November 2007 Training Rides

25 km. bike trainer Nov 3

26 km. Gaston Indiana 60F sunny Nov 5

50 km Plateau Texas 82F sunny Nov 8

182 km. Albuquerque New Mexico 74F sunny (longest ride) Nov 9

131 km. Denver Colorado 72F mostly cloudy Nov 10

81km. York Nebraska 74F sunny Nov 11 (444 km. in four days - tour average - but tour is six days a week. Need to work on better cycling shorts and a better seat for my poor aching butt!)

53 km. Burlington to Brantford Ontario 14C raining and windy Nov 14

81 km. Las Cruces New Mexico 48F sunny and windy Nov 22

Winter Biking: No matter how we abuse our bikes, with a little cleaning and TLC, they still come back and give us many miles and hours of enjoyment without complaining.

October 2007 Training Rides

32 km. Elm Creek Nebraska 65F sunny Oct 1

26 km. Plainview Iowa 58F cloudy Oct 2

55 km. Burlington to Brantford Ontario 25C sunny and windy Oct 3

50 km. Brantford Ontario 28C sunny Oct5

25 km. Blackwell Oklahoma 55F sunny Oct 11

40 km. Van Horn Texas 82F sunny Oct 12

63 km. Albuquerque New Mexico 75F partly sunny Oct 13

60 km. Denver Colorado 55F sunny Oct15

33 km. Sawyer Michigan 58F sunny Oct17

30 km. Brantford Ontario 18C partly cloudy Oct 19

67 km. Hamilton Ontario 20C partly cloudy Oct 20

41 km. Van Horn Texas 70F sunny Oct 25

62 km. La Jara New Mexico 72 sunny Oct 26

39 km. Red Mountain Pass, Ouray Colorado 60F partly sunny (1610 ft vertical climb, 7% grade. This was my fourth attempt at this mountain, and my fourth failure to reach the summit. Made it to 8600 ft. mark--next time all the way to 11,018 ft. summit!) Oct 27

103 km. Salina and Lawrence Kansas 70F sunny and windy Oct 29 (fastest speed to date--67km/p/h--not too smart! I don't want to think about crashing at this speed!)

51 km. Chatham Ontario 12C sunny and windy Oct 31

September 2007 Training Rides

36 km. Brantford Ontario 18C sunny Sept 5

45 km. Dinosaur National Monument, Vernal Utah 78F sunny Sept 16

32 km. Colby Kansas 70F cloudy and windy Sept 17

36 km. Bellaire Missouri 70F sunny Sept 18

35 km. Brantford Ontario 28C sunny Sept 20

55 km. Brantford to Burlington Ontario 26C sunny Sept 22

20 km. Crawfordsville Indiana 90F Sept 24

22 km. Tulia Texas 80F sunny Sept 26

25 km. Van Horn Texas 86F sunny Sept 27

25 km. Albuquerque New Mexico 76F partly sunny Sept 28

50 km. Denver Colorado 75F cloudy Sept 29

August 2007 Training Rides

51 km. Long Point Ontario 28C sunny Aug 1

41 km. Long Point Ontario 28C sunny Aug 2

83 km. Long Point Ontario 25C sunny Aug 4

41 km. Long Point Ontario 23C light rain Aug 7

51 km. Long Point Ontario 22C cloudy Aug 9

51 km. Long Point Ontario 22C cloudy Aug 11

31 km. Fremont Indiana 80F sunny Aug 13

22 km. Barry Illinois 102F sunny Aug 14
(I may be crazy, but it will be this hot next summer too!)

40 km. Odessa Texas 94F sunny Aug 16

66 km. Colorado National Monument, Grand Junction Colorado 67F partly sunny Aug 18
( 1560 ft vertical climb 8% grade)

50 km. Sutherland Nebraska 70F sunny Aug 20

27 km. Marshall Michigan 74F cloudy Aug21

23 km. Belmont Ontario 18C cloudy Aug 22

63 km. Intercourse Pennsylvania 80F sunny Aug 25

27 km. Bird-in-Hand Pennsylvania 65F sunny Aug 27

84 km. New Holland Pennsylvania 80F sunny Aug 28

24 km. Gordonsville Pennsylvania 70F sunny Aug29

41 km. Gordonsville Pennsylvania 70F sunny Aug 30

2004 Niagara Falls Marathon

One very tired, old guy at the finish line! Five hours and thirteen minutes---top ninety five percent!

About Myself

My name is Dirk van Wyngaarden of Brantford Ontario. I'm 52 years old and am riding in the Christian Reformed Church's Sea to Sea Tour in the summer of 2008. We are cycling from Seattle to Jersey City, a distance of about 6,000 kilometres or 3600 miles. I have been married to my lovely wife, Elaine for 29 years and will miss our 30th anniversary which will happen while I am on the tour. She has always been very encouraging of me doing what I feel is right for me, whether it is being an over the road trucker or participating in the Sea to Sea tour. I've come to the conclusion that I am married to a saint. I love you very much Elaine. For all the good reasons to participate in this endeavour, this is the culmination of a journey from a 340 lb. couch potato to good health and fitness for me. I sometimes have a difficult time believing that I used to look like this.

I will be posting all my training rides beginning in August 2007 and right through the ride itself, so friends and family can follow my progress as I prepare for, and actually do the ride itself. Photos will also be included in my postings when available. I also do a fair bit of running, so if you notice some gaps in my riding schedule, that doesn't mean I am getting soft and lazy, I'm probably just out running. I am a long haul trucker, traveling from my home in Ontario, Canada on a bi-weekly basis to Texas, New Mexico and Colorado, returning home through Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. I take my bike with me, so I get to ride all over and most of the year. As such, I have the advantage of being able to train all year long. I have actually ridden many of the same roads we will ride on the tour. Our goal is to raise $10,000 dollars in donations per cyclist to the CRC's poverty reduction programs. To make a donation please visit my page on the Sea to Sea website. All donations, no matter how seemingly insignificant, will make a difference in some one's life. My email address while on tour this summer is dirksseatosea@live.ca