Monday, October 10, 2011

After Trip Update

We made it! We arrived into the CareNet conference at the Gaylord Palms Resort, glad to be to our final destination and grateful for the many things we learned along the way. Some of us decided to fly home, others made sure the SAG vehicles returned safely to Holland with all of our bikes and luggage.

We extend a HUGE thank you to all of you for following us, praying us through and encouraging us in various forms before, during and even now after the trip.

We also want to throw out a special thanks to our sponsors, both individual and corporate. We appreciate your support more than we can express and are grateful that you see value, not in what we are doing on this ride necessarily, but in what the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center does each day. Your financial contribution will significantly help LPC restore men, women, children and families to God, His truth, and the blessings that come with that.

THANK YOU!

Grace + Peace,
Team Ride4Life

Thursday, September 29, 2011

LPC R4L 2011 - Day 7 Quick Update

Here is a picture of our riders as we got our day off to a start. It is late and we need to push through one more day tomorrow. The heat here is taking it out of us quicker than in days past when we were battling the cold and even rain. The thermometer on Bob's bike today hit 104 degrees!!! So for now, enjoy this pic and stay posted as we continue to post updates for you to catch up on over the next several days.


Grace + Peace,
Team Ride4Life

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

LPC R4L 2011 - Day 6 Recap

Today we cycled from Jacksonville, FL to Ormond Beach, FL.

What a great day!!!! Much of the day we were along the coast with the ocean on our left.
It was uplifting, exhilarating, and fun! Then it got to be about 95 degrees and then 97 and then 99 and for the last 18 miles after lunch we focused on getting to the hotel where we could jump in the pool!

Today we encountered a turtle crossing the road, “lovebugs” that ruined our lunchtime
beach break plans. We ended up getting lunch at a cafe because they made it impossible for
us to eat outside. We then were able to relax a while until we met up to go to “Crabby
Joeʼs" out on Sunglow pier for dinner. We then enjoyed devotions together focusing on
Psalm 95. Thank you Cheryl for leading us. We then debriefed and talked about our
next day.

It was a GOOD day. God has blessed us once again with health and safety. Tonight we
are thankful to be able to hear the ocean from our window. Shout out of thanks to John
Wierenga for setting up all these great hotels for us. We wish you were with us!!! Now
only 2 days until we ride into Orlando, our finish line. “Oh the places weʼve been and the
things weʼve seen.”

Itʼs 12:15 am and we have to ride tomorrow early although the boss is giving us an extra
hour of sleep. Tomorrow promises to be sunny and hot and we canʼt wait to see what
God has planned for us!

Love and Blessings,
Team Ride4Life

Monday, September 26, 2011

Thanks to our sponsors



A special thanks to our team jersey sponsors who enabled us to look like a team with our race cut Louis Garneau cycling jerseys. Thanks to Grand Rapids Bicycle Company for providing the customized jerseys to us at a very reduced price. Thanks to Wierenga Asset Management , Duca Tile & Stone, Controllership Services Incorporated, Holland Cycling & Fitness, and J&H Oil for sponsoring our team.

Special Thanks also to Velo-City, Zeeland Schwinn, and Holland Cycling & Fitness for the gifts in kind via discounted bicycles, gear, and servicing, making these items more affordable for each member of the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center's Ride4Life team. Thank you too for making yourselves available to our team in various forms as we prepared for this cross country trek.

LPC R4L - Day 5 Recap

Cycled from Perry, GA to Tifton, GA. SAGged to Jacksonville, FLORIDA!

Our day started with the usual early morning routine of breakfast, pack up, unload bikes, fill waters, and we left before the sun was up at 7:03 am.  Our best “on time” morning yet. We were trying to get ahead of the heat and wind.  On today's adventure we saw fields of cotton, pecan groves, peanut groves, crossed the Swanee River, our first dead armadillo, baby snakes, homes that were grand, homes that were very impoverished, and blue skies.  Lots to entertain us along the way.  On the first break we enjoyed some fresh harvested peanuts given us to by a local farmer. We may have also picked some cotton just to say we did. Don't worry, the farmer didn't care. Well, technically we didn't ask, forgiveness later rather than permission now I guess is the mentality we approached this small endeavor with. 
Lunchtime! We had biked 55 miles by 11:30, our best time yet.  Many times we were going 17-18 mph!!! We dined at Turner County Park where they gave us free ice, turned on the fans in the shelter, and the bathrooms were air conditioned! Our great SAG crew treated us to tacos (which they made) for lunch! Can’t tell you how good they tasted! If everyone saw how much we ate you would think its a good thing we are riding all these miles!!! When we were leaving Mary must of thought Carolyn was getting to warm and made sure she dumped the cooler of ice water out of the van and down her front, whoosh! Accidental but we had a good laugh!


We were off our bikes by mid afternoon with our 76 miles complete and alot of whoops and high fives.  We could all feel how well we rode today and we had a great feeling of accomplishment.  76 miles and lunch and still getting off the bikes for the day by 1:30PM with 175 miles left to SAG. Our wonderful crew treated us to popsicles and while we were enjoying them and loading up a man came and talked to us about biking and what we were doing and when we were leaving he gave us a dollar for the cause. For some this means nothing but for him it was generous and we appreciated it.  


On our way to Jacksonville we went through two heavy rainstorms and we were grateful  that our day had been so smooth. When we arrived at our hotel we were glad that we had finally arrived at our nights stay in the daylight.  We enjoyed pizza and devotions together and called it an "early" night excited to ride along the coast tomorrow!

Until next time,
Team Ride4Life

THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN

We again wanted to send out a big THANKS to all of our supporters in case you didn't catch it here the first time. We are so grateful for you. Some of you are friends or family of one of the Ride4Life team members. Some of you are longtime supporters of LPC. Some of you are local businesses who decided to make a monetary or gift in kind donation to the Ride4Life team. Who ever you are, know that we are constantly grateful for your support. You are the other side of the coin. Without you, we could not make this happen.

A special thanks to our team jersey sponsors who enabled us to look like a team with our race cut Louis Garneau cycling jerseys. Thanks to Grand Rapids Bicycle Company for providing the customized jerseys to us at a very reduced price. Thanks to Wierenga Asset Management , Duca Tile & Stone, Controllership Services Incorporated, Holland Cycling & Fitness, and J&H Oil for sponsoring our team.

Special Thanks also to Velo-City, Zeeland Schwinn, and Holland Cycling & Fitness for the gifts in kind via discounted bicycles, gear, and servicing, making these items more affordable for each member of the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center's Ride4Life team. Thank you too for making yourselves available to our team in various forms as we prepared for this cross country trek.

LPC R4L - Day 4 Recap

Cycle 75 miles from Murfreesboro, TN to  Pellham, TN.   Sag 275 miles to Perry Georgia. This was a long day. We had a shorter day of riding and a long end of the day to drive to keep us on schedule but still with many hills and a couple that were very challenging. No complaints though, we saw beautiful scenery, horse farms and fields of cotton.  The fellowship of riding through this gorgeous countryside on this Lords Day was awesome.  Along the way were joined by a friendly dog that stayed with us for a few miles. Don rode back to the house it came from to be greeted by a “BEWARE OF DOG” sign which he laughed about until a big dog came around the corner at full speed. Don quickly tamed him too and was then joined by our sag driver Betty who picked up the other dog from our riders and dropped him off at what we think was him home.  A happy ending for our little friend.
We had our first break at about 20 miles, but we were feeling great from that extra hour of sleep. We had some snacks and enjoyed “jawing” with a few of the locals.  People have been great along the way and are always so eager to hear what we are doing. The team jerseys with our name and our corporate sponsor's names help a ton. It makes our day rewarding as well when people ask what we're doing. Sometimes our breaks are longer than expected and we get behind but we have decided thats ok, we are just following Gods leading and enjoying every minute of it.  At the end of the day our last 3 miles were a nice downward grade but against the wind pedaling at about 13mph with lots of effort that was hard work. Those last 3 miles were for us to see the base of the mountain that basically went straight up and that was where our day ended (thank goodness). The local  at our break told us that it was unsafe and there wasn’t anyway all of our sag vehicles could wind up that narrow road either, especially the trailer. When we turned around to go back those 3 miles it was uphill but WITH the wind and we went twice as fast UPHILL averaging about 22 mph, CRAZY!  That tells you how much wind can make or break it on a bike.




We got off our bikes around 3:00 and started sagging ahead. We had a 250 mile drive and we decided to stop for a quick dinner along the way so when we got to our hotel we could hit the pillow.  What better way to fill up a bunch of hungry bikers than going to the Hibachi Grill Buffet (Derek was very pleased)! They probably did not make a profit off of us because we kind of skipped lunch to get on the road and we were hungry!  We have to give a shout out to Jay and Amber who noticed our jerseys and was familiar with Holland MI and wanted to know about our ministry and we were happy to share.
We arrived at our hotel around 9:30, gathered for devotions and debriefing and off to sleep getting ready for another big day tomorrow.  Its much warmer here with a high of 91 today and the same forecast for tomorrow.  We will want to do as much as possible early in the day to beat the heat and afternoon winds.
Thanks for your prayers and dedication to us and LPC,
In his name,
Team Ride4Life

Pictures to follow.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

LPC R4L 2011 - Day 3 Recap

Greetings Family and Friends,

God is good.

What a day! We started out meeting up for breakfast at 6 am (oh to sleep in on Saturday!). After that we met outside to gear up and quickly began adding layers to what we were already wearing as it was cold and rainy. Little did we know that this was the beginning of cyclically dressing and undressing all day long. Cold, hot, wet, damp, dry, hot again, then cold, more rain, then sunshine, drying out, more sunshine, blue skies, and very grateful riders. We have some laundry to catch up on and we hope our shoes are dry by morning after we had to pour the water out of them.



The first 30 miles out of Louisville were cold mixed with consistent rain. We were met at our first break with hot chocolate and coffee to try and warm up. Then the fun began; it stopped raining but we ran into our first mountain. It was a 3 mile climb that was endless (or it felt that way. It was obviously not endless as I just told you it was 3miles), just when you thought it was done it would curve around and there was more! Derek and Mary had some bike trouble on the way up but made it to the top after some repairs. No slackers in this group! After a quick break at the top the group continued on while Derek and Mary took a detour to a bike shop and meet up with us when they were done.



Upon arriving at the E'Town Schwinn bike shop in Elizabethtown, KY we (Derek & Mary) were treated so well and enjoyed spending some time with the Owner (Bob) who sported a very inspiring beard that everyone should aspire to and the in house Mechanic Extraodinaire (Mike) at E'Town Schwinn. They were very helpful, gracious, and generous. This little pit stop again reminded us that itʼs not about the destination, but the journey along the way. Thank you Bob and Mike for being a blessing in so many ways to us and the people of your community! Next time you find yourself in Elizabethtown, KY, stop in and say "Hey" to Bob and Mike, sign their wall of passerthroughers from all over the world, and be blessed by some classic southern hospitality.

After meeting up with the team again at lunch, we were able to ride together the rest of the day, ending with a 75 mile total on the bikes, although it might as well have been 150. The climbs were big but at the end of the day we had some awesome downhills too. On our last downhill coast the elevation dropped 650 feet very fast. The top speed clocked was 39.4 MPH! (we won't tell you who hit this speed. For the sake of your peace of mind, just assume that it wasn't your husband, wife, daughter, or son, mom or dad).

After we were done riding, we loaded up into our SAG Vehicles and trailer to have an "early" dinner and get to bed!



Tomorrow more hills to climb, places to see, and people to meet. It was a long challenging day but once again God was watching over us and all of you prayed us through. We are each being stretched, carried, and blessed in so many ways that we did and didn't expect. We miss you all. Thanks for your many prayers. We'll stay in touch.

Peace out,
Team Ride4Life

Friday, September 23, 2011

LPC R4L 2011 - Day 2 Recap

Our day started cool and drizzly out of Kokomo as we SAGged in the vans to Columbus, IN where we would begin cycling for the day. Our first stop was at a park where we met a guy named Kevin as some of us were coming out of the bathroom. Kevin shared his story with us and was very intrigued by our story. Kevin lives among the homeless of the small town we found ourselves in. As he shared about sharing the gospel with the many homeless in the area, he was glad to accept a small meal pack we were able to scrounge together for him from our snack and Gatorade supply.


Our next stop was a pregnancy center that happened to be right on our route. We visited for awhile, interacted with a client a bit who had TRIPLETS, and then got back to it. Once we were out of this town (the name of which I can't remember as we are falling asleep here) things started getting a bit hilly. We were grateful for the rolliness of these hills as they tended to be series upon series of short and quick ups and downs rather than long draining ones. None-the-less, they were steep and the team worked hard again today and we are all tired.


We were blessed at our lunch stop by our SAG crew with yet another great lunch as well as a mini sermon from our cohort Dr. "Pastor" Don. Tomorrow we look forward to hearing from Pastor Mary.


As always, we wish we had more time in a day (mostly for calling home and sleeping). Today we even had to call it quits before we really wanted to simply due to time. We will try to find time to do some "special reflections" posts, sharing some fun moments we've had along the way.

We will continue updating as we are able. Thanks again for your prayers and continued support, we feel it all. Keep it up as we do the same again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. And the next. And... I think you get the point (we'll be at this awhile).

Over and out.

LPC R4L 2011 - Day 1 Recap

Greetings LPC Friends!


Our devotions for our day yesterday were from “Jesus Calling” and went like this “Trust me and refuse to worry for I am your strength and your song. You are feeling wobbly this morning, looking at difficult times looming ahead, measuring them against your own strength...” I believe God wrote that with us in mind don’t you!

We started the day with a great breakfast at the Holland Center (thanks Gary and Diane)! Thanks also to the many family and friends that came to see us off. 
Yesterdays ride went really well. We had a crash less than a mile from leaving the center which is the only thing we found humorous about that incident. God was already hearing your prayers as this occurred with no serious injury when it had the potential to be so much worse.  Throughout the day we stayed together at a steady pace and experienced Gods hand leading us to speak with others as to what we were doing and we’re constantly rewarded with kind words and sometimes gifts!

At a BP called Bonnie’s Place people took pictures of us and asked to follow our blog and gave us a case of water for the road.
At our lunch stop while Carolyn and Lyla were setting up lunch the Schwann Guy pulled up and gave us ice cream for dessert!
A bag of Apples at a fruit stand.
All unexpected blessings that gave us the boost to keep going.  We talked last night about how not only to look at the destination but be aware of the people and places that God puts in our path and when he puts them there don’t run them over!

Last night we had a great dinner and time of fun and fellowship thanks to our favorite waitress Brooke at Texas Roadhouse.  Then early to bed because those 5:30 am alarms are going off before we know it.
We are writing this as we sag through Kokomo this morning until daylight and hopefully sunny skies greet us at our drop off point. Thanks so much for your prayers especially to hold off the rain because it didn’t start to rain until we were all loaded up and back in the vehicles. 
We will continue to update the blog as time allows.


Blessings, 

Team Ride4Life

Update From The Road

We are working with fairly unreliable WiFi. We will try to do a post this afternoon / evening. We're doing great. Getting ready to take off for the day.

- Ride4Life Team

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

LifeRide 2011 Recap

What a great day! We are so blessed to have such quick access to so many of the beautiful areas God created in the places we live. We are also so blessed by the many people who are on board with the ministry of the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center. Thank you to the LifeRide participants as well as those who donated snacks and supplies as well as set them up. We appreciate you.

We started off from the Holland LPC office at 6:15 with breakfast and began riding at 7:00. Thank you Gary and Diane Feenstra for preparing breakfast for everyone.

It was a cold day and we encountered some headwinds as we pedaled to the Allendale LPC. We still made great time and got to Allendale at the planned time. After warming up a bit and grabbing some snacks, we made our way to the Grand Haven LPC. Upon arriving at Grand Haven, we were all quite pleased with how quickly the day seemed to be going and how nice the route was. The next leg back to Holland was a local favorite for many of us who regularly ride along Lakeshore Drive. It was beautiful scenery mixed with a healthy number of moderate hills that teased us a little as we thought ahead to the hills and mountains we would encounter on the way to ORlando next week.

The day ended as planned and ahead of schedule at the Holland LPC office. Thanks to our SAG team who made sure we had everything we needed along the way and surprised us with lunch upon our arrival.

Keep following as we continue to post the happenings of the Ride4Life team.

Grace + Peace

Saturday, September 10, 2011

THANK YOU!

We wanted to send out a big THANKS to all of our supporters. Some of you are friends or family of one of the Ride4Life team members. Some of you are longtime supporters of LPC. Some of you are local businesses who decided to make a monetary or gift in kind donation to the Ride4Life team. Who ever you are, know that we are constantly grateful for your support. You are the other side of the coin. Without you, we could not make this happen.

A special thanks to our team jersey sponsors who enabled us to look like a team with our race cut Louis Garneau cycling jerseys. Thanks to Grand Rapids Bicycle Company for providing the customized jerseys to us at a very reduced price. Thanks to Wierenga Asset Management , Duca Tile & Stone, Controllership Services Incorporated, Holland Cycling & Fitness, and J&H Oil for sponsoring our team.

Special Thanks also to Velo-City, Zeeland Schwinn, and Holland Cycling & Fitness for the gifts in kind via discounted bicycles, gear, and servicing, making these items more affordable for each member of the Lakeshore Pregnancy Center's Ride4Life team. Thank you too for making yourselves available to our team in various forms as we prepared for this cross country trek.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

LifeRide 2011 Update

There are a few changes to what has been previously communicated about the 2011 LifeRide on Saturday, September 17.

This year's LifeRide will only consist of a single loop which will be a Metric Century (~63 miles). The Ride4Life team and anyone else interested in joining us will meet at the Holland LPC office (click HERE for directions). Breakfast will be served at 6:30AM and we will roll out at 7:00AM sharp, heading toward our Allendale and Grand Haven offices.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED for all non-R4L team members.

Online Registration is coming soon. Keep checking back here.

$50 Registration includes breakfast, SAG vehicle support, hydration and snacks throughout the ride, and a t-shirt. There will also be a limited availability of LPC Ride4Life Cycling Jerseys for purchase ($50 each, first come first serve).

If you have any questions, email derek.owens@lpcenters.com

Friday, July 22, 2011

After The Holland 100

We officially completed the Holland 100 (or 107 as it turned out to be). Great job team Ride4Life! It was nice to get the team together and ride. Here are some pictures from the day that will introduce most of our team members as well as a visitor or two.

Left to Right: Derek Owens, Jason Craner, Sherry Hoppen, Mary Wortley, John Wierenga, Bob Flanders, Mark Congrove, Cheryl Dryer, Betty Geurink, Carolyn Doyle, Barb Meekhof, Don Wickstra. Unable to be at the Holland 100: Bonnie Gruppen.













Thursday, June 30, 2011

Gearing Up for Holland 100 + LifeRide

The Holland Hundred is soon approaching. This is an annual ride put on by the Macatawa Cycling Club. The Ride4Life team will cycle the 100 mile loop on July 16th. This will be the first full team ride. Pray that each of us is adequately training for this distance, that we will mesh well on the roads as a team, and that our efforts are a light to the people we interact with along the way.

Our next official team ride will be at our LifeRide event on Saturday, September 17 which will include a 100 mile loop for the Ride4Life team and any interested cyclists who can go this distance with us. Life Ride will also offer plenty of shorter route options for everyone from families to avid cyclists. So grab your bikes, family and some friends and help the Ride4Life team raise awareness and funds for the Lakeshore Pregnancy Centers.

For more information about joining the Ride4Life team or participating in this year's LifeRide, email derek@lpcenters.com

Thursday, June 9, 2011

2011 Ride4Life + LifeRide Events

LifeRide : September 17  +  Ride4Life : September 22 - October 2
We are excited to embark on our third annual Ride4Life trip, cycling from Holland, MI to Orlando, FL where the national CareNet pregnancy center conference will be held. Our Ride4Life team currently includes 12 cyclists and SAG Vehicle drivers. If you are a cyclist interested in joining the Ride4Life team, please email derek@lpcenters.com.

The goal of the Ride4Life trip is to raise awareness of the sanctity of human life and funds to support the mission of LPC. Each rider is training hard physically and spiritually as they will be pushed to their limits throughout this 1,200 mile trek. The Ride4Life team will need your prayers and financial support as each rider prepares, trains and seeks to raise a minimum of $5,000.

This year, we are also inviting you and your family and friends to help the Ride4Life team raise awareness and financial support for LPC by participating in our LifeRide. Join us at the Holland LPC on September 17, the Saturday before the Ride4Life team begins their trek to Florida. The LifeRide will offer several bike routes of varying distances for everyone from families with children to cyclists interested in joining the Ride4Life team for a century ride.

Registration is required for both events. If you would like more information about registering for or donating to the Life Ride or the Ride4Life team, email derek@lpcenters.com