#4 Biking
This was one of the more adventurous things I’ve gotten to do in my life. The trip took seven days and I traveled a total of 785 miles. It all started in Holland and the first day was 164 mile route, with a detour through Gary, IN when I needed to get to a bike shop after popping three tubes and slashing a tire on the first day. In Chicago I got to stay with my friend Greg. That day I drank 8 32 oz Gatorades, 64 oz of water, had 3 snickers bars, a cliff bar, 3 packs of Gu, and once in Chicago ate 2 burritos from Chipotle and still lost weight. From there I stayed with a families I had never met in Janesville, Richland Center, and Fountain City. I stayed with the Marshall’s in Richland Center and they treated me with the hospitality of a long lost brother. The mom made me eat my weight in food within the first hour and then we had dinner and after that the two Marshall daughters, Mckenzie and Alyssa, took me out for ice cream and a tour of the town.
The next day I got into Minneapolis late after a 130 mile day of bike problems, no cell phone service, hitchhiking and gut wrenching hills. It was nice to be done, as I rode past Target Field Justin Morneau hit a home run. I pretended it was all for me as the crowd went wild and fireworks shot up into the air from the scoreboard right above me. That night I stayed with my friends family and had some much needed food and fun. The next day was a little crazy. I thought it was going to be a normal short day. Only 99 miles to Little Falls, MN but when I got there the person I was supposed to stay with (he was an elderly man) never picked up his phone. So I ate at a bar and met a husband and wife who, without telling me, ended up paying for my meal on their way out. After the meal I went and saw a movie and since I still hadn’t heard back from the man started biking into the night. Around 30 miles later it was pitch black with enough light from my bike lamp to see the painted lines on the road. I was in the backroads in the backwoods of Minnesota when, about 50 yards off the road, I saw a light in the woods seeming bright than most. Turns out it was Sweet Water Lake Resort. I knocked on the lodge doors which were locked by the time I got there and was greeted by a nice old lady who gave me a 2 bedroom cabin on the lake for a mere $50 and then had the best sleep of my life. The next day I woke up and had a flat tire so I put a new one on. My pump broke when I was about half way done inflating the tire. I biked 20 miles to a gas station to fill up on air when I realized my back tire had 3 broken spokes. I didn’t care too much other than it made for a bumpier ride. 60 or so miles later I finished my journey at Castaway Club Young Life Camp in Detroit Lakes Minnesota. There was no one there to greet me, after all of the preparing I forgot to call ahead and let them know I’d be coming on bike. My Young Life guys were still an hour and a half away when I got to the camp so I went for a swim in the lake and laid in the grass before they got there.
The whole idea started when I heard some kids needed help with funding to go to Young Life camp. Total they needed $8,000. Through the help and generosity of others we raised $3,000 for those kids and they were able to go to camp, we also raised another $1,000 to help kids in Holland Michigan go to camp. It meant the world to me to be a part of something good happening. Since the whole thing ended I’ve just had the lingering thought of what if’s about getting in better shape, going longer distances, more days and the possibility of doing more to make sure kids are provided for. We’ll see what 2013 and beyond have in store.
I AM PART 