Indiana Dunes State Park, Chesterton, Indiana

First the good news: I did not get lost today, and I had no flat tires!

It was a relaxed, no hurry, kind of day in which we were only supposed to ride 82 kms. We had the option, however, of going in groups of 10 to visit 2 of our denomination’s inner city (Chicago South) ministries: Roseland, and Pullman. Because I chose that option the trip was a little longer. It was worth it. Our visit at Pullman was very brief, but at Roseland we met the pastors working there and a lot of the folks who make use of their ministry: homeless shelter for men downstairs, shelter for women and children upstairs, kitchen where they feed people everyday, worship center, etc. In the picture below, retired pastor Tony Van Zanten explains the history of Roseland. Sadly, Tony suffered a stroke while undergoing an angiogram a few years ago and is no longer able to work. I knew him from a couple of synod meetings.

We had to travel there in groups because there was some fear that these were not safe neighbourhoods for us to travel in alone. That may be so, but the neighbourhoods we cycled through this morning were no different from the neighbourhoods we lived in in Grand Rapids while we studied at Calvin. And we lived there with 3 children.

From there it was on to Indiana, where we were soon greeted wildly by the members of Second CRC in Highland. They had lunch ready for us, as you can see from the pictures below. There is a great danger here, of course, and that is that all the weight I have lost will be regained by the food/snacks we’ll be offered during the next couple of weeks as we tour through areas thick with Christian Reformed churches. It will require all of my willpower to stick to the healthy stuff! I don't want to suffer from "Dutch bum disease."



After that it was a very relaxed trip to the state park. I traveled all day in groups, just so I wouldn't get lost again. The pace was slow and relaxed. At the park several of us decided we could not see Lake Michigan and not swim, and the water was actually pretty nice. The dunes here are pretty awesome, as you can see below, though they're a lot of work to climb.

All in all, it was a slow day, just what we needed after the craziness of yesterday, and with a beautiful sunset to end the day...


Today’s stats:

Distance: 92.51 kms
Average speed: 21.1 kph
Maximum speed: 41.6 ph
Time in saddle: 4.22.10