BRIEF REFLECTION ON THE RIDE

It's over, and what started out as a conversation between Bryan Blomker and I a couple of years ago has come and gone, in the process giving a number of people the experience of a lifetime, raising awareness of YFC work across a swathe of North America, and raising quite a few thousands for some YFC good causes.

For me, one of the most amazing things has been the way these eleven cyclists who rode the whole distance simply turned up at the start in Anacortes, Washington on June 17th, rode 4100+ miles across 15 states (14 in USA and Ontario in Canada), dipped their front wheels in the Atlantic at Bar Harbor, Maine on August 15th and went home - job done, no big drama. According to Tom Phillips, one of the riders, who had a sophisticated bike computer, they also climbed 133,231 feet, or an average climb of 2612' per day. For those of you in Northern Ireland, that's only 300' less than Slieve Donard, every day. What makes it all the more amazing is that, before the trip, only three of the riders had been serious cyclists.

Several things made the Ride as undramatic as it was. One undoubtedly was Bryan Blomker's tremendous organisational skills. As we arrived in Anacortes we were given a small, five-page handout detailing all the overnight stops - the name of the town, the name of the host church or YFC centre and its phone number - and that's how it happened throughout the whole 60 days. It all looked simple, but getting that list of hosts was an incredibly hard job, involving all manner of phonecalls, research, calling on contacts. It was an immense task, especially in some of the very sparsely-populated areas that we went through in states like Montana and North Dakota, but it all worked like clockwork.

The second thing that helped enormously was the presence on the Ride of a great bike mechanic in the person of Paul Luedtke. Paul, one of our staff from Switzerland, had done this kind of work whilst at college, and his knowledge and skill were invaluable. All kinds of things went wrong with the bikes, and had it not been for Paul, we would have suffered endless delays, trips to bike shops, huge expenditures, people having to get driven across parts of the route to avoid delaying the whole Ride, and so on.

The third essential element was the excellent back-up team driving the two vehicles, one containing all the riders' personal clothing and spares, the other keeping them supplied with food, water and information. With the first vehicle we had first of all Lee & Elaine, then David & Darlene, then Les, and finally Lloyd & Marie, and in the second vehicle, the SAG wagon, Emma for the whole time, plus Becky for most of it, and Melissa. Together they did a tremendous job in linking the riders on the road and liaising with the hosts at each stop. They worked extremely hard, yet didn't have the joy of all that riding and climbing as their reward!!?

The first photo shows the heroic eleven riders who did the whole distance posing on the beach in Bar Harbor, Maine at the end of the Ride. They are, from left to right, Bryan Blomker, Tom Phillips, Dan Chapin, Zack Chapin, Paul Bayfield, Arek Karagoezian, Stuart Rowell, Paul Luedtke, Mike Scott, Jonny Young, Fiona Young.



The second photo shows all the gang at the end, including Becky, Emma, Lloyd & Marie and me. One other rider who should get an honourable mention is my nephew Tim O'Hare from Charlotte, North Carolina, who rode the first week with us and was greatly missed thereafter.


Finally, we give all thanks and glory to God for preserving the lives of everyone involved. Our number 1 concern from the start was to return everyone safely to their families, and that's what happened, in spite of a few incidents of thoughtless bad driving, a couple of deliberate near-misses and a few minor fallings-off. Many people were praying for us, for which we are grateful, and many people all over the world sponsored us, which was brilliant. We will publish the financial results as soon as we have worked out the final costs.

FRIDAY 15 AUGUST - Day 60 for the Eclectic Eleven and the last day!

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang but a whimper."
Well, like a lot of epic journeys (if you will forgive me calling this one epic) our Sea to See Bike Ride finished up in a bit of a rush and with a somewhat less-than-epic celebratory meal, but it was ok in the end. First off, the day itself was absolutely beautiful. Had we been given the opportunity to order the weather we wanted from a menu, it couldn’t have been better – mild, not too warm, just enough breeze to cool us, wind mostly at our backs, and to cap it all, stunning scenery. We left Camden early, as we still had about 85 miles to go to Bar Harbor, and the first part of the route along R52 turned out to be both hilly and very badly-surfaced. Dan wrecked his derailleur gear-change mechanism, which broke a spoke, but fortunately he wasn’t far from Belfast, which had a good bike shop which got him going again, for $50. Dan has had so many problems with his bike, which is about 15 years old, that when we were talking about how we would end the ride by dipping our front tyres in the Atlantic, Stuart came out with one of the best lines of the trip. “Instead of just dipping the wheel in the water,” he said, “why don’t you just pick it up and throw the whole bike in?”

84.4 miles later and after climbing 4280’, we arrived at the outskirts of Bar Harbor (pronounced by the locals as Baa-Haa-Ba). Bryan had organised one last surprise for us – a police escort into town. Our triumphal entry, however, was delayed by 90 minutes while Jonny dealt with not one, not two but three punctures in the last ten miles. He arrived at the rendezvous point hopping mad, not least because, after having ridden some 4200 miles to get to this point, someone had suggested he throw his bike in the van and get sagged in. As if….

After the euphoria and general rush of the police escort into town, seeing families cheering and waving, (and a load of innocent bystanders joining in) and after one last quick nostalgic fall as Mike demonstrated how his wider tyres would work ok on the beach... there was a rush to get everyone off to their host homes with the Baptist church for a shower and change before our last celebratory meal together. This being one of the last holiday weekends, and Bar Harbor being a popular holiday destination (for NI folks, think Helen's Bay/Crawfordsburn with a marina) the restaurants were booked solid. After a lot of great work on Marie's part, as everywhere was so busy, we had found a lobster place (lobsters are Maine's theme song) about 12 miles away that would give us a good deal and a private room. It turned out the good deal was because the lobsters were the size of crickets and the only other things on the plate were an ear of corn, a small tub of coleslaw and a bread roll. The room was an open-air terrace above the dining-room, alive with mosquitoes until the sun went down, then freezing and wet as the sea-mist rolled in, right beside the take-off path for the Hancock County Airport, and so close to the highway that you could scarcely hear yourself shouting. A few people had pre-ordered chicken instead of lobster, but on the night some of our guests took the chicken, they didn't have any more, and poor Jonny & Fiona, not into seafood, were finally given one small, miserable hotdog each with a few potato crisps.

However, the craic was great. Bryan's wife Jill performed a version of Home on the Range tailored to us, Emma made awards to everyone for something, and I closed the evening and the event with a presentation to Bryan and a word from the Word. Jill, Bryan's creative wife, had a framed picture for everyone which everyone signed and wrote on, and so it was over.

Almost the final incident of the night was a conversation with a lady and her 69-year-old mother who had watched us signing each other's pictures and were intrigued with why we had done this. They wanted our cards, and were going home to look on the website.

Back to the house where Paul B, Emma, Zack and I were staying, the home of Ed & Anne Damm, two erstwhile hippies who have a musical-instrument shop in Bar Harbor specialising in celtic instruments. Nice folks, pleasantly laid-back.

May reflect more on the trip later, but for now I'm just glad it's over and everyone safe. To God be all the praise.Thank you for your true partnership in it, not only by giving but also by praying. I believe God fully answered.In His love and grace.

THURSDAY 14 AUGUST - penultimate day!

Well, this was a very good day - we reached the Atlantic Ocean! It was quite a hard one, with 101 miles of road and over 5000' of climbing, but it was also beautiful - good weather, about 25C, a light headwind. We arrived at the sea at the picturesque wee town of Rockford, and Tom, Paul B and I (who I think were first in today) went down to the marina and sat for a while and took photos. These guys deservedly have a sense of achievement. What they have done is amazing. No-one pulled out, no-one stopped permanently communicating with anyone, and there were no serious injuries. While Tom went off to try and get some wheels mailed home, Paul and I treated ourselves to a celebratory ice-cream.

Tonight we are being hosted by Chestnutt Baptist Church in Camden, which is also on the coast and at first sight seems like the acme of chic and cool. The bay has hundreds of boats, the streets are crowded with beautiful people and cars, and there are terrific shops and restaurants. However, Dan, Stuart and I are staying in a house owned by the boyfriend of Katrina and his business partner, and she says Maine feels like "about the end of the earth" when you are brought up here. Long winters, sea mists, storms - I guess it could get tedious. The church gave us a very good pot-luck supper, and quite a few people turned out to hear the why and the wherefore of the Ride. This distinguished-looking lady was at our table.

Lobsters are the big thing here - every restaurant seems to be a seafood one, and apparently you daren't come here without trying one. Since I only had my first lobster ever about three weeks ago in Dundrum, and wasn't overly impressed, I have a fresh experience to compare it with. Used to get great lobster soup at the old Highwayman restaurant in Comber, but that's the closest I've got until now.

Did a really dumb thing today - left my wallet and bible at the pastor's house in Oxford where we stayed last night. They are kindly doing an overnight mail to me in Bar Harbor.

Wish I could describe Maine to you. The scenery is quietly and understatedly impressive. Nothing too grand in the way of mountains, but long wooded hills, lots of lakes, wooded all around of course. Looks a bit like County Fermanagh in places. The roads are OK, although where they are narrow the shoulders tend to be sinking into the ditches, making riding on them very difficult. Also, a lot of trucks, some of which feel the need to pass you at the same moment as something coming the other way. One truck carrying an extra-heavy, wide load of portable stone-crusher scared me to death this morning when he hung on his air-horn cord and gave me a good blast when he was a couple of hundred yards back and before I'd even heard his engine.

Must go to bed now - shattered again, as today was far harder than we thought it was going to be, plus the accumulated effects of not enough sleep and 5.30am alarms. Finishing tomorrow with about another 100-miler, so not over yet. Keep praying that we will all finish well and safely, and that I'll give a good word from the Lord as we have the closing dinner.In his love and grace.John D

WEDNESDAY 13 AUGUST

Today it began to feel a wee bit like we were on holiday. For one thing, the weather was beautiful. They have been setting all kinds of rainfall records in New England - e.g. rain on 17 of the last 18 days - and Pres Bush has declared some parts of New Hampshire as official disaster zones. But today was beautiful.
The second thing that lifted everyone was conquering our last big pass. Kancamagus in the White Mountains was just over 2850' and 13 miles up, and it was tough enough. We climbed a total of about 4300' today, including one 300 metre hill which was 20% in one part. From here there's nothing much over 1000'.The third thing was entering our last state. Just before lunch we crossed into Maine. It's the home straight. As a part-timer I can't really enter into the full emotions of the rest of the guys, but I know that most of them are now ready to be done. We only did about 83 miles today, but that brings them up to around 4000 miles, so you can imagine that Friday evening will be a welcome time.

The couple on the bikes are Bob & Wendy from Toronto. We met them at the top of the Pass and they were very interested in what we were doing. They didn't say anything about having a faith of their own, but before they left they gave us a donation towards our good cause. Lots of nice people about!

Just a couple of incidents today. Firstly, some of the Confirmation class at St Joseph's Church promised they would turn up at 7.00am to see us off, and true to their word, Marissa and Amy did. They hadn't realized until today that it was daylight at 7.00!

Bryan got forced off the road by a small truck, who didn't move over an inch as he went past Bryan. Paul B was sick and threw up, so was unusually slow, and Jonny left his camera behind at the lunch-stop and was 10 miles away when he discovered it. I got a puncture at about 70 miles, then a full-on blow-out maybe 5 or 6 miles later. Stuart and Paul L made an interesting detour and arrived at the church from the opposite direction to everyone else.

On the way to Oxford we drove through Norway, which means that even on the relatively short time I've been on the trip I have been in Egypt, Mexico, Texas and now Norway. Some of the other interesting towns in the area are on the sign, including Belfast.

At the lunch-stop in Lovell there was a great war-memorial, and I couldn't resist taking a picture of this flat memorial stone. The whole monument was surrounded by about three dozen of these stones, most of them pretty moving, but I guess this guy felt he could commemorate his father (whom he doesn't mention by name) and do a wee bit of business as well.

Tonight our hosts are Oxford Adventist Church of Christ, which has as one of its distinctives that they believe in "soul sleep" after death. We are just about to have dinner, so better go.

That was a good dinner - lasagne & salad - and a presentation after to the youth group, led by a lady called Jan Olsen (with the red hair) – with us still in our smelly clothes. Now Tom and I are being hosted by the pastor, Frank Jewett, and his wife Judy. Just had a v interesting discussion on what distinctives mark the Advent Christian denomination, which neither Tom (from California) nor I had ever heard of.Seems that the new book by NT Wright (whom someone told me from the picture in the book looks surprisingly like me - which he does, but it's definitely not a pen-name!) "Surprised by Joy" is the best summing-up of their doctrine. It does sound very biblical, and Frank seems like a great guy. Must read the book asap.Time for sleep now. Big day ahead tomorrow - 102 miles, incl one peak of 1000', which shouldn't scare these hard-core heroes one bit. Sure sounds big to me though!

Blessings on you, and keep praying for the last two days to be safe, and for the wind to be behind us.

TUESDAY 12 AUGUST

Dear Folks:
After today, only 3 to go - amazing that these 11 heroes have been riding six days out of every seven for the last seven weeks, and have clocked up nearly 4000 miles.
Today we did 96.6, from Rochester, Vermont to Lincoln, New Hampshire. It was a fast day for Arek and me, as he had people to meet in Lincoln. At one point I hit my highest-ever speed on a bike - 51.9 mph. It was a very good, smooth road surface with no seams or expansion joints, so it felt safe enough (but maybe you shouldn't mention it to Maisie!) There were other, steeper hills, but oftentimes the surface was so poor that you couldn't risk letting yourself go.

An interesting encounter today at a rest stop just after Arek and I had pulled out - a truck driver had a rant about riders riding on the car-lane side of the hard-shoulder line to some of our guys, ending by telling them that whilst he didn't hope for them to be killed on the road, he hoped they would all become paraplegics. I wonder how he will end up? Right after lunch, rain again, so once again, we were riding whilst soaked. Hard climbing again - 5446' in total, after yesterday's 5943'. Hosted tonight by St Joseph's Catholic Church in Lincoln, and had a good chat with some of the Confirmation class: Nat, Joe, Amy and Merissa. Serious talk with Amy about her own faith.

A much better encounter was along the road with Candace (Kandis?) from Seattle, who was doing the same route as us, but unsupported. She had been with a girlfriend, who had had to go home when a close friend died. Now she was travelling with an older couple from Montana, and making very good progress. We invited her for a sag with us to refresh her water-bottles, and in fact they caught up with us at the lunch stop.


Staying tonight + Tom & Dan with Robert & Monika Haley and their daughter Britta, who at 17 drives her own red Mustang. Ron and Monika are both ex-New York cops, with accents to match. Very hospitable and kind - and Monika is LOUD! She was a sergeant, so I guess she has plenty of practice.

A couple of minor accidents today, at the same place. Arek came off about 200 metres before the end when he got caught in train lines crossing the street at an angle. An hour later Bryan did the same, and Paul L, right behind him, had to abandon ship to avoid Bryan. Arek is the sorest - knee and wrist.Apologies, but better quit now. Coming towards 11, and am shattered. A huge hill tomorrow, after which nothing too scary.

A final "lesson for life" from the Ride: it doesn't matter how fast you're going if you're going in the wrong direction. Sooner or late you will realise it and will have to come back.Goodnight and God bless. John D

SUNDAY AND MONDAY 10 & 11 AUGUST

Dear folks: Just a v quick one tonight as I'm shattered! This was a hard day after a v pleasant weekend in Newcomb, New York.

We had a great weekend of rest with the Newcomb United Methodist folks. Pastor Carol Ames (front, with the dog) and her team did a magnificent job of hosting us, and we had the opportunity to take part in their two services. One intriguing character for me was the wonderful organist, Herbert Chatsky, who is Jewish, but who plays for the Meths every Sunday after attending synagogue on Saturdays. I asked if I could get a photo of his moustache after I had photographed the congregation, and he was quite pleased.

In the evening we were entertained to a great pot-luck supper in the Long Lake church, and I had a great conversation with a retired logging-truck driver called Bob, who had had a most interesting life.

Today was a tough one. First off, it rained almost the whole day, and secondly, there were a LOT of hills. We rode in the morning from Newcomb to Ticonderoga, crossed Lake Champlain by ferry into Vermont, then on to Rochester, Vermont, over the Brandon Gap - only about 2100', but long and in places incredibly steep. One bike computer put the slope in one place at 20%. In places the hill was so steep that some of us resorted to criss-crossing the road when no-one was coming, like we did when we were kids, and I’m not ashamed to say that there were two sections where I simply got off and walked for about 100 metres each time. I thought my responsibilities as a husband and a dad were more important than being able to say I rode every metre of part of the way across America, which sounds pretty lame anyway. My mileage for the day was 94.3, which compared to Saturday's 123 may not sound like much, but it was tougher terrain, and there was a lot of traffic in places. We had to change route to a more southerly one, as the heavy rains of the last few weeks have washed away a bridge and some roads.

I didn’t do anything for my testimony today, as at one point I almost lost it. I heard furious hooting and shouting as we were just leaving Brandon and looked round to see this car hassling Arek – driving right up close behind him, refusing to pass even though there was room, and the driver calling him all kinds of names. Then, I think because there were other drivers behind him getting really annoyed with him, he pulled past Arek and made to pass me. I rode into the middle of the road to get a good look at his number-plate, and as he drew alongside me he began to give me what-for as well. He was a large gentleman with a long ginger beard, and with a very embarrassed-looking guy in the passenger-seat who may have been his grandson. I’m afraid my response was to say: “What’s your problem, you old git?” which I’m absolutely sure was not WJWHD.
Our hosts for tonight (Paul Bayfield's and mine) told us it has rained here for 57 consecutive days. Sigi & Jolande Labejsza are Polish, but living and working here. Very nice folks. Thanks as always. It's Monday, but Friday's coming!

SATURDAY 9 AUGUST

If the days of this week have been characterised by something or other, one word would describe today - long. We rolled out of the motel at Redfield shortly after 7.00am at the tailend of a very heavy mist, and arrived in Newcomb high in the Adirondack Mountains, still in the state of New York, from just before 5.00pm onwards - 10 hours almost for some, up to 12 hours for others, and a couple had to be 'sagged' in from about 20 miles out.

It was also long because of the mileage - 123.4 to be exact, and the farthest I have ever ridden in one day. I haven't counted it up exactly, but Paul B was saying that we have ridden almost exactly 600 miles in 6 days. One of the other guys with a sophisticated bike computer said that today we climbed a total of 7200', with one hill at a 16% gradient. That means that for every six units of distance you go, you go up one, and it sure felt like it. That climbing total would equate to going up Sleve Croob from Newcastle, back down again and repeat four or five times. But I kept thinking about a verse (turns out it's in Psalm 147) which says: "His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love." The weather was mostly glorious, with a light wind which switched around but mostly didn't help us, and the scenery was magnificent. This is high lakes country, with the Moose River running through, dotted all along with little towns with landing stages and canoeing and kayaking businesses. Arek and I rode together again, and worked out a couple more metaphors for life that you can illustrate from a long-distance bike ride. One is the importance of not being a lone wolf. I t's discouraging on the ride to be on your own, and positively unhelpful if you are at the back. On the other hand, riding with a partner means you can encourage each other, help fix punctures (poor Fiona got three today), and work for each other by drafting.

The second metaphor is that having support makes things so much easier. Yesterday a couple rolled into a stop we were at, and we got talking. Their bikes were so loaded that I was joking with them about whether they were moving house by bike, but it turned out they were doing the same route we had taken, unsupported, and had started a month earlier. Their bikes weighed about 80lb each, because they were camping and living on the road, where ours were about 25. So a support vehicle which can carry a bit of the load for you is crucial. In the christian life that might include church, a bible-study group, special teaching and worship conferences - times when you're not "riding" just with one or two others but meeting to rest and refresh together on better food and drink than you can usually get on your own.

Tonight we are in Newcomb at a beautiful spot called Harris Lake, hosted by Pastor Carol Ames and the United Methodist Church. Emma and I are staying in a cabin at the water's edge with a family from Albany - David & Marilyn Curtis and their daughter Sharon. David is an engineer who built the cabin himself, and it's very well done. 25' x 25', one room, peaked roof, with a mezzanine ledge above part of the main room for extra sleeping. There's also a big shed, where David and Marilyn are sleeping so that I can have their bed - which feels bad, but they absolutely insisted. They have several canoes, so we have already been out for a quick paddle. They are lovely Christian folks, strongly evangelical, and Sharon has done some stuff with YFC in the past. Will write again soon when more time. V late now.

FRIDAY 8 AUGUST

Today was characterised above all by one thing - rain. The team has had a terrific run since we left Anacortes six weeks ago on 17 June. Apparently they have had a grand total of 20 minutes in all that time (when they sheltered), but this morning as we rolled out of Williamson, New York, all that changed. We hadn't gone a mile when it got dark, the heavens opened, and there was a cloudburst right overhead. We got under a tree and got rain gear on, but there was no let-up and we had 90 miles still to go, so we had to get back on the road and ride. Earlier, at the church, we had sung together, hosts and riders, "In Christ Alone" and they had prayed for us. A real nice bunch of people. I discovered also from Adrienne that Ronald-Anne is just her name for her friend who has cancer - her proper name is Ronni-Vaughan, with surname of Steves. Do pray for this kid as you remember.



The rain went on for most of the morning, and one or two riders who had got caught out without their rain gear almost suffered hypothermia. Arek resorted to a plastic bag with a hole for his head.The day was also characterised by me missing a turn at one point and taking Arek round the opposite two sides of a rectangle to the others. The upside was that in the town of Mexico, just south of Texas, and both in New York State, we had a terrific lunch in Daddy Ed's Diner - a great cup of clam chowder each followed by other good cooking. We met up with the group again an hour later, having covered about 3 extra miles.



The third thing characterising today would be punctures. I had two, both rear wheel (Paul L kindly pointed out that I was the second-heaviest rider in the group - true, but great for downhills - so it was to be expected), Stuart had one and Bryan had a major blow-out which completely shredded his tyre.



The fourth thing marking today, in contrast to recent days, was hills. Not hills like tomorrow's hills, but pretty stiff climbs all the same, and you could feel your legs draining of strength as you laboured up.To pass the time Arek and I tried to come up with all the analogies we could between the Christian life and a long-distance bike ride. There are plenty, and I'll just mention them roughly here in case some of you preachers want to develop them yourself:



1. Downhills are easy, but deceptive. There is only one good downhill each day, and that's the last one. Otherwise you are losing height you have laboured for and will have to labour for again. As in life, if you only ever have downhills, or only seek the path of least resistance, you'll inevitably end up in the deep stuff at the bottom.



2. The wind can be your friend - or your enemy. It's invisible, but it's real. When it's blowing from behind is not the time to rest, but to be on the road and going flat-out. When it's against you, don't expect to make the same progress, or you will be frustrated and disappointed. In life, there are seasons, and it's good to know what season we are in.



3. Hills test character. On a ride they are going to feature. Are you going to cheat and hold onto a passing truck for a tow, or will you show stickability and perseverance? Again, you won't expect to make as much speed uphill as down, so no need to get frustrated at lack of progress, and it's not the time to try and outride the youngest, fittest guy on the ride. After this hill there will be another, and another, and you need to pace yourself according to your strength, not someone else's. But when you finally do get up to the top, take time to enjoy the view and don't be in any hurry to get back down again. You will see more and farther than the people in the valley, and you'll be glad you endured the trial. You will have learnt something, tried something hard, achieved it. "How weak is your faith if you falter in the time of trouble!"



4. You can go downhill all day on the ride without taking on any food or water, but you can't do uphills. Same in life - no spiritual water or food and you won't have the strength to tackle the trials.



You can see that a lot of today was about just keeping going, although even at that, it was interesting - nearly everyone I talked to had enjoyed the rain, just because they hadn't had a chance to test themselves in that one way. Paul Bayfield (left, in his raingear) comes up with an interesting "factoid" every day. Today's was that by yesterday the riders had ridden the equivalent of all the way across the Sahara. The day before, the accumulated distance was halfway around the equator of the moon. Apologies that you aren't getting this at least until Saturday - we are in a one-store-and-motel town called Redfield in New York State, and we have no phone coverage. Not sure if it will be any better tomorrow - 120 miles and a lot of hills.God bless.

THURSDAY 7 AUGUST

Today was mostly beautiful! Emma and I had a great host, Gail Miller, a retired Special Ed teacher, who made us breakfast, laundered my riding clothes, which were pretty smelly, and fixed us great packed lunches. We left from the Lutheran church in Medina at 7.45 am after a great send-off from our hosts, and other friends we had made last night ( a bit of a miracle in itself - I can't speak for the others, but I don't give of my best in front of a crowd right after a 100+ ride, and dressed top to toe in black sweaty Lycra). One lady called Anita Monpetit (left) dragged her daughter Nicole out of bed in her jammies just to come and wave us off. Son Isaiah very wisely stayed under the covers at home. The other touching thing was that three of the young teenage boys from the church turned up with their mountain bikes and helmets and rode out with us to the edge of town. You might hear of one of them again: Mitchell Holbrook (centre) is only 14, but he is already an accomplished magician with a great turn of sleight-of-hand tricks - plus he has sawn his mother in half. Not many kids can say that. He wants to go on to college to do a Business degree, then become a professional magician. Remember: you heard his name here first!

Another thing that made the day good was the weather. It dragged its feet a bit early on, then was sunny in the afternoon, not too warm, a good tail-wind for about half of it. The scenery along the Erie Canal was beautiful, then we left Highway 31 and went onto a beautiful paved cycle track with no motorised traffic, running for about a dozen miles along the former towpath of the canal. Lots of people jogging, walking or riding the path, plus several cruisers going up or down (literally in one case at Lock 32, as we saw two boats being lowered for the next stretch downstream) and - really nice - two coxed rowing Eights being coached on the canal. The picture was spoilt only briefly by my riding companion today, Arek, (left, + Dan Chapin and his son Zack) getting a rear-wheel puncture. What was also good was that for a long stretch seven out of the twelve of us rode the path together. That many together doesn't happen much - for reasons of traffic, different abilities or different speed priorities - but when it happens it's nice. We met an interesting character on one of the bridges, a retired German worker from the local Kodak plant in Rochester. Even though his English wasn't perfect, he had really mastered the use of the 'F' word! He had a good pension from the company, which he augmented, as far as we could tell, by collecting bottles in the little trailer behind his back. He was unimpressed that we were going to Maine, and told us we needed to be heading in the other **** direction.

This kid is EJ. We met him at our lunch stop near the canal. He was sitting in a huge SUV playing music quite loudly whilst his Mum and brother were in a music-school for a practice, and the noise was kind of intrusive on the otherwise-quietness. His window was open, so I went over to talk to him, and he turned the music down to hear me. Afterwards he went into the music-school and came out with a $5 bill from his Mum for us. I think she could afford it - she kept the motor of the car running for the whole time she was in the school!

In the beautiful little town of Palmyra we turned north - at a crossing which I think had a church on each of the four corners. Now the hills began again, and I think these were the forerunners of many to come. I was trying to think of where in Northern Ireland the countryside most resembled, and I concluded (this will be no help to non-NI readers) that it was most like County Armagh - rolling hills, not too steep, not too high - and lo, we came around a corner and there was an apple farm. Then another, and another, and soon that was about all there was. In late afternoon we rolled into Williamson, our destination for tonight, past a sign which said: "Welcome to Williamson: the core of apple country" and "core" was a drawing of an eaten apple. The main one they grow around here is called Empire, and like Parma ham and Bruges lace, other places may grow the apples, but they can't use the name.

Emma, Zack and I are hosted tonight by a great cook called Judith Cooke (left) and her grand-daughter Adrienne (2nd right) a terrific personality of 14 who plays soccer, and whose record at keepy-up is 422. Try it! She gave me a tour of the neighbouring orchard, where the apple trees on individual support poles just go on and on for miles. She also took me next door to her best friend's house to introduce me. Linda, the mother, was waving something from above her head down towards the ground as we approached from behind. It looked like she was casting out spirits, but turned out to be her attempt to clean a paintbrush. Their elder daughter, Roland-Anne (truly) has a rare form of cancer, and several times a week they have to make the 7-hour trip to Baltimore for treatment. They were on their way back when we called. She can't walk at the moment, as the chemo and whole-body radiation have damaged a lot of her leg-nerves. Adrienne brought out Roland- Anne's younger sister Jilly, who has been donating stem-cells for her treatment, as they are a perfect match. She's a brave kid, who may have to go through the whole harvesting process again on Monday. She missed about half the school year last year as she had to stay in the hospital in Baltimore for weeks on end. I asked Linda about whether she had any faith to help her, and seems like that's what's getting them through. The whole community is also pitching in with money through garage sales, bake sales etc. Hard times, however. Linda "just cries a lot". They could do with our prayers. I will try and get their surname tomorrow. Back to "our" house for a major dinner, with barbecued steak and chicken, locally-grown corn on the cob, tomatoes, double-baked potatoes (very good), green beans from the same farm (Adrienne works there after school) and chocolate-covered sponge later. All great. I'd better stop now and hit the sack. Not so tired today, as slightly shorter(88.66 miles) but I think tomorrow is harder. It's 11.30pm and Roland-Anne and her Dad have just arrived home next door after their 7- hour drive from Baltimore. They will be exhausted, and still have to get her into bed. Definitely hard times.... Thanks again for prayers for safety, and for team unity - they are being answered. Would also appreciate your prayers this weekend for my assistant Ruth and her husband Stephen and family as they deal with some really difficult fostering stuff. CAMPFEST in Slovakia is also on, a big Arts, Music & Worship festival run by YFC, and with about 6,000 expected. Wes, Hamish and Marcus from Ballynahinch Bap are also there. With warmest good wishes.

WEDNESDAY 6 AUGUST

Good morning folks:
It's 6.50am and we're sitting in a diner near the town of Angola in New York. Another longish day again - about 36 miles to Niagara, across into Canada for about 25 miles, then another 35 or so to our evening stop in a town called Medina. We have a presentation to do tonight to a group of churches there.

A bit complicated today, as Arek from Lebanon can't cross. We had thought of smuggling him in the SAG wagon, but he thought it might prejudice his chances of returning if he was caught! The gear trailer can't cross either. Customs at both sides in both directions, so plenty of potential for delays. Thanks as always for your prayers. Will try and let you know how it goes. Apologies for no photos on the blog - no internet access since Sunday. Blessings.

Well, here's a quick update after the event. The day was excellent. Dan and Stuart got separated a bit and took a while crossing the Peace bridge from Buffalo into Canada, but we got everybody safely reunited and up to Niagara, which was as spectacular and breathtaking as always. It was very hot, and the cloud of spray coming up off the Canadian falls felt very welcome. Emma and I had the chance for a bite of lunch together - a Tim Horton's soup & sandwich, which was great. The we rode on for another twenty miles or so and across another bridge (the Lewiston?) into USA, then to the city of Lockport, where we met the Eric Canal for the first time, with this plaque commemorating the Irish who dug it, pretty much with picks and shovels, between 1817 and 1825.

Then on to the lovely wee city of Medina.

TUESDAY 5 AUGUST

Hi folks: Just a quick one to catch anyone still checking their email at this time of night.

Thanks again for your support and your prayers for us. Everyone is safely in, I think. Today was 94 miles, but still mostly along or near Lake Erie, so mostly just gently-rolling landscape, and a good tailwind. Three states today, starting off in Ohio, crossing what they call the chimney of Pennsylvania, and now in New York.

We were all surprised by the hundreds of acres of vineyards we passed through in Pennsylvania - anyone ever heard of Pennsylvania wine?? Emma and Arek bought bottles at a winery along the side of the highway, and Fiona and I decided to surprise Jonny early with his Marks & Spencer birthday cake sent all the way from NI by his folks - it's so hot we figured it wouldn't last until Friday.

Tonight we are at a beautiful Pioneer camp on the lakeshore. Just had a great shower, a great coffee, and now we are heading for dinner at a Christian restaurant.

MONDAY 4 AUGUST - SECOND POST

We left the Nehemiah Centre in Cleveland at 7.45am. About 7.00 o'clock Pastor Yuri from the church we attended yesterday turned up with his whole family to see us off. (The photo shows us having a barbecue in his back yard - his church wasn't even hosting us, but we went there in the morning, and they invited us). Sameh can't be more than about 9, Sophie is about 6 and Sak is about 3, and the amazing thing was - the kids wanted to give us money! All three of them had raided their little piggy-banks and were carrying envelopes. Is that not amazing? Little Sak wanted to hand his over only to big Zack, who had played with him the day before. Later in the morning a gentleman in a beautiful big Chrysler (left) stopped beside us at a rest stop and gave us $20, but I reckon I know which gifts pleased the Lord more...... Yuri prayed for us before departure, then he and Karen (who has, I think, a Master's from Wheaton College) sat on the grass with their kids and waved us all off. They came to this tough inner-city district of Cleveland 8 years ago to plant their church, and it's clear that God is blessing their faithfulness. They have white and black folks, able-bodied and handicapped, young and old, and a real sense of God. You may never hear from them on earth again, but I think they are pretty well-known already in Heaven.

As far as the riding was concerned, the terrain was about as good as it could be for my first day back, and I felt pretty good, although towards the end everything hurt - feet, butt, and hands. This was my first-ever century - 100+ miles in one day. When we got to the Federated Church in East Springfield my speedo was showing 96, so I rode around a bit until it was exactly on 100. It was hardly worth getting that close and not going all the way! Anyway, must go and shower. Stuart and I (Maisie and Sarah called in with his wife for a wee visit yesterday, as it happens) are with a lovely family, Guy & Tracy, Craig (18), Holly (16) and Corey (14)! And their Golden Lab Abby. We were originally given one room with a double bed and an air-mattress, then later - saw the mattress being carried through the hall to the living-room - Holly had decided to give me her room. What a sweet girl! She had just got (gotten??) home from a month-long missions trip to India yesterday, and I'm sure she really would have loved her own bed, but she gave it to me. Another "widow's mite" offering, I think. This is Corey with the hound - I don't think the dog was ready to give up that bed!

Looks like another almost-100 miler today. Will keep you posted, God willing.
In His grip.