Montreal, QC to Albany, NY (3 blog posts in one!)

Monday

Day 56 Montreal, QC to Ausable Chasm, NY

Distance 123km
Saddle time 5:10 123km
Avg speed 23.7
Max speed 41.5
Total ascent 451m
Total descent 363m

We had a rough start to the morning, a headwind coupled with some pretty brutal roads made for some slow going to start.  We spent about 3 miles on a gravel road which was difficult and slow riding.  One highlight of the morning was watching Kaitlyn deal with a couple of aggressive unleashed dogs while we were riding. We could see them ahead, playfighting, and thought we might get chased (there were 3 reasonably sized dogs including what looked like a shepherd and 2 other dogs).  Sure enough, as we got closer, they abandoned their play and started chasing us.  Kaitlyn did all the right steps: stopped her bike, dismounted so the bike was between her and the dogs and said in a commanding voice, “No!  Go home!”  The dogs slowed slightly but were overall undeterred.  Then Kaitlyn sprayed them with her water bottle.  They took off for home so quickly!  Excellent work!  On behalf of all road cyclists in the country:  please contain your dogs, both for our sake and for theirs (we didn’t/wouldn’t hurt them, but what is keeping those same dogs from getting hit by a car on the road?).

Our last State sign photo opportunity!

After we crossed the border into New York state, the roads improved quite a lot and the wind seemed less of an issue.  We made much better time and barring a few stops (mmmm….ice cream) we got to camp.  We are a bit away from the lake, which was sort of disappointing, because after riding along it for 20 km, I kind of wanted to go for a swim.  There were some like minded people so we ended up shuttling down to the lake for a glorious swim.  Tomorrow we’ve got some climbing as we head through the Adirondacks!

 Tuesday

Day 57 Ausable Chasm, NY to Whitehall, NY

Distance 132km
Saddle time 6:19
Avg speed 21
Max speed 62.1
Total ascent 1739m
Total descent 1826m

Today had the biggest elevation gain of any day that I have ridden so far on the tour (there was one day in NM where the elevation gain was more, but I was sick that day, and the biggest elevation day was to be in AZ, but the tour was suspended due to heat).  1739m of climbing over the course of the day!  And it was not just little piddly hills, either.  These were big ol’ hills.  Two of the hills in the first 50km were over 15% grade and I lost count of the number of sustained climbs (up to 3-4km) at 10-12%.  It got a bit brutal.  Still, it was a really beautiful day through the Adirondacks and along the shores of Lake Champlain.  What an incredible area.  I had a great time riding with Malori, who is a faster climber, but slower descender than I am, which means we end up together at the tops of hills or the bottoms of valleys!   It was gorgeous and sunny all day, and I spent quite a lot of time on my bike reminiscing about previous climbs: Roger’s pass last summer, Box Canyon, a big climb at the end of a hot day coming into Quartzite, AZ, some mountain passes in Colorado, our big climbing day in Iowa.  I am so grateful to have the physical ability to do a day like today, and although I’m exhausted, overall had a fabulous time!  Looking forward to slightly less climbing tomorrow for my last full day of the tour!!!!

The Adirondacks are nicer to LOOK at then to CYCLE over

 

Wednesday

Day 57 Whitehall, NY to Albany, NY

Distance 125km
Saddle time 5:06
Avg speed 24.2
Max speed 47.2
Total ascent 562m
Total descent 515m
 
Today was bittersweet as it was my last full riding day of the tour.  I was feeling pretty bummed this morning and Katie suggested we start my last full day with a prayer, at which suggestion I burst into tears!  I was just feeling a bit ripped off about having to miss the last few days.  Once we started riding, my mood definitely improved and we had a great meandering day to Albany.  We stopped when we felt like it (breakfast at one restaurant, a nice long break at my mom’s SAG, a chat under the shade of some roadside trees, and ice cream as we got close to camp).  I did get my second flat of the tour today.  I hit a pretty sizable rock on the road, which seemed to knock my stem out of the tire.  It was a pretty immediate flat!  But a quick fix and we were soon on our way again.  It’s looking like (barring any flight difficulties) I will be able to ride on Saturday for at least part of the day, so I’m psyched about that! 

Today, in addition to an actual stone, I also hit a milestone!  Last Sept 1, I set a goal to ride 10,000km before next Sept 1.  I hit 10,000km today!  Woohoo!!!

At 10,000km since Sept 1 of last year!

 

Bievenue a Montreal!!!

Day 54 Cornwall, ON to Montreal, QC
Distance 105km
Saddle time 4:18
Avg speed 24.4
Max speed 40.7
Total ascent 179m
Total descent 226m
 
Kaitlyn, Malori and I took a nice leisurely day today.  Katie wanted to ride by herself, so we just toodled our way to Montreal.   It was a beautiful ride, again along the St. Lawrence. We stopped at a patisserie once we were in QC for some croissants and other goodies and then we continued to our camp.  We are staying the weekend at Kahnawake Survival School in Kahnawake, just outside Montreal.  We were having trouble finding a place big enough around Montreal to host us and the people in Kahnawake stepped up to help us out after hearing that we had also been aided by the Zuni and the Navajo while in New Mexico.  Pretty neat!

Entering La Belle Province!

Cool tunnel shot

Sunday we headed to Montreal for an excellent church service at a Presbyterian church in downtown Montreal.  The building was absolutely beautiful.  Then, 5 of us decided to head down to Boul. Rene Levesque as the Pride parade was happening.  I’ve never been to a Pride parade before, so it was certainly an experience!  We loved the dancing and the drums and the environment in general.  Then, Justin Trudeau came walking down the parade route!  I was so excited, I yelled “Justin!!” at him, which led him over for a photo op!  Most excellent indeed!  After the parade, we headed  to Old Montreal for a much needed lunch (mussels!) and a stroll around Vieux-Montreal.  It was a great break from cycling!  This week I only have 3.5 cycling days, as I will be headed to Ontario on Thursday to stand up for my friend Jenn in her wedding (Friday) before busting it back to NYC to make it for the end of the tour.

Brockville, ON to Cornwall, ON

Day 53 Brockville, ON to Cornwall, ON

Distance 114km

Saddle time 4:14

Avg speed 26.6

Max speed 45.3

Total ascent 348m

Total descent 392m

 

Another beautiful riding day along the St. Lawrence River.  We left Brockville just before 8 and we were already treated to goodies at 10km when one of the riders’ parents set up a stand for us outside their house with boiled eggs, tea and homemade cinnamon buns.  Delicious!  By 47km there was more churches, this time with cookies.  Some of the riders decided to do a time trial from here (a race), but Malori and I wanted to continue our perfect pace, so we just cheered as they zoomed past us.  Part way to Cornwall, there was an option to take a scenic parkway over some islands, so Malori and I decided to head that way and enjoy the scenery while Kaitlyn and Katie (the two members of Blue Rodeo who had raced and therefore were more tired) decided to continue on the regular route.  Otherwise, not too much else to report.  I’m well on track to making my 10,000 (if I ride all the remaining miles until I leave for Jenn’s wedding, I will be at 10,050!!!) and things are going well!  I can’t believe this is almost over, I will be very sad to go!!!

Along the St. Lawrence

Ajax to Trenton to Kingston to Brockville

Tuesday
Day 50 Ajax, ON to Trenton, ON
Distance 137
Saddle time 5:27
Avg speed 25.1
Max speed 46.8
Total ascent 944m
Total descent 944m (!!! THE FIRST DAY ON THE TOUR THE ASCENT AND THE DESCENT ARE EXACTLY EQUAL!!!)

I was really excited to ride today, as we were heading through Oshawa – the town where I grew up/my parents still live.  I didn’t sleep in my own bed Monday night because I had to meet a friend/try on a bridesmaid dress and the logistics were too complicated, so I was back in my cozy tent Monday night (it feels like home by now!).  I got up early and rode to Hope Fellowship with Julia and Shannon before the rest of my regular crew left because I wanted to be able to spend some time at the church with the people there.  What an incredible welcome!  As we rode up, there were signs every 0.5-1km with encouraging messages. Then, each rider was cheered in by a crowd of Hope Fellowshippers with flags, cowbells and other noise makers – it was pretty amazing.  Our delicious snacks were crowned by the ultimate SAG prize – a CANDY BAR!! AMAZING!  More than all those things, it was great to spend 1-1.5 hrs getting to see people from the church I grew up in!  I was blown away by all those who came out to greet us cyclists and encourage us!  It makes an enormous difference.  I really enjoyed seeing everyone (I don’t want to list names in case I forget anyone!), but it was particularly special to see some people from elementary school, high school and a lot of the other people I grew up with.  I had a wonderful time.

A candy bar for the cyclists!  Great idea!!!

 

After a long stop, I headed out with Malori at a perfect pace (we only ride at a perfect pace…) for the rest of the day.  I met the mom of one of my high school friends cheering in Newmarket and had a great visit, then headed off for two more church stops: Grace CRC in Cobourg (yummy  crackers and cheese!) and the CRC in Brighton (where we got oliebolien (!!!!!!!!) and ice cream).  It’s the first day of the tour that I ended with more food than I started with.  Ontario, you did us proud from a hospitality point of view.

Monday night we visited Kaitlyn Kuipers’ family in Brighton.  They were amazing hosts, and we passed a much too short evening of wine, steak and good company before a good night’s sleep (in a bed this time!).  Absolutely amazing day!

Wednesday

Day 51 Trenton, ON to Kingston, ON

Distance 128km
Saddle time 5:03
Avg speed 24.5
Max speed 48.6
Total ascent 612m
Total descent 628m
 
After a great breakfast of bacon and eggs at the Kuipers, we headed back to Trenton to start cycling for the day.  I was not feeling so hot overall, my legs are still pretty burned (even after trying a few Epsom salt baths, Aud, which I think helped, so thanks for the suggestion) and I just feel a bit fatigued overall.  I’m still loving it, it’s just a bit hard on the body!!

We had a great, leisurely ride through a gorgeous area today.  We had a few stops (a church stop and then we took a detour to Lake on the Mountain, a cool geologic feature where Kaitlyn met a friend of hers) but had a great day and good company.  I can’t really think of anything else exciting that happened during the ride.

Ferry ride!

Once in Trenton, we set up camp and then were treated to an amazing array of desserts by two local churches!  Delicious again!  We had a great time of worship and sharing with some local church members and then I was able to catch a sweet sunset over Lake Ontario while stretching.  Not too shabby!

 Thursday

Day 52 Kingston, ON to Brockville, ON

Distance 96
Saddle time 4:05
Avg speed 23.5
Max speed 45.7
Total ascent 554m
Total descent 559m

Nice short day between Kingston and Brockville today.  The route was absolutely gorgeous, winding along the St. Lawrence river and through the 1000 Islands.  I rode with my dad at a nice leisurely pace.  A number of people had stopped at Ivy Lea to take a boat cruise (we decided not to) and somehow everybody’s helmets ended up linked together on the picnic table after they got on the boat.  I can’t think how that could have came to be!

A helmet mystery....

 

By Ivy Lea there was a beautiful and well paved pathway along the road, so we had a lot of fun, zooming along with an excellent tailwind.  Wherever there was a driveway, there was a roller in the path, so we had fun bouncing over those.  After one particularly excellent one (at the bottom of a hill), my dad said, “That was so fun, let’s go up and do it again….”  I thought he was joking until I saw him riding back up the hill in my rearview mirror to hit it again!

Otherwise a pretty uneventful day for us.  Got to Brockville, went for lunch with my parents and some other riders and now getting some pics uploaded onto facebook!

Travelling through the Tdot

Day 49 Ancaster, ON to Ajax, ON
Distance 130km
Saddle time 5:15
Average speed 24.1km
Max speed 50ish
Elevation screwed up re: I forgot to turn my computer off when I got in my friend’s car and it recorded our whole car trip.

We had a great ride from Ancaster to Ajax today.  It was great to get to ride through some familiar areas, in a different way (ie. On a bike).  We did have lots of stops today (good ones, mostly, but some not so good).

1.       We were riding down the escarpment and I started to recognize some of the terrain, so we stopped by the West Park house (where I lived in my last year of university) to take a picture)

Great times in this house!!!

2.       Fortinos in Hamilton for one of the girls to pick something up
3.       SAG #1, which was parked at Joe Brant hospital, where Sarah Cross works as a midwife (she wasn’t there, but I was excited to see her workplace!)
4.       RBC for someone to get money which led to
5.       Lulu Lemon which led to
6.       Timothy’s coffee which led to
7.       Croissant bakery (OMG, best chocolate croissant of all time).
8.       Bike shop to order a new derailleur hanger (mine has been bent twice now and as they are hard to obtain, I would like to have a new one in case it doesn’t tolerate any more bending).
9.       Then we had to stop because of an unfortunate incident involving one of our cyclists as our group, perhaps not entirely obeying the law, rolled through a red light at a T intersection, only to almost hit a pedestrian, resulting in the need for us to slam on our brakes and one of us to tip over onto the pavement (not me this time).  She and her bike were fine, but there was a need for the application of a few bandages.
10.   Then we stopped on the Waterfront pathway to help an elderly gentleman with a walker who had fallen
11.   Then we stopped at Katie’s mother who was on the waterfront pathway with ice cream cones.

After ALL our stops, we made it to camp, where I was met by my friend Jenn for a lovely visit.  Phew…

A Weally Wonderful Weekend

This blog post title is proof I am spending too much time with my dad!

Also, if you are very observant, you will see that the numbers on my days are screwed up, so today I decided to fix it and I'm not going back to correct the old ones and who really cares what day it is, anyway?

Day 48 Breslau, ON to Ancaster, ON
Distance 72km
Saddle time 2:33
Avg speed 28.1
Max speed 46.8
Total ascent 408m
Total descent 494m
 

Perfect day for a ride!

A great, short ride from Breslau to Ancaster.   Today was punctuated by getting to see some people I haven’t seen in a while!  First of all, Alexa joined us again for 2 days of riding (she rode LA to Colorado Springs with us and we are thrilled to have her back).  Then, my cousin Alida was waiting on the route for us with a sign (she rode the 2005 tour, and it was great to see her!).  Then, Matthew Campbell (coordinator of Ride 2012, which I rode, and Ride 2014) joined up with us for the day (well, not with ME – he’s crazy fast, but with the tour) and then at Redeemer my other cousin Micah was here to greet us.   Plus a nice fast sunny day through beautiful Ontario = one happy Ava.  Headed to the Tdot now to see some other great friends for Jenn Engelage’s Bachelorette!

A cheering section!!

 

Day 49 Sunday

I don’t normally write a journal entry/blog post for Sundays/weekends but today was so great, I feel it warrants a post.  I have the privilege of standing up for one of my best friends for her wedding this summer (Jenn Engelage) and last night was her Bachelorette party.  It was planned by the other bridesmaids, as I’ve been a wee bit absent this summer, and it was a BLAST.  We met at a condo in Toronto, had a delicious dinner (each cooking our own stir fries over individual flames) and then headed out on t town.  Definitely good times.  This morning, I got to visit one of my other best friends, Kat Upshall, in Toronto on my way back to Ancaster and then a third best friend, Sarah Cross, met me for some QT and to come to the celebration service.  Super special! 

 

The celebration service was amazing!  The auditorium was PACKED!!! and the worship/speakers were amazing.  We walked into the auditorium to everyone clapping for us –it was pretty impressive.  As we walked in, three rows into the auditorium, I saw my Uncle Warner and Aunt Betsy, who I haven’t seen in a few years!  I was so excited I gave my Uncle Warner a big hug.  He didn’t recognize me, and apparently after I gave him this big hug and then kept walking he turned to my Aunt and was like, “who was that?”  Guess I should probably try to hit the Buesink family gatherings more often!!  There were lots of people to visit with: my grandma and Aunt Bea were there, cousins Micah and Alida, several church members from Hope Fellowship and my Aunt Lillian.  I got to see some of the Burwell gang (Henry and Marg Kooy and John and Catherine Byl).  It was really awesome.  Then Sarah and I got to have a nice dinner and visit and we’re back on the road tomorrow!  Whirlwind weekend, but so amazing!!!

Full house for the celebration service!

Relatives and Road Cycling = perfect combo!

Day 44 London, ON to Breslau, ON
Distance 130km
Saddle time 6:00
Avg speed 21.6
Max speed 46.1
Total ascent  804m
Total descent 736

My dad and I left camp today and only rode about the first 3km of the route before taking a Southward turn to Ingersoll to visit my Uncle Norm, Aunt Mel, and my cousins Ryan, Jennie, Ang and Jason.  Ryan was working at the fire hall, so the rest of the clan (including Ryan and Jennie’s three kids!) met us in the parking lot with Tim Horton’s.  We had an excellent visit for about an hour before Ryan got a call and we decided to head out.  We headed north and hooked back up with the Sea  to Sea route quite a bit behind most of the riders (all the SAGs were already packed up, which we were counting on).  We stopped in Bright, ON for ice cream (at the post office of all places, but Bright is not a really big town and I think the post office might be the only store).  As we headed on, we ran into Kaitlyn, Katie and Malori, who were a bit behind the main group as well as one of them had a phone interview that morning.  My dad and I continued with the 2 of us, and had a great, leisurely ride through beautiful Southern Ontario farmland.  I know I’ve said it before, but it sure is great to be home.  After riding through much of the States (which is beautiful), I still would have to argue that Canada is the best!

Visiting at the fire hall!

 

When we got to camp, I had a little joke for my parents.  They hate getting into camp and then finding that someone has set his or her tent to close to theirs, so while they were both in the shower, I got some willing co-conspirators to set up their tents VERY close to my parents’ tent.  The look on their faces when they got back and could hardly get into the doors of their tent was priceless!  Definitely worth moving all those tents! 

Sarnia, ON to London, ON!

Day 43 Sarnia, ON to London, ON
Distance 130km (I added 19km, original ride was scheduled at 111)
Saddle time 5:24
Avg speed 24
Max speed 50.2
Total ascent 678m
Total descent 601m

I’m sitting in the sunshine outside my tent at London District Christian High School and I am so content.  I had another great day today!  We got up early and ate breakfast with grandma (delicious eggs, oatmeal and fruit), then I biked back to the school and grabbed a couple extra things for lunch, and, as the people I usually ride with weren’t ready re: it was so early, headed out with Gord from Calgary (joined in Grand Rapids for 2 weeks).  We just rode a steady pace into a fairly steady headwind and had a great riding day.  My grandma was waiting with chocolate cookies and a SIGN (!!!!) partway out of Sarnia, so that was really sweet!  I stopped in downtown London for a drink and some perogies with a different group of riders (Gord kept riding in because his wife was meeting him at the high school) and then hooked up with a different group of riders to get to the high school.  All in all another excellent day! 

With Grandma along the route!

BACK IN THE HOMELAND!!!

Day 42 Imlay City, MI to Sarnia, ON
Distance 132 km
Saddle time 5:05
Avg speed 26.4
Max speed 46.7
Total ascent 209m
Total descent 289m
 
Another great day on the bike!  When we got ready to go, sadly it started raining just as we left.  Not just a little rain, but a torrential downpour complete with tons of thunder and lightning.  We decided to stay in the school for an extra 45 min as we waited for the worst of it to stop.  We set out in the rain with Katie, Kaitlyn, Malori, Betsy, Jessica (another new rider) and myself, but Katie and Kaitlyn made it through a stoplight before us and we got separated.  We had a nice fast ride to the first SAG, and the rain let up, but then I made a classic noob mistake.  I tipped over on my bike and couldn’t unclip on time and hit the pavement with the drive train side of the bike!  The derailleur hanger was bent and I couldn’t shift.  I may have had a few moments of panic while my dad tried to get it working a bit better.  We were able to move the shifter over so that I could at least ride, and we set off in pursuit of Peter, a friend of mine who is good with bikes and I knew had left not too much ahead of us.  We hammered down at 30-32km/h to catch up and he bent my hanger somewhat straight.  I much appreciated this considering that shortly after that we turned into a pretty nasty headwind, and I certainly appreciated the extra gears!

We rode South from Port Huron to catch the ferry at Marine City (we weren’t allowed to ride across the bridge).  It was fun to take the short ferry ride across, but even more fun when there was a small crowd of Canadians cheering us in and waiting with coffee and cookies!  This was particularly excellent considering the Canadians have been bragging to the Americans about how good the hospitality was going to be in Canada, and we have been proven VERY right!  Also, my Grandma met us there, which was special!

With my grandma off the ferry

We had a tailwind riding North to Sarnia, so we rode at a nice 30-35km/h to get into the school.  Harold and Peter both worked on my bent derailleur hanger (and slightly loosened free hub) from my tip over and got things working perfectly (in exchange for me taking their laundry to my Grandma’s).  Now, I’m relaxing at my Grandma’s house, where we will have dinner and I believe there might be ice cream later!  Most excellent, indeed!

Monday and Tuesday of Week 7

Monday

Day 40 Grand Rapids, MI to Shady Hollow State Park, MI

Distance 119km
Saddle time 4:38
Average speed 25.5
Max speed 52.6
Total ascent 537m
Total descent 504m
 
A great day riding with team Blue Rodeo.  We had a prayer before leaving Calvin and a group photo, so everyone was supposed to leave around 7am.  However, Kaitlyn was on sweep, so Team Blue Rodeo helped out (as did teams Top Guns and Zach’s Angels, who both had team members on sweep).  I’ve never seen sweep get done so quickly!  Once everything was packed up, we headed out and made it 11km before Katie got her first of 3 flats.  The good news is, it was a short day, and we were in no rush, so once she was fixed up we made it another 40km before flat #2.  We had a nice break in a small town for hot chocolate and appetizers at the only restaurant we could find before heading out and Katie got flat #3.  It was actually a really nice day.  We joked around and had a break while Katie changed her flats, and still got into camp with plenty of time to spare.  Because we are at a state park, we could have a campfire and roast marshmallows.  Excellent!

I rode 15km more than the scheduled mileage today (mostly by riding up and down the road during delays in the day).  This is because I set myself a personal goal to ride 10000km in a year (Sept 1 to Sept 1).  When I looked at the upcoming mileage for the tour, I realized I’m going to be short by about 150km (due to the delays in Payson, missing a day of riding for illness in NM and missing 2 days in NY state to be in a wedding).  So, I’m going to try to add about 10km to each riding day (I’m not sure that I will actually be able to do this, but I’m really hoping to meet my goal, and since I had 15 riding days left including today, adding just 25min of cycling/day will get me there).  If I’m still short of my goal, one of the new riders, a lawyer from Calgary named Gord, has offered to ride with me the Saturday of the Labour Day weekend to get the miles completed (as he will be camping in Rocky anyway).  So, we’ll see how adding the miles goes and hopefully I can still meet my goal (it just doesn’t sound the same to say I cycled 9850km in a year….).

  

Fixing the third flat of the day

Tuesday

Day 41 Shady Hollow Park, MI to Imlay City, MI

Distance 150km
Saddle time 5:54
Avg speed 25.4
Max speed 45.9
Total ascent 623m
Total descent 628m

Team Blue Rodeo took a day off and rode with some other peeps today, so I set off this morning with Malori (from Blue Rodeo) and Betsy (a new rider who joined in GR).  We had an awesome day.  The pace was exactly perfect for me, so we (I…) decided to call us Team Baby Bear, because the speed was not too fast and not too slow, but just right!  Around 1130, it started to rain pretty hard as we left Flint, MI, which was  a bit of a bummer, but it only lasted less than an hour and we could dry off/warm up.  We picked up a few riders as the day went on as well, so there was some negotiating of speed.  Still, we rode into camp with our original group at a pace that was JUST RIGHT. 
 
When I got to camp (at 125km), I was feeling good, so I asked Chris (a rider who is leaving us in Imlay City) if I could ride with him to his inlaws to add a few clicks.  I explained why I needed to add some miles and he agreed to ride 10 km extra with me.  25km later and I was back at camp.  The original route was only 119km, so I actually added 31km to subtract from my 175km deficiency!  Excellent!!! 

As we were eating supper, I heard an announcer at the Eastern Michigan State Fair in the distance and thought I caught the word “rodeo.”  I made some inquiries and found out there was a rodeo starting at that exact time, so my mom and I went and watched some Michigan teens get their rears handed to them by some bulls.  Still a good time!  Tomorrow we cross into CANADA, which I’m very excited about (not just because I’ll be able to use my cellphone!).

Sea to Sea week 6 megapost

OK, we had spotty internet access this week, so while I wrote a blog post everyday, I haven't had a chance to post them till now.  First, we had no internet access.  Then, the internet access was too slow for me to bother.  Then, I was having too much fun to spend time online.  Anyway, now I finally have internet which is sufficiently fast and am not otherwise occupied, so here's the breakdown of the week day by day!!

MONDAY

Day 34 Coralville, IA to Fulton, IL

Distance 161
Saddle time 5:59:51
Avg speed 26.7
Max speed 55.0
Totals ascent 878m
Total descent 861m

A nice quick century.  The ride today was actually 154km, but since I rarely ride that far on my own for fun, I did a couple loops once we got to Fulton to make it a century!  It was much second sub-six hour century (an alliterative achievement!).  I started riding with just Kaitlyn, and we jumped onto a pace line with two of the new riders, Kyle and Jason.  They are both strong, fast riders, and our average speed for the 75km we rode with them was about 30km/h.  However, I’m not really strong enough to maintain that pace, so after 75km (at about 100km for the day), we dropped back a bit.  Still, I was feeling good when we got to camp, so had no problem wrapping up the century.  I really wanted to get it done in under 6 hrs, so I was quite happy to make it with 9 whole seconds to spare!!!  We were served dinner by some of the local churches and it was a great day all around.  We also crossed the Mississippi river into Illinois today, so that was pretty neat!

Welcome to Illinois!

 

TUESDAY

Day 35 Fulton, IL to Shabbona, IL

Distance 142
Saddle time 6:14
Avg speed 22.8
Max speed 45
Total ascent 724m
Total descent 661m
 
What a difference a day makes!  From feeling good, great weather and a nice fast ride to slow legs, rain, and a difficult day.  It started raining just before we left camp today and rained pretty steadily most of the day.  It stopped for about an hour during the middle of the day, which was just long enough for our soggy coats to dry and for us to JUST start feeling warm before it started again and soaked us to the skin.  Top that off with some sore legs from perhaps pushing a bit too hard yesterday and it felt like a very very long ride.  Good thing I had some great riding buddies today (Kaitlyn, Katie, Malori, Adam and sometimes Eric).  Adam entertained us by giving us scenarios that we would have to figure out what happened (ie. A person is found dead in a room with a puddle of water…what happened?).  This took up a great deal of time (we were not very good at the game…) and made the miles go much faster.  Still, I was very grateful when we saw camp!  It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and it’s still a bit damp now, so I guess we won’t really get to dry out very much tonight.  Hopefully tomorrow evening we can dry off in Lansing!

Malori making her way in the rain

 

WEDNESDAY

Day 36 Shabbona, IL to Lansing, IL

Distance 154km
Saddle time 6:48
Average speed 22.5
Max speed40.8
Total ascent 435m
Total descent 529m

Another long day today!  154km felt really long after 2 long days already this week.  I decided to ride with my dad to give my legs a bit of a break.  Malori rode with us.  Not too much to report – we took it easy and had a nice day!  Hopefully taking a bit of a slower day will mean my legs will be a bit less sore for the rest of the week (Somehow I thought they would be at their max soreness by the end of week three but I seem to get more sore each day!!!!).  When we got to camp, someone told me the Vandijks were looking for me!  My Aunt Jo and Uncle Vince are here to visit us on their way to Minnesota!  Awesome!  We’re going out for dinner so that will be a nice change (not that I don’t love spaghetti…again…)!!! :P

Enjoying the bike path

 

THURSDAY

Day 36 Lansing, IL to Benton Harbor, MI

Distance 142km
Saddle time 5:45
Average speed: 24.3
Max speed: Garmin issues
Climbing: not too much, but Gramin issues keeps me from giving the exact #.

We passed through 3 states today!  We started in Illinois, then passed through Indiana, and arrived in Michigan!  I started the day with Amanda and Derek Deboer and Peter Wong, because the group I usually ride with (Katie, Kaitlyn and Malori, under the name “Blue Rodeo” because if we’re lost, we are lost together…) said they were going to ride really fast today and my legs are having issues with the daily 140+km rides.  However, it was a windy route through the city and on bike paths, so they ended up just riding normal speeds and I joined up with them at the first SAG because Derek was delayed by bike problems.

We had a great time: riding along the coast of Lake Michigan, pumping the tunes when we were on the bike path (Malori got a handlebar speaker from her boyfriend which we put to good use today) and stopping for delicious crepes in New Buffalo!  By the last 20 km, my legs were pretty much cooked again, but I made it to camp and am very excited for tomorrow, which is a paltry 95km!!  A big change from the long riding days we’ve had this week!!!

Welcome to Lake Michigan!

 

FRIDAY

Day 37 Benton Harbour, MI to Holland, MI

Distance 98.7
Saddle time 3:48
Avg speed 25.9
Max speed 45.2
Total ascent 425m
Total descent 434m

Started the day in the rain, again!!  We had a solid 1.5 hrs of rain before the skies finally cleared.  It was a good day of riding, though.  Just before we got to Holland, we had a stop at the first CRC church in North America, complete with a heritage museum.  It was a really interesting/informative stop.  We’re staying at Hope College in Holland, MI, which means we get BEDS(!!!) tonight.  We had a great afternoon at the New Holland Brewing company, and a nice short day tomorrow (only 60ish km!!!) .  Should be great!

Didn't get too many pics this day, but this one actually sums up our wet ride pretty accurately!

 

SATURDAY

Day 38 Holland, MI to Grand Rapids, MI

Distance 62km
Saddle time 2:39
Avg speed 23.5
Max speed 47.2
Total ascent 310m
Total descent 254m

We have arrived!  For those not familiar with the CRC, Grand Rapids is pretty much the Jerusalem of our denomination.  All along the route today we had people with signs cheering us on, giving us snacks and SAGs, and a great welcome into Calvin College!  We stopped about 3 miles before Calvin (a CRC College in GR) and gathered as a whole group.  It was pretty amazing to get to ride with 150+ cyclists through the streets of Grand Rapids to get to Calvin.  Once we arrived, we were greeted by Ken and Annelise Baker, good friends (but not relatives!) of my family, who drove my mom, dad and myself to Kalamazoo (where they live) for an excellent day of visiting, a HUGE soft real bed, a BATH, and a meal that was not prepared for 200 people (the food on the tour has been EXCELLENT, it’s just nice to have a change!!).  Tomorrow we’ll head back to GR for the celebration service and to prepare for another week of riding.  This Wednesday, we cross over into CANADA!!!!!!!!!  which I’m obviously super pumped about!

Getting our whole group ready to ride into Calvin together



My riding buddies for most of the week: Team Blue Rodeo (cuz if we're lost, then we are lost together...).  Most excellent riding buddies, indeed!