I just returned from another wonderful Habitat 500 bike ride. This was the fourth time Phillip and I peddled 500 miles to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity.

This year Rebecca decided to come with. It is unlikely that we will ever convince Rebecca to peddle a bicycle 500 miles, but she decided to help out as a volunteer. She packed the food for rest stop one into our van each day and had it set up at the rest stop by the time the bikers arrived. She enjoyed herself and she hopes to volunteer again next year.

This year's ride started in Duluth, where the bikers set up wall sections for the 1,000th and 1,001st Habitat for Humanity houses in the state of Minnesota. Then we set out on the Willard Munger trail. The trail was busy that morning. Six hundred roller bladers were traveling from Moose Lake to Duluth on the second day of the Minnesota MS Societies SUN 75 fund raising ride.

This scenery along the Willard Munger trail is beautiful. The trail passes through Jay Cooke State Park along the North side of the St. Louis River. About a mile from Carlton the trail crosses the river. The river rushes through a rock gorge as it passes under the bridge. After the bridge it flows to Lake Superior at a much slower pace.

We stopped on our way through Jay Cooke State Park to plant some trees for the Society of American Foresters. When the trees grow up the lumber will be used to build Habitat for Humanity houses.

We went for a swim in Moose Lake before supper. It was refreshing after riding our bikes in the heat of the day.

The next morning we settled into our daily routine. We got up early enough to have our tents and all our stuff packed on to the gear truck before breakfast. We ate breakfast at 6:30 AM and set out for Brainerd.

We got drenched by a thunderstorm on the way to Brainerd. I expect to get wet at least once on a seven-day trip. On this day I also experienced hail. The biggest hailstones were only about a half-inch in diameter, and the hail didn't last very long. I stood my bike up on its front sprocket and crouched down under the seat, which deflected most of the hailstones.

We had beautiful weather for the ride from Brainerd to Walker. Most of that ride was along the Paul Bunyan Trail. It's great to ride on a bike trail and not have to deal with traffic.

We got drenched and hailed on again as we traveled from Walker to Grand Rapids. I happened to be on a wooded road on the way to Cass Lake when this thunderstorm hit. I got close to the trunk of a Poplar Tree this time, and it didn't do as good a job of deflecting the hail stones as my bike seat. We had beautiful weather for the rest of the ride.

I especially enjoyed the day we traveled from Grand Rapids to Virginia. I stopped at the church I used to serve in Keewatin to say hi to the ladies who had prepared an extra rest stop. You may remember that I met their current pastors on a bike ride two years ago and told them about the opening. Their pastors were on the ride again.

I saw some people from my former congregation in Hibbing when we stopped there. I rode over to the work site where they were tying rebar in preparation for pouring the floor on Saturday.

A five year old girl who will soon be living in that house had set up a lemonade stand to raise money for her house. After I had my lemonade she sat on my bike seat as I pushed the bike up and down the sidewalk for a while. Then I got back on the Mesabi Trail and set out for Virginia.

I was happy to see all the people who joined us for supper at the Miner's Memorial Building in Virginia. We enjoyed the music of Bill Maxwell and Friends; we ate well, and were entertained by some of the bike riders.

Breakfast the next morning was prepared by the men in mission group at Our Savior's Lutheran in Virginia. They served pancakes and sausages, and they did a great job.

The best rest stop of the trip was here at St. Mark's. The ladies made caramel rolls to add to the regular rest stop food. It was great. I received compliments on the food and on the church building all day long.

I was happy to see the lake when I topped the hill on the way into Two Harbors. I was able to keep my bike in high gear all the way to the stop light on Highway 61. Bikers usually only see downhill runs that long in their dreams.

Saturday morning we rode along the shore of Lake Superior into Duluth. The exteriors of both the houses we worked on Sunday morning were complete and we got to install the house numbers.

We had about 130 riders this year and I'm sure the ride will raise over $200,000 once again. Over the four rides, Phillip and I have each peddled more than 2,000 miles for Habitat for Humanity. I haven't kept records of how much we raised, but I would guess that our total is approaching $10,000.

We have a great time and the money we raise goes for a great cause. I thank all of you who contributed, all of you who joined us for dinner in Virginia, all of you who provided food for the rest stop, and all of you who keep us in our prayers as we ride.

Please let me know if you want to work on the house in Midway. If you missed the chance to contribute for the ride, contributions can be made to North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity at any time. The address is Box 24 in Virginia, or you can simply give contributions for Habitat to the pastor.

May God bless each and every one of you.

Sincerely,

Pastor Birk