 Big
Ride 2007 was a big success. We started out on Saturday, Sept.
29 at 6:30 AM. Stuart Wilson, Marc Prioleau and I pushed toward
the Santa Cruz Mountains. The day was supposed to be foggy
and windy. Instead we were met with a crisp clear California
sunrise. Not a cloud was seen the entire day. The wind only
emerged as a light head wind toward the end of the ride. What
a blessing!
The day started with a 1600 foot climb over
the mountains toward the ocean. 30 miles into the journey,
we made a quick stop in Pescadero for some refreshment. Heading
down Highway 1 we had spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean
and the mountains. My wife Pat met us in Santa Cruz at the
pier, 5 hours and 70 miles into the ride. After a quick lunch,
Marc left us, having done his job of pacing us through the
first half of the ride.
After waiting for 30 cheerleaders to cross
the street to a competition at the boardwalk, we continued
down the coast toward Pajaro. There we cut back inland after
finishing our hundredth mile and a refueling at a local quick
mart.
Next came the trip back over the Mountains
through Aromas – a little town in the eucalyptus-covered
hills. A bracing descent brought us into farming country
and Hollister. Turning north, we encountered a slight headwind,
but soldiered on. Stuart got a flat tire. We pulled over
to change and discovered we had pulled into a patch of sand
burrs, which now covered our tires. We picked them out as
carefully as we could and changed the tire. Soon after, I
got a flat. No doubt, I missed a sand burr.
So with 30 miles to go and no more spare tubes
we headed north toward Morgan Hill and our rendezvous with
Pat. Our speed steadily decreased as we neared the last hill
before Morgan Hill. I must admit that I never felt the ride
as much as this year. But having Stuart make the whole ride
was a great comfort. Finally, nearly 11.5 hours and roughly
150 miles after we started, we pulled into the Target parking
lot and piled into the Honda Element for the ride to Joni’s
for the Fiesta.
Joni put together a great spread of Carnitas,
jerk chicken and other treats. Pat’s chocolate chip
cookies were welcome as well. But the best part was sharing
the day with our families, friends and supporters.
Thanks to all of you who supported us this
year with your prayers, good wishes and contributions. Pledges
and contributions of more than $9,000 make this year’s
ride a great success. I want to also congratulate Stuart,
for being the first rider ever to ride the full ride with
me and for raising nearly $2000 himself.
If you haven’t yet sent in your pledge,
please do so now. Checks can be made out to JCEP/Silicon
Valley Community Foundation and sent to: JCEP 405
El Camino Real #619, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Blessings and thanks,
Scott Kline
OCTOBER JUAREZ TRIP
October 7-10, I traveled to Juarez with a team
of 14 from Menlo Park Presbyterian Church (MPPC), my home
church. As always, it was a four- day trip to build houses
and serve the poor in the Colonias outside of Juarez. We
had a great team led by my friend Andrew Doolittle. A unique
aspect of this trip was that in addition to building a house
for a family, we would also be building the third of three
kindergarten buildings in Kilometer 30 (K30). We also did
a food and crafts outreach at a local women’s shelter.
I stayed an extra two days to visit with the children sponsored
by the JCEP. Another goal was to start the process of obtaining
passports for our 4 oldest girls, so they could come to the
U.S. next summer for English classes and immersion. We were
successful in providing all information and payments for
the passports, which will be ready next week. (No six month
wait like the U.S.) Next we have to get visas.
The kids we are sponsoring are doing quite well. Two of
our kids have moved away, Juan Carlos and Nancy Margarita.
We hope to be replacing them with new kids soon. The remaining
nine are in school and making good marks. They are also progressing
well in their English classes with our new teacher Joel.
I got to teach the English class one evening, after taking
the kids out to dinner at a local restaurant.
The slab has been poured for the new Library we will be
building in January with the funds raised in our May fundraiser
at Joni Cropper’s. Joni will be leading the MPPC team
down to build it.
Thanks to you for helping make all this happen.
A more detailed report is available on the JCEP blog at:
http://jcepblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/october-2007-trip-kindergarten.html
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