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‘Sea to See’ bike ride stops in Brownsville
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By Daniel McGonigle
Argus Managing Editor
The purpose of the journey is to raise awareness of the needs of young people across the globe and to raise funds for Youth For Christ (YFC) outreach programs across the world.
A group of a dozen or so riders and their support vehicles set out from Anacortes, Washington on June 17 and expect to reach Bar Harbor, Maine on August 15.
The group stopped in Brownsville on July 22. They were being hosted locally by the Zion Evangelical Church.
The cyclist range in age from 19 to 62 and will cover nearly 4,300 miles in the few months they’ll be on the road.
“We average about 83 miles per day,” said Bryan Blomker who is the lead rider.
The group left Lake City, Minnesota and made the stop in Brownsville on Tuesday. Early Wednesday morning they got up for the day long journey to Edgerton, Iowa. They had planned on going to Elkator, Iowa, but because of the June flooding the destination had to be changed.
In all it is about 100 miles each day for the journey that surrounded their stop over in the quite river town.
“It’s been a great trip so far,” noted Blomker. “The best part of the trip has been all the people we’ve met along the way. Like they’ve been here (Brownsville) they’ve been very welcoming.”
The ride hasn’t come without a few obstacles.
“Probably the biggest challenge was going over the northern cascades in the Rockies,” said Blomker. “We hit real strong head winds in North Dakota.”
Cyclists hail from England, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, Switzerland and the United States. They burn on average anywhere from 3,000 up to 7,000 calories per day on the ride.
“It’s nice,” said Blomker. “You get to eat whatever you want.”
Experience levels range from avid rider to novice.
“I just got started right before the ride,” said Blomker. “Why am I riding across America? Because I’m insane! The real reason is that I can think of nothing more important than reaching young people around the world with the life-changing message of Jesus.”
Throughout the nearly two-month journey, the riders will travel through Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Across the country they are being hosted by churches and local YFC Ministry Centers.
As the group gathered their gear and prepared for the ride out of Brownsville, Pastor Brian Cuda blessed them with a prayer.
More information on the ride can be found at www.yfcbikeride.org.
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