Track our progress across America
(July 28 – August 14, 2021)
Join our 14-Day Coast-to-Coast
2021 Prayer Initiative (Aug 1-14, 2021)
Day #1 (July 28)
Seattle WA —
Our first day of our cross-country ride 2021 is in the books! But today was about going north/south, not east. We visited Olympic National Park, located on the peninsula west and north of Seattle. The scenery was breathtaking and the many bends on the mountain roads fun.
Ouch! Thankfully our cycles only take
a couple gallons each fill up.
Day #2 (July 29)
Mount Ranier, Chinook Pass, & Yakima Valley, WA — Since wildfires have closed down some of last year’s bicycle route, it’s impossible to travel for now. Judi and I continue to improvise on our route, and are finding great pleasure in it. 
Today we went south and east to visit the “big white thing” one sees from pretty much everywhere in Seattle: Mount Ranier. Traveling through this National Park and Chinook Pass was breath-taking! Next was the Yakima Valley, which judging from the miles and miles of fields of produce must feed most of the country. (THANK YOU YAKIMA FARMERS! )
We finished today wondering if we had just experienced one of the absolute most beautiful and fun motorcycle rides on earth! We are humbled and grateful.
Spent the night in Soap Lake, Washington. We hope tomorrow to be able to finally rejoin on our route from last summer.
Day #3 (July 30) 
Sandpoint ID — We started today sipping coffee on the shores of Soap Lake (across from our hotel). Though we were not so sure how much merit we should attribute to the claims of the minerals water’s healing powers, we waded in just to say we did. And our ankles didn’t hurt for the rest of the day! (Although, to be fair, neither of us have ankle pain.)
Our goal today was to find our way back to last year’s route, since wildfires shut down Route 20 (North Cascades Highway) up until central Washington. On our way from Soap Lake to Route 20, we stumbled upon a “mini Grand Canyon” of sorts called Dry Falls where we had ice cream for breakfast.
The heat today was truly stifling as we worked our way north to Republic. By the time we got there we were sweltering, so we spent an hour in an air conditioned restaurant and had a second breakfast, this one would have made our mothers proud.
It was fun to get back on Route 20, and we remembered so much of our time pedaling those roads last year!
On to Sandpoint, Idaho where we sat on the banks of the channel and cooled down before proceeding to our hotel.
PHOTOS
1) Breakfast of champions
2) A view from our journey through Central Washington
3) We have fond memories of each of the mountain passes we conquered foot by challenging foot last year on our bicycle ride through Washington – including this one at Sherman’s Pass.
Day #4 (July 31)
Smokey Drive to Glacier National Park — Three words summarize our day today as we passed the 1,100 mile mark on our trip across America:
1) SMOKE – the wind out of the northwest brought in smoke from wildfires from the North Cascades and Canada that mucked up the view much of our way today.
2) WIND – whoweeee!
3) GLACIER (National Park) – we sat in beautiful Lake McDonald and listened to the gentle waters lapping up against us as we watched the sunset. [Video link – 20 sec]
Comme la vie est belle!
Day #5 (Aug 1)
Good-bye Rocky Mountains!
“Summer Skating” in Montana — Judi and I grudgingly left West Glacier and headed to East Glacier. We did so “grudgingly” because leaving Glacier means leaving the extraordinary beauty of the Rocky Mountains. The beauty of East Glacier is more understated as compared to West Glacier, but still amazing.
On our way to Great Falls MT we found a frontage road that allowed us to avoid interstate…so we thought. We were riding along when the paved road unexpectedly turned to gravel! We eventually slowed to a stop, and after consulting together decided driving forward 2.4 miles was to be preferred to trying to do a tight U turn on gravel. So that’s where the occasional “summer skating” came in as we slowly made our way back to the blacktop.
It was fun to revisit routes we took last year on the bicycle version of this cross-country trip. We have some very distinct memories in places, like where we saw a sidewinder or where we stopped to share a break together. Honestly, we can’t help but be a little impressed by what we achieved last year doing this ride via bicycle!
PHOTOS
1) Judi’s hot orange Kawasaki Vulcan S (2016) keeps getting comments (Wow, what’s that?!)
2) Barb’s old jalopy – 750 Honda Shadow Aero (2007) – packed with camping gear
3) The smoke of Washington’s wildfires turned the sun red in Great Falls MT (note the red dot at top – photo untouched)
Day #6 (Aug 2): Great Falls, MT to Miles City, MT
Amazing scenic view along highway 89 in Montana
Central Montana — We enjoyed cooler temps and improved visibility (less smoke) as we crossed central Montana today.
We stop every hundred miles or so for fuel and a break off our “horses” and those breaks usually happen in little gas station stores that seem to be the center of life for these little towns. God bless Conoco, Cenex, Town Pump, Casey’s, and Sheetz!
We neglected for the last two days to thank generous friends who put us up in wonderful hotels (with Diamond member privileges 
). We are blessed to be prayed for and supported by such a wonderful band of folks like you!
Slept in Miles City MT.
Day #7 (Aug 3)
Painted Canyon National Park, ND — Today was a light ride of 200 miles, rounding off our mileage to 2,000 miles in 7 rides!
Grateful for cooler temps today for the most part. The scenery was beautiful and at times even otherworldly as Montana and North Dakota landscapes can at times resemble moonscapes.
Hoping tomorrow to get photos of some of the stunning fields of sunflowers that help make this state the number 1 producer of sunflower seeds in the USA.
PHOTOS
1) Bloom where you are planted, even at the edge of a burned out hay field!
2) The first 50 miles of our ride today were in Montana. We then crossed into North Dakota for another 150 miles.
3) Quite windy today!
4) We arrived at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
5) Easy to see why this National Park’s second name is Painted Caverns N.P.
6) Selfie in the identical spot where we took a selfie last year. On the subject of hair, we both agree that cycle helmet hair is far worse than bicycle helmet hair.
7) Dinner around the corner from our hotel at Medora, ND: Fish & Chips and a Buffalo Burger.
Day #8 (Aug 4)
The last of North Dakota —
Theodore Roosevelt was the first president who really got serious about preserving beautiful spaces. His passion for nature was born out of tragedy when, as a young man, he sought solace in his grief after losing both his wife and his mother on the same day. Nature touched him deeply, and we’re all beneficiaries of his healing each time we step into a national park.
Today we did a heavier mileage day — around 350 miles. Probably 80% of our route exactly followed last year’s route, and that was fun.
We laughed as we recalled the moment last year when we realized that our official bike route was, indeed, instructing us to ride up the ramp and onto Interstate 94 East! (There aren’t a lot of roads out here so the interstates are multi-use.) I will say we enjoyed it much better this year on motorcycles.
Our cure for the weak coffee we’ve been served in North Dakota is to dump some instant coffee in it, and VOILA! It now has some taste!
It was so fun to ride on last year’s route for most of the day today. Though we’re not yet in Minnesota — called the Land of a Thousand Lakes — the part of North Dakota we drove today sure has a lot of lakes.
Wildfire smoke from out west continues to impress at sunrise and sunset as it makes its way across the country. This is a photo of the sunset this evening in Fargo.
Tomorrow we enter Minnesota!
Day #9 (Aug 5): Going Full-Out “Improv”
FARGO, ND TO ASHLAND, WI — We didn’t know when we woke up this morning that the day would take an exciting turn! As we looked at the day’s itinerary we decided to improvise on our route. Our new route takes us over northern Wisconsin, through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, over the Mackinaw Bridge, and south through Michigan. This way we miss the cities of Minneapolis and Chicago, plus get to see some awesome new Great Lakes sights on Lakes Superior, Huron, and Michigan.
The other “exciting” event today after changing our route was that Barb dropped one of her secondary foot pegs. Thankfully, she was able to run back and retrieve it from the highway in between Fargo traffic. Just a few miles later on came upon a cycle repair shop right on our route! Fifteen minutes later we were back on our way with all our foot pegs back where they belong and in working order.
We had rain in front of us and rain behind us (according to radar), but no rain fell on us! All that rain did for us was clear the air and also create a beautiful rainbow before us and a strikingly clear yellow-ball-of-a-sunset behind us.
Day #10 (Aug 6): Wisconsin to UP of Michigan
ASHLAND, WI to IRON MOUNTAIN, MI — We had a light day of riding today (180 miles) as we made our way to our staging point for the Mackinaw Bridge crossing we will do, Lord willing, tomorrow (Saturday).
We’re lodging at Iron Mountain MI mainly because it was the closest affordable lodging we could find to the bridge. But we discovered that Iron Mountain is a stop worthy on its own merits due to its beautiful Lake Antoine.
Not a lot of photos from today’s ride so this is the perfect opportunity to show you photos of some of the wildlife we have seen in our 10 days of riding. These photos have all been borrowed from the internet as, obviously, taking photos as we ride motorcycle is at best ill-advised(!).
Tomorrow is our big bridge crossing!
Day #11 (Aug 7)
Mackinaw Bridge — The combined pressures of 340 miles before us and the bad weather coming in behind us from Wisconsin had us rolling out earlier than usual this morning. It was cold. This is as cold as either of us have been on this cross-country trip. Thankfully the sun made its appearance midway through the day and we succeeded in outrunning the rain.
Riding across the Mackinaw Bridge, a 5-mile-long extension bridge, was a super special extra we hadn’t thought of doing until we looked at our map yesterday in Fargo and got creative. We’ve so enjoyed being spontaneous with our route this year, so this has been a wonderful mix of old/reminiscing and new/exploring.
Staying in Claire, MI tonight then heading to Winona Lake, IN tomorrow.
PHOTOS
1) The sun on the shores of Lake Michigan.
2) If old trees could talk, what a story they would tell…
3) Lots of milkweed on the shores of the lakes, attracting monarch butterflies (which proved to be quite camera-shy).
4) Lake Michigan
5) The spectacular 5-mile-long Mackinaw Bridge – the connector between the Upper Peninsula and Michigan’s mainland as well as the divider between lakes Huron and Michigan.
6) We were excited to drive across the bridge on our cycles.
7) The view from the Mack Bridge.
Day #12 (Aug 8)
R & R —
No spectacular photos today. The only photo we feature is of our cycles standing out in the rain this morning wondering where we are! 
We started our day in Clair, Michigan, where the radar indicated a small 20-minute bubble of NO RAIN around 10AM, which we were happy to seize on. In 10 miles we were out of the rain system and could settle back for the remaining 240 miles of our day’s ride.
By late afternoon we arrived in Winona Lake, Indiana, at Barb’s home. We are spending tomorrow (Monday) here resting a little and prepping for our last push to the eastern coast (Belmar, New Jersey), which will begin on Tuesday.
It’s so good to be home…even if just for a time.
Day #13 (Aug 9)
Repose (Winona Lake IN) — We have so enjoyed our quiet day of rest at home. Fun to have lunch with our friends — Miriam Pacheco, Becky Dick, and Lola Yoder — at a favorite restaurant in town. (Forgot to take a photo!)
When we were in the sunflower state (North Dakota) we saw field after field of sunflowers, but the heads were never facing the road. So after lunch we were driven to see this beautiful field just south of town.
Tonight is movie night (Sing!) with popcorn and ice cream, then tomorrow we get back on our route, which will take us to Ashland, Ohio.
Day #14 (Aug 10) Goodbye, Indiana. Hello, Ohio!
Winona Lake to Ashland — Our one day of rest from our iron horses was a delight, and we were good and ready to climb back on them to continue our eastward advance cross-country to the coast of New Jersey. 
The rain overnight washed our cycles, which, frankly, they needed, and we took off with our eye on the radar. The second half of our route to our lunch location was about half on 224 East, a lovely strip of road we picked up in Van Wert, Ohio (good-bye, Indiana!). Though our navigator didn’t like our choice, it eventually came around. This was a great choice of road for motorcycles.
We stopped to enjoy lunch with friends awaiting us in Findlay, Ohio. Such a wonderful time of fellowship we enjoyed with Cheryl (Magrum) and daughter Jenna! (We missed you, Jim.)
As for rain, it had never even been an issue (sadly for out west) until Wisconsin (last Saturday), but has been a consideration pretty much every day since. Amazingly, while we’ve had rain in front and behind us, as of today we have not yet driven in it. That may yet change, but so far…
We landed late afternoon at our dear friends’ home in Ashland, Ohio. We stayed here last year on the bicycle version of this ride. Dan & Rachel Jackson’s abode has become a home-away-from-home for so many, including Barb. So grateful!
PHOTOS
1) Leaving our home in Indiana (above, no helmet-hair)
2) A little color on our way
3) Lunch with the Magrums (helmet hair) in Findlay, Ohio
Day #15 (Aug 11): One State Away from the Coast!
Ashland, OH to Warren, PA — We spent last night with our dear friends Dan & Rachel Jackson in their home (as we did last year) in Ashland, Ohio. This morning their deck was the perfect spot for a first cup of coffee and to enjoy Rachel’s beautiful flowers. Then later, to enjoy a yummy breakfast together on the deck.
As we wiped down our cycles from the night’s rain, we heard rumbles of thunder rolling in the west and growing in intensity. That storm front delayed our departure a couiple hours. Once that system blew through, we hit the road before the next one came in.
By the last two hours of our ride we could see in our rear view mirrors the dark clouds growing on the horizon behind us in the west. We arrived at our hotel in Warren PA with literally one minute to spare before the downpour broke loose.
Tomorrow (Thursday) we ride our last piece of road with just the two of us as Judi’s son, Brian, will meet us to ride in with us for the last half of the road, which will end at Judi’s house in Telford, PA.
Then on Friday we will be joined by several other riders for our last 100 miles as we make our way to Belmar Beach to complete this year’s cross-country trek.
Mixed emotions…
PHOTOS
1) Dan & Rachel Jackson were delightful hosts (as always)
2) Happy Holly Hocks
3) Sassy Black-eyed Susans
4) The beautiful planters in Atwood, Ohio overflowed with petunias, with each containing a unique “accent plant” – a stalk of corn!
5) Pennsylvania: Judi’s home state and the land of Barb’s birth.
Day #16 (Aug 12): The Rain Finally Catches Us
Of course, it was too good to be true. One mustn’t expect to complete a cross-country adventure with nary a drop of rain!
We were warned. The radar said it was coming, but we were hoping we’d see it coming and be able to duck into a gas station just in the nick of time – all the while knowing that the odds of that happening in rural Pennsylvania were pretty slim. But one tells oneself what one must to keep moving forward, and after all, rain is a part of the biking experience, so today’s rain, in a way, completed our experience. At least that’s what we’re going with.
The downpour finally caught us at an impossible moment, stuck in construction traffic. The PENNDOT sign-holder was just about to change the sign from “Stop” to “Slow” when the heaven’s let loose. So the gal quickly set the sign down on the ground, ran over to the PENNDOT truck, put on her rain slicks, and then returned to her sign, which now said turned to say “slow”. By the time we passed her we were utterly soaked.
Brian caught up with us in
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
Ten minutes or so later we landed in a town and Judi called her son, Brian, who was to meet us on the route. Fortunately, he was still pretty dry where he was…but that would change. Maybe an hour later we met Brian at a diner in Wellsboro. Judi and I emptied our shoes of the puddles that had collected there and squeaked into the diner for lunch.
The rest of the afternoon was no more full out downpours but continual spitting rain, with patches of clearing and even blue skies just ahead buy which we never seemed to reach.
Eventually we did catch the blue skies, and so the last 75 miles were crazy hot. Being Pennsylvania folks through and through, this felt quite like friendly fire.
So today was a day of extremes, but a good day because we were joined by Brian and because God blessed our way safe to Judi’s home where we (as we did last year) plunged in the pool, clothes and all. But this year we were met by Brian’s family: wife Melissa, and children Jeremiah, Lorelai and Carson.
Tomorrow (Friday) we will be joined by several other riders as we do our last stretch of 100 miles to the coast — Belmar Beach in New Jersey!
Day #17 (Aug 13):
To the Ocean with Friends — This last ride of our coast-to-coast adventure was in every way the crescendo we could have hoped it would be. At 9AM Judi and I met four other cyclists at Penn Valley Church to start our ride to Belmar, New Jersey. 
I (Barb) had never ridden in a pack before, so this was an amazing, even exhilarating experience! Arriving at the beach, we parked illegally to get our photo, after which Judi and I ran to the beach for the “photo finish.”
Off then to lunch, joined by Ray & Rosemarie Dersteine from Penn Valley Church, who drove down to celebrate with us.
The ride back to Telford was HOT HOT HOT, especially when stopped at traffic lights.
One more post! Tomorrow (Sunday, Aug. 15) we’ll post one more thought and then our Coast-to-Coast for Hand-in-Hand ride 2021 will be a wrap.
PHOTOS
1) Our pack of six cycles: Barb, Brian Orme (Judi’s son), Judi, Wanda Alderfer, Steve Moyer, and Duane Moyer — all from Penn Valley Church (Telford, PA), where Judi’s late-husband was senior pastor and where Barb Grew up.
2) Crossing the Delaware was way easier for us today than it was for Washington and his men at this very spot on Christmas day, 1776.
3) Whoever put a stop light at the top of this steep incline definitely wasn’t a biker nor a drive of a stick shift.
4) Illegal parking for 10 minutes at Belmar Beach. No citations issued.
5) Lunch to celebrate with the whole gang.
Day #18 (Aug 14): Reflection on Bends in the Road —
Today was about returning to normal life for both Judi and me. Judi spent the day with her kids and grandkids while I visited with my father and spent the evening with my brother Dave’s family.
A REFLECTION ON NAVIGATING BENDS IN THE ROAD
There are quite a few difference between this year’s ride on motorcycles and last year’s on bicycles. For one thing, this year’s route was completed in 16 rides whereas last year’s required 40 rides (or was it 39?). And while we did retrace much of our 2020 route, we also branched out this year to take in new paths and adventures, including Washington state’s Olympic National Park and Mount Rainier, as well as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Mackinaw Bridge.
But there are other things that were pretty much the same, even identical, for both rides, and I focus here on just one: navigating bends in the road.
As you might imagine, last year’s trip of 3,700 miles and this year’s or 4,300 miles came with a lot of curves and sharp bends. But whether riding a bicycle or a motorcycle, the key to navigating a sharp bend in the road is the same: focus further down the road.
This may seem counter intuitive as. When out of balance in the middle of a curve, the most natural thing is to focus on the place where one is about to leave the road – or worse, crash. But the way out of the curve is to focus further down the road to the end of the bend. Somehow, when the focus is the end of the curve, the brain naturally shifts the rider’s weight so as to emerge from the bend without major incident.
Put simply, to navigate a curve on two wheels, one must focus further down the road. The rider’s point of focus is where the rider will end up.
This was a frequent meditation for me during Judi’s and my ride, for there is a strong correlation between navigating a bend in the road on a cycle and navigating one on the road of life.
There are no doubt folks reading this who are in the middle of some pretty severe “bends in the road,” maybe it’s a bad diagnosis, or a ruptured relationship, or any one of myriad twists and turns in life’s road, many of which weren’t seen until already in the middle of it and fighting to keep upright and on the road.
To “keep looking further down the road” is far more than just the acknowledgment that, “this, too, shall pass.” It’s the conviction that, for those in Christ, our future is secure! Strength and healing is sure, that there is a kingdom awaiting those in Christ, where we can romp with bears and not get hurt (Isaiah 11:6-9), sing any note, walk through doors (John 20:19, 26), float in the air (Acts 1:9); where Christ will reign and will allow us to stand and serve with Him in His perfect Kingdom (Rev. 5:10).
A little down the “road” from there is the new heaven and the new earth, and an eternity we will spend discovering and learning and singing and dancing and eating and serving with Jesus; where we will, “Follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Rev. 14:4). This amazing future, when we allow it to be our focus, will draw us safely through the twisting, curving, hazardous bends of this life.
We who are in Christ can thrill at the knowledge of what’s ahead, and the energy of that focus will lead us safely through the hazardous bends in life’s road.
That is my reflection I offer from our ride across America 2021.
PLEASE LET US KNOW!
Did you follow us all the way through this ride? Did you pray for our Hand-in-Hand kids? If so, would you consider emailing us at <bwooler@encompassworld.org> and in a word or three let us know you were with us?
We are supremely grateful to the LORD and to you, and so we end with two simple words: Thank you!
PHOTOS
1) We did finally catch up to the blue sky in Pennsylvania! This photo was taken on my way home from breakfast with Dan Balmer.
2) Judi today with her clan (her dad and grandchildren)
3) My great-niece likes cycles, too!
4) Navigating bends in the road – this is Judi and son Brian on PA’s route 6 (Thursday’s ride).
