Tuesday 26 February 2013

The Route

The tour starts on Monday, June 24 in Los Angeles, California and finishes on Saturday, Aug 24 in New York City.  Some of the cities we'll be passing through include Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Iowa City, Grand Rapids, Ancaster, Toronto, and Montreal.  I've charted the basic route in Google Maps with markers showing where we'll be stopping each Sunday.  You can find more information about the route here.


Wednesday 20 February 2013

Why I'm Riding, Part 2

Looking back on my life, I have to admit that I haven't done a lot of traveling.  This fact has been made clearer to me the last couple of years by the various dates I've been on.  Inevitably, the question of travel is raised and after I admit to my limited experiences, the young woman across from me will go on for a while describing all the places she's been to.  I use the excuse that I'm single and not interested in traveling by myself, but that doesn't really fly since my date is obviously single too and that hasn't stopped her.

This bike tour gives me a chance to change that.  I've always wanted to drive across the continent, but biking across it is even better.  You can miss a lot when driving through a region, but biking allows you to move more slowly, seeing and experiencing everything more fully.  I've been in the Rockies before, but I'm sure biking through them will give me a much greater appreciation for their size and beauty.

In addition to exploring the geography of this continent, I'm looking forward to all the people I'll meet.  In my normal routine, I don't interact with new people very often, but I'll be meeting people from all across Canada and the US on this tour.  We'll be cycling together, eating together, playing together, and working together all summer as we make our way across the continent.

All in all, I'm sure this tour will be a grand adventure!

Thursday 14 February 2013

I'm Back

I'm back now from the Dominican.  What a great trip!  It was certainly eye-opening to see first hand the poverty and racism that many Haitians experience there, and it felt good to work together with them to help improve their lives.  I also really enjoyed working with the rest of my team, getting to know them, talking with them, playing cards together, and sharing this whole experience.  I can certainly see myself doing this again.

Saturday 2 February 2013

Intermission

Tomorrow I'm heading down to the Dominican Republic for ten days with a team from my church.  We'll be finishing off the second floor of a church there, as well as doing some work on a ministry center in Santo Domingo.  I've never done anything like this before, but I've heard good things from people who have, so I'm really excited about it!  Obviously, I won't be doing any further preparation for the bike tour or making any posts while I'm down there.