Day One to Duck Lake/Whitehall MI

We started off with a great crowd of followers. Our trip was near flawless until after our bridge cross in Grand Haven, MI. On the other side we must have been gaining great confidence with our progress when it happened. Things that go bump in daylight---aren't good. A few scratches, a slight bruise and a slightly messed up spoke and we were back on our way in good spirits to finish the day in record time. 1:30 pm we arrived at our destination to be greeted by our hosts: Mr. and Mrs. "S" in Whitehall on Duck Lake. Our sag wagon crew, "Uncle Jim and Aunt Diane", was ready for us along the route. Thanks for the good food! We had great fun swimming in Lake MI and Duck Lake with a peaceful close to the first day. Thankful and blessed for a safe and timely first day. NOTES FROM BACK HOME: our cash contributions to date have reached nearly $8,000. We are at the 1/2 way mark but still need $8,000 to make the $16k goal.

And they're off...

It was a perfect send off at about 7:15 am from Veldheer's Tulip Gardens. To encourage the cyclists this morning were friends and prayer supporters who traveled from as far as Fort Wayne, Kalamazoo, Holland and beyond. The kids were delighted and stunned with the turn-out of friends and co-workers who came to bid them safe travels on the near 400 mile trek to Mackinac City.

After they lined up their bicycles and made final pit stops, Pastors Lance and Dave "Kujo" Central Wesleyan Church, shared scripture and prayed for the teenagers. Several men of CWC gathered in to encourage and pray for the group. They were pumped and ready to go. I believe the last words of instruction given to the cyclists from one of the moms was, "Please walk your bikes across the busy highway." As the crowd of onlookers slowed traffic, they did just that "walk their bikes" and then with a show of arms stretched into the air that they were across safely across, they headed on their way.

They are posting their blog and anticipating your comments. If you have trouble logging in or posting comments below this post, fire them an email: cycle4hope@gmail.com or post on their Facebooks. See Monday's Grand Rapids Press, Region section and Tuesday's Holland Sentinel for story coverage. From all the teenagers, "stay tuned to our journey! And, thanks for the encouragement."