6 am - Westend Church
Dave and I clicked on our lights, checked last minute details and got rolling at 6 am, heading west on Leonard. The temperature was on the cool side but not really too bad. Gloves and arm warmers were in my handlebar bag but didn't seem necessary.
6:35 - 68th and Leonard
The rain starts. At first it is just some big droplets that seem like they are going to peter out but it quickly becomes a steady rain. Any cyclist will tell you that you don't really get wet from above as much as you get wet from below. The water you kick up is what really drenches you and mucks up your bike. This rain was the perfect kind of rain for this. Just enough to get the road good and wet. My feet were quickly 'swimming' in my shoes.
7:35 - Garfield and 144th (approximately)
Dave and I are nearly to US 31 when we turn around to head back towards Westend. It seems like it was still raining but it's hard to tell what was coming up from the road vs. what was coming down from above. The ride back was uneventful, although neither Dave nor I can ride close behind the other because of the rooster tail of water and crud coming off our back tires.
9:10 - Westend Church
Scott DeKryger texted us that he was starting le Tour de Donut up in Greenville. By now it has stopped raining and the sun even seems like it wants to come out. Over the next 15-20 minutes, we each change our clothes, prop wet shoes in front of a fan, eat, drink coffee, refill water bottles, and wipe off our bikes. I am obsessively checking two weather apps on my phone and my mood is lifted because there doesn't seem to be anything coming toward us on the radar. The hourly forecast, however, is not so promising.
The next couple hours has us trying not to get too stiff and taking in enough water and food to power us through the next 3 hours of riding. I use my traditional cup-o-soup to make sure I'm getting enough sodium. Michelle and the kids stopped by to say hello. They are always a pick me up. Deep down, we are riding for them and all the other kids who can benefit from a Christian Education (who wouldn't, now that I think about it).
11:15 - Westend Church
Dave and I got the message from Scott that he is done so we take off again. By the time we get to the corner of Leonard and Westend, my legs are protesting.
"Dude, we've already done this today! What are you doing?"
I give them the "shut up legs" speech and we head down Remeberance toward the Musketawa Trail. Thankfully, things are pretty uneventful. We can't really tell where exactly the wind is coming from. Is it helping us? Is it hurting us? Is it just a crosswind? We eventually make it west of Ravenna before deciding to turn around. To our west, the sky looks dark. We can tell the wind is defintely from the west and there are some rain drops coming down. The temperature also felt like it was dropping. At that moment, I was wondering if we are about to get hit hard but it never happened. Before too long, it was sunny again.
Personally, this middle section was the hardest. I fully expected it to be. Your legs are already tired from the 50 miles you put in earlier. You know you will still need to ride about another 3 hours after you are done. How do you pace yourself? How do you mentally handle that you are really no where near done despite the fatigue you feel? The finish line is not yet in sight but the body is starting to give some early signs of protest. A ride of this length is as much about mental toughness as it is about physical conditioning. Dave and I are not some type of super-endurance athletes. We are just normal Joes gifted with an unusual desire to push ourselves beyond what seems sane.
Personally, this middle section was the hardest. I fully expected it to be. Your legs are already tired from the 50 miles you put in earlier. You know you will still need to ride about another 3 hours after you are done. How do you pace yourself? How do you mentally handle that you are really no where near done despite the fatigue you feel? The finish line is not yet in sight but the body is starting to give some early signs of protest. A ride of this length is as much about mental toughness as it is about physical conditioning. Dave and I are not some type of super-endurance athletes. We are just normal Joes gifted with an unusual desire to push ourselves beyond what seems sane.
2:00 - Westend Church
We arrive back at Church promptly at 2:00 (I would like to emphasize our punctuality. I'm weird that way). Waiting for us are Jen Byle, Linda Vander Schaaf, Betsey Ingraham (my sister), and my lovely wife Michelle. After a brief chat, they take off with instructions to give us a 'good hour' break. By this point, neither Dave nor I is in any exceptional hurry to get back on the bike.
As before, Dave and I go about refueling, using the bathroom, refilling water bottles and just generally taking a break. We also start debating where we are going to ride for the last leg. Being a little fatigued, my thought is to just head down toward Millenium/Johnson Park and the Kent Trails and ride some laps. Simple and easy. No thought needed. Gratefully, Dave has a better plan. He wants to head back west on Leonard to Linden and then follow Linden south past Lake Michigan Dr. This will hook up with Fennesey and eventually to the Millenium/Johnson Park area.
As a side note, Dave's son, Jameson, was hanging out with us while his mom rode. This kid is all boy. Good natured and wanting to play. Jameson wanted to show me his bike and how he can stand up out of the saddle and pedal (pretty cool!). Later, we pulled out a soccer ball and football. Constant motion would be the most apt description. Jameson would throw the football and then run and pounce on it like it was a fumble drill. Ah, the good ol' days.
3:15 - Westend Church
The ladies got back from their ride after covering 14 miles. We were at 139 miles for the day, counting Scott's miles from earlier. That is just 6 miles shy of the total for last year so things are looking good. Dave and I throw a leg over and take off west on Leonard. I won't lie; our pace was moderate at best. We each agreed we were in the keep the pedals moving phase of the ride.
3:45 - Leonard and Linden
As we got to Leonard and Linden, the rain drops started falling, lightly at first. Too tired to even grab our rain jackets, we just kept chugging on. At first the rain was light but by the time we got to Lake Michigan Dr. it was falling heavy. My comment to Dave was,
We had achieved terminal wetness.
3:45 - Leonard and Linden
As we got to Leonard and Linden, the rain drops started falling, lightly at first. Too tired to even grab our rain jackets, we just kept chugging on. At first the rain was light but by the time we got to Lake Michigan Dr. it was falling heavy. My comment to Dave was,
"The good news is we can't get any more wet than we already are".
We had achieved terminal wetness.
We wound our way up Fennessy, down Kenowa, over Riverbend and to Butterworth, just north of Johnson Park. This is where the most tedious part of the ride came. We were just cruising around the trails in the area killing time and racking up miles.
I think Dave will agree that riding to a certain time limit is a different experience than riding a particular distance. Your strategy for riding has to change. It is not so much "Do I have the legs to go 20 more miles?" as "How do I keep my legs good for the next 2 hours?"
I think Dave will agree that riding to a certain time limit is a different experience than riding a particular distance. Your strategy for riding has to change. It is not so much "Do I have the legs to go 20 more miles?" as "How do I keep my legs good for the next 2 hours?"
5:00 - Johnson Park
We were cold, wet, tired and hungry when we passed by Johnson Park where our families were waiting for us. The gave us some cheers and some honks of the horn. My daughter, Hannah, yelled "Are you done yet Daddy?".
No Hannah, Daddy is not done yet (long sigh).
As we kept on rolling, one of us (and I'm not sure who) broached the subject of finishing a little early. I'm not sure who said it out loud first because I had been considering the idea for so long I can't remember what I said out loud and what I was jus thinking. Fatigue is kinda funny that way. By doing a little mental math I knew we had already surpassed last year's mileage by a fair bit. The consensus was to finish the loop we were on and then head back to Johnson Park.
5:47 - Johnson Park
We rolled into the Johnson Park parking lot and then went up the trail just a little ways. We were too close to 130 miles to not go just a little bit farther. The stop button was pushed on the Garmin and Crazy Faith was done for 2014 after 176 combined miles in just under 12 hours. As promised, everyone had an ice cream sandwich (I had another 4 later that evening). We snapped a few pictures, loaded our stuff up and headed home, grateful to be done but grateful to have had the opportunity.
Parting Thoughts
It is now several days since finishing Crazy Faith and life has continued on, as it always does. For me it is simultaneously a big relief to be done and a yet I can't help but feel restless.
The planning for Crazy Faith took a lot of time and mental energy. The number of different scenarios that were hypothesized for how the day would run are beyond count. Did it go well? Did it go poorly?
The planning for Crazy Faith took a lot of time and mental energy. The number of different scenarios that were hypothesized for how the day would run are beyond count. Did it go well? Did it go poorly?
I think the answer to both is 'yes'. Since the singular goal was to raise money for Christian education, we won't know until all the donations are in. My suspicion is that it won't be as much dollar-wise as last year which I must admit is disappointing. There was not the same kind of positive vibe from the congregation as I felt last year. Is it donation-fatigue? Is it a waning of support for Christian Eduation? Was it not 'crazy' enough for people? Should the timing of announcements have been done differently? Did I do a junk job of speaking in front of church?
As much as these questions bug me, this much I know:
A lot of people put a lot of effort into an honest and heartfelt effort to do the right thing and support Christian Education.
We had no other goal than supporting families that feel that a Christian dayschool is the best option for their children.
That is it.
That is all.
Hard stop.
Hard stop.
The next question that must be considered is "Will we do this again?" The answer I would give is 'yes'. When? I don't know. A year off might be in order, as much for my sake as anything else. Organizing Crazy Faith, along with working full-time, being on the WSCS board and just generally trying to be a good dad and husband takes its toll on you.
I'm a little tired.
One thing I am certain of is that the next Crazy Faith will need to be substantially different. And at this point I have no idea what it will look like. It will have to involve cycling just because that's what I do. After that, the sky is the limit.
Finally, I once again must thank all those who participated:
- Dave Vander Schaaf
- Linda Vander Schaaf
- Jen Byle
- Betsey Ingraham
- Scott DeKryger
- and my lovely wife, Michelle
The biggest thanks must be reserved for those who donated, whether it was $1, $20, $176 or whatever. Because of them, families at Westend will be able to send their kids to a Christian school.
And that is what it was all about in the first place.
