Praise the Lord for His abundant goodness! Today was an absolutely amazing experience for me. For so many weeks and months and even years, I have been thinking and praying and about Bike for Bibles, and today, the day finally came for those thoughts and prayers to become a reality.
Ever since we drove into Victory Village church parking lot yesterday and crawled out of the van to meet a bunch of strangers hustling around and loading bikes, I have been so encouraged, inspired and challenged spiritually and physically. Cindy and I rode with a group of about 24 others in a school bus from Calgary to Revelstoke yesterday to reach our starting point for the trip. Right away I realized what an amazing group of Christians we were with. We had some great conversations on the bus, and saw the love of the Lord being spread to others as we picked up some hitch hikers along the way, and laughed and shared with everyone together. By the time we arrived at Revelstoke, it was so hot and humid that you stuck to the bus seats and standing in the sun was nearly unbearable. I had questioning thoughts running through my head as we passed some cyclists straining up the hills in the blazing heat.
We set up camp at a nice middle-sized church in Revelstoke. The ladies spread out their gear in the sanctuary, the couples found Sunday-school rooms and the guys spread out in the basement. We had a delicious supper of beef stew, followed by some singing and pre-ride instruction session. Then we headed out to downtown Revelstoke to lick ice cream (or sip coffee, for some people), and look around the town a bit. We settled into bed at about 9:30 BC time and attempted to find a cool enough position to sleep. (I found holding onto the chair legs helpful for the cooling effect).
Despite my trepidation about the heat from the previous day, when I got up this morning in time for a 6 am breakfast, it was cool. Cindy and I headed out with the slow group (AKA the “easy group,” or as we’ve named it, the “cool group”) after “circle-up” time. During circle up time, we had a little devotional lead by Doug, our cycling chaplain for the week, and we were introduced to the group chant, “Through our spokes… God speaks!!!”
What a day. I must say that I have never had so much fun in my life. The first 20 km Cindy and I took it really easy. Then we had a nice snack break with lovely bananas, pretzels, mixed nuts and smarties and dried fruits. I discovered for the first time what is like to ride in a fast pelaton (pace-line). They tell me that the ideal following distance is 6-12 inches. It’s been taking some getting used to, but when you start to feel the benefits of riding in someone else’s slipstream, it’s worth the extra concentration that it takes. I am so amazed by the beauty of God’s creation, and the amazing opportunities He has given us to experience it!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Travel Day and Day #1 Revelstoke to Nakusp
Here are a few pictures from the last two amazing days on Bike for Bibles! I will write more in a bit. Right now we have five minutes before leaving for the showers.
God bless!
Kimberly
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Training Adventures
Cindy working on a tire during one of our many "flat" stops
Cindy phoning to tell her piano teacher that she'll be late for lessons... we were lost on a very non-road-bike-friendly trail
Some of the things we've gotten ourselves into by accident (note: we are actually riding road bikes... don't ask me how we found ourselves on this kind of terrain...)
Prepared for the rain... which never came. We still got wet though. From the inside.
Food, an essential ingredient on any ride.
Lookout point from a hill in North Calgary
Heading out on our first real hill ride
The Millarville Esso "bathroom break" spot\
On the road again
Preparing to take on a hill that cyclists call, "The road to Nepal" (we only did the first hill...)
Sense of victory at the crest of the hill
Lunch stop
This is absolutely the most wonderful thing to do after cycling all morning
Post-hill-ride stretches in Bragg Creek
Well, we're down to the final week. This morning in the van on the way to church when Dad mentioned this fact, Cindy and I errupted in simultaneous "Ahhh!!"s. It is hard to believe that in six days, we will be heading out on what will likely be the toughest thing we have ever attempted. Praise the Lord for the grace and strength He gives us each day. On our training rides, Cindy and I have had a bundle of challenges, learning experiences, and great memories together. Here are a few snapshots of some of our experiences on two wheels.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
27 Recently Aquired Wisdoms
In the past couple weeks of training for Bike for Bibles, Cindy and I have spun our pedals over 425 kilometers of bike trails, highways and streets through lots of sun (and more recently, rain). Not surprisingly, the more times you turn a crank arm, the more hours you spend outside, and the more times a wheel goes around, the more things go wrong. Here are a few of our most recently learned first-hand lessons:
Lesson #1 – If your sister is slowing pulling out farther and farther in front of you, and the going is getting tougher and tougher, and then you hear a flapping sound, you have a flat tire.
Lesson #2 – If you hear a sudden bang and a hiss and your bike stops, you have a flat tire.
Lesson #3 – If you see a chunk of metal sticking out of your tire, don’t leave it there. You could get a flat tire.
Lesson #4 – If your tire is flat before you leave home, don’t just fill it with air and go. Patch the tube first, or else you may find yourself 20 kilometers from home dragging your rims on the asphalt. Lazyness does not pay off.
Lesson #5 – When changing a tire, take one side off at a time, then put one side back on at a time. Believe me, it is a long and tiring fight on the side of the bike trail in the middle of
Lesson #6 – When changing a tire, use two tire levers at the same time when trying to pry on or off the final part of the tire. Believe me, it is a long and tiring fight on the grass beside a road in Riverbend to do it with one tire lever.
Lesson #7 – When changing a tire, always check on either side of the tire to make sure the tube isn’t pinched before inflating it. Believe me, having two flats one day after another is not fun.
Lesson #8 – When sitting in the blazing sun next to
Lesson #9 – When patching a tire, put contact cement on the patch and the tube and press the two together with all your strength for five minutes until your thumbs go numb. Otherwise your patch will fall off and you will have a flat. Again.
Lesson #10 – When you’ve biked over 70 km against a headwind, be cautious when stopping, or you may forget to unclip your feet from the pedals and fall on your side into your sister while a rollerblader watches.
Lesson #11 – When you accidentally ride off the side of the road, do not swerve back on quickly and end up crashing with your sister.
Lesson #12 – If you can’t really remember the last hour or two of riding, stop and eat something. Quick.
Lesson #13 – If you use carbon dioxide pressurized air fillers for your (frequent) emergency flats, bring more than one canister.
Lesson #14 – If there is a chance of thunder storms in the forecast, bring your coat. Riding at 20 or 30 km/hr creates its own wind chill. An hour of that in the rain in a T-shirt is cold. Even in July.
Lesson #15 – Do not adjust your brakes unless you are well fed, hydrated, mentally calm, emotionally tranquil, physically rested, bathroomed, and otherwise feeling very patient.
Lesosn #16 – Drink at least one bottle of water for every hour that you are cycling, otherwise you’ll have to make up the deficit once you return home, which is not my favorite past time.
Lesson #17 – Bend your elbows slightly when grasping the handlbars and keep your cadence at least 90 RPM. Otherwise Cindy will calmly remind you, “elbows and cadence?” and you will be forced to admit your downfalls, “um... elbows locked, cadence 70... Argh.”
Lesson #18 – A faint, constant and unidentifiable squeak is annoying. I guess that’s not a lesson...
Lesson #19 – When your behind is sore, try standing when pedaling. If your legs are sore, standing may not be wise. If both are sore, hope that you don’t have many kilometers left.
Lesson # 20 – Shift down before you reach the hill, not once you’ve reached it.
Lesson #21 – If you are on a hill in your lowest gear and you are standing up and you are leaning all of your weight on one pedal, and it doesn’t go down, that is bad.
Lesson #22 – Never stop pushing hard until after you have crested a hill.
Lesson #23 – Do not despair when your sister passes you on the uphill. You will pass her on the downhill. (It has to do with mass and acceleration physics equations).
Lesson #24 – Be prepared that it could take you five hours of bike maintenance before you can leave on your three hour bike ride.
Lesson #25 – If you are waiting for your sister to get through a pedestrian gate after cycling 83 km, beware of looking back and calling to ask if your sister has fallen off her bike. Your legs could give out and you could fall off your bike. (Actually, this is more humorous than painful).
Lesson #26 – It is really encouraging to recite Scripture verses while riding.
Lesson #27 – When you are tired and sore and need some encouragement, it’s time to go get a hug from Dad.
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