Sea to Sea Riders Head for Oregon

Packing up and leaving their camp site near the banks of the Columbia River, Sea to Sea cyclists headed off Monday morning on the second week of their cross-country tour that today will take them into Oregon.

Many riders on the trek, sponsored by the Christian Reformed Church in North America in partnership with the Reformed Church in America, say they were deeply moved and blessed by being able to participate on Sunday in the first of nine celebration rallies that are to occur during the journey.

"The church service was held in the park. … Pastor Dan Wolters opened the service and then Queen blasted over the sound system as all the cyclists and support people walked across the stage to the tune of 'I want to ride my bicycle'," says cyclist Barbara Mellema, of Sioux Center, Iowa, in her blog.

"It almost felt wrong for us to be walking across the stage. It should have been the people in the audience who are supporting us with prayers, their attendance, and their dollars for the cause of poverty," she says.

The rally was put on by Family of Faith Christian Reformed Church in Kennewick, Wash., the town where riders spent the weekend sleeping, eating and preparing for the next leg of the tour. Nearby Sunnyside CRC also helped to hold the rally.

Family of Faith church printed all the riders’ photos and blurbs off the Sea to Sea website, put each one on a postcard with a magnet and distributed them to the congregation.

"They’ve been praying for us before we got here, came out to meet us at the celebration and will continue to pray for us during the ride. I know many others who are doing the same," says Mellema.

The setting in the park was beautiful and inspiring, says Cynthia Aukema of Chatham, Ont. "After opening with song, several people took part in a drama using bikes and a tire pump as their props. Each person shared in a humorous way why they went on the C2C trip after which Pastor Dan delivered an inspiring sermon."

The Sea to Sea Tour has taken to the road to raise $1.5 million to fund CRC and RCA and other faith-based organizations in the fight against global poverty. Before riding in the tour, cyclists had raised support to help make that goal. They have found that bystanders and others they meet along the way are very interested in the trip and some of them chipped in for the cause.

"Sometimes we stop and buy a drink. Yesterday I went in a small store and bought a bottle of Gatorade," writes Ad de Blaeij of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. "When I paid, the lady asked where I was biking to, and of course I said 'New Jersey'. She was shocked and called her husband.

“We use these opportunities to talk about the reason for the tour. People along the road ask questions about Sea-to-Sea, because they see the trucks and all these cyclists. The other day a lady in a store spontaneously gave a donation of $10, and so we are fundraising while biking."

"We know that God is with us and feel blessed," says Clair Elgersma, the tour spokesperson.  "Cyclists are really going out to their way to hand out our business cards that explain what we are doing and why. Lots of people are saying what amazing thing to do."

Lynn  Verros, of Knoxville, Iowa, says this week's ride will be challenging. "It looks like we have a fair amount of climbing and are working our way into higher elevations. We will also have more miles than we had this first week."

Riders are set to pedal 69 miles today and to spend the night in Pendleton, Ore.