Final thoughts of my Sea to Sea Adventure

I’ve just finished reading Barb’s final blog and I’m tempted just to say, ‘scroll down and read hers’. She echos my thoughts and sums up the trip very well. Thanks Barb, you did great.

We arrived in Chatham late Monday morning. The border crossing was backed up and by the time we hit Woodstock Sunday evening, Ralph had enough driving so we stayed overnight at my sisters and carried on in the morning.

Now it’s Wednesday. I’ve been fortunate that I don’t need to get back to a job asap. All of that will wait another week while I slowly readjust to life and my role as wife, mother, friend, cook etc.

Like Barb, when I wake up I wonder how many kms (while, she still thinks in miles) do I need to bike today? And then I remember, it’s over. The biking part of the trip is over. No more purrel everytime I make a sandwich or wash my dishes. When a transport truck honks, it doesn’t mean my supper is ready and that I should go and grab my dishes and stand in line. Laundry gets done in the washing machine, not with my clothes on in the shower. I am now responsible for cleaning more than 22 square feet (approx sq footage of my tent). I can actually sit down on a toilet seat…no more squatting. The alarm at 5 a.m. is now a thing of the past. My bike, the mode of my transportation for most of the summer, now sits forlornly in the garage. How does one adjust to all these changes?

My summer usually consists of swimming in the pool, camping, long walks and maybe a few sprint triathlons (just to mix it up). So in some ways, I feel as those I didn’t have a summer. The leaves are changing colours, it’s time to clean out the flower beds, close up the pool. I won’t even think of trying to even out the tan lines created by wearing bike shorts all those days.

I’ll carry with me forever the friendships made on this 9 week tour. It’s amazing how close you can become in such a short time.

I’ll be forever grateful for the prayers and encouraging notes that made my recovery time speed by. The fact that I could finish the tour (and not be ‘sagged’) will always stand out as a testimony that God hears the prayers of his people and that miracles still happen.

To all the people that worked behind the scene for almost 2 years to make this tour a reality….thank you. I won’t even begin to list names, because I’ll surely forget someone. To the cooks, nurses, sag drivers, kitchen & pantry and gear truck drivers….thank you. To Jen who made sure everything was organized in camp, to Billy D (the only biker in leather on the tour) who was there whenever you needed water on climb up a pass and the one who made sure the gear truck stayed tidy, thank you. To Ed who mapped out the route and our accommodations …to his wife, Denise for her willingness to travel along with their two young children and live in a nomad existence for the summer….Thank you. To the churches that fed us, organized our mail, hosted celebration services…thank you. To our billets (hosts) your generosity to us was amazing. To the many people that prayed daily for our safety, thank you. To the many people that donated monies so that we could meet and exceed our financial goals, thank you so much for participating in this very concrete way.

So how do I address the issue of poverty now? I’ve lived out of two laundry baskets for almost 9 weeks (and some of the items I took with me I didn’t even use). My walk in closet haunts me, our fully stocked pantry makes me cringe and the excess rooms, not needed in our home embarrass me. Why am I blessed when others struggle to stay alive? If this tour instills me a heart of gratefulness for what I have and extinguishes the fire in me to want more, than I believe it was worth it.

Not everyone is called or has the gifts to go on a ‘third world’ serve project, but I can attack the issue of poverty in other ways. I can recycle my outer plastic bags of milk or LCBO bags so that they can be cut into strips, looped together and crocheted into mats for mission fields. Children who would otherwise sleep on bare floors sleep on these mats. I can donate unused clothing or items to women shelters or local thrift stores, and the list goes on….the local food bank, etc, etc. Maybe one day when retirement is a reality for Ralph and I, we will be able to volunteer with the CRWRC on a work project. For now, I’ll strive to be more aware, to be grateful and open to change.

This past summer approx 200 people answered the call to cycle across North America to raise awareness and funds to help eliminate global poverty. The motion has started; can we continue to build momentum? I pray that the answer is yes.

Till we meet again, Cynthia

Day 62: Sussex to Jersey City 98.7km Uphill 2972 ft Downhill 3466 ft

One p.m. everyone needs to be at the ‘gathering place’, which is only 80km away. So last evening Barb and I decided that we didn’t need to get into camp till 6:45 a.m. My alarm started to beep at 5:10 a.m. I ignored it, rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. Ten minutes later it beeped again. This time I took care of the problem. Barb was kind enough not to say anything about the beeping till later in the day. Although she did say several times in the ride that she was tired (maybe this was her way of saying she didn’t appreciate her sleep being so rudely interrupted…(I’ve only caught on to that as I’m typing up this blog one day later!)

Our host, Rob Dekker drove us back to the school by 6:45. Not just John, but all the guys are waiting for us, helmets on and everything. A quick photo of the entire pace line and we’re off in two groups. Within 5 minutes we’re stopping at a Dutch bakery for some sweet rolls and coffee. This was a quick stop, no sitting, just drink your coffee standing up and get back on the bike. I left with Andy, Gerry and Jake. The others are just ahead of us.

The route today is pretty rolling with a few steeper climbs. The air is humid and thick. I’m wondering if it is going to rain. Several cyclists cannot bike because of asthma related issues.

During one climb Gerry’s chain broke (again). Jake and Andy stayed behind to fix it and I sprinted ahead to catch Barb, John, Louie and Pete. The repair didn’t take long because they caught up to us around 30 minutes later. Today we are seeing a lot of encouraging signs for Sea to Sea cyclists posted on light poles or people’s front lawns. There are also quite a number of impromptu refreshments stands set up being manned by relatives or friends of the cyclists.

Around 10ish we stopped for our second breakfast (we are just over the 60km marker). Two of us ordered a ‘normal’ breakfast while the others overindulged in nut rolls, apple turnovers etc. We were sitting at the back of the restaurant, I was facing a window and a mirrored wall…now I wish I could blame what I said next on the lack of coffee, but I’d already had two and I might as well share what I said because I know Barb and Pete will probably blog it as well. Much to my dismay I noticed cyclists going the wrong way, so I said, ‘hey look at those guys, they’re going the wrong way!’ I couldn’t believe that on the last day someone would get lost…how awful for them. What I didn’t realize was that I was looking into a mirror. The guys got a good laugh at that one. Hmm, maybe that concussion was a bit more serious then I originally thought. Oh, by the time we left the restaurant the sun was shining; it’s not going to rain. Hooray.

We were at the ‘gathering spot’ by noon. Pete decided to go back up the hill and grab a coffee, we told him to bring one back for each of us. It was just to much of an effort to climb up that hill again. This parking lot is were we should have had a SAG or a Johnny on the spot’. Many cyclists are taking advantage of the grouping of trees in the one corner of the parking lot (if you know what I mean).

By 1:15 we gathered for a group photo and then at 1:30 we lined up to be escorted by a sheriff and his vehicle. I’m up at the front of the pack. Tyler (who broke his collarbone) rode today and he is also at the front. We both don’t want any extra bumps. Jake is beside me and the others are close by trying to make sure that no one crowds me in. We are riding three abreast, and I’m trying to stay close to the centerline (no rough shoulders to bother with). Ahead of me are several of the younger guys and as we cycle along more people squeeze in front. Everyone is hyped and excited. When we turned a corner I could see the long line of cyclists. It was impressive. People in vehicles are honking their horns, strangers are waving at us from the sidewalks, and occasionally we noticed several others taking photos out of their apartment windows. We’ve definitely created awareness.

Just before we headed out Ed mentioned that if anyone got a flat their bikes would be picked up and they would be ‘sagged in’. With 2 kms to go Kyle’s back tire blew. We all heard the hiss over top of Billy D’s bike. To Kyle’s credit he kept on biking….I’m certain his rim is damaged but he made it to the park. I think Marti also had a flat but she rode in on it.

We rode a bike path into the park. Family and friends lined both sides. You could see how happy they were for us. They cheered and clapped as we cycled by.

The beach front in Liberty State Park is rocky and small. Somehow we all managed to get our bikes lined up. We saved some room for our pace line because we wanted to walk in the water together. The only one missing was Louie (we figured he was still handing out cards or talking to someone!). Our head chaplin, Len said a few words then everyone recited the Lord’s prayer and together we dipped our front bike wheels in the Atlantic ocean.

My family that came to see me bike in....Cassy Werkema, Jo, Cynthia, Ralph and my sister; Betty-Anne Werkema

Family came forward to hug and congratulate us. We were kept busy introducing our family members or friends to one another. Many photos later we headed back to our vehicle and made our way to Eastern Christian Middle School in Cedar Hill to empty my two laundry baskets and drop off my ‘borrowed wheels’ that I tried out this summer. Next stop was the motel. Quick shower and presto chango we were heading out for the dinner at Cedar Hill CRC. They’ve sold over 700 tickets for the dinner. Again, a good variety of food and it all tasted great.

The closing celebration service started at 7:30 pm. We’re sitting in the front row of the balcony and have a great view of everything. The worship team did a fantastic job leading us in worship. Both John Vandersteen and Barb Mellema participated in an interview, answering questions about the tour (this was to give some insight to the audience that didn’t cycle as to what the tour experience was all about). Two cyclists, Christeena Nienhuis and Mark (sorry, the last name escapes me) both shared their testimonies. Thank you both for sharing, you did a great job. Rev. Mark Gornik, the Director of City Seminary of New York shared his story of how he and other members of the community helped facilitate a dramatic change for the better in the community of Sandtown (Baltimore). Many key people were thanked and acknowledged for their work with the tour and then we closed the evening in song.

Now the hard part of saying good bye. After a few tears and many hugs we called it a day and headed back to the motel.

I’ll post one more blog later in the week where I’ll attempt to give my take on the tour. For now, it’s time to sign off because my battery is quickly dying. Later, Cynthia
P.S. We broke our record of flats today, totaling more then 35ish in one day….that beats the goat head territory!

Total km biked 103.3km Time on the bike 4:47:57 Max speed 54.3km