If you're new to this blog, here's a rundown. You probably want to start at the beginning. But that involves a lot of scrolling and clicking through pages to get there.
So here are some helpful shortcuts. To start at the very beginning of our biking experience, when we started our training and collecting sponsorships, you can click here and work backwards through the posts (scroll down for the first post). To start on Day 1 of our actual biking journey, which is mostly chronicled through pictures, you can click here and scroll to the bottom to start. You then have to work backwards by scrolling upward through each day (look for the heading titles). As a brief introduction, we biked from our home in Blaine, Minnesota to Grampa and Gramma's house in Annville, Pennsylvania.
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By Nathan, the Older
As of today, I ventured out biking again. (Isaiah has been on his bike with some frequency since our last day. I think he was even riding the day AFTER we finished. I'll have to chalk that up to the craziness of youth!) Today is the first I've been on my bike since the conclusion of our trip. I really enjoyed it! The wind on my face. The thoughtless rhythm of pedaling. The surging power of a bike free from a trailer's constraints. The joy of knowing I didn't need to get somewhere. The freedom of not even putting my biking computer on my bike. Not even wearing biking shorts and not being bothered in the least. I think I'm ready for a long ride. Maybe I'm at least young enough to have that crazy thought! :-) By Isaiah, the Young
1. People: Talking to, eating with, biking with, meeting new people. 2. Food: Especially all of the meat in Pennsylvania. The ice cream was obviously very delicious, and maybe even essential to the trip. And the blueberries. 3. Sights/Places: If I redid the trip again, I would most enjoy revisiting Niagara. 4. Better Physical Condition: Now that I have finished being sore from the trip, I have noticed that I have more endurance at faster speeds on the bicycle because of more leg muscle. We both got a nice tan in the scorching heat. 5. Cool Gear We Got: Walkie-talkies with headsets, flashlights, survivalist air mattresses, bike shorts, bike gloves, bike GPS, tiny air pump, gorilla tape, new shoes, tactical pens, yet another knife, more water bottles, gifts from people along the way, souvenirs along the way, shirts, socks, sunglasses, and much, much more… By Nathan, the Older
The first 2 things I appreciated about the trip are easy to recognize. 1. I probably appreciated most of all the time with Isaiah. The trip wasn't all (maybe not even mostly) easy; the time spent with my son was worthwhile nonetheless. It was great to converse about topics all-important and mundane. It was enjoyable to find new commonalities we have. It was worth all the hardships to be together in unique circumstances. 2. The other aspect of the trip that is easy to recognize as a joy is another easy find: I loved how many new and interesting, helpful people we met. Particularly, many of the people we met were so helpful, and generously so. Again and again, both for needs mentioned and unmentioned, we received help. (For every one of the genuinely unhelpful people we met there were at least a dozen who were opposite.) If any of you are reading, thank you!!! 3. The simple refreshment of good drinks is hard to miss when you are so hot, exercised, and thirsty. While the time that we ran out of beverages during our bike through Manistee National Forest jumps to mind first—at that time we had to bike several miles more after leaving the forest before I drank almost all of the quart of chocolate milk we bought at the 1st gas station in one swig—there were many other times when a drink was seemingly all we needed. From water to milkshakes to Kutztown Birch Beer to our standard quart or half-gallon of chocolate milk, I was grateful and satiated numerous times. 4. Another of the things I liked best: the time to think, ponder, pray, and reflect. 5. Last thing I'll mention, though I can think of more: it was great to complete something that was rather difficult. Surely others have gone through worse, and I've experienced worse... but getting to the end of an undertaking so daunting and to think of God's kindness in bringing us to the end is encouraging and humbling. By Nathan "Older" Hitz
I'll just mention two of the hardships I noticed. 1. I was surprised by how much I missed showers. (Admittedly, after a couple hours of biking on a sweltering day and I was dripping with sweat. And sleeping like that is miserable.) Thankfully, many of the churches we asked to put up a tent allowed us to stay inside the building or, at least, have access to a bathroom. But a Polish shower isn't the same as a shower. I was very glad for the times when we could get a 'real' shower!! (Then Isaiah and I were happy not to smell each other, too!) :-) 2. Bugs were another hardship. I expected to be fighting to keep mosquitoes out of our tent. But, that wasn't a problem. (Thankfully and surprisingly!) Instead we came across a bug I hadn't experienced before. Wisconsin had a black, hard-shelled bug that drew blood when it bit--and gave welts that lasted days. Both painful and itchy. (I'll spare you the picture.) And, if you are biking along the Susquehanna near Harrisburg at night, don't open your mouth! Happily, those bugs weren't biting. By Isaiah “Young” Hitz
There were a “few” hardships along the way... The Obvious: 1. Soreness (on every part of the body because of exorbitant bicycling) 2. Hills (both steep and long) 3. Hunger (always...because we were burning more calories than we consumed, even with [sometimes] 6 meals and snacks) The Not-So-Obvious: 1. Sleepiness (even while biking[!] because of low temps, hard cots, and not being able to sleep--it seemed like I tossed and turned most nights in the tent) 2. Aggressive Animals (attacking dogs, stampeding cows [SCARIESTANIMALINTHEWORLD!], and mosquitoes [duh!]) 3. Mental State (the trip was more a mental barrier than a physical one) Many of you have inquired about our daily route. For safety reasons, we didn’t post it during our travels. But for those of you who like mapping and are still interested, here's a rough idea of where we went (note: the maps are not all to the same scale). We plan to continue with blog posts every day, except Sunday. Keep checking back! Wisconsin Michigan Ontario, Canada New York Pennsylvania Overview
Day 21 of biking. OUR FINAL DAY! Hot. Stormy. Steep. But we made it to the finish line. With balloons, noisemakers, streamers, and cheers. With family...and plenty of pictures. :-) Many of you helped. Many of you prayed. Many took responsibilities while we were away. Many gave. Many helped encourage us along the way. With 0 broken bones, 0 ER visits, and only 1 new helmet, we are praising the Lord for bringing us safely to the end. The tentative mileage for the whole trip is more than 1,444 miles. It's hard to imagine that many miles in a bike saddle. But, we're sure we couldn't have done it without you. Isaiah and I thank all of you for the varied ways in which you helped us reach our goal! (We are going to take this next week to rest. But, come visit in a week or so, and we will have reflections, maps, stats, etc. posted on the blog...if you're interested :-) ). The Finish Line! |