Now I am the one feeling rushed and hairied. I have a lot to do today...and I want to start driving to NE tomorrow. I'm taking Andrew and Emily with me. We will stop in IA for some "sightseeing" and drive to NE and stay with Dirk's friends Fri/Sat night. Then Dirk will take them back home on Sunday after he has finished his portion of the tour.
My friends at the Trek store installed my alternate seatpost. I'm debating over these darn aerobars and whether or not I would kill myself if I installed them....It's more an issue of having an alternative position on the bike so that my shoulders and neck don't fatigue so badly in the last 30 miles.
Dirk tells me he has been keeping up with the pack. Today will be a long day for him as he is riding on "sweep" -- this means he helps with the cleanup after breakfast and will be the last to leave camp so that there can always be someone behind the slowest riders to assist if needed.
He tell me he's occassionally been riding with the fast guys and did some pacelining yesterday as the winds were strong and even tho they were headed downhill at some points, the wind was driving them back up...so sad, it really cuts into your time when that happens. And, there is virtually no shade as this part of CO is plains and wide open so it is incredibly hot. Today, they find themselves in NE and will cross into Central time.
He tells me people have been great to the group -- there's been some free lunches and lots of interest. It is really encouraging to hear that their reception has been good.
I can barely sleep. I go to bed, but wake up tired. It is not so good as I had hoped to get more restorative rest this week. My adreneline is getting me going too.
I am off to finish my work and get my house in order.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Feikema Relay -- #1 on the road....
I was reminded over the weekend that the tour is as much internal PR as it is external PR.
After my 57 mile ride on Sat. a.m., I golfed in the Highland Christian School outing. I had a great day and yucked it up with some new and old friends. In the middle of the outing, I was reminded that the issue of poverty in our communities can be a thorny topic.
One of the participating congregations for a Sea to Sea volunteer project in Gary, Indiana (Beacon Light CRC), has faced many long and arduous years of trying to keep things up and running. It shares a lot of the same characteristics of the church of my youth (Creston CRC). The small core membership has put in blood, sweat and tears to help those that need help. They are the only ones in their neighborhood trying to keep a link with people living on the edge of poverty.
Many in our local community (including a fellow golfer) say we should insist they close up shop -- "We shouldn't support them, because money and effort is wasted.. their church is not growing." My heart breaks when I hear that. A bell goes off and I am stunned and speechless. If it weren't for this small body of believers, who would do the work? Who would put up with the countless hours on the phone, chauffeuring and welcoming and feeding and visiting these neighbors' "grungy" houses to minister to their needs. I hear the phrases, "If they would only just...." And in the heart of it I hear, "If they would only just be like me, their lives would be different and they wouldn't be poor and have violence filled lives."
It rings of a few parables that I've heard . i.e. Jesus talk the pharisee and the tax collector? I'm sure you can think of others.
Obviously something of God's grace and our need for it is missing in our lives if we cannot see beyond. I know I am guilty of it too. Obviously, I have just judged my fellow golfer to make myself seem more enlightened.
If others would be like me, then things would be different? I certainly doubt that. I lead a spoiled rich life with the luxury of discussing carbon fiber seatposts and aerobars, not countless hours on the phone calming the needs of a neighbor who is struggling.
Please God, I pray, give me the grace and the patience and the love to see beyond the judgement and give me the ability to stick with the spiritual struggles of these small congregations across the world who are putting themselves out every day for the poor. Let me see beyond the imagined needs of my own life and put it into perspective. Why is it so hard for me not to become petty in the face of 3 consecutive 100 mile rides?
Now I'm to crunch time...
I'm doing my last day of work and had to visit my dr. at Loyola during a long lunch break.
He injected my knee with cortisone so that I could insure some degree of alleviation of pain.
I've been managing my IT band injury with some success; but I had second thoughts about it coming around on me full tilt in the middle Iowa and 3 days of 100+ mile distances. So my Loyola dr. said he's never had a runner not finish after giving them a cortisone injection. I went for it.
I just know now I gotta get off the bike and stretch every 20 miles or so. I keep reminding myself it's not about the speed but about making it to the end. Dr. J. told me to stay off the bike this week...the whole thought of that is making me twitch as I haven't been without my bike since spring break in April.
Dirk called this a.m. to let me know he was off and riding and that is good. He started the day solo, but then he met up with some folks at the sag. He is doing well with his adrenaline.
He opted to take the first week of stage 2 that I couldn't ride and Sea to Sea was flexible enough to let him in. I think they will be pleased with that decision as his circle of friends is very loyal to him and supportive too. He has a great group of friends from many years ago and he literally has 100s of customers. He hasn't been able to publicize his participation so I'm hoping he can do more of that after he returns and get some more funds in for the tour.
So our the Feikema relay team is off.
In light of the experience of one of the cyclists' carbon fiber seatpost breaking b/c of his seat post rack, I put in a panicked call to my faithful Trek Store bike guy, Dave Eenigenburg. He assures me I will have a new aluminum seatpost to replace my carbon one by the time I leave on Thursday.
Now I just need more Co2 cartridges and maybe a hydration pack. Weather in IA for next week is predicated at rain. I hate rain. I hate camping in the rain. Today, I pray for perseverance of mind to keep it all in perspective.
After my 57 mile ride on Sat. a.m., I golfed in the Highland Christian School outing. I had a great day and yucked it up with some new and old friends. In the middle of the outing, I was reminded that the issue of poverty in our communities can be a thorny topic.
One of the participating congregations for a Sea to Sea volunteer project in Gary, Indiana (Beacon Light CRC), has faced many long and arduous years of trying to keep things up and running. It shares a lot of the same characteristics of the church of my youth (Creston CRC). The small core membership has put in blood, sweat and tears to help those that need help. They are the only ones in their neighborhood trying to keep a link with people living on the edge of poverty.
Many in our local community (including a fellow golfer) say we should insist they close up shop -- "We shouldn't support them, because money and effort is wasted.. their church is not growing." My heart breaks when I hear that. A bell goes off and I am stunned and speechless. If it weren't for this small body of believers, who would do the work? Who would put up with the countless hours on the phone, chauffeuring and welcoming and feeding and visiting these neighbors' "grungy" houses to minister to their needs. I hear the phrases, "If they would only just...." And in the heart of it I hear, "If they would only just be like me, their lives would be different and they wouldn't be poor and have violence filled lives."
It rings of a few parables that I've heard . i.e. Jesus talk the pharisee and the tax collector? I'm sure you can think of others.
Obviously something of God's grace and our need for it is missing in our lives if we cannot see beyond. I know I am guilty of it too. Obviously, I have just judged my fellow golfer to make myself seem more enlightened.
If others would be like me, then things would be different? I certainly doubt that. I lead a spoiled rich life with the luxury of discussing carbon fiber seatposts and aerobars, not countless hours on the phone calming the needs of a neighbor who is struggling.
Please God, I pray, give me the grace and the patience and the love to see beyond the judgement and give me the ability to stick with the spiritual struggles of these small congregations across the world who are putting themselves out every day for the poor. Let me see beyond the imagined needs of my own life and put it into perspective. Why is it so hard for me not to become petty in the face of 3 consecutive 100 mile rides?
Now I'm to crunch time...
I'm doing my last day of work and had to visit my dr. at Loyola during a long lunch break.
He injected my knee with cortisone so that I could insure some degree of alleviation of pain.
I've been managing my IT band injury with some success; but I had second thoughts about it coming around on me full tilt in the middle Iowa and 3 days of 100+ mile distances. So my Loyola dr. said he's never had a runner not finish after giving them a cortisone injection. I went for it.
I just know now I gotta get off the bike and stretch every 20 miles or so. I keep reminding myself it's not about the speed but about making it to the end. Dr. J. told me to stay off the bike this week...the whole thought of that is making me twitch as I haven't been without my bike since spring break in April.
Dirk called this a.m. to let me know he was off and riding and that is good. He started the day solo, but then he met up with some folks at the sag. He is doing well with his adrenaline.
He opted to take the first week of stage 2 that I couldn't ride and Sea to Sea was flexible enough to let him in. I think they will be pleased with that decision as his circle of friends is very loyal to him and supportive too. He has a great group of friends from many years ago and he literally has 100s of customers. He hasn't been able to publicize his participation so I'm hoping he can do more of that after he returns and get some more funds in for the tour.
So our the Feikema relay team is off.
In light of the experience of one of the cyclists' carbon fiber seatpost breaking b/c of his seat post rack, I put in a panicked call to my faithful Trek Store bike guy, Dave Eenigenburg. He assures me I will have a new aluminum seatpost to replace my carbon one by the time I leave on Thursday.
Now I just need more Co2 cartridges and maybe a hydration pack. Weather in IA for next week is predicated at rain. I hate rain. I hate camping in the rain. Today, I pray for perseverance of mind to keep it all in perspective.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
The tour has left the building.....
I'm slogging it out on my own with the kids. This may sound like a trial but it's not. They are good kids. Andrew and Emily have put up with alot from us this summer. With all the riding we've had to do, they have seen so many babysitters and Emily is starting to rebel with it all. One more mention of a babysitter coming and she almost goes into hysterics.
Yesterday seemed like the last straw and I truly felt that parental guilt when I had shipped them off to be with their cousins overnight so I could get one last long ride in early in the morning...and then I needed a babysitter for the Highland Christian school golf outing. Our most-trusted and great sitter Aimee who is more like a nanny than a sitter came. When I left, Emily was crying and weeping giant elephant tears, but when I came home she was in her element...doing crafts and having fun. Emily is a great actress, but I am sure her tears were partially real. She had watched her beloved daddy leave Friday for Sea to Sea and the uncertaintly of it all unnerved her...then she got practically no sleep with her cousins. She was frazzled when I left, but her mood had definitely improved when I returned. I was relieved. We are now spending an unending week together...they will like to see me gone by the end of it when we pick up Dirk in Omaha and trade places with him.
Dirk left for Sea to Sea on Friday....it was quite a jittery experience for me seeing him leave. The tour has now left the planning stages is in the implementation stage.
He arrived safely, is staying with his cousin Keith and has assembled and gotten his bike together. He had is 40th bday just two weeks ago. He lost 25 lbs, is in the best shape of his life and looks pretty great. His attitude is good and he is an amazing dad and worker. Wow, I can definitely say I am so proud of him that I could burst. He works just so he can help others and he is in his element. He is an example of love and persistence for me.
Now I am in the pre-exam jitter stage...am I prepared enough, did I do enough, did I do the right things?
Yes and no. I haven't had this kind of "pre-exam" jitter since I left grad-school. Then there's the point when you just trust that what you have is enough, and what backs you up is sufficient. This is when the God trust kicks in and you say to God, "I am trusting you to use what I have for what you want me to use it for....come what may...si Allah djebi"....(this phrase I learned in W. Africa and is pular for, as God wills...I'm sure I've butchered the spelling but you get the idea....short sweet and to the point..."God willing"
I heard yesterday that one of the riders broke his collar bone in a fall. He was an entire tour rider.
Well that set me thinking too....Wow, this guy has put in a whole year of training and effort to raise his $ and do all the things he needed to do to get ready. ...And God is using him in a mightly different way than he would've imagined...I feel his pain without even being there or knowing him. God willing...God willing.
So today, I am taking the kids to the beach, God willing.
Let's cram as much quality family time in before I have to get on the bike and put on 950 miles in 12 days. Then my mind drifts to equipment,....Now I'm wondering, should I buy aerobars for the tour....yeek! I need to let it go!
Yesterday seemed like the last straw and I truly felt that parental guilt when I had shipped them off to be with their cousins overnight so I could get one last long ride in early in the morning...and then I needed a babysitter for the Highland Christian school golf outing. Our most-trusted and great sitter Aimee who is more like a nanny than a sitter came. When I left, Emily was crying and weeping giant elephant tears, but when I came home she was in her element...doing crafts and having fun. Emily is a great actress, but I am sure her tears were partially real. She had watched her beloved daddy leave Friday for Sea to Sea and the uncertaintly of it all unnerved her...then she got practically no sleep with her cousins. She was frazzled when I left, but her mood had definitely improved when I returned. I was relieved. We are now spending an unending week together...they will like to see me gone by the end of it when we pick up Dirk in Omaha and trade places with him.
Dirk left for Sea to Sea on Friday....it was quite a jittery experience for me seeing him leave. The tour has now left the planning stages is in the implementation stage.
He arrived safely, is staying with his cousin Keith and has assembled and gotten his bike together. He had is 40th bday just two weeks ago. He lost 25 lbs, is in the best shape of his life and looks pretty great. His attitude is good and he is an amazing dad and worker. Wow, I can definitely say I am so proud of him that I could burst. He works just so he can help others and he is in his element. He is an example of love and persistence for me.
Now I am in the pre-exam jitter stage...am I prepared enough, did I do enough, did I do the right things?
Yes and no. I haven't had this kind of "pre-exam" jitter since I left grad-school. Then there's the point when you just trust that what you have is enough, and what backs you up is sufficient. This is when the God trust kicks in and you say to God, "I am trusting you to use what I have for what you want me to use it for....come what may...si Allah djebi"....(this phrase I learned in W. Africa and is pular for, as God wills...I'm sure I've butchered the spelling but you get the idea....short sweet and to the point..."God willing"
I heard yesterday that one of the riders broke his collar bone in a fall. He was an entire tour rider.
Well that set me thinking too....Wow, this guy has put in a whole year of training and effort to raise his $ and do all the things he needed to do to get ready. ...And God is using him in a mightly different way than he would've imagined...I feel his pain without even being there or knowing him. God willing...God willing.
So today, I am taking the kids to the beach, God willing.
Let's cram as much quality family time in before I have to get on the bike and put on 950 miles in 12 days. Then my mind drifts to equipment,....Now I'm wondering, should I buy aerobars for the tour....yeek! I need to let it go!
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