The final Ride with Police Escort

Total Mielage: 62
Today we started our ride very early. We slept in a church basement in order to avoid a wet tent in the morning. My dad was kind enough to come and pick up our gear, not an easy feat in this state, as wayfinding can be challenging. The group all needed to head out early enough so that we can meet at 1:30 and have police escort into Liberty State Park. It was a rather wet ride, as the humiditiy was high and it was misting. As we approached the park, it got sunny and the skies cleared!
This is what it looks to ride the highway of NJ as we head to NYC.




We then arrived for the tire dipping. We all said the Lord's prayer and rolled into the Hudson river.


Family Celebration!




A huge THANK YOU to all ouf you who supported us on this tour, with prayer, fundraising, kind comments, and interest. It was great to talk to strangers along the route and share the focus of the tour and how we are striving to have an impact on poverty. As with many mission trips, the biggest impact may be within ourselves. As we shared our stories and talked with people along the road, we experienced a true blessing as well.

8/29/08 Oh Mama!

Total Mileage:82 miles
Max Speed: 52 mph

Did I mention hills.....well today, we climbed mountains. We started our ascent into the Appalachain, Poccono, and Catskill mountains. While not as high as far as altititude, these mountains specialize in steep grade. This was hard for many of the riders, who come from states that do not have these kind of experiences.
As for us, we rode with Stephanie Webb and trucked along with smiles on our faces. It was actually a great day, because you get the reward of the climb, and the thrill of the down hill, and did we ever go fast! There were a few hills that even were frightening, as in you can't see the bottom for a period of time.
Marijo's view:

Going like the wind!

Welcome to NJ. Us with Stephanie Webb.

A touching sign as we rolled into Sussex NJ.

8/28/08 The Real Hills begin

Total mileage: 56 miles

While this was a short day with distance, it was the beginning of our climbing experience. We headed into Pennsylvania and the shoulders on the side of the road became much narrower and rougher. This made for interesting riding. About 30 miles we stopped at a little diner for breakfast. There were 3 guys sitting in there eating. We were with David T, the Lutke's, and Rick Gritters (check out his blog and bike he rides, he made it himself). The greeted us and wanted to take our pictures. They had just read the paper that had an article in it about the tour. We all smiled and posed for their photo. As the last guy left, he said, "Oh by the way, I just got your breakfast for you". So Ross from NJ, if you are reading this, Thank You! We also had the chance to see this huge Railroad brige that was built in the early 1900's. It is called the Lackawanan RR. We stayed in Lackawana State Park. Yes, the park is on the top of a mountain. We closed out the night by having a communion service.
Peleton Meeting.

8/27/08 The rolling community

Mileage 81 miles Maximum Speed 46 mph (hand on tight)
Traveled from Sampson State Park to Binghampton NY

This morning we departed at 7:30 am and enjoyed a very scenic and beautiful ride along Seneca lake and Cayuga lake. We had several long down hills finally rolling into the city of Ithaca, NY, which is home to Cornell University. It is a very diverse and eclectic city. We rolled into the heart of the city and walked around. We had the chance to talk to 6 different people about the tour and the focus of the Church on poverty issues. It was meaningful and easy, as we handed out the business cards with information about the tour on it. Most people were very excited and interested. We enjoyed a cup of coffee and people watched for a while. I spotted one of my favorite bumper stickers about Ithaca which is, "Ithaca, 10 sq miles surrounded by reality". If you have been here you know that it is a bit unique. We then did a monster hill climb back out of the city. If you are going to roll down, you have to roll up (just a little slower). We enjoy the experience of the tour of passing others and being passed. One of the things that is great about it, is that you get a chance to support eachother and pass on a kind word. It is kind of like a rolling church, just spread out over several miles. Everyone rides at different paces, and needs encouragement along the way. We were treated to a great meal at Valley CRC. They even installed wireless internet for us. We are staying at a school across the way. We are off to Pennsylvania Thursday. Pray for safety, as the roads have limited to no shoulder.
Marijo enjoying coffee with a friend. She is not much of a conversationalist,

Is this what it looked like for the Israelites? Tent City

Our laundry out to dry.

His handiwork displayed at the end of the day.

8/26/08 Sampson State Park in the Finger Lakes

Mileage: 81 miles Avg Speed: 15.9

WE started out with a cold morning with dew all over our tents. We packed up and headed out. Marijo was tired and tried to sleep on the bike briefly. We rode with David Teitsma and had a blast. At one point we were rolling down the hill and heard a loud pop. Dave had a blow out that sliced his tire. In true McGyver effort we used a dollar bill to cover the hole and rode the rest of the way in to the bike store in Geneva. We later meandered down to an ice cream store and enjoyed a large cone.
Along the way we ran into a movie star from Car's. He was kind enough to let us get his picture. Many of you may recognize "Mater"

Drying our clothes as Sampson. Seneca Lake in the background

A great welcome by the East Palmyra CRC gang. What a lunch!

Me at the American falls on a beautiful sunny morning

A boat going through the locks from Lake Ontario, to Lake Erie. Maybe to Michigan?

Sometimes you need an alternate mode of transportation

Todays miles: 83.61 Avg Speed: 15.4

Today we crossed back over the border to New York State. We rode with David Teitsma all day. We were able to ride over the border without even stopping due to being precleared. If only it were that simple all the time. Today we rode at a relaxing pace and enjoyed conversations and playing around. At one point Marijo got tired and wanted to try something different.

I prefer to travel in Smarter ways:

Then David and I decided to try a different mode that was more versatile in the mud.

But you can never beat the old motorcycle for getting it done.

All in all a great day. I hope you enjoy the photos and the fun. We are having a great time.