Ride for the Dominican 2022

 Hey all,

We are at it again. This year took a little bit to get nailed down. But Matthew (old) Finley (15), Piper (12) and Ollie (11) are ready to ride. Last month, Sharon had a bit of a crash which has placed her on injured reserve for this year's ride. She will be driving sag wagon.

Our ride will be the 3rd section of the Mississippi River trail. In year one we started at the Canadian border, went to Itasca State Park, the headwaters of the Mississippi River and rode down to Hastings, Minnesota. Last year we took off from Hastings, Minnesota; crossed into Wisconsin and road down to Keithsburg, Illinois. 

Well, 2022 is here and we are starting at Keithsburg, Illinois and heading to the very southern tip, Cairo, Illinois! Let's face it, the state of Illinois is VERY LONG! This will be approximately 415 miles. Last year we faced over 13,000 feet of climb and this year it is about half that. To say we are excited is an understatement! 

More than the ride though is the people we get to support. We have fallen in love with the Dominican Republic and a group of people in Santiago, Dominican Republic in particular. Once again we are partnering with Pastor Pedro Juan to bless the ministry of his church and other churches in the area. In particular, we hope to raise $7,000 toward education and equipping the next generation of the Church down there. The money will be used for pastors, churches, classes and all that goes into teaching people. 

This goal is a bit different than our previous couple of years. It won't be the finishing of a building which is easily seen, but an investment in the people of Santiago and the surrounding communities. The success of this ride and these donations won't result in images of completed buildings or fresh paint, it will result in stories from men and women who have been impacted by your gift.

We ride for the Dominican Republic and have continuously been humbled by your generosity. Join us once again in supporting the ride and the people of the Dominican Republic! Sponsor a mile for $4.25 or sponsor a hundred. A lump sum or a few dollars will edge us closer to our goal. 

LET'S RIDE! 

Donation Information and directions

Go to THIS LINK.

Click the button that says "Add Another Account" and then select "Ride For the Dominican. Follow the rest of the directions and click "next."

Commonly Asked Questions

How much of my money goes toward the bikes, camping, and food etc? None. The Morkens have zero access to the money that is donated and all but the the fee to wire it goes to Pedro Juan in Santiago, Dominican Republic. 

Is this ride connected to Veritas Church in any way? No.  This is not a ministry of Veritas church in any way, shape or form. While we both work for Veritas, they are not affiliated with this ride whatsoever. Veritas graciously allows us to use their giving system to help make it easier. In this is also built in accountability for your donation.

How much money does Veritas Church get from my donation? None. They graciously help us wire the money down to Santiago and do not take any percentage of what we receive. 

How else can I help? Pray! Pray for safety and for great weather. Share our posts. It is a task to get ahead of Facebooks algorithms. Help us by sharing our photos, stories, and updates. 

Ride for the Dominican 2020

 Check out this video for an update on our 2020 Ride! We look forward to having you follow along. As we have learned over the last several years, it is very difficult to ride lots of miles, camp, maintain social media and blog presence so therefore the blog gets the last of our energies. We are sorry if this is an inconvenience. Our goal will be to post our ride over time throughout the fall and winter. 

We love our friends in Santiago, Dominican Republic and look forward to seeing the completion of this worship center. If you are interested in supporting the mission please check out THIS LINK. 

If you have any questions about the Ride for the Dominican or about giving, please let us know in the comment section below. 

The Morkens 

We Begin the Ride

Well we had made it to Peoria, Illinois and spent a night in a hotel. The last 24 miles driven slowly with three lug bolts in place. There are a lot of plans contingent on a pretty straight forward schedule. We were supposed to be at Kurt's house for the night and dropped off in downtown Cincinnati by about 9 so we could hit the road. 

Nope!

I hope I don't sound bitter, everything happens for a purpose it is just so interesting to reflect on the feelings then as apposed to the feelings after the ride is done. This isn't the first time we have experienced something like this and going into this situation we knew that as well and I was trying to apply what had happened every other time our plans had fallen apart... everything had always worked out. I'd be tempted to rip Jeremiah 29:11 out of context to talk about my plans and God's plans... but that would be ripping a verse out of context...

Here was THE PLAN for if we left at 9ish in the morning. Sadly I can't embed the picture.

Anyway, in 30 minutes the spacer was removed and our tire was replaced on the vehicle. The cost for this whole fiasco: <$22.00! I guess I could count the unforeseen hotel room... but that wasn't the cost I was scared of. That was absolutely astonishing. A huge shout out to Tires Plus on 150 in Peoria. Thanks for getting us in and safely on the road.

Well we got to Cincinnati about 2ish and connected with Kurt who was gracious enough to drive us down to the center of Cincinnati on his day off. The area where the OTET trail starts is right between Paul Brown Stadium (the Bengals call this home) and the Great American Ball Park (where the Reds play. There was a Red's game happening so it was busier than expected. The Reds were losing by double digits so more people were outside the stadium. We couldn't find a place to park so we ended up pulling up next to a sidewalk and putting our flashers on.

It took about an hour and a half to unload the vehicle, put Ollie's wheels on his bike (his bike didn't fit on the bike rack), put the panniers on Sharon's bike, get Finley's bike loaded and set up the Burley. While pumping up the Burley's tire one exploded very loudly. It was awkward... and people are really jumpy these days. Thankfully I had a new tube and it was fixed easily.

Here we are ready to go! There are a lot of nerves in this picture. How are the boys going to do? Are we going to have bike issues? Are we going to raise the money for the school? Will any of us be hurt on this ride? Is it going to rain? Will we get lost? But that is how you start a bicycle tour.

We said our goodbyes and started pedaling.

It was pretty crazy, there were lots of people and lots of sights to see. Within about 100 yards, Finley got his bike tire caught in a trolley track and he went down hard. Thankfully he was not hurt.

These signs were very helpful in getting started. There were several local trails here and there and these kept us on the right path.

It was a beautiful day and as we road next to the Ohio River the sights were awesome.

After about 6 miles on the road we got to the "train track trail." This is where we would stay for about 200ish miles. It was incredible.

This cool cat was doing it! We were a little scared for Piper as we went... he was busy looking around and went off the trail at least a few times nearly wiping out. He also didn't get hurt which was amazing.

There were several massive bridges that we drove under that were pretty spectacular. Not significant for any other reason than for the fact that they were HUGE.

So we made it 31.2 miles by 8:15 or so in the evening. Two crashes (Finley and Piper) but no injuries! We were near Goshen, Ohio, at Lake Cozy-Dale.  We set up the tent and ate supper, showered up, celebrated Finn a little bit for his 12th birthday and played Skipbo. It was a fantastic day.

We Made IT!

Yesterday at about 5 pm we rolled down the last several feet of the trail, unloaded, marched through the sand and touched Lake Erie! 

I can't tell you what an awesome experience that is. It reminded me a lot of riding through North Carolina. The exhilaration, all the work and physical discomfort at time culminating in an achieved goal... mind-blowing.

Mostly, I'm proud of the boys. If our expectations were 5 on a scale of 1-10, they were at level 9.

Over the next few weeks we will break down each day with details, pictures and our videos. Please keep checking back in.

Confession

I confess...

Every time we go on a ride I want to keep this page up to date for those of you who don't use social media (I have much respect for      you) However, after riding a bunch of miles, scrambling to get the tent set up, helping make the meal and clean up that I'm pretty much ready for bed!


Here's the plan. In a couple weeks we will start the trip over on the blog. I will do my best to give you the best picture of how each day went. Here are the important things.

We are riding the Ohio to Erie Trail.
We started Monday September 2nd and will end Saturday September 7.
Our goal is to raise $10,000.
100% of the donations will go down to the Dominican Republic (except for the wiring fee).
-Your money doesn't pay for food
-doesn't pay for camping
-no bike stuff either
-not even a massage at the end of the ride.

We love The Center in the Dominican Republic and want you to love it to. The best way to do that is through relationship. We hope to share our relationship with you over time. If you ever have questions please ask.


Here's how you can give
https://my.veritascr.church/give

If you find the giving page confusing this video can help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTsS6pQNXIc

Thanks for following us. Thanks for cheering us on.

The Ride: 2019

It is with great excitement we announce our ride for the Dominican Republic.

This year, we will ride through the state of Ohio!

This year, the whole family is going!

While we are excited and nervous for this on our end, we are really excited for what is happening at The Center in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Each fall they gear up for 60-80 children and teach them English and music along with other things to increase their opportunity to thrive.

The goal this year is to raise $10,000! Sounds insane, but it costs $15,000 to pay for a full year of teachers salaries at this school!!! That also seems crazy. These teachers are making an impact in the next generation of Dominicans. 

 Would you consider supporting our ride? We will be the first to admit that there are a lot of great organizations to support. There are many doing amazing things. We are passionate about what is happening at The Center and its impact on children in that region. If you have any questions please ask and we would be happy to connect and discuss the school and the opportunities there.

So this is how we are doing it. $10,000 divided by 330 miles, divided by 5 riders comes out to 6.07 a mile. When miles are sponsored it is a fun way to encourage us to get going even on the difficult days with a headwind or lots of hills. Sponsor a mile, sponsor 10 miles... or even more. Know that 100% of your tax-deductible donation, apart from a wiring fee to get the money in the hands of Pastor Pedro Juan, goes to the school. No donations are used for bicycling or any part of that trip.

Keep an eye out on this website as we add updates from the journey. We want to bring you along!

HERE IS A LINK SO YOU CAN SPONSOR MILES.

For instruction on how to give  you can WATCH THIS VIDEO.