Mission accomplished!!!!

It almost seems like yesterday that I was driving out to Michigan to depart on this adventure of a lifetime, but Saturday afternoon we cycled into Liberty State Park and dipped our tires in the "Atlantic Ocean" (actually New York Harbor), within sight of the Statue of Liberty. But before I get to that part, let me try to recap the last couple of days of the trip...

My last post was written mid-morning on Thursday, a day that was relatively short mileage-wise. Suzie and I took advantage of the day, cycling alone most of the time, blogging at a library, and spending a lot of time stopping and goofing around. We rode through a cute little town in Pennsylvania called Hop Bottom. I was dying to know why it was called that, and even stopped in a small thrift shop to use the restroom, but forgot to ask. I looked it up after I got home and learned that name reflects the hops that are grown in the area for local breweries. Before we left, we noticed a man with a horse just down the street, and Suzie arranged for a photo op on a different type of saddle than we'd become accustomed to riding...

Shortly after leaving the town of Hop Bottom, we rode by the impressive Tunkhannock Viaduct, which, according to a sign nearby, was the largest concrete structure of its kind when built in 1915.

When we had been given the route map the night before, the logistics manager, Ed Witvoet, had apologized that the elevation graph was not accurate from the 40-mile point on, so we had no idea what the last 20 miles of the ride were going to be like. At this point, we were only about 7 miles from our destination, Lackawanna State Park, and we were feeling a little smug that the ride hadn't been all that hilly after all. Well, as the saying goes, "It ain't over till it's over." The last last 7 miles were incredibly steep; someone with a GPS on their bike later reported that one of the hills was a 16% grade...unbelievable. It was one of the few times on the tour that I needed to stand up in the pedals for long stretches. In a sick way, it was kind of fun, and we had a great sense of accomplishment when it was over.

We arrived at the park and set up our tent, then prepared to head for the showers. We started hearing that the water was FREEZING cold. Suzie bravely declared that she was going in anyway, and went on ahead. Well, there was NO way I could do it. I looked over a map of the campground and saw there were other showers scattered around. I carefully packed everything I would need in a small backpack, and another cyclist and I rode about 1/2 mile and found an empty shower house where I took a 20-minute, steaming hot shower; it was wonderful! We also had a chance to talk with an older couple camping nearby about the tour, and they showed us around their "yurt." Later that night, after our peleton meeting, we took communion together standing in a huge circle in a clearing in the woods; very beautiful.

Then there was Friday.

Friday was the day that many of us had been either silently or admittedly dreading; the 82-mile route for this day included the greatest cumulative elevation climb of the entire 9-week tour (total: 6,857 feet). The lovely culmination of this day was a climb over High Point, NJ, the highest elevation point in the state (hence, the name). From the minute we left camp that morning, we were either climbing or sailing down hills, many of them very steep. At one point I clocked a personal speed record of 42.2 mph. (Which sounds much more impressive in "Canadian": 70 km/hr) I have to add that all summer long, I had been praying that this day would not be hot, and it turned out to be one of the coolest days that we had...thank you, God!

We plugged along all day and kept our stopping to a minimum. About halfway through this strenuous day, we came upon this little deli/liquor store...I had to laugh when I saw all of the bikes parked outside underneath all of the beer signs. That should tell you what kind of day it was. (and yes, we stopped too!)

I can honestly say that we didn't hit any level stretches of road until about 65 miles into the route, when we passed through the very quaint town of Milford, PA. As we passed through and exited on the east side of the town, we could see the mountain ridge on the border of New Jersey and the monument on top of High Point. I said to Mike VanderHorst, the guy riding with me: "See that thing up there on top of that mountain? That's where we're going." He kind of chuckled, and I sensed he thought I was making some kind of sick joke. I looked him in the eye and very slowly and seriously said, "Really." He got kind of a dazed look on his face when he realized I meant it. We were blessed with a few more pretty flat miles until we reached the base of the mountain. We "refueled" with some Gatorade at a gas station on the bottom, and started heading up, plodding along in our lowest gears. The road up High Point is pretty windy, which means we couldn't really see all that far in front of us, but around every turn, we were faced with more uphill climbing and it just went on and on... At one point, I decided I just had to stop, and we rested for a few minutes, although I was worried about getting going again on the incline. It was easier than I thought and found that the small rest actually helped, and we made at least one other rest stop that I can remember. It was as much a mental challenge as it was physical. Finally, when I was desparately hoping that we were getting near the top, I looked up and at the next bend in the road, saw a familiar figure in a yellow Sea to Sea shirt....it was my mom!! "Keep going! The top is just around the corner!" What a great surprise to see her, and a huge relief to know that the end was in sight. After stopping to give her a quick hug (to be sure she wasn't a delirium-induced mirage), I chugged up the last section of the monster hill. Right at the top, I was greeted by this sign, and my son Liam hiding behind it! I had no idea my family was going to be doing this, and what a welcome sight they were!


My daughter Victoria did a great job on the poster, and I think she captured quite well my experience climbing over High Point:



My husband Michael, my mom, and my kids had set up a much appreciated refreshment stop at the top of High Point, and all of the cyclists seemed pretty happy for an excuse to stop, catch their breath and get a drink and a homemade cookie.

This poster was hung on the nearby "Welcome to High Point" sign...many of the cyclists were skeptical about the statement that "It's all downhill from here", but most seemed willing to cling to that hope for the time being.

Here's my amazing support crew!!! Thanks guys...I love you all!

Annika thought she might start training for Sea to Sea 2020: (or more likely was just looking for an excuse to get her picture taken)

We had less than 10 miles to go, and we continued on Route 23 toward our destination of Sussex Christian School. It became apparent that we were re-entering "CRC country", and were welcomed into Sussex county by wonderful roadside signs such as this:

We were very fortunate that our route took us right past a bakery/deli (Clove Brook Market) owned by very dear friends of ours, Rich and Kim Sytsma. Their daughter Hannah made this great sign! Many lucky cyclists (including myself) feasted on Kim's delights such as scones and pies...yummmmmm!!!!

I spent the night at the home of Pete and Lorraine Hagedoorn, my husband's aunt and uncle, which was a nice treat, especially since it rained pretty hard overnight. Saturday morning was still overcast and a little drizzly when we set off around 7:30. Regardless of the dreary weather, spirits were high, because THIS WAS IT. The last day... We were scheduled to meet at 1:00 at a parking lot in Kearny, NJ, the point at which the police escorts toward Liberty State Park were to begin.

Just a few miles down Route 23, I started noticing little "phht, phht, phht" noises coming from my front tire...yes, it was a small hole which required changing the tube. We were told by one of the more experienced cyclists that wet roads predispose to flat tires because debris sticks to the rubber. (In fact, the flat count for Saturday, if I recall correctly, was close to 30, compared with the usual less than 10.)

About 20 miles into the ride, my wonderful family had set up another refreshment station at the point where we were turn off from Route 23. The cyclists were pretty excited to get some free coffee, trail mix, M&Ms, and homemade, fresh-squeezed lemonade (thanks, Victoria!). I was also very surprised to see my friend and neighbor Terry Doremus who was waiting there hoping to see me. It was actually kind of weird to be riding with the tour on familiar roads...

A short time later, we were greeted again by a refreshment stop set up by our Bridgeway Community Church family...It was so fun to see everyone!

Here's our wonderful Bridgeway friends...thanks guys!!!! You're the best...

Oh, and while we were waiting at a traffic light just before reaching this point, I heard someone shout from the car behind me, "Sea to Sea all the way!" I looked back, and saw my sister-in-law's parents (Ron and Rita Popjes); they had been driving around to see if they could see me! (or should I say "Sea if they could Sea me"? I know, sorry...)

The rest of the afternoon was amazing. We all gathered at a large parking lot in Kearny, NJ at 1:00, where we took a group photo on a hillside. Shortly thereafter, we departed for the final 10 mile stretch, all of which was police escorted. We were led by a cruiser with lights flashing, followed by "Billy D" on his motorcycle, then the entire group of cyclists, and followed up by another police cruiser. When we reached the edge of town, the Jersey City police took over and escorted us another several miles up to Liberty State Park, where a third police force (Liberty State Park police) led the procession. It gave me chills, seeing this beautiful "sea" of cyclists moving along the city streets and crossing over bridges. People lining the streets had no idea what was going on, but many were cheering and clapping and whistling. Maybe they thought we were the Olympic cycling team coming home...who knows! No matter who we were, I'm sure it was an exciting sight. We cycled into Liberty State Park, and rode for quite a ways along a cobblestone walkway, passing right by Ellis Island and the statue itself. I wish I had more pictures of the ride, but it's actually pretty dangerous taking photos from a bike, especially riding in such close quarters...(that's Suzie in the lower righthand corner)

Trevor and Linda Rubingh, pastors of New City Kids Church in Jersey City, greeted us in a very special way, displaying a huge banner from a sailboat in the harbor near the tire dipping point. They were joined by several of the kids from their church.

Finally the moment some of us had anticipated for 2 weeks, others for an unbelievable 9 weeks--we lined up along the water's edge, recited the Lord's Prayer, and all together wheeled our bikes down and dipped our front tires in the water.

Here I am enjoying a few final moments of being a "celebrity," giving an interview to a reporter from the Star Ledger (NJ) newspaper:

All in all, this bike tour was an amazing, unforgettable experience. While a little part of me couldn't help be sad that it was over already, this (picture) felt pretty good too! It's time to be home... :)

Thanks for following my journey with me, for all the support and prayers that I received. I hope we can all find ways to keep the spirit of Sea to Sea alive and look for opportunities to keep working towards the goal of breaking the cycle of poverty.


Until "next time"... :)