, $4 frappaccino from Starbucks. Ahh).

Day 29: Minden, NE to York, NE

2008-08-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 152 kms
Overkill Kms: 0-or I don't know because my speedometer wasn't working for the first 30 kms.
Road Stuff: A lot of dead little birds, some undistinguisable flattened stuff and a diaper.
Money Spent: $2.25 hamburger and watermelon slushie (I.O Betsy), $5 Applebees appetizers, chocolate mouse mini desert (I.O Johnny), $20 new headlamp (the Canadian Tire one I bought earlier is horrible) peanut butter M&M's, Gummy worms, card, $2 laundry (I.O Matt).
Quote: "I don't care, my kids getting a click in his name," Russell Peters (A very funny Indian Comedian). To find out more, watch Russell Peters on Youtube. He is hilarious.
Wipeouts: 0
Interesting Person Pick: Josh from Detroit. He just joined in Denver and he's about 28? He's a painter and very excited to be on the tour. Anyways, we met around 30 kms in and he's a good biker. He was keeping a good pace through the headwinds, so I biked with him for the rest of the day.
Favourite Part of the Day: Watching Russell Peters in the AC TV room at York Christian College. We would like to stay here for a weekend because it's beautiful, but off to Freemont.
Worst Part of the Day: The headwinds, especially for the first 60 kms.

Day 28: McCook, NE to Winden, NE

2008-07-31T14:24:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 161 kms. Another century. Done.

Overkill Kms: 4 or so, dilly dallying and winding.

Road Stuff: Dead: turtle, mouse, skunks (notice the plural), cat and lots of squished unrecognizables.

Money Spent: $9 Denver Omlette and Coffee, $2 Manjo Raspberry Shake, $4 cookie and Mikes Hard Limeade, $2 beer, about $50 on ITunes music.

Wipeouts: 0

Quote: (In the ladies shower) Sarah "I think my bum is getting numb with these long rides". Older lady "Your bum is numb, you're lucky! I wish my bum was numb...then I couldn't feel how much it hurts".

Interesting Person Pick: Matt Rekman who is 19 and is going to be a nurse. He was so easy to ride with. Sometimes we talked, sometimes we listened to our ipods or just rode quietly. We rode side by side and it's nice to keep pace with someone.

Favourite Part of the Day: Finding this cafe with coaches, AC and cheap beer.

Worst Part of the Day: Didn't really have one.

This is a picture from last nights Peleton meeting, where people are looking through the two baskets of lost and found items. We dump stuff every couple of days because the baskets get filled so regularily.

Here is Betty Terpstra and Diane Slofstra (in my small group) who are on kitchen crew. They were excited to be able to chop outside, but they had to make the table higher with cans.
This is the bakery (a dutch one apparently) in McCook who donated a lot of donuts to our morning breakfast. So I got a Shifting Gears book and some bracelets from Ed and a bunch of us visited them as we were heading out. We sang "We wish you a good Thursday morning, We wish you a good Thursday morning and thanks for the donuts".
Yummy Donuts...even comparable to Tim Hortons.
At the first SAG Matt Rekman and I hid in the corn fields with some other cyclists who were there. It was fun.

Around 65 kms a bunch of us stopped for food. I had a delicious omlette with kraft cheese...and then they didn't take Visa. I think we were in the sticks.

This is Kevin Pasma, a Redeemer guy who went on the 05 tour. He has pretty small legs so I took this picture because it looks like his legs are big and he liked that. He's a joker and always makes me laugh.

Just to prove that I am actually biking, here I am. Notice the great road shoulder. It was like this almost all day.

I don't have much on my bike which makes it nice and light...just about 18-20 pounds. I usually carry my lunch in my jersey pockets and my camel back. My camera and ipod is in my jersey and I usually carry sunscreen, extra contacts, lipgloss, and my wallet in my camelbak as well. This is me using my arrow bars which I only usually use when I'm going down hill because they are so low. They are so low that my thighs touch my stomach when I'm really tucked down.

We saw a McDonalds about 30 kms from camp and we all agreed that it was a necessary stop. :) It was a hot day.

We had to take a picture at the little town of Funk. And the slogan "Living on Easy Street" is all too true of this summer.

What I'm doing now...except about 35 people have joined me. Wifi is definitely a draw with this crowd. Tomorrow looks like another long day but I just downloaded about 50 songs on my ipod, so that should be helpful.

Day 27: Wray, CO to McCook, NE

2008-07-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 160 kms...yes one more American Century under my belt.

Overkill Kms: Today was only supposed to be about 150 kms but it turned into 160. I only did a few kms in town, so the rest must have been winding and stops.

Road Stuff: Dead racoons, dead foxes- very flattened, dead pigeon, lots of grasshoppers again.

Money Spent: $7 Orea Shake at Baskin Robbins and batteries for camera. $0.95 coffee at Sehnert's Bakery in McCook. $8 Shampoo, brush and gatorade. $2 Post Office package. $2.50 pint from last night...yes U.S beer is that cheap.

Wipeouts: 0. One bad bump where I unclipped by accident, but no fall.

Interesting Person Pick: I need to socialize more because once again I don't really have anyone. Brian rode with me for the first 2 hours and I spent a lot of time with my music and the open road. Mmm...maybe I need to be more inclusive. The girls at this bakery just got my blog address though...can I count them?

Favourite Part of the Day: After I showered and set up my tent, Brian and I went to the ALCO, which is like Giant Tiger and I got shampoo, a brush and gatorade. We met four other cyclists, including Jono (the photographer who rode a bike today-the whole way) and we sat in the store, eating ice cream and just enjoying the day.

Worst Part of the Day: When I got to Julie's SAG-which was 20 kms from McCook, the sun was really bright-it was about 12:30 and I was pooped. I felt dehydrated, but had forced myself to keep sipping from my camelback the entire day.

These are two pictures from last night. The girl to my right is KAREN (not Lynn-inside joke) who is in my small group. Then we have Renata from Fredericton (ex-boyfriend's sister). A bunch of people went to a bar last night and after I got off the phone with Tim, I asked the 7Eleven girl where a group of cyclists might go to have a drink, sure enough, she pointed me to the very place. When I got there, we discovered it was all Canadians, so Manley turned the jukebox to "You Shook Me All Night Long" and we all sang along. I had a quick pint of Micolob Ultra-a low carb beer ironically enough (I think Neal introduced this to me) and left pretty quicly around 10:30.

Today was a long day. I woke up at 6 (seems I can't make myself get up earlier than that) and headed out with Brian Garrett today. He said he wanted to boot it (go fast) the entire way to camp and I said I would keep up with him for as long as I could. He was gracious and slowed down a little and we pulled each other-taking turns riding in front at around 32-35 km/h for about two and a half hours. Then we got to Walter's SAG and decided that we would go at our own pace, use our arrow bars and listen to music. That's where I lost speedy Brian, but he was very good incentive to go fast for a while.

This is a picture about 15 kms into our journey. We were wondering if Nebraska is the good life, why are their shotgun holes in the sign?

When I got to Betsy's SAG there was shade, so I ate my huge tuna sandwich, piece by piece and after about 10 minutes, took off again. The sun was coming up and the 40 C (no kidding) day was starting to show how hot hot is. I took it a little slower by myself and discovered some hills! YAH for hills. It was nice to use my arrow bars and feel myself pull down the hill and grind up the next one. I rode for a long time and just as I was about begging for a SAG for cool water and shade, there was Julie! I sat in the truck for a while and found out I was near the front of the pack, apparently a lot of people had Brian's idea of leaving earlier and making camp early. We also lost an hour today because we entered Central Time Zone, so it's a shorter day that way. After that, the last 20 kms were slow, there was a nasty headwind, and I felt very silly starting my day at 35 kms/h and finishing it at 23 kms/h. Just goes to show you that you never know what you're going to get. I was also pretty tired for the last 20 kms.

When I finally got to McCook, I realized it was probably big enough to have a Dairy Queen, so after chasing down a few pedestrians, I found a Baskin Robbins and had an oreo/chocolate ice cream shake....the perfect recovery food. What I mean by recovery is, after a particularily hard ride, your body is pretty depleted of calories and needs something to bring your energy back up. A.k.a ice cream. Mmm. That's my version anyways. Today I did an average of 26 km/h which isn't my best, I guess I'll blame it on the headwind.

Then I headed into camp, found a nice cool shower, set up the tent and headed to ALCO with Brian to get shampoo, a brush and gatorade (yep, I was still thirsty...and as Betsy our nurse says, "Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate"). We sat at the ALCO for a while and then I found wireless internet at a bakery. The picture is me blogging this post entry. I also mailed Tim's letter and now I'm going to write some postcards and maybe read before supper in thirty minutes. I really don't want to go outside because as soon as you do, your skin is covered in sweat. So far, Nebraska isn't all that impressive.

Day 26: Fort Morgan, CO to Wray, CO

2008-07-29T16:53:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 151 km

Overkill Kms: 5 km to the pool where we showered and to the shopping centre.

Road Stuff: Dead blackbird, turtle, snake, mouse, and lots of grasshoppers-small and big.

Money Spent: $8 for breakfast bagel and amazing caramel frappacino, $4 for green iced tea that was putrid and coffee cake, $6 blank cds, $17 shopping for t-shirt in Wray, $8 Main Street Melt and coffee in Wray. Wow. I need to stop spending money on food. It's just so nice to take a break in the towns we pass and chat in a coffee shop. I really need to start just buying black coffee.

Wipeouts: 0

Interesting Person Pick: Don't really have one for today. Sadly.

Favourite Part of the Day: Having my speedometer flip over to 3000 kms. I started it at the beginning of the tour and it just made me realize how far we've gone. I can't believe I get to do this trip.

Worst Part of the Day: The last 20 kms or so were difficult because there was a killer headwind, but I'm glad Matt was there with me so we could pull each other in. Usually we are pretty quite when we ride, concentrating on the pull and it's nice to trust someone and know their riding style.

The coffee shop that I'm getting wifi off of is about to close, so I will be short. Today was a tough day, I set the alarm for 5:30 because I heard there was going to be a wicked headwind, but couldn't get up until 6. I found Matt Z and we decided to ride together. We rode about 30 km and stopped in a little town at a coffee shop called Cornerstone. A guy from the local paper took a picture of a bunch of the cyclists there and was going to write a story. Everyone seemed to be in a quiet mood, and we all picked up a magazine and probably spent about 45 mins there.

This is me and Teresa. Notice my awesome new $25 jersey. After that, we took off but I lost Matt. I waited for him for a while, but he didn't show, so I jumped on Jason, Gresh and Melinda's pace line. It was good. When I found Matt again, it was by the side of the road about 3 hours later and about 40 kms from camp. He had busted a tire after getting his derailer fixed.

So while we were waiting for Betsy and the SAG wagon to come with a new tire, we took a picture of the town sign we were near...Yuma. No, we couldn't find a train, but if we had we would have made a mini 3:10 to Yuma movie.

We got to camp safe and sound after a crazy headwind, and very long and flat roads (blah). We set up camp and hopped in the wonderful pool (complete with waterslide and diving board...you know how I love those diving boards). I showered and found the local internet cafe. Tonight I plan to write some postcards and read. It is good to be able to relax. :)

Day 25: Denver, CO to Fort Morgan, CO

2008-07-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 152 kms

Overkill Kms: 5 or so, meandering and we missed one of the last turns by half a km.

Road Stuff: Dead bunny, mouse, and a very crinkled, flattened and squished cat.

Money Spent: $5 Breakfast burrito and coffee. Should never eat spicy foods while biking. $3 Blizzard after supper. :) Much better.

Wipeouts: 0 for me but Cynthia Aukema took a fall today on the interstate and it doesn’t look like she’ll be riding the rest of the tour. It’s not overly serious, but probably very disappointing for her.

Interesting Person Pick: John who rides in the bib all the time and Stretch (Mark). Today I rode with them and they both gave me flowers (Black Eyed Susans). They also were just plan fun to ride with.

Favourite Part of the Day: Getting free Pineapple Cream Pie and Lemonade at the Café 20 kms from Fort Morgan. Yah for generousity! Also finding out that Tim is allowed to ride with us when we are in Ontario….this is probably the best news of my summer. J Pause to enjoy news while watching people in the gear truck (listening to Coldplay) and smiling extensively.

Worst Part of the Day: Hearing that Cynthia got hurt. I really like her, she’s spunky and a great rider. I know it is disappointing for her and for her group-the Chatham clan.

Today I woke up in the gym and my alarm echoed very loudly. I packed up my gear and gently nudged Brian that it was almost 7. He kept on sleeping J. Matt Z and him apparently planned to get a ride back to the wicked windy road in Evergreen (from Saturday) so they could ride it again. They got up late.

In need of new riding partners, I found Eritia and a clan of us headed out. There was a gorgeous 30 km bike path through downtown Denver that led us out of the city. It was very fun because it was curvy with lots of bridges, underpasses and a great river beside us. Soon we had about 10 people and since that was a lot, a group broke off and I biked with Johnny, John, Stretch (the pictures will show you why) and Jeff. We kept a pretty good pace and stopped after about 75 kms to have spicy breakfast burritos with coffee.

We kept on going, and I realized the breakfast burrito wasn’t agreeing with me. We had a little headwind, but kept going. We kept up a good pace and had to drive on the interstate for a while, which was very hot, flat and boring. After getting off the interstate, we went to a restaurant to find Johnny some lemonade (he was craving). When we entered the restaurant we found out that other C2Cers were there and the restaurant thought that what we are doing was so great that they offered us free lunch. It was delicious!

The crew I rode with today, from left Stretch (Mark), Johnny, John, Me, and Jeff.

The pie was good.

Just some of the cyclists who recieved a free meal and the staff at the Cafe.

There was a 25 (excuse me, John just informed me 27 km) ride to Fort Morgan and when we got there, I was pretty tired. But my conscience was bothering me because I hadn’t cleaned my bike this weekend. So I got out the rags, degreaser, grease and old toothbrush and tried to do a good job. I spent about 45 mins at it but I’ve realized that my bike has a lot of scratches, dents or discolorations…alas, the road has taken it’s toll….or maybe it’s just it’s horrible owner. I’ve vowed to be more careful about where I place my bike from now on…no more trees.

I like this picture because it shows a pace line and some neat shadows. This is what I see all day.

I had a shower, set up my tent and now it’s dinner time. I am excited for dinner to be over so I can call Tim and tell him that we can bike together! Now I really can’t wait until we get to Ontario.

Cleaning my bike...it was messy.

Sunday: A Rest in Denver

2008-07-27T19:40:00.001-07:00

Well, I guess blogging on Sunday is going to start being a habit because it doesn't feel like I've done my job if I don't blog. I've met so many people this weekend and heard about others that are reading my blog, so I thought I'd let you know how the best Celebration Sunday went via pictures.

This morning the Zoeteway's made me a fantastic sausage, egg and blueberry coffee cake breakfast. We relaxed, I got a chance to read and then we drove to the Celebration service at the local public high school. This is what we found.

Lots of young people tired and trying to find shade. Tired because of the night before? Trying to find shade because it must have been close to 95 F and was scorching. It was so hot that people ran out in the middle of the service to bring us umbrellas for shade and cool water to drink.

The bikers riding into the Celebration service.

The pile of bikes...I think this is the largest one so far...just think of what that pile is worth!

The cyclists rode in around the track at the beginning of the service today. The reason I have pictures is because I wasn't on my bike. The Zoetewey's had driven me and I didn't know we were driving in the service. Oh well, as the sermon said, it's not about me...or Sea to Sea...or even poverty...it is about glorifying God. And I did that just fine walking with the support staff and cheering when they announced them....even though I'm not really part of that group. We had fun. But the service was great and I met Laura Rip.

After the service, we had a great sloppy joe lunch and the cyclists headed back to Denver Christian School and a lot of people enjoyed the computer lab, including Brian...see he really is checking his email.

Then a bus came to the school around 1:30 and picked up a bunch of cyclists who wanted to go downtown. Laura Rip came along and she showed us downtown Denver. We had a lot of fun with one street performer who pretended to be a statue. We probably spent 20 minutes just watching her stand still and then interact with people passing by. Eric (a cyclist) got a kick out of her.

Then we headed to a brewery and we enjoyed a nine glass sampling of the local beer. It took me a while to drink. Also, we enjoyed lots of food like spicy spinach dip and Starbucks mud pie ice cream. There was a dozen of us that enjoyed the good conversation and generous Laura picked up the tab!

The start of the nine...I was optimistic.

Only three left...impressive.

The last one was a bitter, so I had to wash it down with something else. We had a table of leaning towers of shot glasses.

Laura Rip (Pastor Ken's daughter) and me.

Then we headed out to a bookstore Matt Z wanted to go to called "The Tattered Cover". We took the free city bus to get there. The bookstore was huge and a beautiful building. I bought four books for my classroom (including one all about commas Hannah). I also bought a book about understanding philosophy through jokes, but the best part was meandering through the bookstore, listening to my favourite music on my ipod and seeing what was new on the shelves. I even found a great book bag ($2!) that has the bookstores name and address on it.

We finally got what was left of the group together after about an hour in the bookstore and tried to figure out a way to get back to the Christian bookstore. Matt Z, Laura and I walked back to Laura's car and I saw some beautiful apartments that made me want to live in the city.

Then Laura, Matt and I went to R.E.I which is a sporting goods company. They sell cycling, camping, hiking and all sorts of other stuff. My favourite part was the rock climbing wall and the huge biking section. I bought a shirt. Then I asked Matt to take some pictures of me near the waterfall, so here is me trying to look pretty. :)

Laura dropped us off at the school (thank you so much Laura!) and Matt and I headed to a supper put on by the local churches. We had great roasted pork and chicken, salad, baked potatoes and desert. It was amazing, as always. We also had a short Peleton meeting and were introduced to 9 new bikers that are joining us. There are about 7 older men and women and 2 younger guys.

Then I called Tim and did some Ipoding...rearranging music and downloading some new stuff and blogged. And now it is time for bed...after all tomorrow is 145 kms...but all downhill....as Ed said "The mountians are over." This met with some cheers but mostly boo's from the cyclists. I agree with the boo's. Flat country here we come. Blah.

Note to Self: Money Spent: $50 books, $30 shirt. Yah, I didn't really need the shirt, but it was cheaper than Alliston prices....:)

Day 24: Shadow Mountain Lodge, CO to Denver, CO

2008-07-26T16:28:00.001-07:00

These are some pictures from last night. There was free roller skating so Matt Z and Brian and I went and took over the floor. After attempting to get on our skates that is.
Brian and I swinging. He didn't think this was cool and tried to do jumps instead.
That's Matt Z and me. We were pretty good actually. Matt has better pics that I will upload later. I can't believe we were the only ones who wanted in on free roller skating!

Actual Kms: 142 kms

Overkill Kms: 0 kms...lots of directions but we didn't get lost once!

Road Things: three individual gloves, a few small dead birds and nothing else. Weird.

Money Spent: $0 for my Danish and coffee in Empire (town) because someone paid for me. And I didn't buy ice cream in Evergreen. Strange. Maybe I'm feeling guilty for last night. I bought SPF lip stuff, a book by R.C Sproul, postcards galore, ice cream, and a ring for Jesi ....$40.

Wipeouts: 0

Most Interesting Person: Matt Rekman. He biked with Team Sweet today and at one point I was behind and got stopped at a stop light in Evergreen and he waited for me. He said, "I didn't want you to be left behind." Smile.

Quote: Me, "I've got 37 emails in one day", Matt in the computer lab, "All from your boyfriend?"

Favourite Part of the Day: The twisted downhill after Evergreen. We were on a very narrow road, with lots of cars, five members of Team Sweet and it was a good 50 km/h speed and lots of turns. The best was when (as Hans put it) "you can peddle in the corners and feel the G-force pulling you into the curve." It was awesome.

Worst Part of the Day: (Really Funniest part of the day) 10 kms from Denver, we were at a Reformed Church enjoying gatorade and chips. After about 10 minutes I said "Come on guys, let's get going." Matt Z replied "Hurry up, slow down...man Miss Terpstra". Matt R, "Yah Miss Terpstra, take a chill pill," and Brian, "You need to learn to relax Miss Terpstra." I think they tease me just because they can't keep up with me. :) Anyhow, the nickname is back. I think I preferred Turpentine. :)

Today I biked to Denver. This, I feel is an accomplishment. I will let the pictures do the talking. Here is Laura (it was her last day today as she is finishing in Denver, Hans, and Brian). This was last nights supper. Which was delicious as usual. Here is Team Sweet, reunited and on the road by 7...close to 6:45 :).

Here is the view after about 35 kms, 5 kms up the big climb on Pass Bertha. It wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be.

Here is most of Team Sweet about 2 kms from the top. We stopped for a picture and the altitude had it's wear on me (it is about 11,000 feet). I was definitely breathing harder than normal and found it difficult to drink enough water.

Since there was no summit sign, we took a picture of this sign at the top of the climb.

Here is a bunch of bikers all coming in at the top. The CRC's of Denver had watermelon and drinks for us.

YEAH! I am amazing biker woman who has climbed the rockies!

The boys thought they would lift me and that's as far as they got. :) Must be those weighty drafthorse legs.

Here I am, with my sort of matching outfit. You can see the road we climbed behind. There was snow at the top of the mountain still.

This is Aubrey. She is a french (Quebec) cyclist we met a few days ago who is biking by herself (she is 19) from San Francisco to Denver. She wanted to do this to learn English. You should see how heavy her gear on her bike is! She is amazing. We decided to invite her to join us and the gear truck even carried her bags.

This is our first stop in Empire. Danishes all around! Someone even paid for me....I don't know who yet.

Part of our ride today was by the Fraser River (the one we saw in B.C Mom and Dad) and the Colorado River. I'm not sure which one this was, but we got to ride along a nice bike path for about 5 km.

Taking pictures while riding.

Team Sweet (mostly Matt Z) being silly on the road. Sometimes we like to do stretches on our bikes.

And sometimes Matt R likes to show off.

In Evergreen there was a nice stretch of shops, including a great Art Gallery with live music, beautiful sculptures and paintings. Also, there was a jazz festival going on but we didn't want to pay the $65 to get in. I liked the hanging boots outside of the cowboy shop.

There were even Percheons Dad!

Here is Team Sweep at our favourite part of the ride today, it was a narrow, twisting ride, with a good wind that pushed and pulled you. Some daughters of a cyclist were handing out freezes today. Yum! We take all food offered.

The welcome when we got to Denver Christian High was outrageous. They had people cheering, whistling, cheerleaders handing out water, goodie bags, free postcards/postage, all kinds of food, haircuts, and a dj! We have hit CRC land!

There were lots of signs, volunteers, and welcoming faces.

They even let us sleep in your high school gym Jesi! I'm setting up my tent in the gym because I'll sleep there on Sunday night to get an early start on Monday. You can see my white baskets because on Saturdays, we have to take out our baskets and clean out the gear truck. Tonight I'm sleeping at the Zoeteway's, a friend from college and tomorrow I'm hoping to explore downtown Denver. All the cyclists agree that today was definitely the best ride, a big climb early on, lots of downhill, amazing views, exciting roads and a great welcome into camp. We like Denver!

Day 23: Kremmling, Co to Shadow Mountain Resort, CO

2008-07-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 60 kms (oh yeah!)

Overkill Kms: 3 kms to go for Breakfast in Kremmling and meandering.

Road Stuff: Dead deer, leg of a deer, people fly fishing along the Colorado River.

Money Spent: $10 breakfast-sausage/cheese omelet, Moosecake (huge pancake), toast and coffee, $4 Breve latte in Grandby, $3 latte at lodge. I have got to stop drinking coffee like Matt Z.
Wipeouts: 0

Interesting Person Pick: Bert Sloftstra, a pastor from Abbotsford, B.C. We are sitting here in the lodge, on leather coaches and he said "You guys should see my room" (some people have purchased $100 rooms for the night) and I blurted out "Shut up about your room" to which I quickly replied, "Sorry, I can't believe I just said shut up to a pastor, I must be tired or cranky about sleeping on the rough ground tonight". He said "I'm on sabbatical Sarah. I'm just a regular person now, you can say shut up to me anytime". The pastors on this trip are hilarious.

Quote of the Day: (That's right, a new category). Matt Zanting on the couch..."I should go do something..." Very intentionless.

Favourite Part of the Day: Eating breakfast late, stopping in Grandby to watch the Tour de France and still getting here by 1. Ahh yeah.

Worst Part of the Day: There was a little bit of a tough climb 5 kms from camp, which made my new jersey sweaty. Which means I'll have to clean it tonight. That's pretty much the worst part. Things can't be that bad when they have a pool, free roller skating, beach volleyball, comfy lodges with coaches, a restaurant, laundry and a great view. Yah for YMCA camps! Especially ones that have Christian signs and chapels everywhere.

Today I convinced Matt Z and Matt R to go out for breakfast, mostly because we wanted eggs. So we found a little place in Kremmling called the Moose Cafe. They had Moosecakes instead of Pancakes which were huge. Here's a picture.

Also, Colorado has a lot of taxidermy places. The stuffed animals are everywhere. This buck must have been huge.

The canyon that we biked through today was so gorgeous that we had to slow our pace to 20 kms/hour.

When we got to this little town, it was like "Wow! We are at the first town already!" I think it was about 25 kms in. We decided to keep going, and by passed both SAG wagons today.

We decided to stop in Grandby and since the Tour de France was on, Matt, Matt and I got a coffee and watched the rest of the race. We realized how pathetically slow we are compared to those bikers and I wondered if there was a women's Tour de France. It kind of makes you want to become really fast. So much so, that when we left the cafe, we were zooming through town...and it left us breathless and wondering if we were climbing because doing 30 km/h was difficult. It's good that we can laugh at ourselves.

When we got to the YMCA camp, some people were complaining because the camping ground was rather rough and there wasn't a lot of room for us. But the view is great, the bonus' awesome and the pool and sauna refreshing. Personally, I'm loving this stop. It even has a taste from home-look Emily-a Cafe Diem in Colorado! So I ordered a coffee and started blogging.

Tomorrow is another big climb through the Rockies and a long day (150?). But I feel well rested and excited about where we are staying. There is even a post office box and a pay phone here! Score!

Day 22: Craig, CO to Kremmling, CO

2008-07-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 159 kms

Overkill Kms: 4 kms...weaving and our stop in lovely Steamboat Springs.

Road Stuff: LOTS of dead animals, including a dead hawk on the side of the road. We saw some deer and a lot of yucky road smear up the pass.

Money Spent: $95 ouch! I spent $25 on a regularly $100 jersey, $42 on a regularly $85 pair of biking shorts (shammy), $20 to fix my creak in the crank of bike, gatorade, $4 danish/latte and $3 for a card for someone from home! Not telling who. :) $6 beer. Man I'm spending a lot.

Wipeouts: 0, but a close one following Johnny going about 60 km/h down the otherside of the pass...there was a bad patch of road.

Interesting Person Pick: JOHNNY. No last name needed. He's a correctional officer from MI who is about 50, has a great mustache and has lost a lot of weight to come on this tour. He likes to shout out "Let's do something beautiful!" at any occasion. He's also just a happy-go-lucky guy who connects with anyone-old or young.

Favourite Part of the Day: Going down the hill....it was the first time I felt comfortable enough not to break and I hit about 74 km/hour. I also used my arrow bars a lot and the road was very windy, so it was quite the ride. When you realize that you may be going faster than a rollercoaster and the only thing that is keeping you up is a few inches of rubber on the road, it's pretty exhilirating.

Worst Part of the Day: Yah, to be honest, probably the climb. It wasn't the easiest climb, about 10 kms straight up at a 7% grade. We climbed it from about 1 pm-2:30 or so, so it was pretty hot.

Today I was very tired from the long ride yesterday. It wasn't so much that we were actually biking for a long time, but just being out on the road and not having a lot of time for ourselves, so I slept into about 6:45, very slowly put away my tent and ate breakfast slowly. So slowly that I think the sweep team was like "When is she going to leave? Doesn't she usually leave early?" Jess Fox said to me "Thanks for just sitting here calmly and enjoying your breakfest instead of scrambling to get on the road." It's true, we all scramble and watching people getting ready to ride was like watching ants.

So I rode by myself for the first 30 kms, in a pretty strong headwind. I had my ipod, but decided to just enjoy the ride. Which basically means I thought a lot about Tim. :) Then I saw that Johnny was ahead, so I caught up to him and we stopped at a very cute coffee shop in Hayden because a few others were stopped there. I had a danish and coffee and we chatted about the day. Basically at the point I became a lazy biker. Starting late, stopping at 30 clicks in...it was proving to be a slow day.

Johnny getting change for the coffee. Here's a cute stove I saw Mom. They put the coffee on it and I thought that was a good idea.

Here's John with a tire around his body. One of his tires was looking bad but he didn't want to buy this one from the SAG wagon because he had one in the gear truck. Efficently, he put it around him just in case and ended up making it to Kremmling and using the one in the gear truck. Dutch to the core.

Here is a picture of Corinne. It's a little angled but it gives you an idea of some of our road views. Rumble strips are frequent and very bumpy if you accidently stear onto them. I caught up with a guy named Kevin Pasma who needed new tires and was going to stop in Steamboat Springs, about 70 kms in, so I joined him because I figured I would get the creak in my crank fixed. We found a WICKED bike shop called Orange Peel Bike Shop. It had a lot of cool stuff, including my lovely purchases and they only charged me $20 for the work. The mechanic told me he was glad (because it was a "little dangerous") that I came in before our big climb on Rabbit Ears (a climb of 3000 feet). Here is the stange looking shop.

Here is Stephanie Webb with her new jersey...also, holding an orange just for kicks.

This is a sticker I found up near the bike shop's light switch. I wanted one but couldn't find one. Also, Trevor, I'm looking for a bumper sticker that says "Bikes on Board" for you.

Me outside of the bike shop, with the cool art thing made out of bike frames...and holding the orange peel from the orange I just ate. I'm starting to love oranges Arlene. :) Also, notice the new and blue bike shorts.

Then we finally started the climb. My favourite part of the climb was that Bill would come by on his motorcycle and yell "four more kilometres...keep going!" I love that he told us kilometres instead of miles. :) Also, Reuben, my Sweep Team leader decided to climb the mountain, go down it and climb it again so he could mark out in chalk how many more kilometres we had, and encouraging signs. He's a biker for Portland State...what do you expect?

Here is the Great Continental Divide sign, where water either runs west or east. Johnny and I decided that since we made it here, we must be in the middle of America. :)

Ahh...the downhill. It was the best downhill ever. It was at least 30 kms fast downhill and then rest of the 25 km ride was rolling, pedal hard down, almost get to the top. That's my favourite kind of biking.

Johnny's behind, which I drafted a lot today.

Glad to be in Kremmling, where we quickly found the town Saloon and enjoyed Fat Tire beer (my new favourite) and Newcastle Brown (my new second favourite). Mmm.

Then we headed to camp and I quickly set up my tent before a light rain. We ate, and I went to bed at 8:30. Apparently I was tired. But tomorrow is an easy 55 km.

Day 21: Dinosaur, CO to Craig, CO

2008-07-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 150 kms

Overkill Kms: 4 kms off the road to a park, meandering, to Taco Bell

Road Stuff: Lots of dead deer and a live fox right in front of me into Craig.

Money Spent: $20 for a Maybell Colorado t-shirt, gatorade, and ice cream, $4 Taco Bell, $20 for music downloads.

Wipeouts: 0.

Interesting Person Pick: All of the seven Sweep Team C-Reuben, Matt Z, Matt R, Jason, Melinda, Greshem and yours truly. We were an awesome sweep team, patient, steady and we had a good time on a long day.

Favourite Part of the Day: Having a beer in the park and listening to Death Cab for Cutie and the Once soundtrack that I downloaded of the internet.

Worst Part of the Day: The last 10 kms of the trip had a wicked headwind, we were late for dinner (got in around 7 pm) and we were going very slow with the last few people.

Today I was on sweep, so we loaded the gear truck and it started to get hot. So hot that the kitchen offered us ice cream at 9:30 in the morning. It was kind of a nice morning though because I got to hand sanitize everyones hands in the breakfast line and tell them "Did you know that Colorado is the biggest biker state? They're going to love us here!"

When we finally left, we took our time for photo opprotunities with the unique street signs. All of the signs had dinosaur names (hence the town of Dinosaur). We also found the only coffee place open and spent about an hour there with Bill, the Harley driver on tour. He brings people water in a bind and encourages them when we they are climbing hills. Generally, he's our tough guy on tour.

Melinda in the corner, Matt Z, Jason and Harley Bill.

We finally left around 10:30 and had a headwind, so we set up a good pace line and tackled about 60 kms of the long and winding road. I listened to my new music on my Ipod.

Then we took a rest and clocked another 30 kms. We met up with Gail and stopped at a park about 45 kms outside of Craig. It was in Maybell, Colorado-the smallest town ever. There was one general store which had cute t-shirts so I caved and bought a really cute tie-dye shirt. It was so nice that Betsy, our nurse and SAG (support and gear) wagon driver went out and bought the same one. Here's a picture of Betsy looking jealous. Also, Jason bought the team a beer and we enjoyed our "waiting for others to finish slowly" time. I called Tim at the payphone since it was already 3:30 our time and 5:30 his time. Cowboy Jim in the background was watching. :

We took off and biked about 25 kms and then caught another cyclist. We had to go slowly into camp, it took about 2 hours to do the last 20 kms...so very slowly. This was difficult for the team because we were biking at a 30 km/hour pace and slowing it to 10-15 kms was hard. When we finally got into Craig, Matt and I took off to find a Taco Bell and we saw a cyclist 2 kms from the camp. Matt was like "You have got to be kidding me! MAN!" I laughed loudly. The cyclist had had two flats, so I gave him my inner tube and we took off to the Bell. When we got to camp, we ate, showered and basically went to bed after Peleton. Also, during my small group, we decided to do small groups twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) because we are so tired at the end of the day, which I think is a good decision. Sorry for posting so late, it was a very long day.

Day 20: Duchense, UT to Dinosaur, CO

2008-07-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 158 kms

Overkill Kms: 13 kms getting lost and moseying around town.

Road Stuff: All kinds of road kill imaginable except for moose. Too many to count.

Money Spent: Taco Bell $3 for cheesy potatoes (I made a deal with myself to stop at the next

Taco Bell I saw for those potatoes. They are a college-time love) and soft taco. Dinosaur Ice Cream place frappacino $5. At the gas station in Dinosaur $2.50 for Coors Light and chips.

Wipeouts: 0 but Jake Kuypers (Clara Bierman’s brother) took a big fall today because his carbon seat posts just broke and he flipped over his handlebars into traffic. There was no traffic, so he’s just pretty scratched up. He even finished his ride today.

Interesting Person Pick: None for today. Sorry folks.

Favourite Part of the Day: Having a beer in Dinosaur with Matt Z and George VanderKurr at the local park because we couldn’t find a pub. I was singing for about 2 hours after that.

Worst Part of the Day: The last 10 kms we had a wicked headwind, were going uphill (deceivingly) and it was in the middle of nowhere. We all just wanted to get there.

Today I rode by myself and it was beautiful. I left “late” at 7:20 because I was tired. Last nights sleep was still leaving something to be desired….namely a good nights rest. Also, Alida (the nurse) re-bandaged my leg wound. The ride was beautiful…it left me lots of time to think about a little bit of everything. The first 90 kms I averaged just under 30 km/hour.

We got into Vernal which was a bigger town and I missed the first road to go around the city, so I went into town and stopped at the Taco Bell and enjoyed the people (especially the kids) looking at me and smiling. I ate well, rested and headed out to the next SAG-Walter Vink’s RV where I enjoyed juicy watermelon.
The next 35 kms were difficult. The headwind, the emptiness of the road and the fact that it was the last piece was killer. A bunch of people stopped at a rest stop, so I did too. They were a group of the older crowd, all of which were concerned about my cough and proceeded to discuss with me how to get better. The conversation went like this,

“Were you the one hacking up a lung last night Sarah?”
“Yes, sorry if I woke you up.”
“What are you taking for that? Got any Vitamin C?”
“Here, have an orange.”
“I have cough syrup if you need it.”
“Maybe you want one of my sleeping pills?”
“Here, have an orange slice.”
“Thanks guys.”

Here’s a picture of the false advertised sign. Colorado (so far) is not visibly colourful.
When I got into Dinosaur (so named because lots of fossils are found here because this is where they died…and I can see why) and found a homemade ice cream place. I got a frappacino and sat with fellow bikers in the “misted” canopy. I was probably within the first dozen in.

Then Matt Z, George and I scanned the town for a bar but it was closed so we went to the gas station and bought our beer (you can buy a 24 ounce for $1.29 here…it is crazy) and enjoyed it at the park. Then we headed into camp, singing a tune. I showered and now I’m blogging. Tomorrow is about 141 kms and two 1000 foot climbs. Not too bad except that I am on sweep and it will probably be a long day. Thursday is long too but Friday is the day everyone is looking forward too-only 55 kms. Yes!
Tim...sorry about the phone connection yesterday. I'll call you soon.

Day 19: Salt Lake City (Park City) to Duchense, UT

2008-07-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 148 km

Overkill Kms: Probably 2 km when I go call Tim after this.

Road Stuff: A live real moose right in front of me! A live deer, dead dear, dead snakes, dead racoon, lots of live and dead grey chipmunks or are they moles? Also, singular shoe.

Money Spent: Sunday: $32 shorts. I know, I know on Sunday. Today $8 for night time cold and sinus medication, lip balm (gave my other stuff to Corinne), coffee and cheesy brocolli soup.

Wipeouts: 0

Interesting Person Pick: Bill and Rita Wybenga who are riding tandam together. They are about 65 and flew past me near the end of the day shouting, "Come on Sarah, let's go!". Also Rita gave me a hug when I entered camp today because I was so tired and just wanted a nap.

Favourite Part of the Day: Taking a nice shower and long nap in the coolness of the building.

Worst Part of the Day: Dreaming all day about when I would get to camp and when I could take a nap...I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night due to my coughing and hacking.

Today was a challenge. Last night we went over the route and we didn't have an elevation map so we didn't know what to expect. However as Ed said "We are in the mountains Sarah, so expect a lot of climbing." Ok Ed. He was right.

I left around 7 am after walking all the way back to the gear truck. The state camp had our tents and gear truck about a 1 km walk apart because they didn't have enough space for the tents any closer to the truck. Brian and Matt and I set off and moved quickly through the first 30 kms or so. Then came the climb. I met Eritia and paced with her for a while but we were frustrated because it looked like we were going downhill and we were only moving at 15 km/hour....it was an optical illusion, we were actually climbing. We climbed up and up for about 15 kms straight. Not a nice winding climb, a lowest gear, going 10 kms an hour kind of climb. It was brutal but beautiful. Here are some pics.

I kept dreaming about cresting the hill and getting into camp to nap. I was so tired and cranky because of too many factors...hill, no sleep, coughing, noisy sound in the crank of my bike and 120 kms to go. When I finally got to the top, Lois was there to greet us with gatorade. It was beautiful...an almost 10,000 foot summit.

Brian, Matt and I (Eritia had already passed us as usual) raced down the hill for 20 kms...and I mean raced. The boys were hitting 70 kms an hour, but I sheepishly used my brakes to slow myslef to at least a 60 km/hour pace. We almost ran over some sheep that were crossing the road!
Riding downhill at 60 km/hour. :)

After that, there was a lot of slow downhill and we sat back, talked and enjoyed the 30 km/h ride. We made it into a little town about 100 kms in and had some lunch. After about an hour, we reluctantly got back on the road and found one more medium hill (4 km) to challenge us. After that hill, I booked it to Cory's SAG (about 30 kms from camp). When we hit the last road, we had a great tailwind, and although the road was pretty busy, we went at our own pace and I kept a steady 45 km/hour into camp. When I finally got to camp, Eritia saw me and asked me if she could set up my tent for me. I love you Eritia! We set up the tent, I showered and napped (finally!).

After I woke up, I read for a bit and then (surprisingly) it was supper time already. We had hamburgers, a lot of salads left over from the Celebration Sunday in Salt Lake and lots of fruit. Now I'm blogging, going to call Tim and head to bed with the promise of a restful sleep due to cough drugs. Yes!
And this is what I just did to my leg. Tripped over a bicycle. How ironic.

The best day and the worst night....Sunday.

2008-07-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

Now I normally don't write on Sunday's as they are my day off, however, I have to brag about my amazing billets and show you the Morman Tabernacle. I had a very refreshing day. Here are some pictures.

Here's the Morman Temple Square. Corinne and I went with Lynn.

Here is downtown Salt Lake City, The Gateway. We shopped and I bought some shorts. Also, the very cool rock climbing wall inside a store there.

And that's all the downloading I have patience for now!

Day 18: Willard, UT to Salt Lake City, UT (really Jordanelle State Park near Park City where the Olympics were).

2008-07-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 162 kms or just over 100 miles which means today...yes today...Sarah Terpstra biked her first American Century.

Overkill Kms: 0. There is no way I'm biking 1 km more than I need to today.

Road Stuff: Dead deer, dead birds, dead racoon, shoe, wire brush, lots of snake skins (again).

Money Spent: Yesterday I spent $17 on multivitamins, bug spray (which I ended up not needing), and vitamin C (Yes Arlene, I'm listening). $4 ice cream and Coors outside the Flying J. It was intentional intergenerational interaction time outside the Flying J. Today I spent $4 on an Arby's cheese and beef melt around 140 kms. Money well spent.

Wipeouts: 0.

Interesting Person Pick: Julia Wissink, who is from Ottawa, Ontario and a teacher (like me). She is a gr.4 teacher who is right now giving me some good advice about what I should do for planning. She is also the person that said "Finally, somebody my age!" when she first met me. When I told her I was 24, she said depressingly "Maybe not." She's 28. She's a great little biker and has a great little dutch pixie face.

Favourite Part of the Day: Calling my parents to tell them that today I biked 100 miles today and having them reply "We're proud of you". Also it was good to hear that they are praying for me everyday and that they love me. Yes, I can be a sap.

Worst Part of the Day: There were two major climbs today, the first was enjoyable for me, the second difficult but I knew it was there. What I didn't realize was the last 20 kms were slightly uphill and there was one 3 km hill right before camp. The last hill I literally had to count in my head to make myself keep going. I said to myself "Let's see if you can do this hill in three minutes." It was definitely more than 400 seconds and I probably starting counting over a few times.
Supper (yesterday) in camp.

Today I woke up at 5:20 and it wasn't the first time that I had woken up that morning. I have a persistant cough that kept waking me up. I felt bad because I knew I was waking others up as well. Time to go back to the medication.

Breakfast this morning-everyone was up very early. When I woke up at 5:20, most of the tents were down and my first thought was "Where did everyone go?"

Today I biked with Stephanie Webb and Julia Wissink. We decided to take it slow for the first 100 kms becuase we wanted to save our energy for the two giant monster hills. We made pretty good time and at the 95 km mark stopped at the First CRC in Salt Lake City, spending about 45 minutes there enjoying gatorade, cheese strings, mini bagels and other delicacies.
Outside First CRC in Salt Lake City. John VanderSTEEN :) two fisting coffee and gatorade.

Then we started the hills and I quickly lost Steph and Julia. The first incline was so bad that I thought I would have to get off my bike (but stubbronly did not). The landscape evened out and there was a persistent 5-7% grade, winding around beautiful homes. I met up with a Salt Lake City biker (there were a lot of them on the hill today) and talked with him about our trip. We kept pace for awhile, but eventually he dropped back and then I made it to the top of the 15 km hill. I made a deal with myself to climb the entire way and I did it. At the top was a beautiful shelter set up by the Utah CRC's (all two of them). A girl ran out to "mist" you and another to give you a power bar and another to get you a drink. There was shade and chairs....basically heaven...or as close to it as possible at 6800 feet.

Also, I had a surprise at the top of the hill. I knew someone in Utah! Cheryl, this is your friend who visited you in PEI. We took a picture together.

The second hill had a reputation. It was on Interstate 80 and about 10 kms long. The biker I met on the first hill had warned me that it was harder and he was right. I got of my bike and rested twice and at the top, had Randy DeWolde (from the famous blog "Where's DeWolde?") take this picture of me. That was probably the toughest hill for me so far because the tractor trailers were barely passing us (they were going like 20 kms/hour and we were going 12 kms/hour) because of the grade. You would look to your left and think "If that honking thing can barely make it, how is it possible that my body is going too?" But then, you keep going and you're at the top. It's amazing how much our bodies can take. This is the view from the top of the first hill.

This is me at the top of the second climb. This climb was so rough that I had to take a picture to prove I did it. Even my billets tonight-Jim and Lynn (boys are Will, 6, A.J, 5, Ben, 2) were surprised we climbed this pass.

The view from the road. It had good shoulders to bike on. At that is the end of week 3. On to week 4!

Day 17: Burley, UT to Willard, UT

2008-07-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 100 kms in and 5 to go...I'm sitting in the Bingham Public Library and we are camped about 5 kms down the road.

Overkill Kms: Notta...and I was mapping everything today. Maybe I do possess better mapping skills than my Dad.

Road Things: 2 deer, 4 racoons (one particularly messy), lots of snake skins, 2 skunks, lots of little birds...and they were all dead.

Money Spent (so far): $6 batteries for camera, $4 for Pineapple upside down cake and coffee (see pic).

Wipeouts: 0 but Jake Kuyper's front wheel collided with an orange road barrel today. It was knocked off the road by a truck, and I for one am thankful he didn't have a spill.

Most Interesting Person Pick: John Vanderveen (?). He's from Ontario, probably weighs the same as me and is about 65. He packed less stuff than anyone here, but is also the one everyone goes to to have their bike fixed. Today when I mentioned that I had lost a strap for my camel back, he said..."I have something that just might work". He's a great biker, always up early and at 'em and very friendly.

Favourite Part of the Day: Realizing at 85 kms that I was in the lead and barely breaking a sweat. I motored today.

Worst Part of the Day: Not being able to download my pictures at the local library because I'm not allowed to put my camera card in their computer. Bummer.

Somedays biking is like playing video games. Today we had a 30 km stretch on the highway (which wasn't so bad becuase they were paving the right lane and it was finished, so we rode on that most of the way). Anyways, I was flying down a hill at 65 km/hour and there was a lot of debris (road tire, wires, road kill and pavement chunks) on the road. I was dodging, tucked down in my arrow bars and it was fun! The Mission Impossible song was playing in my head.

After I got off the highway, I saw the first SAG (Walter Vink and the motorhome) but didn't feel like stopping yet, so I caught up to Jake Kuypers and had a good little talk with him. Mostly about the splendid tail wind, temperature and view. Then we caught up to the "Chatham Team" as Jake called them. This is Barb, John Vanderveen, Cynthia Aukema, and about four others that always leave early. I passed them down some very, very flat and marshy highway. It was very peaceful riding by myself and I kept my pace at 30 km/hour. I finished 85 km from 6:45 to 9:45...3 hours. Which I was pleased with because that is about 28-29 kms/hour.

Then we got into the town of Corinne (I hope Corinne Smienk takes a picture there). The next SAG was there, so I stopped and then the Chatham crew came in so we went to the Golden Spike Cafe and had coffee and cake.

We ate for about 45 mins and then saw some more riders come in. We also figured out that Willard wasn't very big, but Bingham was, so I decided to bike the 15 kms to Bingham and hang out there. I found out that the bike shop here has weird hours 4-6 pm everyday, so it doesn't look like my squeak is going to be fixed here. Overall, after yesterday, I am very pleased to be done so early, especially since tomorrow is 150 km with a big hill at the end.

This afternoon my plan is to write postcards (I have many more to write to my sponsors), go swimming in the fresh water lake at camp (we are staying at Willard State Park), read the rest of my book (Nickel and Dimed), deliver some mail and (of course) call Tim.

Good Day.

Here's some pics from Huntington last week. This is a picture of me with my lovely blue riding sweater on. The people at the table were making fun of my cool looks.

Enjoying the tiny town of Huntington. We always forget to take off our glowing yellow vests for pictures.

First bum-Matt Z, Second Bum-Joel, Third Bum-Sarah, Fourth Bum-Jodie, Fifth Bum (up front)-Hans. Team Sweet as it was meant to be...Brian took the pic.

Team sweet at Shoshonee Falls before Burley. This was yesterday.

Team Sweet a few days ago.

Day 17: Burley, ID to Snowville, ID

2008-07-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 146 km

Overkill Kms: 4 km to go the Post Office this morning.

Road Stuff: Two dead hawks, dead dog, dead smaller birds, dead bunny, and lots of buys (at least four of which I swallowed).

Money Spent: $3 on Gatorade and Potato wedges in Malta (80 kms from camp), $6 on Pecan Pie (I thought of you Dad) with ice cream, coffee and 25 Gummy Bears.

Wipeouts: 0, but fatigue set in and we had to take 2 half hour breaks, one in Malta, one at Walter Vink’s RV.

Interesting Person Pick: Ed’s wife. Not even sure of her name but she has two young kids in a camper and is hauling them all across the country for us and I think that is pretty amazing. Also, from what I can see, she’s a pretty good mom and generally, a kind person.

Favourite Part of the Day: Being done.

Worst Part of the Day: Realizing that headwind and long, straight roads of nothing equal time for one to become discouraged and play mind games. I’m hoping Utah isn’t full of long, straight, nothing roads.

I had the toughest day since Stevens Pass today (which makes it my second toughest day). And I’m positive that I am getting sick. So sick (coughing, running nose and I think, a fever) that when I took a nap from 5-6 today, I couldn’t sleep because I was coughing so much. The only thing I get when I’m sick is angry and frustrated that I’m sick. And also, I want someone to rub my belly and my mother or Tim is not here. As I sit here in the gear truck, I’m starting to get the cold/hot flashes and I’m definitely not a 50 year old woman. This is not good.

This is Len, our Chaplain. He is drinking from the container because I lost his cup, gave him a new one and then he lost that one. It's still not found. Me in Utah.
Team Sweet (today) in Utah.
It is 7:00pm and there are still a few riders and sweep team that haven’t gotten to camp today. A few riders (about 5 or so) didn’t make it in, and took a SAG wagon to camp. The conversation around camp is like this: “How did you like that ride (headwind, barren road, 80 km’s after Malta, etc.)? And the answer, aside from Josh and Reuben (who made it to camp in something like 4 hours and a bit) is “Yeah, I didn’t (sucky, what a ride, I’m glad I’m here, etc.). So I don’t feel to bad about not enjoying it.

The first 50 kms were two big hills and the second was worse because it was a slow, gradual climb. So although you were trying to make good time, you weren’t really because it was mostly uphill. The next 80 or so kilometres were pure, flat, desert with nothing, and I mean nothing in sight. It was killer, so killer I was forcing myself to think about things that I could think about-namely Tim, my classroom, what Mom and Dad are doing at home now, some more Tim, how many kms I’ve done so far, what I was going to do when I got to camp, etc. I rode today with Matt and Brian and almost all of us felt useless when we finally reached Walter Vinks RV at 105 kms in. Matt had heatstroke and almost bonked (reached the threshold of no water and wasn’t able to keep going), I felt like I was about to bonk and Brian said he had gone too hard and he isn’t feeling well now. He just ate veggies for dinner because he said his stomach isn’t feeling well.

This is Matt Z in Malta-80 kms from the campsite, eating yogurt with the lid. We are resourceful.

After we got here (we were within the first 25 people in), we were rewarded with tarp showers. That’s right, no regular showers, we set up a huge tarp into a room and had a hose. It was cold but refreshing. I set up my tent and went to Mollies, an old red and white diner that looks like it came straight out of Grease. It had Coke decorations everywhere and the waitresses were friendly. One of them was a teacher that was a friend of the owner. She was just called in because it was so busy. After I told her our story, she asked if I wanted to teach gr.4-5 in Snowville next year. The class has only seven kids and the reason she was asking was because the previous teacher left, and they couldn’t find anyone else and she was afraid if they didn’t find someone, she would be the K-5 teacher (she’s K-3 now). I declined and said I’d pray for her and for the school to find a teacher. I bought some cheap post cards, continued to drink my coffee (and feel like a “regular”) and write some post cards. Then I called Tim and that was nice because I heard he finally got my first letter.

After that I tried to take a nap but I couldn’t sleep because I kept coughing, which made me really frustrated. So I had some dinner and now I’m off to find Betsy, the nurse, so she can give me something to sleep tonight. I don’t want to wake up my neighbours and I do want to get a good nights sleep for tomorrows 100 km.

I just met Jo Tipple (she’s late fourties-fifty something) who just came in 20 minutes ago and I am amazed by her persistence. I told her how proud I was of her that she finished and how I was amazed at her persistence. These are the kind of people that I think are the real hero’s of the group. These are the people that make me beam when I see them riding in. Oh, and Hank (the professor from Calvin Sem.) says to “Tell them hello from me”. J I’m also very proud of that 73 year old struggler. And Matt Zantingh just offered to take the mail to the post office for me because he’s sending you more cards Lynn. Yes, what a great guy.

Day 16: Gooding, ID to Burley, ID

2008-07-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 151 kms

Overkill Kms: 21 kms. About 8 kms to go see Shoshonee Falls. About 4 kms of weaving and probably 9 kms extra in town to Dairy Queen and the Bike shop.

Road Stuff: Lots of dead snakes, lots of dead birds, a dead cat which Matt Zantingh jumped completely over, and I think, a dead calf on the side of the road. We passed a lot of dairy farms today.

Money Spent: $15 for a water bottle and bottle container (a gift), $3.50 Cookie Dough Blizzard, and Brian spent $2.50 on a Jolly Rancher slushie for me because I was in a “pissie mood”.

Wipeouts: 0

Interesting Person Pick: Guy at the DQ. Don’t remember his name but there was a colleged age guy at the DQ who was very interested in our tour and talked to Team Sweet for about 20 minutes about what we were doing. He also helped direct us to the bike shop.

Favourite Part of the Day: Again-shower. It’s amazing how good a cold shower after a day in the sun can make you feel. Also, having the Twin Cities Reformed Church feed us really good food including the best watermelon I have ever tasted.

Worst Part of the Day: About 60 kms away from Burley (our destination), Matt Z got a flat and it was the fourth one that day for Team Sweet (Brian-one…well really a demented tire, and Laura had two). Then Brian suggested we get Jolly Rancher slushies. I said, “Guys, just so you know, it’s 12:30 and we have 60 kms to go.” I will admit I was in a “pissie mood”. It was hot and I just wanted to get to camp. But then Brian offered to buy me a slushie to cheer me up. J

Today we had a long ride-the map said 130 kms to Burley, Idaho. So I made sure I got lots of sleep, packed up my stuff quickly and tried to head out at 7 am with Matt Z, Brian Garrett and Laura. Brian was a little late but we won’t hold it against him.

We booted it about 30 kms down the road to a dairy farmers place and he had cold water and predictably, milk for us and also showed off his massive 50 cow rotating milk parlour. It was pretty cool. They milked about 1700 cows, four times a day and only had a few hours off every day.

Brian had to change a tire and Laura had a flat, so we said at the dairy farm until 9am and then went on to Twin Cities. We met with other cyclists the Twin Cities Reformed Church. They have a large congregation (800-1000), beautiful grounds, and the best part? They had subway sandwiches, watermelon, chips and ice cream for us. It was a treat.

We decided to take a small 6 km detour to see the Shoshonee falls, which were beautiful. Some people choose not to go because you had to go a very steep 1 mile hill to see it and then, of course, climb back up it. It was a 12% grade and pretty challenging. I left Team Sweet a little early so I wouldn’t hold them up but then ended up waiting for them at the top of the hill for about 15 mins.

We puttered on to Kimberly, were we had another flat and slushies. At around 1 am, we pounded it across very flat wheat and potato fields to Burley. It took us 2 hours and was very, very hot. When we got to town, we immediately found the Dairy Queen, ate a delicious blizzard and then went to the bike shop. Apparently Burley has a national triathalon (swimming, running, biking) every year that many people participate in, so it had a decent bike shop. Someone at camp told me that my gears had a few loose teeth and needed to be fixed or replaced, but the bike mechanic didn’t see a thing wrong with them, so that was a relief.
When I got to camp, I set up my tent, showered and now, now, in the coolness of the gym, I am going to take a nap. I’ve been dreaming about a nap. Goodnight.

P.S Sorry there aren't any pictures. We took some great ones at the falls but my pictures deleted while I was trying to load them on my computer which is a bugger. Also, the nap was good...I was almost late for dinner so it was over an hour. :) These two pictures are ones of Tim and I from Jill's wedding and they are my favourite pictures right now, so in place of those I lost, here are some much better pictures.

Day 15: Mountain Home, ID to Gooding, ID

2008-07-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 103 km-the reason this is different from the Sea to Sea book is because every biker does a little "weaving" or stops off somewhere which adds extra kilometres.

Overkill Kms: 106 km-to get to the library.

Road Stuff: A lot of dead bunnies...maybe four and one was very clearly decapitated with the head still in the road, some dead snakes and a dead cat. I also saw a lot of horses and cattle in the fields.

Money Spent: $10 for another more efficent phone card, $2 Slushie and chips. The chips were 35% of my sodium intake for the day, which was just what I needed...I lose a lot of salt and I can tell this because at the end of the day I have white residue on my face.

Wipeouts: 0 but there was a 10 km very bad road today with a lot of gravel on it...I nearly fell right in front of Hank when I started on it.

Interesting Person Pick: Hank. He is a retired Calvin Seminary professor who used to teach Church History. His wife, Claire (who did the 2005 tour) is also on the tour. He usually takes it slower, but he is such an incredible worker. His effort and perseverance really motivate me everyday.

Favourite Part of the Day: Having a shower. Or finding that there was free coffee at the local library. One or the other.

Worst Part of the Day: Worrying about Corinne at the last stop in the town of Bliss. It was not a blissful situation, I was waiting for a long time and worried that she was pooped out on the road somewhere.

Last night, I asked Corinne Smienk if she wanted to ride with me and so we headed out this morning at 7:20. We made good time for the first 25 kms, and stopped in this field of sprinklers.

This is a picture of Corinne biking up behind me to the first SAG wagon stop around 30 kms. We stopped briefly, and kept on trucking.

After that stop, we took off but Corinne was behind me for a while, so I waited at the second SAG wagon for about 30 minutes for her. It was around the 50 km mark and Corinne looked a bit dehydrated, so we drank some water.

The next 30 kms were really, really tough. I lost Corinne and went to the local Country Market in Bliss. I waited for about 30 minutes and was pretty worried because I had seen her 15 km's before and I was wondering where she was. But she showed up around the 30 minute mark, very tired. She had some food, water, and washed her face and we left around 1:30, a half an hour later with 20 kms to go. Biking in the heat of the day for the last 20 kms was really hard. I was tired and just booted it. I arrived at 2:15, which is my worst time ever. Corinne had a tough day and wasn't feeling 100%.

Doing 100 kms in 6 hours isn't great. It's an average of less than 15 km/hour. Usually, I get in with Team Sweet with an average of 25 km/hour.

I think Corinne found it tough because she was always trying to keep up with me and I found it difficult because I was always waiting for her. I guess the experience taught us that it's easier to ride with someone who keeps your pace.

Tim...this is my town of Bliss boyfriend. He's a card board cutout for Budwieser. I think we look good together but he was pretty unresponsive to my flirting.

This is Nathan and Levi, who I met at the library in Gooding. They were very interested in our tour and asked a lot of questions. It reminds me how much I love being a teacher...I definitely miss the classroom.

Then Brinden and Chris came along and also wanted their picture in my blog. They asked for a Sea to Sea card and showed them how to locate my blog so they can check it. They were excited which is cool. Also, there was a guy with a cool shirt named Zack and a kid named Taylor.

Day 14: Monday: Boise, ID to Mountiain Home, ID

2008-07-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 95 km
Overkill Kms: 10 or so into town and back.
Road Stuff: A lot of very bloody, disgusting dead racoons, cats and other "somethings". It was so bad that I had to make myself look away from the road kill so I wouldn't throw up.
Money Spent: On Sunday (I know, I know) $4 for coffee while blogging, and $10 phone card. Today-$6 omlette and coffee at the Stage Coach Restaurant 50 kms into our journey...I split it with Matt Z and $2.50 for white chocolate frozen yogurt. I should have picked a fruit yogurt. White chocolate and yogurt do not mix well.
Wipeouts: 0. I'm getting cocky.
Interesting Person Pick: Laura. She is a college aged gal who rode with us today and I enjoyed having another girl on Team Sweet. She is a good rider and has a cute bike. Also, I like how relaxed she is and how she lives life simply.
Favourite Part of the Day: Well there were a lot of little highlights...one being listening to music on the road today (shh...don't tell) and finding great showers with good preassure in the beautiful junior high. Also, our stop at the restaurant was really good....but I think my favourite part of the day was walking into the library and seeing a beautiful reading room, lots of kids stuff and aisle's of books. Beautiful library's make me want to be a librarian...especially a children's librarian. I would love to be the one who gets to read books to kids and find out which books to buy. Dream job.
Worst Part of the Day: After about 10 kms of biking this morning, I felt sick. But I kept pushing onwards and after a big climb around the 25 km mark, I felt like I was going to faint and I had the cold sweats. I was really hoping I wasn't getting sick. However, I kept on biking and started praying that I wasn't sick. After I had my 10 am second breakfast, I felt much better. I had tried to take it easy on breakfast at camp (just a bagel) because I've been feeling guilty about how much I've been eating, but I guess my body is telling me that I need the energy. Or here's hoping it is. :)

This is me at the only stop from Boise to Mountain Home. It was very tasty food and, as you can see, lots of bikers stopped for coffee.

Every biker loved this sign so we couldn't resist taking a picture. It's really a Joel sign because he helped fix so many flats he would have made a killing if he charged 25 cents. Matt had to hold that light for about 15 pictures....he was loving it at the end.

We got to Mountain Home around 12:30pm, after taking our time in the restaurant and then found an ice cream place. Hans likes to yell out to moving vechiles "Hey, where's the ice cream shop?" and he usually gets an answer.

This is the local bike shop. They had a huge bike that I wanted to try...so the owner of the bike helped me on. It was actually pretty tricky. As you can see, I'm concentrating hard so I don't make a fool of myself and fall off.

I was laughing the entire time. Mostly because I didn't know how to stop or get off the thing without falling down.
And although there is no proof, I did drive it by myself and dismount without falling.

We all thought this blue and gold jersey was very retro and cool. It was only 20 bucks so the conversation was "Who does it fit and who's going to buy it?" Therefore, we all had to try it on. Here's Hans, willing to bare his chest for any possible chance of thriftiness.

Here I am. I used the washroom to change, thank you very much. I did like the jersey, but it suited Laura much better. Plus she said we can all wear it, so it can be the lucky, retro blue jersey.

Here's Laura, excited with a new retro jersey. You look beautiful Laura and now you can match Hans' bike!

And here's Nick, showing off as usual. :) Just joking Nick. You look beautiful in blue.

Matt Z was too busy eating during the jersey trade and I don't think he had a chance of it fitting him anyways. And that is the adventures of Team Sweet so far, until tomorrow.

Day 13: Saturday: to Huntington, OR to Boise, ID

2008-07-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 116 kms

Overkill Kms: 11 kms-to town and a few short wrong turns.

Road Stuff: Dead birds, bison on the side of the road and lots of dust. Also, when we got to Boise, there was a kind of sand in the cracks of the road.

Money Spent: Again-not good. Let’s see, we stopped at Java House where I got Hummus for lunch and a coffee $10, Then I got a card for someone $5, and I went out to celebrate 2 weeks done and ate nacho’s and mile high pie and had a drink-$10. But the good news is I went to a great bike shop and didn’t spend a thing.

Wipeouts: Notta.

Interesting Person Pick: Brian Garrett. Brian and I didn’t bike today, but we did hang out at “The Ram”-a pub in Boise. He shared a lot of very cool music including a Buddy Holly song and some other stuff that made me want to immediately go out and download all of the stuff I heard. Good taste Brian. Also, Brian is great because we are tight since we are both from PEI. We look out for each other. Like this morning at breakfast (Sunday), I tried to sit down gracefully in my skirt while holding a plate of food and coffee and the coffee spilt. So he let me lean against his knees. Also, he’s a fabulous biker.

Favourite Part of the Day: Probably when we- The Sweet Team- got to the middle SAG wagon (Walter Vink’s) and Hans said “Wow, Sarah, you are totally the anchour of team. You were booting it in that pace line” and other people we had passed agreed. It was nice because sometimes I feel like the slow one in Team Sweet, but apparently, I’m not holding them back. YES!

Worst Part of the Day: Trying to figure out the phone card thing. First I thought I would buy a new one since my minutes are used up, but none were as cheap as the one I have. Then I thought I would try to recharge the card I have, but none of the stores in Boise could do that for me. Then we figured out I had to call a number to recharge it. And then the phone people needed a zip code and I only have a postal code, and I waited for 15 minutes for the operator. Then a Sea to Sea guy offered to let me use his card, which was great. But the whole process was a wee bit frustrating.

Today I woke up a little late, but Team Sweet was in the same situation, so we left at around 8 am and set a good pace. We kind of booked it actually and I was pushing myself, not hard, but just pushing myself to keep up. I kept telling myself “This is good for you Sarah, think of the Rockies, think of the 190 km days…keep going fast”. Annette also joined us today, she’s a beautiful gal who rides well. She found it hard to keep up, but I told her “I find it challenging too, but that’s why I ride with these guys.” This is Matt Zantingh about to go down a huge hill. There was a stop sign at the bottom, and it was really hard to stop. I was going 66 km/hour and I have never used my brakes so much.

When we got to Boise around 12:15, we stopped at Java House to rest our weary bums and I had a coffee and delicious hummus. As always, lots of people had questions about our trip and were excited about Sea to Sea. Boise seems to be quite the cycling town. Java House in Boise.

Then we visited George’s-the biggest bicycle shop I have ever seen. We all meandered, picking up the lightest bike frames ever and drooling over just about everything in the store, but not spending anything. Then we headed to camp and just as I got there, a van was leaving to do laundry, so I grabbed my bag and headed out. This is Joan (from Ontario) and I doing laundry. The place right next to the laundromat was a beauty salon that was just opening up. It was called “Just Us” and these two ladies were serving amazing food (for free) and giving 15 minute massages (for free). Joan and I couldn’t believe our luck. I decided to give my hair a crop, and the lady didn’t even charge me! So, we really were blessed by those ladies and they enjoyed hearing our story. This was a cool crack in the wall. Kinda looked like to might be fun to climb.

Then I headed back to camp and helped the sweep team hose out the gear truck, set up supper and clean up. We had tacos. Then I finally called Tim which is always good and probably the best part of my day everyday. However, if I kept putting that as my "Most Interesting Part of the Day", I think my readership might drop off. If any students are reading, you are probably noticing that I am writing with a lot of “Then” or “And then’s”. As a disclaimer, this is not good writing, but I am very tired.

Later that evening a group of about 30 of us headed out to closer to downtown Boise and went to “The Ram”, a huge brewery. We sat, ate and laughed and cheered to Joel, who is leaving on Sunday. Joel is closest.

Today is Sunday morning and I'm not writing another post, so here's so far. I slept in until 8 am and then went to breakfast. I’m feeling pretty chipper here at Starbucks because I just watched a lot of video’s of Tim and some from Sea to Sea. I want to figure out how to post them on my blog. Maybe I will ask Jono, the techno guy to help.

Also, Len-our chaplain asked if I would speak at one of the Celebration Services soon. Usually we have one or two cyclists speak. I don’t really know what to say. I mean, I could say the usual “My fundraising was so easy” or “The ride has been a great experience” but that isn’t really meaningful. I could mention the interesting facts like “I grew up in PEI” or “Last summer I was in a 30 km bike realy and I biked so hard that I threw up afterwards and I also came in last. This was not good incentive to go on this tour”. Interesting but gross.

But I have been singing a particular song a lot during my rides, especially when I’m alone and in a beautiful place. And I’ve thought about singing that. But it’s a little nerve wracking because, first off, I wouldn’t have anyone to accompany me, and secondly, I haven’t sung in front of a group for a long time. But I will write out the lyrics for you know, and you can tell me what you think. It’s a song by Carolyn Arends from B.C.

I don’t know quite who I am anymore
I don’t know if that’s normal or not,
I don’t know if I know you at all anymore,
At least not in the way that I thought.

But I know there are canyons in Utah
Red as fire, and high as the sky,
And they make me cry.
Cause I don’t know one other love
Who would go to such lengths to break through.
So I know, it has to be you.
It has to be you.

Well if I’ve built my hopes on mirrors and smoke
If it’s all been a dream from the start
Why then can’t I deny the yearning inside?
Coinciding with the beat of my heart.

There’s a voice that I cannot hear in my ear.
There’s a voice I can hear all the same.
There’s a voice that speaks in my dreams and my fears
It is endlessly calling my name.
And on warm summer breezes it whispers
Rivers carry it’s soft lullyby and it makes me cry.

Cause I don’t know one other love
that would go to such lengths to break through
So I know, it has to be you.
It has to be you.

The song is a little vulnerable though and I don’t know if I want to sing it in front of such a large crowd. But it’s the way I’ve been feeling lately….that God is most present in his general revelation-Creation. Not in a New Agey kind of way, but in the way that is tangible and claimable for all those who believe our world was made, is made and belongs to God. That I see him most in his world, in the long empty spaces, the craggy peaks, and the gold fields of wheat; is what Schwanda (an old college professor) would say is totally appropriate. And in this way, God speaks to the whole world, not just us Christian few. Which I love. And now to listen.

This is a picture of Brain and Jono (Photographer and friend of Kelly-O) at Jolts and Juice in Huntington yesterday.

This is the cool history of the bicycle poster he had at the coffee shop. He used to own a bike shop.

Day 12: Friday: Huntington, OR to Ontario, OR with a side trip to Idaho!

2008-07-11T14:28:00.001-07:00

Actual Kms: 85 km

Overkill Kms: 30 km due to contact falling out and detour to Idaho!

Road Stuff: snake (alive or dead, I’m not sure), lots of dead birds, pretty friendly horses, and I think, a raccoon.

Money Spent: $3 Samuel Adams with Matt Zantingh in Payette, ID and I'm probably going to buy an ice cream after I post this, so let's say $2.

Wipeouts: None. “I’m getting good at this biking thing,” she says cautiously.

Interesting Person Pick: Matt Zantingh. We decided to bike together this morning, got separated and then ventured off to Payette, Idaho (about 10 kms off the beaten track) to explore the town and have a beer. We had a great conversation about our respective relationships (his Lynn, my Tim) and enjoyed the “This is America. Speak English” sign outside of the bar.

Favourite Part of the Day: Hitting 71 kms (my personal best speed) down the hill a second time today. You should have heard my “Woo-hooo!” down the hill.

Worst Part of the Day: Losing my contact 7 kms into the journey after a wicked ride down a hill at 66 kms an hour. I had to turn around, climb the hill I had just ridden down into the wind (going about 10 kms up the hill and only 20 km down the otherside) and grab a new contact from the Gear Truck. Lesson learned to always bring an extra set of contacts along with me. So, I added about 20 kms to my ride today, into a good headwind, which is probably just as well because it helps me train for headwinds and today was a seriously short day (55 km).

It was hard to get up this morning because I didn’t sleep well due to the wind last night. Also, it was stinking hot in the school building. But after I had some breakfast, I started singing a tune and enjoyed my morning. I left around 8 only to return for a contact and get on the road by 9. Then I motored it and caught up to Matt Zantingh and we took a detour to Payette. Which meant we got to Idaho before anyone else! Do any of my students recognize anything in this picture (besides their teacher)?

After pulling into the town of Ontario, OR, I had a shower (I’m getting to know people reeeally well on this trip) and then headed to the library. About 15 C2Cer’s are here now, blogging and emailing away. And I just found out that I’m the new “Creative Caption” for the Sea to Sea Newsletter. Check out http://www.crcna.org/pages/sea_follow.cfm and download “Week 3” and scroll to the bottom to see.

New helmet and sunglasses!

Day 11: Thursday: Baker City to Huntington, OR

2008-07-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 75 kms

Overkill Kms: 5 kms to “town”.

Road Stuff: We had some interesting snake skins, live gartner snakes, and one live rattler that reminded me what the word “scared” means.

Money Spent: $2 for a Michelob Ultra…I.O. Brian. $3.50 Pizza I.O Lisa. Also known as “Sarah is out of U.S cash”.

Wipeouts: None, but a fatal one would have occurred with the rattler.

Interesting Person Pick: Art Smit. I found out he is Eritia’s brother which clears up a whole lot for me and I also found out that he is very good at Settlers. He’s a pretty chill guy. Even if he does tease me and call me Miss Terpstra the entire game. Grr Art.

Favourite Part of the Day: As Brian and I were riding beside each other along the road this morning, I thought I saw a snake in between us. I screamed and it (yes it was real…and we think a rattler) jumped up and I literally could hear it bite into the air. It was about one foot from my feet and although I was traveling at at least 35 km/hour, I was very, very scared.

Worst Part of the Day: I played Settlers today with five other guys. Big mistake. Should have made sure we had at least one other girl at the table. The entire table was tired, silly and the entire time they teased me and kept calling me Miss Terpstra; which was enjoyable and annoying at the same time. They kept saying “What are the rules Miss Terpstra?” and “Stop him from stealing from me Miss Terpstra”, etc. It was fun up to the point when Brian asked, “Hey, do you guys think Miss Terpstra is hot?” and I went all red and put my head down in embarrassment. They could all tell how I was feeling and just laughed in good humour. I guess it’s good to be reminded what embarrassment feels like but it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that.

Today was an incredibly easy day. Last night Brian and I agreed to book it to Huntington because we didn’t want to ride in the heat. So we started riding at 7 am and got into Huntington at 9:30-yes am. Hoo-yah! But, the ride was, probably the easiest ride yet. As Ed (Our Leader) says “It’s all downhill from here”…and it really was.
Last night before the Peleton meeting I told Jen that it would be a good idea to have one person who would deliver the mail to the post office instead of everyone trying to find it. I apparently didn’t think this out really well before the conversation, but I found myself offering to do this job. So I am the Official Mail Girl. They announced it at the Peleton last night and I have already delivered several postcards and letters in Dirkee today (the smallest town ever). I figure I’m a fairly fast rider, and I like delivering mail (seeing which people are writing, seeing where they are writing to, and in the case of postcards, seeing what they are writing…just joking!) so I’m in a good position to contribute to camp in this capacity.

When Brian and I drove into Huntington, just as was told us, the town was very small but it had a pub, so we stopped in, had a beer (yes, I know, at 9:30 in the morning) and ate some of our lunch. Then I found “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” in a Reader’s Digest set of novels on a table in the bar. Which is the book Tim and I were reading before I left, so I picked it up and reread some sections he had read to me, remembering how he had said read sections. I kept reading until about 10:30 when more Sea to Sea bikers joined us and the bar became the place to be in Huntington (population 500). We enjoyed some pizza and good fellowship with the crowd there.

Around noon, after I called Emily and Jamie, we headed back to steaming hot camp and I helped unload the gear truck to find my Settlers game. I played a little Basketball, played Settlers, had a shower and now I’m in the gym of the school here (student body 60, but a great huge building) watching Jolene (Ed-our leader’s daughter) run around the gym and kick a basketball. She is about 3 and deliciously cute. This is Brian and me being silly on the floor today. The school mascot was the "locos" or Huntington Locomotives.

At night, I found a payphone, called Tim, ate some delicious dinner (the food is great) and then played ping pong against Peter Kranenburg. He beat me by one point and bragged it up, but I will get back at him. Also played against Brent (who beat me by 2 out of 3 games and is very good) and another guy who I beat. Which was somewhat restoring to my sense of self.

When I went to bed the wind was howling and I tried sleeping for an hour before moving my tent inside because it was too windy. I was glad that tomorrow was a short day.

And here is the sight of what I woke up to. Yes, that's Peter Kranenburg and Denise. Great bed head and legs.

Day 10: La Grande to Baker City, OR

2008-07-09T14:07:00.001-07:00

Actual Kms: 82 kms

Overkill Kms: 5 or so to town and back to camp.

Road Things: So many dead animals (racoons, cats, birds) that as I told Eritia, I couldn't count them all.

Money Spent: Ekk! Too much. $2.75 yummy white chocolate latte, $18 book "The Shack"/postcards, $1.25 envelope/stamp, $3.50 Black Butte Porter-I am liking this one, $14 pen and very cool hangman flip game for my classroom (you gotta have new games right?...right?). Abby can support me on this one.

Most Interesting Person Pick: Randy DeWolde who I often find blogging beside me. He is from Chilliwack, B.C and bought my Museum fare today because I didn't have the cash on me (probably due to my overspending). We hung out as the tour guide told us a lot about the hugest mineral/rock collection ever, the Oregon Trail and the Museums history. He also took some really good pictures for me. Baker City is a gold mine town that hit it big in the 1920's but kind of went down hill from there.

Favourite Part of the Day: Biking into Baker City and realizing that it was big enough to find the book I wanted and a shady spot to sit and have a drink and eat my lunch. Also, getting in at 11:45. Hoo-yah!

Worst Part of the Day: Getting up this morning at 5:30-and leaving by 7:00. It's getting harder and harder to get out of the sleeping bag knowing that I have to get back in the saddle. Also, my knee has been hurting and today's ride didn't help. I know, I know...complainer.

Today was a pretty easy ride. We had a lot of flat areas filled with wheat fields everywhere. I rode with Eritia and we kept up a pretty good pace. Before the climb we stopped in Union (a town) at a very cute coffee shop with home and garden things. I took a picture of a great antique cabinet that I thought was original for you Mom. We chilled for about 30-45 mins and saw a lot of people come in and order a coffee from the very kind owner. We also got some cute pictures.

Next there was a little bit of a climb, but we booted it up the hill at 25 clicks and enjoyed the SAG wagon at the top. When we started out descent, we saw the Blue Mountians with lots of snow on the tops and the morning air was still cool so it was a lovely ride.
I learned today that you need to be 12 inches away from the person in front of you in a pace line to catch the draft and make it easier for yourself. This is a little close for comfort, but I'm becoming better.

When we got into town, Eritia and I found a bookstore, a stationary shop and a cute little cafe to sit and have our lunch.

Then I read for a long while and found a museum with Randy and discovered more of Baker City's history. Now, I'm at the local library with 1,2,3 other cyclists, enjoying the quick internet. I will try to get my pictuers onto a USB and post them online for you all to see. Thanks for reading.

Day 9:Tuesday: Pendleton to La Grande, OR

2008-07-08T16:40:00.001-07:00

Actual Kms: 92 km

Overkill: 9 km into La Grande and back to Pioneer Park

Road Things: possum, bird, lots of live deer in the bush.

Money Spent: Ouch. Almost don't want to admit today's spending. $2.25 split a banana split with Brian when we came into town, $35 new red helmet because the owner of the La Grande bike store told me my helmet was safe but sketchy...not a lot of ventilation and I needed a visor anyways, $45 new polorized sunglasses...I finally caved and bought some, $2 whopper jr and cheesy potatoes...I know, I know, I have to get out of the habit of having two suppers.

Most Interesting Person Pick: Stephanie Webb who is sitting opposite me in the library right now. She is an friend of Trevor and Tanya and has a wicked bike. She is doing a stretching class which I think will help now that my knee has gotten a little sore.

Favourite Part of the Day: Coming into camp. The last 30 kms or so of the ride, I just wanted to get to camp.

Worst Part of the Day: Surprisingly, it wasn't the 15 km climb at the beginning. It was definitely following the interstate and going down on a 5% grid down for 3 miles. We were clocking 60 km and that was a little scary for interstate riding. I'm still using my brakes becuase I'm scared of falling at such a fast speed. However, I just need to have faith that I'm going to be taken care of.

Today I made Team Sweet leave camp at 7:00 am. I knew we were going to have a hot day and a tough ride, so I whipped them into shape using my best teacher voice ever. "Let's gooooo Team Sweep, we got a hill to climb," I called up. We rode up a huge hill/mountain in Oregon that had the wickedest hair pin turns I've ever seen. It was tough, but most of the climbs were short and steep, the way I like them.

We continued doing the up and down (hilly) thing through beautiful forests and saw some wildlife. But then, then things got ugly. We did a very slow uphill climb that was brutally painful....my legs were tired and I was beat and the sun was getting hotter by the minute. I was riding by myself for about 10 kms and that was nice but I needed some encouragement. Brian came along and said "Let's go Turpentine" (which is his nickname for me). We finished the climb and were rewarded with a beautiful winding downhill of 10 kms. It was lovely.

We jumped on the interstate and headed to La Grande but Brian got a providential flat tire. I say providential because Jodie and Matt Z and Hans all caught up to us and Team Sweet was reunited for the ride into camp. Along the way, we spotted a sweet ice cream store where about 10 others were eating and so we joined the feeding frenzy.
We found La Grande's bike store and I got a new helmet. Jodie accompanied me to Apple Glasses, and I found some relatively cheap polorized sunglasses. Then we headed into camp, signed into the gear truck and went swimming at the pool right on sight. It was free and cold. I had a shower, ate a burger and now I am at the library; already looking forward to my second dinner. I will try to post pictures when the internet at camp is up. Thanks for reading.

Day 8: Monday: Kennewick to Pendleton, OR

2008-07-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 126 kms
Overkill Kms: 15 kms overkill to town and back.
Road Stuff: dead birds, onions, two black high heel boats, underwear, pelicans flying above the lake Walla Walla.
Money Spent: $11 at Denny’s for an omelet, bagel, and grits, $3.50 for a spectacular Something Brute Porter beer.
Wipeouts: None, but a very close one driving back after the beer.
Interesting Person Pick: Jodie! As in Jodie Van Dorp, related to Marieke Van Dorp from Alliston. She joined the Sweet Team today and kept up like a machine. I really enjoyed getting to know about her Chiliean experience and I was excited that Team Sweet had another girl besides me. She has a great Cannondale bike and really paced well with us. Yah Jodie!
Favourite Part of the Day: Probably calling Tim, my boyfriend while waiting for a fresh omelet at Denny’s. I was really excited to find out that he had seen my blog and pics of us from Jill’s wedding.
Worst Part of the Day: The first 50 kms were fine (with exception of a headwind). Then came the horrible rolling hills of Oregon. Oh Oregon, how endless and rolling you are. It was tough, especially in the heat. It was hot (around 94 F) and I the last 20 kms were really difficult. I had to keep drinking water because I felt a little faint.

Today was actually a really good day but the ride was tough. We had a good ride in Washington, right next to the lake. Here’s a picture of the typical ride.

We also stopped at the Twin Sisters which are two large rocks that tell the story of two native girls who married a coyote. He got jealous and turned them into rocks. Really, they are a land marker and very visible for miles. One of the guys, Joel, climbed up to get a picture from between the two rocks. That’s Joel.

I love this next picture because I was pumped to get to Washington. That’s my girl Jodie and Joel.

This next picture is Walter Vink’s RV. He’s from Alberta, a direct older Dutch guy who always meets us in the middle of our journey to refresh us with water. A lot of people stop because he has a canopy and chairs for us to sit in.

Here is Team Sweet at the RV SAG wagon. Great view. Yah Team Sweet!

This is me, eating at Denny’s at 4 pm. I got into camp at 1:30, had a shower without my shower stuff because the gear truck was held up at the Washington/Oregon border for a while. But I wanted cold water, so I soaked myself and then fell asleep for an hour on the carpet of the school. But Denny’s and calling Tim hit the spot. Also, I talked to some people and handed out some Sea to Sea cards in the restaurant, so it was worth it.
Then I drove into downtown Pendleton and visited some places recommended to me by the locals. First I went to the bike shop but they didn’t have a visor for my helmet. I’m not wearing sunglasses right now, so it’s been a little bright. Here’s a picture of a mural on the pub I went to. Pendelton is an old Wild West town, full of underground tunnels that the Chinese immigrant railroad workers lived in.

Also, Pendleton was supposedly full of brothels, as this sign proves.

Then I visited the best western store I’ve ever seen. Yes Dad, it rivals Alberta’s Wong’s Western. I asked if they had any saddles for Percheons Dad, but they looked at me strangely. Check out this amazing statue in the middle of the store.

And now, at 6:27 pm, I am going to eat a small second supper. I feel like a hobbit. If one of my students is reading this, you can post why Miss Terpstra might feel like a hobbit because of second supper since we read The Hobbit this year. J

Day 6: Saturday: Sunnyside to Kennewick, WA

2008-07-05T22:05:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 85 km
Overkill Kms: 0
Road Stuff: skunks galore, lots of glass and birds.
Money Spent: $4 for the best duche de luche frappacino ever, $3 snacks while calling Tim.
Interesting Person Pick: Hank, Claire’s Husband. He’s a cool older guy who is a Calvin Seminary professor. We discussed RBC, GR and then he feel asleep on the couch at the Lee’s.
Favourite Part of the Day: Climbing a wicked cliff side to take pictures and wave to the bikers below (see pic).
Worst Part of the Day: Waiting to get to the Lee’s because all I wanted was internet, a place to clean my very stinky bike shoes and a real bed.
Today was a good day. I rode with Hans, Joel, Matt Z and we made good time again. We climbed a cliff, ate our lunch and met up with Steven. Then we roe some more and stopped at a great coffee shop. We got to camp and it’s beautiful-right next to the Columbia River. We set up camp and I went in the water and read on a giant rock in the middle of the water. I took a nap and then had supper. The Lee’s, a family in the area took me and three other cyclists back to their house where I get to enjoy a hot shower and a real bed. I am pumped to not have to ride tomorrow. My legs need a rest.

Day 5: Friday: Yakima to Sunnyside, WA

2008-07-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 59 km in the rain.
Overkill Kms: A few around town, including one where I got a piece of glass in my tire and got a flat. Thankfully, Nick cemented it for me and it’s good as new.
Road Stuff: a few dead birds, dead skunk, rabbit?, telephone cord
Money Spent: $20 phone card (1.7 cents to Canada-yeah!), $3.50 popcorn chicken from Safeway, $3.50 Starbucks caramel latte, $4 beer/snacks
Wipeouts: 0 for me, but I narrowly dodged a pretty big hole today. As Joel said "Good rock dive Sarah!". Thank you Joel.
Interesting Person Pick: Matt Zanting, a former Alliston resident. I biked with him, Hans, Joel and Ed Witovet (the co-ordinators) brother today. Matt and I talked Tolstoy, Dostevesky, and other good literature (he is also an English major), phone cards (he has a fiancé), Alliston students (shout out to Dael, Garrett, Nina, Andrew, and Steven), and other random things in the rain. Also Cynthia, who I sat beside today at the Petalton is hilarious. I could listen to her all day. Favourite Part of the Day: Definitely know this one. There is a guy (50ish) named Johnny on the tour who always shouts out "Let’s do something beautiful" which is a line from the song on the promotional Sea to Sea video. He’s hilarious and a big biker. Today, after we got into camp, we started cleaning our bikes and he was talking about his patch box. He said "You know, I’ve had this patch box for about 30 years". Nick (who is 22) said "Uh, really? That box has 8 years on me." Johnny slumped his shoulders, looked down at his dinged up patch box and said "Really? Oh man." His look of disappointment and realization of his age killed me. I laughed like I haven’t laughed in months. Mostly because he is very young at heart and all the young people love him. Shout out to Johnny for making me laugh.
Worst Part of the Day: Sweating in my raincoat (it is too many layers) in the rain…when I took it off, it had a slimy film on the inside. Yuck. That’s gotta be cleaned in the shower (which is how we do things here on Sea to Sea).

Today was a great day. We woke up a little later because we all knew it was going to be a short ride. It started to rain and people lazily cleaned up their tents. I was going to ride with Brian but couldn’t find him for around 20 minutes so I left with Hans, Joel, Matt Zanting, and Ed’s brother. We kept a pretty good pace for 35 km (about an hour) and got to the Zilhah CRC where they served us cherries, watermelon and coffee. We decided to book it to Sunnyside and have coffee there. But on the way, we saw a teapot and sang "I’m a little teapot" and took pictures. J Also, as we were driving next to a horse farm, the horses started to run with us. It was awesome! The field was long and the thirty horses just kept looking at us and running alongside us.

When we got to Sunnyside, we stopped at the Safeway and I shared some popcorn chicken with the boys and had a latte outside on the patio. Random older gentlemen came up to us and asked what we were doing. They also warned us about a big hill coming up tomorrow. We’ll see how their predictions prove. Then we checked out the local pool complete with a waterslide and decided that it would be good to swim later if it got hotter. Then we found a cow and a dutch girl milking and took pictures. We made it to camp and saw a lot of people cleaning their bikes. So I found a rag and enjoyed cleaning my pretty red and white bike. All the bikes look so shiny now.
Then Brian and I decided to go to town and we found Hans, Matt Z and Johnny and went swimming at the local pool. We grabbed some snacks and beer at a convienence store and then sat outside and chilled. I said to Hans, "I feel like a little kid", and he replied, "Because we are biking around and hanging out at the convienence store?" I said "Yep". Smile.
We headed back to camp and walked over to the local Christian Elementary school and had a wicked Mexican dinner courtesy of the local CRC. During dinner, I had a good talk with Ed who is the leader and organizer of the trip. I know he’s probably a great biker and I really admire the way he is leading the trip. He talks to us at each Petalton meeting about the route and any other announcements.

During the middle of our chat Ed asked about my life quite a bit, which was in a way, complementary, because of how busy he is. Then he said "That’s a funky hat. Your kind of a funky girl aren’t you?" I replied "Yes, I go for funky". He nodded, smiled and said "I like that". It’s funny, but it’s the nicest compliment I’ve gotten in the last week. Which is odd, because I’ve gotten a lot of compliments, from my ride to my voice but I think it was just a moment of realization that this guy was taking the time to be perceptive out of his very busy day because he knew that the tour is about people and not about getting it all done. Now maybe, just maybe ;) I’m taking too much from a simple comment, but intuition tells me I’ve nailed it.
There are fireworks later on tonight to celebrate the fourth of July at the local public high school and the CRC is handing out root beer floats, which got a good cheer from the crowd at the Pedalton meeting. Overall, life is good. As I was walking back from the meeting I was listening to some of my music on my Ipod and I was on top of the world. How can my life get any better? I am finally getting a tan (yes Pake, a real tan on these white legs), eating really great food and it doesn’t matter, biking another great route tomorrow, sleeping outside, my bike is clean, and I’m really getting along with everyone here. The only bad part is my boyfriend isn’t here to share it and I can’t find a phone to call him. Bummer.

Day 4: Thursday: Ellensburg to Yakima, WA

2008-07-03T15:37:00.001-07:00

Actual Kms: 68 J
Overkill: 0
Road Things: dead deer, alive black cat, dead rabbit? With intestines galore, lots of gravel on the side.
Wipeouts: 0
Money Spent: $3 Latte in Ellensburg
Interesting Person Pick: Reuben Vyn, our Sweep Team leader who races in Portland but is originally from Guelph. He has a wicked bike and carries a pace like nobodies business. He was very easy going this morning and sat with our Canadian Sweep Team to have coffee for an hour.
Favourite Part of the Day: It may have been showering and putting on my cute white dress and having four people say “That’s a beautiful dress”. I think they were just surprised that a girl brought a dress on tour. Or it may have been sitting at the coffee place in Ellensburg this morning and finding out all eight of us were Canadian. Scratch both of those….my favourite part of the day was finding out that I know weigh 150 pounds (I found a scale by the gym). YES!
Worst Part of the Day: Peeing behind the rock memorial. I was with eight guys and it was a little embarrassing.

Today I tried to wake up later because I knew I was on the sweep team but people around my tent were very loud so I woke up at 6:15 and did some email stuff. Then I ate breakfast very slowly and packed up my stuff and my lunch and met up with my sweep team. We went to the local bike store and chilled out there for a while and then we had coffee at a cute little coffee shop and sat outside. Then we headed out and made great time through a great road called Canyon Rd. It was very windy and was next to the river. We had a few hills but nothing like Tuesday and I feel like my legs are beginning to get really strong. It is good. So we got in as the sweep team around 1:30, which was awesome. We are staying at Riverside Christian School and the showers are great, the hallways have AC and the day is still young! I’m excited about showing you what’s happening with pictures and video.

Day 3- Wednesday: Leavenworth to Ellensburg

2008-07-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms- 96
Overkill Kms- 0
Road Things- dead birds, great views
Money Spent- $90 new shorts, $4 bag balm, $4 aloe vera, $12 face 85 spf sunscreen, $5 pumice stone, $4 soup (oddly craving soup), $5 swimming at local pool.
Interesting Person Pick- Eritia-I rode with her today. She is 25, from Grimsby and works at the Dutch store there. She was really encouraging when we went up the first big hill....as she says "Press On".
Favourite Part-Being the first group in today (there were 4 of us) ! Yah for setting a good pace. Also, the Candlelight service last night at 9 where we got to sing and pray together.
Worst Part-Wicked sadle sores.

Yesterday was great. We had a nice climb and then a 15 minute downhill going 50 Km/H. It was full of beautiful views and I was glad to be into camp at 12:15 because the sun was killer. Today (Thursday) I am on the sweep team which means we have to ride behind everyone else to make sure they get to camp so it should be a relaxing day to Yakima. We only do 68 km so hopefully I will have some time to load some pictures and video onto the site. Thanks for reading!

Day 2: Tuesday: Sultan to Leavenworth

2008-07-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms- 130 km
Overkill- 0 km
Road Things-half a snake, deer, glasses, fort, Giant Jet flying overhead.
Interesting Person Pick: Jake Kuypers, Claire Biermans brother, who rode the last 5 kms up the top of the mountain with me and all the way down. He was a great encourager and very fast (for an older guy especially).
Money Spent: $6 new magnet for my bike speedometer since I lost it in my fall yesterday, $6 Coldstone ice cream, $5 postcards/stamps, $10 phone card.
Wipeouts: 0 :)
Favourtie Part of the Day: Being the 10th rider into camp and the second girl after 7 hours of riding. Also - meeting and riding to town with Eritia - the girl who got to camp first.
Worst Part of the Day: The last 10 km of the mountain. Ahhh.

Today was the toughest day of my life. I climbed 3000 ft in elevation in 15 kms and by the end - had to stop every 2 km. It was brutal - but when I saw the SAG (water/relief/other sea to sea people) wagon at the top of the mountian and knew that it was all downhill from there - I was pumped! It was the longest ride of my life but we got to ride for 15 km downhill at 50 km/h. And the river was beautiful with amazing rapids (see pics soon). The river was on our right with the mountains and cliffs on the left. The scenery was incredibly gorgeous. I rode with Brian Garrett for the first 60 km and we said "Who are we that we get to do this?" God is good to us.

Day 1: Monday: Seattle to Sultan, WA

2008-07-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

Actual Kms: 93
Overkill Kms: 12
Road Things: dead snake, racoon with three babies.
Intersting Person Pick: Hans, as in Hans Solo. He was my leader on our first trip out of Seattle, a Mountain Equipment Company guy who goes to Regent College and very sincere. Excellent biker.
Money Spent: $0
Wipeouts: 1 which equaled 3 bruises on the leg and one very sore bum. I wiped out 5 kms in on our way to the tire dipping ceremony because I didn't go over the railroad tracks on a 90 degree angle. Bummer.
Favourite Part of the Day: Seeing the tents in the field as we came in and hearing the comment, "We look like the Israelites". I'd like to add "except in colour".
Worst Part of the Day: Falling 5 kms into the ride. Embarassing.

It was a great day! We dipped our tires in the great blue Pacific and left the beach with our group (Group 8). We had an accident - a 77 year old woman named Agatha hit a pole in the middle of the trail we were taking and generally speaking, people were nervous and jumpy. We took a long time to complete our journey - from 10 am to 5 pm. Blah.
We did visit a wine tasting shop (see video soon) only to find out that it wasn't free. Being Dutch, we left without a taste. :) I was worried today about pacing tomorrow and being able to work with someone else in a group without being slowed down. But I slept well...back to the 8:30 bedtime.