Thursday, July 12, 2012

Day 14

Arrival day!! We got up early in anticipation of seeing the finish line, seeing our family, and getting to relax for a few days! And if we arrived by 1:00 we would be in time for lunch, so that was the goal for today. We were planning on a 65 mile day, and when we started out just after 7:30, Nevin said, "We're going to be there by 1:00." I certainly wanted to be there by then, but didn't want to get my hopes too high for that. "Well, we'll try anyway." Nevin: "No, we're not going to try. We're going to be there by 1:00." Okay then. We'll be there by 1:00. And off we went. Uphill and down. 


The trip was pretty uneventful. There wasn't a lot of traffic. We stopped for short breaks when necessary, and otherwise kept going as hard as we could. Well... as hard as I could. Poor Nevin had to wait on me quite often in these two weeks. He probably could have arrived 3 days earlier if I wasn't weighing him down. :-) 


Finally, at the top of yet another hill with what I thought was another 10 miles to go, I told Nevin, "I cannot. take. any. more. hills. It's too far!" And then- music to my ears- he told me it was only a few more miles! He had seen a few signs that told him it wouldn't be as far as we had originally thought. Okay. I can do this. I can make it. The family had all gone to church in the morning, and about a half mile before we reached Galen's house everyone but Galen and Edith passed us on their way home! Just in time to greet us when we arrived. 


And then, two weeks after we began, our goal appeared in front of us. It seemed almost surreal that we had actually just biked 1,000 miles and completed the journey we had been planning for months. It was the end. Such a strange feeling. 


The family was on hand with camera, applause, and hugs. And it was just before 1:00! Nevin was right. We did make it. And it ended up only being 60.81 miles, according to our bike computers. Once the hellos and "We made it" celebrations were over, I collapsed on the grass while Nevin gave the kids trailer rides up and down the street. Typical end of ride activities.


After Galen and Edith arrived and we had celebrated with them, it was time for showers and a delicious lunch. And then... nap time! 


Galen's had planned a reception/celebration in the evening with our family, Morley & Reta Beardy, their coworker Cathy, and David & Frieda Herschberger. This was the perfect ending to our journey. Galen spoke first about the trip, and our fundraising efforts, and then Morley and Reta spoke about their ministry. They told their story of losing their daughter, and spoke about Ashawaabic Ministries and what they do through that. Hearing their story firsthand and hearing about their work made everything so much more real. Not that it wasn't real before, but before the trip and when we were biking, it was all just names we heard. Now, we had people to match the names to. Stories. Real life. New friends. There were not many dry eyes in the room during the part where Galen, Morley, & Reta were speaking! Morley and Reta, may God bless you, oh so much, with strength and grace as you reach out and help those whose pain you know all too well. It was an honor to meet you, and to be able to raise money- with the support of so many- to help your ministry.

Galen and Sharon (I think? Or was it Edith? Not sure who all was involved in this part.) had made a certificate to present to Morley & Reta with the donation amount on it, and he presented them with this and the envelope of cash. And then Morley & Reta had gifts for us, too! That was a fun surprise. I can't wait until the weather cools enough to wear my new jacket. Thank you again, so much! And thanks, Galen, for the drinks! :-)













Cheese on! :-)




Am I missing something? It's hard to know where to end this, and a little sad to see the whole thing come to an end. I still have a few blog posts to do, but with this post, I guess the trip is officially over. Thanks for following along as we journeyed!

6 comments:

  1. love love the journal! I'm proud of you, girl!
    muah...

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  2. I am in AWE!! That was wonderful!!! I too am so proud of you!!!!

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  3. Wow! I'm proud of you both! That's a lot of miles...and a lot of money. Bless you! -Vicki

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  4. Good Day! Time for another post. Ok, bye.

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  5. I still think you guys are just Awesome!! :)

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