Day 1 - White Rock to Abbotsford

Day 1. Hey everyone after arriving in Vancouver we headed to Rudy's brothers place and met up with his sisters in law Wendy. We went the next day, Friday to trinity western university where we registered and met people assembling their bikes. 

 

After that we worked on getting the gear truck and kitchen truck fine tuned and ready to go. 

 

Over the next few days we fine tuned our bikes. Participated in a canbike seminar. It was riviting. The three hour time change and 90 degree temperature in the room made it tough to stay awake. 

 

 

The next day we did the practical part of the seminar. Barbjane would have loved it. Single file for 10 laps. Then double , triple and even six wide. At that point I was like if I ever catch anyone riding this wide. That would be a great way to piss of motorist and give cyclist a bad name. 

The morning of the ride is finally here. A circle prayer and photo op. 

 

Off we go in our service group. We went to white rock. They have one big rock on the beach so the called the town white rock and painted the rock white. 

 

People wanted to dip their back tires in the Pacific Ocean and later when we get to Halifax the front in the Atlantic. The ride was way out so instead of carting my bike all the way I came up with plan be. 

 

Notice it is my back tire. After that we headed for Abbotsford along road o. The boarder was a ditch between two roads one side Canada and the other USA with mount baker in the background. 

 

 

We finally arrived in camp. 

 

Had a great meal made for us by the church. Feels so great to start eating like a teenager again. I have to say that is one of my favourite parts of the ride. See you Tomorrow. Len

 

 These are called fox tails.

On the road

Well off we head from Ontario to Vancouver. It was a Monday morning. After a busy few days of preparing we headed for the sault and ended up in a Walmart in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Thanks to johan and Felicia for helping eject us from this country. 

The next day we made a pit stop at a culvers restaurant along Lake Superior.

That was a nice outdoor patio. On we trucked with the RV running like a top. I think I should name her. Any suggestions welcome. Here's a pic to inspire you.

From Michigan to Wisconsin then Minnesota. About this time the scope of the distance we'll be riding is settling in. Mane driving along the route backwards wasn't such a good idea. We cross into north Dakota and then Montana.  Now that's a wide state. The reason for going through the states to Vancouver is because I don't want to drive the route backwards. Well ok u caught me. Gas is cheaper too. We found another Walmart parking lot to sleep in.

I let Carrie drive for a while and wouldn't you know it she pulls into a scenic view point. Something I wouldn't do. Unless I was on my bike. Glad she did and we got to see this great view.

Through the mountains we go. A good workout for the RV. Through Idaho and into Washington state towards Seattle. Some nice Views.

Now just a hop skip and a jump to Vancouver. By the way we picked up a couple of stragglers along the way. Rudy and Shirley.

The hop skip and jump turned out to be a sit crawl and wait as we hit some traffic around Seattle. We had some supper at five guys.

Then we drove to Rudy's brothers house in Langley   We made it. So here are the stats. 4 days ,7 states, 2 provinces and a whole bunch of km's. Or miles if you prefer.  

Thanks Len.

It's too late

So I've been getting my last few rides in before heading to Vancouver for the start of the ride.  As I ride I don't listen to music and actually have thoughts running through my head. Well bouncing around in an Empty cavern  is probably more accurate. Wouldn't it be cool I thought if I could get this front tire I got from terry to go across the country one more time. Shortly after that thought I heard a noise coming from my bike. It was coming from the front. I looked down and thought maybe I picked up some road tar or something. A smart person would stop and check it out so naturally I kept going. After almost completing my 70 km ride I stopped to say goodbye to a good friend. He asked me if I was ready. I told him it was too late if I wasn't. No amount of training in the next few days will fix it. He looked at my front tire and said u may want to change that.  Without looking I said I know it's old but I think it'll be ok. No really look down.

I laughed. In case you think God doesn't answer, I'm thinking he heard my thoughts and was like is this guy seriously thinking of taking this tire across the country. I'll fix that

The casing was separated from the rest of the tire. So had to retire this tire. In the end it never did go flat. 

So it's too late for getting into shape. That's not a quick fix. I think I'm in the best shape I've ever been for the mountains. At least the down hill sections. I keep telling myself it's not a race, it's a journey. And I'm not too late for that. I'm excited for what God has in store for us on this journey. Thanks to all those that have supported Carrie and I as we embark on this ride. If you haven't financially supported the cause and would like to,   

It's NOT too late. 🚴🏻

Thanks. Len. 

Is it okay to not be okay?

So I'm a couple of weeks away from the start of a 9 1/2 week journey. My longest ride so far was this morning. 59.9 km. Not really ok. The chain and sprockets on my bike have over 15 thousand km on them. Not really ok. The amount of seat time I have up till now, is it enough ? I don't think it's ok. Tires on my bike that are more worn and cracked then I am, not ok. 

Am I emotionally ready for this ride. Not sure. Am I happy with the events that have taken place in the last few years. The passing of both my parents. Struggles in my family. Not happy at all. Have I asked God where are you, where were you? 

Sure I've asked those questions. What could possibly help me to get through to the other side of a journey like this. Do I look deep inside myself to see if I can find the strength. Let me tell you that would be a quick search. It's not there. Do I look at others who have things worse off then I do and find solace in that. Sure I do that. Nothing better then justifying my poor behaviour by comparing it to someone else. That's not ok. As I struggle with life in general and life in the context of this ride I've realized that it's ok not to be ok. Why you ask. Well it's because every where I go, high or low I go with someone. My journey will always be better when I realize that my personal Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is with me. 

So is it okay to not be ok ?   I think it is. It's a struggle most of us will have. It's just not ok to stay that way. If your struggling find someone who knows Jesus and ask for help. I think we are called to help those who aren't ok. Those in emotional trouble. Those in spiritual trouble. And in the case of this ride those that are living in poverty. These great organizations that we are supporting through this ride understand that we have to start with the monetary needs first but never forgetting the need for living water. 

Please pray for all those involved in this journey

Len 

To retire or to retire

My name is Len kooy. I’m a husband father and Opa. I went from Los Angeles to new York in2013. In 2015 I did jasper Alberta to glacier park Montana. 2016 we rode in RAGBRAI with sea to sea. I blogged everyday for all three of these events. I plan on blogging the 91/2 weeks of this event. There will be many pictures with some of my thoughts mixed in. My grammar and spelling may annoy some. What I say may be entertaining but then again it may not be. It will always be honest. Hopefully it will give you an insight into what’s happening on the ride each day.
Hey all. It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog. Last summer during my ride in RAGBRAI. It’s been tough to get motivated to write. I’ve been busy helping the kids with their houses. Somewhere between that I’ve been training for this ride. Because I’ve done a ride like this before I kind of have an advantage because I know what to expect. I think it’s also a disadvantage. Like most males I may tend to procrastinate. At least that’s what my wife says. I started training indoors and had full intension of being ready for when the weather changed. Did you now it easier to find excuses not to ride then it is to ride. Riding inside is totally different then riding outdoors. Inside you ride at whatever pace and difficulty you feel like. Had a tough day ride for 45 min. Had an easy day maybe an hour and a half. Make the tension on your wheel like your climbing a hill and when you’ve had enough let off or stop. Now riding outdoors is totally different. Start to ride and you get the familiar feeling that you always get for the first 5 kms. That is, what are you thinking. Your legs feel like they have lead weights attached to them. You get 15 or 20 kms from your home and then you realize your tired but you can’t just jump off your bike and head to the fridge or couch. You have to ride home. Just your luck, the wind changed direction. Your now against it on the way home. I think you call that forced hill training. Speaking of climbing hills. You can’t stop when you think you’ve done good enough. You have to keep climbing til you get to the top. The joys of the outdoors.
The things you forgot since your last long ride come flooding back. Why is my butt so sore. Oh ya I need to stand up and let the circulation back in. Changing gears up hill, oh ya let off the pedal pressure a bit just before you shift to make the change easier. Wow that car whizzed right beside me. A little wobble on purpose as you see them coming in your rear view mirror makes them go wide. Why is it so hard to pedal today? I guess I should have check my tire pressure.
Wow my fingertips are freezing. Should have checked the weather before I headed out. The other day I check the weather and it said cloudy 0% chance of rain. We’ll let me tell you that I felt that familiar feeling of water slowly filling up my shoes. I also realized that wearing sunglasses that wrap around your head helps keep rain and stones out of your eyes.
So I’m looking down at my front tire and I think to myself, retire or retire. After a nail punctured my tire half way through my 2013 ride across the country I, being the cheap Dutchman I am put a used tire from Terry Barnes on my bike. Just temporary I told myself. I think he took this tire across the country once, maybe twice. He says he kind of got sick of it. It’s never had a flat he told me. I can change that I said. 4 years later an that tire is still on my bike. Upon closer inspection it has slices and cracks in it but it’s never been flat. As I come screaming down a hill at 70km I think to myself maybe I need to retire this tire. But it’s been a great tire. It’s never let anyone down. Just cause it’s old cracked and weathered. I’m old cracked and weathered. Do I retire. That’s when I realize it’s not about me. It’s not about the tire. It’s about the person living in poverty. The kid living in poverty. I’m not riding for myself. I’m fortunate enough to be able to take 9 1/2 weeks and ride across this country , not for me, but for the people in this country and around the world that are living in poverty. Many extreme poverty. All the struggles and hardships don’t seem to be so big anymore.
If you would like to support this great cause you can do so online @ http://www.seatosea.org

Ragbrai seatosea day 7

Last day. 

Ok first last night. Terry showed up in camp. We found a barbecue place serving great food so we all went out to dinner together. 

Some by bike and some walked. 

George enjoyed the food. I think everyone did. It was very tasty. 

We all posed I front of the seatosea truck. 

The sky was very dark and a weather system was rolling in. But we all made it back to camp safe and it never did rain on us. 

Camp life is very social. It was good. 

The day started very overcast and it was threatening rain. 

We came through Columbus junction. This town had some of the steepest hills. I didn't think you could pack that many climbs in such a small area. 

We crossed the Iowa river. 

We followed the river for a while up stream. Saw these tractors. 

A nice mustang. And a little red wagon. 

We made it to muscatine. 

Just two more hills. That was the Iowa thing to say. 

We said our good byes and headed out.  

Thanks for reading and don't forget next summer Coast to coast in Canada, cycling to end poverty. 

Thanks. Len. 

Ragbrai seatosea day 6

Good morning all. Last night I was writing my blog and at 1030 the fireworks began. 

Got up to the melodious sound of tent poles klicking,outhouse doors slamming. 

25 people deep on our washrooms. 

50 deep on the other ones. So after I was ready to go Joanne and Wayne said I'll meet you at the end of the gravel road. After checking three park exits and traveling 3 km I got a call from Carrie asking where I am. It took me another 6 km to catch up to them. In hindsight it was a good warmup for the 10%+ slope in the first 3 km. 

Today the hills started steep but later it turned into a nice rolling hill day. It was overcast all morning with rain threatening. I never rained on us. 

The crowds were still pretty thick for most of the day. It doesn't seem to thin out until after the meeting town. 

We met terry and some other seatosea riders at truck today. 

This lady was part of the airforce cycling group and they would stop and help people that were stuck on the side of the road. They are awesome. 

This is Ragbrai's version of billy. 

Met my wife at the meeting town. 

This house has a few signs. 

This is a sprayer that sprays corn. Sweet unit. 

We were greeted by a bagpiper. I think it made me climb the hill faster to get away 

From the sound. 

In town safe and sound. One day left.