Week 1 Summary

I apologize for not posting for a few days.    We have not had much access to wifi since we left Vanguard University.   This has certainly been an adventure.  I’ll try to give you a brief recap of each day.

Monday:  We left Vanguard University on our bikes at around 8:00 am.  We road on city streets but  spent many miles on a bike path that went along the Santa Anna River Wash.  We went right past the baseball stadium of the Anaheim Angels.  A sobering moment of the day is when I rode past one of our riders, Mark Dekkinga.  He hit a fence with his handle bars and flipped his bike.  He broke his leg in the fall.  He was taken to a hospital and they did surgery on his leg the next morning.  The word is that he is recovering well but his ride is over.  I had dinner with him on Sunday evening and he and his wife were very excited about making this ride.  He was the pastor in Rock Rapids CRC before Cliff Hoekstra.   Mark is currently working as chaplain – I believe it is Indiana.  Please pray for his complete recovery.   I made it into Redlands (Arrowhead Christian Academy) at about 3:30.  The temperatures were very comfortable on this day.  It was actually cold in my sleeping bag on Monday evening.    Since I lived in Redlands for 10 years (1979 – 89), it was fun to visit with many people who I have not seen in many years.   Sid and Marlene Hekman gave a donation of apricots from their yard.  I also saw Walt and Joyce DeBlauw,   Denise Kouwe, Don and Sandi DeGood, Paul and Michael Collins, Jack and Henriett Nydam.   Many thanks to Beth (Van Essen) Kimm and her daughters who helped me retrieve my cell phone! This is the area that Michelle Brouwer and Heather Mellema  spent their childhood years.

Tuesday:  Our tents were  wet from the heavy due when we woke up in morning.   The ride started out with a rather grueling climb up Sand Canyon on our way to  Yucaipa.  I had driven this route by car many times when I lived in Redlands but it seemed to be much steeper on a bicycle.  Once we made it to Cherry Valley we had a nice long coast down toward Palm Springs.  I was going over 30 mph without pedaling.   I enjoyed seeing Mt San Gregonio on my left and Mt. San Jacinto on my right.  We rode through Palm Springs and stopped at Jordon Christian Out Reach Center in Coachella which is near Indio.   In Palm Springs we rode on or across streets named after Hollywood Stars such as Gene Autry, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope. The  Jordon Center had an outdoor swimming pool which we all enjoyed.  I slept in the gym.  There was no air conditioning but several large fans at least kept the air moving.  We thought Palm Springs was hot (100+) – but it was nothing like what we would experience the next two days.

Wednesday:

I woke up at 4:15.  They wanted us on the rode at the crack of dawn.  This was my first experience with the incredible heat.  We were biking through the barren desert.  We biked mostly on the side of Interstate-10.  (The California Highway Patrol did sweep the side of the interstate this morning to clear all of the tire debris  in anticipation of our ride.)   The cars and trucks whizzed past us with a white line separating us.  They estimate that the heat coming off the pavement was around to 150 – 160 degrees.  The SAG stops were planned for about 8 – 10 miles apart.  I was going through my two bottles of water between the Stops.  They provided us with ice towels which I wore on my neck and under my helmet.  It took only about 2 miles for the towels to completely dry out.  I did a lot of praying on this stretch.   I had four miles to go but had to sit in an air conditioned vehicle before I could continue.   They have been telling us to catch the signs that our body is telling us.  I started getting cold chills which is sign of heat exhaustion.   After I cooled down I was able to make it to Desert Center where we were able to sleep in an air conditioned club house.   It was wall to wall sleeping mats in this clubhouse. 

Some riders put their bikes against the outside side of the clubhouse and their bike tires started popping from the heat of the sun.  They used solar heat for the water in their showers.  You couldn’t go under the shower because the water was so hot. 

Thursday:

I woke up again at 4:30 am.  I was ready to go on my bike by 5:30 but discovered my front tire was flat.  I am very  grateful for the community of riders that I’m with.  They are all so helpful.  Several guys helped me get my tire changed and I was on the road by 5:45.   The heat again was incredible.   I think it was 100 degrees when I started and it kept climbing.   We were also bucking a wind and it felt like a blow dryer aimed in my face.   I was able to go about 30 miles and started feeling nauseous.    I decided I couldn’t push my body any further and I put my bike in the pick-up and road with Phil the rest of the way in.  A number of the riders either didn’t start out today or were picked up along the route.  I’m still amazed at the riders who went the entire 80 miles in the 113 degree temperatures.   We are staying in Quartzsite tonight at a community center – It is air conditioned.   There is not much around here.  Most everything closes up for the summer and then opens for the winter residents who come to live here.    We did find a restaurant and I went out to eat with several others. I had a steak which was a nice change from the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.    

This place looks very desolate and barren.  However, a pastor of a local church came to the community center and gave Sea to Sea a donation of $500.  His church had heard we were coming and took an offering for us.  We were all amazed because it is obvious that most of the people in this small community don't have much wealth.   When I was on the way to Palm Springs, a man in an older vehicle drove up along side me and asked what we were all doing.  I told him about our purpose.  He drove away but I saw him again at the next SAG stop.  He gave a donation of $20.  After he spoke to me, he went home and got $20 and came to the SAG stop.  Others have had similar experiences.  

I switched to a thinner tire tonight.  I was riding with a 33 and most of the riders here have 23 or 25.  Several people encouraged me to go with a thinner tire.   I now have a 23 on the front and a 25 on the back.  My thanks to Rod Ledeboer, a fellow native of Prinsburg, MN, who helped me change out these tires. 

At the group meeting tonight they announced that they were suspending the ride to Phoenix.  They are estimating that the temperatures were going to be near 120 degrees for the next couple of days.  There is an excessive heat warning and all local residents are encouraged to stay indoors for the next several days.  I’m grateful for the decision of our group leaders to try to bypass this stretch of record-breaking temperatures.  Our new plan is to take a coach bus from Quartzide  to  Payson, Arizona.  We will bypass Phoenix and this  intense  heat.  Payson is in the mountains where the temperatures are not suppose to be so extremely hot.  We are planning to resume our ride on Monday or Tuesday. 

Thank you to all those families in Phoenix that had arranged to take us in on Sat. and Sunday evenings.  I understand that my brother-in-law, Rick Jasper, had arranged with his relatives for me to stay at their home.  Thanks – Rick. However, with these change of plans, we won’t be staying in Phoenix.

Friday:

It seemed strange not to get on my bike today.  Most of the riders took a coach bus up to Payson.  I stayed back and helped load seventy five bikes in a semi-trailer.  Six men worked  four hours loading these bikes in the 115-120 degree temperatures.  The trailer was an oven but some of the women kept us supplied with water and ice towels.  It is not easy to  stack that many bikes in the trailer in a way that won’t damage them on the ride.  We finished loading the bikes at 2:30.  After a quick shower under the outside hose.  We started out on Interstate 10 toward Payson.  Our adventure wasn’t over.  I am riding in a 1979 van that was donated to Sea to Sea.   All went well until we got to Phoenix.  The van began stalling on the freeway and eventually died completely.   Pete Westra was driving the van.  After many futile attempts to get in going, I got out and walked to he nearest ramp and then walked another couple of blocks to a gas station.   Soon after I made it there, Pete drove up with the van. 

  Phoenix roadside assistance had stopped  the van and put in some gas, gave the battery a jump and got is started again.   Apparently this van has two gas tank and the switch from one tank to the other didn’t work. Another adventure in the record setting heat wave in Phoenix on June 28.     We did make it to Payson at 8:30. I got my tent set up in the dark and then went over to a MacDonalds to get this posted.   Thanks for all of your prayers.  Like I said - it has been an adventure!