We're Here!!!

After a trouble-free drive to Camp Zion near the Gill's Rock at the tip of Door County, WI and a wonderful evening with Greenville College alums, Dale and Carol (Finger) Stewart (camp directors), Bike UP 2008 officially kicked off from Gill's Rock around 8:00 a.m. this morning.

Fifty-five miles later, with only a couple of flat tires, all have arrived safe and weary at Tranquil Timbers, a campsite near Sturgeon Bay, WI. I sit here in my comfy camp chair (a luxury item for leaders :-)) watching Scott Mohnkern and Kevin Williams repair bikes while Greg Groves plays worship choruses on his guitar in the background. Life is good.

FMY teens have hit the pool for a little recreation, the showers for some clean up and their tents for a few minutes of shut-eye. Dinner is cooking (we're very thankful for amazing support staff - the Lewises, Williams, Mohnkerns and Carol Knight) and I'm taking advantage of the campground's wi-fi signal. :-)

A brief run-down on yesterday ... We left Greenvile at 6:30 a.m., stopped for gas and potty breaks a few times on the way up and arrived at Camp Zion around 6:30 p.m. (See, I told you it would be brief. :-)) What's missing in this synopsis (thankfully) are stories of flat tires, broken-down people movers, leaving kids behind at rest stops, etc. :-) Although we are rarely immune from these trip challenges, God blessed us with a smooth journey north.

After arriving at Camp Zion and quickly setting up our tents, we were treated to a good old "fish boil" ... with all the butter you can eat. :-) Even this non-fish eater enjoyed the white fish, potatoes and onions provided for us. Thank you Stewarts and Stephens (Ande Stewart Stephens was visiting her family while we were there) for a wonderful evening. The FMYers headed for the lake and a little evening dock jumping before an evening ride meeting and lights out.

We were awaken (as promised :-)) a little after 5:00 a.m. for our first day of riding. The group packed up, ate and readied themselves for what threatened to be a wet trip. Although a bit cloudy with a slight drizzle early on, God provided us a dry day with an afternoon of sunshine. Slight modifications in the route turned a 48-mile day into a little over 55 miles (we chose to avoid the annual Door County 1000-participant triathalon :-)).

With dinner awaiting and a personal goal of getting photos posted to our Picasa Web Album, I will bring this post to a close. Thank you for your support and prayers. Hopefully a hotel stay tomorrow evening will allow for another update soon! Here's a few teasers from http://picasaweb.google.com/bikeup2008:










From Tranquil Timbers ... This is Robyn signing out.