Final Notes

Well, the trip is over now I guess.  This feels kind of like a wedding now- you plan and prepare for what feels like forever... and then the whole ordeal is done in what feels like a minute.  Dave and I are back in Arizona and the whole trip feels like a dream.  It's becoming hazy already, so I'll try and recap the final events before I forget it all.

Cycling into Jersey our final day, we had more flat tires than ever before.  Well, not us personally, Dave and I managed to complete the entire 9 weeks without ever getting a flat, but we saw lots of other cyclist pulled to the side of the road doing repairs.  We were pedaling along fine, until, just as my friend, Jo, and I were maneuvering what is called a "jug handle" (a left turn on a major road that involves making a right and a small U-turn, kind of like a "Michigan left"), Dave and Larry stopped to get some M&M's from a refreshment stop and in the process experienced some technical difficulty.  Larry's chain snapped!  I was still cycling along oblivious to the troubles of my companions, but I found out later that Dave- who has no previous experience fixing such issues- was able to take out a bad link and pull the chain back together and get Larry back on the road.  The only problem was that this fixing process took over an hour and we were running on a tight time schedule.  All cyclists had to be to a check point by 12:30 or they would have to take a ride in one of the support vehicles to catch up to the rest of the group for the police escort into the city.  I think Larry and Dave made it to the check point with about 10 minutes to spare.  It was such a close call.  I'm so glad they got to cycle the whole day.

The police escort was pretty awesome.  Officers waved us through red lights and we were all able to keep together as one big group to cycle the last 10 miles to Liberty State Park.  We even picked up a miscellaneous rider who was headed to the gym but thought cycling with us would be more fun.

At the coast, we dipped our tires into the Atlantic Ocean before a great crowd of friends, family, and local supporters- including a group of young participants in a city ministry on a sail boat.

It felt amazing to finish!  I can't believe we made it the whole distance!

Niagara Falls

Us and our Canadian friend Rich 

We had to congregate en-mass prior to biking across the border at Rainbow Bridge.

Liz, Dave & Larry at Niagara Falls

This week we reentered the US at Niagara Falls.  We stayed last night at Sampson State Park on the Finger Lakes and made our way today over a hilly 76 miles to Binghamton NY.  We only have 3 more bike rides before we arrive at Liberty Island Park!  Amazing.  

The Velodrome

Larry, Liz and I (Dave) have all safely arrived in London, Ontario.  We have received a very warm welcome in Canada thus far.  In London I had the opportunity to ride in the Velodrome-- a wooden indoor bicycle race track.  The edges of the track are sloped up to prevent flying off the track as you round the corners.  It is as steep as it looks in the pictures.

The slope on the straight aways were 15 degrees and the slope on corners were 48 degrees!

It is like a roller coaster for your bike.

Dave M. , Dave T. and Liz on the podium

Dave on the turn #2.

Family Bonding

Yeah for family!  The Sea to Sea ship of cyclists docked in Madison, WI this past weekend where we were blessed by the presence of my mom and sister...

and Dave's siblings Tim and Amy!  Woo Hoo!  Tim was somehow magically in the United States home on a bit of leave from Japan- so I hear he gets the trophy for person who traveled the furthest to visit a Sea to Sea rider.  

We Made It!

Here's proof that we made it to Iowa.  This is what we saw a lot of...
Corn fields are really lovely, and they block the wind for you a bit, and they serve as an excellent private space for restroom (or washroom if you're Canadian) needs.  We got to cycle through many, many of them.  We travelled 113 miles on Wednesday, another 111 on Thursday, and 100 on Friday.  Three centuries in three days!  Yikes!
There were also many windmills in Iowa.  I found them quite inspiring.  Inspiring enough that we would want to take several minutes, even on a very long day already, to try and capture their majesty.
Dave was more inspired by the fossils!  Although we did not get to actually see any while we were in town, we appreciated their nearby presence.
And now we're in Wisconsin!  We're staying in Beaver Dam with Dave's sister Amy and brother Tim.  And we met up with my mom and sister Laura!  Woo Hoo!  We got to see lots of family while we were in Iowa too- I loved it!  We feel like we've made it to the homeland.  I can't believe we've finished 6 weeks of our 9 week tour.

I-O-What?!

We are in IOWA!  And our camera is malfunctioning...  Luckily, though, cyclists all around us are snapping photos constantly.  We will borrow some of their photos and try tweaking our camera too.  In the meantime, you can go to www.flickr.com and search "seatosea2008" to find some of these glorious photos our friends have been taking.

Anyhow, we are in wonderful Iowa- the place of Dave's birth and Larry's alma mater and church home.  We have seen so many friends and family- it's awesome!  In Sioux City, Larry visited with around 8 of his former congregants at the camp site and then got to stay with one of the couples at their home for the night.  We stopped by a church today on our route for refreshments and spotted two of Larry's cousins right off the bat.  Then at a celebration service tonight, a whole horde of Meyers appeared out of the crowd to cheer us on and see if we were really still alive and kicking.  

We're doing alright still.  The plan is to bike 113 miles tomorrow, to do a radio interview and a newspaper interview and still have time for supper, a shower, and a little time to rest.  Your prayers for a tailwind would be much appreciated :).

Goodnight all.  We're having a great time and hoping the same for all of you.

Donation Update

In regards to our goal of raising $20,000 to alleviate the cycle of poverty- we've raised over $15,000 now!  

We're still receiving donations via the general website for the tour at www.seatosea.org as well as from people we're just meeting in communities as we bike through them.  We met an awesome pair of people in a Runza's restaurant just yesterday (Runza's is a Nebraska fast food chain that serves "frings," one of my new favorite things- a mix of fries and onion rings) who wrote us a $10 check after hearing about what we were up to.  We feel blessed. 

Halfway to the Atlantic!

Well, here we are ladies and gentlemen- halfway to the Atlantic Ocean!  Aye caramba!  Who really thought they would see the day?!  

This week has been a tough one- not because of any big climbs at all, but endless miles on endless roads and record-breaking high temperatures.  I think this will be our way of life across not only Nebraska (where we are now) but Iowa as well.  

Here's how we're all holding up:

Dave is a steady cyclist.  He passes over whatever terrain he is presented with in a calm, capable fashion.  He leads us through uncertain areas like construction zones like a pro.  He is also our map guy.  His great sense of direction keeps us on track every time- even when roads are not marked and other cyclists question.

  
I am a bit moody- but I'm learning good tricks like how to open a granola bar wrapper and consume said granola bar while pedaling.  I think I may be more of a fair weather cyclists. Today, for instance, we had a headwind for something around 65 straight miles.  I was unhappy. I wanted to give it all up every 5 minutes or so.  Dave helped hold me through by letting me draft behind him and Larry gave me many a thumbs up of encouragement.  With God's help, I was able to continue on for over 9 hours and 96 miles.  I'm going to sleep as soon as I'm through typing.  
Larry is a man who never gives up!  His recumbent is a tough machine to move up mountain sides, but he has climbed every one.  He is known around camp for his resilience and amazes Dave and I each day he makes it back into camp again- sometimes well ahead of us and always with cheer.

Shout Out to Great Hosts and Hostesses

In Denver this past weekend, after having climbed the Rocky Mountains and transversed such a great distance of the US, we were hosted by my good friend from college, Andrea.  She took us to the grocery store and paid for a whole cart of whatever we desired.  She barbecued for us.  She allowed us a spot on her comfy sectional sofa.  She drove us around town and showed us her favorite book store.  She took a good pile of mail from us with the promise of posting it.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  It was so wonderful to see you!

And, come to think of it, I don't know if I have acknowledged Jeanne on the blog yet- but of Jeanne, we love you!  Jeanne was our hostess in Boise (pronounced "Boy-Cee" just for reference). She is the daughter of a woman that was in Larry's congregation back in Beaver Dam and not only brought us much needed supplies like sunscreen and laundry detergent, but then let us stay at her home.  She made us a beautiful breakfast and let me take a bubble bath. Can you believe this?  A bubble bath?!  I can hardly imagine a better treat to a body weary from many miles and days in the hot sun than a relaxing bubble bath.

Marv and Doreen were our first host and we still remember them quite fondly.  I don't know that I've had a tougher time waking up in the morning and starting out on a ride than I did that morning in Kennewick when we had to leave their lovely home to begin our second week touring.

We're really quite spoiled and blessed.

Random Tidbits Regarding Food

<-- Here's what Dave eats in a day.  He manages to pack all of this into his jersey pockets and on his bike.  And this is just lunch and snacks!  We figure that we burn about 4,000-5,000 calories a day.

<-- And, here's me appreciating the beef.  (The sign behind me rubbing my belly and making a yummy face reads "Treat Yourself EAT BEEF.)  It's been a little tough being a vegetarian on the trip this summer. There are only a few of us and the kitchen crew sometimes does not know what to do for us. But, I'm eating a lot of rice and beans and peanut butter sandwiches.  And Dini (kitchen staff wonder that she is) has been making special meat-free dishes.

Climb Every Mountain

It's been hard riding lately.  We've done +85 mile days since Saturday!  We are so warn out, but so happy that we've made it each day.  The days have felt especially long because we have climbed a lot of mountains lately.  We tend to get into camp just after dinner has started, exhausted and hungry.  Thank you again kitchen crew for your service to us all.  Here are a few

 photos from the summits- where we are feeling most glorious.

We are in Colorado now.  We are staying at the YMCA of the Rockies- which is cool because we were just here before this whole bike trip started.  And cool because there are so many Calvinites here as counselors and such.  Dave just ran into a prof from the Geography Department in the cafe!  I think it's going to rain on us all evening, but we're getting tough enough to handle that too.

We have an 80 mile day tomorrow with a 3000 foot elevation climb.  Just one more day and I think we'll be out of the mountains for a while.  Woo Hoo!  (We woo hoo a lot here- if it's a tough day, sometimes we even woo hoo for no reason at all.)

Everyday Activity

In case you're curious, this is our daily routine:

We wake up each morning at 5:00-5:30am.  Usually we are awoken by the sweet sounds of tents zipping up and sandals flip-flopping to the restrooms.  We get dressed in our cycling gear, take down our tent (this can take a while, Dave is reluctant to get out of his sleeping bag), have breakfast, and collect up lunch goodies to pack on our bikes and in our jersey pockets.  We leave camp between 6:30 and 7:30am and begin our cycling journey.

We have several SAG (Support And Gear) wagons along the route where we can rest our weary limbs and refill our water bottles.  The first one of the day is usually Cory's van with a port-a-potty in tow (I love this stop).  Then, we get to Walter's RV where we are sometimes served "waltermellon"- Walter often parks at the top of the highest peak of the day.  We're always dying to find him.  And finally, Julie has a pick-up truck somewhere along the last bit of the route where we can fill up our water bottles once more.

We get back to camp pretty late most days.  We tend to fall in the middle back of the pack. Then we set up our tents, take showers, eat dinner, have our nightly Peloton meeting (where we talk about our route for the next day and take stats about flat tires and falls), small groups, and finally get to sleep.  Showers can be spotty, but dinner is always terrific, small groups are a job, and sleep is oh so welcome.

IDAHO

In Idaho we got to see some neat stuff.  Here are some cows on a carousel, for instance:

We cyclists were treated to a tour of a dairy farm.  The farmer was generous enough to welcome 144 of us wearing helmets and spandex and show us around.  He gave us samples of his delicious milk even.  (P.S.  The cows get milked on the carousel.  They know how to load and unload themselves from the contraption all on their own!)

Then, we saw a gorge!  In the words of Dave, it was GORGEous.

It has a sweet bridge across it that base jumpers were using as a take-off point.  The crazies.

And finally, those who chose to bike the difficult route, saw a beautiful waterfall in Twin Falls. Dave and Larry were brave enough to make the journey and took this great photo.

New Friends

There are some really cool people on this trip.  I was telling my brother, Pete, about Kathryn in particular.  I said something like, "I've been riding with this really sweet person named Kathryn."  And Pete said something like, "Sweet, huh?  As opposed to all the other jerks on the trip."  Really, we're running a pretty jerk-free operation.  We've enjoyed cycling with all 144 of these folks and we LOVE the support team.

Anyway, here's my new friend Kathryn (the person I ride with) and I.

We also made friends with a Calvin grad that was at Calvin while we were there but whom we had not met until now.  His name is Dave, so he and Dave have a lot in common.  And we met Aaron at the airport as he first flew in to Seattle at the start of the trip.  He thought we were the shuttle and were going to drive him back to camp.  Ha.  We didn't have the vehicle, but he still thinks we're cool now I think.  We think he's cool at least.

(from left to right: Aaron, Dave M, Dave T)

Dave Refueling- No subtitle necessary

Liz Refueling- glorious granola

Catching Up

I hear from my sister-in-law Kate that I should do a better job letting you all know what we're up to, so I'll try and get you all caught up now.  I think I've missed some important events due to slight exhaustion and spotty internet on the road.

Dave had a birthday.  He turned 25 on July 10.  We celebrated the day in Huntington, OR where we had delicious pie and ice cream in a really cool diner.  Huntington was probably one of the coolest little towns we've visited thus far.  The pie was awesome, the town hung up signs to welcome us in, and the museum opened up after hours just especially for us.

In another town, a coffee house stayed open until 11:00 pm (even though it usually closes at 7:00 pm) so that we could use their free wi-fi and partake of their delicious beverages.  Visiting towns along the way is one of the coolest things about the trip that I did not foresee before leaving.  People are really curious about us and want to know who we are.  We pass out a lot of little business cards explaining the tour to shop owners, townspeople, and random passerby. These interactions are really fun and encouraging.

We eventually had to leave Oregon.  It's kind of sad to leave just as you're getting to know a place, but it's also really exciting to cross a state line and show a little more progress on the tour map.

Things are going well overall.  Each day has its own challenges: hills, head winds, heat...but we make it to camp in time for supper.

More Meyer News Bits

Alright, so, we've reached Boise, Idaho.  We like it a lot.  Were still in the desert, believe it or not, but there ARE trees here and rumor is that residents experience season changes.  Sweet.

Cycling has been going well.  We were treated to a few shorter days and not as many climbs. We'll be paying for that later I suppose, but we will enjoy the shorter easier days while we can.

We stayed with another host family here- I don't know how this happened exactly, but it was an amazing visit.  I got to have a bubble bath!  Thanks Jeanne!

We'll post photos later, until then, here are some links to some local news stories:

Arizona Republic article

East Valley Tribune article

Here's an article from Sea to Sea about the service projects we've been doing along the bike route.  It features an interview and photo of yours truly.

Washington down, 13 states and 1 province to go

We've reached Oregon!  It was glorious to cross a state line!  We had never bicycled across an entire state before.  What a mile marker!

We're having a good time with this group.  Everyone is very helpful- if you're starting to fall behind they will cheer you up, if you have a flat tire (praise God we have not yet) there's a crowd to help you patch or replace it.  These people also have a good sense of humor.  For instance, we keep statistics that we update as a group every night.  We track the number of flats we have each day and the number of accidents (they've all been minor so far, praise God again).  And then we track a random new stat each day.  One day a group of cyclists got 93 semi drivers to blare their horns.  And another day some bikers counted 29 discarded beer cases alongside the road.  I did a little stat of my own coming into Oregon- I counted 28 dust devils on the dry Sonoran Desert horizon.  Did you know the desert stretched all the way out here?  And can you believe I even cycled through a dust devil?  It was kind of scary, but OK.

Dave and I are getting some good press coverage.  I was interviewed to the Sea to Sea newsletter that you can sign up for on www.seatosea.org, Dave and I were both interviewed for a story to be printed in the Arizona Republic, and we talked to some local reporters here in Baker City, Oregon today too.  It's awesome that people are getting so excited about this trip. It reminds us that we are doing something really worth noting.

P.S. Here's a photo of Larry on his recumbent bike.  People tend to take notice of it as we cycle through small towns out here- it's definitely a little non-traditional.

In Kennewick...

we have been relaxing.  

After our first few days of climbing mountain passes, we have since biked some much easier days. They have been between 37 and 50 miles and over much flatter roads.  We have also been so spoiled by the communities we have been through!  We've had great accommadations at local schools in each city where we have stayed over night.  They have opened their soccer fields to our tents- and the sprinklers only soaked our tents in the middle of the night once :).  In Sunnyside, WA we were treated to a Mexican dinner, strawberry shortcake, rootbeer floats, and some of the best fireworks I've seen presented in a small rural community.  We were also served refreshments along the road in Zillah.  And in Kennewick, we were showcased in a tremendous Sunday morning worship service/ celebration rally.  We walked across an outdoor stage to Queen's song about bicycles and had a good old fashioned potluck at the conclusion of the worship.

Dave and I were also blessed with the opportunity to stay with a host family in Kennewick.  We slept on a bed last night and will get to again tonight!  We are so thankful.  Marv and Doreen Anderson you are such a God-send to us  (and to the 4 other cyclists you housed this weekend)!

Thanks Doreen and Marv!

3 Days Done!

We are amazing!  We've finished three days of cycling now.  We've climbed 2 mountain passes and biked over 180 miles- and we're still alive and planning to stick with it!  Awesome!  

The first day of cycling began with a tire dipping ceremony off the coast of Washington near Seattle.  We cycled along a great bike path that passed seaplane ports and gorgeous houses on the water.  The scenery off the path was still pretty amazing too.  Here's a photo of some of us stopping for lunch. 

Setting up camp that night was a sight to see.

I won't glorify this too much- cycling has been REALLY hard so far.  We're feeling pretty inexperienced, especially when it comes to the big hills.  But God is providing us strength and endurance.  And people are beginning to come together as a community to help keep everyone going until the finish line.  We received such wonderful cheers when we got to the top of the first mountain pass that I almost cried.  It's hard, but it's good.  I'm glad we're here.  

It appears that our internet connection is not quite what I imagined, I'll have to upload these amazing photos later.  Please stay tuned.

And so it begins...

We first arrived in Seattle on Friday, June 27.  We had some time to explore the sites- so we drove by the Space Needle, camped out in lovely Dash Point State Park, and saw where Dave used to be docked when he was with NOAA for a summer job doing bathometric surveys.  Then the next morning we went to the largest, most grand and awesome REI.  It was amazing.

Larry (Dave's dad and fellow cyclist- woohoo) was busy trying to tie up some business, but we were able to drag him out of his hotel "office" to catch some bites to eat now and then.

And then...we drove to the University of Washington on Saturday to register for the SEA TO SEA TOUR!  Ack!  Here's a photo of all of us Meyer cyclists- you can kind of see the tops of our bags- 100 pounds worth just between Dave and I.  You should have seen us lugging these puppies around the airport...

So, here we are in Seattle.  It's so beautiful here at the University of Washington that we're picking out degrees to pursue our Masters in.  We hear from fellow cyclists though that we shouldn't get too settled in right here yet because there are amazing places to still to see this summer.

Everyone's a little jittery about our first day out cycling (tomorrow, gulp), but it's just a gentle 50 mile day starting with a tire dipping ceremony- so it should, relatively speaking, be an easier day.  We've gone through cyclist training, posed for group shots with the other 125 folks who are doing the entire coast-to-coast journey, had an awesome commencement ceremony courtesy of some local churches, and done a load of laundry.  So, here we go I guess.  It's all feeling very surreal.  I doubt sleep is going to come too quickly or easily tonight.

Here's a shot of some of the group in front of the semi truck that will be functioning as our mobile kitchen for the summer.  Very impressive.  ->

(and yes, that is the back of Dave's head in the front right)

Update on the Stats

We have less than three weeks before we vacate our apartment, say goodbye to our places of business (Dave will be back to start in September), and depart for the epic adventure that is the Sea to Sea Tour 2008.  Oh my goodness.  

It's a busy time.  Dave is on the road a lot with work.  And we're trying to squeak in some good bike rides before the really big one catches up to us.  We biked 45 and 50 miles over the Memorial Day weekend.  And I've biked to work once since...  We're trying, we really are.  Our odometers are reading upwards of 1700 since we began training for the summer.  

And our fundraising numbers are up to about $5,500 each.  

We're visiting a CRC church in Scottsdale this Sunday to share the DVD about the Tour and talk to the congregation about our own involvement with the group.  We've had amazingly warm receptions at all the churches we've visited.  We're more excited than nervous to make these trips- even though public speaking does not top the list of our favorite things to do.  We love how excited people are for the trip, the cause, and our opportunity to participate.  It's a tremendous blessing to be so supported.

We should be keeping this blog up-to-date this summer.  The crew is attaching some sort of satellite receiver to one of the SAG wagons for internet purposes, I believe.  We'll be certain to take lots of photos.

Looking forward to see so many of you friends and family members along the way!

Wish us luck!  Pray for us!  Don't tell us to "break a leg!"

The Ironman

This weekend we biked to Tempe to watch the Ironman competition.  These people are crazy!  They swim 2 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run a full marathon!  Who would do that to him or herself?  That's 9 hours of strenuous exercise- and 9 hours only if you're among the best and fastest in your competition!  OK, so I know that biking across the country is no fair weather task, but watching these guys made me feel wimpy.

It was about a 30 mile round trip to the event and back.  I think we were extra tired out afterward due to the scorching heat (once again Ironmen, I don't know how you do it) and the sheer exertion from watching so many others exert themselves.

Amazing.

First Flat

Well, first off I have to say that I'm very pleased with the quality of my tires and tubes.  We splurged and got the "thorn resistant" models from the store.  And they have resisted thorns, and rocks, and broken glass, they just didn't hold up to construction staples.

I was biking to Dave's office so that we could then bike back home together and met up with the staple in the very annoying construction of JUST THE BIKE LANE on Warner Road.  I'm still not sure why road workers have torn up just the bike lane, but that's how it is and that is how my very first tube met its' demise.  

It took a little upper body strength to wiggle the all powerful, thorn resistant tube and tire off the rim of my bike.  I actually called Dave up and he biked over to coach me and give me a little extra man power.  We managed to put the spare tube on, cover it up with the trusty old tire, and fill everything full with a CO2 cartridge.

And who knew that CO2 would leak out of a tire so fast?  I thought I'd gotten another flat when I went to ride my bike again a few days after the initial flat, but the sales lady at our local cyclery told me that CO2 particles are small and that they leak out of tubes quickly.  Good thing, because while it was probably good for me to practice changing a flat, I'm totally cool with waiting a while before I have to do it again.

A Family Affair

Biking seems to be catching on for both Dave's family and my own.  Dave's dad, Larry Meyer, has signed up to do the full Sea to Sea Tour!  He and his wife, Donna, purchased a nice pair of recumbent bikes and are peddling away- outdoors when the snow is melted, and indoors on their trainers otherwise.  I think it's awesome that Donna is biking with Larry to help him get ready.  And Larry is proving to be an excellent fellow cyclist with whom to bounce off ideas about camping gear, training programs, and other related matters.  We're excited to have this opportunity to spend the summer together raising awareness about world poverty and having a unique adventure.   

My little sister, Laura, is also getting pretty excited about cycling and is on board for a trip called BTC (Bike Through Colorado) that she'll be doing this summer.  Laura is such a natural on a bike.  She came to visit over her spring break from college and we took a little ride together.  I've been training for months and figured I'd be the more advanced cyclist, but she was faster than me and not at all afraid at staying clipped in at stops- something I'm still working on (I don't trust my sense of balance I guess).

I think all of my siblings have actually acquired a bike within the past year or so.  We'll have to see where we all end up biking to.

52 miles and a sunburn

This past week Thursday, Dave and I biked to ASU for a picnic and then back around to his office.  It was about a 20 mile loop and when coupled with the 16 mile round trips to and from Dave's office, I did 52 miles!  

Now, it's getting pretty hot in the Phoenix area these days- my apologies to those in the midwest who just got 13 inches of snow... and I did my best to apply sunscreen before taking off on this adventure, but I seemed to have missed a spot or two.  Can you see the blisters?  Ouch!  I am so glad that I remembered sunscreen.  I would have been in a far larger world of hurt if I would have skipped the step all together.

My favorite memory from the trip: when we passed a 7-11 on the way back to the office and Dave said, "Hey, you feel like a slurpie?"  I poured my tasty frozen beverage into my water bottle, but Dave still had water in his- so it was fun to watch him peddle while holding onto his slurpie too.