Day 7

Exodus 33:12-17
Moses and God are talking. Moses says, "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways...The Lord replied, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here..."

This was our promise today. His presence would go with us and he would give us rest. Our commitment to him was that we would not go anywhere today without it! 

So off we went in His presence. Leaving Glen Arbor with Ludington as our destination. He did indeed, go with us and at the end of this day, we are resting in Him just as we have done throughout the day.

We left on the Heritage trail through Sleeping Bear National Dunes. Wow! Beautiful and tragic at the same time. Dunes, lakeshore, and forest. 
The forest, however was still so devastated with trees down everywhere from the big tornado that went through back in August. It was a great way to begin the morning as the sun broke through the trees along Glen Lake and the Lake Michigan. 

After a breakfast stop in Empire we began our steady climb up into Arcadia. It was a route filled with steep climb and steep climb. Our reward for the climbs were the great downhills; but those climbs never seemed to end. 


One of the highlights of the day, after pedaling up a 2 mile hill, was the scenic outlook at the top overlooking Arcadia and Lake Michigan. It was absolutely wonderful to see this little refuge. We stopped for a break and once again, met a few people their who were both curious and supportive of what we were doing.

What goes up must come down. As we left the scenic lookout we experienced the longest downhill of the day (one mile). 
Many of us reached speeds of 30-40 mph. Amazing! 

It was not only a day of hills but also one of unseasonably warm temperature. The sun was a blessing (no rain other than on day one) but it did add a little heat to the challenge. No real complaints though, it was a beautiful day overall. 

Quote of the day: "The last hill is not the last hill."

After lunch in Orchard Beach State Park we continued into Manistee for a quick stop at Dairy Queen. We have been talking about ice cream all week and it seemed to be an ideal day to finally indulge. 

On we rode into Ludington, got into the hotel and jumped into the pool. We enjoyed our final meal together in the community room . 

A big thank you goes out to The Bekins for providing us with cheesy potatoes, slaw, pies, and rolls. They were delicious! Mike grilled steaks and chicken and we sat down to our feast. 

Tonight was a night to reflect back on the week, highlights, special moments, conversations shared, lessons learned and new friends made. 

It has been a great week. One more day and approximately 80 more miles. Thank you all - cyclists, SAG, family, friends and supporters! You have made a difference in so many lives in this one short week. Thank you all. 

See you around 4:00 pm Saturday, Sept. 26th at Maranatha Bible and Conference Center for the picnic. 

We are anxious to get home! 

Day 6

We felt every prayer today! They were needed as we covered many miles and some rough narrow roads. 

It has become a tradition to begin the morning with devotions, prayer and a cheer! 

We left Bellaire climbing a long grade but the plus side of that is the fun downhill that followed. 

Around Torch Lake was peaceful and calm, through Alden along the lake in the sunshine. 



We dropped down into Traverse City and grabbed the bike path all the way up into Suttons Bay. Lunch was in a peaceful setting on the bay after riding about 55 miles.

This is why you pray! 

The last 25 miles were trying and a bit stressful with narrow lanes, crumbing roads and lots of traffic. We ended on a trail into beautiful Glen Arbor. 
We headed across the street to Boone Docks for dinner and met a great couple celebrating a birthday. Happy birthday again and thank you for supporting life! Enjoy your weekend.

After dinner we headed to a beach bards bonfire just a few miles down the road, led by Norm (cousin of Don Wickstra). So much fun. Singing songs, reciting poetry, guitars, trumpets, and other musical instruments. It was a peaceful way to end a long day. Thank you Norm and friends!

We also want to thank Mike for doing such a great job getting BLAKE to our destination each night and for the special trips after dinner! 

We are celebrating the new total of over $70,000 raised by the entire team (team Alma and team LPC). We have become one united team and thank each of you for joining in! It's not too late to add to that amount and become part of the team. 

Please continue your prayers as we enter into day 7. It is another 100 mile day, on a Friday through some busy weekender towns. 






This verse sums up the day!

Day 5

Another amazing day. Mackinaw to Bellaire:
just over 100 miles. 
We began with another pretty sunrise and devotions from Isaiah 55:9, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

The challenge was: How big do you believe God is? The bigger God is to us the bigger He will be in us. So let Him be large in your life today! Watch for Him in creation, in each other, in those we meet along the way and in those who are spurring you on. 

When we look for Him, He is faithful to be found by us! We found Him today in so many ways and places. 
* In the scenery along the Lake Michigan shoreline

* In the woman from Wisconsin who stopped to ask what we were doing and gave $10 to The Ride. She worked at a pregnancy center near Apppleton, WI and was thrilled to cheer us on. 
Thank you! 

* In the prayers that felt so tangible from each of you (or supporters, readers, friends and family). We needed them and love feeling them surrounding us. 

* In the woman from Good Samaritan in Ellsworth who let us set up in the parking lot, use the bathrooms and bless us with her sweet spirit. 

* We saw Him through the Tunnel of Trees - spectacular!

* We saw Him in the Widerness State Park - picturesque!

* We saw Him in the hills, the sky and the weather. The weather is the weather! (ask Don about this quote). The weather has been glorious!

* We saw Him protecting us through every mile on the bikes and in the RV and car. Even after the GPS took BLAKE down a dirt road (Blake is good at backing out of tough spots!) P.S. - so is Mike! 

* We saw Him in each other; encouraging one another when the hills seemed insurmountable, when we got weary, and when this 100-mile-day seemed daunting.

He is definitely a BIG GOD. And as the writer tonight, He was BIG in everyone's life today. I witnessed Him first hand in each team member all day long! 



Each day Mary Ann and the RV SAG team write a verse on our daily Break Board (a scripture or inspirational thought written on a white board at every break). Today one of the verses on the Break Board was from Isaiah 40. It was shared again by Bob at the end of the day, it sums up our day so beautifully. 

We feel it necessary to share it with you tonight: 
Isaiah 40:28-31
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? 
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; BUT those who hope in the Lord WILL renew their strength. They WILL soar on wings like eagles; they WILL run and not grow weary, they WILL walk and not faint."

We DO know and we HAVE heard! He IS everlasting, our Creator who never tires. We experienced that from Him today.  He GAVE strength and power today through difficult hills and many miles. As we placed our hope in the Lord our strength WAS and is being renewed, we have and will continue to soar like eagles. We will not faint. 

To close tonight we close thanking each of you! 
I Thessalonians 1: 2-3
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ!

Thank you all for loving God and each of us, thank you for being part of this team through prayer, support, and encouragement! 

 

Day 4

After watching a gorgeous sunrise we rolled out of Rogers City around 8:00 am on the bike path along the Lake Huron shoreline. 
Beautiful! At the end of the trail we stopped for a photo opp at the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse. 

While there, we struck up a conversation with a nice elderly gentleman who was busy restoring a boat on display on the grounds. As we talked about the history of the lighthouse he offered to give us a "quick tour". 

Our tour guide of the lighthouse

We accepted (it was not tour hours) because he was so sweet and we were a honored to be offered a private tour. 
Once we got to the entrance, he muttered to himself that he may have forgotten the passcode for the alarm system. Sure enough...he forgot it and set off the alarm! 
A bit panicky, he went to his truck to get his phone, called a friend - she didn't know it either but gave him the number of someone who would. Another elderly man arrives on the scene but he doesn't know the code either. 

Making the best of waiting for the
lighthouse alarm! 

We are now wondering what we have gotten ourselves into. This "quick little tour" has now taken almost a half an hour and we still haven't been inside! We did not have the heart to abandon him so we waited patiently while the alarm was still buzzing away. 
He finally reached someone "in the know" and disarmed the alarm. Soon there after another man arrived after being dispatched by the police. Oh man, now we are in trouble! No...he left realizing it was a false alarm and the people dressed in weird bicycle clothes and funny shoes were not going to be a threat! We took a quick tour and went on our way. 

The old boat he was restoring.

All the while, our poor RV SAG crew is rushing to get breakfast prepared, thinking we could show up at any moment, not knowing that we were waylaid by a good hour due to our lighthouse alarm ordeal. 

So, from the bottom of our hearts, dear RV SAG team, we apologize and commit to never setting off another alarm and call ahead if we do.

Breakfast stop with our gracious cooks.

We want to stop a minute here to recognize this wonderful threesome on the RV. They have worked tirelessly to keep us fed, fueled and watered. They do it with love and we are so appreciative of all of their effort!

After a great breakfast along the lake we headed up US 23 toward Mackinaw City. 

Nice scenery and another beautiful day. We arrived in Mackinaw around 2:30 pm after traveling about 60 miles. It seemed good to get into our destination early. We decided to jump on the ferry and head to the island 
for a couple of hours to walk, shop and buy some fudge.

Back to the mainland by 7:00 pm and out for dinner with the gang. We laughed, ate, talked and headed back to the hotel to do a couple loads of laundry, blog and sleep. 

Desperate for a load of laundry!

We have a long day with lots of elevation tomorrow. One hundred miles into Bellaire via Cross Village, Harbor Springs, Charlevoix, Ellsworth, Central Lake and finally Bellaire. 

 Pray for weary bodies as we pedal rolling terrain and lots of miles. We remain grateful for all the support and prayers!