Sea to Sea Riders Crossing Iowa

A year from now, the Sea to Sea 2017 bike ride will kick off in Vancouver, B.C., and travel for 10 weeks across Canada and part of the United States to raise funds to fight poverty close to home and around the world.

As a way to gather interest in next summer’s cross-continental ride, 42 Sea to Sea riders are pedaling their way this week from one end of Iowa to the other, from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River, as part of an annual ride sponsored by the Des Moines Register newspaper.

“We only have a few riders in a population of 20,000 riders taking part in this trip,” said Terry Barnes, tour director of Sea to Sea 2017.

“But whenever we can, we are talking about Sea to Sea 2017 and how it is designed for people who want to make an impact on poverty.”

As they go, they are also sharing the Christian message of redemption with others. “We’re doing it with bikes on the road,” said Barnes. “We’re not just talking about it. We’re moving our feet.”

Barnes said they are seeking to draw attention to Sea to Sea 2017 by driving a box truck, emblazoned with the Sea to Sea logo, along the hilly nearly 475-mile route. Also depicted on the sides of the vehicle are the logos of World Renew and Partners Worldwide, the ministries that are helping to put on next year’s ride.

Featured as well are the words: “There are many solutions to poverty … Be one.”

This week’s ride from one side of Iowa to the other, now in its 43rd year, is titled RAGBRAI—the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. The Sea to Sea trip is billing itself as RAGBRAI Sea to Sea.

Each year the RAGBRAI touring event varies its route to give different communities the financial benefit of riders stopping along the way.

Churches, schools, fire departments, schools, clubs, and others all participate by selling drinks, ice cream, and meals to raise funds.

“RAGBRAI is an opportunity for Sea to Sea friends to come together for an event in 2016 and to have a taste of the transcontinental experience in a week,” said Thomas McWhertor, World Renew’s director of constituency relations.

Next year’s ride, he said, will be the continuation of a long-term partnership between World Renew and Partners Worldwide that allows its supporters to use cycling to raise the visibility of the issue of poverty.

People riding in Sea to Sea 2017 will have the chance to stop at CRC congregations along the way and to see firsthand poverty programs taking place in those communities.

In the end, said McWhertor, there are many reasons why people ride in the Sea to Sea events.

“Some do it for the fellowship, and some to be able to do something on their bucket list. But all are seriously interested in doing something that will address the issue of poverty and help others to realize that they too can do something.”

Sea to Sea dates back to larger denominational efforts in 2005 and 2008. In 2013, Partners Worldwide and World Renew with another partner revived Sea to Sea for a ride—and have since partnered for events in 2014 and 2015 and for this summer’s ride across Iowa.

Everyone is invited to donate to the cause or to consider taking part in Sea to Sea 2017, whether for the whole 10-week ride from Vancouver to Halifax, N.S., or for any of the one- and two-week segments that are set up across Canada—along with a short segment in the northern midwest of the U.S., said McWhertor.