Day 37; Tuesday, July 30

Fulton, Illinois to Shabbona, Illinois = 135kms
Bike Team = Zack's Angels minus Matt

Woke up at 6:00am - everyone else was up and ready to go as usual. Even the new people are catching on and racing to exit camp as soon as possible - it just boggles my mind. My bike team, Zack's Angels', took their time and were still out by 7:30, which I think is pretty decent. They told us yesterday there was a 30% chance of rain for today. As we were leaving camp though it started raining hard. Apparently 30% chance of rain means it will rain all day long.

It kept raining all morning - it was MISERABLE. At km30 we decided we would skip the next SAG stop and try to find a coffee shop to warm up and dry off.

We kept biking and biking and biking, but only saw corn fields and farms. Laura and I were so desperate for a washroom, we ended up going in the corn fields. Sorry farmers.

 

Finally we got to 75km and the third SAG stop. Even though it was only 11:00am, we were so starving we all ate our lunches. The rain had finally stopped for a bit and we were finally drying up a bit, but as we ate our lunches it really started to pour down, heavier then ever. We had nowhere to take shelter, but we were told there was a town 10 miles away. We peddled hard and fast through the downpour until we got there. There was a Shell gas station that gave us free coffee and hot chocolate. What a blessing!

 



When we left Shell, it was still raining. We followed a biker and the rollerblader and turned left out of the parking lot. We went quite a ways down the highway when we realized there weren't any cyclists behind us whatsoever. We had made a wrong turn. Luckily Laura had her cell phone and was able to figure out an alternative route for us to take to get to camp. It ended up being a bit of a shortcut! Another blessing for today.

We arrived to camp and set up our tents that were still wet from this morning. We showered in the campground showers - my towel was still wet from yesterday too. Ugh. Everything is just so soaked. The kitchen ladies made us chips and dip for a snack and ants on a log (celery, peanut butter and raisins). We were so cold- we all bundled up in our sweats and sea to sea hoodies.

 

It was my team's turn for Sweep duties so I had to help do dishes for 2 hours. Supper was meatloaf, baked potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, and leftover pie. It was still raining lightly even as we ate dinner. We had our peloton meeting and then couldn't decide what to do afterwards. It was only 8:00pm, but we were in a camp ground and everything was soaked from the rain. I just went to my tent to read and go to bed early. Today was definitely my least favourite day of the tour. 

Weekend in Coralville, Iowa

Day 34; Saturday, July 27
Pella, Iowa - Coralville City, Iowa = 153kms
Bike Team = Zack's Angels minus Laura

Woke up reluctantly at 6:00. It's hard leaving a dorm room to head out and bike an American century just to camp in another park. We just ate a small breakfast because we will be served a second breakfast on the road.

At 30kms We stopped at a church for pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruit. Alice's granddaughter also handed out monster cookies to all the cyclists; so cute!

 

 

We had started off biking with Laura and her boyfriend's dad, Tom, but we let them get ahead of us because they were in a rush to get to Iowa City.

 

It was a  really tough ride- a lot of rolling hills and we were the last team, even though we had left at 7:00am this morning! We stopped for lunch at a small town pub - the only food on their menu was pizza. I just had a Smirnoff ice and ate my packed sandwich.

 

The last SAG stop had boeterkoek from Carrie!! It was a perfect treat and gave us the energy we needed to finish off the day.

 

 

Pulled into camp finally at 3:30. This weekend we'll be camping in a city park - beside a pond and waterpark.

 

 

 I checked the mail and saw I had received a care package from my mom of gum, socks, energy gels and money- very welcomed surprise.

 

 

We all showered and put on our warmest clothes- so cold here! Karyn, Zack and I decided to go for a walk and find a restaurant to treat ourselves to. After walking 20minutes we finally stumbled across an Outback Steakhouse. It was 7:00 and we were absolutely starving. We told the server how hungry we were and he brought us 2 rolls of bread and butter that we devoured, plus beer. Karyn and I ordered "Alice's Chicken" It was smothered in cheese, bacon and mushrooms. We ate every morsel of our food from our plates. We weren't even full afterwards, so we walked to the Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream.

 

 

Walked back to camp and watched "Our Idiot Brother" in Zack's tent. Great day :)

 

Day 35; Sunday, July 28

Coralville, Iowa

 

Woke up at 8:00 for a nice big breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and fruit. No church this morning. Zack, Karyn, and I walked over to Starbucks to use the Wi-Fi there all morning. I was able to catch up on writing two blogs.

 

At noon we walked back to camp and left with the Kooys (our Sea to Sea parents) and Herald for lunch at the Olive Garden! I had unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks. Herald's steak wasn't cooked properly so the manager let our whole table have free desserts!

 

 

We went to a bike shop and then went back to camp and I cleaned my whole bike. We walked over to a rec center and snuck inside to use their hot tub.

 

At 5:00 we took shuttle buses to a local church for a worship celebration. Then at 7:15pm the church served us dinner at camp of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and cookies.

 

Laura came back from visiting her boyfriend John-Michael. She wanted to look at a condo she saw on Craig's list so I accompanied her for support and safety. The condo is owned by a body builder who's moving out of the country- the condo was set up as a workout facility. We both loved it and Laura signed a contract for it! YAY!

 

We biked back to camp and chatted with Matt. Karyn found me and said she couldn't find Laura and Zack. We searched the entire park - their tents were empty, but their bikes were still at camp. Finally we found them on the other side of the pond - they had bought drinks and munchies at a local convenient store because they didn't get enough dinner. We all hung out and chatted til 11pm then bed. 









Day 33; Friday, July 26

Chariton, Iowa to Pella, Iowa = 80kms
Bike Team = Zack's Angels minus Matt

Woke up extra early today at 5:45. Had everything packed up and ready to go so we could eat and leave before 7 as Laura had big plans tonight. Matt wasn't ready by 7 so we left without him. At mile 36 we stopped at a church for pie. We also made it to the halfway point for the tour!!

 

 

 

Pulled into camp early - at 11:30. Today we're staying at Central College! Laura and I are sharing a dorm room. I quickly showered and left with Matt the truck driver, Laura and Zack to Iowa City for a road trip!! Laura needed to go there for a drug test for her new job. We also had to mark the route for tomorrow since that will be our destination. Laura had asked Zack and I to come along so she could buy furniture off Craig's list and needed help carrying it.

 

The drive ended up taking 3 hours long since we had to stop every 10 minutes so Laura could spray paint the road with signs.

 

 

 

Laura ended up missing an appointment she had made with an apartment she wanted to view. She was also late for her drug test. While she was taking it truck driver Matt, Zack, and I just walked around Walgreens. We didn't end up having time to look at furniture, and there was no way we would make it back to Pella on time for dinner at 6:00. We had to eat out- at a place Laura chose, called "Culvurs". This place is known for their "buttered hamburger buns" and "frozen custard". It sucked eating fast food and paying for it, oh well.

 

Made it back to Pella by 7:15. The celebration service had just started. I chose not to attend because there were other things I wanted to do- like walk around downtown Pella. Julia came with me, and I got a Big Train Chai tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did laundry since we finally have free facilities. I wrote in my blog and facebooked. Finally finished laundry by 10:30 then bed.



Day 30; Tuesday, July 23

Hickman, NE to Sidney, IA = 113kms
Bike Team = Zack's Angels + Kaitlyn + Ava

Woke up this morning to a LOT of commotion; at 6am people were running everywhere and bringing all the bikes inside the main building of Camp Oasis where we were sleeping. A severe thunder storm was coming and we would not be allowed to ride until it had passed. The breakfast/lunch buffet table was set up inside and we were able to enjoy a relaxing breakfast indoors while we waited the storm out.

Finally at 8am it seemed like most of the storm had passed; the skies were clear, but the roads were wet and there was still a strong wind. We stopped in a small town for lunch. Ava and I both ordered chicken salads for the protein. We found out the population of the town was only 60 people!

Today we crossed over from Nebraska to Iowa.

 

We stopped at a Wendy's for frosty's; a large number of other cyclists had the same idea as us. When the manager heard what we were doing he donated $100 to us! Another lady came over and asked to take our photo for her facebook page. It's really neat seeing how excited everyone gets when they hear what we're doing.

 

 

We had a steep climb into camp- today we will be staying in a beautiful state park. We set up our tents and changed our clothes. It was still early in the day so I went hiking with Kaitlyn, Julia, Karyn and Eric. Nice hour long hike, but it was steep and not well-maintained the second-half.

 

 

 

 

We just ate leftovers for supper. We had peloton meeting and small group. Quiet time and then early to bed!





Day 29; Monday, July 22

Fairbury, NE to Firth, NE (Camp Oasis) = 83kms
Bike Team = Zack's Angels + Kaitlyn + Ava

Slept in until 6:15, but breakfast wasn't served until 7:00. I discovered my front tire was flat! :( First flat tire so far. Zack, Karyn and Ava helped me replace my tire tube- I never figured out the cause of the flat.

Because of my flat, we didn't leave camp until 8:30am. Fairbury has a brick factory, so their streets are all made out of brick! They also have a bacon bit factory so the whole city smells like bacon.

 

It was an easy 40km ride to Beatrice where most cyclists stopped at a bakery. It just so happened to be their grand reopening after a fire and we were able to make their day a huge success! We then went to McDonalds for a bathroom break and ended up staying a while to use their Wi-Fi.

 

At 83kms we reached our destination! A children's Bible camp. We were given a building to sleep inside. The camp was in the middle of nowhere. A camp counsellor offered to drive us to the nearest town to sit in a coffee shop. 7 of us piled into her tiny Honda civic with our laptops. At the coffee shop I skyped with Dad and blogged. We all got ice frappes - so nice!

 

We had a delicious bbq chicken dinner at 5:00. The cooks had made two trifles for dessert made out of all the leftover desserts from our potluck yesterday- very creative.

 

At our peloton meeting we told the kids at the Bible camp what we were doing. They were very interested and curious and had lots of great questions for us.

 

 

We got to have a campfire afterwards with smores!! Yay! Early to bed.

 

 

 

Weekend in Fairbury

Day 27; Saturday, July 20
Red Cloud, NE to Fairbury, NE = 121 kms
Bike Team = Kaitlyn and Julia/Zack's Angels

Woke up reluctantly at 6:00am and left for 7:30 to bike with Kaitlyn and Julia. We realized after 2kms we were headed in the wrong direction since we didn't see any "C's" spray painted on the road or other cyclists, and turned around. Once we found the route the first 50kms flew by fast- a lot of rolling hills.

At 70kms we met up with Zack's Angels on the road and all biked together until we found "Grandpa's Crossing" restaurant. We stopped for food and coffee. Inside we found other tables of Sea to Sea cyclists with the same idea.

 

As we were enjoying our meal, it suddenly started POURING rain - with severe thunder storms and lightening. We couldn't leave until it stopped, so we waited inside the restaurant for two hours - it was really boring and we were anxious to get to camp. The storm finally looked like it was calming down a bit, but everything was soaking wet and we were cold. We decided to continue biking slowly since it looked like the lightening had stopped.

Because of our two hour delay, we didn't reach camp until 5:00pm. We quickly had to bring our things into a community center gymnasium and we showered at a local public pool. Some people chose to still set up their tents and sleep outside, but we chose to sleep in the gym - it's just a lot easier.

Supper was lasagne, garlic bread, salad and for dessert banana bread, banana pudding and whip cream. I napped until 8:00pm, then a huge group of us of all ages walked over to a local bowling alley for some drinks and bowling! It was a blast!

 

Day 28; Sunday, July 21

Fairbury, NE

 

Slept in until 7:30am. Pancake breakfast was served at 8:00. Shuttles for church didn't leave until 10, so I went for a walk downtown with Laura and Karyn to look for a coffee shop - we quickly realized everything was closed as it's Sunday.

 

All of the cyclists attended a Presbyterian church this morning- the church warmly greeted us. They had a bulletin board up, the pastor preached a sermon relevant to cycling, and they had a ridiculously huge potluck for us after the service! They had tables upon tables of food and dessert, and even let us keep the leftovers.

 

 



Walked around Wal Mart for an hour after church, but didn't buy anything. It just felt good to wander around a store and feel 'normal' - not like a crazy cross-continental cyclist living out of a tent for 9 weeks. Had a nap and read my book; feeling tired. This day of rest is so much needed!

Went to McDonalds to use Wi-Fi. We had to get a ride there because it was so far from the park we're staying at. My team was on sweep duties today so I had to help set out all of the leftovers for Sunday night dinner. We served the food then had to do all the dinner clean up. Good thing our team only has to do this every 9 days! It's a lot of work feeding and cleaning up after so many people.

Had peloton meeting and small group. Alice and I asked someone for a ride to McDonalds to go back to use Wi-Fi for a bit. As soon as we got back to camp I went straight to bed.

Day 26; Friday, July 19

Norton, KS to Red Cloud, Nebraska = 162kms
Bike Team = Zack's Angels + Kaitlyn

Woke up early and reluctantly at 5:45 so we could leave as early as possible since we're biking 100 miles today. We were out on the road by 7:30am. There wasn't a SAG stop for the first 40kms - I was worried about that because the first stop is usually every 25kms. But it was fine - we were able to bike with speed and ease thanks to flat roads and tail winds. When we arrived at the church, they had a table set up of baked goods and delicious treats.

We continued biking with ease. We crossed over from the state of Kansas to Nebraska. At 1:00 we reached "Jiffy Burger" - they gave all the cyclists free soft serve ice cream! It was a seriously long day sitting on the bike, suffered from sore muscles and sore butts. We finally made it to camp at 4:30pm and jumped straight into the city pool with our bike clothes and all.

We found out our gear went through an extreme and brief rain storm so all of our gear was DRENCHED. It was really frustrating to deal with since we were so tired from biking 100 miles today. We laid our clothes and gear out to dry and found out we could sleep inside a gymnasium while our tents hung up to dry.

 

 

 

Supper tonight was hamburgers and potato salad. We walked to a laundry mat to clean and dry all of our soggy clothes because they weren't drying fast enough outside. We skipped peloton meeting tonight to do our laundry and went to a downtown pub for some much-needed drinks. Came back to camp and I organized my laundry baskets and fell asleep instantly at 10:00.

Day 25; Thursday, July 18

Colby, KS to Norton, KS = 116kms
Bike Team = Zack's Angels + Kaitlyn

Because we're in a new state, there was a time change of an hour so breakfast was moved up today to 7-8:00am. I got to 'sleep in' until 6:45am, and most cyclists were already dressed, packed and ready to go by the time I woke up. Our group left camp around 8:00, and we were the last team to leave.

After biking 50kms, we stumbled upon a deserted looking town with a café that looked closed so we continued biking past it- when we noticed bikes parked on the side of the building. We stopped and turned around to check it out because we were ready for a coffee break. Inside we found a cozy little country café that was indeed open- and a table of other cyclists enjoying some baked goods. We all ordered coffee and pumpkin pie or cinnamon rolls. We enjoyed a nice long break and talked to some locals of the town.

 

We continued on with our bike ride; very flat route today with a lot of cornfields. the very last mile, we turned onto a road and faced an extreme headwind. It was a LONG slow mile. We reached our destination - Prairie Dog State Park. I tried SOO hard for 15 minutes to set my tent up with Eric Stehouwer. But with the extreme wind, we just couldn't keep the tent up. I decided to try again later on when the wind hopefully died down.

 

We were able to shower at the campground showers. About 15 of us jumped into a Sea to Sea van afterwards that was headed to a local town to go to McDonalds and use Wi-Fi.

 

 

We were almost at McDonalds when the van died. We got out and walked the rest of the way while the driver worked on repairing the van. We only stayed an hour then went back to camp because we were having an early dinner at 5:00. Tonight we had meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, carrots and beans. We enjoyed Peloton Meeting and small groups.

 



 

I finally got my tent up. Laura didn't bother trying to set hers up and decided to sleep on a picnic table tonight. We all went into Zack's tent to watch "What to Expect when you're Expecting" - hilarious movie. We went to bed at 9:30. It was a TERRIBLE sleep - the wind was blowing my tent so hard, I thought for sure it was going to collapse, but fortunately it didn't.

 



Day 22; Monday, July 15

Colorado Springs, CO to Limon, CO = 119kms
Bike Team: Zack's Angels + Peter

We waited for Matt forever as usual and then took off. It's really cold this morning so we all brought our bike jackets, except for Zack who insisted he had made the smart choice. Peter Wong, a new cyclist from Toronto, couldn't keep up with his bike team so he joined our group. Suddenly it started POURING rain and there was extreme fog- we couldn't see anything at all. We continued biking even though we were completely soaked and freezing cold. We wanted to stop at a coffee shop to warm up - but because of the fog we couldn't see anything past a couple meters in front of us. We may have biked past a hundred coffee shops for all we know.

 

My teeth wouldn't stop chattering and I wanted to cry I was so cold. At our first SAG stop Allen Tans lent me his arm warmers to wear under my jacket, and it completely boosted my motivation and determination to go on. Zack ended up leaving our group to race forward and faster because he was so freezing cold.

Around 11:00 we finally stumbled across a small town restaurant. We laid all of our soaked things on a table to dry and ordered hot coffee and a warm breakfast. While our food was cooking we stood in front of a heated dessert stand and huddled together in desperation to warm up. We stayed at this restaurant for a good hour.

 

We reluctantly put our wet bike gear back on, we heard there was another town 12 miles down the road so we decided to bike to it and stop to warm up again. However, as we started to bike it suddenly cleared up and the sun came out! It became so warm and sunny we quickly dried and warmed up as we biked and we didn't even have to stop again!

 

Once we reached camp, the cooks heard we had a miserable and cold bike ride, so they treated us to a warm snack of hot dogs. Laura and I were feeling good and energized so we decided to go for a half hour run to kill some time. 

 

Supper was bbq chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes, salad, corn, and pudding for dessert. I washed my laundry in a sink and hung it on a fence to dry. We had our Peloton Meeting and small groups. We found out that Jake Kuipers was rushed to the hospital because of heart problems, so we prayed for him. I watched the movie Bridesmaids (soo funny) with Zack's Angels then went to bed.  

 

 

Weekend in Colorado Springs

Day 20 Saturday, July 13
Canon City, CO - Colorado Springs = 87kms
Bike Team: Kaitlyn

I had sweep duties this morning which meant I had to wake up extra early to help set out breakfast and clean up afterwards. Lots of climbing right away- the first 25kms were the hardest part of the day. Since it was a short day of biking, we got to camp at noon. We met up with Zack's Angels on the road and stopped at a lemonade stand with them.

 

We ate our lunch at camp - today we will be staying at a Christian school on the top of a steep hill. the playground we'll be camping in is a giant sandbox, making it difficult to stake down our tents... Plus someone who unloaded the duffel bags placed them in a puddle of water. Since mine is an old hockey bag filled with holes all of my stuff got SOAKED. Unimpressed.

 

 

I had a community shower in the school's girl's locker room then hung around until we could find a driver to take us to a laundry mat. We finally found someone and were given an hour to clean our weeks worth of dirty jerseys. While our clothes were in the washers, we walked over to a wafflehouse (these are big in the states). Kaitlyn and Zack got waffles and I got a coffee. We told the staff all about sea to sea- they thought it was pretty cool and said they were going to follow us online.

 

 

Back at camp I organized my laundry and facebooked since the school lounge has wi-fi. Supper was spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, and bread pudding. We struggled to eat because it was POURING rain and we couldn't eat inside the school. We took shelter in the gear truck and underneath it.

 

 

 

We hung out in the lounge of the high school and then decided we'd go out. We walked to BJ's Brewhouse and had drinks and appetizers. Laura and I shared a pitcher of cider and stole nachos from Matt. Back at camp for bed at midnight.

 

 

Day 21: Sunday, July 14

Woke up at 7:30am and had a smaller breakfast since we will be served a big lunch at the church. We all weighed ourselves- I've gained 4 pounds since the beginning of the tour. Hopefully that's 4 pounds of muscle... Sounds like everyone's weight has gone up. We walked to the local CRC church which was about 15 minutes away. The church served us pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad and so many desserts!

 



 





At 1:00, I signed up to go on an afternoon bus trip to go to Pike's Peak. It was a pretty cool drive! Lots of fog at the top and very cold- glad I brought a sweater. Got to climb some giant rocks; it was a lot of fun, but unfortunately took up the whole afternoon.

 

Back at camp, they were serving leftovers for dinner so I went out for supper at "Chipotles" with Zack, Laura and Matt. We got burritos and margaritas. We then walked to an ice cream shop for dessert.

 

 

I facebooked and skyped with Dad and Bethany - they're camping right now at Sandbanks. I had to then attend our Peloton meeting- during the meeting it started to rain HARD. They said we could sleep inside tonight because of the rain. I quickly took down my tent and sought shelter in the school hallway.

I skyped Dad and Bethany again- this time they had Elaina with them. Early to bed!