LPC Ride4Life

2011-11-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

A final thanks to everyone who participated in this year's Ride4Life. Thank you riders, SAG drivers, planning committee members, volunteers, financial partners and everyone we ran into along the way that took the time to listen, share, bless and be blessed.

A final thanks to our team jersey sponsors as well who enabled us to look like a team with our race cut Louis Garneau cycling jerseys. Thanks to Grand Rapids Bicycle Company for providing the customized jerseys to us at a very reduced price. Thanks to Wierenga Asset Management , Duca Tile & Stone, Controllership Services Incorporated, Holland Cycling & Fitness, and J&H Oil for sponsoring our team financially.

Special Thanks also to Velo-City, Zeeland Schwinn, and Holland Cycling & Fitness for the gifts in kind via discounted bicycles, gear, and servicing, making these items more affordable for each member of the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center's Ride4Life team. Thank you too for making yourselves available to our team in various forms as we prepared for this cross country trek.

If you would like to receive information about the annual Lakeshore Preganncy Center's Ride4Life trip or LifeRide day event, please subscribe to the posts of this blog by clicking in the upper the right margin. You can also email derek.owens@lpcenters.com.

Until next year.

After Trip Update

2011-10-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

We made it! We arrived into the CareNet conference at the Gaylord Palms Resort, glad to be to our final destination and grateful for the many things we learned along the way. Some of us decided to fly home, others made sure the SAG vehicles returned safely to Holland with all of our bikes and luggage.

We extend a HUGE thank you to all of you for following us, praying us through and encouraging us in various forms before, during and even now after the trip.

We also want to throw out a special thanks to our sponsors, both individual and corporate. We appreciate your support more than we can express and are grateful that you see value, not in what we are doing on this ride necessarily, but in what the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center does each day. Your financial contribution will significantly help LPC restore men, women, children and families to God, His truth, and the blessings that come with that.

THANK YOU!

Grace + Peace,
Team Ride4Life

Our Sponsors

2011-09-28T21:02:00.003-07:00

A special thanks to our team jersey sponsors who enabled us to look like a team with our race cut Louis Garneau cycling jerseys. Thanks to Grand Rapids Bicycle Company for providing the customized jerseys to us at a very reduced price. Thanks to Wierenga Asset Management , Duca Tile & Stone, Controllership Services Incorporated, Holland Cycling & Fitness, and J&H Oil for sponsoring our team.

LPC R4L 2011 - Day 7 Quick Update

2011-09-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of our riders as we got our day off to a start. It is late and we need to push through one more day tomorrow. The heat here is taking it out of us quicker than in days past when we were battling the cold and even rain. The thermometer on Bob's bike today hit 104 degrees!!! So for now, enjoy this pic and stay posted as we continue to post updates for you to catch up on over the next several days.

Grace + Peace,
Team Ride4Life

LPC R4L 2011 - Day 6 Recap

2011-09-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today we cycled from Jacksonville, FL to Ormond Beach, FL.

What a great day!!!! Much of the day we were along the coast with the ocean on our left.
It was uplifting, exhilarating, and fun! Then it got to be about 95 degrees and then 97 and then 99 and for the last 18 miles after lunch we focused on getting to the hotel where we could jump in the pool!

Today we encountered a turtle crossing the road, “lovebugs” that ruined our lunchtime
beach break plans. We ended up getting lunch at a cafe because they made it impossible for
us to eat outside. We then were able to relax a while until we met up to go to “Crabby
Joeʼs" out on Sunglow pier for dinner. We then enjoyed devotions together focusing on
Psalm 95. Thank you Cheryl for leading us. We then debriefed and talked about our
next day.

It was a GOOD day. God has blessed us once again with health and safety. Tonight we
are thankful to be able to hear the ocean from our window. Shout out of thanks to John
Wierenga for setting up all these great hotels for us. We wish you were with us!!! Now
only 2 days until we ride into Orlando, our ﬁnish line. “Oh the places weʼve been and the
things weʼve seen.”

Itʼs 12:15 am and we have to ride tomorrow early although the boss is giving us an extra
hour of sleep. Tomorrow promises to be sunny and hot and we canʼt wait to see what
God has planned for us!

Love and Blessings,
Team Ride4Life

Thanks to our sponsors

2011-09-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

LPC R4L - Day 5 Recap

2011-09-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

Cycled from Perry, GA to Tifton, GA. SAGged to Jacksonville, FLORIDA!

Our day started with the usual early morning routine of breakfast, pack up, unload bikes, fill waters, and we left before the sun was up at 7:03 am. Our best “on time” morning yet. We were trying to get ahead of the heat and wind. On today's adventure we saw fields of cotton, pecan groves, peanut groves, crossed the Swanee River, our first dead armadillo, baby snakes, homes that were grand, homes that were very impoverished, and blue skies. Lots to entertain us along the way. On the first break we enjoyed some fresh harvested peanuts given us to by a local farmer. We may have also picked some cotton just to say we did. Don't worry, the farmer didn't care. Well, technically we didn't ask, forgiveness later rather than permission now I guess is the mentality we approached this small endeavor with.

Lunchtime! We had biked 55 miles by 11:30, our best time yet. Many times we were going 17-18 mph!!! We dined at Turner County Park where they gave us free ice, turned on the fans in the shelter, and the bathrooms were air conditioned! Our great SAG crew treated us to tacos (which they made) for lunch! Can’t tell you how good they tasted! If everyone saw how much we ate you would think its a good thing we are riding all these miles!!! When we were leaving Mary must of thought Carolyn was getting to warm and made sure she dumped the cooler of ice water out of the van and down her front, whoosh! Accidental but we had a good laugh!

We were off our bikes by mid afternoon with our 76 miles complete and alot of whoops and high fives. We could all feel how well we rode today and we had a great feeling of accomplishment. 76 miles and lunch and still getting off the bikes for the day by 1:30PM with 175 miles left to SAG. Our wonderful crew treated us to popsicles and while we were enjoying them and loading up a man came and talked to us about biking and what we were doing and when we were leaving he gave us a dollar for the cause. For some this means nothing but for him it was generous and we appreciated it.

On our way to Jacksonville we went through two heavy rainstorms and we were grateful that our day had been so smooth. When we arrived at our hotel we were glad that we had finally arrived at our nights stay in the daylight. We enjoyed pizza and devotions together and called it an "early" night excited to ride along the coast tomorrow!

Until next time,

Team Ride4Life

THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN

2011-09-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

We again wanted to send out a big THANKS to all of our supporters in case you didn't catch it here the first time. We are so grateful for you. Some of you are friends or family of one of the Ride4Life team members. Some of you are longtime supporters of LPC. Some of you are local businesses who decided to make a monetary or gift in kind donation to the Ride4Life team. Who ever you are, know that we are constantly grateful for your support. You are the other side of the coin. Without you, we could not make this happen.

A special thanks to our team jersey sponsors who enabled us to look like a team with our race cut Louis Garneau cycling jerseys. Thanks to Grand Rapids Bicycle Company for providing the customized jerseys to us at a very reduced price. Thanks to Wierenga Asset Management , Duca Tile & Stone, Controllership Services Incorporated, Holland Cycling & Fitness, and J&H Oil for sponsoring our team.

Special Thanks also to Velo-City, Zeeland Schwinn, and Holland Cycling & Fitness for the gifts in kind via discounted bicycles, gear, and servicing, making these items more affordable for each member of the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center's Ride4Life team. Thank you too for making yourselves available to our team in various forms as we prepared for this cross country trek.

LPC R4L - Day 4 Recap

2011-09-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

Cycle 75 miles from Murfreesboro, TN to Pellham, TN. Sag 275 miles to Perry Georgia. This was a long day. We had a shorter day of riding and a long end of the day to drive to keep us on schedule but still with many hills and a couple that were very challenging. No complaints though, we saw beautiful scenery, horse farms and fields of cotton. The fellowship of riding through this gorgeous countryside on this Lords Day was awesome. Along the way were joined by a friendly dog that stayed with us for a few miles. Don rode back to the house it came from to be greeted by a “BEWARE OF DOG” sign which he laughed about until a big dog came around the corner at full speed. Don quickly tamed him too and was then joined by our sag driver Betty who picked up the other dog from our riders and dropped him off at what we think was him home. A happy ending for our little friend.

We had our first break at about 20 miles, but we were feeling great from that extra hour of sleep. We had some snacks and enjoyed “jawing” with a few of the locals. People have been great along the way and are always so eager to hear what we are doing. The team jerseys with our name and our corporate sponsor's names help a ton. It makes our day rewarding as well when people ask what we're doing. Sometimes our breaks are longer than expected and we get behind but we have decided thats ok, we are just following Gods leading and enjoying every minute of it. At the end of the day our last 3 miles were a nice downward grade but against the wind pedaling at about 13mph with lots of effort that was hard work. Those last 3 miles were for us to see the base of the mountain that basically went straight up and that was where our day ended (thank goodness). The local at our break told us that it was unsafe and there wasn’t anyway all of our sag vehicles could wind up that narrow road either, especially the trailer. When we turned around to go back those 3 miles it was uphill but WITH the wind and we went twice as fast UPHILL averaging about 22 mph, CRAZY! That tells you how much wind can make or break it on a bike.

We got off our bikes around 3:00 and started sagging ahead. We had a 250 mile drive and we decided to stop for a quick dinner along the way so when we got to our hotel we could hit the pillow. What better way to fill up a bunch of hungry bikers than going to the Hibachi Grill Buffet (Derek was very pleased)! They probably did not make a profit off of us because we kind of skipped lunch to get on the road and we were hungry! We have to give a shout out to Jay and Amber who noticed our jerseys and was familiar with Holland MI and wanted to know about our ministry and we were happy to share.

We arrived at our hotel around 9:30, gathered for devotions and debriefing and off to sleep getting ready for another big day tomorrow. Its much warmer here with a high of 91 today and the same forecast for tomorrow. We will want to do as much as possible early in the day to beat the heat and afternoon winds.

Thanks for your prayers and dedication to us and LPC,

In his name,

Team Ride4Life

Pictures to follow.

LPC R4L 2011 - Day 3 Recap

2011-09-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Greetings Family and Friends,

God is good.

What a day! We started out meeting up for breakfast at 6 am (oh to sleep in on Saturday!). After that we met outside to gear up and quickly began adding layers to what we were already wearing as it was cold and rainy. Little did we know that this was the beginning of cyclically dressing and undressing all day long. Cold, hot, wet, damp, dry, hot again, then cold, more rain, then sunshine, drying out, more sunshine, blue skies, and very grateful riders. We have some laundry to catch up on and we hope our shoes are dry by morning after we had to pour the water out of them.

The ﬁrst 30 miles out of Louisville were cold mixed with consistent rain. We were met at our ﬁrst break with hot chocolate and coffee to try and warm up. Then the fun began; it stopped raining but we ran into our ﬁrst mountain. It was a 3 mile climb that was endless (or it felt that way. It was obviously not endless as I just told you it was 3miles), just when you thought it was done it would curve around and there was more! Derek and Mary had some bike trouble on the way up but made it to the top after some repairs. No slackers in this group! After a quick break at the top the group continued on while Derek and Mary took a detour to a bike shop and meet up with us when they were done.

Upon arriving at the E'Town Schwinn bike shop in Elizabethtown, KY we (Derek & Mary) were treated so well and enjoyed spending some time with the Owner (Bob) who sported a very inspiring beard that everyone should aspire to and the in house Mechanic Extraodinaire (Mike) at E'Town Schwinn. They were very helpful, gracious, and generous. This little pit stop again reminded us that itʼs not about the destination, but the journey along the way. Thank you Bob and Mike for being a blessing in so many ways to us and the people of your community! Next time you find yourself in Elizabethtown, KY, stop in and say "Hey" to Bob and Mike, sign their wall of passerthroughers from all over the world, and be blessed by some classic southern hospitality.

After meeting up with the team again at lunch, we were able to ride together the rest of the day, ending with a 75 mile total on the bikes, although it might as well have been 150. The climbs were big but at the end of the day we had some awesome downhills too. On our last downhill coast the elevation dropped 650 feet very fast. The top speed clocked was 39.4 MPH! (we won't tell you who hit this speed. For the sake of your peace of mind, just assume that it wasn't your husband, wife, daughter, or son, mom or dad).

After we were done riding, we loaded up into our SAG Vehicles and trailer to have an "early" dinner and get to bed!

Tomorrow more hills to climb, places to see, and people to meet. It was a long challenging day but once again God was watching over us and all of you prayed us through. We are each being stretched, carried, and blessed in so many ways that we did and didn't expect. We miss you all. Thanks for your many prayers. We'll stay in touch.

Peace out,
Team Ride4Life

LPC R4L 2011 - Day 2 Recap

2011-09-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

Our day started cool and drizzly out of Kokomo as we SAGged in the vans to Columbus, IN where we would begin cycling for the day. Our first stop was at a park where we met a guy named Kevin as some of us were coming out of the bathroom. Kevin shared his story with us and was very intrigued by our story. Kevin lives among the homeless of the small town we found ourselves in. As he shared about sharing the gospel with the many homeless in the area, he was glad to accept a small meal pack we were able to scrounge together for him from our snack and Gatorade supply.

Our next stop was a pregnancy center that happened to be right on our route. We visited for awhile, interacted with a client a bit who had TRIPLETS, and then got back to it. Once we were out of this town (the name of which I can't remember as we are falling asleep here) things started getting a bit hilly. We were grateful for the rolliness of these hills as they tended to be series upon series of short and quick ups and downs rather than long draining ones. None-the-less, they were steep and the team worked hard again today and we are all tired.

We were blessed at our lunch stop by our SAG crew with yet another great lunch as well as a mini sermon from our cohort Dr. "Pastor" Don. Tomorrow we look forward to hearing from Pastor Mary.

As always, we wish we had more time in a day (mostly for calling home and sleeping). Today we even had to call it quits before we really wanted to simply due to time. We will try to find time to do some "special reflections" posts, sharing some fun moments we've had along the way.

We will continue updating as we are able. Thanks again for your prayers and continued support, we feel it all. Keep it up as we do the same again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. And the next. And... I think you get the point (we'll be at this awhile).

Over and out.

LPC R4L 2011 - Day 1 Recap

2011-09-23T19:12:00.001-07:00

Greetings LPC Friends!

Our devotions for our day yesterday were from “Jesus Calling” and went like this “Trust me and refuse to worry for I am your strength and your song. You are feeling wobbly this morning, looking at difficult times looming ahead, measuring them against your own strength...” I believe God wrote that with us in mind don’t you!

We started the day with a great breakfast at the Holland Center (thanks Gary and Diane)! Thanks also to the many family and friends that came to see us off.

Yesterdays ride went really well. We had a crash less than a mile from leaving the center which is the only thing we found humorous about that incident. God was already hearing your prayers as this occurred with no serious injury when it had the potential to be so much worse. Throughout the day we stayed together at a steady pace and experienced Gods hand leading us to speak with others as to what we were doing and we’re constantly rewarded with kind words and sometimes gifts!

At a BP called Bonnie’s Place people took pictures of us and asked to follow our blog and gave us a case of water for the road.

At our lunch stop while Carolyn and Lyla were setting up lunch the Schwann Guy pulled up and gave us ice cream for dessert!

A bag of Apples at a fruit stand.

All unexpected blessings that gave us the boost to keep going. We talked last night about how not only to look at the destination but be aware of the people and places that God puts in our path and when he puts them there don’t run them over!

Last night we had a great dinner and time of fun and fellowship thanks to our favorite waitress Brooke at Texas Roadhouse. Then early to bed because those 5:30 am alarms are going off before we know it.

We are writing this as we sag through Kokomo this morning until daylight and hopefully sunny skies greet us at our drop off point. Thanks so much for your prayers especially to hold off the rain because it didn’t start to rain until we were all loaded up and back in the vehicles.

We will continue to update the blog as time allows.

Blessings,

Team Ride4Life

Update From The Road

2011-09-23T03:27:00.001-07:00

We are working with fairly unreliable WiFi. We will try to do a post this afternoon / evening. We're doing great. Getting ready to take off for the day.

- Ride4Life Team

LifeRide 2011 Recap

2011-09-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

What a great day! We are so blessed to have such quick access to so many of the beautiful areas God created in the places we live. We are also so blessed by the many people who are on board with the ministry of the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center. Thank you to the LifeRide participants as well as those who donated snacks and supplies as well as set them up. We appreciate you.

We started off from the Holland LPC office at 6:15 with breakfast and began riding at 7:00. Thank you Gary and Diane Feenstra for preparing breakfast for everyone.

It was a cold day and we encountered some headwinds as we pedaled to the Allendale LPC. We still made great time and got to Allendale at the planned time. After warming up a bit and grabbing some snacks, we made our way to the Grand Haven LPC. Upon arriving at Grand Haven, we were all quite pleased with how quickly the day seemed to be going and how nice the route was. The next leg back to Holland was a local favorite for many of us who regularly ride along Lakeshore Drive. It was beautiful scenery mixed with a healthy number of moderate hills that teased us a little as we thought ahead to the hills and mountains we would encounter on the way to ORlando next week.

The day ended as planned and ahead of schedule at the Holland LPC office. Thanks to our SAG team who made sure we had everything we needed along the way and surprised us with lunch upon our arrival.

Keep following as we continue to post the happenings of the Ride4Life team.

Grace + Peace

THANK YOU!

2011-09-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

We wanted to send out a big THANKS to all of our supporters. Some of you are friends or family of one of the Ride4Life team members. Some of you are longtime supporters of LPC. Some of you are local businesses who decided to make a monetary or gift in kind donation to the Ride4Life team. Who ever you are, know that we are constantly grateful for your support. You are the other side of the coin. Without you, we could not make this happen.

A special thanks to our team jersey sponsors who enabled us to look like a team with our race cut Louis Garneau cycling jerseys. Thanks to Grand Rapids Bicycle Company for providing the customized jerseys to us at a very reduced price. Thanks to Wierenga Asset Management , Duca Tile & Stone, Controllership Services Incorporated, Holland Cycling & Fitness, and J&H Oil for sponsoring our team.

Special Thanks also to Velo-City, Zeeland Schwinn, and Holland Cycling & Fitness for the gifts in kind via discounted bicycles, gear, and servicing, making these items more affordable for each member of the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center's Ride4Life team. Thank you too for making yourselves available to our team in various forms as we prepared for this cross country trek.

LifeRide 2011 Update

2011-08-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

There are a few changes to what has been previously communicated about the 2011 LifeRide on Saturday, September 17.

This year's LifeRide will only consist of a single loop which will be a Metric Century (~63 miles). The Ride4Life team and anyone else interested in joining us will meet at the Holland LPC office (click HERE for directions). Breakfast will be served at 6:30AM and we will roll out at 7:00AM sharp, heading toward our Allendale and Grand Haven offices.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED for all non-R4L team members.

Online Registration is coming soon. Keep checking back here.

$50 Registration includes breakfast, SAG vehicle support, hydration and snacks throughout the ride, and a t-shirt. There will also be a limited availability of LPC Ride4Life Cycling Jerseys for purchase ($50 each, first come first serve).

If you have any questions, email derek.owens@lpcenters.com

After The Holland 100

2011-07-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

We officially completed the Holland 100 (or 107 as it turned out to be). Great job team Ride4Life! It was nice to get the team together and ride. Here are some pictures from the day that will introduce most of our team members as well as a visitor or two.

Left to Right: Derek Owens, Jason Craner, Sherry Hoppen, Mary Wortley, John Wierenga, Bob Flanders, Mark Congrove, Cheryl Dryer, Betty Geurink, Carolyn Doyle, Barb Meekhof, Don Wickstra. Unable to be at the Holland 100: Bonnie Gruppen.

Gearing Up for Holland 100 + LifeRide

2011-06-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

The Holland Hundred is soon approaching. This is an annual ride put on by the Macatawa Cycling Club. The Ride4Life team will cycle the 100 mile loop on July 16th. This will be the first full team ride. Pray that each of us is adequately training for this distance, that we will mesh well on the roads as a team, and that our efforts are a light to the people we interact with along the way.

Our next official team ride will be at our LifeRide event on Saturday, September 17 which will include a 100 mile loop for the Ride4Life team and any interested cyclists who can go this distance with us. Life Ride will also offer plenty of shorter route options for everyone from families to avid cyclists. So grab your bikes, family and some friends and help the Ride4Life team raise awareness and funds for the Lakeshore Pregnancy Centers.

For more information about joining the Ride4Life team or participating in this year's LifeRide, email derek@lpcenters.com

2011 Ride4Life + LifeRide Events

2011-06-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

LifeRide : September 17 + Ride4Life : September 22 - October 2
We are excited to embark on our third annual Ride4Life trip, cycling from Holland, MI to Orlando, FL where the national CareNet pregnancy center conference will be held. Our Ride4Life team currently includes 12 cyclists and SAG Vehicle drivers. If you are a cyclist interested in joining the Ride4Life team, please email derek@lpcenters.com.

The goal of the Ride4Life trip is to raise awareness of the sanctity of human life and funds to support the mission of LPC. Each rider is training hard physically and spiritually as they will be pushed to their limits throughout this 1,200 mile trek. The Ride4Life team will need your prayers and financial support as each rider prepares, trains and seeks to raise a minimum of $5,000.

This year, we are also inviting you and your family and friends to help the Ride4Life team raise awareness and financial support for LPC by participating in our LifeRide. Join us at the Holland LPC on September 17, the Saturday before the Ride4Life team begins their trek to Florida. The LifeRide will offer several bike routes of varying distances for everyone from families with children to cyclists interested in joining the Ride4Life team for a century ride.

Registration is required for both events. If you would like more information about registering for or donating to the Life Ride or the Ride4Life team, email derek@lpcenters.com

Celebration!

2010-09-07T22:49:00.001-07:00

Finish Line

2010-09-07T22:48:00.001-07:00

Final Day Report!

2010-09-07T22:47:00.001-07:00

Report from The Riders

Day 10

II Timothy 4:7
“I have fought long and hard for my Lord and through it all I have kept true to Him. And now the time has come to stop fighting and rest.” NLV
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” NIV

Ps. 115:1
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”

It was an exciting day. The last leg of our trip and we woke up to rain. Lots of rain. The decision was made to sag a head a bit and try to drive out of it. We then realized we were driving into it not out. Tropical storm Hermine had moved on shore and was here to stay. In the end we were able to ride into Grapevine’s Gaylord Texan Convention Center and were greeted with a warm reception! It was an emotional moment with lots of high fives, hugs, tears and cheering; a fitting culmination to a long, challenging, and very rewarding journey. We wish we could have shared the moment with each of you. Jason was broadcasting on WJQ as we entered, we hope you were able to hear that and share in the celebration!

After drying our eyes, and talking to CareNet staff we again mounted our bikes, headed to our hotel and rode through the rain one final time as a group. Oh, and Carolyn had to take one final tumble but that’s all we will say about that! We changed our clothes and headed out for our “last supper” together at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a great night but a little bittersweet. Many will head out tomorrow so we pray for their safe travel. Thank you all for the prayers throughout this adventure. They have been uplifting and have given us strength beyond measure!

Here are some thoughts about each person on this awesome team…
Barb: Don’t let her size fool you. She may be small but she can keep up with the best of them. She was able to lead the group the day we had a tailwind. She quietly encourages and loves to laugh.
Betty: Where do we start? She whistles, she sings, she amazes and inspires each of us, not just because of what she was able to do but because of who she is.
Bob: Bob was not with us physically but he was surely instrumental for the success of this ride. He arranged for the hotels, the routes, and lent his van to serve as one of the sag vehicles. We are grateful for his generosity and for his encouragement throughout the ride. His presence was missed this year!
Carolyn: Started as a biker but became a sag driver. She was always there with water and encouragement. Her quick wit made our breaks so much fun.
Cliff: Cliff is thoughtful, kind, helpful and when he laughs he really laughs! And when he snores he really snores.
Debbie: She hunted out that one “special place” that would accommodate a large motor home and all of us for each break. She is quiet, helpful and ready to serve and can wrangle a vehicle any tight place!
Derek: Joined us the first day but was pulled away due to the birth of his first child. Congrats D!!! We missed his attention to detail but his presence was with us each day as we pulled out our route maps made to keep us on track.
Don: Is full of stories and fun little quirks. He encouraged each of us and gave everyone that little spark to keep pedaling. His emotions are on his sleeve and we were sorry to see him have to leave a couple days early. He was missed as we rode in across the “finish line”
Jason: Jason was the “voice” of the Ride. He reported in each day and represented LPC so well. He was helpful as he took charge of “airing” up the tires each morning. He loves his family and missed them greatly.
Karen: Pedaled hard and long, with tenacity that is to be commended. She is a lot of fun, good company, strong and is to be admired for her dedication to helping LPC in this endeavor.
Mark: Is focused, driven and tried to keep this crew on track. (Which by the way, was no easy task.  He is strong and dedicated to the cause of life and is appreciated for stirring us all up to take on this challenge.
Sherry: Is funny, quick witted and kept us laughing. She is strong and encouraging and somehow found a way, on a cross-country bike ride found a way to “accessorize”. She became a friend and a little sister.
Mike and Val Volkema: This couple trained with us and in the end were unable to make the ride. They too were missed but their support and provision of a vehicle helped in the success of this endeavor. Thanks Mike and Val. You were missed!

That is a quick glimpse into the people who made up this ride. We could say so much more about each of them and what we have meant to each other.
The other part of the team is each one of you reading this. You have encouraged us, prayed for us, called us, and emailed us. You have been such an important part of this journey.
Thank you for that! Go Team!!

We are concluding this blog entry with a poem written by Betty Guerink (our 74 year old rider) that retells our adventure though prose.
Enjoy!

“We started out nine bikers strong,
from Holland, Mich. rolling along.
We want to help clients from LPC
They are even allowing “older” me.
Since I said I’d raise money too,
We trained hard because we are new.
Money was raised and we set out fast,
hoping to arrive in Grapevine, TX at last.
Some are fast, some are slow
we pray for unity; strength to grow.
I feel like the tortoise not the hare
and ladies need men to pump the “air”.
The men have been thoughtful and kind,
saying, “If you are slow we don’t mind.”
Barb and Sherry keep up quite well,
and we won’t mention those who fell.
I, personally, wanted to do better
as the high heat cooled as we got wetter.
Well that didn’t last, there was a storm
but heat and hills have been the norm.
Karen and I have our own style,
we are peddling hard all the while.
Mark as our leader sets a good pace.
he’s quick to say it’s not a race.
But 15-17 mph is not really real,
even though it had some appeal.
Each morning, we eat pretty good,
and each carry snacks as we should.
The two sag ladies are Carolyn and Deb too,
they feed us, cheer us, and guide us through.
There was much to plan and Bob and Derek did fine,
some of our riders are always “online.”
Jason needed to report to the Zeeland station,
we wish we could tell all the nation.
Don regaled us with stories each day,
and Cliff was steady – come what may.
Well, God has been good we know,
words will fail me if I have to show,
How much we depend on God’s grace.
He has kept us, and there are smiles on each face.
As we near the end of our long run,
we also have had laughter and fun.
Well, we were refreshed, lead by Mark,
we worshiped, ate well and Sunday was a “lark”.
Early we do rise ‘cause we can’t be late,
if possible at 7:00 am we are “out the gate”.
Glen and Sue are looking for a wheel,
Barb’s bike has become a big deal.
Oklahoma was HOT we really must say,
after 34 miles, the van was the way,
for Karen and Betty to rest a bit,
best be wise or we’ll pay for it.
Deb and Carolyn made taco salad this day,
and we ate by an old red barn along the way.
We saw Armadillos upside down, big and fat,
while others laid there extremely flat.
Sherry was our "lookout" when dogs did chase,
Pit bulls can really make you race!
In Kirby our rooms were great,
we were slow starting up, we were late.
‘Cause tubes and tires kept going flat,
so far about 10 flats – What is that!
But then we know that folks will pray,
and we hope for another God honoring day.
Glen and Sue joined us at Hugo to eat,
we could all be there, that was neat.
At last we left Hugo, in the rain
this is not for which we did train.
So 5 girls were sitting in the van,
noisy and silly without a single man.
Lots of rain is why we’re sagging now,
our schedule’s really been changed, and how.
Mark had to put the gas cap on tight,
while rain came down with all it’s might.
This is it, this day is the last.
what can I say, “It was a blast.”
It seems tropical storm Hermine,
has met us at the finish line.
God bless our sponsors, and clients too,
With His help, we’ve done all we could do.”

What more can we say? The journey is finished and everyone will make their way home tomorrow. Pray for safe travel and much love as they reunite with family and friends.
We again, thank you all for your love and support. It seems the last total of funds raised is now close to $60,000! We are blessed and indebted to you all! Continue to pray for LPC and if you feel you want to contribute to The Ride...it is not too late!

Report From The Riders - Day 10

2010-09-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

Day 10

Psalm 96
“Sing to the Lord, a new song. Sing to the Lord, all the earth…
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord…”
We have seen this first hand throughout this ride! The heavens, water, fields, and the cows, horses, goats, (and dogs) in them. The trees, forests, swamps and cypress trees. They have all been singing for joy before the Lord. If they are singing we must join in! Let us rejoice and sing to the Lord!

Today was a long hot, windy, hill climbing, dog chasing kind of day.

We got up early for breakfast and to pack up so we could be on the road by 7 am. We were right on schedule until we discovered that Barb had blown another tire before we had even left. The guys gave it a temporary fix that lasted about 30 miles before it blew again. She actually was in need of a new tire. The chances of finding a bike shop open on Labor Day was slim not to mention the remote possibility of finding one in any of the tiny towns in Arkansas or Oklahoma through which we traveled. The guys literally repaired it temporarily with a new tube and a band aid and it held the rest of the day. Tonight Betty’s daughter and husband joined us and brought Barb her new tire should she need it. The heat was extreme today, in the mid 90’s and of course the breeze was against us. Again we did the best we could and made it to our destination of Hugo OK. Tomorrow Texas! Our final destination and we are ready! We hope to ride in at about 4:00 and are very excited. We hope to get some pictures and maybe even a video clip up tomorrow night.

Memorable Moments:
1. Beautiful sunrise this morning to greet us.
2. Carolyn trying to run interference with the van to ward off the dogs and dumping the water cooler out of the van in the process. (It did remain in one piece and we lost only a bit of water after Karen distracted the dogs away from it.)
3. The cyclist Jason met on the road today that had been on his bike since April picking up any job he could along the way. He is somewhere in a tent tonight. We are NOT complaining about our hotel tonight.
4. Taco Salad for lunch not sandwiches! What a treat!
5. Sherry bought Cliff ice cream tonight, sorry Don!
6. The arrival of Betty’s husband Glenn and daughter Sue. They were really happy to see each other!
7. Dinner at Bruams, great hamburgers and ice cream.
8.. More laughter.

Truly Thankful
1. We are thankful for the coolness and beauty of our first 30 miles. God’s artwork was on display.
2. We are thankful for our SAG wagon drivers. We are so grateful to see them when we need our break, especially when they have popsicles!
3. We are thankful for this opportunity to ride, for leadership who has confidence in us and for people willing to give sacrificially in so many ways.
4. We again, thank you all for keeping tabs on us, praying for us and sending notes, emails and blog comments. Keep them coming.
5. We are thankful we will be going home soon to be with our loved ones and enjoy getting back into our regular routines.

Interesting Facts:
1. Dogs are faster in Arkansas than in Oklahoma.
2. Semis own the road no matter what the state we seem to find ourselves in.
3. If a town has a Walmart that means “it has arrived”
4. Even though it was Labor Day we did not pass one family having a cookout like we would in our area.
5. We laugh no matter how tired we are. Sometimes the more tired we are the more we laugh. Betty calls it “fatigue drunk”.

Things to Pray about:
1. Pray as we get started again tomorrow. That we will have a smooth day of riding so that we may arrive when expected.
2. We pray for safety, wisdom, concentration and good fellowship as we ride.
3. We pray for tail winds, a break from the heat and dry roads and lazy dogs.
4. For the finish line to be all we have hoped it would be.

ONE more day of riding until our final destination! We have grown in so many ways. Beware family and friends…you may have a very different loved one upon their return…watch for how they have grown!

Thought from one of our riders journals; “Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in Gods world by mistake”

Report From The Riders - Day 9

2010-09-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Day 9
Sunday was day of rest. We figure if God can rest so can we. He knew exactly what we would need! He is a good God.
We had a big breakfast together followed by a time of singing and devotions. We shared together what this trip has taught us so far. It was a great time of insight, introspection and encouragement.

What this trip has taught us so far…
1. Perseverance, just keep going even when you think you can go no more.
2. Proverbs 2:1-9 - When we take action as God commands us, he then takes action in response. It is a great metaphor for us on this ride. We have taken action by listening to what God has asked each of us to do and in return God has responded. Read it when you get the opportunity. Make note of how many action verb are contained within this passage. Our action promises God’s action.
3. The importance of having men involved in pregnancy center ministry and how much impact that has had on people we meet along the way. Crisis pregnancy is not just a woman’s issue but one that includes men as well.
4. We have been encourages and inspired by people across this beautiful country. They have had a tremendous impact on us and we pray we had an impact on them too.
5. Simple gestures mean so much. If we leave a bit larger tip at a restaurant, share our extra protein bars with a homeless man, pray for a woman sitting at a grave we pass, or simply waving as we pass a child in his yard.
6. Flexibility…we have all learned that our expectations have had to be adjusted and when dong so, know that it is okay. What is God’s plan for us? Not so much, what we have planned for us.
7. How quickly friendships can be formed when God is involved.

Memorable Moments:
1. Beautiful sunrise this morning to greet us.
2. Random naps throughout the day.
3. A drive to Hot Springs for a bit off shopping. (That would be the ladies). They did plan to bike a bit but could find no trails in the midst of a busy town. (Sure they did!)
4. Chicken on the grill, baked potatoes, corn and salad. We ate dinner on the deck overlooking the lake. It was peaceful, relaxing, nourishing, and great fellowship.
5. More laughter.
6. Cliff discovering how to get ice to come out of the refrigerator dispenser.

Truly Thankful
1. We are thankful for the day off.
2. We are thankful for Don’s presence on this team. He has been our comic relief, our story teller, our resident game player and encourager on the road. He flew home today to get back to work. He will be missed as our team member and friend! Thanks Don.
3. We are thankful for this opportunity to ride, for leadership who has confidence in us and for people willing to give sacrificially in so many ways.
4. We again, thank you all for keeping tabs on us, praying for us and sending notes, emails and blog comments. Keep them coming.

Interesting Facts:
1. We have discovered in conversations that as a group we have spent close to $200 on Chammy Butter (similar to Desitin for babies!)
2. A day off is invigorating! We are ready for a new day tomorrow.
3. Hot Springs has multiple water fill stations throughout town where people stand in line to fill there gallon jugs. We decided to fill some of our empties. Fun!
4. The armadillo in the photo is still in that position as we passed him again today.
5. We calculated today that we have consumed over 60 gallons of water, used approximately 220 lbs. of ice, eaten 5 watermelons, about 20 lbs. of grapes and probably 6 or 7 cantaloupes.

Things to Pray about:
1. Pray as we get started again tomorrow. That the rest will have been exactly what we needed to finish well.
2. We pray for safety, wisdom, concentration and good fellowship as we ride.
3. We pray for tail winds, a break from the heat and dry roads.

Two more days of riding until our final destination! We have grown in so many ways. Beware family and friends…you may have a very different loved one upon their return!

One of many armadillos...poor fellow!

2010-09-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

Day 8 Rider Report - Self Creek Lodge

2010-09-04T22:33:00.000-07:00

Report from The Riders

Day 8
We are staying at a wonderfully peaceful lodge for the weekend. We began the day with a sit down breakfast in the lodge. Very refreshing!
It felt almost like family. Nice. We realized upon waking this morning that exactly one week ago today we were standing in the LPC parking lot saying goodbye to family and friends.
Due to the fact that the scenery in this area is so beautiful we decided to route ourselves to take it in. Every one got on their bikes around 10 am and began our day of riding.

Memorable Moments:
1. The beauty of this area. Mountains, lakes, animals and good friends.
2. Again with the dogs!!!!! We encountered an entire roadway of loose dogs on the chase. Once again the sag wagon had to run interference and get between the dogs and riders. Don’t people believe in underground fencing or leashes? We are considering tasers!
3. Don treated everyone to ice cream bars on a break. We really are riding hard but Klondike bars have become a favorite break food.
4. We celebrated a birthday today with Sherry. Happy birthday to Sherry (a week early).
5. We watched ourselves on some of the video shot throughout our trip to this point.
6. Don taught us a late night card game.
7. Taking a picture of yet another dead armadillo. (we’ll see if we post that photo)
8. Riding bicycles and having deer cross the road in front of us.
9. Riding behind the motor home through Little Rock and being reminded of Clark and Ellen on a mission to get to Wally World.
10. Cliff prayed before our dinner and prayed for each of us with a specific blessing. Thanks Cliff.

Truly Thankful
1. We are thankful for a day off tomorrow.
2. We are thankful that we have made it this far and ready to take a break so we can finish strong.
3. We are blessed by having beautiful accommodations. Starlight Motel…eat your heart out.
4. A great team of people with great families and friends who pray for them. We all benefit greatly from your prayers!
5. Laughter. Where would we be without it and boy have we done a lot of it.

Interesting Facts:
1. The “hills” on route 70 are vicious.
2. The scenery makes the hills worthwhile.
3. Road kill really stinks when you are this close to it.
4. We still need Derek to help us upload photos. Thanks Derek!
5. Don seems to win at his own games. hummm

Things to Pray about:
1. Pray for rest as we spend our Sabbath off the road.
2. Pray for all who are feeling homesick. It is a long time away from loved ones.
3. Pray for our loved ones as well. They are single parents right now, teens on their own, concerned parents, husbands without wives, wives without husbands, kids without parents. We are praying for you too! You are all loved and appreciated. LPC thanks you for loaning them to us for this endeavor!

2010-09-04T16:24:00.002-07:00

Check this out, we made the news.
Watch the ad first and we follow.
Click here

2010-09-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

Day 7 post

2010-09-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

Report from The Riders

Day 7
We left Wynne, Arkansas with Little Rock our destination. Ten hours later, after biking a total of 102 miles, we reached Little Rock. We got a great start this morning and were on the road by 7:00 am.
Devotions this morning revolved around the Starlight Motel. It became a metaphor for the way life can be at times. While it did have beds and running water it was a bit rough around the edges. We learned lessons of living with less, of enduring less than ideal conditions, and coming out better people in the end. God uses many circumstances in our lives to shape us and the Starlight Motel was one we hope he does not make us repeat. Lessons learned!

Memorable Moments:
1. We are having wonderful conversations that only good friends can have. This must be we are becoming good friends.
2. Today was a day of no dog chasing. Sherry could rest easy.
3. Waking up this morning with the realization that we are indeed starting with a tailwind! Thanks for your prayers. God is the God of the wind.
4. Chivalry is not dead! The men came to the rescue during one of three flat tires yesterday. Sherry was very appreciative.
5. Many on this trip DO NOT start their day without coffee. The motel had none. A group crossed the road to the gas station to bring the team its much needed “fuel”.
6. We ended the day in North Little Rock. The final 10 miles ran along side a Cedar Swamp. It was intriguingly beautiful.
7. Biking for 10 hours followed by a three hour shuttle to our home away from home for the weekend. We thought we would NEVER get there. We traveled through winding roads, up and down, through little towns until FINALLY reaching our destination at 10 pm. Long day!
8. We stopped for lunch at a little roadside fruit stand with fresh peaches, tomatoes, okra and pickled beets. Yum! Neat ladies too.
They gave us a shade tree and the run of their property. They are hoping to see their photo on the blog. Hi ladies!

Truly Thankful
1. Gas stations with running toilets! STILL! They seem to be few and far between. Oh, the toilets my run but you can concentrate on what you are doing due to all the dead cock roaches on the floor!
2. For the smooth roads after a bunch of really rough ones.
3. For tail winds for a good part of the day.
4. Safety again today. No incidents of harm. God is good.

Interesting Facts:
1. Rough roads pop bike tires. Three flat tires today!
2. We discovered yesterday that Cliff needs a wife.
3. The reptiles win the road kill contest. Frogs, lizards and snakes!
4. Don is really good at the game Two Truths and a Lie. Funny the games you play while pedaling your brains out.
5. These roads are very difficult to find “pull offs” big enough for a motor home! Scary!

Things to Pray about:
1. Keep praying for Sherry’s hands. She is experiencing a lot of numbness.
2. Bottoms are getting really sore. Funny thing to pray about but necessary!
3. We will be spending the weekend here at Self Creek Lodge. It looks beautiful! Pray for rest.

We may be back later today to post some more but the team is rushing me a bit to get on the road this morning. We will do a route around Pike County today! Should be fun, hilly (is that a word?) and scenic.

Report From The Riders

2010-09-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

We are really tired tonight so this will be very short. We will post tomorrow again. We have arrived safely in Little Rock, Arkansas after biking 102 miles. We then drove to Kirby, Arkansas where we will spend the weekend.
We thank you for all your prayers and we assure you that we will blog completely tomorrow. We will also try to get photos up so you can see all of this in living color.
We will close with our quote for the day...
"You don't have to be crazy to do this, but it sure helps!"

The "used to be" go to guy (that's me)

2010-09-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

A post from our used to be go to guy for postings...

I read the blog postings and a few things come to mind... 1.] I am grateful that a few of you stepped up tot he plate when I had a few other things going on. 2.] I wish I were there with you, experiencing the journey in it's joys and challenges as you strive toward the finish.

I miss you guys and desperately wish I were there with you. Honestly though, there's no place I'd rather be in the world right now than right here at home with Kendra and our new baby girl, Ryann Eileen Owens.

So, while I miss you and the road, and I am looking forward to Orlando next year, this has truly been the best week of my life being right where I am, experiencing first hand one of the coolest miracles and embodiments of God's grace that I have ever been a part of. I get all emotional and sappy and teary eyed just blogging about it (this emotional, sappy, teary eyed thing has been a regular occurrence this week for me).

Can't wait to hear the stories of God's grace and sustenance pour out upon your return even more than we've previewed thus far via this blog.

Love you guys, miss you, and praying for you,
Derek

Ride Report from Wynne, Arkansas

2010-09-03T05:06:00.001-07:00

Report from The Riders

Day 6 took us from Malden, Missouri to Wynne, Arkanas, total distance of 116 miles covered.
II Cor. 5: 5, 7-9
“Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose…We live by faith and not by sight…we make it our goal to please him.”

Today was a day when many of us questioned whether or not our bodies were made for this! But by faith and obedience we persevere and make it our goal to please our God.

Memorable Moments:
1. More of the dog chasers. I believe we have dubbed highway 41 as “pitbull alley”. Carolyn had to run interference at one point and drive the van between the dog and the riders. Mission…successful. She was ready to take that dog out. There were 4 different dog encounters today. We are taking up an offering for dog owners across Arkansas to install electric fences!
2. We ate dinner tonight at the local Pizza Hut. They had moldy cucumbers on the salad bar (how does that happen). At one point we were the only customers in the building and yet, they had NO clean silverware. The waitress came to the table asking, “Would ya’ll be mad if I have to give you plastic forks cause all our silverware is dirty?”
3. The Star Light Motel did leave the light on for us.
4. Don picked a pretty white flower and decorated his bike for the day. Beautiful Don, just beautiful. Next year he wants to ride in the Tulip Time parade!
5. Rain is wet. It was a welcome change to the sun and heat, but wet none the less.
6. We “treated” ourselves to McDonald’s. Still hungry after 12 extra value meals!
7. A man yelled, “I saw you on TV!” as we passed through a town in Arkansas (can’t remember the name of the town, they all run together).
8. A beautiful sunrise greeted us this morning and a gorgeous sunset tonight.

Truly Thankful
1. Gas stations with running toilets!
2. Some wider roads on which to ride.
3. A great waitress at Pizza Hut.
4. Friendships that being built.
5. 6 days down!
6. The winds calmed down a bit.
7. Exposure of this event is taking off. Check out this link if you get a chance.
8. Safety and perseverance.

Interesting Facts:
1. Semi trucks not only create a lot of wind but when it is rainy they also spray a lot of water.
2. Internet accessibility is hard to come by in many areas. We will continue to blog as much as possible.
3. The women are caring less and less about what their hair looks like.
4. Armadillos continue to be the popular road kill.
5. Goobertown really exists! (picture coming)

Things to Pray about:
1. Pray for Sherry’s hands. She is experiencing a lot of numbness.
2. Bottoms are getting really sore. Funny thing to pray about but necessary!
3. A long day tomorrow. Please pray for endurance.
4. Refreshment over the weekend during our day off.

We are forever grateful to each of you as you pray for us, send us notes of encouragement and support us financially!
“Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose…we make it our goal to please him.”

2010-09-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Report from The Riders
Today we left Carbondale around 7:30 am and arrived safely in Malden around 6:30 pm. "The devotional meditation today was from II Cor. 3 and 4.
“ For God, who said, ‘…Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
Today was filled with opportunities to shine in the darkness, and show the all-surpassing power of God in our lives. The first 15 miles of our trip was filled with long gradual hills that sapped energy quickly. The downhill glide on the backside of these hills was refreshing and very welcome! Only to be greeted with the next long grade!

Memorable Moments:
1. Double dog chase. Two dogs came running after us, it was a bit disconcerting but the dogs seem to enjoy herding us down the road!
2. After asking permission to use their parking lot for a break, a woman in an optometrist office in Jonesboro, IL (I think that was the town…maybe it was Anna, IL – they all run together after awhile)anyway, she called her local newspaper about our ride. She came out of the office to inform us that a reporter was on his way. We waited awhile but no reporter. We wanted to press on so we told her we would be heading down highway 146 S and that we break every ten miles. Approximately 12 miles down the road we found ourselves being filmed by the channel 12 news out of Cape Girardeau Mark stopped to tell him about our mission on camera. – “He made His light shine in our hearts”.
3. Just an hour later we found ourselves at the great Mississippi River. (We hope to post some video of that tomorrow). A few of us had to stop at the top and experience a Kodak moment! (one of them included Barb!) Your prayers definitely worked.
4. Just when we were ready to call it a day we came to realize that God was not ready to shut out “the light”. A trip to a local pizza parlor with one of us sporting a Lifewalk t-shirt brought on an amazing story that only God could write. The owner’s daughter (approximately 8 years old) came to our table and introduced herself. The next words out of her mouth in a sweet southern drawl were, “I love your t-shirt.”It was the blue Lifewalk t-shirt that reads, “Serving with the love of Christ”. She asked if we were from a church. After a bit of conversation and explanation of who we were and what we did we promised little “M” that we would send her a shirt. She asked if we could send some for her two sisters as well. Soon her parents were at our table asking questions about the ministry of LPC and The Ride. What a wonderful family. They then told their story. Little “M” has been adopted. The woman’s niece has had multiple abortions but little “M” was not. Her mother however, was not able to raise “M” so her aunt and uncle (the owners of the pizza parlor) choose to adopt her. As we shared together with this amazing family their pastor walked in to pick up pizza for his family. They introduced us and told him about The Ride we were doing. He promised to pray for us and the ministry and on his way out placed a $20 dollar bill on our table saying, “It isn’t much but I want to invest into what you are doing. God bless ya’ll”. We went back to finishing our pizza while little “M” entertained us with an assortment of stories about her life. As we went to pay our bill the owners said, “The pizza is on us. We want to contribute somehow too.” Everyone tonight experienced “His light in our hearts.” To end the evening we had our picture taken with little “M” in front of (get this) a bicycle they had as a decoration near one of the booths! The story does not end here, this amazing couple hopes to adopt “M’s” little sister as well.

Truly Thankful
1. Again Barb made the bridge without incident.
2. We all made it safely through a storm. Rain, hail, and wind – they all came on quickly but we were close to shelter.
3.For all of the wonderful people we have met again today
4.4 days down!

1. Another 8 gallons of water and 6 bags of ice.
2. Top speed today was 21 mph that was Sherry riding away from one of two dogs that ran after us!
3. Karen’s bike is officially nicknamed, “the lead sled”.
4. Hair salon and fitness center – yesterday a petting zoo today a fitness center? Interesting combinations!
5. Semi’s STILL create a lot of wind.
6. Storms can come out of nowhere and hail does bounce off helmets.
7. Barb is NOT wind resistant. The 30 mile hour gusts during the rain storm literally were blowing her backward!
8. Jason can catch up to the group quickly after doing his live phone interview back to the station.
9. People can be really grumpy when they have to go around a group of bicyclist on the road. One thought he needed to let us know this with a few choice words.
10. Armadillos have become the most popular road kill since entering the “Show Me” state of Missouri
11. Average speed of dogs chasing bikers: 16mph average speed of bikers being chased by dogs: Not fast enough!

Things to Pray about:
1. Wind still an issue. Better at times and worse at others.
2. Some clouds today – keep praying!
3. Flat land, cool temperatures, minimal wind, and ongoing safety.
4. That our witness and “His light” will continue to shine!
Overall our day today was very good. The rain storm delayed us a bit spirits are high and we are looking ahead to day 6!
His glory has been evident and we are humbled to be the earthen vessels chosen for this mission.
Keep praying "Ya'll!'

2010-08-31T19:54:00.000-07:00

Let us begin by saying we are so grateful for all the prayers you are praying! They are appreciated and felt! Please continue to pray!

We thank you for your patience as you have checked the blog only to find no update. Our "go to blogger", who was with us on the first day of this journey, went home thinking he did not want to wander far, as his wife was due to deliver their first baby. Low and behold, they greeted their little girl a day and a half later. Needless to say, he is a bit preoccupied. The news of little Ryann's birth came at a very crucial time for those on this RIDE.
Carolyn received an email on her phone while waiting in the "sag vehicle" for those on bikes as the struggled up a huge hill. As they passed she yelled, "We have a baby! Her name is Ryann!"
What a great visual for each rider! Ride 4 Life! And a birth announce is given en route.
As the riders came to the next big hill one of them yelled, "This one's for Ryann!"

Many moments like this have filled these past few days. We have met so many wonderful people, seen and experienced God's awesome creation and have grown together as a team.
We have traveled approximately 400 miles, in increments of 10 to 20 mile sections with quick water breaks at each. We have traveled through Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. Tomorrow we will enter our fourth state, Missouri where we will cross the great Mississippi. (Pray for Barb, she doesn't like bridges).

Interesting facts:
1. We sleep with our bikes (they go in the room with us) Cozy!
2. We have gone through more than 40 gallons of water.
3. We have seen more garage sales than we can count. Some want to stop to shop but it is hard to carry stuff on a bicycle!
4. Semi trucks create a lot of extra wind!
5. Top speed was on day two: 30 mph.
6. 7 people and three bikes in a motor home is a tight squeeze.
7. It takes Mark and Jason only 5-7 minutes to inflate 18 tires every morning.
8. Karen rides a bike that probably weighs more than she does. (Really, it weighs a lot!)
9. We saw a sign where you could get a hair cut AND visit the petting farm! (We think we will stick with our own stylist!) yikes.
10. We have logged approximately 40 hours of riding our bicycles.

Memorable Moments:
1. A women gave a car escort for us through a construction zone. (Random act of kindness - Go God!)
2. Driving through Terre Haute, IN looking for a bike shop (Jason had a wheel in need of repair) we passed a Planned Parenthood just two blocks from the university campus. But as we turned the corner there too, was a crisis pregnancy center. Pray for them this week as students begin a new year.
3. A woman at breakfast this morning was fascinated with our story and promised to pray for us.
4. Don blew out a second tire on his bike which led to another riders discovery of a love note from her husband in her bike bag while searching for a tube to lend Don. (she's still weepy- ah love).
5. Jason ate a record amount of food on the second night. He finished his meal plus the remainder of four other meals.

Truly Thankful
1. A church secretary at the Nazarene church in Terre Haute, IN let us lunch on the
property AND use the bathrooms. (Not an outhouse or a big tree).
2. The woman at the Turkey Run State Park who allowed us to "dump" the motor home tank (stinky). She "coincidentally" interned at a pregnancy center in Cincinnati! She gave us a great "dump deal"!
3. We are thankful for safety and health.
4. The riders are extremely thankful for the "sag wagon" drivers. They are doing a great job. Thanks for leading the way Debbie and maneuvering that motor home through some pretty vicarious spaces, and Carolyn who is always just a couple miles ahead in case we need anything!
5. We are thankful that no matter how hard this gets we know that God is with us and has called us to Ride for Life!

Here are some prayer specifics:

1. Calm the wind or change it's direction to be at our backs as opposed to our faces.
2. We could use an encore of the pillar of cloud by day to keep us a bit cooler.
3. It has been very hot, 91 to 97 degrees. Pray for cooler weather.
4. Ongoing safety, unity, health, physical endurance and spiritual growth.

Throughout this journey we have felt exuberance and exhaustion, fear and courage, laughter and tears, homesickness and new friendships, disagreements and agreements. But through it all, we are a team with one goal. We Ride 4 Life, we ride for our clients who experience these emotions daily. May we continue to MAGNIFY our God every mile along the way!

Thanks to all our family and friends!
We will keep you posted.

Thank you all again for your support and prayers! We feel them. If you want to further invest into this endeavor it is not too late to donate. Go to our website, click on events and donate.

Great start

2010-08-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

Well things are off to a great start. We got to Valparaiso, IN yesterday with much effort, though little trouble. It was a long day in the saddle (12 hour day, ~10 hours in saddle), but long showers, Red Robin, and beds to sleep in helped.

I will do my best to keep the latest and greatest coming your way via this blog, though I will need to ask your understanding and grace in these first few days as my wife went into labor tonight 3 weeks early with our first baby girl. We're at full term, so there shouldn't be and aren't currently any signs of any complications. We're excited and mom and baby are doing well. Delivery isn't expected until early-mid morning.

Continue to keep The Ride team in your prayers as they encounter daily challenges both expected and not so expected. Pray for their safety, health, moral, stamina, and focus, that they will recall, at the most difficult and opportune times of giving up, that our clients too face seemingly insurmountable challenges. Just as we encourage and pray for our clients, we cheer on and pray for each cyclist trekking to Dallas, that they would find the courage and strength within themselves, their team mates, and God to overcome their insurmountable but manageable challenges one crank of the pedal at a time.

When I get more information to report from The Dallas Ride Team and have a chance, I'll post again. Until then, keep praying and encouraging our riders through phone calls, texts, emails and whatever other creative means you can come up with.

Blessings.

Gearing Up

2010-08-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

3 days to departure!
Preparations have been made. Prayers have been (and continue to be) said. Support request letters have been sent. Training is beginning to subside to rest our bodies before the big trip. Financial support has already begun coming in!

We leave this Saturday, August 28th at 7:00am from the Holland LPC office. Anyone who is interested is welcome to join us for the send off. Riders will be meeting at LPC at 6:00am. You're welcome to show up anytime after 6:30am. If you're family of a rider you are of course welcome to come earlier.

We have 9 riders cycling 1,100+ miles to Grapevine, TX August 28 - September 7. We also have a local chapter of this event going on. Anyone who is interested in riding locally to help raise support for LPC is welcome. Contact Derek @

d e r e k . o w e n s @ l p c e n t e r s . c o m
or
6 1 6 . 5 6 6 . 2 2 2 0.

This local chapter of The Ride will cycle 50+ miles twice daily Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays August 28 - September 11. This group will join the Dallas group for the 1st day on Saturday, riding to Valparaiso, IN. You may join us for any of these rides in part or whole. Just let Derek know.

Keep checking back here for daily updates beginning August 28. You'll be able to see the expected daily route as well as read an evening report about the happenings of the day.

Until Saturday.

Pre-Game Ride

2010-07-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

We're gearing up for The Ride. This Saturday, July 17, we'll be riding together from Holland LPC to Maranatha Conference center totaling 83.5 miles.

If you're part of The Ride team, plan on being at LPC at 6:30am, we roll at 7 and want to talk about a few things first.

Here's our route for Saturday.

If you're not currently part of The Ride team but would like to join us Saturday, email theride@lpcenters.com and we'll figure out the details, we'd love to have you.

Interested In Getting Involved?

2010-05-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Great! What would you like to do? We need riders. We need trailers and vehicles to pull them and drivers to drive them. We need food. We need prayer teams. We need Other CPCs to join us along the way.

Want to ride or drive but can't commit to this long of a trip? We still want you!

We realize that this is a big time commitment to be away from family and work. Would you consider joining us for a section of our trip? For those of us who are riding all the way to Grapevine, TX, the fundraising goal is $5,000. For those of us riding a portion of the trip toward Grapevine, TX, the fundraising goal is $1,000 for every 200 miles ridden.

Email theride@lpcenters.com for more information.

2010 LPC Ride4Life : August 28 - September 7

2010-04-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

We've begun mapping out the 2010 LPC Ride4Life!

We'll depart from Holland, MI on August 28 and arrive in Grapevine, TX on September 7.

We already have several riders committed to the 2010 LPC Ride4Life. ARE YOU INTERESTED in getting involved on some level? WE NEED YOU! Contact theride@lpcenters.com for more information. We need riders. We need drivers. We need trailers and vehicles to pull them. We need food. We need prayer warriors. We need other Crisis Pregnancy Centers to join us along the way. And of course, one of the main reasons we do this annual trip is to raise funds for Lakeshore Pregnancy Centers.

We encourage you to pray about your involvement with the 2010 LPC Ride4Life. We'd love to have you join us in any capacity God is laying on your heart.

Here is our tentative riding plan as of now:

Day 1 - Saturday, August 28 - Valparaiso, IN : 114 miles
Day 2 - Sunday, August 29 - Crawfordsville, IN : 105 miles
Day 3 - Monday, August 30 - Effingham, IL : 127 miles
Day 4 - Tuesday, August 31 - Carbondale, IL : 125 miles
Day 5 - Wednesday, September 1 - Malden, MO : 113 miles
Day 6 - Thursday, September 2 - Wynne, AR : 116 miles
Day 7 - Friday, September 3 - Little Rock, AZ : 102 miles
Day 8 - Saturday, September 4 - Kirby, AR : 112 miles
Day 9 - Sunday, September 5 - REST DAY : No Riding
Day 10 - Monday, September 6 - Hugo, TX : 117 miles
Day 11 - Tuesday, September 7 - Grapevine, TX : 138 miles

1,169 Total Approximate Riding Miles

While this is a challenging schedule, we believe it is doable and still allows us a REST DAY on September 5. According to current route estimations, there doesn't seem to be any grades greater than 1% - 4%. This would be a significant advantage considering our daily distances and the heat we'll encounter. We also climbed 4% - 9% grades fairly consistently last year on our trek to Baltimore, MD. Each rider will need to train effectively. We would really like to get all Holland area participants to ride in the Holland Hundred together. Here's some info on the Holland Hundred as well as some other local rides this season:

Local Cycling EVENTS:
Grand Haven Memorial Day Canadian Century on May 31, 2010

Grand Rapids 100 Grand on June 5, 2010

Holland Hundred on July 17, 2010

Local Cycling WEEKLY RIDES:
No matter your skill level, learning group dynamic is important before we embark on our trip. We're not gonna be loan rangerin' it on our trip, please don't do so in your training either.

Men On Bikes - Tuesday Nights 6:30pm From Providence Church Parking Lot

VeloCity / Macatawa Cycling Club - Multiple Weekly Rides. Get on your bike and join.

Next Year's Annual LPC Ride4Life

2009-10-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

Some time has passed since our return from the 2009 National Care Net Conference in Baltimore, MD. We have been asking ourselves how we might make the approximate 1,100 mile trek to Grapevine, Texas (near Dallas) for the 2010 Conference. We are scheming and planning how to make it work. If you are interested in joining us in any capacity, let us know by emailing ceo@lpcenters.com.

We would love to network with other pregnancy centers along the way simply for the sake of connecting with you as we pass through or JOINING UP with you CPC Cyclists who want to ride to Care Net 2010. How awesome would it be if we were to all roll into Grapevine, Texas together as one huge mob of cyclists Riding4Life?

We'll keep ya'll posted as our 2010 R4L plans formulate and remember, we'd love to hear from you if you're thinking about riding to Care Net 2010.

Till next time...

Safe & Sound

2009-09-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well, those of us who made the return journey via the SAG Van arrived at the Holland LPC around 1:45 AM on Thursday night / Friday morning depending on how you like to look at it. I believe I rolled into bed around 2:15 AM. It was a long day of sitting still in a van, but it is super duper good to be home. I think my legs and back were more sore on the ride home in the van than they were the entire trip, likely because the muscles were confused. Here they had just gotten used to being pushed to their limits on a daily basis, and now what, we're just gonna sit all day in a van?

Now that we've been back for a few days, I think my body is starting to understand that we're done. My metabolism doesn't have to keep up with burning an average of 600 calories per hour for 8-10 hours, which goes hand in hand with not needing to consume upwards of 4-5000 calories a day.

All of us from the ride are hoping to get together soon to continue swapping stories and scobies (ask john).

To each of you who have supported, encouraged, and followed us along the way, we are all truly grateful to you. We could not have done this trip without you.

I will wait a few weeks and then post where we landed as far as fund raising goes.

Until then.

Day 11 - Comin' Home!

2009-09-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

Thursday, September 10, 2009

There are several different directions in which we are all going after we make our official appearance on stage in front of all the CareNet Conference attendees.

Mark is staying around Baltimore for a while to sell the Christmas Cards that LPC produces and sells. Our Life Cards are just one more way that God uses to financially sustain the ministry of the four Lakeshore Pregnanccy Centers. Check 'em out at www.lpclifecards.blogspot.com.

Bob and Caleb Curtis are meeting up with their family to do some more traveling before heading to the homeland of Holland.

Dave Dreyer, Cliff Lynema, John DeHaan, and Derek Owens are heading back to Holland with the van and trailer full of everyone's biking equipment.

Keep checking back here, or subscribe to our posts so you don't miss out on anything in the future. We'll be using this same blog next year and even prior to then for a few items we want to stay in touch with you on. So stay tunned, just because this year's trip is concluding, doesn't mean we're done stayin' in touch.

Baltimore, MD to Holland, MI

~683 Miles / 11 Hours Driving

View Larger Map

Day 10 - Final Road Report

2009-09-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day of riding. We put in a solid day of 76.46 miles through some tough terrain, not the most challenging we've encountered on this trip, but tough. Quite honestly today was fairly uneventful. I was informed by a guy in a vehicle next to me at a stop light that "You done got ur brake light on sir. Ya might wanna get that fixed." Yeah, if my bicycle had brake lights, I might be so inclined to get 'em fixed, but since it's a bicycle, I think we're okay, the red blinky thing on the back is so no one hits me from behind. 'Preciate the concern though.

Bob had something significant to look forward to all day; meeting up with his wife and kids who came to Baltimore. They greeted us with a sign and cheering some 25 miles out of Baltimore and again as we arrived to the hotel. Thanks guys. Seriously though, knowing he'd see the fam. gave Bob a little extra energy boost throughout the day. It kinda made John, Mark and I jealous as we will not be meeting up with our wives for 1, 2, and 3 days from now. We miss them, not collectively of course, we each miss our own wife respectively.

We encountered some pretty amazing country side full of Civil War era history. Lots of really neat Colonial architecture, unfortunately most of these old homes and buildings were not kept up very well. None the less, very cool stuff. Ellicott City reminded me of a scene set on a post card of a remote Italian sea side city, except not in Italy and not by the sea side. Colonial. All 10 minutes that it took us to pass through Ellicott left a good 1st impression. It would've been neat to spend a day there wandering around.

We arrived into the outskirts of Baltimore and made our way down town with relative ease compared to what we were expecting. Really rough roads, but we got here. As we rounded our last corner approaching the Hilton (site of the 2009 Care-Net Conference) we were greeted by a crowd of Care-Net people. Cheering. Cameras. Questions. Conversations. Catching our breath. It was a great ending to a long ride. Thanks Care-Net folks for the warm greeting to close out our ride. It was a blessing.

Tonight we rest up. Tomorrow we make an appearance at the Care-Net Conference and then head in various directions. John, Cliff, Dave and I will head home with all of the gear in the van and trailer. Bob and Caleb will vacation their way home with their family. And our fearless leader Mark is going to stick around for a few days to run our exhibitor's booth at the conference selling our Life Cards.

As I mentioned previously, please keep checking back here or subscribe to our posts if you haven't already done so. We will be updating you on a few things yet into the near future. Then next year when we repeat this craziness all over again, we'll use the same blog.

Thanks to each of you for each encouraging word, prayer, and contribution. We are all extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this ride as it has been an experience that has deeply impacted each of us personally, spiritually, professionally and organizationally as representatives of Lakeshore Pregnancy Centers of Holland, Allegan, Allendale, and Grand Haven, Michigan. If you have any questions about LPC, how you can get involved in what we do, next year's ride, or any of our other events, please don't hesitate to connect with any of us.

That's it for now, time to call it a night. Till next time.

Today’s Stats:
Ride Time: 5:44:34
Today’s Distance: 76.46 Miles
Total Trip Distance: 701.22 Miles
Average Speed: 13.3 MPH
Max Speed: 35.50 MPH
Flat Tires Today: 0
Flat Tires So Far: 4
Total # of Dog Chases Worth Mentioning: 0 so far
Road Kill Tally:We have the final count. Cliff will let you know upon our return.

Some pix:

We've arrived. Let's get some pictures taken so we can get off our bikes for the last time on this trip.

Thanks for the welcome banner Care-Net.

Not to us, but to your name be the honor and glory.
It is only by His grace that we have had the honor of gathering and growing together to bless His name. For this we are forever Grateful.

Day 10 - Final Trek!

2009-09-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Williamsport, MD to Baltimore, MD

~72.17 Miles

Our expected route for the day:

Finding WiFi & Customer Service

2009-09-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

The further away from Michigan we get, the more I learn that free WiFi is nearly impossible to come by. So before I begin with today’s update, I thought I’d share a little story. Ready boys and girls? Okay. Once upon a time there was a guy named… well never mind that format, it’s me. This is a story about me. I just came to McDonald’s for free WiFi to update the blog because our hotel wants me to pay for it. Most people would pay for it and do what they needed to do. We all know that I am not most people. Upon entering MD’s I proceed to the counter where I ask if they have free WiFi (I asked because no where here seems to offer FREE WiFi and the poster in the window indicated that I would have to buy an arch card to get WiFi at all). The MD’s Employee (#1) looked back at me wide eyed and filled with, not wonder, but confusion. I asked again. He leans over to his co-worker (employee #2) and whispers something. Employee #2 proceeds to pass on the precious little secret to the manager who immediately walks away and disappears into the back. #1 looks at me as if expecting me to order. I indicate that I’m really only interested in WiFi, so I am going to wait to order until I know if I can pick up a signal here or not. At this moment, which seemed to confuse #1 yet again, the manager reappears on the scene, handing a piece of paper to #2 who hands it to #1 who hands it to me. A WiFi code. Okay, I’ll have a large iced tea, ½ sweet, ½ unsweetened. “$1.06 will be your total.” I hand him 2 $1.00 bills. #1 whispers into #2’s ear again. #2 whispers into the manager’s ear. Manager disappears into the back. Employee #3 shows up on the scene behind me and another customer in line. #1 informs me that he is waiting for quarters unless I want my $0.94 of change in nickels. I indicate that I would in fact prefer 3 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickel, and 4 pennies rather than 18 nickels and 4 pennies. I can wait. #3 proceeds to step in front of me and begin a vital conversation of no importance with #1 and #2. I stand and wait, keeping my thoughts to myself for the time being. While the manager goes to Bangladesh or somewhere not local at all for quarters, wouldn’t it make sense for #1, #2, or #3 to get my tea and or possibly even simultaneously serve the next customer in line? I thought so too. Instead what progressed was their conversation about nothing, the next customer approaching the counter thinking the same thing I was, only to receive an awkward look from #2 as if to say, “What?”. Manager returns from Bangladesh with quarters and speedily disappears again. I am handed my 3 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickel, and 4 pennies. Then… nothing. #1, #2, #3 continue their little convo. When I don’t satisfiedly (no that isn’t a word) walk away, #1 realizes that no one has gotten my tea in the 7.832 minutes that have passed by and instructs #2 of this discovery. #2 grabs a cup, fills ‘er up and gives me my large sweet tea. Wait, I’m not from the south and can’t stand sweet tea, thus my asking for ½ sweetened, ½ unsweetened. Never mind. I just want WiFi. As I walk away to find my WiFi I hear “May I help the next person in line?” after which I hear #3 ordering a meal. He slid right in front of the customer who had been behind me in line long before #3 even showed up on the scene. So my question in all of this is this; What instills character in us? Work ethic? Compassion? Servitude? Gratitude? Joy? Passion? Perseverance? Honesty? Integrity? A desire for Righteousness and Justice? Etc. etc. etc. I don’t intend to go into my response to this question, I just thought I’d share the question and how it came to mind. Now to the happenings of today prior to me trying to find free WiFi.

Day 9 - Evening Report

2009-09-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

“It’s never too early in the day to start using granny gear”. This is how our day began as we tackled our first accent soon after starting our day. When we shoved off this morning, we were grateful for the warm temperature and the fact that it wasn’t raining anymore. The roads were saturated from a solid rain during the night, but we could deal with that compared to yesterday’s water extravaganza.

Going into the day we knew we had three significant long, steep climbs. You’ll be glad to know that we were able to find each of these waiting for us accompanied by multiple sets of slightly less extreme undulations in the terrain that seemed to keep on a commin’ one after the other after another and another.

Another great quote from today comes from Caleb. After we reached the top of a tough climb, we break, regroup, hydrate, try to level out our breathing and such. Not Caleb. We get to the top of one of our longest climbs of the day, and we get to partake in a dialogue that went something like “ ‘That was fun.” “Fun? What do you mean fun, like let’s go do that one again just because it was so much fun?” “Well you have to admit it was pretty.” Upon hearing Caleb’s response, the only reaction Bob could muster was spewing his mouthful of water all over as he tried to hold back the laughter.

After our last big climb, we got to spend 10 miles on the Western Maryland Rail Trail. You see these rail trails all over the states. There is a great one from Grand Rapids, MI all the way up to Cadillac, MI. Basically they take a stretch of abandon rail road and pave over top of it to form a nice path. Since trains can’t handle steep grades up or down, they are nice and straight with slow, wide turns and shallow grades. All of this to say that the Rail Trail was a cake walk (john would call this “patty cakes”). It was like a red carpet had been laid out for us and for these 10 short miles, we just cruised. No crazy hills to maneuver. No insanely slow average speeds of 4-8 MPH. Just crusin’ along at a steady easy goin’ 17-18 MPH without a care in the world. And then it ended and we were tossed right back into the undulating backbone of Maryland. Oh well, that’s what granny gear is for.

We arrived at our hotel unscathed yet another day. We grabbed some dinner at the American Trough, I mean Golden Corral and called it a day. It is amazing to each of us that we only have one more day of riding left. I think it’s safe to say we’re all ready to get back home, but this trip has flown by and we’ve all had a blast thus far. We’ll have to see if we can muster up a few more stories tomorrow and Thursday. Till then.

Today’s Stats:
Ride Time: 4:24:14
Today’s Distance: 51.70 Miles
Total Trip Distance So Far: 641.10 Miles
Average Speed: 13.50 MPH
Max Speed: 38.90 MPH
Flat Tires Today: 1
Flat Tires So Far: 4
Total # of Dog Chases Worth Mentioning: 0 so far
Road Kill Tally: Keep guessing. Our average has dropped significantly the last 2 days.

Here’s some pix:
A cool B&B from the 1920's atop our highest climb this morning.

We found a park with adult sized safety swings & figured we oughta try 'em out.

I think Cliff is trying to figure out why he let Mark talk him into this trip.

Figurin' things out.

Coming off the Western Maryland Rail Trail.

We've arrived at our hotel.

I updated posts all the way back to the Evening Report for Day 3 with pictures if you want to check 'em out.

2009-09-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

In addition to the post for yesterday's evening report, I was able to go back and finally add some pictures to the posts for day 3 all the way up to today.

Thanks for your patience.

Day 8 - Evening Report

2009-09-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

As I stated in a previous post, with each new day comes new experiences, adventures, and challenges.

As we set off this morning, it was raining, it had been raining for a good portion of the night so everything was nice and saturated, and the forecast called for rain. This was not exactly ideal from the perspective of cyclists in the middle of a long trip such as this one. If I were at home and I was getting ready for my Sunday morning ride with Bob and it were raining, we would text back and forth, letting each other know that we wouldn't be riding and we’d just see one another at church in a few hours. Unfortunately, on a trip of this nature, the option of saying “guess I won’t be riding this morning” and rolling back into bed simply doesn’t exist. We do after all have a quota of miles we need to meet each day so we make it to Baltimore on Wednesday.

So, resist as we might, we geared up best we could for riding in the rain and proceeded as normal. The thing about gearing up for riding in the rain is that you get wet no matter what you do. Option 1: Gear up with rain gear and sweat to the point that you are just as soggy wet as the guy not wearing said gear. Option 2: Don’t gear up with any rain gear and get just as wet as the guy wearing said gear who is sweating like it were his job. So some of us geared up, some didn’t. Personal preference + trial and error I suppose are what it comes down to.

All that to say that we began riding and were all soaked very shortly following our departure. It’s amazing how much road grime (john would call this goopis) you pick up when it’s raining. This stuff gets everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE. Bike and body being completely saturated only adds to the experience, or something like that. Basically it makes riding pretty miserable, at least this is my personal opinion. I’m sure you could find cyclists who don’t mind or even enjoy getting’ all nasty soggy wet, but not me. So needless to say our bikes are all pretty nasty right now. We figure we'll leave 'em that way so that all ya'll believe we actually did this upon our return.

To give you an idea, here’s how cycling in the rain plays out: you coast down a hill riding your brakes the whole way as to not lose control or get going so fast that your wet brakes don’t assist you anymore. On the down hill you’re freezing cold and can’t wait for the next up hill climb so you can get back to producing some core body heat, then you’re too hot and want the next down hill and so on and so forth. It’s confusing and really makes you wonder if you know what you want at all anymore. I actually heard Cliff say “Man I’m cold, I hope we get to climb a hill soon so I can warm up.” Don’t worry, Cliff was able to warm back up, we were able to find another mountain or twelve to climb throughout the rest of the day.

By about 2:00/2:30 the sun came out, things dried up, and we shed our layers. We once again found that our directions don’t always jive with the reality of how the roads are laid out. That’s okay though, we made friends with many of the locals who unfortunately don’t tend to invoke our trust when it comes to their sense of directions, communication or knowledge of how to get from their town to the next one over.

All this in a good day’s ride. Thanks for your prayers today and throughout the trip so far. God has definitely stretched each of us in various ways as well as blessed us repeatedly. Remember that what we are accomplishing on this trip is beyond any of us without the strength, endurance, and perseverance that God gives us each new day. May we each shine Him in a manner of which He is worthy.

Today’s Stats:
Ride Time: 4:57:13
Today’s Distance: 62.50 Miles
Total Trip Distance So Far: 589.40
Average Speed: 12.3 MPH
Max Speed: 35.10 MPH
Flat Tires Today: 2
Flat Tires So Far: 3
Total # of Dog Chases Worth Mentioning: 0 so far
Road Kill Tally: Keep guessing, Cliff will let you know upon our return.

Here are some pix from today:

Maybe you can't see it, but it's raining, trust us.

We're in Maryland, we must be getting closer.

Coming out of a down hill freeze session, headin' into a up hill thaw.

These kids had themselves a bucket of 9 water bugs they was tryin' to sell for 25 cents each. We were their 1st potential customers all day. We didn't buy any, though later we wished we had just to boost their rainy day a bit.

Detouring through a town.

Day 9 - Almost There!

2009-09-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Flinstone, MD to Williamsport, MD

~54.25 Miles

Our expected route today:

No Internet, update hppefully 2morrow.

2009-09-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

Day 8 - Here We Go Again!

2009-09-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

Monday, September 7, 2009
Markleysburg, PA to Flinstone, MD

~55.95 Miles

Our expected route for the day:

Rain & Cycling...Pray 4 safety as we ride on very wet roads 2day.

2009-09-07T04:11:00.000-07:00

Day 7 - Bringing you back up to speed

2009-09-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

We'll as was planned, we are taking today off and resting. It's a good reminder of Sabbath; intentionally setting aside time each week to say, "Yeah, there is still plenty to be done (or plenty of miles to be ridden), but for today, I am done doing (or riding). Today I will just be. I will rest and intentionally regain perspective of who I am and who God is and I will worship Him because He is who He says He is and He'll do the things He says He'll do. We will worship you God, for you are good. We will rest in you because you are our God."

Before I bring you up to speed on the happenings of the past two days, I'd like to apologize and explain why the content of the blog has been lacking for the past two days. Several faithful blog followers have asked why my posting has seemingly dwindled or ceased.

First of all, how awesome is it that people are following how our trip is going via this blog. It reassures me that the time I am putting into it is well worth it. So thank you. I do ask you understand that we may not always have internet access depending on where we are staying. Where there is not internet, there will be no access to the blog except on Mark's iPhone, which can do the job, but trying to type all of the content I want to post via an iPhone would take me approximately 8.638 hours per post (that's just an estimation of course). So please understand when I post something along the lines of "I don't have great internet connectivity right now, I'll update the blog as soon as I do" I mean it. I will post about our progress as often as I am able. Also understand that some of the posts, like the morning route updates, are scheduled to post automatically. I composed them weeks ago and set them up to post automatically on their respective mornings to save myself some time on the road. So just because a morning post shows up, doesn't necessarily assume I'll have internet access to do an evening update. Make sense? Great then let's get to the stuff you actually want to read....

... Day 5 UPDATE - Friday, September 4, 2009
To begin our weekend stretch we departed our hotel in Wheeling, WV to head off toward Richeyville, PA. The distance was short (only 30+ miles) but it wasn’t going to be an easy ride. I thought I’d make sure of this right off the bat, so as soon as we left the hotel parking lot I decided to take a spill. Soon after I pulled out onto the small shoulder, a school bus came up behind me and made me a bit nervous, so I hugged as close as I thought possible to the curb, a bit too close apparently. My sprocket and chain caught the curb and didn’t want to let go, so over I tipped. Luckily God pushed me toward the grassy hill to my right rather than the busy street to my left. It was quite smooth actually; as I tipped to my right, unable to clip out of my pedals, I used the tuck ‘n roll technique, bike and all, until I stopped on the grassy hill, still clipped into both pedals no harm done to me or my faithful Cannondale companion. Once we all realized that I was okay, on we continued. It was a hard day with lots of hills to climb up and coast down, but we knew today was only a warm up for tomorrow. Our goal was to get to Richeyville and shuttle ourselves in the van from their to our weekend cabins in Markleysburg, PA. We got there and were relieved to have a bit of a longer afternoon to relax longer than we’ve been able to yet up to this point, especially considering what we have to climb tomorrow.

Today’s Stats:
Ride Time: 3:28:09
Today’s Distance: 42.89 Miles
Total Trip Distance So Far: 489.65
Average Speed: 12.3 MPH
Max Speed: 43.7 MPH
Road Kill Tally: Keep guessing, Cliff will let you know upon our return.

Pictures: The internet connection I am working with isn't handling picture uploads very well, so I'll try adding them tomorrow night when we get to our hotel.

Here they are as promised:

Leaving our hotel in the morning (just before I biffed it on the curb).

These are no longer hills, they are mountains.

Home sweet home for the weekend.

Packin' in some carbs for The Summit tomorrow.

Day 6 UPDATE – Saturday, September 5, 2009

This morning we shuttled from our cabins back to Richeyville, where we ended yesterday. We picked up our riding here, shooting to end at our cabins in Markleysburg.

So off we went. Today is the day we climbed what locals call “The Summit”. The Summit boasts a constant 9% grade climb for 4+ miles. Which might not seem like a big deal to Lance Armstrong or the like, but lets be honest here, we’re relative novices here, not professionals. “Slow and steady, one crank after another after another. Don’t pay attention to speed, just maintain your cadence. I can see the van up ahead, we can stop and refill our water. Wait, why is Caleb running down the hill at us jumping up and down? What are those guys doing, that can’t be the top already. Dude, it’s the top, We’re almost there!” These are some of the many thoughts that ran through our heads, amongst numerous others. We made it up The Summit and were all surprised at how much energy we still had. Not to say that it wasn’t difficult or that we didn’t struggle up it, but we all made it and finished strong. Once we descended the downside of The Summit, we stopped for a lunch at which point we compared our maximum speeds. 45.8 MPH was the winner, we won’t say who this happened to be, as we don’t want to add any reason for concern for our wives who are reading this. If you have doubt, see the picture of the speedometer below. The max speed registered at 45.8 MPH which is our fastest yet. We’ve decided that from now on, we’ll all try and keep it at 30 MPH or less on the mountainous down hills. 45.8 MPH is too fast for comfort. After lunch, we continued onward for our day was not yet done, we had several smaller “hills” to conquer before we arrived back at our cabins. We cranked it out and made it back. Derek introduced everyone to stuffed burgers over the fire. We prepared the food, we ate the food, and we were satisfied. Tomorrow we will be exercising the Sabbath by not riding. Looking forward to it.

Today’s Stats:
Ride Time: 3:34:24
Today’s Distance: 37.25 Miles
Total Trip Distance So Far: 526.90 Miles
Average Speed: 10.6 MPH
Max Speed: 45.8 MPH (see pix below if you don’t believe me)
Road Kill Tally: Keep guessing, Cliff will let you know upon our return.

Pictures: The internet connection I am working with isn't handling picture uploads very well, so I'll try adding them tomorrow night when we get to our hotel.

Here they are as promised:

Welcome to The Summit.

One crank at a time.

Not quite to the top, but check out that view.

We made The Summit and now we will eat.

No more of this silliness.

Day 7 - Rest Day!

2009-09-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September 6, 2009
Buffer / Rest Day in Markleysburg, PA
We are on schedule at this point in our trip, so we'll be taking the day off from riding.
0.00 Miles

Here's where we're staying:

We'll be heading into town this afternoon to find some WiFi. Hope to be able to update you with the happenings of the last two days. Till Then.

Day 6 - Evening Report

2009-09-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

Staying at some rustic cabins for the weekend. Not good internet connectivity, so stay tuned. Tomorrow (SUNDAY, 9/6/09) we'll be headin' into town to find some WiFi so I can really spend some time updating the blog and posting some pictures.

Day 6 - Here We Go!

2009-09-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Saturday, September 5, 2009
Richeyville, PA to Markleysburg, PA
~ 38.87 Miles

Our expected Route:

Day 5 - Evening Report

2009-09-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Having some trouble with consistent internet connection. So stay tunned, I'll get caught up here as soon as I can. In the mean time, bear with me as the blog seems to be getting a bit messy / out of order as I have tried posting tonight.

Till then.

Day 5 - Here We Go!

2009-09-04T07:30:00.001-07:00

Friday, September 4, 2009
Wheeling, WV to Richeyville, PA
~ 42.04 Miles

Tentative Route:

Day 4 - Evening Report

2009-09-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

Every day that goes by we seem to encounter new challenges accompanied by new stories. Today was not an easy day. We knew this when we shoved off this morning and began the day. We set out to cover ~115 miles of tough terrain (up to 9%+ grade climbs). The day was basically book ended by craziness as far as "hills" go. We weren't entirely sure we'd make the whole distance today. The first 1/2 of the day went well. One stroke at a time up the hills and then coasting for a few miles and then back up another steep climb that made each of us wonder what the heck we were thinking and how we were going to make it to the top, let alone the end of the day. We made another visit to our friends at Orrville Cycling & Fitness to get another bike tuned up and then onward we went. We met a very talkative police officer when we stopped for lunch. After lunch things went smoothly for a few hours. Then we hit that second book end and, aside from the struggle to climb the never ending hills before us, things got a bit more interesting. Once we hit the hills, we kinda split into 2 groups. One that was able to tackle the hills a bit more ferociously, and another group, my group, who figured we were in this to finish, so we'd better pace ourselves.

Eventually we ended up so far behind the other group, we could no longer see them. Not a huge deal, we'll just meet up with them the next time they break for Caleb to go to the bathroom for the millionth time today. So we followed the directions to a T, until we reached a dirt road that didn't look the least bit inviting. We rode past to scout out what was up a ways. Nothing was up a ways. We were officially in the middle of po-dunk-nowhere. Seriously, we were beginning to get a bit unsettled about not knowing where we were or how exactly we were gonna get to where we needed to be. I found some very friendly guys sitting on their front porch drinking some shine, who were absolutely no help at all in their 4:00 pm stuppor. With no choice left, we began walking down the dirt road, knowing it was supposed to take us to the next highway we needed. Dave patiently followed behind us in the van, until he saw the hill we needed to climb. We got out of his way so he could keep up his speed, but it was too steep a gravel road to make it up with a 2 wheel drive pulling a trailer of this girth. So now what? We tried the backing down thing. Not so sucessful; it was a narrow, steep gravel road with a ditch on both sides. Luckily God was paying attention and within minutes after the van and trailer were pinned, Steve shows up. Who is Steve you ask? Steve was a God-Send. Steve drove an F350 Dulley pick-up. He offers a tow, to which we accept. For some reason I brought my tow strap. He gets Dave up the hill, that I believe had 2 false peaks and then disapears into the sunset off into a mountainous field to who knows where.

We eventually did get to that highway we needed and we rode until it got dark and Mark told us we had to pack it in for the day. So we loaded up the trailer and headed for the hotel, to which the other guys had arrived to minutes before. They aren't entirely sure how they made it there, but they did and had some navigational adventures of their own, including a down hill that lasted a few miles weaving through the mountains. For their familie's sake I won't mention that they tackled said roads well after the light had faded behind the hills.

Anyways. We met back up at the hotel, swapped lots 'o stories about the past few hours, grabbed some food and went to bed.

Here are the stats for the day from the guys that went the whole distance:
Ride Time: 8:09:33
Today’s Distance: 126.2 Miles
MilesTotal Trip Distance So Far: 446.65 Miles
MilesAverage Speed: 15.5 MPH
Max Speed: 36.9 MPH
Road Kill Tally: Keep guessing, Cliff will let you know upon our return.

The WiFi connection here is a bit scetchy, so I'll post some pix next time I get a chance.

Here they are:

Towin' us up Graves Rd. hill.

Us with Tow Truck (F350 Dulley) Steve. Not sure why my eyes are closed.

Day 4 - Here We Go!

2009-09-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

Thursday, September 3, 2009
Ashland, OH to Wheeling, WV
114.68 Miles

Our expected route today:

Day 3 - Evening Report

2009-09-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

The quote of the morning went something like "This should be one of our easier days".

Um yeah, so that’s not exactly how the day played out in its entirety.
Today’s Lesson: When cycling in a tight draft line to cut a heavy head wind, you always run the risk of rubbin’ tire with the guy in front of you and causing a collision. It can happen to anyone in a split second, trust us we know.

We were able to prove this true somewhere around mid-day today. We very successfully and impressively built a 3 man pile-up, relatively free from bodily harm of any of the individuals involved in the extravaganza. Every one of us was able to continue riding and eventually finish out the day. After we arrived, we did a little meet and greet with Ducia Hamm, Executive Director and Wayne Fannon, Board President of Ashland Care Center. Thank you both for coming out and meeting us at our finish line this afternoon. We appreciate you showing your support for what we are doing for Lakeshore Pregnancy Center of Holland, MI and Pregnancy Care Centers across the country just like ours and yours.

Thanks also to the local newspaper photographer who came out, we'd love to have a link to the article when it is published.

Once we rehydrated a bit and stretched it out, we headed to a bike shop that Driver Dave was able to locate. This shop was a professional grade place called Orrville Cycling & Fitness in Orrville, OH. Many thanks to Jon the Mechanic and Roger, Owner of Orrville Cycling & Fitness for sticking around hours after closing time to work our bikes all back into pristine operating condition again. Orrville Cycling & Fitness is by all of our standards, one of the most impressive bike shops we have ever seen. Not only because of how they hooked us up and treated us in a time of dire need, but the entire shop was incredible. If you need a bike shop and your near Orville, OH, Orrville Cycling & Fitness is the place to go, I trust they’ll treat you right just like they did us.

After the bikes were back in tip top shape, we needed to get ourselves back into presentable shape before heading to our host family for the evening. We grabbed a 10:30 dinner and headed on for showers. We were a bit tired of our lycra shorts after having wore them for 12 ½ hours.
I’m not sure how Cliff managed to convince him to help out a rag tag group like us, but John Allison hooked us up huge. He set it all up for us to take showers and clean up at the locker room at his church, Grace Bretheren. He set us up with the Ashland Care Center, who in turn set it up for the local paper to meet us at the finish line today. He set us up with Jim and Linda Streets to stay for the night. Thanks a ton John.

Jim and Linda, what a blessing you have been to us too, and as we understand it, you are to so many others as well. Thank you for your gracious hospitality. Wish we would have been able to spend more time with you than we did. We've been learning that plans have to be flexible on trips of this nature.

Today’s Stats:
Ride Time: 6:05:55
Today’s Distance: 93.84 Miles
Total Trip Distance So Far: 320.45 Miles
Average Speed: 15.3 MPH
Max Speed: 29.9 MPH
Road Kill Tally: Keep guessing, Cliff will let you know upon our return.

That’s it for now. It’s late, and though I am told we get to sleep in tomorrow, I was also told in the same breath that we need to be up by 7:00 AM. That may seem like sleeping in to some, but not to me, so good night.

Some pix:

The whole crew with our generous hosts Jim and Linda.

Our Friends at Orrville Cycling & Fitness. Thanks Jon & Roger.

Day 3 - Here We Go!

2009-09-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Bowling Green, OH to Ashland, OH
~ 96.66 Miles

Our expected route for the day:

Day 2 - Evening Report

2009-09-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

Another great day.

To start off, on behalf of all of us riders, I want to thank Dave Dreyer for doing an amazing job of taking care of us along the way. Dave is driving the van and trailer for us. It can't be the most exciting responsibility in the world to drive up ahead of us 15-30 miles and wait for us to ride past, only to do it all over again and again and again until we reach our destination each day. So, thanks Dave, you're doing a great job keeping us stocked up on water, food, stretch breaks, some great pictures and what ever else we need along the way.

This morning we rolled out around 8:00 AM. Once we got ourselves out of Jackson, MI, we were good to go. Getting out of Jackson, however, was a bit of a chore. Our best, most convenient way out would have been via a divided highway. Since we aren't technically supposed to ride on divided highways (and it really isn't a great idea as far as safety goes), we made our way through some mysterious backwoods roads that occasionally gave us no choice but to get chased by dogs that thought they were much larger and more intimidating than they actually were and ride on gravel, which isn't very cool, but we took it slow and made it back around to our route.

The terrain today was nice. Most of the time (excluding the gravel) we were on some nice roads with fairly wide shoulders and hills with very forgiving grades (probably nothing more than a 1%). There was a head wind out of the East most of the day, but we plugged through it when we needed to.

I won't divulge the details, but ask Mark about a very specific riding technique he should be pretty keen on by the time our little adventure is through. If his memory needs any jogging, it has to do with a vital step involved in the whole stopping process when you have clip in pedals. Sorry Mark, but how could I possibly resist. Maybe I'll go back and edit this out of today's post for a small bribe, but don't count on it. Like I said earlier today, pride isn't a terrible thing to lose. I think this still stands, despite how terrible it may be for me to blog about it. Just remember that I've fallen over 1x so far on this trip too.

We arrived at our hotel around 4:30 PM, checked in and did some chilaxin' until dinner. Tonight for dinner we partook in a place I like to frequent quite regularly, Chipotle. It was gooooood, though we felt like we needed more calories, so most of the group went to Bob Evans for a bit more to eat.

Here are some of the stats for today:
Ride Time: 6:34:05
Distance Today: 106.85 Miles
Total Trip Distance So Far: 226.60
Average Speed: 16.2 MPH
Max Speed: 31.2 MPH
Road Kill Tally: Submit your guesses to Cliff. He'll reveal the final count after the trip.

Here are some pix from today:

Look, now I have a unique patch (of sorts) on BOTH arms.

Bob & Caleb getting ready to get back to it.

Look, they are actually riding.

We promise, we're riding our bikes on this trip, it just happens to be easier to take our pictures when we're not bulting past at the speed of light.

Goodbye Michigan...
...hello Ohio.

John decided it might be good to put sunscreen on.

Lunch time with Bob & Caleb's family.

Mark is now happy.

Mmmmmmmm.

Still riding.

You guessed it, more riding.

Day 2 - Here We Go!

2009-09-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Jackson, MI to Bowling Green, OH
~ 102.36 Miles

Our expected course for today:

Day 1 - Evening Report

2009-08-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

We were off, and now here we are, in Jackson, MI that is (not quite to Baltimore yet).

We set off this morning from the Holland Lakeshore Pregnancy Center around 8:00 AM.

Many thanks to all of you who showed up this morning to send us off and or provide us riders with a great breakfast. It was a good start to a great day.

We also want to send out a special thanks to Congressman Pete Hoekstra for joining us this morning at LPC and for the first leg of our ride. Congressman Hoekstra, we understand you have a busy schedule and truly appreciate the time you spent with us today. Thank you.

A special thanks to Pastor Josh Wierenga from Real Life Fellowship as well for coming out and sending us off with an encouraging word of prayer. I appreciate you man.

When we departed this morning we were expecting to ride approximately 106.75 miles to our hotel in Jackson, MI. Due to the need to improvise our route a few times because of gravel roads or missed turns, we ended up riding around 120 miles (you'll have to excuse my guestimation as I can't quite recall what the odometer on my bike said, I am quite comfortable on my bed right now and can't say I feel like going out to the trailer and checking). One might think "What's an extra 13 - 15 miles when you've already gone more than 100?" True enough, but I think it's safe to say that we would have been glad to get off the saddle 13 - 15 miles sooner. Overall though, we can't come up with anything worth complaining about. Today was a great day. God is good. We had no major set backs. No injuries. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The terrain was fairly tame. And we all closed out the day feeling pretty good considering the fact that we just cycled around 120 miles.

Here are a couple of pictures that Dave got today before the camera batteries gave out. Hopefully we'll have more in days to come with fresh batteries.

The Crew:

We had to stop occasionally to refill on H2O:

Our Fearless Leader:

D-Rock:

Our "Bean Counter" Cliff:

Loading up on carbs with the never ending pasta @ The Olive Garden:

Day 1 - Here We Go!

2009-08-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 31, 2009
Holland, MI to Jackson, MI
~ 106.75 Miles

Our expected course for today:

Our Route from Holland, MI to Baltimore, MD

2009-08-20T10:12:00.001-07:00

Role Call

2009-08-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

This Year's LPC Ride For Life participants include:

Mark Congrove - Lakeshore Pregnancy Center, Executive Director

Bob Curtis - Friend of LPC + Integrity Fabricators, Owner

Caleb Curtis - Friend of LPC + Courageous 13 year old son of Bob

John DeHaan - Lakeshore Pregnancy Center, a - t e a m Educator

Dave Dreyer - Friend of LPC + 30 year Veteran of Steel Case

Cliff Lynema - Friend of LPC + LPC Board Member + Controllership Services Inc., President

Derek Owens - Lakeshore Pregnancy Center, Director of a - t e a m Abstinence Education Program