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.

FIRST DAY BACK, AND A RELATIONSHIP TO PONDER

No overly-big thoughts this a.m. - just a desire to get going - but I thought you might enjoy unravelling a wee poser which I heard about this weekend....

We met a lady who was telling us about a friend of hers who had just got divorced, and had married her former father-in-law. At a stroke she thus became step-grandma to her own kids, and step-mother-in-law to her own ex-husband! I couldn't get my head around what else she now was to whom....

Good day yesterday in Cleveland. At an Alliance church in the morning, after which the pastor (Yuri from Jordan, here with Arek from Lebanon) invited us home for a barbecue. Spent some time on the beach (of Lake Erie. Hard to even tan lines when you are wearing cycling gear all the time!) then in the evening were guests of some folks at a "gated" picnic area beside this amazing boat club. May post some pictures, but beautiful boats and great and kind people. Thanks as always for any prayers. Will try and write again tonight.

REJOINING THE TEAM

Great to be back with the folks on the Ride today. I met them this afternoon at the United Methodist Church mission in Cleveland where we are staying tonight and tomorrow. The group started coming in around 5.00pm after a very hard ride of around 101 miles which had included a confusing detour and some very rough roads.

Noticed a few changes since I was last with them four weeks and 2650 miles ago. Arek, Bryan and Zack have definitely lost weight, Zack has gained a beard, and most people look like they have leprosy on their hands from their fingerless gloves - a deep tan above the wrist and below the last finger joint, pure white in between.

Also notice a few signs of fatigue setting in. People are talking about their legs starting to feel really tired, and Dan is quite sick tonight - maybe dehydration, with evacuation at both ends at the moment, and perhaps a trip to the ER later if things don't improve.

Not a good time to be sick, as we are heading into two tough weeks - just over 1000 miles at an average of 93 a day, with five "centuries".

For future reference, these are the riders:

Arek Karagoezian from Lebanon
Bryan Blomker from Minnesota
Dan Chapin from Michigan
Fiona Young from England (married to Jonny)
John Duncan from Northern Ireland
Jonny Young from Northern Ireland
Mike Scott from Germany
Paul Bayfield from England
Paul Luedtke from Switzerland
Stuart Rowell from Northern Ireland
Tom Phillips from California
Zack Chapin from Michigan

A new couple has joined us to tow the gear trailer and do our advance-party work. Lloyd & Marie Bakke are from Minnesota and go to Bryan's church, and they have already been a great hit with the riders. Emma continues to drive the SAG wagon, and is rejoined by Becky Luedtke. That's the whole circus.