Thanks for all the birthday greetings-I was trying to slide under the radar on this one–it didn’t work. Karen-happy birthday to you today!

This morning I didn’t awake until 5:55—that would be extremely late if I had a tent to pack. Although, if I had a tent to pack I wouldn’t have slept that late b/c the tent zippers of other would have gone off. I was tucked in a bed at Irene & John VDSteen’s home. I’m not a high maintenance woman on a bike ride so I was up and at it in a bit-I’m not a high maintenance woman off a bike ride either though.

As we were riding into Ingersoll we were concerned on how big our line of bicycles was getting. I was #5 & Cynthia was #6 with 4 or 5 more behind—not smart when the goal was to keep everyone off her rear wheel. We had a great stop at Ingersoll CRC under the care of Coby—Heather Fieten’s mother—good hospitality runs in the family. Ingersoll CRC helped sponsor Andy DV, Pete VN & Mike VH, guys from our group, and we can’t do this without your support.

We split up the group for the day—I rode with Cynthia, Mike, John & Louis. The guys took the lead & Cynthia was at the end. Riders were quick to give us space when we explained what we were doing. It worked slick—if she falls behind a bit I help pull her up to the end of the line. If we get too far back I give a yell. She’s biking strong but stops & starts are done gingerly—and she’s ready to get in at the end of the day. We told all the SAG drivers that if we pass by without stopping it’s not because we’re anti-social—I don’t think that title would fit anyway.

I just had a guy from Redeemer take my photo while I’m blogging—I fessed up that I was from Dordt—I don’t think I’ll make their publication. I wore my Dordt College jersey to this campus but didn’t want to push it while on campus. They’re doning a great job for us and we appreciate it.

I’ve been enjoying this whole ride and I love to see new things/places. The rolling of the hills today was great—reminds me of home & I hate to lose those climbing muscles on too many flats—we’ll need those muscles next week. I went past crops of cauliflower, tobacco, and ginger besides the corn & beans I could recognize. The smells of the day can linger when the humidity rises like it did today, but most of them were good smells. Early morning we ride down streets & smell clean laundry—when we’ve been living out of a gear truck & canvas bags you notice the subtle smells of clean clothes & perfume on ladies in coffee shops. Fresh cut grass and hay remind me that I didn’t sit the mower once this year…I think there will still be time when I get home…shoot.

Lunch was at Woodstock—in a field that reminded me of RAGBRAI—with sandwiches and mocha cake. There is no chance of losing any more weight even if I wanted to—I’m sticking to the fruit or I’ll end but in a diabetic sugar coma—and I don’t have diabetes…yet! Then it was off to Brantford where I was greeted by the Vanderwoerd family. Valerie, Jim, Colin, Trevor, Graham and Hannah were cheering us all on. They were members of Covenant CRC with me in Sioux Center and now live closer to family—Trevor is taller than me now & on his way to take a drivers test—I’m sure he did well.

Now we’re at Redeemer’s nice campus. Fellowship CRC welcomed us and Leah gave me a pedicure—I think I may have needed it after all these weeks of biking. I’m going to be billeted this evening, along with Claire E. & Hank Z. by Ena and DickMostert—she’s very busy welcoming the riders and doing a great job of it.

Doug Lukte got taken down by a dog today. Rick Gritters & Joy, Doug’s wife, made it past the German Shepherd & Black lab—Doug thought he was safe too until one of the dogs took right for his front tire—down on his shoulder. He’s sporting some rash on his elbow as well as a sore right shoulder.

Pete Van Noord had a spill too today. Pete was with the other group of guys that broke off of our group and with 10K he rubbed tires with Jerry K. He’s sporting a bit of the road rash too—he then headed for the bike shop to replace/fix his aero bars.

Please continue to pray for safety–that’s the only way we get through a day–the prayers of the people & grace. We’ve been so blessed and enriched with this opportunity and meeting such wonderful people along the way that even though I know I’mrepeating certain sentiments–I still mean them.

I talked with Henry Kranenburg-a Dordt Board Member -he was also at my interview-told me I still have a job to go back to…Yeah!