Day 40; Friday, August 2

Bridgman, MI - Holland, MI = 95kms
Bike Team = Zack's Angels

Woke up at 6am and packed up my sleeping gear. I was outside eating breakfast with Laura and other cyclists when it started raining. Everyone grabbed their food and ran inside to try and wait out the rain, but it didn't let up. We heard it was going to rain all day :( We waited inside the church for a good hour then grudgingly headed out on our bikes. It was pouring rain and sooo cold... TERRIBLE. I kept praying for the rain to stop. The worst part is we have to bike in a peloton to block the wind, so the person in front of you, their back bike tire sprays a steady stream of water into your face.

 

We peddled the fastest we have ever biked before. Our first SAG stop was at 35kms. A church served us donuts, cookies, chocolate bars and blueberries. We girls spent a good amount of time in the washroom standing under the hand dryer to get warm.

 

 

Went back out on the road and the rain gradually cleared up! Thank you, God! It was so pretty biking along the lake. We were cruising at a fast pace and feeling so good- we didn't even stop at the second SAG stop. The third SAG wasn't until 85kms and it was a church again- this one served us ice cream!

 

 

We finished off our final 10kms with ease, and arrived to our destination by noon - Hope College! We are sleeping in dorms tonight!! We showered and received a voucher for a free drink at a new local brewery. We quickly went to redeem our voucher and enjoy an early dinner.

 

 

We walked around downtown Holland. I tried looking for a dutch store to buy dropjes, but no luck. We walked around some sports stores and took pictures with some random sculptures. 

 

 

Walked back to Hope College at 6:00 to eat a second dinner. It was cafeteria food, and pretty tasty. Again we were grateful not to eat spaghetti. We had it 5 times already this week! :S

 

We skipped peloton meeting to get into our pj's and blog because we finally had a good internet connection. Laura and I also got to catch up on an episode of the Bachelorette. I also skyped with Jenna for a bit. Matt and Zack were getting antsy, since it's a Friday night, so they convinced us to change back into our clothes and hit up the town again. We just walked around aimlessly, and took posed for some more pictures.



 

 

In bed by 11pm. 









Day 39; Thursday, August 1

Lansing, Illinois - Bridgman, Michigan = 141kms
Bike Team= Zack's Angels... minus Zack

Woke up at 6:00. Everyone slept together tonight in the gym of Illiana Christian High School. I actually slept well through the night thanks to exhaustion and ear plugs. We've had a lot of long rides lately, and today is another one. The school served us pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage links and fruit.

 

 

We were on the road by 8:00. Zack was pouty and took off because we were going too slow for him. It's hard to bike fast with a belly full of pancakes. At the 2nd SAG stop (60kms), we stopped at a recommended "Schoolhouse Coffee Shop/Antique Shop". It was pretty cool. We sat outside on a patio and had coffee with some other cyclists.

 

We biked along beaches most of the day- including Long Beach. It was sooo pretty! We were in a hurry because of the hour time change from switching states, so we didn't have time to swim :(

 

 

We quickly had our pictures taken at Indiana and Michigan state signs.

 

 

 

We stopped at a liquor store and enjoyed a quick drink of Mike's Hard Lemonade before entering camp. While we were having our drink we talked to an older gentleman for quite a while about the tour. He flaunted his wallet full of 100 dollar bills and told us he would donate to the cause online. Unfortunately he fell through on his word.  

 

Finally pulled into camp at 5:45pm. Laura fell off her bike right at the front entrance because it was all gravel. We were told there are 2 kinds of cyclists: those who have fallen, and those who will fall. I'm still wondering when my turn will be. Today we're sleeping inside a huge church. They served us dinner of fajitas, fruit, local peaches, cookies - we were so happy it wasn't spaghetti again!!

 

After peloton meeting they served us ice cream! They offered 30 varieties of their local brand- Hudsonville. YUM

 

 

A large group of us set up our sleeping bags in the same room in the church. I read and journalled until I fell asleep. I was woken up at 12:30 by someone snoring loudly. I grabbed my sleeping bag and dragged my sleeping pad to an area behind the pews for some peace and quiet. 







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.