H.I.S. Home 300 Michigan Route
June 20-25, 2011
Description: H.I.S. Home 300 is a 6 day, 316 mile bike ride from Rockford, Michigan to Harrod, Ohio. The ride exists primarily to benefit the children of H.I.S Home for Children, an orphanage located in Port au Prince, Haiti.
H.I.S Home for Children is a haven for orphaned and abandoned children in the poverty stricken capital of Haiti. The orphanage is founded and operated by Hal and Chris Nungester of Harrod, Ohio. The ride is intended to raise funds and awareness for H.I.S. Home.
The Michigan route is one of three groups that will converge on Harrod, Ohio on June 25. The other groups are arriving from Joliet and Champagne, Illinois. This will be the second year of the Michigan route. The Illinois routes will be completing the ride for the fifth year. All rides are well organized and operated in a professional manner.
The ride is broken down into 6 days, each day averaging 50 miles of riding. The ride will begin in Rockford, MI at Blythefield Hills Baptist Church. We will overnight at the following towns along the route:
Night one- Nashville, MI
Night two- Sandstone, MI
Night three- Hudson, MI
Night four- Ney, OH
Night five- Delphos, OH
Night six- Harrod Christian Church, Harrod, OH
Night Six will be an optional stay at a hotel in Lima, Ohio after the end of the ride.
We anticipate the ride ending around 4 pm in Harrod, OH. Traditionally the riders will gather on the Sunday following the ride for Church services and lunch at Harrod Christian Church, which is the sending church for Hal and Chris Nungester.
Lodging, dinners and breakfasts will be provided by partnering churches and businesses along the route, along with private donations and volunteers. Road support will accompany the riders along the entire route for mechanical and medical assistance, as well as to provide lunches, snacks and water along the route.
Cost: There will be no cost for participating in the H.I.S. Home 300; however, the intention of the ride is to raise funds for the support and care of the children at the orphanage, so a minimum of $500 of pledges is required for each rider.
Spiritual Emphasis: A secondary purpose of this ride is to be a time of spiritual pilgrimage for each rider. Daily devotions as a group, personal readings and meditation times will all be used with the intention of seeking God in deeper relationship. You will be asked to obtain some preparatory reading material and complete it before the trip. Devotional material will be provided each day for the ride. It is our hope that through the week spent on the road that your walk with God will be deepened. It is only by His hand that each rider, as well as each child at H.I.S. Home is sustained.
We also encourage you to use this ride to be an opportunity for mentoring, intentional parent/child relationship building, and outreach. Bring your teenage kids (over 14 only), your accountability or small group or friends for a time of pursual and intentional fellowship.
Physical Emphasis: 50 miles per day for 6 days straight is a long ride for most. Use this trip as motivation to get off the couch and get yourself into better physical shape. The health benefits of training for and participating in a 300 mile ride are great. Do not let the distance intimidate you. We will break each day into four separate riding times of approximately 12-13miles each time, with breaks for snacks, rest and lunches in between. You can do it!
Training: Start riding 10 miles a day three times a week as soon as possible. Gradually increase your mileage until you are riding 70-80 miles per week at about 13 mph. There is no substitute for time in the saddle. In fact, your rear end will get tired before your legs do. You can do it! Just start riding. A good guide for road riding is Safe Bicycling in Illinois a free booklet available from the Illinois Department of Transportation. The booklet is viewable at the following site: www.dot.state.il.us/bikemap/safekids/safebike.pdf we will obey all rules of the road, practice safe group riding skills, and wear properly fitted helmets at all times.
Other Expectations: Cell phones, headphones, handheld video games, etc. are allowed only during free time and NEVER while riding. Please do not bring any music, games, or clothing that is not appropriate for a Christian setting. Every rider will be responsible for cleaning his/her bike, washing their clothes as needed, loading and unloading their gear from the support vehicle, and being on time for scheduled activities. Riders will also share the responsibility of daily church clean up. (It is the intention of the riders to leave each place we stay cleaner than when we arrived in order to maintain good relationships with our host churches in anticipation of future rides.) Males and females will have separate sleeping quarters and respect each other’s privacy at all times. Fellowship is strongly encouraged during the ride. Dating is not. No one under 18 years of age will leave the host church without adult supervision.
The Michigan route is being organized by Geoff and Judy Van Berkel. You can find us at;
8040 10 Mile Road N.E.
Rockford, MI 49341
1-616-262-5723
gvberkel@calvin.edu
"I have spent the prime of my life and strength in labors for your eternal welfare. You are my witnesses that what strength I have had, I have not neglected in idleness, nor laid out in prosecuting worldly schemes, and managing temporal affairs, for the advancement of my outward estate and aggrandizing myself and my family; but have given to the work of the ministry, laboring in it night and day, rising early and applying myself to this great business to which Christ has appointed me." -Jonathan Edwards
