A New Adventure Every Day

The wonderful thing about riding your bike to new places is that you never know what's coming next. At one point today I started climbing and with each turn of the road I expected to see the summit of the hill. Instead with each turn I kept seeing more and more climbing (over 760 feet of climbing on that one hill alone.) At another point I was riding through a town and was greeted by this friendly fellow.
Of course, there's always unexpected danger as well. I was riding in traffic in a town when suddenly I hit a hole in the road that I couldn't see because of the car in front of me until it was too late. I almost went down. My water bottles flew out of their cages and onto the ground. I had to get out of traffic and stop quickly to retrieve them. It was kind of scary, like the time a gust of wind caught me from the side on a 43 mph descent and almost blew me off my bike. I don't think I could undertake an adventure like this if I didn't have faith.

In many ways, an adventure like this is exactly what life is like. We get up every morning having no idea what the day holds or whether it will be filled with triumph and blessing or tragedy and sorrow. I don't know how people who don't have faith in our faithful God can live each day. I can not only live, but even add adventure to my life because I know that my God created the heavens and the earth. He created time itself, and so I don't have to worry about the future because God is already there. Someone has said, "I don't know what the future holds, but I know Him who holds the future." That's enough for me.

At one point in my ride today, I stopped to ask a man to take a picture of me. He asked where I was going and when I told him "Mexico" he said, "You're kidding! Where are your clothes?" He had noticed that I wasn't carrying any gear on my bike. I told him that my wife and I were on the perfect trip together. "I love to ride my bike and she loves antique shops. It's a great arrangement! She doesn't have to pedal the bike and I don't have to look at the antiques." Here's a picture of Diana practicing her other favorite activity on this trip -- taking pictures! Right then she was taking a picture of Agate Beach on the Pacific Ocean from our hotel room. Right now I'm watching the sunset. The hotel room is angled perfectly to see it. What a blessing, Lord!
I rode 72 miles today with 3766 feet vertical gain, and a 15 mile per hour average speed. Tomorrow is almost the identical mileage, from Newport to Reedsport, OR. Please continue to keep us both in your prayers. You might want to look at Elijah's comment on the night before last's blog. It's cute. I would also ask you to pray for MaryBeth, our "mommy to be." She is in Chicago to serve as bridesmaid at a friend's wedding. She is expecting our second grandson, Seth Allen in late October, early November. God bless you all.

What a glorious day!

Day four of our trip began with overcast skies and cool temperatures, like the first three. Diana snapped a picture of me just south of Long Beach as I headed for Astoria on the bike.Within a couple of hours the clouds went away and the sun appeared. It was a glorious day, with perfect temperatures for riding (66) and a tail wind (Thanks to the Board of Discipleship's prayers!). The first 70 of 84 miles almost flew by, and even the last 14 were not bad.

On yesterday's blog, Elijah posted a comment asking for a picture of Diana. Here's the only picture of her today, atop the highest climb, overlooking the Oregon coast. Manzanita, Manhattan and Rockaway beaches are laid out like a string of pearls along the shore of the Pacific. If we had a more appropriate picture of Diana it would have been inside an antique shop.

Before we ever got to Oregon, Diana made an historical detour to Cape Dissapointment State Park in Washington. While I continued across the Astoria bridge, Diana visited the lighthouse. While she was there a man slipped off a cliff and fell into the ocean. Rescuers were called immediately. Suddenly Diana was surrounded by emergecy vehicles, boats and a hellicopter. So many people were involved, willing to risk their lives for one person. When Diana told me the story it reminded me of one of the purposes of my ride, to save the lives of unborn babies by illuminating hope through ultrasound (Ride4US). Interestingly, Diana had just stopped before the state park to take a picture of a World War II Monument. The first words on the plaque were "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend." (John 15:13). Jesus is the ultimate rescuer who illuminates hope through his death for our sins, and his resurrection so that we can live eternally.

Today's ride had lots of up and down (as coastal rides always do) with four significant climbs including the one over the Columbia River bridge. You actually climb to 200 feet on the bridge so that ocean going vessels can pass under. The highest climb gave the most spectacular view of the Oregon coast (the one in Diana's picture).

Here's a screen shot of tomorrow's ride. It's about 70 miles. I think I'm getting stronger each day, so we'll see how it goes. Our destination tomorrow is Newport. I am praying each day for my ride sponsors. Please keep both Diana and me in your prayers for safety. God bless you all. Rebekah and Elijah, we miss you both terribly.

God's Plans and Ours

I frequently tell people who ask me to pray for good weather that "I'm in sales not management." Once again today God clearly reminded me of that fact. Weather is one of God's ways to remind us that we are not in control. Today, I made the biggest weather mistake of all - I believed the forecast. I got up and checked the weather forecast for Shelton. 44 degrees (brrrrr!), with a WSW wind at 10 mph (a headwind for most of today's ride), but overcast with no rain. The forecast was the same for Long Beach. I dressed warmly and got on the bike early since I had over 100 miles to ride today. Within five miles of Shelton it was pouring rain. Within a few minutes I was soaking wet and freezing cold. I felt like a drowned rat in the Arctic Ocean! By the time I got to the first rest stop, I was nearing hypothermia. My hands were so numb I could barely use my cell phone to call Diana. I was shivering uncontrollably. Needless to say, I was in trouble. Diana came and got me in the car, wrapped a blanket around me and turned the heater on blast. As we drove on to the next town of any size I gradually warmed up. When we got there I changed into dry clothes, but all my cold and wet weather riding gear was already dirty and soaking wet. We decided to stop at a local diner and have brunch, then we made a trip to the laundromat.

That's me taking gear out of the washer to put in the dryer. Since much of my riding time was already shot, Diana and I toured a local carriage museum, then I got redressed in dry gear and got back on the bike and rode the rest of the way to Long Beach.

Someone has said, "If you want to make God smile just tell him your plans." Obviously, God's plan for the first few days of this adventure was not the same as my plan. But God has promised us in his word, "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11) Today it was easy to see what God's plans were for our day. He wanted me off the road and spending some quality time with my wife. We had been pushing so hard to get ready before the trip, and for the first couple of days of our journey, that we hadn't even enjoyed being together. No I didn't get to ride all of the miles I planned for today, but God knew what was right for me to ride today. It's disappointing to me that on two of the first three days, things did not go as planned, but we have to trust that God's plans are best.

Sometimes it's easy to see the good that God plans to bring out of a change of plans in our lives. That was the case today. Even though I was miserable when cold and wet on the bike, God brought a good day out of it for Diana and me. Other times, it's very difficult - even impossible - to see how God's plans for us are good, especially if they involve great suffering or loss. Yesterday I got a prayer request for one of our member's whose son was seriously injured in an automobile accident. His friend died. Trying to see God's good plan in such circumstances is almost impossible. It's then that we have to trust that the God who loved us so much that he did not spare his own Son, will surely give us all good things along with him (Romans 8:32).

I have faith that God is with me, even though he has modified my plans thus far, and I will continue to trust in him as I embark on another day's ride tomorrow. Thursday, my plan is to ride the bridge to Astoria over the Columbia River, then continue south along the Oregon coast to Tillamook. We'll see what God has planned. Here's a screen shot of tomorrow's ride. 81 miles are planned, including one of two tunnels on the Pacific Coast Highway. I plan to have Diana meet me there, and follow me through the tunnel with her flashers on. Otherwise, Diana's been having a ball frequenting museums, antique shops, and many other points of interest. She's been busy taking picutres and having a fun time. Why is she having more fun than me? Because she didn't have any plans. So much for the wisdom of planning. God bless you all.

Junuary!

Early this morning I received Tim Ihssen's email to the Our Savior Youth. The word for the week was "Junuary". That's exactly what we had in Port Townsend this morning. The temperature was 44 degrees as I was setting up my bike, and I could see my breath! It was also raining steadily and continued to rain for three hours.

Yesterday, someone asked me how far I could go on a cheeseburger. I told him that I could probably go farther on a cheeseburger than he could on a gallon of gas, and for less money! When I got the the junction of Highway 20 and 101 south of Port Townsend I saw the ultimate cheeseburger. I'll bet I could go all the way to Mexico on that one!

As the day progressed the rain eased up and the showers were mixed with little sun breaks. Because of all the layers of clothes I had to wear, and the rain, as well as over 4000 feet of climbing, it took longer than expected to get to Shelton. Here's a profile of today's ride. The big climb in the middle is Mount Walker. The climb was 700 feet and five miles long, so it wasn't too steep, but a long grind anyway.

The following map is a screen shot of tomorrow's ride. It's a long one, with a very hilly stretch between Montesano and Raymond.


At this point my old faithful Giant OCR1 (my "rain" bike) is dirtier than it's ever been, but from the looks of the weather report it will probably be at least one more day before I break out the Madone.

Diana's been having fun along the way collecting post cards and stopping at the visitor center for the Olympic National Forest. It's late and I'm tired and need an early start, so that's all for tonight. God be with you all.

The Journey Begins

Sunday night Diana and I finished our preparations at home and loaded the car to drive to Lynden, Washington, about five miles south of the Canadian border. We spent the night in a windmill at the Dutch Village Inn. Early this morning we set out on our journey. The border crossing was still closed at 7 AM so we had to settle for pictures of Canada.
Before departing we prayed Psalm 91 for our niece Tammy Peters who is on a mission trip in Swaziland, Africa, for Tom Peters our brother-in-law (her dad) who had emergency lung surgery, and for my safety. Thank God he answered our prayer because Diana saw a bike accident just a few miles ahead of me. Not everything went as planned, however. About an hour into the ride it started raining hard and continued for the rest of the ride. With a strong south headwind and heavy rain, it was slow going. I also gave Diana a wrong turn in her directions (yes, she graciously forgave me) and it took us a while to get back together. As a result I had to stop riding just past Deception Pass on Whidbey Island and have Diana meet me. We drove the rest of the way in orde to make it to the Keystone-Port Townsend Ferry for our 3:00 ferry resrvation. As a result I only rode 60 of the 80 miles I planned to ride today.

As I reflected on this trying first day, I thought about all the prayers I had said for months asking God for favorable weather. Instead, He gave me March in June. The weather reminded me that although God hears and answers our prayers, he does not always do so as we would like. Instead he orders our lives according to his perfect plan. Isaiah 50:7 says: "Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame." The weather forecast for tomorrow is for rain again, so I will get on my bike and "set my face like flint" for Mexico and trust God to give me strength to persevere. Here's a screen shot of today's ride:Yes, it's small in the blog, but click on the image and you can see it full size. The ride today included 2745 feet vertical gain, and in spite of the rain and wind I averaged 15 miles per hour.

Tomorrow we travel south on State Highway 20 to US 101 for a total of 75 miles to Shelton. It's a simpler route than today's so we shouldn't get lost, and we aren't dependent on a ferry, so I should be able to ride the whole distance, our Sovereign Lord willing! When things don't go as planned, remember that God's plans for us are always perfect, even when they don't match our plans. I plan, by God's grace, to persevere tomorrow even if God plans for rain. I think that's one of the things he is sovereignly trying to teach me. Please keep us in your prayers!

Precious Farewells and Precious Prayers

Yesterday morning I bid farewell to two precious people in my life (tomorrow we also leave Charlie behind at the kennel for a day). My daughter Rebekah and my grandson Elijah were going on a camping trip for mothers and children to Lincoln Rock State Park in Wenatchee. I told them I would be praying for them, and Rebekah remarked that she was more worried about me on the bike than about her and Elijah camping. I told her that she didn't have to worry, because there would be hundreds of people praying for me. Since they won't be home until after we leave for Canada, their departure meant that I won't see them again until July 3, Lord willing. In the meantime, the only thing I can do to bless and protect them is pray. Worrying won't help; praying will!

By this post, I am asking for your prayers for my Sabbatical ride. Because we have a loving Father who is eager to hear and answer our prayers, we can count on them being powerful and effective. Here is a list of some prayer requests:
- Safety and protection for Rebekah and Elijah at home.
- Obedience and self-control for Elijah.
- Safety for Diana in the car as she drives my support vehicle.
- Little rain and favorable wind as I ride my bike.
- Strength and perseverance on my bike.
- Good health throughout the ride.
- Safety and protection on the road while I ride.

These are just a few of many that I could list. Please feel free to add your own. From the sounds of the weather forecast, the first four or more days of my ride look very cool and wet. Special prayers would be appreciated for favorable riding conditions and tenacity on my part to get through the initially bad weather.

Thank you for your prayers. They are deeply appreciated.

See you tomorrow for a preview of Day One, Monday's ride beginning at Alder Grove, British Columbia.

For Joy and Life

Last January I attended the LCMS "Megachurch" Pastor's Conference and had the opportunity to share dinner with Rev. Gerry Kieschnick, Presdent of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. The subject of my sabbatical came up and he asked what I planned to do. When I told him I was riding my bike from Candada to Mexico his reaction was immediate and strong. "WHY???" I suppose my answer was a little flip. "Because I can." It got me to thinking, however, about why I was planning to do something so unusual.

Diana and I first visited California in 1999 after our best friends moved there. We rented a car and drove US 1, the Pacific Coast Highway from Monterey to Cambria. As we were driving up Big Sur I remember seeing a bicyclist riding up that 1000 foot climb. I remarked to Diana, "How can anyone do that?" Now, nine years later I'm preparing to ride that same road for the second time, as a part of my sabbatical ride from Canada to Mexico. There's a tremedous sense of accomplishment to being able to undertake such a feat. So, yes, I'm doing this ride because I can. But I'm also doing it for the joy of it. I love to ride my bike. I love seeing the beauty of God's creation close up and at a pace you can enjoy. I love the great feeling that the physical exercise of riding many miles gives. Now, don't get me wrong. I realize it won't all be joy. I'm sure there will be rainy days when I don't particularly enjoy riding. I'm sure there will be days when I'm tired and sore and don't feel like riding. So what will keep me going? It's the other reason I'm riding.

Because of the wonderful people at Our Savior, I have been able to raise almost $9,000 for a cause that I feel very passionate about. The picture above shows me wearing my new 2008 Ride4US jersey and shorts. This all volunteer local charity began as the vision of one man, Diego Wendt, and in four years has grown to involve hundreds of volnteers and has raised well over $100,000 to purchase ultrasound machines for CareNet Crisis Pregnancy Centers. The vast majority of women who are able to see their child on an ultrasound choose life. As the father of two adopted daughters I thank God that their birth mothers chose life, and want as many other women as possible to see the reality of the child in their womb and make the same choice. In my fund raising I specificaly asked people to pledge per mile, knowing that the fact that I was being "paid" to ride for the sake of life would keep me going on the hard days. Each day I will carry the names of those who have pledged for my ride with me, along with the amount of money raised that day. I will be praying for my sponsors each day, and asking God to give me strength to glorify him. I will also be looking for opportunities to tell other people why I'm riding and to share my faith in the God who considered life so precious that he gave his one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins, so that we could be right with him for all eternity.

So why am I spending three weeks riding my bike from border to border? Yes, I'm doing it because I can (thank God!), but even more I'm doing it for the joy of it, and most of all for the sake of life. To God be the glory!