By Faith Alone

Acts 15:7-11 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
7After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

Since June I have been praying for a sponsor for the 2008 cycling season. I told God that I wouldn't ask anyone for sponsorship. I asked Him if He wants me to race at the Pro level He will provide.

Now the reason I asked for sponsorship from Him is because I know He has given me the abilities. Why now? I have put Him first in my life daily. I will never know if I am doing the right thing but it is pretty obvious when someone e-mailed me and told me they would like for me to be on there team. I thought it was early thinking about next year already but they have the sponsors to sponsor me in the 2008 season. Things still are not final but will be very soon.

God is Good! Thank you Lord! I hope and pray that I will continue to be focused on what the Lord wants me to do and I pray that every choice that I make will be pleasing to God. This whole sponsorship thing is pretty amazing looking back at when I started praying for sponsorship.

Kind of weird how I have lost 20 pounds this year cause it only took 6 years to lose it. I am not done yet and I pray that the Lord lets me know when to stop losing. I think I only have 15 more to go but who knows, only Him.

Fellowship

We had our Church picnic on Sunday boy was it great! I enjoyed fellowship with others and hope they did too. The best was the BBQ Pork and also the apple crisp pie. I learned that it is important to have a certain amount of time or a set time on all that you do to keep a well balanced life. Things are starting to come together for me day after day. We live and we learn I pray that others look to Him and live there life like Jesus did. I pray to you Lord that I live my life like your son Jesus. I have sins and I will never be perfect. But I pray for you in my life so others will come to know you. When people come to me with ?'s I hope they look to you in The Holy Bible. Thank you father. Amen.

Yesterdays race

The race at Valley City yesterday was great. Thanks to everyone that put on the event. They had drinks there and food, so what more could a big guy want. I needed the drinks today, and I should of had another banana. I rode to the race, but only 10 miles, and rode for another 30 mins before the race. On any other day than today I guess that would have been easy to do. I have rode 3hrs easy before a Pro race with big Pro names and finished in the top 25 but I felt good all day before doing so. But today at home and twice before the race I had the restroom on my mind. I ate and drank the proper stuff before during and after the race and I felt sick till 8 last night. Look at the scale and it read 185 instead of 190. So with this next weekend of full races I hope to be in great shape so I can beat up the Rock Racing Pro Team.

Yesterdays race went like this. Polo rolled off the front and then hammered away with Andys coming up strong and those two got away for awhile and then Tris took off and joined them and Polo came back with us and worked the front for his teammates. Paul drove the pace today with Dan and Lake Effect helping as well. But just before two laps to go the guys made everyone hurt. I managed to get on the front up the hill behind the lead group with Paul on my wheel then he pulled through and we had others behind us just before the field. Attacks were made and it hurt my power was draining slowly and I could feel it. Then we caught the front two and at one point we had 8 riders. That went down to 6 riders with one lap to go and I felt like the weakest one with half a lap left. That proved to be true when we came into the little rollers before the end of the race. I wish I had my best stuff today cause that was my kind of course.

I loved that course and it had my name all over it. Thanks to the Lord I was safe and didn't get really sick. I thought I would have to ride 33 miles back home after the race but the Lord provided me with a ride. Caylin, Becky, Ann , and Granny picked me up after the race which helped me not to get any worse than I already was. So thank you all very much and thank you Lord for our safety.

Another game of softball

Last night I played softball but this time it wasn't a real game. We had a real game set for 8:30 but the team we were going to play had already played two games and it was 9:30 when we would have started. The team they played said they will play against us instead. So that was nice of them to give us a game. I played 3rd, catcher, Right Center, and Pitched. I enjoyed them all but catching to many games behind the plate in my lifetime. Plus in softball no action at all.

Today I am getting ready for another race and my wife will drop me off 10 miles from it and then I will race and ride home, so I should get in close to 90 miles on the day. I haven't done that in a while. Good news about my job. I leave everyday at 3 now so that means more time with Caylin after work. Thank you Lord. Also with my Beautiful wife. Maybe Becky and I can drop Caylin off at one of the grandparents and celebrate.

Nationals for the Elite

Every year you can count on all the best riders to be at this race. At least for the Elite men. Cause if you win this race you get a Pro deal for the next year. It is pretty much expected. So you got guys from every where in the US except from Hawaii, and Alaska. You have guys who have raced Pro there whole life and want to try and go back to Pro or just want to see if they still have it. The Best of the Best are always there. For some reason I thought I had a chance this year, I really did. 20 pounds lighter than all of last year and stronger than ever before. 170 other riders may have thought the same thing, at least that's how many went to the line today in the hard rain that was expected for a week's time. I looked at the forecast everyday for the whole week before wishing it was going to be dry. I would have done so much better if it would have been dry. Every turn slowed me down being a bigger guy than 90 percent of the field. I still think when you sign up for a race they should have how much you weigh beside your age. It sure would make me feel better. I would have found it hard to believe if anyone that finished was more than 190 pounds even if they were 6'4. So today I stayed in the front to middle a lot today. With 33 laps to go Becky said I moved up to the front half of the field and stayed there. It is pretty easy to see yellow even in a down pour she said. Well God really kept me safe today, He gave me the wisdom to stay on the inside of every turn and the speed I should go in every turn. I read a couple of racers blogs and they said that everybody wrecked. Well that seemed to be true all day every lap. I know that not every one wrecked. I was one that was very blessed not to go down. My ex teammates hit the road hard and some of them broke bones or didn't hit the pavement and got 6 stitches. Sorry to see Hekman in the 2nd to last corner go down, he ended up with a broken heel. I pray he will recover better than last year, which when he does not even a Pro will hang onto his wheel. So in the last 15 laps I am really setting myself up for a great result like I thought could happen. I was in the top 10 relaxing from lap 10 to 5. With 4 to go I noticed I may not have it and with two to go I thought I could do it cause with 3 to go it hurt bad. But with one lap to go I knew I would have to wait another year to have a chance. All through the last 5 laps Paul was on the front pushing the pace for Kirk. Paul brought back a break of 5 riders and I bet he did it by himself, it wouldn't surprise me. So after the race I was OK with losing 240 bucks total for the whole trip cause it could have been the hospital for me and more money to repair my bike or whatever. I pray that all the riders will heal up and race again soon and bring it next year cause I hope to there and be ready, really ready. God willing.

Softball before Nationals

Softball game 3 days before Nationals was kind of not what I planned but I told them I would play. We ended up winning big! The team we played had only lost one game I thought I heard one teammate say. We ended up beating them early and we had fun doing it too. % innings not 3 because we could have in three innings if we would have scored 4 more runs. Well the other team decided to score and not give up. they scored 4 runs and then we put them away in the 5th. I still have not hit the ball too good since my home run. Great fellowship and a great game, thank you Lord for no more black eyes.

2nd day of Elk Grove

This was the masters 30+, again not the best of the best were in the race today. Everybody must be saving it for the Nationals. Why? who knows? This was a great weekend for anyone that showed up and didn't wreck. I raced out of the money the first day but in the money the 2nd day. That happened to lots of other guys as well. But some like Jason Snow took money both days. This race was going to be another good one and I was hoping to make some money today if it was something the Lord wanted to happen. If I didn't make any money to cover our costs then I was done for the year, no Nationals o anything else out of Ohio. Well the Lord made it perfect. I told Becky if I didn't make $300 for the day then no more racing till I lose another 20 pounds. I was on the front at the start of the race. So I took off and wanted to see what they would do. 3 others made it to me but the field didn't let anything go as of the first 4 miles of the race. Primes again today and I tried to go for them with nothing working again. Then a break got lose and it was over. I thought the pack would pull them in but not enough horse power in the 100+ field. I tried on my own for 4miles and came within 10 meters of them and blew up with 4 laps to go and the field was charging hard. Once they caught me they sat up. What? Why? The three that were in the break didn't have any teammates in the field that could do anything so I couldn't understand it. Later I found out Jason Snow was in the field and he finished behind me so why didn't anyone work with me? Well I find out at the end. The Lord had given me some miraculous power that day. Once I got caught by the field and wasn't about to make the same mistake 2 days in a row. I made sure I could make my way to the front if I needed to. So with 2 laps left I was in the top 5 and with one to go was on the front when no one else would pull. I would just get on the front and slow down and let riders jump me and get on a chasers wheel and back to the front again. Priority Health helped me out for half a lap on the last lap. He led it out for his teammate I hope? Cause he pulled for a long way and I never saw him again. With no turns left and 600 hundred meters to go I am on the front once again. I slowed up just enough to let some riders go by and got beside them still in the wind. Then two rude riders cut me off back to back sending me flying into Harry Clark playing bummer bikes at 32 + mph. and at 400 meters I told myself just go don't wreck. I think it was God telling me to just go who cares if anyone passes you better than the hospital. I couldn't argue with that so I went. As I see the 200 meter sign I am thinking no way never going to happen. Then I see the 150 meter sign, then the 100 meter, 50 meters no way! After the finish I was so beat I couldn't catch my breathe for over 5 mins. I had never felt so beat in my life. I guess I should have felt that way cause as Harry Clark also confirmed we sprinted for over 400 meters. I looked closer at the results the day after and the guy who almost came around me other than Harry was a 50 year old, who also beat Jason Snow and some other great riders as well. That 50 year old must have been on my wheel the whole time until the last 50 meters, and I have never heard his name before. So I ended up winning the field sprint and taking 4th since the field didn't want to catch them. I am not saying they can't keep up with the young riders because I have got beat by them before but that is riders that have raced on a Pro team there whole life or have been in the Tour De France and are still beating up on younger riders. That is the great thing about this sport, once you got it you are good for years after. Kind of weird how the Lord works, we prayed for no wrecks and some money to pay for the trip if it was His will and He blessed us again.

Biggest race ever?

Well I thought Elk Grove was going to be my biggest race ever but it turned out to be slower than I imagined. I thought that the pace was going to be so hard I would have trouble keeping up. Well God blessed me so much that day. He kept me safe from all the wrecks and I went for 3 primes during the race. I learned a lot from this race as well. You have to stay on the front or near the front if you want to place. I thought I would have plenty of energy left at the end of the race to do what I wanted. With two laps to go I thought I would have no problems moving up to the front. All day, at least for me, I was on the front when I wanted other than the last two laps when it counted. It could have been the heat setting in on me, but I felt great at the end of the race. Puffer after his 10 place finish told me he was sick for two days after the race, probable from the heat. After the race I felt great but knowing I had so much more left in me. So anyway with two laps to go I was mid pack and started to move up but not like I wanted. I was in the top 30 at one point then made so wrong choices and I was back 60 deep it seemed. Then on the last lap I tried to get up front but only could muster 29th with so much disappointment. I will take it cause a big wreck happened right beside me and no one else came around me to the finish.

Tim Jackson

This post is well over due, sorry Timmy. Last year when I raced for A&F Tim gave us all frames, MASI frames. They were awesome and most of my family loved the colors and design of the MASI. Well I broke it in Oct. sometime and shipped it back to Mr. Tim Jackson the best MASI MAN out there. I said I really want to keep the frame if it is broke and can't be fixed.He said he might have one frame laying around somewhere. He shipped me a brand new frame and it was all black or as I call it Black Beauty. I decked it out with All yellow trim, what other color did you think I would use? Now I look like those Canadian Bummble Bees back in the 80's beating up the 7 eleven boys. I wish, but it looks sweet. It rides awesome in the crits and road races and in the hard rain in road races and crits. So thanks to Tim Jackson I am so happy to ride the MASI. Buy one today it races better than my Trek Madone.

What Do I Do?

Race time is coming up this weekend, this will be my biggest race ever. This is one of those races that if you finish it, you have done good. It is also the type of race that if you aren't bleeding after the race you really did good. If you happen to get lucky and win some money for the weekend that's great. If you happen to get top 3 and share your testimony with others... priceless.

To be honest I am in the best shape of my life and I still have at least 15 pounds to lose but think that I should be able to keep up with the big boys now. Time will tell and I hope that if I do great this weekend then I will be able to sign up for the next 5 weekends.

Well I hope to have all of the above, but I mainly just want to be safe and healthy. It seems like almost every time I go to Chicago I am on the stool a lot which isn't good for racing. You know what? whatever God's will is, it will be done and I pray that He will be glorified. I just want to have fun and let the holy spirit take over sort of like cruise control on the car. If I have a pricless moment this weekend it will help me to make next years choice real easy or then again maybe not. When I pray to God He will say "yes", "no" or "wait". I really don't like waiting. But hey I have lost 20 extra pounds and it has only taken me 6 years and I am doing fine with it. Liven large having such a great year with family and friends thanks to God. Everything has come from God and I don't deserve any of it. Give God thanks for your life today. GodSpeed, Grimmy

Grandparents

Grandpaerents are so smart, they teach you everything the right way. At least both of my grandparents have taught me so much the right way. What I am saying is sometimes Grandparents would say to do this or get this. I would have no clue what they wanted me to do or get. They did it as though I knew what they wanted or what to get. I felt stupid asking "what" or "you want me to get what" or "do what". Man did I feel stupid a lot. They never let me think so though. I was there best worker or gofer. They treated me as if I knew exactly what they needed. Grandparents are the best, they spoil the living daylights out of you. Not only that but play time can be fun. They have the biggest Easter egg hunts or the best Water ski tricks, so much fun.



You remember things of when you were younger I'm sure. What about how much food they make or how good it smells. I am writing this post so you can think or remember what your grandparents were like. Also for you to pray for mine. When grandparents get sick you feel sick. I pray for my grandmothers to be strong during these ruff times. You see both of my grandparents are really in need of prayer. Also my Mom and Dad need your prayers as well. My grandpa Mari has had two major surgeries and Grandpa Grimm has an infection in his body from 100 galstones(sp) the Doctors said they have never seen so many. They did surgery right away and he is in intensive care. So much goes through my mind throughout the day and I just try real hard to pray to God to calm myself down and keep busy with something else.

Thanks for the prayers. Becky Caylin and I are going to Chicago this weekend so please pray for our safety and mine during the races.

Perfect Day for Zoar

It was cool and rainy, perfect day for Zoar Road Race. When was the last time you rode in the rain? I have done it a lot since I ride my bike to work, and I love it. So much better than not being able to breathe at 90+ degrees. Thank you Lord for an awesome day. By the way I didn't have a flat today and my Dad was right again. Dad's are always right. The tire had 3 too many races if you ask me. I didn't have a flat so Dad can still use that tire on the trainer. The race started out pretty slow which was good for me. Up the hills we went, and I felt like I could go so much faster. So on the next lap I took off up the last climb and I blew up. I didn't have enough to do it. So then I sat in for a lap. Felt fine going up the climbs and we let Dan and Brain roll off the front. Then Mike Gorman went with them so I didn't work at all. Instead I attacked them trying to get away but I couldn't. I hope I am stronger this weekend at Elk Grove. Mike got dropped and we were only 15 sec at one point. It seemed like no one wanted to work with the little chase group gaps we had. Everyone must have been tired as well. The finish was very surprising to me. Tris came around everyone so I got on his wheel. He took me to the front and I went hard for a little bit then slowed way down and waited till the past the 200 meter sign and sprinted as hard as I could. I took the sprint by inches. Legs felt good sprinting but will need to be a lot better this weekend. Stark velo did an awesome job. Also Bike authority gave the first cat 3 $100 at the store. I love racing in the rain for a road race.

Shiner

There is a first in so many things. Well today I got my first shiner playing softball. In all the years of contact sports I never had a black eye until now. It must be a sign of old age. We were warming up before the game talking away and I lazily put my glove to the ground and my other hand at my side. Next thing I know POP right in my eye. It must have hit a rock cause it shot up so fast. This ball was thrown into the ground from first and not hard at all either. Well I got picked on the rest of the night by the other guys. I have to admit I was nervous about playing third after that. I had one get by me by their strong hitter and it kicked up real hard too. All I could do was get the glove on it but it never stopped.

Devil's Triangle

OCC club ride time and it is a tuff one. We are always going up or down, very little flat sections. It was hot tonight and I needed a good warm up for Zoar RR. It was great to see everyone again. Lots of fun and I thought I did to much tonight so I slowed up on the way home. The last lap I avg 20 mph and I went easy the last lap compared to the first two. I asked Dad what time it was when I passed him and then got the time when we all finished. Great course to ride on, just one turn is hard to see traffic so you got to slow up a bit. My wheel made a loud noise so I hope to get that fixed.

Great friends

Friends are great to have. God, family, and friends, almost forgot.....cycling. I prayed before the race and all I want is to be safe, no crashes. Well today at the Buckeye Crit I was crash free again, don't worry my time is coming. I just hope it won't be soon. My family came to support me again today. My family is the best. So are my friends, I have had so many people say "go Jeremy" or "go GodSpeed" during these races this year. It has been great. Thank you! Well I got to see friends I haven't in such a long time and it was good to talk to them. I pray for all of my friends every morning to work. I pray for there safety and health. God is so good.

This race was going to be a good one. The course was perfect and it had some nice fast turns in it. I loved this course, thanks Chris. Well Kirk was at the race today and we worked good together. I felt like I had the hardest part of the course to pull through, but it was short as well. It is so hard to tell if I am getting better or just getting lucky in these races. Today I felt like I was strong enough. After Kirk and I lapped everyone but Jim, Kirk attacked with 2 laps left. I couldn't get to Kirk's wheel he had a great jump. It was hard trying to catch Kirk but I learned a lot in trying. Fun race for 2nd place.

Thanks Dave T. for your post on your website maybe Kirk won't see it.

Sorry John

Went to church this morning and John really had a great message. The main lesson that I learned from it today was maybe you should let God do the walking instead of you doing it on your own. I had to go forward and tell everyone how much God has been working in my life. I am having the best year with God, family, and friends. God has given me so much this year and has given me gifts as a surprise.

Two weekends ago God gave me some awesome results at a bike race and gifts to go with it. The main thing that I didn't share with the church family was that I got to share my testimony with hundreds of people after the bike races both days. After going up there and others told me I did a good job God has the holy spirit do the talking through you and what you want to say may not be said for others to hear. I do want to say sorry to John Mulpas cause after his lesson on giving everything to the Lord I go forward and tell them God gave me this awesome watch. I have been giving almost everything to the Lord and I know that if I continue to give more to the Lord He will continue to bless me(us, everyone).

I will tell people what this watch means to me. How this watch wasn't supposed to be given to me because they only had three and all of a sudden they have four. I hope that the church family understands that if you give yourself to God fully then He has great rewards for you. This watch I have is God's watch and I am using it to glorify Him. Maybe I am wrong what do you think?

Amish Ride

Finally a day to ride by myself other than back and forth to work. It always feels like I am out where no one can come within miles of me. So much freedom out in the Amish backyards. I got out to ride for 2.5 hrs and rode hard for at least 1:50 mins. I rode up those hills like they weren't even there. Twenty pounds lighter than all of last year has helped me do great this year. All the thanks goes to God cause I couldn't do it on my own. I know He has changed my life and others around me. He has kept me busy with family priorities and disciplined me to ride to work every day. So all thanks and glory go to Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.