Day 9 and 10

Well I have completed this part of my journey safely.... praise God!!! It has been a bit of a whirl wind since the last big day of riding and I have been trying to collect my thoughts so I can share them with you all...

I never shared about the close of Day 8 ... The team had put the wrong address in the GPS so we ended up in the neighborhood were we were supposed to sleep that evening.... this actually ended up being a good thing as this was a some what questionable neighborhood and there were some concerns for our safety so we quickly made other arrangements for the evening....it actually ended up being a blessing .... what we ended up doing for that evening was driving on to are start point for day 9 (we were leg 2) that way we could sleep in a bit later.... :-)

Anyway ... we ended up at a very nice church in Cleavland (very different form the neighborhood that we were supposed to sleep in) the people were wonderful and the food was abundant.... we were a bit late arriving but everyone was happy to see us.... I had some great conversations with some of the church members and I got to share my reason for doing this ride and how much it has changed my life.... After the event we got back in the van and headed to our destination in Canton Ohio where we would begin our 9th day....

Day 9

The last big day..... We started in Canton Ohio and ended our day about 98 miles from there... I'm not very sure of the name of the town.... It was a gorgeous ride lots of rollers absolutely no flat ground... :-) we had some good climbs which made the descents that much sweeter... Day 9 was a bitter sweet day for me because it was the last big ride day.... so I was glad that I was not going to have to torture my self another day... but I was sad to see the trip coming to an end.... One highlight from the day was when a news paper reporter from the local paper saw us and decided to follow us for a few miles... she caught up to us at one of the SAG stops and started asking us questions about the ride.... then she took some pictures of us and we may actually be in the local paper.... amazing.... well we rapped up the ride packed our gear and headed for Annapolis Maryland for our final church event.... This also was a bitter sweet event as well... it is amazing how all the events and rides are starting to blur into one another.... This was a small church but as usual they were very hospitable and had the door wide open for us.... We shared our story and our reason why we ride with the people .... spent some time socializing and getting to know one another... got some great advice and where to eat and what to see in Maryland..... it was the perfect ending to such a beautiful day....

Day 10

Well we got to our hotel had a great nights sleep.... we assembled out side the hotel at 10am... and were lead to our final destination to dip our front tires into the ocean.... it was about 30 miles and all the riders rode together... there was a lot of horse play and joking around... it was a wonderful ride.... all the way until we got close to the water.... then the head wind kicked up and we fought our way to the beach.... :-) all the family and friends that traveled with us were there to see us in... it was the end of an amazing ride.... we all lined up, counted to ten and rolled into the Atlantic ..... then a few of us (me included) dove in had first.... some of us were smart enough to empty our pockets while others.... not so smart... we lost a few cellphones that day... LOL!!!

This ride has truly changed my life .... and I pray that the lessons I have learned and the relation ships I have made will stick with me as my journey continues... you see this is the beginning not the end.... and I pray that next time God calls me I raise my hand and say.... "Here I am Lord send me... I will go for you" because if I had not said that last year I would never have gotten to experience the joy that this ride has brought to others as well as myself....

I want to thank you all for following me and supporting me on my journey.... I would not have been able to accomplish this without all your kind thoughts and prayers.... Jen and I will be posting more pictures and video later this week but for now this is what I have....

Miss you all,

Mike

Day 8

Now that I'm awake.... I want to update all the stuff I left out.... :-)

Today was a slow ride for me as you can tell from the prior post... there was major event of the day and then one post ride event I want to share...

About 3/4 of the way through the ride during a bottle hand off one of the riders (Tim) and my son (Christian) had a collision... Christian was trying to hand off a bottle to Terry while we were moving but Terry dropped the bottle.... Christian was trying a new technique of running along side of the bike to make the bottle hand off so he was learning.... any way Terry dropped the bottle and Christian stopped in the middle of the lane and Tim ran into the back of him... they are both OK... praise God.... it was a painful learning experience for Christian... It will make him a much better SAG support person..... He got a pretty good cauliflower ear and a scrape on his leg... (posted the pic). Tim landed on his back in the bike lane but was able to get back on his bike and finish the ride.... Both Tim and Terry rode great today....

Next thing I wanted to share was an experience I had at one of the Indiana rest stops..... I was standing in line at the McDonald's (great bike food NOT!!!) and these two teenagers walk up behind me commenting on my t-shirt. We started talking and I shared about the ride and the reason I am doing this... the Dad walked over and started asking about the trip as well..... I was so tired I could barley focus.... but the family was so nice and so supportive of my efforts it was it was one of the highlights of my day.... later on why while we were sitting eating our lunch a little girl walked up and asked if we took donations.... I said yes and she handed me $10 .... it almost brought me to tears.... especially after the day I was having.... it was awesome to see the impact our ride and the cause had on this family from Indiana.... God is good ...

Day 7-8

Hello All.... need to make up two day's here....

Day 7 we ended up in St. Charles Illinois to do a 1/2 century ride for Christ Hope Inter nation.... We started at Community fellowship Church...It was raining hard so they delayed the start time... that gave me and the rest of the team time to hang out and meet some of the people we would be riding with.... all in all we had 14 people participate in the 1/2 century...We got started and it was still raining but much less.... I had overheard people talking about some of the bike paths that we would be riding describing them as being made of decomposed granite.... non of us were thinking nor have we ever rode our road bikes on these types of surfaces.. but we were all game... so we ended up riding some of the most awful bike trails I have ever seen....there were mud puddles everywhere and our bikes got trashed..... but after a while we stopped worrying about about the bikes and started to have fun.... Tim and Terry were having mud slinging war with there back tires and as usual I ended up with all the mud on me... :-) ..... it was a blast...but then we all realized we needed to ride another 300 miles.... so off to the bike shop to get the bikes cleaned.... it took hours to clean the bikes..... but we could not let the dirt grind away at our gears..... The event afterwords was very nice.... all the 1/2 century riders were in attendance as well as many others....

Day 8

This day has been something very different for me... I'm not feeling all that great... I'm very tired and burnt out .... I need to get some sleep.... we were the first leg out so we rode from St. Charles and at the end of the day will be in Cleavland Ohio... The ride itself was treacherous... the rodes were awful full of pot holes and cracks.... all the bumps were starting to ware on my butt.....but I survived the day with a little help from my friends (thanks for caring me guys)..... I always go back to the reason why I ride and have to remove my self from the situation and focus on what matters most... the children... I need to keep my focus on them....

Jen and the other boys are having a good time with some ups and downs.... I love having them along with me ..... this trip would not have been the same if they were not with me......

I'm very tired and am going to sign off for now.... miss everyone... see you soon....

Day 9 is around the corner....

Day 6 Lincoln Nebraska to Iowa City....

Wow... what a day.... we did 88 miles with about 2,000 feet of climbing.... crazy amount of rollers.. We started in the town were Glen Miller was born...Clarinda Iowa that was so cool... being a musician and all.... it was a great day of riding.... as each day goes by I'm getting to know the guys better and everyone is starting to get used to each others style of riding... not that I have a style... I should say my lack of style... :-) ... The scenery was beautiful... we saw our first Amish People... they were selling baskets on the side of the road.... could not get a picture .... not allowed....

We rode very well considering how tired everyone is.... we completed the ride in 5 hours 18 min... stopped once for lunch.... I got to see Jen and the boys as they passed us... they stopped at our lunch spot so I could give them hugs and kisses.... it was so awesome to see them... we are all having such a wonderful time despite getting rained on and feeling aches and pains in spots were I did not know that I could ache.... :-) ... but I'm not doing this for me.... I'm doing for the children who have nothing and ask for nothing... but need so much.... I am so grateful that God has chosen me to do this with this incredible team...

After our leg was over we had to stop for dinner we found this restaurant called Grinnell Steakhouse... this was a very unique place were you order pick your meat out the fridge and cook it yourself... there motto is "We kill'em you Grill'em" ... just kidding .. it was good we meet the owner and had a great conversation with him... Tim went for it and got him to donate to the Ride for Hope.... it was another God moment..... for me anyway.... Well off to Chicago to do our 1/2 century ride today... hopefully there is a good turnout...well that’s enough for now...... miss all you guys and gals...

Day 5

Day 5 was very long.... I did not feel as strong as I did on day 4.... but as always Terry and Tim carried me all the way into Lincoln Nebraska.... the ride was flat with some rollers... we came across some unique little towns .... riding by saying hi to the locals.... people looking at us like we were aliens.... but considering the outfits I can't blame them..... :-) .....



There is one thing I have not been mentioning in most of Blogs... and they are probably the most import part of this whole trip... Each evening we role into a church where Dave and Jos share the mission of Christ Hope with local congregants.... each night Jos shares stories about what is going on over in Africa... One story that is sticking with me is of how children's bodies are being found with there hearts, lungs, kidneys and cornea's removed.... people are selling orphaned children for money to these sick individuals so that they can sell their organs... this is so upsetting what gives the rich the right to take the life of an African child so they can survive.... what makes their lives less valuable.... These stories and many others of the poor unfortunate children is what makes me continue on .... as much pain and suffering that all the riders are experiencing is nothing compared to the horror that is going on in Africa... something needs to be done to stop this insanity....



Each church has been unique and the people have been incredible.....



This morning we had a time of devotion and we shared stories of avoided accidents and about the people we have met along our journey.... Jos read psalm 91 to us as we prayed for Gods protection throughout this epic (as Jayn called it) journey....



As serious and focused as we all are.... we do find time to have some fun... here is picture we took outside of Lincoln Nebraska..... we still don't know who Weird Wally is....



Miss you all....



Mike

Day 4 Video...

Here is a little clip I put together of Day 4.... as you can see it was slow going..... :-) the last shot is of me climbing up to the Continental Divide. There are so many stories to tell and so many people that we have met on this ride... that it would take me all day to write it down....(Jahn would be one of them...he saved our butts by showing were the bike path was to get us over Vail Pass) it has been a blessing.... hopefully when this is over I will be able to write them all out...

Day 4 Continued...

Well we are in the car heading to Nebraska to start our leg of the ride... should be doing 130 today.... I wanted to say more about yesterdays ride... day 4 .... words can not describe how awesome the scenery was.... it was like a Disney painting... We climbed over 2 summits and rode 77 miles with 5700 feet of climbing at 12,000 feet so it felt like 24,000 feet of climbing.... during the last climb up to the Continental divide I could feel Gods presence with me.... It was a very spiritual experience....The beauty that surrounded me was majestic and overwhelming..... not to mention how thin the air was... but I managed to hang on and get to the top with enough left to get to the destination. Praise God... Well like I said Day 5 is on its way....