Follow Stefanie and Jim as they RIDE FOR ORPHANS from California to Illinois:

Stefanie, Jim, and their friend Jason Ziegenhirt (riding with them as far as the Humboldt area) got off to a great start on June 7. The weather was beautiful and spirits were high. A number of friends and family gathered at the Chico Card Center for refreshments and a prayerful send off. The trio experienced a few obstacles that same day when Jason's bike had spoke trouble, and they inadvertently took an unplanned detour. But never-the-less, undaunted, they forged on...

Pictures above: 1) Stefanie, Jason, Jim. 2) Jim giving Susan a farewell hug. 3) Jim's Grandpa, Stefanie, Jim. 4) Jim and Stefanie with Wally and Susan Marshall (her parent's). 5) Jim and his many roommates.

Day 2 saw the trio riding an exceptionally long 14 hours. With aching legs and other parts... they persevered. Perspective and the goal still very fresh in mind kept them going. Acclamation was as expected... very tough coming out of the chute! Day 3, they arrived in Arcada on the California coast, as planned... the home of Jim's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Savage... for needed rest and a grand welcome. They attended First Covenant Church that Sunday and were able to share their story.

Saying good-by to Jason, the pair left Monday, the 11th, making it to Crescent City in about 12 hours. But encountering hilly terrain along the route subsequently slowed progress. They force-paced themselves between 4 to 5 mph, not wanting over-exhaustion to become a major concern. This 'slow go' however caused their ride-hours to increase more than was initially anticipated for this leg of the trip. Thus another concern... being thrown off schedule. But in the end, they met their day's goal.

Stef and Jim arrived in Eugene on the 15th. They rode 85 grueling miles, but found the last 12 were a little easier, thanks to the encouragement and help of family being there for them.

As with any demanding journey, mental challenges have popped up in obscure ways. In a phone call home to her mom Susan, Stefanie shared a couple of these. Repetition creates associations... just as (for you Psychology majors out there) Pavlov discovered with his dogs and the tone of the bell! Jim and Stef quickly learned roadside Mile Markers are definitely not encouraging to their psyche! And, Passing Lane signs mean only 1 thing... be prepared for tough going, an uphill climb is soon ahead!!

These four photos above taken by: Gary Albertson (GaryAlbertson.com) for Sister's Coffee Company.

The Durham family owns a beautiful ranch which provided Stefanie and Jim with much needed rest and rejuvenation! Sunday, they attended church and were delighted to lend their presence at the Sister's Community Church fundraiser, a benefit to raise funds for church planting in Uganda. Though associated with an entirely different organization, it was great to see like-minded individuals reaching out to help meet the spiritual needs of Uganda and its peoples, just as the Uganda Orphans Fund is doing.

Leaving Sisters behind, within 20 miles, Stefanie and Jim met up with another group of cyclists (they had previously learned of via the Internet, namely the Adventure Cycling website, http://adventurecycling.com, routes, transamerica. Thanks for letting us 'borrow' your maps... and thanks to Expedia as well!). Matthew, Lisa, and Lisa's daughter Anna, just happen to be riding the same route as Stefanie and Jim. So, they've all joined together as a merry band (safety in numbers as they say!). Once again, the duo is on track, excited, rested and ready for the next leg of their journey and with new friends.

In the meantime, those of us at the "Chico Command Center" are sending out brochures and Press Releases. Various media outlets along the way have responded and are helping spread the word about the Ride For Orphans. Donations are coming in and God is blessing our riders.

Tuesday, June 19, Stef and Jim rode 57 miles and spent the night in Dayville, Oregon on Hwy 26... headed for Idaho. They stayed in a local church where they had the luxury of a hot shower and a sleeping upgrade from camping. There they met a dad and his two girls, also staying the night, plus another man coming from East to West... nearing the end of his bike journey. It's getting crowded out there! They've also met a 59 year old man (which is still young... hey, give some of us a break!) from Sweden (Yah Yah) who is running across the United States. (It's unclear if he ran all the way from Sweden to get here... but we assume not!) Cell phone service is hit or miss for now.

Stefanie and Jim checked in by phone on Sunday, June 25. They had reached Council, Idaho utterly exhausted (see previous map above these). At this point in the trip, camping is not giving them the rest they need as much as they had hoped for in order to keep trip expenses down. Considering this, the "Chico Command Center" (mom) made arrangements for them to forego sleeping under nature's sky for man-made comforts instead! And what a difference that made! After a good night's rest at a local hotel they are now hoping to make it on to Riggins (see green route map above). It's a grueling trek of about 60 miles.

The constant up hill climb is presenting significant mental as well as physical challenges for them. They've encountered some folks telling them the climb ahead is almost impossible, which of course, has a tendency to play negatively on their thoughts... and though probably meant well is not particularly encouraging. The way forward is an established bike route; they are not the first cycle pioneers to do the ride. So of course, it's very do-able but only at a slow, steady pace. Currently, they are 2 to 3 days behind schedule because of the upward climb and this, too, presents a challenge. Please pray for mental strength to meet these additional mental hurdles to get over. There is no reason to be overly concerned, Stef and Jim just need a bit of rest and they'll keep putting one pedal in front of the other! It is their hope to spend some time sight-seeing for the next day or so, and perhaps even go white-water rafting, to refresh themselves before continuing their journey. Please pray with us that they are able to focus on their surroundings and drink in the refreshing beauty of the area rather than just focusing on the ever winding yellow line and elevation ahead.

June 27 - July 4: To Kooskia, Powell, Missoula, Sula, Jackson, Dillon Montana.

"Hey Mom, We are crossing Lolo Pass right now, we are about to go into Montana and we have not had any cell or computer access so Im just letting you know that we are doing well. Jim crashed his bike two days ago coming down a mountian, a truck blew him over but he is healing and the bike is okay. We are staying in Lolo Hot Springs tonight and we will call you when we arrive in Missoula tomorrow. I love you so much and miss you and everyone else. Talk to you tomorrow. Give Sunny [Stef's dog] lots of kisses from us. Lots of Love, Stef and Jim."

On July 4, they arrived in Dillon, Montana. Duncan Hill (President of the Uganda Orphan Fund) met them there, having driven over from Bozeman, MT. He took them back with him to UOF headquarters for a tour and to catch up on the trip thus far. Also, since Jim has a cousin in Bozeman, they decided to go ahead and delay a day and get in a little more R&R. It was a treat to spend the 4th and 5th together with family, take a well deserved break and have some fun before continuing the long uphill trek. Along with Jim's cousin and her boyfriend, Stefanie and Jim enjoyed floating down a cool and refreshing near-by river. P.S.: Road Schuttlebutt has it the new found cycling companions are now history... Alas, they went their own way and our duo had to go theirs. Oh well... it was fun while it lasted... New friends and adventures are still to come!

Stefanie and Jim also had the chance to stop by Adventure Cycling headquarters and say hello to the gang there!

Because the detour to Bozeman put them a little behind schedule... on the 6th, Jim's cousin graciously drove them to their next destination in West Yellowstone. They spent the night there in beautiful West Yellowstone and headed out the next morning for Wyoming.

In the meantime, Jim has recovered from his fall and all is going well. They are getting to talk with a number of people about why they are doing this trip. People all along the way... even 'bikers' on motorcycles... are rallying behind the cause and have even given them cash... which of course, Stef and Jim turned over to Duncan in Bozeman. There have also been several donations which have been sent to the store in Chico. These also have been sent on to Duncan. So far, $10,045.00 has been donated to UOF as a direct result of this ride!!! Thank you so much to all who have given and continue to give... in both monetary donations and prayers! And a special huge thanks to
PetersenDean Roofing Systems for their wonderful sponsorship and for providing the terrific yellow riding shirts! Having friends and fam literally in 'high places' really pays! Thanks guys!! (... Everybody sing now... "If this old world starts a getting you down... Theres room enough for two... Up on the roof..." Okay okay... a little corny...)

Judging from the picture above... accomodations are not always exactly 4 star on the road! :o

As of July 16, Stefanie and Jim were in Boulder, Colorado. After a long harrowing ride through Wyoming, where some of the red-neck locals in their pickup trucks were less than friendly for whatever reason (which surely doesn't reflect most people in Wyoming) they made it across the border into more accepting territory. It is a sad state of affairs why anyone in a vehicle would shout obsenities let alone try to run someone on a bike off the road... except that we must remember, the enemies of God do not want God's Kingdom to flourish. Fortunately the Lord is taking care of them. One of Jim's friends picked the duo up in Kremmling and took them to his house in Boulder. They should be starting out to Breckenridge and on to Denver soon. At this date, making it all the way to Illinois will not happen, but they're still going to try to cycle as far as they can with the remaining time left.

July 26, 2007. Though they had really wanted to make it all the way to Illinois, Stefanie and Jim decided last weekend they were out of time and could not possibly finish the ride. So they took a couple of days off to rest and recooperate with Denver being the hopping off point. They returned home to Chico via Amtrak train... where Stefanie's mom, Susan, picked them up in Sacramento. Please continue to check back here as Stefanie will most likely want add to this informational site in her own words to sum up the trip.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this ride in one way or another... donations, prayers, well-wishers, family and friends... and new friends met along the way... one and all! And a super huge thank you to Jim Savage for sharing Stefanie's vision and being her riding partner, treasured friend, and faithful companion through the ups and downs of this tremendous journey! These two young people deserve a hearty round of applause for their self-sacrifice and willingness to raise funds for people thousands of miles away in Uganda, Africa. We know their steadfast efforts will not be diminished in the least even if they didn't accomplish the ride goal in its entirety as they had hoped. Good going Stefanie and Jim!!! And welcome home. We missed you! Remember... the pot of gold isn't necessarily always found at the destination's end... but rather is accumulated along the journey's path....