Sea to Sea Finish Line in Sight

Aug. 26, 2006—The end of the Sea to Sea Bike Tour is in sight and on the minds of many cyclists as they began their final week of riding yesterday.

Monday’s leg was the 57th day of the tour and 49th riding day, beginning in St. Catharines, Ont., and finishing at an RV park in Byron, NY, just west of Rochester.

“Tonight, we started to look to the end,” writes Leanne Talen Geisterfer in her blog. “Those who will be returning to school at the end of the tour stood before us and prayers were offered for them. We’ll do the same for other groups over the next few evenings. Today we talked about it being ‘our last Monday’ and this type of activity really brings that idea of ending down to earth.”

While the Sea to Sea contingent currently riding in the tour’s eastern leg is about 225 people, close to 150 riders and support crew members have been on the road for eight weeks.

Barb Mellema is another full-distance rider who is contemplating the finish.

“As much as I’m going to miss all the people I’m riding with and everyone in camp, I’m setting my mind that even though the riding is coming to an end, our mission and fight against poverty continues,” she writes in her blog. “I’m more aware myself of the needs locally and globally and some of the things I can do. I’m more knowledgeable of the work CRWRC and our missionaries and disaster response teams do and our churches’ involvement.”

Mike Bruinooge, one of the riders who joined the tour in Grand Rapids ten days ago, says in his blog that he is “settling into a routine and at the same time starting to be aware of only five more biking days to go.”

The tour ends on Saturday in Jersey City, NJ, where cyclists will dip their tires in the Atlantic Ocean at Liberty State Park. A picnic dinner and celebration rally follow in the evening at Cedar Hill Christian Reformed Church in Wyckoff, NJ.

—Sea to Sea Communications

www.SeatoSea.org