News

More than 200 to Cycle in Sea to Sea Ride for the Poor

June 16, 2008

June, 2008—More than 200 cyclists are set to ride in what is projected to be the largest bike tour ever to cross North America.

The “Sea to Sea 2008 Bike Tour” is a nine-week trek across the United States and part of Canada, beginning June 30 in Seattle, Wash., and finishing in Jersey City, N.J. on Aug. 30. Of the 218 participants, 127 will ride the entire 3,881-mile distance while another 91 are riding for at least a two-week portion of the route.

Cycling to end poverty

Presented by the Christian Reformed Church, the tour provides a way to raise awareness and funds for people living in poverty in North America and around the world. Organizers have set a goal of raising $1.5 million to help end the cycle of poverty by partnering with the Reformed Church in America and agencies like the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, Christian Reformed World Missions, and Partners Worldwide, funding programs in job creation, education, health services and more.

“Poverty is a big issue and it takes something big like this tour to draw attention to it,” says Rev. Len Riemersma, a tour organizer from Willard, Ohio. “We serve a big God who is calling us to offer His hope to people in what often seems like hopeless situations.”

A cycling enthusiast, Riemersma is one of three chaplains riding along with the group this summer providing pastoral care while enjoying a challenging adventure.

Also cycling the full distance is Claire Elgersma, who kick-started the planning of the “Sea to Sea” tour. She participated in a similar ride hosted by the CRC in 2005 that stretched almost 6,000 miles across Canada over 10 weeks.

“Biking across Canada was an amazing experience for the church and also very life-changing for me,” Elgersma says. “For 71 days, we were exposed to the elements and were totally dependent on God for his protection.”

About this tour, she says: “An event like this is big enough and crazy enough to generate enormous enthusiasm around a cause. This tour is merely a vehicle to challenge groups and individuals to engage in serving the poor all over the world in some way.”

Sea to Sea cyclists have committed to raising $10,000 each, (other cyclists are raising $4,000 each per stage). Donations to individual cyclists or to the tour in general can be made online at www.SeatoSea.org or by calling 1-888-CRC-BIKE.

Celebrating and Working Along The Way

Sea to Sea will feature 12 rallies in cities along the route where tour supporters and the public can gather with the riders to celebrate what God is doing through the tour to alleviate poverty. Most of these rallies occur on Sundays, when cyclists take a day off from riding.

The largest gathering is expected to take place in Grand Rapids at the 8,000-seat Fifth Third Ballpark. Grand Rapids is home to the headquarters of both the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America.

A unique aspect to this tour will be the opportunity for cyclists to volunteer at various agencies that work with the poor in cities along the route. The first of these takes place in Yakima, Wash., on July 3 where, after cycling 42 miles, a dozen or more cyclists will assist the Union Gospel Mission in serving a meal to the homeless and helping to give away furniture to those in need.

Two countries

Most of the participants are members of the Christian Reformed Church, a protestant, evangelical denomination with about 275,000 members in 1,000 churches in the United States and Canada. The church’s bi-nationality prompted organizers to design a route that would include traveling through a part of Canada, passing through cities that were not including in the 2005 tour.

The CRC was established in 1857 in Holland, Michigan and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2007. “Sea to Sea 2008 Bike Tour” builds on the celebrations of the past while continuing to look for opportunities to make a positive impact in the world for generations to come.

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