Where is the "Rock?"

Today's catchy title comes from the fact that we are in Plymouth. I finished my first cross country bicycle tour in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This is Plymouth, Wisconsin. No rock here, but we did receive a warm welcome from the church folk here, along with a great dinner! Before that, we cycled a relatively "short" 60 miles...the only problem is that it rained pretty much all day. Also, the wind was in our face and got stronger as the day wore on. I also had a flat tire- the first in quite a while for me. Then, the pastor here asked a few of us to help him set up a HUGE tent for a wedding coming up this weekend. We were glad to do it, except that it rained even harder! I don't think I could have been any more wet! Somehow we managed to get the tent up with all of the water on it...quite a project. Tomorrow it is on to Milwaukee!

Two consecutive "centuries!"

Today, Wednesday, July 21, we went over 100 miles for the second day in a row. Today's ride from Wausau to Green Bay was a bit easier than yesterday's. No flat tires. No thunder storms. No getting kicked off of the highway. We rode on mostly "back roads" of Wisconsin, and the traffic was sparse. The biggest difference was the tailwinds. At times we were able to go over 20 miles an hour on flat stretches of road. We got finished with the ride a lot sooner than yesterday. I failed to mention in yesterday's blog that some people did not get in until nearly 8 PM! Today, most of us were to Green Bay by 4:30 PM.

Actually, we are in the small town of Oneida, on the Oneida Indian Reservation! Our host family, the Falks, made a wonderful meal for us, and then we went to their church to get showers. We are now well-fed and clean, a combination that doesn't happen very often on this tour...at least not during the day when we are grinding out the miles. One of the special things about tonight's schedule is that one of the Falk children has just returned from Thailand, working in the very Community Center that we are raising money for! It will be great to hear more about it and possibly see some pictures! I don't mention enough about our cause on these blogs. The more we talk about it as we travel along, the more my heart goes out to these mostly women and children who are in poverty and have very little to really live for. We are certainly raising awareness for all types of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, but specifically for this one village in Thailand.

So, it was a mostly good day. One big "bummer" was the fact that one of our leaders had his bike frame brake today...that will be a major fix. Tomorrow we start heading south for a few days, as bicycles that cross large bodies of water, such as Lake Michigan, have not been invented yet. It will seem strange going south rather than east. By Monday we will get to Chicago, bend around the southern tip of the lake, and start going east once again. Thanks for thinking of us, and reading these word descriptions. Zach periodically posts photos on his Facebook page, and you can get there through my Facebook, as well.

Tim and Zach

Y2K

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Tuesday marked exactly one month since this tour began. Also, it ended up being our longest day in terms of time and miles ridden. Without getting into great detail, we had some interesting events. One of the guys who had not yet had a flat tire got one today. We were kicked off state route 29. (This was OK with me, as it was very busy, and we rode lesser-used roads.) The down side of this was we had more hills and more turns. At one point, we had a thunder and lightning storm. A group of four of us sought shelter on a porch. There was a nice rainbow afterwards! A TV station contacted us and did some filming. We never saw what aired, as we were out too late and did not have access to TV anyway. The last part of the 114-mile journey was the steepest uphill we have had all tour! Nothing in the Rockies or Cascades compared to it! At the top was the Highlands Community Church of Wausau, Wisconsin. The Y2K in the title? That is because we went over 2,000 miles for the tour today, as well!

Wisconsin!

Monday, July 19, 2010

I am actually writing this on Wednesday as we have had some busy days and not much opportunity to write. On Monday we crossed the border into the state of Wisconsin! After an "average" day of 80 miles we arrived in Eau Claire. At a church there, we had a "banquet" followed by a presentation. Then, we were taken to host homes. I was excited about the possibility of sleeping in a bed, and even posted something on Facebook about that. Five of us guys were taken to a host apartment. There were two beds, a sofa, an air mattress, and a small love seat. We decided to flip coins for "first dibs" on the sleeping arrangements. I lost every time. I was left with the love seat. It was far too small to stretch out on, so I took the floor again. At this point, I have still slept in only two beds since June 16th! Not to complain...I actually seem to rest well on the floor.

The Mighty Mississippi!

This morning I got up a little earlier than most of the others. Knowing it was an easier day for cycling, I decided to run. Seeing as how we were only about a mile from the Mall Of America, I headed for that, and then actually ran inside the mall! It was long before the stores were open, and only a few people were there. Not known for my shopping abilities, this suited me just fine! I also had the opportunity to do one of those things that has been on my "bucket list" for a long time...run UP a DOWN escalator! After a shower and breakfast, we loaded up the van and headed back to North Central University in downtown Minneapolis. This was to be an easier ride...along the bike trails in Minneapolis, and then across the mighty Mississippi River into St. Paul. Saw the governor's mansion, the cathedral, and then we re-enacted the "Rocky" scene on the steps of the Minnesota state capitol building! Our videographer was here, and he is continuing to put together some footage for an upcoming documentary on Venture Expeditions. After 12.4 miles, we stopped at the trailhead where tomorrow's ride will begin, and loaded the bicycles back into the trailer. Tonight is the Just & Hope benefit concert, and between tonight and tomorrow the team will be presenting in about six church services. Then, tomorrow afternoon, anyone interested from the Twin Cities bicycling community will be able to join us on the ride along the bicycle path to Stillwater, Minnesota. On Monday we shall get back to the bigger milage days and head into Wisconsin. As I write this, Zach (who IS a shopper) is at the Mall of America with a friend from Cedarville. He purchased a green bicycle tire today at a bicycle shop, so he should be ready for the second half of the Tour!

Halfway Home!

Yesterday (July 15th) was to be a long day for us, so we had a 4:30 AM wake-up call. We had a nice breakfast in a little diner (Freida's) in Willmar, Minnesota, and then got on the road. The storm had passed, and therefore the winds had shifted to a much more "friendly" westerly breeze. As a result, we made some amazing time! We knew that it would be some 96-97 miles to Minneapolis. Our first break came at the 30-mile mark, and we had lunch at 61 miles (11:30 AM), and those were the only re-fueling stops that we made. The only other stop was in Darwin, where we saw the world's largest ball of twine made by one person. This was quite the highlight of the tour! (Sarcasm intended). At North Central University in downtown Minneapolis, we had a chance to shower and, and I got a self-guided tour of the University. North Central is one of our key sponsors, and a few of the riders have attended or are attending there.
In the evening, we had a very unusual experience...this just happens to be the weekend for the International Biking Film Festival in Minneapolis. We gathered first in Gold Medal Park with hundreds of other cyclists. Then, we took a very slow 6-mile ride through downtown Minneapolis en route to the Art Museum. We were really clogging up traffic all along the way (the Twins were home playing the Chicago White Sox), but it was a lot of fun. We probably saw more people in that one ride than we had seen for days in Montana. Our group wore the Just & Hope jerseys, which led to some conversations about our group and the cause. On Saturday evening, we are doing a benefit concert at a local coffee shop, and invited anyone interested.
Today (July 16) was a rest day for our group. We have been staying at the home of a Venture Expeditions board member's house. It is large, comfortable, and is on one of the thousands of lakes here in Minnesota. We have also been fed like royalty every few hours. Reading, napping, and playing on the lake have been the most strenous parts of our day. We even watched the day's action in the Tour de France! A few of the team members did a radio interview. A few others are back at the film festival as I write this promoting our cause and the concert tomorrow night.
So, how are we feeling at the half-way point? Pretty good, I would say. The legs and lungs are strong. Zach is recovering from his recent crash, though he is still lacking some fine motor control in his left hand. My wounds from the crash in the first week are almost entirely healed. (I almost lost control of the bike at one point yesterday.) The team is doing very well. Our personalities, while very different from one another, seem to blend well together. When a group of 14 people spends this much time together, we get to know each other VERY well!
Today marks one month to the day since I last saw my wife and daughter. That, as you may expect, is a "record." We call or text fairly often. They are enjoying the work at Camp-Of-The-Woods.
The next couple of days include rather short bike rides, and numerous opportunities to share about the cause.
Thanks again to our supporters and readers!

Windesota!

Yesterday (Tuesday, July 13) was another windy day. We got up at the usual 5:30 time at Calvary Assembly church in Milbank, South Dakota. Our morning routine was a bit different today...after packing our belongings, having our team meeting, spotlight, and devotional, we cycled just a couple of miles to Hardees...the pastor was treating us to breakfast there! By 8 AM, we were back on the road...still US route 12 heading east. It was soon apparent that we would have headwinds again. This would be the third day in a row fighting winds.

After just 11 miles, we crossed the border into Minnesota. For several members of the team, this was a cause for celebration...many call this state home or have gone to school here. I cycled with a lead pack of about 8 in the early miles. As the day went on, this "pack" shrunk down. For those of you not into cycling, it is always easier to cycle in packs, particularly on windy days, so that those in the front can block the wind. Those riders behind then "draft" the leaders. While this makes the riding more efficient, it also increases the possibility of crashes, and we have had a number of those in recent days.

We had lunch in Benson, Minnesota...the usual sandwiches by the side of the road, with fruit, chips, granola bars, etc. I am sure that I have mentioned the enormous amount of eating that we do on this trip...perhaps 7,000 calories per day! The "native" Minnesotans may not like this comment, but most of us found the Minnesota landscape to be rather dull. Plenty of cornfields and not much else! It was a tough day mentally and physically. One rider broke a spoke shortly after the Hardees breakfast, and had to ride in the van for the day, as there were no bicycle shops to be had. A couple of others also did not make it through the entire day of cycling...one was sick and the other had a cycling-related injury. One of the points that we make as we present the ride and the cause at churches is that we are "ordinary people," not professional cyclists.

So, we fought the winds and the boredom hour after hour for 85 miles until the lead group got into Willmar, Minnesota around 4 PM. The last group got in around 6:30. Our destination today was the Evangelical Free church in Willmar. This is Todd's home church (one of our team members). There to greet us were his parents, grandparents, and wife! Also, several of the church staff came, as well. Following a much-needed shower and an awesome meal, we did a Just & Hope presentation for the church folk there. Todd and his wife sang a couple of songs that were related to the modern slavery theme, we showed the video, and answered questions from the congregation. Zach was part of the "panel" to answer questions and he did a great job tonight with detailed, interesting, and sound answers. Then, after 9 PM, we got taken to two different homes so that we could sleep in real beds! (For me, this would be only the second time sleeping in a bed since June 16th!) Several of us are here at Todd's parents house, on a lake in Spicer, Minnesota. Today (Wednesday) will be a much-needed rest day. We expect to just rest and hang out by the lake, and possibly go to a concert tonight. This will be our first full rest day in ten days. The bicycles are locked in the church garage back in Willmar, and we don't even expect to see them today! We are now just about half-way through our tour. Tomorrow we shall have another 90-100 mile day into Minneapolis. There, the Venture Expeditions staff will have a "half-way" recognition for us. We should also get more rest and preparation for the second half of the tour. While we have seen lots of open spaces, small towns, and rural America for the past 3 1/2 weeks, the second half will be more urban in nature, as we go to some of the larger cities along the way between here and New York. As of today, my bicycle odometer is registering 1,697 miles. Thanks for your support and prayers. Zach's left hand is a concern, as he is having some difficulty with his grip. We do not know if it is a result of all the vibrations that are absorbed by our hands each day, or perhaps he bruised a nerve in the crash he had a few days ago. We hope this week will give him a chance to recover some.