Day 3. 9.4.13

Today was weird. We waited all day until 4 pm to receive our bikes. So it took us a whole to put them back together hence we didn't feel like we had enough time to make it back to the golden gate bridge and the pacific to take pictures. Long story short, we took our time putting them together well and took a quick test ride so that we can go at 6 am tomorrow morning.

John had his friend Lorenzo over for dinner and it was a blast. He had some hilarious stories of his bike trip across America years ago. Obviously if he was John's friend he must have something in common with a bicycle. But he was quite the personality and was very into films and culture. We gained some great advice from him, especially about using post offices. Anyone want to send clif bar care packages? Haha. We can tell you how. :):):p

Tomorrow we will do a nice long post of the real day #1. We will begin the ride and end up in a campground about 50 miles east of Oakland (after our San Francisco trip for pictures).

Peace and love,

And tailwinds,

The team 

Day 2. 9.3.13.

Tuesday,

Today was our city exploring day. We got up early to go get on the ferry to head over to San Fran. Of course, our hero, John took us to the ferry port at 7:30 AM, after he made us oatmeal for breakfast... well he made me oatmeal because Josh doesn't eat breakfast (I tell him he is crazy). 

The ferry ride to SF was super fun, we got a little wet, and we saw huge huge huge shipping boats in the port. My best guestimate on their weight was 1 billion tons each. 

Two of the shipping boats

Josh went to his architecture meetings/interviews and met some amazing people. From how he explained things to me it sounds like he will be a designing homes for billionaires in SF and be a millionaire himself by Christmas. He is a highly sought after man I tell ya what. He could have some great options out here.  

When Josh left, that meant that I, with a complete lacking in city experience, had to figure things out without my right hand man. But I did it! I spent my day walking for hourrrrrrs, and riding public busses and BART. It was pretty fun. I felt so accomplished. I got a new handlebar bag for my bike from Valencia Cyclery. Bought a reading book for the trip called "Boundaries" by Henry Cloud and John Townsend from the Harvest Christian Bookstore. I bought some groceries from Safeway. 

I met some cool people at the bike store (Brian) and the book store (Margaret). Brian was actually from Guatemala, I believe very close to where we will be building the wells! He told me to stay with his uncle who is actually an Archbishop in Guatemala. Brian was super cool and helped me pick out my handlebar bag. I couldn't believe the coincidence. He said his family owns some coffee fields and that Josh and I should work in them for a few days. I thought that sounded like a crazy experience so we will see if we end up having that opportunity! I feel like I may see Brian again. 

Then I travelled to the Golden Gate Bridge! I took so many pictures that my phone died haha. Actually my phone died because I was using it so much for navigation because I had no idea how to get anywhere. 

It was a bummer that my phone died because that made it very difficult to meet up with Josh at the GGB. He just missed a train that ran on the hour, and some busses took forever. I was expecting him around 4 and didnt see him til 5:30. I was getting a little nervous and began trying some pay phones (that didnt work! ugh...)

But I finally saw him and all was well in my soul. 

While I was waiting for him I did a lot of exploring on little hiking trails around the GGB. 

Check out some of these views of the Golden Gate, and Alcatraz. I was blown away by the scenery. 

GGB 

GGB 

West side

From underneath

Alcatraz. Glad I don't live there, although I bet they have the nicest weather of any prison. 

We went to REI together to get a few last things (like fuel to cook with while camping, and Josh got a hammock so that we can really stealth camp!)

Then we ate dinner at a local mexican food joint. I had a burrito that blew Chipoltle or Qdoba out of the water in every way! I would love love love to eat there again. 

All this happened and we got back to John's by 10 PM. It's to late to stay up any longer. Goodnight!

Our bikes come in the mail tomorrow!

GOD IS AWESOME!

Tailwinds, 

Mark and Josh. 

but the real stars of the story are....

folks, mark and I have been so blessed by so many people on this trek already. 

the Linkas - outstanding hospitality and company. we were blessed to be able to call their beautiful home ours for the weekend in preparation for flying out to San Francisco. Saturday we kayaked late afternoon along a beautiful inland waterway off the ocean (right outside the Linka's backyard no less) and later on enjoyed excellent enchiladas for dinner from the talented hands of mrs. Linka. Sunday brought us a great message from mr. Linka at their home church, more deliciousness from Mrs. Linka at lunch (marinated chicken & mozzarella on ciabatta), a birthday party for the ages celebrating 5 years of Brenner, a grand tour of the area by boat thanks to mr. Linka, and a rather thrilling film, joined by Meredith and Braxton. what a weekend. 

Alexis Linka - waking up ridiculously early to drive us to the airport, praying over our trip, letting me steal mark from you for so long, putting up with sweaty, smelly boys on the LONG drive from Michigan - you rock, Lexi. 

All Saints Anglican Church (the Linkas church) - your generosity, your openness to welcoming mark and I to worship with you on Sunday, so many stories and laughs we shared in so short a time. thank you. 

John Weiss - brilliant. filling us up with delicious food, Bay Area knowledge, bike route wisdom, and such an incredible excitement for being out on the road on our bikes. you're enthusiasm is contagious and irresistible. thanks for making it so easy on us out here, we would never have been able to make this possible without you and Alison's help. 

Alison - maps! questions answered! route advice! gear advice! thank you thank you thank you! 

and to all our family and friends back at home and elsewhere, thank you. we've seen the Lord open door after door for us and I know this is because you are praying for our safety and our mission. 

love from out west,

joshua & mark

the lifecycle team

Day 1 is in the books!

Today was an incredible day. It was long and it feels like there has been multiple days lived within one. This morning we woke up at 5 AM in North Carolina, Lexi brought us to the airport to set us off on our adventure in prayer and love. 

I (Mark) actually was sitting by a lady on the plane to San Fran who was going on a missions trip to Alaska with her church, pretty cool. Also Josh and I's seats weren't next to each other and then by the time we took off The seat by Josh was the only empty seat on the plane, so I promptly took the Lord's leading and moved seats to be with my accomplice. 

It was the most fun and interactive flight I have ever had because we were flying directly over everything that we will be riding back across over the next 2 months. 6 hours there, 60 days back. It was especially cool to see the Colorado river through Colorado and Utah.

The Colorado River

We landed smooth, and then got on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to go meet John! John is the husband of Alison who I had met through an online bike touring journal site crazyguyonabike.com.  She wasn't able to be here because she is out leading her own bike tour, but John graciously welcomed us into his home and also picked us up. It has been such a blessing being here already and we have 2 more nights here because we have to wait for our bikes to arrive by mail with FedEx. 

John blessed us with great sandwiches, took us out for dinner to a Japanese restaurant. I tried a bunch of sushi and actually liked it, total shocker. He gave us a walking tour all around his neighborhood which is up on a high hillside surrounded by so many mansions, amazing trees like eucalyptus trees, stunning landscaping, and perfect views of the cities of Oakland and San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge was on full display from this high up. We are so lucky right now and are getting a full San Francisco experience. God is so good and has blessed us beyond belief so far.  

view of the bay (Golden Gate is in the background)

Sunset view of the Bay (Alcatraz is there too)

Tomorrow is a city exploring day. We will get up early and take the ferry back from Oakland to the San Fran ferry building. I have to buy a new handlebar bag because mine melted in the heat of NC (so dumb!) and I will get some food supplies, meanwhile Josh will be meeting with a few different architecture firms in SF. The architecture is amazing out here, I have never seen so many amazingly manicured gardens, bushes and trees. San Francisco seems like quite the city and we are really looking foward to doing some exploring!

John also helped us with mapping our route a lot today. We have had to come up with some extensive optional route plans because of the Yosemite fires. I'll let y'all know more when we know our plans. But keep your eyes open for any opening of highway 120 (tioga pass). 

Thank you all for your prayers, they mean the world. God is taking care of us and keeping us safe. This trip is already amazing. 

trial run at pilot mountain

once again, the LORD was on our side. 

last night we hit North Carolina and faced two options: one, keep driving the remaining 5+ hours to morehead city, rolling in around 2am. two, camp for the night and finish the drive the next day. we tried calling two different campsites but weren't guaranteed a spot at one, and couldn't get a hold of the camp office at the other. we tried the latter of the two since it was closer, and we were closing in on 9pm (when most sites close). 

we pulled into the site at 8:47, didn't see anyone at the office, and though the gate was still open, all was dark. on our way to the camp host's site, we saw a number of open sites, and pulling into one that was right next to the showers/restrooms, met up with Earl (the camp host) who graciously help us out with registering and paying for the night, even though it was just after hours. 

went up to the top of pilot mountain for a sweet morning view out over the blue ridge mountains before driving the remaining miles to morehead city. 

looking forward to the next few days - final prepping, planning and packing before we fly out Monday AM. 

until then,

may God hold you in the hollow of His hand,

josh & mark

the lifecycle team

Day .5... The long hot sunny beautiful drive

The arial shot of josh driving 

Today started at 5:45 am for me (mark). I picked up Alexis in GR then we set out for East Lansing. We picked up Josh from the newlyweds (Davie and Aimee) and had a wonderful waffle breakfast!

The trip really began after that and the ride has been increasingly warmer ever since. My car has done amazing so far besides the glaringly underwhelming performance of the  AC. 

I am much happier with josh driving now, especially after I made more than one and less than three wrong exits. Man that's the worst. 

We still have not decided where tonight will be spent. It's between the car and stone mountain state park (near Boone). We could make it to morehead city tonight but that is still 10 hours I bet. It's a 15 hour drive according to Mr. Google. It would be only 5 hours left for tomorrow if we stopped at the campground. 

We think it would b kind of fun to do a test run on all of our gear. But also it'd be nice to finish the drive today as well. 

Cheers and tailwinds!!!

Mark

Tomorrow morning is NC

Tomorrow, starting at 6am we are leaving for North Carolina. Alexis is coming with us to go stay at her NC home for a few days and then she will take us to the airport on Monday! Thanks sweetie :)

It was an incredible visit in GR for me, hanging out with the Minards, Hellems, the Morgans, Sydney, and Cullen, Dan, and the rest of my CU friends. It almost felt like I was coming back to school, but that couldn't be further from the truth haha. 2 months on the bike awaits me. I  ready to get going! 

The pressure feels relieved as we have raised enough money to build a well and very close to enough for Josh and I to go help build it! Now we are just working towards a second well :) thanks everyone for your generous hearts!

Peace and love. 

Tailwinds,

Mark

one big happy ortlieb family

with two front panniers, I have a little more room than mark, and after an initial "let's see if it all fits" packing, I've finally struck upon a system that's left a fair amount of extra room in each bag. 

we start driving south tomorrow, and would appreciate your continued prayers for everything to go smoothly - bags checked in without any hassle, bikes arriving on time, safe travels and for The Lord to give us opportunities to share His  love with others even before we start cycling. 

thank you to each and every one of you who has helped us make this trip possible. 

Packing Night/Shipping Bikes

Today was a crazy one. We called United airlines to then find out that our flights were going to be operated by US Airways who decided to upcharge the carrying our bikes from $100 to $200 each! Good thing we called. So we went to Latitude 45 (Our Sponsor Bike Ship) to  see if we had any other options and within a few hours they had our bikes boxed up and ready to ship for FedEx. The only problem was that FedEx was already done for the day so our bikes wit and wait for tomorrow. We ended up saving about @120 each so that was amazing. Thanks Latitude!! But now we won't have our bikes when we get off of the plane. We wont actually even have our bikes until Wednesday which could push our start back a day. I guess that just means more time in San Francisco. Not so shabby. 

I just packed up all of my stuff in my  bags. It is definitely a tight fit thats for sure. I guess I wont be bringing home many souvenirs. 

More pictures later. 

Tailwinds, 

Mark

generous Harbor Lightians, THANK YOU!

once again, I am humbled by the generosity of the Lord's people. 

today we shared at Harbor Light Chapel, and I was overwhelmed by the love and support we received from the body of Christ there. God was definitely speaking through pastor Mindel's excellent message today, was so blessed and encouraged by his challenge to us as Christ's church - the end is near and we are to be on the move, sharing the gospel with everyone we meet, shining as stars bright in the night sky (Daniel 12:3). 

my deepest and most heartfelt thanks to the generous believers at Harbor Light, we are so grateful for your support, your affirmation of our ambitions. we are already well on our way to funding a SECOND well thanks to you!!!! Jehovah Jireh, and what an awesome God He is....

blessings and love in Christ,

joshua

The trip begins in 4 days!

It is now too late to order any more supplies for our trip online, there just aren't enough days left until we leave! It is getting so real. I have all my items/clothing etc. laying out on my bed just waiting to be packed. 

The coolest thing.... We have over $4000 raised for the well in Guatemala. Everyone has been so generous and we are thinking we could possibly build a second well! 

We are convinced that this is the plan that God has for us and we are so excited to be a part of it. 

Tailwinds,

Mark

10 days until liftoff

We are getting totally geeked for this trip. I was thinking today that 2 months is much more than a trip or an adventure. So I am trying to think of it more like a new lifestyle. I am trying to mentally prepare to live like a nomad for 60 days. That is so many days. So many days for God to do amazing things. So many opportunities for josh and I to grow close as friends and to experience life altering events... Together. 

We spoke at Walloon lake community church (our home church) today and they commissioned us with many powerful prayers and with many supportive believers. We couldn't help but wishing we were leaving tomorrow. Our church family was so encouraging! Thanks Walloon! Next week we are sharing at harbor light chapel (our high schools church). 

We plan to begin our drive next Wednesday the 28th. 

Tailwinds...

over half way there!

thanks to a GENEROUS anonymous donor, we are now more than halfway to funding our well in Guatemala!

truly, truly thankful to each and every one of you for all the prayers and support and spreading the news to everyone about our trek. 

mark & josh

the lifecycle team

www.lifecycleamerica.com

google+

interested in following our trek on google+? now you can! check out our page here

tickets purchased!

plane tickets are bought and paid for, we are headed out to San Francisco September 2!

thanks for all your continued prayers and support as we prepare for the trek. 

oh, and we're at 32% in our fundraising goal! well done everyone!! thank you for your generosity 

23% and climbing!

a HUGE thanks to all of those who have donated to our trek so far! you'll hear this a lot from us - there's no way we could reach our goal(s) without all your prayers and support.

it's exactly one month from our estimated departure for San Francisco and we couldn't be more excited!!!

keep spreading the word, and again

THANK YOU

mark & josh

the lifecycle team

http://www.lifecycleamerica.com/

the beginning

this is it. we're really doing it. 

a website along with a host of social network connections are being born to promote our trek across america and - more importantly - the reason for our journey.

through Living Water International, we will fund the construction of a freshwater well in Guatemala (our project's construction dates: February 22nd, 2014 - March 1st, 2014). Our initial goal is $5,000 (covers all costs for the LWI team to construct the well), with the hope that the Lord will provide above and beyond that goal, allowing us to be able to afford to join LWI's team and assist in the well's construction.

DONATE NOW!
(all donations are tax deductible. LWI is also an accredited ECFA member)

please help us reach our goal, no gift is too small, and it WILL make an impact.


for more information, check out our website.

thanks,

Mark & Josh
the lifecycle team