Finally Headed Home

It's seems like we've been away from home forever, but now we're finally well on our way. Last night the four of us went out for a celebratory dinner. We went to Chili's and as requested, I had a marguerita for my mother-in-law to celebrate making it to Mexico (at least to the border). We had a fun time, as you can tell.


We left Tom and Janet's house early this morning and after 12 hours on the road we finally stopped in Eugene, Oregon. I thought I'd share a few statistics and reflections on the ride.

First some stats. I had planned to ride 1673 miles. I actually rode 1317, or almost 80% of what I planned to do. What prevented me from riding it all? A ferry reservation the first day, rain and cold weather the third day, backside blues on day ten, our anniversary on day twelve, fires closing the road on day eighteen, yada, yada, yada.... The excuses could go on and on. Most of the time it was a matter of extenuating circumstances, or poor planning making for too much difficult or urban riding on a given day. There was really only one day when my body failed me. That was the day that I bought my touring saddle to fix my backside blues. It was undoubtedly the best investment of the whole trip. I could not have continued without it.

During the course of the ride my feet of vertical gain (meaning the total of all the hills I climbed) was 67,001 feet. The hilliest day was the day I rode from Garberville, CA to Mendocino, CA. That day I climbed 6359 feet, or well over a mile! The flattest day was the day I rode through LA, which was also one of the hardest days because of all the urban riding.

According to my heart rate monitor, I burned a total of 66,142 calories during the course of the ride. That was interesting to me because it almost matched the feet vertical gain. I've often found that to be the case on my rides around home. On average I burned 3150 calories a day.

Over the course of 21 days of actual riding I was on the bike and moving for a total of 94 hours and 43 minutes. That's an average of four and one half hours a day. My longest day was seven and one half hours. That was the day I rode 106 miles from Brookings, OR to Arcata, CA. The average length of my ride each day was 63 miles.

During the course of the trip I rode my Giant only the first two days. For the other 19 I was on my Madone. What a great ride! Some people questioned why I would take such a nice bike on such a punishing ride. My answer was that a bike you can't ride isn't a bike worth owning. Over three weeks I went through one set of tires. I had only one flat (in the hotel room in the morning, making it easy to change). I had a rear derailleur adjustment in Aracata, CA. and I had to have my rear wheel trued in Santa Monica, CA. Otherwise, I had no equipment problems.

Now, for those of you are are bored to death by statistics, here are some general insights.
- Our God is an awesome creator. The marvels of his creation are awe inspiring. I saw plants and animals I had never seen before (like a live rattlesnake in Camp Pendlleton).
- The Pacific Ocean is always changing. It's size and power are overwhelming. It was my almost constant companion on this trip and the sound, smell and sights will stay with me forever.
- The mind and will are stronger than the body. You can make your body do things it could not ordinarily do when you want to badly enough.
- God is a gracious protector, always watching out for us, especially when we commit our ways to him in prayer. He kept me safe on the bike without incident for three weeks.
- Life is an adventure. Whether you're riding your bike from Canada to Mexico, or living your routine, look for the adventure every day. It will make life a lot more exciting.
- No one is an island. We all need each other. I could not have done this ride without Diana and Tom, the support of my family and friends, and the people of OSLC. Don't try to live life alone.
- Beer, ice cream and big juicy hamburgers taste a lot better when you've been on your bike all day.
- Don't spend too much energy shifting gears. When the hill gets steep stand on the pedals and push harder.
- Hard things and big things capture people's hearts and give them a vision of great things. That's why this ride enabled me to raise over $9,000 for Rid4US and CareNet. Thankyou to everyone who caught the vision and helped the cause. You are awesome.

I'll quit for now, but I may write again when I get home so check back soon. Rebekah and Elijah, we'll see you tomorrow! Yea! My love to everyone in Christ Jesus our Lord.

To God Be the Glory!

Today's post is a day late, since travel back to Tom and Janet's precluded doing my blog yesterday. So I'm writing this for June 30th.

This morning felt kind of bittersweet. I have to admit that I'm glad the ride will be over today. I'm tired, and the routine of getting up and getting ready for a long ride day after day is wearing on me. At the same time, I'm sad that the adventure is ending.

Tom and I left Oceanside very early, since we knew we had a long drive home after I finished my ride. The streets were empty as I rode down to the Pacific Coast Highway. The road today was great for riding. Mainly flat, with a nice shoulder or bike lane most of the time. Since it was Monday morning there weren't as many tourists so the traffic was relatively light. I was really in a mindset to accomplish my mission and finish the journey, so as Scripture says about Jesus and Jerusalem when he was going there to die for our sins, "I had my face set like flint for the Mexican border." I only stopped briefly for a couple of times along the route.

When I got to the Torrey Pines State Reserve north of San Diego the scenery really was beautiful. There was about a 430 foot climb, then a fun descent on the other side. La Jolla was beautiful, as was Mission Bay Park. It was amazing to see all the yachts as I rode around San Diego Harbor. Finally, I had the privilege of skirting another important military installation, the San Diego Naval Base.

In the meantime, Tom had missed the turn for Torrey Pines Drive and ended up on I-5. In his efforts to get back to me he spent a couple of hours wandering around San Diego, being misdirected by our GPS. After some time, we reconnected just south of the naval base, and rode on toward the border.

About two miles from the border I already felt like I was in Mexico. The people were almost exclusively Hispanic, and the signs and chatter were all in Spanish. I had given Tom my camera to snap a picture of me at the border, but there was no place to park, unless you wanted to pay $8 so you could walk into Tiajuana. So Tom gave me my camera and I asked a gentleman to snap a picture of me. It's really quite a contrast from the picture at the Candian border. Here are both of them.


What did you notice? Not only a different border. A different bike (I started out on my Giant with fenders because of the rain). Slightly different attire (about five layers up north, jersey and shorts down south.) Bright sunshine versus Washington overcast. Maybe even a pound or two lighter (but that's all; too much good food along the way).



I know that I could not have accomplished this goal without my faith and God's help. It was by his grace that I was kept safe the entire ride. It was by his strength that I overcame pain and fatigue to ride on. It was by his love that people were motivated to Illuminate Hope for mothers with crisis pregnancies by making pledges to my ride. I am so thankful to God that this goal has been achieved. Praise the Lord!

Thank you to everyone who rememberd Diana and Me (and Tom and Janet) in your prayers. Thank you to all of you who commented on my blog and offererd encouragement. Thank you to all of our family for their thoughts and prayers.

Two more days and we will be home, Elijah! Yea! Please pray for safe driving back to Washington. My love to all of you, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Flying Low and Flying the Flag

Today's ride started with a five mile trip south to the coast from the hotel. It was a wonderful quiet ride on deserted streets down to the Pacific Coast Highway. Almost as soon as I turned onto Highway 1 I caught the wheel of a local cyclist. (That's cyclist speak for riding closely behind him in his draft). With his permission he "pulled" me for almost 20 miles He was strong and fast, and most of the time we were doing 20-23 mph. I felt like I was fying. It was wonderful to tick off so many miles so quickly.

After he turned off to ride the beach path home, I stopped for a Starbucks, then rode on through Laguna Beach, and Dana Point to San Clemente, CA. The riding was easy. Traffic was light. Most of the time there was a nice bike lane. What a change from yesterday! I still felt like I was flying even without the pull. This "self-portrait" expresses how I felt about today's ride, compared to yesterday.


When the road ended at San Clemente, I got on a bike path that led south parallel to I-5. I was very thankful not to have to ride the shoulder of I-5, as the book I researched the ride in said I might. The path led to a state park. That was great riding with only a few cars at a slow speed. At the end of the state park you entered a narrow opening onto a bike path that looked as though it had been striped along the side of a landing strip or runway. I believe it may see occasional use by the Marines.

Finally, after going through a dark, narrow tunnel under I-5 I entered the north gate at Camp Pendleton. The Marine who greeted me at the gate was very nice. He asked where I'd come from and when I told him "Canada" we started chatting. Soon, however another vehicle pulled up behind me, so after a quick look at my driver's license I was waved onto to the camp roads.

I felt that it was a great honor to be able to ride through Camp Pendleton. Here, some of America's finest young men train to serve our country and defend our freedoms. I was choked up at the thought that some of those men who had trained here in just the past few years, had already given their lives to keep us secure from terrorism. As I rode past huge tent cities, obstacle courses, firing ranges, and on-base housing, I thought of the sacrifices they and their families make to serve our country and I thanked God that there are men and women who were willing to do that. I wished that I had an American flag to fly from my bike, to say "thank you" to those Marines, but the best I could do was a red, white and blue dew rag on my head.

The miles through Camp Pendleton went quickly, and before I knew it I was winding my way through the streets of Oceanside in order to get to the Hotel. It had been a fast, easy delightful ride on a gloriously sunny day, with a breezy tailwind, and I truly thanked God for it. What a contrast to yesterday.

This morning in the motel in Huntington Beach as we were getting ready for the day, Tom and I listened to the Lutheran Hour sermon. The guest pastor spoke on Matthew 10:34. "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.", Jesus said. Those seem like strange words from the one whose birth the angels heralded by saying, "Peace on earth, goodwill to men." As I rode through Camp Pendleton, I thought about how those fighting men must be ready for war in order to perserve the peace. In fact, yesterday I had seen a military man wearing a t-shirt with the latin motto saying "He who desires peace must prepare for war."

We may want to have peace in our lives here on earth, but if we boldly proclaim Jesus to be the Way, the Truth and the Life, it will not always bring peace. Many will be offended. Many will oppose such a message. Many will even seek to confine the message of the Gospel within the walls of the church. But our founding fathers did not envision a religion free society when they prevented congress from establishing a national church. Rather, they wanted everyone to be free practice and proclaim their faith. Otherwise freedom of religion and freedom of speech would not both be included in the First Amendment.

So, today as I rode through Camp Pendleton, I was not only thankful for the Marines who protect our freedom, but I was also thankful for freedom to tell others about Jesus, and I was praying that God would strengthen me to be ready to fight any battles necessary to continue fearlessly proclaiming the Gospel, so that others may have peace with God through faith in His Son.

In one way it seems this journey has been going on forever. In another way, I can hardly believe that tomorrow is my last day of riding. Tomorrow I go from Oceanside to San Diego. On the south side of San Diego I will reach the Mexican border. Tom and will snap a picture, we'll put the bike in the car and turn around to drive home. WOW! But before that, I still have to finish tomorrow's ride. Here's a map of the last ride of my journey.


Thank you again for all your prayers. Please keep them up, not just for the ride tomorrow, but for a safe return home. We probably won't be back before July 3rd, so we need your continued intercession for safety on the road. I'll try to post another blog tomorrow sometime, and a follow up with some statistics and thoughts. I've thought about keeping the blog going throughout the sabbatical, but I won't make any promises right now.

Hope you all had a blessed Sunday with Our Lord. May his peace be with you, regardless of the circumstances in your life. Can't wait to see you again, Rebekah and Elijah. Hang in there, MaryBeth and William. We'll be there in three weeks. See you tomorrow, Diana. My love to all of you, and to God's people at OSLC.

Mosaic of Life

Today may have been the most challenging ride of the entire journey. It started off very well, retracing my route through the quiet residential streets of Santa Monica that had brought me to the hotel. The first thing I noticed was this house. I couldnt help but stop and take a picture. The entire house was covered with mosaics. Not just one side, but every side. Here's the front of the house.


What I didn't realize then, was that this would become a symbol of my ride today through the streets of LA. I saw everything imagineable. After making my way back to the coast I started out on the LA beach bike path. Then I got back into city traffic as I made my way to the NE around Marina Del Rey. Those streets took me to another bike path that completed the horseshoe around the Marina (several miles). After that I got back on the beach bike path. This was great riding because it is open only to bikes. There are no stoplights or intersections so it's almost like a freeway for bikes.

For the first time I saw a "beach sweeper." It was a large tractor pulling a device with long teeth that dug down into the sand. The sand came up into the machine and all the trash, watches, rings, wallets, sandals, etc are sifted out. Then the clean sand is deposited back on the beach in a nice smooth path. It was pretty slick.

Next came Venice Beach. If you're into people watching, this is the place the do it. On Venice beach you could see any imagineable example of humanity. It would be like going to the aquarium to see every possible variety of fish. It was sometimes hard not to stare.

After Venice beach I got back on the bike path and rode to "The Strand" where the wealthy shop and gather. It was dripping with money. Even the sidewalk glittered (on purpose I'm sure).

After that the riding got more difficult. I wound up in heavy traffic on busy streets in LA. I rode through commercial districts, industrial parks, past refineries and the huge port of Anaheim. Then, to avoid some impossible traffic, I got back into a residential area where I was quite isolated, ethnically speaking. As I rode along I noticed a black car with two men following closely behind me. This continued for several blocks, whether I rode faster or slower. I was truly thankful that Tom was just a few blocks ahead of me and noticed them also. He stopped and I got off the street onto the sidewalk. He rolled down the window and I was ready to jump in the car and carry the bike outside until we could get to safety. However, when they saw that I wasn't alone they quickly turned off onto another street and took off. I am convinced they were intent on grabbing my bike and anything else they could get off me. But Tom and I were both diligently praying, and the power of Christ and His light is greater than any force of darkness.

As I rode on, the barrios turned into commercial districts, then suburban streets, shopping malls, marinas with restaurants and tourist traps, then again into suburban neighorhoods and shops. During the course of the day, I truly saw it all. It was like one giant mosaic of life. Everything imagineable.

There is a church in LA that has called itself Mosaic. They intentionally try to reach all kinds of people for Christ. It's a great name of an LA congregation. It's got to be one of the biggest human mosaics on earth.

One of the reasons today's ride was so exhausting was because of the constant stop and go. Red lights. Stop signs. Pedestrians. You name it, there are constant reasons to have to stop. And everytime you have to stop you lose all your momentum. You have to start again from zero. And it's even worse when you don't remember or have time to downshift before you stop. Then you have to stand up and push hard to try and get going again against a big gear. All of this left me exhuasted and hungry. So after a shower, Tom and I went to the Lazy Dog Cafe for a great supper. Here's a shot of us enjoying our well earned reward.


Tomorrow's ride is 57 miles to Oceanside. It will be 90 percent along the coast and and yet still mostly urban riding. Please continue to uphold me in prayer. After all of today's stop and go, my right knee is quite sore. I need a good night's rest and strength for tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Rebekah! Can't wait to get home and celebrate together. Love you, Diana. Hope you and Janet are having fun. God bless all of you dear ones at OSLC. I'm praying God's protection for you and your leaders as well. God's peace be with you all!

Urban Cowboy

As Tom and I looked at the route and the ride for today at the hotel last night we both realized that it would be over 90 miles of mostly urban riding. We agreed that would just be too much. So this morning we got up early and went out to breakfast at IHOP. Then we went back to the hotel and got ready for the ride. We got in the car and drove 101 to Ventura, CA. I started the ride on Harbor Rd. in Ventura and continued from there to Santa Monica, a total of 62 miles.

Almost half of the ride was through Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway. There was a nice wide shoulder but unfortunately there were so many beaches and so many people using the beaches, and so many workers parked outside of fancy Malibu homes doing painting and plumbing and landscaping, that most of the time there was no shoulder left. I felt like an "urban cowboy" as I weaved my way in and out of "herds" of traffic on my "trusty steed" Madone. It was really rather dangerous, now that I think about it. But as I have every other day of the ride, I prayed before leaving and frequently during the ride, and God answered prayers and kept me safe.

Finally at Wil Rogers State Beach I was able to get off Highway 1 and onto a bike path that ran along the beach. I stopped and shot this typical scene, with umbrellas everywhere like a crop of blue mushrooms on the beach.

When it came time to exit to Santa Monica, I was thankful that Tom had told me about a pedestrian bridge over CA 1. It was much easier than trying to fight my way through traffic into the left turn lane to get onto the Calfornia Incline and up to Santa Monica.

In Santa Monica I rode about three miles through a quiet, pretty residential neighborhood in the bright sunshine. It was the best part of the ride the whole day. I was tired of playing "urban cowboy." It worked out well that we shortened the ride, since the miles I did were hard enough, and we got in early, about 2 PM. That was a blessing because when I got to the hotel I realzed that my back wheel was binding because it was out of true. Fortunately we found a Trek dealer only three blocks from the hotel who was willing to true my wheel right away. By 3 PM I was riding my bike home from the bike shop in A-1 condition.

As I rode through Malibu today and saw the numerous multi-million dollar mansions, some of which undoubtedly belonged to celebrities, others to various wealthy individuals with more private lives. I wondered what their lives were like. I noticed that near the beach, there would be lines of cars parked along the road. One would be a Jaguar, the next a 15 year old Ford Aerostar van, then a Mercedes, followed by a pickup truck. I notice a Porsche competing for a coveted parking space with a 1980's Toyota. The Toyota won out.

It seems the beach is the great equalizer. I'm sure there are many wealthy people in Malibu who have private beach access and don't have to compete for a parking space, but for many others their money and status don't help. They have to line up with all the others. I thought of what Peter said in Acts 10: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all." I was reminded that the wealthy celebreties and entrepreneurs of Malibu need Jesus every bit as much as you and I, and that the homeless man sitting on the bench by the beach was loved by God every bit as much as any celebrity.

We need to remember that as members of the body of Christ. God doesn't love only those who love and serve him. He doesn't love only those who look, talk, act or think the way we do. He loves them all and wants thm all to receive his grace by faith. We should try to do everything we can to reach anyone with whom we have a relationship, whether rich or poor, black, white, brown or yellow. God is no respectere of persons. Just like the parking spots in Malibu.

Here's a map of today's ride. Tomorrow's ride is short, only 47 miles to Huntington Beach. I'm thankful. I can sleep in for a change. Please say a special prayer for my riding in the city. There are so many more dangers. I need all the prayers I can get.

God's love, mercy, peace, hope and joy be with you all. You are precious to me. Above all you,Diana. Elijah, congrats on your first swim lesson. My, how you are growing up! MaryBeth, take good care of yourself and baby Seth. I love you all. God bless.

Tough and Tired

Today's ride started early, and it's a good thing. It seemed I was climbing and fighting a headwind from the get go. I just couldn't seem to get any speed. Finally I got outside of Santa Maria and settled into a rhythm. Then it got tougher. There were a series of difficult climbs going south on 135 and CA 1 all the way to Vandenberg AFB. At that point I thought I had only a few more miles to Lompoc, but the climbing wasn't through. I was so thankful to see the Starbucks in Lompoc and stop for a coffee and a doughnut.

After leaving Lompoc, the climbng resumed and the temperature rose. I took off my jacket and tights, but it didn't make the climbing any easier, nor did the rough "chip seal" pavement. Finally, I crested the coastal range and had a fun two mile descent down to the coast. Here's a profile of the complete ride. You can see the climbing that I did.


The rest of the ride on 101 into Santa Barbara was much easier and I was thankful for that. When I saw this sign I couldn't resist stopping for a picture. I also needed some more "Chamois Butt'r", something that I've found to be an absolute necessity when touring.


Somewhere along the line, I saw one of many "Adopt a Highway" signs with the name of the organization keeping that section of the road clean. It was the "Crucified Life Church". I liked that name. Not many of us think of putting the words "crucified" and "life" together, but they should be. Jesus told us that if we want to follow him we have to take up our cross daily. The cross is an instrument of death, and when we daily die to self, to our sinful nature, and to the flesh, then we can truly live in Christ and for Christ. I don't think riding my bike 78 miles is really "crucifying" myself, but the discipline of making my body to hard, even painful things when I'm tired and don't really want to go on is valuable. It makes it easier to pursue the crucified life that will glorify Christ. I'm glad I saw that sign. The name of that church helped me hang tough even though I was tired and really wanted to quit. Pray that Christ will help you live the crucified life for him!

Incidentally, I'm the one who's supposed to be in harm's way each day on the bike, but last night Diana fell and hit her head in the guest room at Tom and Janet's house. She was initially in a lot of pain, and slightly confused so Janet insisted that she go to the ER. Just as a percaution they did a CT scan. Thankfully, everything was Okay, and DIana is feeling better today. Thank you for your prayers for safety for both of us. I'm sure God's holy angels protected her from serious injury because you were faithful in prayer.

Tommorrow's ride is the last long one, about 85 miles into Santa Monica (LA area). Please pray for strength and safety. God bless and keep you all.

A Nice Ride (Again!)

After an early morning goodbye to my sweetheart, Diana, Tom and I drove to Cambria, where I would have ended my ride yesterday, had the road been open. I rode south to Morro Bay in a cool breezy fog off the ocean. It was impossible to see Morro Rock until you were almost on top of it. Along the way I continued to notice beautiful flowers and plants that I have never seen before. This is one example, from Morro Bay.


I also had a rest stop at "Dinosaur Cave Park" in Shell Beach. This is a location where a 1950's entrepreneur created a huge concrete dinosaur to attract people to an 80 foot tunnel studded with fake gemstones leading to caves formed in the cliffs by wave action on the soft rock. He regaled tourists with tales of dinosaur remains found in the caves, although that was never the case. Here's a shot of the scenic cliffs and park.


From there the ride took me south through San Luis Obispo, and on to Pismo Beach. Tom and I had lunch at the Rock & Roll Diner, that consisted of two old dining cars on a railroad siding, alongside of Highway 1. They were decorated with a 50's rock and roll theme, so I'm please to say that it was "a little before my time" since my rock was the 60's era. :-)

The ride continued south through Oceano, then down to Guadalupe and into Santa Maria. It was only 2631 feet vertical gain for the whole 70 miles, and included only one climb that was challenging at all. I was very thankful to God to feel strong and well on the bike again. I truly enjoyed the ride. I hope the remaining five days go as well, although the first two are both around 85 miles. Please pray that I can continue to complete each ride down to Mexico, with joy and in safety.