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Congratulations Lauren on 5 wonderful years of dancing! Love your fans, Mommy, Daddy & Michael Is your business utilizing the Provincial Governments Targeted Wage Subsidy program to help pay for the costs of training new employees? Burlington Georgetown Milton Oakville Employment Ontario projects are funded in part by the Government of Canada Call us fo r more in fo r ma t i on 1-866-557-8324 Post-secondary Education Awards 2008 Call for Applications CFUW Georgetown invites applications by post-secondary students who are residents of Halton Hills and who meet the criteria set out on the application forms available at High School Guidance Departments Halton Hills Public Library Independent & Free Press Office, Marketplace Mall or online at www.aztec-net.com/~cfuw CFUW Georgetown Scholarships are made possible by your generous support of the CFUW Annual Used Book and Toy Sale. 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Call NOW for HUGE Savings! 1-888-271-7119 INC. www.roofontario.com 8 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Cycling across North America is a daunting physical challenge on its own, but a couple of Georgetown residents have even bigger goals in mind as they prepare to depart on the Sea to Sea Bike Tour this weekend. Eighteen-year-old Bradley Geerlinks and Brian Flikkema, 31, didnt know each other until learning through their affiliation with the Christian Reformed Church that theyre among about 127 riders who will attempt to complete the 6,246-km trek from Seattle, Wash. to Jersey City, N.J., June 30 to Aug. 30. Their motivation for this bike trek across the continent comes from the same place having heard about a similar successful trip in 2005. Flikkema heard about the idea a couple of years ago through a friend and was so inspired that he recently quit his job to take up the challenge. Its an adventure, but we can also do some- thing good for society instead of just sitting back and donating a couple of bucks, said Flikkema. Theres an awareness factor involved and were actually going out there to do something that people can see. Thats my main drive for this. Geerlinks spent time on missions to the Philippines and Nicaragua, where he saw first- hand the despair of those unable to help them- selves. Just seeing some of the poor people in those countries... We have so much here and they dont have anything, said Geerlinks, a student at Redeemer University in Ancaster. So the opportunity to bike across the coun- try which is going to be an awesome experi- ence while were also advocating support and raising money for the poor at the same time is going to be amazing. Approximately 220 people, ranging in age from 18 to 80, from as far away as Haiti, have registered for the tour, although some arent riding from start to finish. Those going the full distance had a fund- raising target $10,000 and both local men have reached that total, receiving donations from family, friends and the general public. Proceeds from the tour will support new and ongoing programs by the Christian Reformed Church to break the cycle of poverty around the world. As if the physical toll of the tour isnt enough with an average of 116 kms covered each day the cyclists will also perform relief work on their eight off days during the 62- day tour, including a stop in Iowa to help with recent flooding cleanup efforts. Riders wont have to carry their own camping gear as a truck will accompany them and theyll be sleeping in schools, churches and on soccer fields along the way. Geerlinks and Flikkema have been training for the ride and purchased elite-level racing bikes but admit the length of the tour, which will wind through southern Ontario, is difficult to fathom. Its kind of a W-shaped route, added Flikkema. We do have to go through some mountains down through Colorado, but people who have done it before say that the Prairies are the toughest part, when youre riding into 60-kilometre winds, it feels like it takes forever just to make it through one kilometre. Geerlinks received a scare recently when he injured his back while at work in his landscap- ing job but says hes fine now and keen to fly to Seattle this Saturday to get the tour started. I havent been training enough but I play hockey three times a week so Im in good shape, he said. I think the first week will hurt a lot, but once we get going we should be okay. For more information, visit the website www.seatosea.org. Bradley Geerlinks (left) and Brian Flikkema, both of Georgetown, will trav- el to Seattle this Satur- day to begin a two- month-long cross-country anti-poverty charity ride. The Christian Reformed Church members wil l end their 6,246-km trek August 30 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Photo by Eamonn Maher Georgetown men eager to start coast-to-coast U.S. charity ride EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer