On May 22, 2001 Rob Price embarked on a journey from Denver to Toronto to test his spirit of adventure and fulfill a life-long dream. His transportation
is a two-wheeled machine, powered by his skinny legs (can you believe
those legs??). Rob plans were to reach Toronto in time to meet up with Denver’s SQUID Swim Team and participate in the IGLA championships
on July 6-9, 2001.
If you would like to follow his journey, read Rob's Journal entries
below.
The
trip has gone a bit slower than I had planned but that I why I gave myself 15 extra days to reach Toronto.
Tuesday night in Hudson, Chris, the same site we had. Nice RVrs gave me some chocolate chip cookies.
Headed out on Wednesday with intent on getting to Ft. Morgan. It was the
next town that had camping. I went east, straight east, totally east for about
25 miles with super
strong winds blowing me sideways. I actually had to lean to the left to keep from blowing over
to the right. Finally after having the sun burn the hell out of my right thigh I got to turn, North, into the wind!
My average speed dropped from 12mph to 6 as the wind forced me to
wobble trying to stay on the shoulder. I finally got a break from riding into
the wind when my rear tire and
trailer tire went flat. It happened just after I was chased by 3 dogs. You would have thought they were horses from
their size though.
I made it into Ft Morgan about 6:30. I was exhausted. I had been pedaling
against the wind for 6 hours. The one camping area was in the city park
and it was full of people. It was a little early in my trip to
camp in a park. I was too tired to look around so I just gave into
exhaustion and shelled out the dough for a room at the Super 8. I cooked my beans and rice in the
room and went to bed. The next morning my trailer wheel was flat again. I
went to the Bicycle Livery where the sign said it opened at 10. It's 10,
where is he? Charlie, I later learned was the owner and a "free spirit" who
will show up when he is ready.
It was noon before I got out of the shop and on the road to Sterling. It was
way too windy to make it before I felt it was too late in the day. After
getting a flat on the front wheel this time, I called Charlie to see if he knew
where I could camp. He offered his backyard. It was great! Quiet and safe
is all I wanted. Charlie lives with his wife Peggy and son,
Stef. Peggy is a doctor. They invited me in to chat and they told stories about some of the
locals, Tom and Chesario whom I had met at the shop earlier. They happened to be Ft. Morgan's more colorful residents, both of whom
Charlie would not be surprised if they started shooting from the water
tower. Afterwards, Charlie and I walked to the coffee shop. It was an
amazing
coffee shop for this town. It belonged in Denver. In fact, the sign
on the door said "warning, you are leaving Ft.
Morgan".
I headed out this morning at about 8:30 and arrived in Sterling about
1:30. I went to the town hall to ask about camping. When I finished, a little old
lady wanted to report that someone had stolen her flowers. She was understandably upset. It took her three years to get
them to grow. I came to the library, and am now going to get some food and ride 3 miles out of
town to Jelly Stone Park.
Take care everyone. Sorry I don't reply to everyone who writes but I
don't have the time. But keep the emails coming, they are VERY encouraging.
Tomorrow will be one week since I started this er.. adventure. The time
has squeaked by but it has also flown. I can not believe how lonely it can
get on the road. For the first few days while I was in Colorado I had the
wonderful right wing talk show host Mike Rosen to keep me company. Now, out in Nebraska I am entertained by people with names like L'l
George, Tony and the waking crew, or Rick Dees. I was fortunate enough to have Garrison Keeler to get me out of North Platte.
I spent the night in Sterling at Yogi Bears Jellystone Park and "resort".
Resort?, they must mean last resort. I thought for sure I was on the set of
National Lampoons Vacation. My assigned site was in the "grove". Grove
of stickers! I was the only person in a tent, everyone else was in an
RV of some sort. The camp did offer some things for the kids, including a cartoon
breakfast and a hayless hay ride with Yogi himself. Mr. Hannah and Mr. Barbara must be turning in their graves, if they're
dead.
In North Platte Nebraska I stayed at the Haw-L-day Camp-L-inn-aday-lodge-resort something or another. It was the best
place yet! The grass, real grass, was green, the trees were big and the
RV'rs were old. Dave and Diane were next to me, traveling back home to California. I was feeling
especially lonely that night and having some "grandparents" to boost my spirits
was what my soul needed. They said I reminded them of their son but I didn't look as much like Dave as his son
did. I charged my phone in their camper over night. And in the morning
they gave me a banana and some coffee. I set off for Lexington at 9:00.
I am taking highway 30 over to Grand Island. It is parallel to I-80 but a
few miles north. I basically follows the Platte River, the Mormon trail, the
Poney Express Trail, the Union Pacific Rail Road the old Platte River overland trail and I'm sure some other famous route. It is basically flat,
which is why I chose this route. The farms are green and there are a lot of
big trees along the river.
Lexington Nebraska-for immediate release:
Do not go into the video store in downtown Lexington. Rob Price, a cross
country biker from Denver, in an effort to seek shelter from the rain entered said store. The manager, Bryan Swan
immediately took to the biker and invited him to dinner. Rob hummed
and hawed, then Bryan invited him to sleep on his couch. Rob had to decide if he wanted to ride
10 miles uphill in the rain to the state park or sleep on the couch, get a free
dinner, do laundry and check email at Bryans. The state park was very pleasant.
Staying at the state park, I observed that Nebraska is a very large state,
not geographically but in the physical build of it's residents. I did meet a
person who was under 200 pounds but she was only 6. After I showered, Bryan came to take me to
dinner. I told him I wanted to stay close to the lake. He drove us to a pizza place, my hand on my mace the entire way. It
turns out he wasn't dangerous, I think he was just lonely. He dropped my
off and I was asleep by 9:30.
During the course of the day, I counted all the road kill. The results are as
follows. The raccoons are way ahead of the rest of the pack at 5. Birds are
right behind at 4. Snakes are 2, mice at 1, and coyotes at 1. Unidentified
species are at 1 as well.
I look forward to reading the encouraging emails as they come. They actually do help!
Beginning in Colorado and even more so in Nebraska, I have been seeing a lot
of corn along the side of the road. Not the fields, I expected that, but
individual kernels scattered on the shoulder. Why aren't the birds eating
it?
Monday afternoon about 18 miles east of Kearney (pronounced Car-knee).
I stopped to stretch a sore leg, one of mine actually, the left one if you
must know. About then Terry Lamb pulled up on his bike excited to see a
cycling tourist. He said he was from Kearney (pronounced Car-knee) and said
he'd ride back with me. It was very nice to have a companion with me for an
hour or so. Especially someone who loves to bike. While we rode Terry talked and I listened, Terry talked and I
listened, I talked, Terry nodded
and talked, I listened. In town he invited me to his house. There, I met
his wife and daughter and 2 grand kids. He fed me lunch and called around
for a camp site for me. He even called a friend in Omaha to see about riding across the Missouri River without
taking the highway. After we drove
to the camp ground and say its condition he decided I should sleep in his
back yard. I was happy he let me. That evening they bought pizza and invited me in for dinner.
When I awoke, it was beginning to rain. I had just enough time to get
dressed and through all my stuff in my trailer before it started coming down. I ate at Tex's for breakfast where the waitress was friendlier
than a DMV clerk. I think I would have had better service if I had rode in
wearing
overalls like the other men in the place. From there I went over to the
YMCA to shower. I got on all my rain gear, shoe covers and water proof gloves in time for the rain to stop. From there on out the weather
was
pretty nice. Cloudy but mainly dry. I set a goal of reaching Aurora NE with a stop in Grand Island for lunch.
By the time I reach GI I had heard a storm was a brewin. I grabbed at quick
salad and head out. I felt pretty lucky all day, I had already rode 50 some
miles and only had 20ish more to go. Then it hit me, the wind, again! Chris, they guy with all the experience told me the winds would change
halfway through NE and be at my back. Chris did you know I'm heading east?
I just can't seem to get a break from it. 15-20 MPH winds in my face for 20
miles. ARGH! Prevailing easterlies my ass! More like prevailing in my face.
Ahh, it makes me a stronger person, it makes me a stronger person.
I got into Aurora and headed straight for the mall, of course. But this
mall is a grocery store and gas station. Out in the parking lot I met Shirley. About
65 years old, Shirley took an
interest in my trip and even offered up her a room in her daughters home. While we waited to hear back,
she took me to dinner at Tree Tops. Man it was good! And the company was
fun to talk to. I decided I'd rather stay in a hotel so I could go to sleep
right away. We said our goodbyes and I went to check in at Kens Motel.
It had been a week since I left and a week since I had washed my cloths.
I know people were just being polite by not moving away from me during
conversations. When I arrived in the Laundromat, took out my journal to
get some writing done before the lone employee started talking. Too late! He
told me his theory on how the pyramids were built, using horses vs. water
buffalo as draft animals and about his son who tried to ride a moped across
the US. Then I was saved when another audience member entered the room and
gave my speaker someone else entertain. I went back to my room and looked
at the weather channel.
I only made it 23 miles today. I am drenched despite my "rain gear". The
whole ride from Aurora to York was at 8mph against the wind in the rain.
But I was able to keep my spirits up no matter how many people said "not
a
very good day for biking, HUH?" I thought of all the people who send me the
emails and how much everyone is supporting me. And I look back at the few
hard day I had and realize they weren't the bad and that they were each a
small part of my big adventure, as will today be. Now, I think I will go
warm up and eat some dinner.
Love,
Rob
I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike,
I want to ride my bicycle,
I want to ride it where I like.
QUEEN
I never saw it coming, but after it entered my mouth I could feel the little
hairs on my tongue and the roof of my mouth. Luckily, I spit it out before
it got down my throat. I will never know what kind of bug it was nor do I
care to.
Let's see, where did we leave off last time we talked? Oh yeah, I was in
the rain in York NE. Not to be confused with being in the rain in Aurora or
the rain in Lexington, or the rain in Utica or the rain in Bradshaw. Now,
they were all the same storm, mind you. When I left York it was cloudy.
Better than when I woke up, it was raining. I bundled up and took off for
Lincoln.
About 20 miles into the cold ride it started to warm up. I stopped and shed
a layer of clothes. Then I saw something I had not seen in days. Just ahead
of me and on my left was my shadow. I looked up and saw blue! The clouds were parting! I
rang my bell in joy! The sun was coming out, brightening the rest of the day. I
cruised into Seward which is a very nice town and grabbed a bite to eat. The next twelve miles out of town were on
brand new pavement on some beautiful rolling hills. I hit my high speed for
the ride so far, 30mph! Things were certainly looking up. Before I knew it
was on the outskirts of Lincoln.
I looked at my map and found the best route into downtown without taking the
interstate. I turned right, turned left and right again just like the map
said. Within a few blocks I was in the parking lot of the Kawasaki plant.
When you're lost, who better to ask than a trained professional security
guard. The two kids in the shack had plenty of advice which all ended with
the phrase "I think." I took the highway.
I tooled around town for a little while looking for a place to camp. I found a hostel but it looked pretty dead. I didn't feel like staying there,
alone in the church basement. I decided to go to the bike shop and fish
around for ideas.
Tom and Rogean approached me about my trailer. They loved taking bike tours
but always the supported ones. We started talking and they invited me to
sleep in their home. Of course I accepted and off we rode. They were the
nicest couple, retired with kids about my age. They gave me a bike tour
of Lincoln on the way to their house. After we got home, we hopped in the
car and they took me out to dinner. I stuffed myself at the Italian
buffet. It was exactly what I was looking for. We talked some more on the way
home then I had to get some sleep.
I got going about 10 this morning with the goal of reaching Platttsmouth on
the NE side of the Missouri river. Right now I'm about 14 miles from there,
waiting for another storm to pass. The ride over was great! Wind at my
back, finally, no clouds and wide shoulders. If the storm sticks around I
will camp here, if not, I may head for Glenwood IA, about 15 miles over the
river. You will just have to wait for the next update to find out what happens.
Please keep the emails coming. I am getting them even if I don't reply. My
time on-line is limited so I spend most of it writing updates. But I love
signing in and have all the great messages from everyone. Thanks!
Today is my birthday, thanks to everyone who sent me good wishes. It has
truly been a great day! Why, because I spent my day doing what I love.
Granted, it was against the wind ALL day, AGAIN, but I still really
enjoyed it.
The weeds along the road were waving in the wind. It looked like the fans
on the victory lap of Tour de France as the fans reach out to touch Lance
Armstrong. But, it felt more like a head wind of about 15 mph keeping my
speed to a pathetic 8ish. I even had to pedal down hill, that's how hard it
was blowing today.
Some people have asked what I think about while I'm riding, or what I do
to pass the time. Well today is a good example. I spent most of the
afternoon trying to get a piece of beef jerky unstuck from between my teeth. That made my
tongue very tired so bear with me if I am going to slow. I also think about all the things I don't have to do each day. Things I
don't miss about being home. I don't miss going to work (except for riding my bike there), walking down a busy 16th street mall or any basic routine
that I was used to.
I'm at the Oskaloosa Public Library in Iowa tonight. Libraries are the way I
usually get online. I have 2 more days to my first destination, Davenport! WeeeHAAA! I can not wait. Thinking about it makes me ride better!
When I last updated, I left you hanging. Bet you couldn't handle the
suspense could ya! The weather was nice and I had a tail wind again so I
decided to go a few more miles to the next town. I decided to leave a great little town with a beautiful campsite for a town about
which I knew nothing. Plattesmouth had nothing. No camping, no hotels. No park to camp in. So
I went on to Iowa. I crossed into IA at 6:52 pm on a great old bridge with
no traffic. It was eventful as it sounds. I wizzed by the sign, said
"I'm in Iowa" and kept going. It was getting late, I wanted to sleep. I found a
motel in the next town. Only one motel, no camping. Orange carpet
covered the lobby, orange and brown stripped wallpaper covered
(somewhat) the walls and who knows what stains. The old guy behind the
desk said I couldn't bring in my bike.
"Why?"
"Just don't allow it."
"It's clean."
"So."
"All my stuff is on it."
"Leave it out front, it'll be okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, last year a guy with a $35,000 motorcycle wanted to bring his bike
in, I wouldn't let him."
At that point I figured he was confused and did not really know the difference
between a bike and a motorcycle. I locked it up and went to my room. Orange carpet covered the lobby, orange and brown stripped
wallpaper covered (somewhat) the walls and who knows what stains. Yes, just like the lobby. But not all rooms were alike. A peak in my
neighbors room revealed Yellow carpet and wallpaper. Lucky them! At least I felt
warm and somewhat safe.
The semi had a trailer that is used to haul livestock. I could tell it was
empty as it pulled out in front of me onto the highway. I slowed, thank god,
because with all the rain, the inside was very wet. As it turned the corner a wave of, um...waste mixed with water splashed out onto the road, about
where I would have been had I not slowed. And I thought my bathroom
smelled.
Do any of you know Jesse Writter? He works at the Americana. The AMERICANA in DENVER! He sure is well know in Creston IA. The girl
who asked me if I knew him seemed surprised that I had never heard of
the Americana in Denver or Jesse. Hasn't she ever seen Dynasty? I don't
know EVERYONE.
I'm tired and I need to find a place to sleep. And eat, and go to the little
boys room. Plus my hands are tired. Everyone, thanks for the emails. Feel
free to pass these on to anyone else. I enjoy hearing from ya'll. Time to
worsh up!
It's long, better go to the bathroom before you get started.
I left my home, my security and everything I know 15 days ago. I have
been riding my bike almost every day since then. Now I can take a break.
I woke up in Oskloosa IA yesterday to another thunderstorm. The forecast
showed another one coming in from the east and predicted another for later in the afternoon. Everyone I spoke to said it was expected to rain for
the next two days. Well, I figured I had been riding enough, going
somewhat hard for 2 weeks. I wanted to be in Davenport where my friends Ginger and Jay live, sooner rather than later. I craved being around
friends, I craved a nurturing atmosphere and I craved Jays amazing
cooking. For $31.75 I caught a ride on the Trailways. This saved me about
one LONG day of riding and camping in the rain. Now I am going to
recharge and head back after a few days of visiting.
I never weighed my gear before I left. I figured it didn't really matter, I have
to haul it no matter what. I had planned to haul less than 50 pounds, ideally
30-40. But with me that is not likely. I am the type of person who likes to
bring along some of the comforts of home. Now I am learning that I do not
need my stove top espresso maker or my third pair of biking shorts.
Maybe 1 quart of water rather than 3 will be enough. All the tire repair kits
are overkill. And the solar powered microwave is great for some simple meals but I get tired trying to carry it under my arm. The hair dryer, the set
of encyclopedias, my framed picture of Abe Vigoda, and the small child I
found in the bottom of my bag are all being shipped home. I think the child
will allow me the most relief, he was always putting his feet down to stop
the bike.
I had always thought of the word adventure as being a fun, exciting time. I
was wrong. I am learning that my ride is certainly an adventure but it is not
always a fun and exciting time. It is hard, scary and a huge mental struggle.
As I mount my work horse each morning I head off into the somewhat unknown. I know there are towns out there but I have no idea what is
going to happen as I pedal along. I am in a place that I had become
comfortable and felt safe through the night, then I leave it. Every single day
is like that. For a person like me it can be difficult. But at the same time it is
exciting. I think each morning about meeting new people and looking at the
scenery. I hope to have some big hills to roll down and nice towns in which
I can eat my lunch. Most of the time I have pretty positive experiences. I
have told you about the generous people on the way and they are really
what makes this a wonderful trip.
I have never really figured out the whole thing about fate or destiny. I
imagine my beliefs lean more towards fate. All the little things that happen
while I ride across the fruited plain are reinforcements. As I turned my head to look at a cow pasture, or maybe it was a horse pasture...wait it
may have been a corn field, no, no it was definitely a soy bean crop with a
horse by the barn, a brown one, horse not barn, the barns are usually white, rarely red. I like the barns. Some of them look to be over a hundred
years old, leaning from the years of hard wind. Sometimes I pass a picture
perfect farm house with the old silo a big barn and a hundred cattle stinking up the highway. The smells as I mentioned can be pretty overwhelming.
Having to pass it at 12 miles an hour just adds to the difficulty. Where was
I? Oh yeah, Iowa, among the miles and miles of corn, cows, pigs, some
sheep and more corn.
One of the sacrifices I have had to make for this ride is the total use of my
left hand. After days of leaning on my handle bars I am experiencing limited
feeling and use of a few of my fingers. The nerves get pinched so hard and
so long that they kind of stop working. I hear that it usually stops after you
stop riding. So for now, simple things like tying my shoe or twirling pasta
on a fork have become strangely difficult. Again, part of an adventure and
something that I think will be okay. Typing, though does not seem to be a
problem, as far ase ionn can te ll theast thear kki as it ah alyasw been?
I am sitting at Ginger and Jays home this morning, drinking the best cup of
coffee I have had since I left. I have not had a craving for my morning Joe
like I did when I was among you common folk. I am a stronger more vibrant individual with the fears and habits of the work-a-day...AHHH
screw it, give me my coffee. I haven't drank it much since I left but I have
wanted it. I just don't want to mess around with fixing it in the morning. I just make my oatmeal with raisins, nuts cinnamon, and honey. I usually eat
about 2 cups of the stuff which is more than before my ride. I can not
explain this new appetite I have. It seems lately that I am always hungry, always looking forward to my next meal and constantly snacking on
something. I think that one of you out there has some knowledge of the
human body. Can you help me? It seems to coincide with the day I left on my trip. I never really cared that much about
food. Once this trip is over, we will revisit my dietary
needs and consider a flesh free diet once again. As for now I need the meat.
When I took off on the trip I knew I would have to eat some things that I
didn't really enjoy. I expected to be a guest at a house where the host
served tripe or some other exotic Midwestern fare. But never in a hundred years did had I prepared for the food I was offered in NE. HOTDOGS! I
haven't eaten a hot dog in years. Now I know I am a meat eater again but
HOTDOGS? Is it even meat. I thought it was some meat and some old Chinese newspapers. The family offered up for lunch and being the
gracious (and very hungry, well forget gracious, just hungry) guest, I
accepted anything that was place before me. It was a true blue WASP lunch, hotdogs,
Fritos and an apple. But I was not about to complain. Terry and his family were very generous to invite me into their home and
along with food, I was hungry for some human interaction.
Like I said I will be spending a few days here in Davenport. It will give me
a chance to buy a new book, clean my bike and write about some of the
things I can't remember each time I send an update. I know I've said it before, but you will not believe how much strength I get from the
encouraging letters you all send. I wish I had the time to respond to each of
you. It makes me happy that people are taking an interest in what I am doing. And I hope that like me, reading about someone else's adventure
will encourage others to seek their own, no matter what it is.
Riding on the two lane highways across the state, the traffic is usually
pretty light. For the times when it's heavy and for a little early warning, I bought a
rear-view mirror that affixes to my helmet. With the mirror I can see on coming semis and pull to the right so as not to be sucked up in their draft.
Riding during a particularly rainy day, I stopped in a town of about 200
and went into the Post Office. I needed to use the restroom and really wanted to get out of the rain for a minute. After completing my business
and bending over to flush, the mirror came unattached due to the wet
weather. Of course, it fell in the toilet. What do you do? Can flush with a mirror in there. Many miles and many hand washings later, I was able to
superglue my mirror back to my helmet.
Today was a big day of firsts for me. I rode my first Century (100 mile
day), crossed the Mississippi for the first time and rode in three states in
one day. I hopped on with an organized ride called the Tour of the Mississippi Valley. It basically took me from Davenport to
Dubuque. I could have done it alone but I figured I wanted to add another 30 miles to
my day and make a side trip into Illinois and Wisconsin. It was actually a very good ride. Now though, I am
exhausted. My total mileage ended up being 116. Oh! I also hit a new high for the trip, 41mph.
Tomorrow I ride back out of Iowa, across the Mississippi, again and into
Wisconsin. It will probably be a short day and a hard day. There are a lot
of hills for the next couple of days. Who'da thunk the Midwest was so hilly.
I'm looking forward to my time in WI. I get to visit a dairy farm. Maybe I'll
touch a teet!
That is all for today, I'm sure you don't care for another rambler like earlier
this week. Take care everyone! I love the cards too!
I've mentioned so many great people that I have met on this trip, I am not sure who I tell you about and who I forget. Outside the Hy-Vee grocery
store the other day, the butcher started talking to me. The conversation got into big and small towns and neighborhoods. I told him that Denver is pretty nice with some bad pockets. He had been to Denver, but spent his entire life in a 8000 person town. He agreed Denver has some pretty bad spots,
"Especially just south of the Capitol! That's gotta be the worst place in town." I did not bother to tell him that is Capitol Hill, my neighborhood.
I am now in Madison WI. I have an old friend that lives and teaches here. I
haven't seen him in about 3 years. I called his home and got no answer so I called his office. He's in Prauge! I guess I'll tour Madison alone. I got a
room at the Hostel a couple of blocks from the capitol building. It's very clean and the people are nice and the building, an old house, is shared with a Cuban Restaurant.
I left Dubuque yesterday morning, with the sky full of clouds and threatening rain. My first stop was the WI tourist info center across the boarder. I
couldn't believe it, the guy there spoke like one of the people in Fargo, EH? My only real option for camping was about 50 60 miles to Monroe. The ride was beautiful. I had been warned of the hills, but I did not expect them to go on forever. It made for a nice landscape but sore legs. I was already aching from the day before and in order to convince my legs to get back on the bike I said I would only ride 20 miles. Sorry legs.
The ride was super hot. About 80 degrees and lots o' humidity. I was
happy to arrive at the Cadiz Springs campground nice and early. It looked different than what I expected. They were selling a lot of antiques. The owner stopped feeding the pigs long enough to meet me on the driveway. I asked if she knew where the campground was since this did not look like
one. She told me that this was the correct spot...TWO YEARS AGO!
Thank you to Qwest for their out of date web page. She offered to let me
sleep behind the house, near the pigs and goats. I declined and pushed on
for the fair grounds. The antique seller told me I could camp there. It was
located in Monroe, just 4 miles down the road.
My friend Chris told me that if I'm in Monroe, I should stop at Baumgartner's cheese store and Tavern and say hi to John Huber. When
he told me, I did not expect to make it to Monroe with my legs in their
current condition. As I was passing through town, I went right by
Baumgartner's. John was working and he remembered my friend Chris. He
offered his shower so I could clean up. But he told me to sit for a while and
get a drink. It was truly the best beer I ever had. I let out a little moan of
relief and the bartender looked up with concern. I almost cried from the
shear refreshment. As I sat there, John told his staff about my trip. One of
the women behind the bar thought I should get a good taste of
Wisconsin and started giving me cheese samples. Of course I accepted, I love the
cheese.
Last night in the hostel was strangely lonely. The house is filled with travelers all on their own adventure. But we are all a little detached. Everyone was polite and was interested in what the others were doing but that is where it stopped. It never felt as though you could get any closer. I had not stayed in a hostel in about 8 years and I really enjoyed it this time.
About 10:30 PM a storm, a big storm, a fast and scary storm blew in out
of nowhere. One of my roommates told me of the tornado warning, but not
to worry. I lay awake for the next hour with lightning flashing through the window and rain splattering on the street. Finally I feel asleep. Sometime in the early morning I heard a large pig that had somehow made his way into
the room. He was snorting awful loud. As I awakened even more I realized
it was my dorm mate. I would not describe it as a snore. Just long-noisy-snorty-inhalations about a minute apart. Either they stopped or I fell asleep.
The room had 6 beds, bunk beds. I took a top bunk. I'd say the beds are about 6 feet long, I'm 6'3". With railings on each end I had to sleep diagonal and let my
ankles drop over the corner. I still woke up with a cramp in my leg. This morning I switched to the bottom bunk that
doesn't have head or foot railing.
I've been on the road three weeks today! I can not believe it! Three weeks and a few days until I reach Toronto. Nearly 1000 miles on my bike and
over halfway there. Tomorrow I am going to ride to Chris's grandma's
dairy farm about 50 or so miles north of here. I can't wait! I've never been
on a real farm and am very curious about how things work. I will email
again as soon as I get to a computer.
I'm down on the farm these days. The Huber family is generous enough to
put me up for a few nights and give me a taste of farm life. The best taste
so far has been the meals. These farmers work hard and eat a lot, thank god! I've been doing my best not to be rude by going back for thirds. Plus
all the meals are cooked by Chris's Grandma Ethel who is an excellent
cook. It's safe to say that I've not been going hungry.
I left Madison on Wednesday. I got up early and made a nice breakfast.
By 8:00 I was on my bike. My ears however had been bothering me for
about 2 days and I didn't feel comfortable heading out of a big city with the possibility of an infection. I rode over to the hospital and told the
admissions nurse my problem. The doctor confirmed my worries and gave
me an Rx. I really don't like antibiotics or any other medicine but I thought
it was the best course to take seeing as how I may not come across
another doctor for a few days. I was amazed at the speed in the ER. I was
out within and hour! Plus it was nice to receive the admiration from my doc, a former bike racer.
I was given a handy Dane County bike map at the hostel. It shows all the
bike paths and routes in the area. I picked the most direct and most
suggested route to the north and finally got on my way about 10:00. Then I got lost. With the help of a
pedestrian I found my way. Then I got lost, but with the help of a Postman I found my way. I was hoping the start of the
day would not be an indicator of how the rest of the day would go. It wasn't. As soon as I left town and got into the country and old seldom seen
friend came up behind me. It was the wind. It pushed me most of the day,
keeping my average speed at 13 mph compared to my normal 11. That makes a big difference on a bike. Again, I spent my day riding over gently
rolling hills surrounded by old farmhouses and very little traffic. About 20
miles from the farm I came into Portage. I stopped at Dairy Queen
(thanks again Chris) and ate a burger and a big ol brownie sundae thing.
I had a very nice welcome at Clover View farms, took a shower and had a
tour of the grounds. They milk about 41 cows. Ken, one of the brothers
who runs the place has a name for each one of them. I thought that was
amazing because to me, all the cows look alike. And I have a hard enough
time remembering peoples names. By the end of the tour we heard the bell
on the porch ring, calling us to dinner. I had not seen a table so filled with
food since I had family dinners at my parents. It was a true meat and taters
dinner and I ate until I literally could not lift my fork.
The next morning I woke up too late to see the cows being milked. I did
however watch what I was hoping to be a birthing. Unfortunately, the calf
was still born and had to be pulled from the mother. It was quite the interesting scene, but not as pleasant obviously as a live birth. Still it was a
fact of life on the farm and something not a lot of people experience.
During the day we drove over to Wisconsin Dells. It's a major tourist trap
which consists of a lot of miniature golf courses, go-carts, t-shirt shops and
fudge stores. But, I had my first and hopefully not last Butter Burger.
I was disappointed to learn that it was not a big patty of butter between two
buns. Very disappointed! It was still very tasty. I won't tell you what it is
though, you just have to find out on your own.
That evening I watched the guys milk the cows. The barn is I think over a
hundred years old with the feed stalls taking up the entire bottom floor. As
I walked toward the barn I could see the cows outside waiting to come in. It was then that I wished I had brought some rubbers. The floor of the barn
was covered with, well the remnants of what the cows ate. Not a lot, it's
mostly pushed into a drainage system, but it's still difficult to avoid some of the puddles. The cows
seemed to know exactly what to do, but where apprehensive when they saw me. They know I didn't belong and probably
were not looking forward to having their picture taking in such an intimate position.
Tomorrow I am going to make it to Fon du Lac, then Manitowac the next day. Monday I will board the ferry to Ludington. It's a four hour trip across
Lake Michigan. I can't wait for that part. I've never seen any of the Great
Lakes.
I had a great time visiting the farm. It was a much needed physical rest. I left there on Saturday morning at 8am, planning to ride about 65 miles to Fon du Lac. There, I would camp and ride on to Manitowoc on Sunday to catch the ferry to Ludington on Monday. About 50 miles into my ride I
stopped in a small town park where some booster club was selling brats. It was about time for one of my several lunches, and I love brats so I pulled over. Luke was there with some friends who started asking me about my trip. I told him I was heading to the ferry. Without even
hesitating he said "We live near Sheboygan if you want to stay with us." I'm a pretty good judge of character and knew right away Luke was a decent guy. I
accepted his offer and he gave me directions to his home. Only problem was, I would have to ride another 60 miles to get there.
The good thing was I would catch the ferry a day early and stay free for a night.
The ride was great! Fast, easy, beautiful. Then my imagination took off ahead of me. I started questioning my
judgment about Luke, my decision to ride another 60 miles and if I was going to end up any closer when the day was done. And, as usual, my first instincts were fine. I
finally arrived in Gibbsville at Luke's home. He introduced me to his wife and
daughters. They were all very kind. Luke told me he was a youth minister and that he was taking me to a graduation party for one of his "kids."
An hour later I was at a party, stuffing my face with hot ham sandwiches and meatballs,
talking to a bunch of people who were intrigued by my adventure. I could
not help but think about how each day is full of surprises. I woke up expecting to ride till about 2 or 3, find a camp, make dinner and go to bed.
I realized how lucky I am to meet all these wonderful people.
Luke's son was away for the night so they said I could use his bed. I wondered
how I would feel if I came home to find out some strange dirty
biker guy had slept in my bed. It was a squeeze again to fit into a 6 foot bed, but I was not about to turn it down. I slept great that night,
surrounded by Hot Wheels, videogames and Jeff Gordon pictures. I got up early to make
the ferry. Luke got up soon after and saw me off.
I got to Manitowac 2 hours before the ferry's departure time. Time enough
to get some coffee. When I got on the ferry I played cow, following the
herd to the front of the ship. I quickly grabbed a lounge chair and lay down in the sun. Well, all the veteran travelers knew better and grabbed a table
inside. I'm thinking, why go inside? It's beautiful out here and you get a
better view. Well you go inside because once the boat starts going it gets mighty windy out there. Windy and cold. The front deck cleared off quick.
Well, all except for the woman a few seats down talking on the cell phone
about the mental state of her father. I guess she wanted attention because she was letting everyone listen. I found a table inside and played cards with
my ferry friend Rachelle. I loved the ride and once again could not help but
feel lucky for being able to take this trip.
In Ludington MI, I found the state park campground. As soon as I pulled in I knew where I was setting up my tent. Right next to the happy RVing
retired couple. They immediately started talking to me. They had eaten dinner but invited me in to cook my dinner. Very nice couple,
Marilynn, shaped like a pear, and Lyle, reminded me of Mr. Green Jeans. That night
I hardly slept. The rain splatted against my tent non-stop. I woke up with a
puddle at my feet. My first thought was "geez that hasn't happened since I
was little". But I realized it only water. Marilynn and Lyle invited me over
for breakfast. Grilled Cheese Food and scrambled eggs. She also made
grits since I have never had them. She hugged me goodbye and I set off for
Big Rapids, where I am right now.
I do not know where I will go tomorrow. My trip is over half way done
and I can not believe it. The end is in site! I'll update as soon as I can!
Each time I write I am so pressed for time that I forget to mention so many things. Well, I hope to remember some of them to share with you!
I have been passed by about 15-20 drivers education vehicles. I never see that many in Denver! And they have all been near Big Rapids which is
where I slept last night. Finally after being passed so by thousands of vehicles on this trip I finally passed a few myself. Yes they were moving. I
came up on a convoy of farm tractors on their way to a show. It was tough but I pushed by at about 13 mph. The drivers all waved and said hi. Today
I passed a horse and buggy driven by an Amish woman. I've been through a lot of Amish country in WI an MI. Not really big communities but homes
interspersed with the other farms.
After the graduation party with the preacher, he let me into the garage to
retrieve things from my bike. Did I tell you this? I don't think so. Anyway,
as I walked in, my foot slipped and nearly caused me to fall. I looked to
see what it was that caused me to loose my footing, expecting a puddle of
oil. It was a frog! I stepped on a frog. Thank god I had my Tevas on, had I
been barefoot, the preacher would have had two messes to clean up that night.
Now my mind has gone blank. It's like thinking of all the movies you want to rent then forgetting once you get to the store. I'm going to go eat lunch
and continue down the road for a few more hours.
I have arrived in the country of my destination, Canada. The bridge from
Port Huron MI to Sarina Ontario is called the Blue water bridge. It is
Huge, very high and quite impressive. I took a picture from about a mile
away. An old man watching me took my picture with his camera so he would have proof that he met a guy riding from Denver to Toronto. The
bridge is basically an interstate and the only way to cross the border
within about 20 miles. When I got up to the toll both the man said, "Did you call
ahead?" I didn't think I needed reservations. Come to find out the side
walk was closed. I had planned on walking across the mile or so of bridge,
stopping to take pictures on the way. Instead, I had to toss my stuff into
the back of a DOT pick-up and be driven across. It was quick, until we
reached customs. I had a can of mace, illegal I guess in Canada.
Instead of just taking it, I had to go to the immigration office.
Where are you going? Of what country are you a citizen? How much money do you have? Where are you going, when will you leave, where are
you staying, do you have passport, can I see you ticket home? Most of these facts were not confirmed by the lady with the tight bun of hair. I
guess she wanted to see how quickly I answered them. I got out of there
and headed over to Lakeshore road.
You'd think Lakeshore would be the name of a road along a lakeshore, I
did. It was basically a road in front of a bunch of houses backed up to
Lake Huron. I never saw the lake. After a stop for food stuffs, I got to
Paradise Valley Campground.
I was the only tenter and one of just a few resident that did not plan to
spend the summer. Most trailers had been set up to be a permanent
residence. As I watched the clouds blow in I
contemplated renting one of the "cabins" for just a few bucks more. After it started to sprinkle, I went
and picked up a key for Cabin 3.
Much to my surprise I was not alone in the cabin. There were probably
200-300 itsy bitsy spiders that made a home out of one of the bunks. I
didn't discover it until I pushed my hand through one of the webs. They didn't really scare me because they were so small, but the thought of
waking up with a large web over my face and tiny spiders in my eyebrows
was not something I cherished. A can of raid
borrowed from the office
allowed me to sleep somewhat better.
Except for the rain. ALL NIGHT. It would spatter on the roof, quieted
down, poor for a few seconds and repeat this throughout the night. When I
awoke the wind was still blowing, but the rain was gone. And I noticed the
wind was blowing the opposite direction, the direction I was headed. But
here in eastern Ontario you can not travel one direction you can go
southwest, northwest, southeast or any other combination you can imagine.
The roads all go at angels, so there is no direct route across the state. Up
down up down in Zig
Zags. I mapped out what appears to be the best route, crossing several towns and plenty of places to get food. So far, this
morning the ride has been pretty good, across farmland and small rolling
hills.
Whatever I encounter it will be better than Michigan. I'm sure all of MI isn't
the same as what I saw, but I was not impressed. I do not like having to
navigate through a state using advice like "Whatever you do, do not ride
through Flint!" "I can give you a hundred reasons to avoid Saginaw." Don't
camp in Birch Run,
that's a bad part of the state." Ludington was beautiful as was much of the Manistee National Forest, but the roads I used
were potted and crumbling. The shoulders, if paved were covered with bits and
pieces of the road that was falling apart. Don't get me wrong, I had some
very nice ride, wind at my back for most of the day but
battling the traffic all day everyday tends to be unnerving.
I have 11 more days before I have to be in Toronto and probably 3-4 more days of riding. It should be pretty easy going here on out!
I arrived in Ontario (ON) four days ago. Apparently, right after three weeks of rain. But also just a little ahead of another rain
storm. When I last emailed, it was drizzly out, not really raining but just like riding through a
cloud, with water droplets clinging to my jacket. It's very humid here which
makes my skin clammy all day. The clothes never really dry, they just stop
getting more wet. But as I left my camp on the 21st, the owners assured
me that the day was going to clear up. It did not, but the CBC weather report assured me that it would clear that night, it did not, but the next
morning they said it would clear that day, again, it did not. Finally, yesterday, the sun came out completely and from what the locals say we
had one of the nicest days in weeks.
I have a pretty good set of maps and have become quite adept at estimating distance for each days trip. But I still like to ask
the locals each time I stop how far away a particular city is. No matter what, each
Canadian I ask answers by telling me how long it takes to drive there. Most of the people know I'm on a bike, they see it between my legs and
the helmet on my head but still offer the distance in time. I really had to
press one woman to tell me the actual distance, but then she was not sure.
This strikes me as very strange. It seems that they are overly concerned
with time. I don't know. After discovering this strange behavior I now ask
people even if I don't need to know, just to see what type of answer they
will give. It has every single time, been the time.
I spent Thursday night at Prospect Hill Campground and RV park. Don't be fooled, it is actually in a valley. As with most of
the campgrounds I have found, this one had a large number of permanent residents. But there was
something special going on here. Workers were setting up for a wedding the next day. A wedding? In a trailer park? The owners told me it was an
employee and that using the park was so much cheaper than a hall in town.
Yeah but a trailer park? A trailer park wedding?
I set up my tent across the creek from where the rehearsal was taking place. As I cooked my dinner I noticed a familiar tune in
the air. "Yesterday" was blaring from the sound system. But it was an instrumental
version, mostly organ. I thought about how many times in my life will I be
able to eat Pork and Beans in a trailer park listening to "Yesterday" over a
PA system. Hopefully only this one time.
I arrived in Guelph ON yesterday afternoon. I am staying with my cousin
Clayton and his family. I am very happy to have a nice place to stay and
nice people to visit before the last little bit of my trip. I am ahead of
schedule so I will be here for maybe a week. From here I go into Toronto,
about a day riding but I may make it two. I have very strange feelings about my ride
coming to an end. It has been an extremely difficult mental challenge. Riding my bike everyday for a month was a joy. I could
ride for another few months, in fact I would love to. But I am happy to be coming
back home, to my friends and family and my neighborhood. For all the bad
days and terrible nights, this has been a real dream come true. I know that
I want to continue to do trips in the future, I'm planning to go to Australia
next year. But I also know that I do not want to do it alone. The hardest
thing was to spend almost every night eating alone.
This is not the last email. I still have a week before I actually arrive in
Toronto and I hope many more happy hours on the road. I will be updating
as things happen and of course after I ride my bike to the door of my hotel
in Toronto.
I made it to Toronto (T.O.)!! I always thought I would but
didn't really KNOW I would. But part of the reason for my success is all the other
people who KNEW I could do it!
I spent the last week in Guelph. It was a great break from hauling the trailer and sleeping on the ground. I stayed with my cousin Clayton, his
wife Pamela and son Ian. Clayton loves biking as much as I do so we rode,
sans trailer, a couple of times during the week. It felt great to get on
the road and not have to pull 50 pounds behind me. Being out in the farm
country riding with someone who loves to ride reminded me why I took this
trip, I love being on my bike, I love looking at beautiful scenery. But I
also love having someone there to share the experience with me. It is obvious now that I will need a partner for any future trips.
I was the subject of show and tell last week. I took my bike and trailer to
Ian's fifth grade class so to talk about my trip. The kids seemed to love it
and so did I! They had so many questions, I could not keep up with them.
One boy asked what I'd do if it got stormy out. I told him I would probably
take shelter in a barn. Well, in Canada it is quite a big deal to trespass
on a farmers land. They continued asking me questions about it, and they
seemed very concerned that the farmer would get mad. One child was even
concerned that I could burn up if the barn was struck by lightning. After my
presentation I rode my bike around the playground while some of the kids
chased me. I love being in front of the class and got a kick out of the impression I had on these kids. Maybe one of them will
get an idea to do the same thing when he gets older.
Before I started on my trip I had fantasies about how things would be, the people I would meet and my ride into Toronto. Many of them never
materialized. I didn't deal with the rain as well as I had hoped. I think
I set my expectations too high to be met. Every day that I was riding in
the sun, rain, wind or during exhaustion I dreamed about my arrival in Toronto. It kept me going to think about pulling up to the hotel to be
greeted by my team mates. Then we would go out to celebrate. Instead I
rode in on a river trail and stopped when I hit Lake Ontario. Took some
pictures then went to check in at a Hostel since my room was not ready at the
hotel. I ate some burgers and talked with other travelers, finally going to
bed around midnight. It was less climatic than I had expected but not at
all less rewarding. I felt a great deal of satisfaction when I actually
touched the lake. But the thousands of people on the waterfront celebrating
Canaday day did not care. Nobody came up to hug me or even say congratulations, why should they. But I was happy, very happy with a smile
plastered to my face to be in Toronto. It doesn't matter who is there to see
me complete my goal. No one is around for so many of life's other challenges. What makes me happy is that I accepted the
challenge, I tried and completed it. I know that I can do anything I want if I set my mind to
it. I had finally completed my trip, and reached my goal, now I didn't want
to stop.
For each expectation that was not met, there were many more surprises that
were better than anything I could have dreamed. After days of rain and harsh wind,
staggering loneliness and endless hunger I really have a hard time remembering the specifics. I do however remember the faces and
names of the people I met. I remember the kindness of strangers and the
generosity from people I will probably never see again. Being pushed by the wind to
coast at 20mph, rolling over freshly paved hills and seeing the countryside
at about 10mph is what sticks out in my mind. I won't forget the hard times, they are what made the trip a challenge and built character.
They are what will remind me that I can overcome more than I expect.
So I'm here, how does it feel. Well it seems almost unreal. It seems like
just the other day that I left and yesterday that I celebrated my birthday
in a in Oskaloosa IA with a piece of cheese cake. So much has happened, so
many great experiences, wonderful people and beautiful views. It was an
adventure that can never be beat. I will have other trips that will be awesome, but none will be my first. I missed my friends and family, I
missed going to the Fox hole on Sunday afternoons, the Peoples Fair, the
Elephant Rock and Wednesday night rides with OutSpokin'. I was not in Denver for my
birthday with friends and any number of early summer events. But I just didn't
get to participate, I didn't really "miss" them. I can do all those things next year. For the past 43 days I got to ride my bike,
meet people from all over the country and world. I saw things I will never
see again, slept in strangers homes and shared meals with retirees from across the country. I pet a calf, ate grits, rode my bike across the
Mississippi and Missouri rivers, ferried over a Great Lake, ate great cheese
in Wisconsin, rode for 4 hours in the rain and got chased by territorial
dogs. I've shopped in Hy-vees, Zhers, Piggly Wiggly, Pack-n-save and countless Mom and Pop
grocery stores. I had an experience that will never be repeated. But most important in that I made
it. I set a goal, pushed through the miserable times and made it to the end. I
rode my bike from Denver to Toronto. And I'd do it again!
