2010 ALA Ride Anacortes, WA - Brunswick, ME

1 September Wednesday Poland, ME – Brunswick, ME

2010-09-03T15:26:00.005-04:00

The Finish

Starting Point: Poland, ME
Ending Point: Brunswick, ME
Via: Danville and Durham
Mileage: 38.5
Time: 3:51
Mph: 10
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 1,600
Temperature High: 88
Temperature Low: 72
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich
Dinner: restaurant
Weather: sunny and humid, bad ozone
Lodging: Home
Cumulative Mileage: 4,231
Miles to Go: 0
Days completed: 87 (including 9 rest days)
Distance Completed: 100%

One last chance to pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     What an exciting day…finishing this long journey comforted with the knowledge the I have achieved my financial goals for the American Lung Association (that is, if all outstanding pledge promises are fulfilled). I have covered 2,231 miles in this expedition which brings me to a total of 22,113 miles over the 15 years I have been fund-raising for ALA. That total number of miles is the circumference of the Earth at the latitude of Cape Canaveral, FL! I’ll need to wait a week or so to come up with a final dollar total for fund-raising, but all indications are that I will exceed $250,000.

Almost to the Finish Line

We found our way from the campground in Poland near Range Pond State Park and probably came upon the steepest hill of the entire trip right in Danville, ME. I will have to go back to it in a car and measure it, but my sense is that it is probably a 20% grade. I suppose it would have helped me to train on that hill for the Cascades. Maybe I’ll leave that till next time.

The Wheel-Dipping Ritual in the Atlantic Ocean

We rendezvoused in the Little Dog Café in Brunswick at 1pm and left as a small group(4 people) to go to the boat ramp at Simpson’s Point Road in Brunswick. Dan N had to get his wheel rebuilt and John S. went with him to help. Andrew and Dan sought cooler surroundings at the Sea Dog Microbrewery and Restaurant. That left Joe, Dean, Dolores and I to roll down the gentle hill at the boat ramp and dip our front wheels in the Atlantic Ocean. It was such a hot day, we dipped ourselves as well.
For the sake of balancing getting this posted and getting unpacked and settled back in, I’ll leave the deeper reflections until another day. My plan is to come back and post a final entry in 2-3 days.

The Team at the Finish (left to right: Me, Dean, Dolores and Joe, the leader

For now, suffice it to say that this ride would not have been possible without all the support, encouragement, hospitality and generosity of ALL my sponsors, hosts on the road, teammates and the group leader, Joe Loviska. I thank all 367 sponsors, all countless people whom I met on the road and gave of their time, knowledge and resources to help us on our way.
There will be more specific thanks and acknowledgements forthcoming.

31 August Tuesday Conway, NH – Poland, ME

2010-09-01T12:24:00.000-04:00

Starting Point: Conway, NH
Ending Point: Poland, ME
Via: Center Conway, Fryeburg, Bridgton, Naples, Casco and Webbs Mills
Mileage: 62
Time: 6:15
Mph: 9.9
Terrain: very hilly
Vertical climbing: 2,372
Temperature High: 104
Temperature Low: 76
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich
Dinner: chicken salad rolls
Weather: sunny and humid, bad ozone
Lodging: Range Pond Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 4,163
Miles to Go: 30
Projected Distance: 4,200
Days completed: 86 (including 9 rest days)
Distance Completed: 99%
Days to Go: 1

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     With great anticipation I left the campground to breach the Maine state line. Giovanni was right behind me when I arrived there and he offered to take a picture of the longed-for sign. There was a part of the sign missing: “The Way Life Should Be.” I mentioned this to Giovanni and he commented that maybe they had changed their minds.

Maine - At Last!

     There was oppressive tropical heat and really bad air. The ozone index must have definitely been in the unhealthy range. The only relief was when biking in the shade of roadside trees. In normal circumstances I wouldn’t go biking in this weather, but today is the second to last day of this expedition and I wouldn’t want to prolong it any more than necessary.
     At one point I came upon a detour that had a “Accident Ahead” sign. My first thought was, “I hope it’s not a cyclist.” My second thought was, “How far out of my way am I going to have bike?!” The road crew worker assured me that it wasn’t a cyclist. Later in the evening I did find out that Dan N. did get hit by a car, but miraculously he escaped with minor injuries and his bike didn’t fare much worse. He was incredibly lucky; he was saying in the evening that if he had been positioned just a couple of inches in a different direction the outcome could have been severe if not fatal.
     It was a very long day with lots of hills and harsh heat so we were all quite whipped by the time we got into camp. It was our last evening as a group of 8 because Andrew was leaving the group for a couple of days to visit a friend in Portland. The camp host offered to make us hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken salad sandwiches so we wouldn’t have to leave the campground to find food. It wasn’t the most nutritious meal, but it was certainly a most welcome one.

30 August Monday North Woodstock, NH – Conway, NH

2010-08-31T10:19:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: North Woodstock, NH
Ending Point: Conway, NH
Via: Kankamagus Highway
Mileage: 44
Time: 4:17
Mph: 10.3
Terrain: hilly up the pass then really down-hilly down the pass
Vertical climbing: 2,128
Temperature High: 90
Temperature Low: 72
Lunch: hummus/tomato/cheese sandwich, banana
Dinner: potato salad, cole slaw, bean salad, chicken, cake
Weather: sunny and humis
Lodging: The Beach Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 4,130
Miles to Go: 70
Projected Distance: 4,200
Days completed: 85 (including 9 rest days) [includes North Woodstock rest day]
Distance Completed: 98%
Days to Go: 2

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

At the top of the Kank (Kankamagus Highway)

Today was the last mountain pass we had to traverse. It’s probably the easiest one we’ve had to face the entire trip and the views were spectacular. The sky was clear and the mountains stood in sharp relief to the striking blue sky.

The Last Pass of the Expedition

At the top I had a small picnic with Joe, Dean and Dan T. I had misremembered the view from the picnic spot. I would have sworn that the Presidential Range of the White Mountains was visible from the spot. It wasn’t. What was visible was Franconia Ridge and Kinsman Ridge. It has been humbling, for sure, in many parts of this ride because I misremembered some detail. Still, all in all, much of the route is burned into my brain.

Along the Swift River

I was biking with Joe down Passaconaway Road on the north side of the Swift River and we found a nice place to cool off. We took a dip in the river. Of all the times I’ve been by this area, this was the first time I had actually been in the river. On a 90 degree day, it was refreshing.

28 August Saturday Orford, NH – North Woodstock, NH

2010-08-29T11:28:00.005-04:00

Starting Point: Orford, NH
Ending Point: North Woodstock, NH
Via: Piermont, Haverhill, and North Haverhill
Mileage: 38.5
Time: 4:14
Mph: 9.1
Terrain: extremely hilly (grades of 10%, 12%)
Vertical climbing: 2,138
Temperature High: 78
Temperature Low: 52
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich
Dinner: restaurant
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Maple Haven Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 4,078
Miles to Go: 122
Projected Distance: 4,200
Days completed: 84 (including 9 rest days) [includes North Woodstock rest day]
Distance Completed: 97%
Days to Go: 3

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     We prolonged our stay in Vermont in the morning by biking over the bridge to Fairlee and eating breakfast there.


Connecticut River Valley: The Border between VT and NH

New Hampshire Farmhouse and Stone Wall

As I was getting prepared to go in a couple of guys in a pick-up truck started asking about my recumbent and the ride. One of them was named “Hap” and I never did get the other one’s name. We had some things in common: we were both “from away”, in other words, transplants from Connecticut. We both have, how shall I put this kindly, varied work lives.
     I knew it was going to be a hilly day, but the weather was again perfect and the woods were just full of light and shadow. The woods beckoned me, but I kept on pedaling, putting off hiking until a different moment.
     North Woodstock is a very touristy town – we had to wait 40 minutes to get seated in a restaurant. We could have, of course, cooked at camp, but today was the beginning of the group’s second-to-last rest day and my LAST rest day before Brunswick. We chose to eat at the Woodstock Inn which also doubles as a tavern.
     Tomorrow will be a day of relaxed walking and riding. It is supposed to be really hot outside so I’ll have to seek out some cool shelter somewhere – maybe a movie theater.

New Hampshire Woods - White Mountains

White Mountain Road

Beaver Pond near Lost River Gorge

A note about Sunday morning...Joe treated us to pancakes with blueberries and Vermont Maple Syrup at camp. He and Dan prepared them in very fine fashion.

27 August Friday Gaysville, VT – Orford, NH

2010-08-29T11:01:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Gaysville, VT
Ending Point: Orford, NH
Via: Bethel, Royalton, South Royalton, Sharon, South Strafford, Thetford Center, Thetford Hill and East Thetford
Mileage: 46.1
Time: 4:54
Mph: 9.4
Terrain: extremely mountainous (grades of 10%, 13%)
Vertical climbing: 2,523
Temperature High: 73
Temperature Low: 57
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich
Dinner: restaurant
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Pastures Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 4,039
Miles to Go: 161
Projected Distance: 4,200
Days completed: 82 (including 8 rest days)
Distance Completed: 96%
Days to Go: 5

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Milestones:
   500 – Heron, MT
1,000 – Malta, MT
1,500 – Minnewauken, ND
2,000 – McGregor, MN
2,500 – Foster City, MI
3,000 – Clare, MI
3,500 – Niagara Falls, Ontario
4,000 – Bethel, VT

Mornings are now much cooler and the weather feels much like fall weather with cooling breezes, brilliant sun, bright sky, sharp color with even some trees turning already. Biking through Vermont towns has always been enjoyable because of the old houses that are still standing and, even more surprisingly, still in use.
It looked like school was just getting into session in South Royalton where the historic Vermont Law School is located. Students were roaming the main street in search of who knows what? Cappuccino? Panini? Used law texts?

South Royalton, Vermont Green

Typical New England Church in South Royalton, Vermont

Vermont Law School

Crossing into New Hampshire sure feels like an upcoming homecoming. Part of the route goes on a long gravel part covered by trees which reminds me of the Tunnel of Trees in Michigan. The last time I got to ride on this was in 2004 – it was very peaceful and relaxing. This year there was definitely more traffic, which has a tendency to disturb serene settings.

26 August Thursday East Middlebury, VT – Gaysville, VT

2010-08-26T22:04:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: East Middlebury, VT
Ending Point: Gaysville, VT
Via: Ripton, Bread Loaf, Hancock, Rochester and Stockbridge
Mileage: 37.6
Time: 3:49
Mph: 9.9
Terrain: extremely mountainous(grades of 10%, 12% and 16%)
Vertical climbing: 2,382
Temperature High: 75
Temperature Low: 67
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich
Dinner: spaghetti with veggies and sauce, cheesecake
Weather: partly sunny
Lodging: White River Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 3,993
Miles to Go: 207
Projected Distance: 4,200
Days completed: 81 (including 8 rest days)
Distance Completed: 95%
Days to Go: 6

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

East of Middlebury Gap on Route 100

Middlebury Gap is as challenging as it ever was and an idea occurred to me and made me wonder how many more climbs like this remain in me. Certainly the Vermont scenery is a high point and steep hills don’t detract from it very much. It just is difficult to enjoy it when one is breathless and feels like one’s chest is going to explode. That is a slight exaggeration, but I hope my meaning is clear.

Dylan, The Mechanic Extraordinaire at Green Mountain Cycles

Today was a fantastically gorgeous day with cooling breezes and partly sunny skies. There were perfect conditions throughout the day with the road dappled with shadow from trees all along. Except for construction vehicles, trucks, motorcycles and cars on the road up to the top of the gap, the air was pure, cool and refreshing. I stopped in Ripton at the General Store for a quick drink of something to get me the rest of the way up the mountain. It was an old store with a cash register from 1810 (National Cash Register Co.) I was a bit remiss in that I didn’t get a photo of it.

White River as Seen from the Campground

In Rochester I made the usual pilgrimage to Sandy’s Books and Bakery to catch up on email and coffee drinks. I always stop at Green Mountain Cycles there, too and I have a correction to make…For those of you who might have read my blog about my Northern New England tour in 2008 to raise money for the American Lung Association, I published a picture of a mechanic there and I called him Doon. Today I found out that his name is actually Dylan. I’m sure many of you are relieved at having that cleared up after all this time.
While at Sandy’s I got caught in photo with the owner and employees which was a promotion because they had just been covered in Yankee Magazine.

25 August Wednesday Blue Ridge, NY – East Middlebury, VT

2010-08-26T21:21:00.006-04:00

Starting Point: Blue Ridge, NY
Ending Point: East Middlebury, VT
Via: North Hudson, Severance, Paradox, Ticonderoga, Shoreham (VT), Cornwall and Middlebury
Mileage: 59
Time: 6:23
Mph: 9.2
Terrain: mountainous
Vertical climbing: 2,812
Temperature High: 73
Temperature Low: 64
Lunch: turkey/cheese and PB&J sandwiches, fries (MacDo), smoothie
Dinner: calzone, salad
Weather: overcast, a little rain
Lodging: Lake Dunmore Kampersville
Cumulative Mileage: 3,956
Miles to Go: 245
Projected Distance: 4,200
Days completed: 80 (including 8 rest days)
Distance Completed: 94%
Days to Go: 7

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

* Pledge Status *

Amount Raised: $32,776

Amount Needed to reach $250,000 for my 15th Anniversary: $788

It seemed a long way with a good supply of hills from the Blue Ridge Campground to the ferry at Ticonderoga.The area down the hill from where we stayed had been a flourishing tourist destination probably 10 years ago. There was Frontier Town and all things having to do with that era. Now it was more like Ghost Town with many businesses boarded up. It wasn’t clear what possible economic engine could re-ignite the area. I was so looking forward to getting a bagel at Mister Bagel on the main route that goes through the area near Ticonderoga. My hopes were dashed as the building came into view – it was out of business as well.

Fort Ticonderoga

As always there is an exciting downhill finish right before turning off for the ferry to Vermont or Fort Ticonderoga. I briefly stopped to take a look at the grounds and exterior of the fort; several of our band did also. Some even paid the fee to go inside only to complain later of feeling pressured for time.

Ticonderoga Cable Ferry Dock -- Vermont in Background

There was a couple bicycling together back to Vermont and taking the ferry with me. They were having a sort of mini-honeymoon having left their two young children with the grand-parents. We discussed all things bicycle. John asked a very good question, “What did you miss the most?” I had trouble answering that because there were too many little things and big things to name. This question ranks up there with “What are some of your favorite places?” or “Where would you recommend taking a bicycle trip?” As the trip winds down, these questions do swirl in my mind as I try to envision what I’ve seen over the past 80+ days. I’ll write more about this another time.

En Route to Vermont

Ticonderoga Ferry Pilot

This was another long day that Joe described as short. We all are skeptical of his claims now of easy days ahead.

24 August Tuesday Raquette Lake, NY – Blue Ridge, NY

2010-08-24T22:30:00.005-04:00

Starting Point: Raquette Lake, NY
Ending Point: Blue Ridge, NY
Via: Blue Mountain Lake and Newcomb
Mileage: 55.9
Time: 6:09
Mph: 9.1
Terrain: mountainous
Vertical climbing: 2,964
Temperature High: 75
Temperature Low: 44
Lunch: veggie wrap, turkey/cheese sandwich
Dinner: rice w/veggies, kielbasa, strawberry/rhubarb pie
Weather: sunny, breezy, cool in the shade
Lodging: Blue Ridge Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 3,897
Miles to Go: 303 (adjustment)
Projected Distance: 4,200 (adjustment)
Days completed: 79 (including 8 rest days)
Distance Completed: 93%
Days to Go: 8

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Today was very much like a fall day: clear skies, bright sun, crisp air, cooler temperatures, sharp distinct lines to see on everything. Even though there was significant climbing, the beauty of the landscape was more than enough recompense for any sore muscles.

Clear Adirondack Sky. View is to the East Towards Vermont

     On the way to and through Newcomb the high peaks of the Adirondacks were often visible in the distance. This made me somewhat nostalgic for hiking some more.
     It’s very exciting and distracting to be just about to enter Vermont – New England! Again, it feels like a homecoming and it’s hard not to envision all things Maine as I’m riding along rather than focusing on what cars, trucks, RVs or construction vehicles are approaching.
     Several people drove by as they gave me a thumbs-up sign. One even yelled out his pickup truck windows wanting to know what I was up to.
     Early in the day a rider was approaching me from the other direction. He came over to my side of the road to chat. He had just ridden from Seattle to Portland, ME and was now on his way BACK to Seattle. I did not envy him one bit. One way is just fine for me.

View from Blue Ridge Campground

-- Mystery Bird Solved -- The Willet

For dinner, Joe put a special dessert on the table: a Hostess Snowball cut into 8 pieces. This was to emphasize just how lucky we were to have any dinner at all. Joe and Andrew found a store of sorts in Newcomb, but they had only 5 minutes to shop before it closed. They discovered, by serendipity, a general store at the American Buffalo Company farm near Blue Ridge. Our real dessert was pie, but it was hidden until the last possible second before there was mutiny.
Thanks to Laura from Capac, MI for her intensive search to solve the problem I had back on June 30th with a bird I saw and was accosted by in Malta, MT!

23 August Monday Boonville, NY – Raquette Lake, NY

2010-08-24T21:30:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Boonville, NY
Ending Point: Raquette Lake, NY
Via: McKeever, Thendara, Old Forge and Inlet
Mileage: 52.8
Time: 6:14
Mph: 8.5
Terrain: extremely hilly
Vertical climbing: 2,907
Temperature High: 57
Temperature Low: 52
Lunch: Calamari, Pulled pork sandwich (Not from group food)
Dinner: American Chop Suey w/sausage
Weather: rain until early evening, wind (severe headwinds)
Lodging: Golden Beach Park Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 3,841
Miles to Go: 259
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 78 (including 8 rest days)
Distance Completed: 94%
Days to Go: 9

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

The Big Brown Barn that Saved Us from the Rain

At the beginning of the day it looked like the rain might not fall and clouds would just float along harmlessly all day. About 40 minutes into the ride (after a 12% climbing grade on one hill), it began to drizzle. I thought that it would pass and I could just keep going. After a short time, it began to rain in earnest and so I had to give in, pull over and put on all the rain gear again. It seemed an awful lot like yesterday in terms of just how bad it was going to get. My goal was to get to Old Forge, find lunch and Wi-fi so I could catch up on blogging. By the time I achieved all that it was after 3pm and it had stopped raining.

Clearer Skies -- No Rain

There was the occasional blue sky visible between all of the clouds and at one point, the sky cleared almost completely. The sun was so low that everything had a sharp outline and the air was crystal clear. The wind was blowing vigorously.

Adirondack Evening in Raquette Lake

The best part of the day was when I finally arrived at camp at 7:30pm in time for dinner. It had gotten much cooler by late evening. The second best part of the day was getting to take a shower in the State Park facilities; it was the best shower on this entire expedition! Good water pressure and good temperature.

22 August Sunday Texas, NY – Boonville, NY

2010-08-23T15:27:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: Texas, NY
Ending Point: Boonville, NY
Via: Mexico Point, Port Ontario, Pulaski, Richland, Orwell, Redfield, Osceola and West Leyden
Mileage: 61.1
Time: 7:15
Mph: 8.4
Terrain: extremely hilly
Vertical climbing: 2,887
Temperature High: 64
Temperature Low: 61
Lunch: French toast
Dinner: pizza, salad
Weather: rain (torrential at times), wind (severe headwinds at times (10-20mph, 30mph gusts)
Lodging: Stysh’s Brown Barn Campground (not camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 3,788
Miles to Go: 312
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 77 (including 8 rest days)
Distance Completed: 92%
Days to Go: 10

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Today began with rain and ended with torrential rain. On a day like this, the sole goal for me is survival and reaching endpoint so that I can get dry and warm.
     In Richland, I did have a fine second breakfast The server and so many people there were very friendly. As I was trying to leave I had a rain jacket zipper failure, but 2 women there with good eyesight and fingernails proved very helpful in getting me going again.
     The terrain got really hilly, mountainous really, but these mountains were generally small ones which reminded me a lot of the terrain in in-land Maine. I suppose these were just getting us ready physically and psychologically for the Adirondacks themselves. There was incredible wind to struggle against.
     My bicycle seat almost broke off today. This was similar to an incident that happened to John a couple of days ago – he recovered from it. After Joe and Andrew struggled with the seat for an hour or two, it seems like it was fixed and ready to go again. I’m just hoping it can last another 312 miles.

21 August Saturday Sodus Point, NY – Texas, NY

2010-08-23T15:27:00.000-04:00

Starting Point: Sodus Point, NY
Ending Point: Texas, NY
Via: Alton, Wolcott, Fair Haven, Sterling, Hannibal, Granby Center, Fulton, Volney and New Haven
Mileage: 57.9
Time: 5:51
Mph: 9.9
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 2,387
Temperature High: 72
Temperature Low: 52
Lunch: bagel
Dinner: beans and rice w/sausage, pinto bean salad, pie
Weather: overcast, some wind
Lodging: Dowie Dale Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 3,727
Miles to Go: 373
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 76 (including 8 rest days)
Distance Completed: 91%
Days to Go: 11

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     In the morning I stopped back at Captain Jack’s to drop off receipts and a newsletter for Tom and Barb and to have a follow-up breakfast to complete the mingy one I had at camp.
     As we rode along we saw no more orchards. The area seemed a lot more depressed economically with no visible source of support. So the houses seemed a lot more run-down. There was certainly a great deal more forest and fewer houses.
     I had made a plan to stop at a Laundromat in Wolcott to make sure I could get laundry done. There is never a guarantee that a campground will have that equipment. There was a friendly lady there who gave me some detergent and a dryer sheet so I could do a proper load. She did first ask “Is this a one-time thing?” Once she realized I was a cyclist, she happily contributed.

20 August Friday Holley, NY – Sodus Point, NY

2010-08-23T15:26:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Holley, NY
Ending Point: Sodus Point, NY
Via: Brockport, Spencerport, Rochester, Pittsford, Fairport, Macedon, Palmyra, Walworth, Williamson and Pultneyville
Mileage: 81
Time: 7:56
Mph: 10.2
Terrain: flat (first 50 miles), very hilly (last 31)
Vertical climbing: 1,442
Temperature High: 74
Temperature Low: 57
Lunch: tuna salad plate
Dinner: Cajun fish
Weather: warm, sunny
Lodging: South Shore RV Park (Camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 3,669
Miles to Go: 431
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 75 (including 8 rest days)
Distance Completed: 89%
Days to Go: 12

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Erie Canal and Tranquility

Sunrise on the Canal

In the 2 days of biking on the Canal, it was clear that it had very different characters and manifestations. At first it is a somewhat narrow very built-up waterway with not many people at all on it. As we approached Rochester, it changed to a paved surface with all kinds of active people on it: in-line skaters, walkers, runners, cyclists and speed walkers. At one point Joe and I met a small group of approximately 12-year olds boys riding small bicycles and smoking some sort of drug. Further along as we approached Pittsford there were a lot more people as the path was bordered by restaurants and gardens. As we left that area, the canal became so wide that it resembled a river and the path itself was tree-covered a great deal. It was like being on the Gandy Dancer bike path in Wisconsin again.
Dean and I were riding together once I caught up to him at a fruit and vegetable stand I remembered from the last expeditions. This was a long day, the longest of the trip actually, and Dean and I were riding in the dusk. The upside to that was that the temperature was cool and the downside was that it was perhaps just a bit too cool.

Cycling on the Canal

We saw orchard after orchard (peaches, apples, plums, pears) as we rode along. We arrived exhausted at about 8:30pm. The speedier riders in our group had scouted out places to eat in town (about 1.5 miles away up and down hills). So, not long after parking the bike and setting up the tent, it was time to climb back on the bike and go seek dinner.

Wooded Section

The scene in downtown Sodus Point was wild; there were two outdoor bands across the street from one another competing for audience. We ate at Captain Jack’s Good-time Tavern which was packed with people. We had tremendous fortune though because somehow we were able to procure the manager, Barb, as our personal server. She seated us about 40 minutes before we would have otherwise been able to get seated! I told her about my ride for ALA and moments later she disappeared back inside (we were eating outside by the pier). A bit later she came back with a handful of pledges from all the servers. Not long after, the owner, Tom, showed up and asked me if I was raising money for lung cancer. I clarified that it was American Lung Association. He pulled out a huge wad of bills from his pocket and gave a very generous pledge on the spot.
His wife arranged for a photographer to take our picture as a group with a statue of Captain Jack, the Pirate and she had us sign our names on a blank wall in the restaurant where that picture would eventually be displayed.

19 August Thursday Niagara Falls, ON – Holley, NY

2010-08-23T15:25:00.007-04:00

Starting Point: Niagara Falls, ON
Ending Point: Holley, NY
Via: Queenston, Lewiston (NY), Pekin, Lockport, Gasport, Middleport, Medina and Albion
Mileage: 70.6
Time: 6:34
Mph: 10.8
Terrain: flat
Vertical climbing: 741
Temperature High: 77
Temperature Low: 68
Lunch: chicken parmesan sandwich
Dinner: pasta & fish
Weather: warm, overcast, some rain
Lodging: Holley Erie Canal Dock Campsite
Cumulative Mileage: 3,588
Miles to Go: 512
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 74 (including 8 rest days)
Distance Completed: 88%
Days to Go: 13

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Leaving Niagara Falls was a little sad because we were leaving behind all the wonderfully fun things to do there, even those that had nothing whatsoever to do with giant waterfalls, i.e. The Wax Museum, The Haunted House, and The Casino. It was very uplifting at the same time because we were entering the Northeast and the salt air of the coast of Maine was almost tangible.

American Falls from the Maid of the Mist

On the way to the bridge to the US in Queenston, most of us had the adventure of missing an important turn because of bad signage for bicyclists. I followed the sign for “Bridge to US” dutifully which led me 3 miles further away than I had expected from the actual bridge. It took me to an on-ramp for the highway which had the symbols for NO Pedestrians and NO bicycles. So I turned around and went back toward the river where there was a tiny sign “Bicycles to US” on only one side of the road. This led to the maze of cars, trucks, concrete barriers, car lanes and equipment that we all had to negotiate to get to actually cross the bridge.

Cormorants Basking on a Rock

The first downhill was substantial and thrilling; however, the Adventure Cycling map neglected to mention that it was necessary to turn right mid-way down that fine hill in order to stay en route. At the bottom of the hill, I found a restaurant to have a more filling breakfast than the few cornflakes available at the hostel. About 20 minutes after sitting down to eat, in came Dolores and Dean who also missed the turn. Misery sure does love company. Our only choice was to head back up the hill again and continue on the correct path. This would make the third time in a row that I had missed that turn!

Cormorant Wannabe

The main feature for today was getting on the Erie Canal towpath which is packed dirt and small gravel. It is a fine path with no traffic, no noise, a peaceful waterway right next to the path and the occasional boat motoring along with waving and friendly people on board.

Approaching Horseshoe Falls

This evening was special because I was to meet David Lamb, my Wheezers and Geezers Trek Friends Team Captain, for dinner.

17 August Tuesday Ridgeway, ON – Niagara Falls, ON

2010-08-17T14:45:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Ridgeway, ON
Ending Point: Niagara Falls, ON
Via: Fort Erie
Mileage: 26.3
Time: 2:33
Mph: 10.3
Terrain: flat
Vertical climbing: 251
Temperature High: 78
Temperature Low: 67
Lunch: PB&J sandwich
Dinner: restaurant
Weather: warm, sunny
Lodging: Niagara Falls International Hostel
Cumulative Mileage: 3,509
Miles to Go: 591
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 73 (including 8 rest days) – includes Niagara Falls, ON Rest Day
Distance Completed: 86%
Days to Go: 14

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org


Surprise of the Summer - Meeting with Ken Frato

View of Buffalo from Fort Erie, Ontario

The cycling day was so short, there isn’t much to report. A phenomenal encounter did happen briefly on the way along the Niagara Recreation Trail along the Niagara River. I heard someone call my name “John!?” I answered, “Yeah!” A bicyclist said, “Fischer?!” Again I answered the same. I looked at the two cycling in my direction from the roadway. The man yelled, “Frato!” Ken and Joan Frato are the parents of Katie with whom I completed the 2004 Northern Tier ride from Anacortes, WA to Brunswick. Ken mentioned that Katie told him to be on the lookout for me, but he wasn’t sure he’d find me. They were on the way home from a bicycle tour around Ontario. What a fantastic surprise! The chance of crossing paths with someone on this route is slim, but here again is another fine example of synchronicity! We visited only for a few minutes before we went our separate ways.

Niagara Falls - A Still Life

Arriving in Niagara Falls was as exciting as ever. The crowds are still there. The falls are still striking, hypnotic, beautiful and awe-inspiring. As I walked my bike along the promenade by the falls, a Quebecois asked me if my recumbent bicycle was easier to pedal than a “normal” one. We had a long conversation about bikes and travel. She and her family were vacationing in Niagara Falls and were from Val-Morin which is where one of my favorite cross-country skiing areas and a hotel are located. She related the sad news that Auberge le Rouet (the hotel) had burned to the ground.

16 August Monday Selkirk, ON – Ridgeway, ON

2010-08-17T14:20:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Selkirk, ON
Ending Point: Ridgeway, ON
Via: Featherstone, South Cayuga, Byng, Dunnville, Stromness, Lowbanks, Willow Bay, Long Beach, Burnaby, Camelot Beach and Port Colborne
Mileage: 60.3
Time: 5:03
Mph: 11.9
Terrain: relatively flat
Vertical climbing: 853
Temperature High: 77
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: PB&J sandwich
Dinner: teriyaki pork, potato salad, chorizo salad and veggies
Weather: tailwinds, warm, no humidity, sunny
Lodging: Windmill Point Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 3,482
Miles to Go: 618
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 71 (including 7 rest days)
Distance Completed: 85%
Days to Go: 16

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org
Pledge Status:
Amount Raised: $32,629 (total raised since 1996: $249,065)
Amount Needed to reach $250,000: $935

Roadside Flowers


More Roadside Flowers

Roadside Color

Mysterious Bicycle Sign in Port Colbourne

Today was all about riding along the shoreline of Lake Erie for mile after mile. With a tailwind, a quick pace was easy to maintain. The sun shone, the waves glistened and lapped the shore, and the water changed color from light azure to dark blue depending on the angle of the sun and the angle of the viewer. It was a gorgeous day to be outside bicycling. The roads that ACA had chosen for the route were not entirely devoid of traffic, but most of the time the roads were totally clear. Both Dunnville and Port Colborne had many closed businesses and were clearly suffering from a depressed economy.

Turkey Vulture on Shore. There was a flock, but I wasn't quick enough with the camera

15 August Sunday Port Burwell, ON – Selkirk, ON

2010-08-17T13:15:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Port Burwell, ON
Ending Point: Selkirk, ON
Via: Houghton Centre, Clear Creek, Port Royal, Port Rowan, Booth’s Harbor, Normandale, Port Dover and Nanticoke
Mileage: 62
Time: 5:42
Mph: 10.9
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 1,213
Temperature High: 85
Temperature Low: 77
Lunch: tomato/cheese and PB&J sandwiches
Dinner: hot dogs and beans, sauerkraut
Weather: hot, humid and partly sunny, overcast
Lodging: Selkirk Provincial Park
Cumulative Mileage: 3,422
Miles to Go: 678
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 70 (including 7 rest days)
Distance Completed: 83%
Days to Go: 17

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Lake Erie Shore or could it be the ocean?

     Still the humidity plagued us the whole day and so the hours unfolded into an endless search for cold drinks and ice cream. There are much worse ways to spend hours, I’m sure. There was a good breeze for some of the day which helped cool me down.
     I stopped in Port Dover when I found Dean and Joe at a pub/restaurant. We were very fortunate to have arrived today and not two days earlier when the hordes of motorcyclists were invading the town. The server at the bar said that it was a madhouse.
     Selkirk Provincial Park is a lovely place with a totally different evening character than yesterday. Last evening we were kept awake by the Loud People who thought it was necessary to yell at each other in the dark in order to hear better. There were barking dogs, crying babies and other semi-loud people throughout the area. So naturally I didn’t get much sleep. In Selkirk, there was just silence, the waves and the breeze.


Thistle in the Evening

It is an exciting prospect to be biking along the shore of Lake Erie through all the different small towns and ports.

14 August Saturday New Glasgow, ON – Port Burwell, ON

2010-08-16T13:42:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: New Glasgow, ON
Ending Point: Port Burwell, ON
Via: Eagle, Wallacetown, Burwells Corner, Fingal, Port Stanley, Dexter, Port Bruce and Copenhagen
Mileage: 59.8
Time: 5:45
Mph: 10.4
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 826
Temperature High: 87
Temperature Low: 78
Lunch: ham/cheese, fries, cole slaw
Dinner: pasta and veggies
Weather: hot, humid and partly sunny, overcast
Lodging: Big Otter Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 3,360
Miles to Go: 740
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 69 (including 7 rest days)
Distance Completed: 82%
Days to Go: 18

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org


Wind Power

Today was a great deal of the same sort of terrain and weather as yesterday. There were many fields of corn, tobacco, soybeans and other plants that I couldn’t identify. Not far from Port Burwell we were introduced to the latest “crop” that was almost as extensive as corn: wind power. In the Erie Shores area there were at least 100 units spread over many miles.
Based on my experience of Port Burwell in the two previous expeditions, I had “talked up” how great the downtown was and how lively the bars were. It was going to be Saturday evening so I thought that the place would be hopping. There was one competing event: Friday the 13th in Port Dover where 150,000 motorcyclists make a pilgrimage to assemble and have a big party. Everyone must have been there because downtown Port Burwell was almost dead. All but one restaurant closed at 8pm. The ice stand stayed open longer. The streets were virtually deserted.


Lake Erie Shore Road

At the campground we were busy getting tents set up and Andrew and I were the assigned cooks. We had pasta for the second night in a row; but no one complained fortunately. A woman across the way brought us over giant bowls of watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew melon. She said that she had known we were coming she would have baked muffins. After dinner she brought over fresh-brewed coffee. What a marvelous luster this gave to Big Otter campground.
In town, Joe and other complained about expensive but very weak drinks at the one open restaurant, a Chinese food place. I was in town looking for a place to do computing and I saw two workers standing in front of one closed restaurant. I asked them where I could go and the one woman hesitated to recommend to me the Chinese place. She concluded that that was the only place to go, but she warned me not to eat the food or order fish. So I had a salad.

13 August Friday Wallaceburg, ON – New Glasgow, ON

2010-08-16T13:23:00.006-04:00

Starting Point: Wallaceburg, ON
Ending Point: New Glasgow, ON
Via: Dresden, Kent Bridge, McKay’s Corner, Troy, Morpeth, Palmyra, and Clearville
Mileage: 54.2
Time: 5:46
Mph: 9.4
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 766
Temperature High: 87
Temperature Low: 78
Lunch: turkey/cheese/and PB&J sandwiches
Dinner: pasta
Weather: hot, humid and sunny, headwinds
Lodging: Hickory Grove Family Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 3,300
Miles to Go: 800
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 68 (including 7 rest days)
Distance Completed: 80%
Days to Go: 19

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Today the humidity was oppressive, for sure. To add to the fun, there was a headwind the entire way to the destination. The upside of this, however, is that the wind has a cooling effect.

Ontario Fields

Uncle Tom's Cabin -- Josiah Henson's Home

     I did take a brief side trip to check out Uncle Tom's Cabin in Dresden. To quote from www.uncletomscabin.org:"Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site commemorates the life of Reverend Josiah Henson. Recognized for his contributions to the abolition movement and for his work in the Underground Railroad, he rose to international fame after Harriet Beecher Stowe acknowledged his memoirs as a source for her 1852 anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It was Henson's life experiences that inspired her creation of the character Uncle Tom in her 1852 outcry against slavery."
     Since Dean wasn’t feeling all that great, I thought I would stick with him and act as a wind blocker to provide some tiny respite from the wind which was strong.
     We stopped at a store in Kent Bridge (I believe) and had interesting conversation with both a worker there and the owner. Through them we discovered that this area has a sizeable tobacco crop, most of which goes to the US. I heard the story again about how Ontario has paid farmers to change crops to something other than tobacco in order to curtail smoking. That has not had much of an effect, it seems, as there are countless people of all ages smoking. There are hundreds of acres of land dedicated to the crop as well.
     Both Dean and I found that in front of the store there was some shade to be had under the overhang of the roof. So, he and I took brief naps. The heat combined with cycling induces this pretty easily. Resistance was futile.

Sunset Near New Glasgow

     I had got a call from Joe telling me that there was absolutely nothing in Morpeth; the store had gone out of business. I took that as a challenge to find a cold drink there anyhow. When we arrived there, the only store still in existence was an antique store. There was a lady selling vegetables on the corner but she had nothing. Behind the antique store was a house where I saw some people in the back yard, so I went there and knocked on the door asking if the owner had soda we could purchase. She said that normally her husband drinks diet Pepsi but they were out of it now. Further, she suggested that her neighbor might have something. So I trudged over there as I boiled away in the pitiless sun and knocked on Rachel’s door. Again I related the store that we were cyclists biking through and had hoped to buy a soda at the store only to find that there was no store. I then asked if she had soda we could purchase. She said that she would just give us some! She gave me two cans (orange and Dr. Pepper) which handily helped Dean, Joe and I out tremendously. I’m not sure she knew just how revitalizing her contribution was.
     As I drank my orange soda I was talking with the vegetable lady who was telling me stories about how her husband bugs her to stop smoking and that just makes her want to smoke more. It was clear I wasn’t about to have an impact, but I did remind her of how much she would save on a yearly basis if she quit. I thought an economic argument could sway her. It didn’t.
     A couple of her friends showed up in a pick-up truck. They asked us if we needed some bottled water. As always, we said, of course. They drove off down the street back to their house and brought back a bottle for each of us.
     It seems pretty clear that I won’t collect any money whatsoever in Ontario due both to the tremendously effected economy and the fact that it would be in support of an American institution instead of a Canadian one.

12 August Thursday Capac, MI – Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada

2010-08-13T09:34:00.001-04:00

Starting Point: Capac, MI
Ending Point: Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada
Via: Emmett, Memphis, St. Clair, East China, Marine City, Sombra and Port Lambton
Mileage: 52.2
Time: 4:28
Mph: 11.7
Terrain: gentle hills
Vertical climbing: 330
Temperature High: 90
Temperature Low: 81
Lunch: turkey/cheese/and PB&J sandwiches
Dinner: pasta, salad bar, soup and jello
Weather: hot, humid and sunny
Lodging: Oaks Inn Hotel (not camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 3,246
Miles to Go: 854
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 67 (including 7 rest days)
Distance Completed: 79%
Days to Go: 20

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     The terrain was quite flat today as well even once we crossed into Canada. I was eager to get to Sombra, Ontario so I could visit with the friendly, generous and helpful store owner at the store where I bought my fish flag 3 years ago. It was time to replace it as well. Unfortunately there were no fish flags to be had so I had to “settle” for one flag with cardinals and one with irises – a copy of a Van Gogh painting.


Leaving Michigan on the St. Clair River

Again it was really a feeling of transformation upon crossing the river and leaving Michigan. We would be in Canada for 6 days before we entered into New York State. A feeling of excitement is certainly building in me for the ride to come to a successful completion. Still the conflicting tendency to focus on now and pay attention to cars and safety and all that is still paramount.


The Blue of the St. Clair River as seen from the Canadian Side

The heat was so exhausting today that instead of blogging in the evening after dinner all I could manage was to go straight to bed in the hopes of being able to write tomorrow morning while feeling the pressure to get out on the road for today’s ride.

11 August Wednesday North Branch, MI – Capac, MI

2010-08-13T09:13:00.001-04:00

Starting Point: North Branch, MI
Ending Point: Capac, MI
Via: Brown City
Mileage: 43.2
Time: 4:10
Mph: 10.2
Terrain: gentle hills
Vertical climbing: 275
Temperature High: 84
Temperature Low: 77
Lunch: turkey/cheese/and PB&J sandwiches
Dinner: pasta with sausage and sauce, salad and pie
Weather: overcast, humid
Lodging: Emmett KOA (camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 3,194
Miles to Go: 906
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 66 (including 7 rest days)
Distance Completed: 78%
Days to Go: 21

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Today felt like a fairly short day. The terrain was mostly flat and we passed by farm after farm of corn and soybeans. Those were the only two crops I could identify, though I’m sure there were others.

Eastern Michigan Farmland

     Dolores and I were slated to be the cooks so we planned on meeting at the IGA supermarket in Capac at 4pm. It took a while to find it because it was no longer called IGA. I stopped at the library first to check email and, of course, got into conversation with the librarians who were curious about my tour. I remembered 2 of them from 3 years ago, but they didn’t remember me. As I was talking about the difficulties of dealing with obtaining groceries today (because of the distance between the campground and the store), a woman standing by the librarians said, “Would you like me to make you some potato salad?” This lead to a long conversation to try to figure out how Mary could help us. At first she offered to go shopping for us 8 miles away and then bring the groceries to the campsite. That would have been challenging because the list of things we needed was in my head and not on paper. Finally we settled on a plan: she would come to the supermarket (formerly known as IGA) where Dolores and I would shop and she would take our groceries to camp. This was just an incredible offer. So often we’ve been aided immeasurably by the wonderful generosity of strangers; this was another outstanding example of that for sure.
     When Dolores and I arrived at camp, Mary drove in not long after to check on us. She asked if we found everything we needed. Dolores mentioned that we did except for a dessert. Mary then drove away and a little while later came back with a homemade pie! We had a storm at dinnertime, but that pie should made it less noticeable!
     From the moment I arrived at camp I began making the preparations for dinner and so didn’t have time to set up my tent and get cleaned up. By the time dinner was finished it was still raining and I was able to set up under the pavilion where we ate – this was a good bit of luck.

10 August Tuesday Bay City, MI – North Branch, MI

2010-08-11T11:21:00.000-04:00

Starting Point: Bay City, MI
Ending Point: North Branch, MI
Via: Fairgrove, Caro, Mayville and Silverwood
Mileage: 69.7
Time: 6:09
Mph: 11.3
Terrain: flat
Vertical climbing: 406
Temperature High: 91
Temperature Low: 80
Lunch: fries and cheese/tomato sandwich
Dinner: rice with spicy chicken and veggies, brownie
Weather: 1st part of the day: overcast and hazy, 2nd part: sunny and high humidity
Lodging: Sutters Recreation Area (camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 3,151
Miles to Go: 949
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 65 (including 7 rest days)
Distance Completed: 77%
Days to Go: 22

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     The weather this morning had a thorough effect on my outlook for today. It was totally overcast, humid, hot and hazy and it seemed like it was threatening to have a grand cloudburst like yesterday. The terrain for most of the day was perfectly flat with distant views of haze, farms, silos, corn fields and, surprisingly, potato fields.
     Before we left for the ride there was great discussion as to which route we should take to get out of town. I followed Giovanni’s lead for a while but decided to get over the primary bridge in town, Liberty Bridge, and take the main route (M-25) out of town instead of trying to find Nebobish Avenue. Dean talked later about how difficult it was to find that road, so I was glad to have avoided it.
     After a long slog, with some wrong road choices thrown in on country roads I came to a fairly busy highway and stopped at a campground just across the street. When I told the people inside that I was headed to North Branch and Sutter’s they laughed a good bit. I’m sure it was because their place was in competition with it. I showed them my map and they told me NOT to go down Leix Road because it was all gravel. Further they said I should just stay on M-81 and then get on M-24. They also described it as “a straight shot.” I nodded in agreement, but I knew that they, like so many others who give directions to bicyclists, had no idea what it was like being on a highway with cars and trucks whizzing by at 60 mph. I took my planned route and there was no gravel to be found on that road and there was no traffic either. A much better choice, for sure.

8 August Sunday Clare, MI – Bay City, MI

2010-08-09T19:17:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Clare, MI
Ending Point: Bay City, MI
Via: via Pere Marquette Rail- Trail – Loomis, Coleman, North Bradley, Sanford and Midland. Last 19 miles on-road
Mileage: 55.5 (+23 miles on rest day)
Time: 7:10
Mph: 11.2
Terrain: flat
Vertical climbing: 226
Temperature High: 88
Temperature Low: 71
Lunch: bagel
Dinner: rice with veggies and tomato sauce, pie
Weather: sunny and high humidity
Lodging: Bay City State Park (camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 3,081
Miles to Go: 1,019
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 64 (including 7 rest days)
Distance Completed: 75%
Days to Go: 23

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Pere Marquette Rail Trail

After a relaxing evening enjoying a well-deserved indoor night we set out today on the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail for 31 miles. It is an extremely flat section – only a spot in Montana was flatter. Dolores caught up to me on the path and we stuck together through Midland. I was trying to navigate more or less from memory and we ended up taking a grand tour of the Dow Chemical Company campus. Even though it was a +50-mile day, it felt like a rest day because of the flatness.

One of the Views from the Rail Trail

Bay City is also our rest day and I had grand plans of going to the coffee shop I visited last time, some blogging, find some good lunch place and get to the library. As it sometimes happens, this plan didn’t come to fruition in the way I had hoped. On the way to town, I found a bike path that went all the way from the state park into the center of town. Just as I got off the bike path and rolled slowly up the hill to get into the town center, a cloud burst happened complete with thunder and lightning. I was able to seek shelter under an old movie theater marquis. After I found a decent lunch place, I headed to the library. As I was unpacking my computer from my trailer, I discovered I couldn’t find my wallet. Desperate, I rushed back to the lunch place and found it wasn’t there either, nor had the workers seen it. I thought I had forgotten it on the table and the people sitting behind me must have taken it. So, it was off to the police station to submit a report. I had to call on the phone; there was no one in the city police office itself and I had to wait for dispatch to send an officer to me to take a statement. During the hour I waited, I cancelled the credit card and put a hold on the debit card and then fretted about having to leave the trip because I no longer had my passport. This was the key to getting into Ontario for the next part of our ride. Joe happened to come around and help. As he and I waited around I got a phone call from a woman who had found my wallet on the street. The wallet hadn’t been stolen; I had put it, most likely, on the trailer, started moving and then it fell off on the street. Nothing was missing from it and nothing was out of place. The only thing truly out of place was my serenity. It was such a relief to know that I could continue the ride. This would be the second time the ride was threatened.

7 August Saturday Luther, MI – Clare, MI

2010-08-07T23:38:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Luther, MI
Ending Point: Clare, MI
Via: Le Roy, Avondale, Temple, Lake George and Farwell
Mileage: 66
Time: 6:09
Mph: 10.7
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 1,443
Temperature High: 83
Temperature Low: 59
Lunch: cheese/turkey/tomato and PB&J sandwiches, sports drinks
Dinner: burrito
Weather: sunny no humidity
Lodging: Doherty Hotel (Not camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 3,003
Miles to Go: 1,098
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 62 (including 6 rest days)
Distance Completed: 73%
Days to Go: 25

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     At the beginning of the day, Bob, the current president of the Lion’s Club in Luther, stopped by to chat with us and get photos of us as we pedaled away from the clubhouse. It was time for me to stop at the Post Office and send a couple of collected pledges to the ALA office in Augusta. As I was walking in an elderly lady walked by me as I parked my bike. Inside she spoke to me while I was at the counter. She said, “So, you’re riding your bike, eh? You know, Confucius say, ‘Man who ride bicycle, pedal ass all over town!’”. With that she let out such a surprising guffaw of a laugh. The Postmaster who was helping me looked at her in a somewhat doubtful manner. This probably wasn’t the first time that the lady had accosted some poor cyclist at the customer window.
     In Le Roy it was my plan to stop at the Farmer’s Market and get some tomatoes if they had any. Joe was sitting inside a little building with one of the farmers. The man had coffee to offer and his wife brought in some “dilly beans” for us to try. It was certainly refreshing to just sit and chat for a while without having to think about pedaling (or peddling for that matter).
Today is a milestone day; 3,000 miles and just under 1,100 to go in 25 days. As for fund-raising, I have $1,140 to go approximately to reach my goal. There are a small number of outstanding promises that might amount to $200. This would put me at under $1,000 to go to reach $250,000 for the 15 years of cycling for ALA.
     Further along near Lake George I stopped at a convenience store to get some electrolyte replacement. Four obviously drunk men came in being rather loud and humorous. Fortunately they weren’t nasty drunk just friendly drunk. They went back and forth warning the girl behind the counter that this one or that one couldn’t be trusted. Then one asked, “How many prophylactics should we buy?” They pondered this for a moment and I asked, “For what? A water balloon fight?” This could have been an incendiary thing to say and I could have gone outside to find my bicycle crushed to a tiny pile of scrap metal, but they thought it was hilarious. Fortunately they didn’t want to know WHY I was bicycling. It’s never been a successful fund-raising process to solicit from drunken people. The most troubling aspect to this whole encounter was that all of these guys arrived at the convenience store by car and I was wondering how they managed to drive in their state of mind. Even more, I worried about how they would drive away and in what direction.
     We gave the cooks a break from shopping and cooking this evening by staying in a hotel in town and going out to a bar/restaurant that was having a special, “Fried fish – all you can eat.”
     Despite not generating any pledges today it was still a fine day for trying.
Milestones:
1,000 miles - Malta, Montana
2,000 miles - McGregor, Minnesota
3,000 miles - Clare, Michigan

6 August Friday Interlochen, MI – Luther, MI

2010-08-07T23:37:00.000-04:00

Starting Point: Interlochen, MI
Ending Point: Luther, MI
Via: Karlin, Mesick, Yuma and Garlets Corner
Mileage: 56.9
Time: 5:14
Mph: 10.9
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 1,052
Temperature High: 80
Temperature Low: 70
Lunch: cheese/turkey sandwich, sports drinks
Dinner: pirogues, broccoli, beans, beets, chocolate milk and ice cream
Weather: sunny no humidity
Lodging: Lions Park (Camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,937
Miles to Go: 1,164
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 61 (including 6 rest days)
Distance Completed: 72%
Days to Go: 26

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     After finishing cooking duty and enjoying chamber music and jazz concerts at Interlochen Center for the Arts, I had a peaceful night. The morning was just stunning … sunny, dry, puffy clouds, some breeze and temperature in the 70s. To top off the beautiful setting, the first part of the ride was very flat. Of course it didn’t remain so for very long, but it was a gentle way to begin a day of riding.
     There were the usual coniferous forests and plenty of deciduous trees, but much more farmland appeared. Corn was plentiful; I couldn’t tell if there were ears because I couldn’t see them, but the farm markets had them, so they must have been there. Perhaps it’s time to clean my sunglasses.


A Perfect Day of Bicycling in Michigan

Often Adventure Cycling has mapped out roads and routes for us that are totally devoid of traffic; other times the roads can be busy. Today was such a day. We were on M-63 which is a very well-traveled road. Joe found that the Old Route M-63 had virtually no cars or trucks. I had considered doing that.
     In Mesick I discovered, as I was talking on my phone with Susan, an historical museum. So for the first time on this voyage I set out to explore it. As luck would have it, it was closed. It’s open only on Saturdays in the summer.
     Every stop at a store I made reminded me of people in my group from 2007. I could almost see people sitting at a counter eating ice cream. It seems that this group doesn’t stop as much or as long for such things or if they do I’m so far behind I never see them.
     The Lion’s Club provided us with a fine place to pitch camp. A couple of very friendly and generous members brought along some white wine for conviviality and shared the evening with us as we ate ice cream.

5 August Thursday Alden, MI – Interlochen, MI

2010-08-05T22:05:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Alden, MI
Ending Point: Interlochen, MI
Via: Rapid City, Williamsburg and Traverse City
Mileage: 46.9
Time: 5:15
Mph: 8.9
Terrain: very hilly
Vertical climbing: 1,527
Temperature High: 85
Temperature Low: 72
Lunch: tomato/cheese/turkey sandwich, tomatoes, mozzarella
Dinner: turkey dinner
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Interlochen State Park
Cumulative Mileage: 2,888
Miles to Go: 1,220
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 59 (including 6 rest days)
Distance Completed: 70%
Days to Go: 27

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Sunflower Field - Part One

The best thing I can say about today was that there was less climbing and fewer hills. The weather was perfect and the distance was short compared to yesterday. I found a farm stand where a tomato was just scrumptious and a yellow plum simply divine. As I was riding with Joe for a while, we came upon a peach stand. He stopped first and he said he wanted just one peach. The lady gave him one and when I came up she gave me one too. She was thoroughly bedazzled at the fact that we were crossing the entire nation on bicycle. While riding with Joe we did come upon a huge field of sunflowers which was just stunning.
Dan T. and I were responsible for cooking today so I couldn’t dally as long as I wanted in Traverse City. There was plenty to see but no time to see it.

Sunflower Field - Part Two

Joe’s uncle, Mike, was visiting him and I thought it could create a celebratory atmosphere by having a turkey dinner à la Moody’s Diner – with all the trimmings including apple and strawberry rhubarb pie. It turned out that the rest of the group could celebrate reaching 3,000 miles. So there was another reason for a festive atmosphere. I have to wait another 2 days to reach that milestone.

4 August Wednesday Petosky, MI – Alden, MI

2010-08-05T21:54:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: Petosky, MI
Ending Point: Alden, MI
Via: Walloon Lake, Boyne City, East Jordan, Ellsworth, and Torch Lake
Mileage: 65.2
Time: 6:53
Mph: 9.5
Terrain: extremely hilly
Vertical climbing: 2,410
Temperature High: 84
Temperature Low: 69
Lunch: tomato/cheese/turkey and PB&J sandwiches
Dinner: pasta
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Torch Grove Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 2,833
Miles to Go: 1,267
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 59 (including 6 rest days)
Distance Completed: 69%
Days to Go: 28

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     On the way out of town I stopped at the Roast and Toast café for a second more substantial breakfast. Every time I’ve been here, that place has been an oasis of deliciousness especially when it comes to coffee and any of the drinks one might enjoy that utilize this well-needed substance for bike touring.

Roast and Toast Cafe

Another visitor to town struck up a conversation with me and was very interested in what I was doing and why. She was from Georgia and I expressed sometime during the conversation no interest in bicycling in the South. Despite that she was gracious and had a laugh as memorable as mine. Later on in the day I discovered that she pledged to my ride in a very generous fashion, which was a wonderful surprise. Thank you Stacey. After that great beginning it was (excuse the pun) all downhill from there.

Prelude to "The Wall"

One thing I don’t remember easily from the other 2 tours I’ve done on this route is the terrain. The hills in Petoskey should have reminded of the difficulty ahead for the day. There were many hills. Right before I left I was having a good conversation with a man from Oregon who had bicycled a good deal in this area. One of the hills he mentioned was called “The Wall.” He mentioned, too, that it was a good thing that for at least that hill we were going down and not up. The lead-up to this monster is totally deceiving. The first time I saw this sign, I thought that Michigan had a sense of irony. Little did I know that the sign was warning of a hill coming up that was as yet unseen!

Basically this day was totally exhausting…I was supposed to meet Giovanni for shopping at 4pm because I had volunteered to cook. I didn’t reach the campground until 7:30. We were camping near a lake that, had it been under different less tired circumstances, I would have gone swimming. As it was, I took plenty of time to enjoy sleeping instead.

3 August Tuesday St. Ignace, MI – Petosky, MI

2010-08-04T10:48:00.005-04:00

Starting Point: St. Ignace, MI
Ending Point: Petosky, MI
Via: Mackinaw City, Bliss, Cross Village, Good Hart, Harbor Springs, Wequetonsing and Bay View
Mileage: 55.4
Time: 5:21
Mph: 10.4
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 1,269
Temperature High: 82
Temperature Low: 75
Lunch: tomato/cheese/turkey sandwich
Dinner: pizza
Weather: overcast, humis
Lodging: Magnus City Park
Cumulative Mileage: 2,768
Miles to Go: 1,333
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 58 (including 6 rest days)
Distance Completed: 68%
Days to Go: 29

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Mackinaw Bridge in Morning Haze

With the departure from the Upper Peninsula imminent, it felt like a major milestone had been reached. This feeling seemed true for both the group and me. Our group feels to me like we’re working well together, taking care of each other in small ways. We’re pulling together for a common goal – smelling the Maine seacoast. It seems that seeing Lake Michigan and Lake Huron reminded me strongly of the ocean and of the fact that, if all goes as planned, I should be seeing the Maine coast in less than 30 days.


Loading Shuttle for the 5-mile trek across the Mackinaw Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in North America

We began the day by taking a secret shortcut from the Straits State Park to the Mackinaw Bridge Authority office from which we would get shuttled across the bridge. Joe referred to the secret passage as the “Bat Cave” way out.
Today was very hazy for most of the day and it seemed to be threatening rain as well. We passed by several places where we could have gone swimming in Lake Michigan. There was a lovely set of dunes which concealed the actual beach. With the weather, though, I decided to skip it.

Legs Inn - Facade

When we arrived in Cross Village I knew I wanted to stop at the wooden restaurant there because it was so cozy there outside on the patio surrounded by flowers, sculpture, painting and the lake. Both Dean and Dolores were not planning to stop, but I convinced them that it was worth the effort. After a leisure lunch, they did concede agreement.


Legs Inn - The Outside Patio

Again I got to ride through the majestic, peaceful, enveloping beauty of the Tunnel of Trees (Route M-119). This provided a welcome relief from the humidity from the first part of the ride. The trees form a canopy that blocks out most of the sunlight – it permits enough to scatter blotches of light all over the road and into the forest itself. Even though there wasn’t a shoulder to ride, there was a light enough flow of traffic to make it seem like a woodland bike path.
This gave in to a seaside road that hugged the shore all the way to Harbor Springs. There were many high-priced houses all along the way, many of which were for sale. As a matter of curiosity, I thought of calling the real estate agent just to find out how much these actually were worth. The road was the hilliest we had encountered in many days so that was a fine challenge.


Tunnel of Trees

Harbor Springs was the town we had to pass through on the way to our destination. It was as upscale as ever. I did stop in a bar called Bar Harbor, in part to relive a very fun experience from my 2007 ride, of course, that was impossible because I was not in the company of any of the lively spirits from that year.
The bike path to Petosky was separated from the highway and provided some respite from the onslaught of automobiles, though there were enough cyclists and walkers with dogs to create its own hazards.

Petosky Sunset over Lake Michigan

After dark we were graced with a fine light show from the north – there was a lightning storm brewing north of Harbor Springs that lit up the sky with it electrical fireworks.

1 August Sunday Naubinway, MI – St. Ignace, MI

2010-08-02T18:53:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Naubinway, MI
Ending Point: St. Ignace, MI
Via: Epoufette, Brevort and Cedar Lake
Mileage: 40.4
Time: 3:41
Mph: 11
Terrain: gentle hills
Vertical climbing: 604
Temperature High: 84
Temperature Low: 71
Lunch: tomato/cheese/turkey sandwich
Dinner: pasta
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Straits State Park (night 1), Getaway Inn & Suites (night 2)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,712
Miles to Go: 1,488
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 57 (including 6 rest days)
Distance Completed: 66%
Days to Go: 30

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org
Fund-raising Status:
Amount Raised: $32.384
Amount Collected: $32,243
Amount needed to reach goal ($250,000 for 15 years of fund-raising): $1,180

Beach View - North Shore of Lake Michigan

Dean and I rode together most of the day today and we urged each other on to take the time to find beaches on the lake and swim instead of “racing” directly to the campground. This was a helpful and positive aspect of the day. It was a short day in terms of riding distance so we took our time at a café in the morning for a real breakfast where we had a conversation with someone involved with rails-to-trails development in central Michigan. I thought I would try a modified approach to asking for donations while in Michigan. It still didn’t work this time, but I’ll keep throwing out the seed of the idea in the hopes that someone might respond.
Swimming in the lake was, again, a peaceful experience. The water was still clear and cool and the bottom was firm rippled sand. A couple was throwing a ball out as far as they could for their golden retriever who was exerting great efforts to do his or her job.


Gulls Waiting and Hoping for Lunch

We had a long conversation with a Polish man from Chicago who was married to a Mainer. He had been in the army prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain in Poland, was put in prison then forced to leave the country and seek asylum in the U.S. He had many stories about that process including about his CIA debriefing. They didn’t want to know military secrets. They wanted to know who was drinking what, how often, who was sleeping with whom and how often, who was stealing from the government and details like that. He was such a striking, interesting person that I thought it important to mention him here even if a pledge wasn’t involved.
Tomorrow is a rest day. The first night I did spend in the campground, but when I woke up it began raining and so I sought shelter in a motel. The first motel I went to was the same one in which Giovanni was staying, Aurora Borealis. I thought it would be a smooth process checking in and all that. I mentioned to the owner that I was on bicycle and he responded that he had a basement where I could store the bike. Then he made a call asking to have a room on the second floor prepared. I asked if I could have a room on the ground floor and he thought that was a bit lazy on my part. I mentioned that I had a trailer that I didn’t want to have to roll upstairs. He said that the trailer wasn’t allowed in the room. On the counter there was a sign that specifically said, “NO bicycles in rooms.” It didn’t mention trailers. When I pointed this out, he took out a piece of paper and wrote, “NO trailers” and put it next to the official announcement on the counter. Further, he added, that no one was holding a gun to my head telling me I had to use a trailer with my bicycle and that it was my choice to be bicycling. As a final note he added “Go buy a motel and you can do anything you want.” Naturally I didn’t stay there. Up to this moment all of my encounters with Michiganders have been very positive. I thought it too out of the ordinary to not report it here.


Mackinaw Bridge with Queen Anne's Lace in Foreground

The motel I ended up at had a helpful human being on the other side of the counter.

31 July Saturday Manistique, MI – Naubinway, MI

2010-08-02T18:09:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Manistique, MI
Ending Point: Naubinway, MI
Via: Wells, Schoolcraft, Gulliver, Cedar Lake and Gould City
Mileage: 58.2
Time: 4:41
Mph: 12.4
Terrain: gentle hills and long stretches of flat riding
Vertical climbing: 407
Temperature High: 81
Temperature Low: 67
Lunch: tomato/cheese/turkey sandwich
Dinner: wild rice/chicken/veggie mixture, salad, turnovers
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Little Hog Island State Forest Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 2,672
Miles to Go: 1,428
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 55 (including 5 rest days)
Distance Completed: 65%
Days to Go: 32 (adjustment)

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Since it was likely that there would be no services whatsoever the entire day after the town of Manistique, I spent the morning at the Laundromat and a café catching up on washing and writing.
     It was clear that Route 2 would be a mixed blessing the whole distance to St. Ignace. On the one hand it was the most direct route, while on the other every car in the Upper Peninsula used it for that same reason. At times it felt more than a little threatening; RVs would speed by, sometimes very close to the rumble strip separating us from them. At least there were not endless piles of broken glass in the shoulder of the road.

     At one store I came across the same owner I met in the previous 2 trips. The last time I met him he seemed lively and humorous to talk with. This time he was certainly lively; he had perfected the fine art of conversation without the need of anyone else adding his/her own ideas. For 20 minutes he lectured on the problems of Michigan. I never even had a chance to tell him that I was bicycling for ALA.


Lake Michigan Beach at Little Hog Island

Another View of the Lake


Little Hog Island was teeming with birds in 2007 - Today almost none

Staying at the Little Hog Island campground was very pleasant and peaceful. The lake was our shower for the day. Swimming in Lake Michigan was wonderful; the bottom was firm and sandy and the water was clear and cool. The water provided for drinking in the park was very brownish and contained particulates of some sort. There were no encounters with raccoons this time.


The Lake Complete with Gull - Enlarge to see

30 July Friday Escanaba, MI – Manistique, MI

2010-08-02T17:58:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Escanaba, MI
Ending Point: Manistique, MI
Via: Wells, Gladstone, Kipling, Rapid River, Ensign, Isabella, Garden Corners and Cooks
Mileage: 52.2
Time: 4:51
Mph: 10.8
Terrain: some hills
Vertical climbing: 700
Temperature High: 84
Temperature Low: 72
Lunch: tomato/cheese/turkey and PB&J sandwiches
Dinner: chicken curry w/rice, salad, fruit and turnover
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Indian Lake State Park (Campground)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,614
Miles to Go: 1,487
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 54 (including 5 rest days)
Distance Completed: 64%
Days to Go: 33 (adjustment)

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     At the beginning of the day I stayed with Joe for a good while navigating our way out of the city. We even found an alternate route that kept us off outrageously busy Route 2 for an extra 10 miles. Each town we traversed was more of a settlement than a town. On the main highway the only evidence of a political division was that there was a store and a gas station with an occasional restaurant adding some character, pasties and fudge.
     The terrain had been transformed noticeably from inland on the Upper Peninsula. The pine trees and other vegetation seemed much shorter all along the highway. We had yet to view Lake Michigan. My guess was that the change had to do with the tough winters up here.
     This year the plan was to stay in an actual park instead of behind a motel as we did in previous two expeditions. This turned out to be a fine idea. The lake was beautiful and peaceful. A nature walk with Leah, the teacher/naturalist, was interesting albeit besieged by mosquitoes. I did meet several interesting people. There was a group of 10 15-16 year-olds bicycling around Lake Michigan with their rabbi, Bob. They were lucky; they had a support vehicle!
     During the nature walk, Leah had placed various objects along a very short path to engage the children who were on the walk. She had left badminton birdies in hidden places. As a child found each one, Leah presented a bird fact and played a recording of its call. She told Dolores and me about a special event that was going to happen around 9:15pm a bit further away in an area where bats were nesting in the eaves of a building. At that time of the evening all the bats woke up en masse and flew out for their evening meal. She said that people have sighted up to 100 bats. This sounded intriguing so we went. We missed the mass exodus, but as we were walking along the path on the way to where the bats slept we came upon dozens and dozens of them flying along out path. They came very close to our faces. I was glad their radar worked.

29 July Thursday Foster City, MI – Escanaba, MI

2010-07-29T21:11:00.001-04:00

Starting Point: Foster City, MI
Ending Point: Escanaba, MI
Via: Hardwood, Perronville and Schaffer
Mileage: 49.2
Time: 4:19
Mph: 11.4
Terrain: gentle hills and many flats
Vertical climbing: 518
Temperature High: 83
Temperature Low: 70
Lunch: tomato/cheese sandwich
Dinner: pasties and cole slaw
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds (Campground)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,561
Miles to Go: 1,539
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 53 (including 5 rest days)
Distance Completed: 62%
Days to Go: 33

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     I had thought that I would have begun the day with Milltown Inn’s specialty, Swedish pancakes, but for some reason I chose an omelet and Dean had the pleasure of the pancakes. This certainly provided plenty of energy for the day’s ride.
     Yesterday evening we were graced with the hospitality of the local pastor and his wife in their home up the street. He invited us to do laundry, use the Internet and hang out in their living room if we wished. Their generosity was boundless and their warmth a wonderful gift that all of us will cherish as part of this great adventure. Since we’ve been in Michigan all the people we’ve met have been friendly and helpful. None matched the description that came from a guy I spoke with yesterday in Crystal Falls. Today, at the bar/convenience store in Perronville Dean and I were sitting out from having a break and eating some lunch. A guy walked by us and Dean greeted him with a “howdy.” He didn’t even look at us. A few minutes later, though, he emerged from the store with a 6-pack of beer and as he passed us, he initiated a conversation. We spoke for a while and I went through my usual spiel about my riding for the Lung Association. He disappeared again, this into the bar side of the establishment. A few minutes later he came out, stood in front of me, lit a cigarette and started a conversation by complaining about how smokers are harassed in bars – smoking is banned in bars in Michigan. I mentioned to him that the issue wasn’t so much with smokers as it was with the workers having to have second-hand smoke in their environment and how dangerous that is. He seemed to suddenly understand this as a new concept and relaxed a bit. We spoke a bit longer and he went back in the bar. A bit after that, I had to visit the facilities and as I passed on the way out, he offered to buy my friend and me a drink…whatever we want. I don’t drink during the day as a rule so I excused ourselves by saying that we had to drive our bikes and have our wits about us for all the trucks going by. All in all he was a friendly person like all the others we have met here so far except that he was just a little less sober.


Sandhill Cranes in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Today's ride was just perfect. The weather was wonderful, the sun bright, the wind gentle, the hills merciful...it was a perfect summer day bike ride.
In the evening as Dean and I were in the pastie shop buying our dinner, 2 couples came in and expressed amazement at our accomplishment of crossing the country on bicycle. Dean was encouraging to them to approach bicycling slowly and work up to distance. I did mention my mission and one of the ladies wanted to know if I accept money. I always accept money for ALA.

28 July Wednesday Crystal Falls, MI – Foster City, MI

2010-07-28T21:51:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Crystal Falls, MI
Ending Point: Foster City, MI
Via: Sagola and Felch
Mileage: 36.1
Time: 2:54
Mph: 12.4
Terrain: gentle hills and many flats
Vertical climbing: 709
Temperature High: 75
Temperature Low: 64
Lunch: chicken
Dinner: burgers and salad
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Milltown Inn Bunkhouse (not camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,512
Miles to Go: 1,588
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 52 (including 5 rest days)
Distance Completed: 61%
Days to Go: 34 (adjustment – day added to allow Dan N. to catch up after his mechanical breakdown near Iron Mountain, MI

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Building Art in Crystal Falls, MI - Part 1

Yesterday Dan H. had serious mechanical (bottom bracket bearings disintegrated) issues near Phelps and somehow, thanks to his mechanical know-how, made it to Iron Mountain to the bike shop. He was to have new materials sent overnight to him so that he could get back on the road. We decided, as a group, to have a short day which would give him a chance to catch up. So, instead of 3 75+ mile days in a row, we split the third one in two. The distance today and tomorrow will be mercifully shorter.
The dense woods were left behind in Wisconsin. Here in the Upper Peninsula the roads were wide and the woods more interspersed with farmland. There are many more houses even though the towns we went through since Crystal Falls are tiny.

Building Art in Crystal Falls, MI - Part II

Just prior to leaving we had breakfast at a sausage place in town where the servers were so nice to us; they offered us breakfast egg scrambles even though they normally don’t have such a thing. As I was preparing to leave, a local struck up a conversation. He was a transplant from Spokane and spoke of his impressions of the people in this area of the state. He used the word “nutcase” more than once. He also said that home prices were so low in this area that one could buy a house for the price of a used car.
The route smoothed out even though there was still some climbing so it was a short quick day.

Our Bunkhouse in Foster City, MI

Just a couple miles short of Foster City I stopped for a soda and something to eat at a bar. As I was sitting there, a man walked in with his grandson. The granddad had colorful language that spiced up his conversation quite a bit. It was a bit surprising.
The Milltown Inn’s specialty is Swedish pancakes and Dolores sampled them in the afternoon shortly after arriving. I plan on having them for breakfast, as will most of the group I think.

27 July Tuesday Star Lake, WI – Crystal Falls, MI

2010-07-28T21:48:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: Star Lake, WI
Ending Point: Crystal Falls, MI
Via: Conover, Phelps, Alvin, Nelma, Caspian (MI), Gaastra, and Alpha
Mileage: 68.7
Time: 5:48
Mph: 11.8
Terrain: many hills and some flat-ish parts
Vertical climbing: 2,849
Temperature High: 80
Temperature Low: 64
Lunch: cheese/turkey sandwich
Dinner: pizza
Weather: overcast, some raindrops but never an all-out storm until the evening
Lodging: Cedar Inn Motel (not camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,476
Miles to Go: 1,624
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 51 (including 5 rest days)
Distance Completed: 60%
Days to Go: 34

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Early in the morning as Susan and I drove to breakfast we got to see a turkey and two poults along the roadside. I took this as a good omen for the day. Despite the threat of rain for most of the day, it was still a very peaceful departure from the beautiful state of Wisconsin. The deeper wilderness gradually disappeared, the roads became wider and the terrain flattened out somewhat as I neared the Michigan border. This part of the state was not travelled much either so there wasn’t much traffic at all.
     I passed through Phelps and I was hoping to get an energy drink from the food store there. Time and the economy had done its usual and the store existed no longer. I did meet Susan in town and we had a soda at the only place in town where one could eat.

At the Michigan Stateline

     Our last stop in Wisconsin was the Y-Not-Here Bar where a cold soda and peanuts were highly desirable and valued purchases.
     It never did turn into an out-and-out storm. We entered Michigan in the Upper Peninsula and as I was crossing the state line, a bridge, I saw a couple trying to take pictures of each other at the “Pure Michigan” sign. I stopped and offered a deal, a picture of them both with their camera for a picture of me with mine. They turned out to be very friendly Luxembourgers traveling through the lower 48 states to see all the state capitols. They had just Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine left. So I naturally spoke highly and promotionally for all the sights worth seeing in Augusta and not just the gold-domed capitol building.
     Our Adventure Cycling maps had instructions that directed to go down an unmarked road. The past two times I did this, I missed that turn, but this time, thanks to my GPS, I found it. The back road was so much better than the path I took the other times. It was flatter, more scenic and had almost no cars over 20 miles. ACA excels in mapping routes that feature this.
     As I was standing in Alpha, trying to figure out which way to go, a pick-up truck stopped and the driver said: “Fresh from California, right?” I explained to him that he wasn’t far off and he was really surprised.
Susan and I had planned to eat dinner with the group even though this was her last evening following us. It turned out that Joe had ordered out for pizza and it was going to arrive in about an hour. I wasn’t sure I could wait that long so Susan and I went to the pizza place that was making the group’s pizza. When we arrived there were some locals who used very colorful words in virtually every sentence uttered. We spoke to the bartender and told him we were with the group and couldn’t wait so we had come there to eat our own dinner. He mentioned that the boss had just gone to the park where the group was camped. So we left the colorful language bar and went back to Runkel Lake City Park. As we began to eat a fierce thundershower struck with such intensity that the pavilion where we were eating (and where people had pitched their tents) started to flood. All evening the storm raged complete with tornado and hail warnings.

26 July Monday Glidden, WI – Star Lake, WI

2010-07-28T16:08:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: H Glidden, WI
Ending Point: Star Lake, WI
Via: Butternut, Mercer, and Boulder Junction
Mileage: 80.2
Time: 6:15
Mph: 12.8
Terrain: many hills
Vertical climbing: 2,129
Temperature High: 82
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: cheese/turkey sandwich
Dinner: lasagna
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Errington’s Cottages (not camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,407
Miles to Go: 1,693
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 50 (including 5 rest days)
Distance Completed: 59%
Days to Go: 35

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

A Common Sight (a deer) in Wiscsonsin

With the bakery closed in Glidden it was necessary to wait until Butternut to find a breakfast with some substance. Jumbo’s is located just across some railroad tracks on the way out of town and has an entrance that is very easy to miss if one isn’t looking. I ate a delicious plate of eggs, hash browns, toast and coffee for under $4.00. A local man expressed interest in what I was doing and he related his story about having been born and raised in Butternut. He had worked at the veneer factory which had closed down recently. Another local claimed to have worked for the Federal government at Treasury. He, too, was interested in knowing about my reasons for biking so far.

Typical Home in this part of Wisconsin

Dolores had some acquaintances living near Turtle Flambeau Flowage and they wanted to invite us to their house to swim, use the Internet and all things that we would do in the middle of the day if we weren’t on an 80-mile day ride. On the side of the road near their home, they set up a lovely table with watermelon, snacks, drinks and good conversation.

Wisconsin Wilderness

     Susan was accompanying me by car so we met in Mercer for lunch. I was definitely looking forward to Mad Dog Jake’s Ice Cream Parlor in Boulder Junction where they promote their whole cream ice cream unapologetically with the following words on all their dishes: “Nutritional Information: Don’t even ask. This is the best ice cream made in Wisconsin, and it tastes so good because it has gobs of rich Wisconsin cream, town of real ingredients for boat-loads of luscious flavors. That means it’s not low-fat, low-calorie or low anything, and that’s why everyone loves it. You want nutrition, eat carrots.” I did reach there and had watermelon Italian Ice which was pure delicious ecstasy in a cup.
     I had to stop at the bike shop to see about getting a weird noise repaired. The owner had just closed, but he was willing to take a look and, on top of that, he didn’t even want to charge a fee for labor.
     The last 13 miles on the way to the cottage was on what was labeled as a “Rustic Road”. In the hour it took me to finish I was passed in either direction by about 4 cars. The road was narrower than what we had been on and the tree formed a green canopy that provided welcome shade. At one point a deer spotted me and bounded back into the woods. Another time a wild turkey raced across the road in front of me.


Wisconsin Impressionist Scene

In the evening Susan and I drove back to Boulder Junction for dinner and stopped at Mad Dog Jake’s again. As always the ice cream did not taste as good to me because I hadn’t bicycled to it.

25 July Sunday Hayward, WI – Glidden, WI

2010-07-26T15:10:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Hayward, WI
Ending Point: Glidden, WI
Via: Clam Lake
Mileage: 59.1
Time: 4:54
Mph: 12.1
Terrain: hills
Vertical climbing: 1,932
Temperature High: 83
Temperature Low: 59
Lunch: cheese and PB&J sandwiches
Dinner: burritos, broccoli, fruit salad
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Schroeder Motel (not camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,327
Miles to Go: 1,773
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 49 (including 5 rest days)
Distance Completed: 57%
Days to Go: 36

To pledge:http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

On the way out of Hayward, our route did pass by the Lac Courte Oreilles casino where I was hoping we would eat a dinner. We had a dinner instead at the Angry Minnow Brew Pub in town. This was actually a much better choice anyhow. Susan and I checked out the best driving route to the casino and I went inside to find out about prices and times. The path to the buffet room smelled strongly of cigarette smoke, so it was like running a painful gauntlet to get into the restaurant where there was no smoking.

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Sap Wells Sans Sapsucker(Say that 5 times quickly)

We went by many lakes, including Spider Lake and Clam Lake. Some of the lakes we went by seemed overrun with vegetation and looked well on the way to becoming solid ground. Minnesota might be the land of 10,000 lakes, but Wisconsin can’t be far behind.
Joe and I were riding together through a long stretch that was supposedly an elk crossing area. There were even warning lights that would blink if they were in the vicinity. I saw none, while Joe told a story about when he saw an entire herd which followed him for about 5 miles. This had happened before he and I joined up. I suppose this could be one of the downsides of long bicycle touring: there is so much endorphin circulating through one’s body that hallucinations are inevitable!

Finally an Image of the new bike, reportedly as hard to photograph as Sasquatch

It was a long day even though I was taking advantage of having a sag wagon for a couple of days while Susan is visiting and following us.

23 July Friday Cumberland, WI – Hayward, WI

2010-07-24T10:45:00.001-04:00

Starting Point: Cumberland, WI
Ending Point: Hayward, WI
Via: Shell Lake and Spooner
Mileage: 54.4
Time: 4:52
Mph: 11.2
Terrain: gentle hills
Vertical climbing: 813
Temperature High: 79
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: cheese/tomato and PB&J sandwiches
Dinner: sweet corn, roast chicken, salad,
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Northern Pine Inn (not camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,268
Miles to Go: 1,832
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 47 including 4 rest days (55%)
Distance Completed: 55%
Days to Go: 38

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org
Pledge Status (as of 7/24): $32,264 raised, $32,223 collected.
Still to raise (to reach $250,000 goal): $1,300

Purple Asters Everywhere

It seemed like all of us took different routes today even though Adventure Cycling had mapped out one specific way to get to Hayward. Their route was purportedly 81 miles long whereas the route I chose, the most direct, was 54. Both Andrew and I were expecting our spouses to arrive today for visits and it made perfect sense to keep the riding day short. The road I took featured lots of forest, many lakes and not an overwhelming amount of hills. Part of the route, Route 63, merged with Route 53 which is a very busy road that closely resembles a limited-access highway. Fortunately there was construction on the lanes closest to the grassy median and those lanes were closed to traffic. So I rode on the closed lane – just like a very wide bicycle lane. Near one lake I saw two large gray sleek birds fly by which I thought were Great Blue Herons, but after discussion with Susan it turns out they were actually Sandhill Cranes. The roadsides were resplendent with purple flowers which I think are asters.
Tomorrow – Saturday REST DAY. Time for laundry, relaxing, catching up on news from home and relating news about the ride in person.

22 July Thursday St. Croix Falls, WI – Cumberland, WI

2010-07-22T22:23:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: St. Croix Falls, WI
Ending Point: Cumberland, WI
Via: Centuria, Milltown, Luck and Bone Lake
Mileage: 42.8
Time: 5:00
Mph: 8.6
Terrain: hills
Vertical climbing: 1,753
Temperature High: 74
Temperature Low: 73
Lunch: cheese/turkey and PB&J sandwiches
Dinner: mac & cheese w/broccoli, salad, turnover
Weather: overcast with some threats of rain, last 23 miles headwinds of at least 30mph
Lodging: Eagle Point Park
Cumulative Mileage: 2,214
Miles to Go: 1,886
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 46 including 4 rest days (54%)
Distance Completed: 54%
Days to Go: 39

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Gandy Dancer Bicycle Trail

     It was exciting to get another chance at riding the Gandy Dancer Bicycle Trail. When I was here last time I saw a large black feline that was either a panther or a jaguarondi (not native to Wisconsin). I was hoping to see it again – from a safe distance, of course. It was nowhere to be found but the trail was still as beautiful as I remembered it. It is away from traffic, flat, quiet, scenic and providing a lovely close-up view of farms as one passes by.
     Thanks to a worker at Al’s Diner in Centuria, I decided to continue on the trail all the way to Luck – which, it turned out, was the route I chose last time.
     Once on Route 48 which would go directly to Cumberland I fought with headwinds the entire distance. That was about 23 miles of struggle. I have no way of knowing how fast the winds were but they seemed at least 30 mph. These were the worst headwinds I have experienced anywhere. That was definitely a landmark.
     The downside to taking this route was that there were no services whatsoever the entire distance. This was a little surprising, but certainly not a desperate situation. Once I arrived at camp, I put up the tent, threw my trailer contents inside it and took a badly needed nap!

21 July Wednesday Dalbo, MN – St. Croix Falls, WI

2010-07-22T22:07:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: Dalbo, MN
Ending Point: St. Croix Falls, WI
Via: Cambridge, North Branch, Almelund and Taylors Falls
Mileage: 59.9
Time: 5:17
Mph: 11.3
Terrain: hills
Vertical climbing: 1,454
Temperature High: 84
Temperature Low: 77
Lunch: cheese/turkey and PB&J sandwiches
Dinner: pasta
Weather: intensely sunny
Lodging: Interstate State Park
Cumulative Mileage: 2,171
Miles to Go: 1,929
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 45 including 4 rest days (53%)
Distance Completed: 53%
Days to Go: 40

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Just as we were preparing to leave the comforts of the bicycle bunkhouse, Donn (I misspelled his name yesterday) came in and offered up a huge pan of frosted chocolate cake commenting that this would give us instant extra energy. His whole operation is just unmatched. We haven’t ever found such unbounded generosity and willingness to help in any way at all anywhere. Many people have certainly been generous and open, but Donn is in a class all his own. He absolutely refuses to accept any money for staying at this place. Joe wanted to sneak a $20 donation into the soda donation can, but Donn was right there keeping an eye on it.
     He told us the story of how it got started a few years ago. There was construction on the road right in front of his farm; there was dust and lots of activity. Two high school students stopped in and asked if they could have a drink of water. It was then he found out that the road his farm was on was on the official Adventure Cycling Association map and he decided to create a comfortable place for cyclists to have a night’s rest.

St. Croix River and the Wisconsin State Line

The scenery wasn’t much different from the past days, corn on one side of road and soybeans on the other (often they switched after a few minutes), pine forest and some marsh. As I got closer to the Wisconsin state line there were a few substantial hills.
I was looking forward to staying at the park again and getting a second look at the famous potholes formed by geological forces thousands of years ago during the Ice Age. I never did get a chance to do so mostly because of a late dinner and trying to avoid getting caught in a rainstorm in the morning.

20 July Tuesday Isle, MN – Dalbo, MN

2010-07-20T22:06:00.005-04:00

Starting Point: Isle, MN
Ending Point: Dalbo, MN
Via: Olgilvie
Mileage: 37
Time: 2:48
Mph: 13.2
Terrain: gentle hills
Vertical climbing: 296
Temperature High: 75
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: cheese and PB&J sandwiches, smoothie
Dinner: grilled chicken with chutney
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Don Olson’s Bicyclist Bunkhouse (camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,111
Miles to Go: 1,989
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 44 including 4 rest days (52%)
Distance Completed: 51%
Days to Go: 41

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Today was a very short day and the terrain was not exactly flat but the hills were certainly not great obstacles. The three high points of the day were:

Watching 2 ATV riders pass us several times and each time the lead rider’s machine broke down for some reason (we later found out that his chain kept coming off) and we would pass them.
Having a delicious smoothie at Ground House Coffees where we also bought muffins for tomorrow’s breakfast.
Staying at Don Olson’s Bicyclist Bunkhouse. Don has a converted cow barn with rooms for bicyclists passing by. He invites cyclists to stay there at no charge. There is a outhouse and a gravity shower. The grounds and farming area are lovely.
I did arrange for the bicycle shop in Fargo to send me the wheels from the recumbent that I had to leave there with a cracked frame.

View from Bunkhouse

Andrew and Dan H Relaxing on the Grounds

The Bunkhouse

19 July Monday McGregor, MN – Isle, MN

2010-07-20T21:44:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: McGregor, MN
Ending Point: Isle, MN
Via: McGrath
Mileage: 69.6
Time: 6:15
Mph: 11.1
Terrain: rolling hills
Vertical climbing: 1,014
Temperature High: 73
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: cheese/turkey and PB&J sandwich and fries
Dinner: pizza
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Father Hennepin State Park (campground)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,074
Miles to Go: 2,026
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 43 including 4 rest days (51%)
Distance Completed: 51%
Days to Go: 42

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Using my GPS, I discovered an alternative to the 77 miles that Adventure Cycling Association wanted us to cover by going through Palisade, MN. This new route was about 58 miles instead. At some point, either the evening before or the morning of leaving I found out that Andrew had discovered an off-road trail (Soo Trail Line). I assumed that it would be like other off-road trails I had found on ACA tours, such as, The Erie Canal.
     Most of the morning I spent wondering about whether it was a good idea to take that path. Along the way there were great marshlands that I passed through. There were no services, no houses and, unfortunately, no wildlife either.
     Assuming that the trail would be navigable was a mistake. As always, the word “assume” performed its usual trap and after about 40 miles upon reaching McGrath I found that the trail was unrideable for bicycles. It was really more of an ATV trail with loose rocks and dirt. I did attempt using the trail and in the process destroyed my trailer hitch because of all the jolting. Fortunately I did have a spare one.
     I came to find out that the spare skewer on the trailer hitch was longer than it was supposed to be and it was only by a miracle that I was able to ride to Isle. The rear quick release was not tight enough and I was waiting for the rear wheel to fall off. Thankfully it did not do so.
     This evening Joe worked his mechanical magic and fixed it.
     Since the day was so long for the majority of the group we went out to dinner at The Bowling Alley.

18 July Sunday Grand Rapids, MN – McGregor, MN

2010-07-18T21:49:00.027-04:00

Starting Point: Grand Rapids, MN
Ending Point: McGregor, MN
Via: Jacobson
Mileage: 42.4
Time: 3:23
Mph: 12.5
Terrain: rolling less gentle hills than yesterday
Vertical climbing: 380
Temperature High: 76
Temperature Low: 63
Lunch: cheese/turkey and PB&J sandwich
Dinner: grilled chicken and potato salad and salad
Weather: sunny and some helpful winds
Lodging: Aitkin Lake Resort (campground)
Cumulative Mileage: 2,004
Miles to Go: 2,096 (readjustment)
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 42 including 4 rest days (49%)
Distance Completed: 49%
Days to Go: 43

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Yesterday I didn’t include a short video clip of the two Downy Woodpeckers because I thought it was too grainy. Well, I’ll let you be the judge.
Their display lasted about 10 minutes and during that time the one woodpecker must have pecked at the other one at least half a dozen times. The one pecked would shrink away in pain (it looked like anyway) and then would still stay close enough to be pecked again.
     A short day was a welcome break and a needed respite in preparation for tomorrow’s 75+ mile day. There wasn’t much distinctive to see in general. There were many trees, fields with rolled up hay, lakes, wetlands and not many houses.As I approached Jacobson, our mid-point for the day, a building was visible with a giant sign on it: CO-OP. Around the front there were windows that made it look sort of like a storefront and there was a sign fallen on the ground identifying it as some tavern. So I walked inside to see about getting a cold soda. Inside were a cathedral ceiling and a very large tent pitched right in the middle of the floor. To the left there was what looked like a well-stocked bar. As I stood there I saw no one. A woman came from behind the tent and asked me, “May I help you?” I asked if this was a place to get a drink and she replied that it was a private dwelling. In the evening I found out that at least one other of our group stopped there thinking it was a place for refreshment.
     In that town as well was a side street that had every kitschy art piece under the sun. Some photos are included to show more detail.Maxine at the resort where we camped lent us her car so we could go get groceries 7 miles away and then at 9pm she invited us in for ice cream floats. What a wonderful host!

Pictures from Jacobson:
Beaver

Golfer

Jason and Dog

Lions and Meal!

Puti, Maybe?

Roman meets Norman [Rockwell]

Window Dressing

Two Friends

Sunset in Aitkin Lake

17 July Saturday Pennington, MN – Grand Rapids, MN

2010-07-17T19:03:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: Pennington, MN
Ending Point: Grand Rapids, MN
Via: Leech Lake Indian Reservation, Bena, Ball Club and Cohasset
Mileage: 64.7
Time: 5:29
Mph: 11.8
Terrain: rolling less gentle hills than yesterday
Vertical climbing: 487
Temperature High: 72
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: cheese sandwich
Dinner:
Weather: overcast, some rain
Lodging: Itasca County Fairgrounds (campground)
Cumulative Mileage: 1,962
Miles to Go: 2,438
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 41 including 4 rest days (47%)
Distance Completed: 48%
Days to Go: 47

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

We followed the Great River Road trail all day today and crossed the Mississippi River at least 7 times. Most of the day we were trying to outrun a storm that kept threatening to dump large amounts of rain on us. When we arrived in camp, the sun came out. Route 2 was quite busy and definitely NOT bicycle-friendly. In the morning we were audience to two Downy Woodpeckers (or possibly Hairy Woodpeckers).

16 July Friday Lake Itasca, MN – Pennington, MN

2010-07-16T22:13:00.009-04:00

Starting Point: Lake Itasca, MN
Ending Point: Pennington, MN
Via: Becida and Bemidji
Mileage: 56.3
Time: 4:26
Mph: 12.7
Terrain: rolling mostly gentle hills
Vertical climbing: 1,405
Temperature High: 83
Temperature Low: 57
Lunch: avocado and veggie sandwich, smoothie and veggie soup (from The Cabin Coffeehouse in Bemidji)
Dinner: couscous with veggies in cashew/cream sauce, pork brats, pastry
Weather: sunny, light tailwinds or side winds
Lodging: Camp Pennington (campground)
Cumulative Mileage: 1,897
Miles to Go: 2,503
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 40 including 4 rest days (45%)
Distance Completed: 46%
Days to Go: 48

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Sunset in Lake Itasca State Park.

As we went north through Lake Itasca State Park we made a stop at the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

The Headwaters of the Mississippi River

At that point, the river is about 20 feet wide. We were celebrating a symbolic half-way point. We asked a guy taking pictures himself to snap all of our cameras. He was happy to do it. His wife was holding a fancy large camera over her shoulder and I mentioned to him that he forgot to snap a picture with that one. He said that it was his camera but he would take one anyway. Then he was imagining when he gave a slideshow to his friends, he said “Who the hell are those people?!”

The day was a gorgeous one: sunny and windy (in our favor most of the time).

Some history at the Headwaters.

The hills were numerous but never outrageously steep. In general the winds were strong enough to keep the deerflies at bay, but whenever I went up one of these hills I slowed down below 15mph and they started swarming me. At every hilltop, the wind came up again and I lost them. This continued the entire day.
There were huge fields of flowers and a grain that I couldn’t identify and I wanted badly to take photos of these, but to stop was suicide. The deerflies would appear in seconds.

Reaching Bemidji and Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox was a fine landmark. This time around I discovered a fantastic food co-op that had all kinds of bulk and organic foods.

Our Unofficial Symbolic Midpoint Gathering at the Headwaters. From left: Giovanni, Dan H., Dolores, Joe, Andrew, Dean, me and Dan T.

This evening was my and Giovanni’s turn to cook so I didn’t dally as long as I would have wanted in town.

When I reached the store that was a mile away from our destination I found Giovanni sort of waiting for me. We did our final shopping. After he rolled away on his recumbent, a guy rolled up on an ATV. He remarked about my rig and wanted to know what I was up to. I explained that I was raising money for ALA and he pulled out a bill and pledged right then and there. He did want to tell me a story before I left. He told me about all the skunks he had killed and how he had cut the tail off a young one. His plan was to attach it to his Barca-Lounger which was black and white as well. He said he wanted me to have a story to tell.

One of the fields I could stop at. Beautiful vegetation but I'm not sure what it is.

Some of the vivid flowers along the way

15 July Thursday Ponsford, MN – Lake Itasca, MN

2010-07-15T18:33:00.006-04:00

Starting Point: Ponsford, MN
Ending Point: Lake Itasca, MN
Via: Two Inlets
Mileage: 39.4
Time: 3:28
Mph: 11.4
Terrain: rolling mostly gentle hills
Vertical climbing: 1,098
Temperature High: 72
Temperature Low: 59
Lunch: cheese/tomato sandwich, PB&J sandwich
Dinner:brats, beans and sauerkraut
Weather: sunny, light tailwinds or sidewinds
Lodging: Lake Itasca State Park (campground)
Cumulative Mileage: 1,841
Miles to Go: 2,559
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 39 including 4 rest days (44%)
Distance Completed: 45%
Days to Go: 49

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

The last time, in 2007, I came this way in the morning; the deerflies were swarming and biting heartily. This time I wore rain gear and fleece gloves and a bug net to keep them at bay. It worked. By the time I got to Two Inlets, about half-way, I was soaked from sweat. So the trade-off was sweat vs. bites. I chose the latter and it seemed best.

We are definitely out of the prairie. Trees are everywhere. It is a welcome sign that we're getting into the Eastern half of the US.

With the distance being very short today, we had plenty of time to visit all the worthwhile sites to see in Lake Itasca State Park. Yesterday evening some people wanted to have the group continue on the Pennington instead of stopping here. This would have been the 70-mile day in a row. We would not have had the opportunity to visit the park leisurely. It was almost a rest day with the way it turned out. The deerflies didn’t rest much, though.

Inside Douglas Lodge in Lake Itasca State Park. A 105-year old structure used for lodging and dining. The most famous part of the park is where Lake Itasca itself drains and is the source of the Mississippi River. At the river start, it is about 12 feet wide.

14 July Wednesday Moorhead, MN – Ponsford, MN

2010-07-15T18:07:00.000-04:00

Starting Point: Moorhead, MN
Ending Point: Ponsford, MN
Via: Hitterdal, Hawley, Calaway and Richwood
Mileage: 74.1
Time: 5:54
Mph: 12.6
Terrain: much flat, some hills in last 15 miles
Vertical climbing: 991
Temperature High: 78
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: avocado/cheese/tomato sandwich, PB&J sandwich
Dinner: pasta
Weather: sunny, mostly light tailwinds or sidewinds
Lodging: Tamarac Resort and Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 1,802
Miles to Go: 2,599
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 38 including 4 rest days (44%)
Distance Completed: 44%
Days to Go: 50

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     I spent 3 hours at the bike shop in Fargo trying out a recumbent trike (3 wheels, 2 in front and 1 in back) and a Rans V-Rex. The process of trying them out had to be arduous. I attached the trailer to both and went on a 10-minute ride to see how they felt. V-Rex won.
     Today is my first day using a different recumbent bicycle and all I can focus on is “Is it working correctly?” The first half of the ride was perfectly flat so that made it easier to deal with. I’m glad this malfunction didn’t happen in the North Cascades Mountains in Washington State. So there were so many aspects of this problem that could have gone horribly wrong and forced me to either abandon the ride totally or seek transportation to a town where recumbent could be found. Great Northern Bike Shop and Larry Skagen, the mechanic, were so incredibly helpful. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone. On every ride I’ve been on through Fargo riders from the group have gone there and come away satisfied.
Even though the second part of the ride was hillier, the new recumbent performed well. Aside from concerns about whether the new bike would make it day to day, today at some point after the hills started, there was a new element to add to the fun: giant deerflies. I was riding with Dean and we urged each other on to ride fast enough to keep away from them. That worked fine except on some of the steeper hills. I always slowed down enough to have a good-sized cloud of them around me as I rolled up the hill at less than 10mph.
     At Tamarac Resort, Sheila, the owner, invited us to come into the store after supper to have dessert. This was in spite of the fact that the store was officially closed on Wednesdays. She reported that as her kids were getting older and helping out less at the resort, she didn’t have time to do everything so they decided to close one day a week.
     Since I was so busy focusing on keeping the bicycle upright and moving forward I didn’t take any pictures.

12 July Monday Hope, ND – Moorhead, MN

2010-07-13T10:22:00.005-04:00

Starting Point: Hope, ND
Ending Point: Moorhead, MN
Via: Colgate, Page, Arthur, Argusville and Harwood
Mileage: 70
Time: 6:28
Mph: 10.8
Terrain: flat
Vertical climbing: 353
Temperature High: 80
Temperature Low: 65
Lunch: turkey/cheese/tomato sandwich, cheese and jam sandwich
Dinner: Chinese All-You-Can-Eat in Moorhead
Weather: sunny, mostly light headwinds
Lodging: Concordia College (dorms)
Cumulative Mileage: 1,727
Miles to Go: 2,673
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 37 including 4 rest days (42%) [Includes 7/13 rest day]
Distance Completed: 42%
Days to Go: 51

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Our day began in fine fashion. We had breakfast at Mic’s Grocery in Hope, ND and we were served by Kevin McCullough, the owner. When Dolores and I arrived at the market, it was dark inside, but being a curious sort I tried the door and it was unlocked. There were cars parked out front but no sign of life in the store itself. We walked past all the dark aisles and, like moths, went to the light in the back of the establishment. There we found a mini-restaurant with some of the older folks of Hope already enjoying their breakfast. Kevin was a jolly sort with an easy lively belly laugh and a contagious smile. Even though we were 8 people invading his place all at once, he kept calm and focused and still took time to make humorous remarks while we ordered. Dolores asked about the size and quantity of the pancakes. He said that sometimes he gets carried away and makes them really huge but that he could give her two stacked instead of one giant one. As mentioned yesterday they were at least 12 inches in diameter and probably an inch thick. As I also mentioned briefly yesterday these pancakes were a portent of the kind of terrain we would be seeing all day on our last pedal through North Dakota.

I ordered eggs, OJ, toast and a pork sausage patty. The size of the patty was probably about 5 times bigger than any I’ve ever seen in Maine. This quantity of food, it turned out, was enough to keep me pedaling for 50 miles without eating any of the lunch I had prepared.
     There were longer than normal stretches of flatness and overall we were actually losing altitude because we were biking down into the Red River valley. Along the way I had two interesting encounters with birds. At one point as I was passing some wetlands, a duck starts flying about 40 feet away from me but basically following me. It follows me for probably 50 yards. Then it positions itself just ahead of my bicycle (I’m still pedaling and moving at this point) about 10 feet and flies with its feet almost dragging on along on the ground and its wings sometimes touching the ground as well. It does this for about 40 yards. Then it flies back toward the wetlands on the left, but continues to follow me for another 100 yards. At one point the wetlands were interrupted by a cross road, but the duck flew over that and continued following me for at least another 50 yards. I’ve never seen a duck do that. It’s possible that it was trying to lure me away from its nest. There was a moose in Maine who did a similar thing in 2005 but, of course, it wasn’t flying.
     The other event involved a mother killdeer and 2 killdeer chicks. This was on a road that had not much traffic at all. The mother and the 2 chicks were crossing the road, which led me to think about asking the question …, um, never mind. One chick made it across, but the other seemed a little confused as I was approaching. So I stopped and waited. The mother then flew off trying to distract me from the chicks and lead me away.
     Most of the day, though, I was focused on meeting up with Brian from WDAY, the local ABC TV affiliate. He wanted to interview me about my ride and what I was doing for the American Lung Association. His first question to me when we finally did meet just south of Argusville was, “So, what are you doing out here?”
     Not long after speaking with him on-camera, I received a phone call from the newsroom of the local newspaper. The person calling related to me that there was a couple living in Fargo who was from Topsham, Maine and wanted to contact me. I told him he could give them my cell phone number and within half an hour, they called. What a delightful surprise to have a chat with someone here who knew all about my town in Maine.

After navigating the streets of Fargo successfully, I arrived at what I thought was the correct dormitory on the Concordia College campus.

Normal Chain Stay

When I applied the rear brake just as I was stopping the bike to dismount, the brake lever behaved strangely. Normally when I squeeze the lever it moves about half an inch, but this time it moved all the way to the handlebar.

Cracked Chain Stay

I checked a couple of times and then looked back to see what the trouble was. The chain stay had cracked totally through and so the rear wheel was being held on the bicycle by only one. Bicycles can function only when there are two chain stays firmly in place. In a word, my bicycle frame had broken. The bicycle had been behaving strangely over the past 24 hours; when pedaling and pulling the trailer, it felt really jiggly from side-to-side. The broken stay explained what that was about. This morning I have to check with the bike shop in Fargo to see if they think it can be welded and repaired. Everyone on the tour considers the frame “toast.” This means that two options are open to me: find the next train home to Maine or buy a new bicycle. As it happens, the bike shop in Fargo has some used recumbent and new recumbent trikes (2 wheels in front, 1 in back). I’d MUCH rather buy a new bike to continue the ride than to hop on a train, as tempting as that sounds. I have to say that it is extremely fortunate that this issue arose now rather than going down a steep hill at 35 mph. I’ll keep you posted on what transpires.

11 July Sunday Binford, ND – Hope, ND

2010-07-13T02:19:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Binford, ND
Ending Point: Hope, ND
Via: Cooperstown and Blabon
Mileage: 52.9
Time: 4:19
Mph: 12.3
Terrain: some rolling hills, many flat areas
Vertical climbing: 645
Temperature High: 71
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: turkey sandwich, ham and cheese croissant
Dinner: diner in town
Weather: sunny, tailwinds and headwinds
Lodging: Town Park (camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 1,657
Miles to Go: 2,743
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 35 including 3 rest days (39%)
Distance Completed: 40%
Days to Go: 53

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Despite the fact we had rain accompanied by thunder and lightning all night, I still awoke rested. The fine breakfast available at RWR provided energy and tastiness. The terrain seems to have gotten a bit tamer than the past couple of days, thus the higher average speed.

Sunset in Hope as seen out of my tent entryway

We traveled through much farmland which had corn developing nicely. There was no rapeseed anywhere and I haven’t seen flax for a couple of days. This is one of the areas that had many missile silos during the Cold War. Outside of Cooperstown there is one tells the history from construction to destruction thanks to the START treaty of 1991.

Dan T. and I were supposed to cook this evening but the grocery store in town is closed and so we spend another evening in a restaurant. Tomorrow the TV station (WDAY) from Fargo wants to do a segment on my ride and the American Lung Association. I’m hoping that works out for them and for my fund-raising.
The morning before we left for Moorhead we got to have a fantastic breakfast at Mic's Grocery in Hope. The pancake pictured was at least 12 inches in diameter. This breakfast item was a reminder of the kind of terrain we would be seeing all day on the way out of North Dakota.

10 July Saturday Minnewaukan, ND – Binford, ND

2010-07-13T02:13:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: Minnewaukan, ND
Ending Point: Binford, ND
Via: Sheyenne, Tolna and Pekin
Mileage: 74.4
Time: 7:41
Mph: 9.7
Terrain: rolling hills
Vertical climbing: 1,054
Temperature High: 95
Temperature Low: 65
Lunch: cheese/avocado sandwich, PB&J sandwich
Dinner: chicken fajita salad
Weather: sunny, tailwinds and headwinds
Lodging: Red Willow Lake Resort (camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 1,605
Miles to Go: 2,796
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 34 including 3 rest days (38%)
Distance Completed: 39%
Days to Go: 54

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Leaving Minnewaukan we came upon more evidence of the abnormal height of the lake: another road closed. As Dean and I were navigating around that road we finally were able to get on the real Route 281 which would take us to Sheyenne first. On the way there down in a sort of small valley between 2 hills the lake was there covering over what had been another small road. The only signs that showed it were a road were the telephone poles lining it and the tall weeds that acted as an outline of the road itself. Every person we talked to in town spoke of how much lower the lake was 20 years ago. The librarian talked of how close the water is to the school and that when a wind comes up there are 5 foot waves that start threatening the grounds and building. This year, due to unusual rains, it wasn’t doing its usual evaporation to control the water level. Devils Lake has no outlet and so just keeps growing.

     Along the way Dean and I saw a deer leaping through what looked like a corn field. At some point the deer leapt into an area where the corn was taller than it was and disappeared.

Like so many beautifully brilliant fields of Rape Seed -- The Source of Canola Oil

     We did stop in Sheyenne to get well-hydrated. While we were sitting at the only table available in the service station, a game warden struck up a conversation with us. Dean, Joe and I were there resting and the warden had a lot to say about our routes. He gave us a list of town where we SHOULD stop even if it wasn’t totally clear whether those towns had grocery stores, showers or running water. Near the end of his monologue he was strongly suggesting that Joe call all the riders and tell them that we were going to stay in some other town than we had planned. Joe was able to deflect his commands.
     From there until Pekin (pronounced like peeking, just drop the ‘g’) it was hilly and getting hotter by the hour. At times the headwinds were actually helpful because they cooled me off. The hills were the same kind I have experienced earlier in this state – finally get to the top of one summit and not too far in the distance is the next one. Finally we were able to stop and refuel in town. There were a large bunch of bikers smoking and standing around in front of the bar. We had missed the larger group of bikers; there had been over 100 swarming into the street and into the bar. One of the biker “chicks” told Dean that it looked like he could use someone on the back of his bike for counterbalancing. He didn’t take her up on her offer. I was glad that the bar was open so that I could get ice, water and Diet Coke. The last time I was here in 2007, the bar was closed and I could get only soda from a vending machine outside the bar.
     By this time of day, everything was pretty much a blur because of the heat. When it’s this hot my only goal is to get to the end of the ride and cool down. Unless something really dramatic happens, I don’t pay much attention to the scenery. Even my eyeballs were hot. The showers available to us at the end had no temperature control and were way too hot for a day like this. Fortunately there were fans in the restaurant.
     What the restaurant/ice cream stand had to offer offset any misery brought on by heat. The salad was cool, delicious and filling. Our breakfast in the morning was as tasty. I had French toast for the first time on this entire trip. Even though the syrup was not Maine maple syrup, it was still mouth-watering.

9 July Friday Rugby, ND – Minnewaukan, ND

2010-07-13T01:22:00.010-04:00

Starting Point: Rugby, ND
Ending Point: Minnewaukan, ND
Via: Balta and Esmond
Mileage: 61.1
Time: 5:38
Mph: 10.8
Terrain: gentle rolling hills
Vertical climbing: 580
Temperature High: 84
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: cheese sandwich, fish sandwich
Dinner: brats, potato salad, cole slaw, pasta salad
Weather: sunny, mild tailwind
Lodging: Town Park
Cumulative Mileage: 1,530
Miles to Go: 2,870
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 33 including 3 rest days (36%)
Distance Completed: 37%
Days to Go: 55

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Leaving Route 2 took us back over some mildly hilly country.

Where else to begin the day in Rugby, ND but in front of the marker that designates the ersatz center of North America

I had mentioned yesterday or so that it seemed like the terrain was changing, having more trees. Today disproved that quite handily. There were vast stretches of grassy fields, rape seed and flax fields, and distant views unobstructed by trees.

The only place along the way that had any sort of services at all was the second town we went through, Esmond. When we (Dean and I were riding together a bit today) arrived Dan and Dolores were busy eating pie and other things. Naturally we followed suit.
It was a quiet day with sightings of good birds and deer. We found out in Minnewaukan that Devil’s Lake was much higher than normal and was threatening the town. One road was flooded and closed. This picture is only one of several roads that were covered over by Devil's Lake.

An unusual event I witnessed before dinner happened with the yellowish bird pictured in the video clip above. The bird was making a good deal of noise with all of us bikers around. Suddenly the bird brought a chick out of its nest and laid it down on the ground about 10 feet away from the tree that had the nest in it. Then it went away and left the chick there by itself. I was concerned that maybe we upset the bird too much. 20 minutes went by and the bird came back briefly to look at the chick. The chick was really very active; its eyes were open but it wasn't chirping. Then it was time for dinner. As soon as dinner was over, I went to check on the situation. The chick was right where the mother(I'm assuming) left it. It had died. Someone suggested that the mother bird knew the chick was ill and needed to get rid of it before it affected any other chicks.

8 July Thursday Minot, ND – Rugby, ND

2010-07-08T23:47:00.001-04:00

Starting Point: Minot, ND
Ending Point: Rugby, ND
Via: Surrey, Norwich, Granville, Denbigh and Towner
Mileage: 81.1
Time: 6:21
Mph: 12.8
Terrain: mostly flat, a few minor hills
Vertical climbing: 535
Temperature High: 84
Temperature Low: 66
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich, sports drinks
Dinner: teriyaki chicken, salad, soup, DQ kiddy cone
Weather: sunny, mild tailwind
Lodging: Oakwood Inn and Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 1,469
Miles to Go: 2,931
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 32 including 3 rest days (36%)
Distance Completed: 36%
Days to Go: 56

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Yesterday’s rest day unfolded as any rest day should with a late start. Eventually in the early afternoon I made my way into town to try to find some needed items that included Dr. Bonner’s Hemp Lavender liquid soap. Fruitlessly I searched around town for a natural food store because in Brunswick the natural food store, Morning Glory, carries such an item. One of the challenges of Minot is that it is built on several sizeable hills and it happened that to get from “downtown” to the area where I thought the natural food store was required going up one of these hills (when first arriving into town I went up the hill to the Post Office). Not finding what I was looking for I went back down the hill into the “center” of town and asked a clerk in a kitchen store. She told me that a Miracle Mart up the hill carried such a thing. So back UP the hill I went. There was no Dr. Bonner’s there and just as I was leaving I noticed the natural food store I had been looking for. Unfortunately they didn’t carry the item and told me that I could go back down the hill and up another one to go to a large chain store. Just as I was about to head out in that direction I discovered that a nut had fallen off the bolt that holds my chain idler. All errands were put on hold – it was time to go straight to the bike shop, back down the hill. Some rest day with all this hill work!
     Today was only mildly eventful…
     I was supposed to work with Joe to prepare breakfast and so I set my travel alarm clock for 6:15am. When I had to leave the tent for a moment at 3:15am I heard birds and saw some light in the sky. It didn’t dawn on me that perhaps the clock was wrong! Much later in the morning than 6:15am, I heard Joe outside my tent asking me if I was alright. I asked him what time it was. In reality it was 8:15am. So my travel alarm never got set to the correct time after Washington State.
     We all left at different times from the campground and since I didn’t follow anyone, I did end up on a slightly different route to exit town. At one point I stopped at a service station about 12 miles out for some sports drinks. A guy came up wanting to know what brand I was riding. He proceeded to tell me all about his recumbent and the rack he fabricated himself. He had plenty to say about his bike and riding experience. It wasn’t long after I mentioned that I was doing the ride to raise money for the American Lung Association when he finally decided to leave.

Changing Landscape in Eastern North Dakota. More Trees. Rapeseed Fields.

Part of the ride was on a part of Route 2 that was under construction. Oncoming traffic and ongoing traffic were separated only by red cones on this road that normally was 2 lanes for each direction separated by a grassy strip. Bicycles were forced to ride in a 2-foot wide shoulder. This seemed fairly dangerous to me so I got this idea to go to the other set of lanes since they were totally closed to traffic. That dream was short-lived because I came up giant mounds of dirt and many trucks hauling dirt. So it was back to the deadly side. Then the shoulder that we were riding on started having a rumble strip right in the middle of it, so there was nowhere to ride except in the lane. At this time of day, thankfully, there wasn’t much traffic at all.
We all got in so late that we went out to dinner at Bob’s Pizza. The high point of that besides having all-you-can-eat buffet was when Dolores ordered her steak. The server asked her how she wanted her meat and Dolores answered, “Done.”

6 July Tuesday Stanley, ND – Minot, ND

2010-07-07T12:02:00.006-04:00

Starting Point: Stanley, ND
Ending Point: Minot, ND
Via: Palermo, Blaisdell, Berthold, and De Lacs
Mileage: 52.4
Time: 3:11
Mph: 16.5
Terrain: mostly flat, a few minor hills
Vertical climbing: 561
Temperature High: 65
Temperature Low: 55
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich
Dinner: pita with tsatsiki, potato salad
Weather: sunny, phenomenal tailwind
Lodging: Rough Rider Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 1,398
Miles to Go: 3,002
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 31 including 3 rest days (34%) (Calculated including 7 July rest day)
Distance Completed: 34%
Days to Go: 57 (Calculated including 7 July rest day)

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

We were definitely spoiled yesterday evening by staying indoors with the opportunity to use a bed or sleep on the floor. There were chairs to sit on and a coffee pot which didn’t require priming a Coleman stove to heat up. Yes, it was a challenge to suffer the difficulties of the wilderness in Stanley, but we persevered.

Our Stanley Wilderness Experience.

With a rest day coming up tomorrow, I felt great relief when the day turned out to have good weather and a tailwind of at least 15 mph. Never in my life have I had such a high miles per hour average in a 50+ mile ride.

Since leaving Stanley it seemed that all of the oil well drilling and oil trucks just evaporated. There were only farms visible from the main road.

Farmland View along the Route to Minot

At one point not far from Minot I came upon some cyclists on the opposite side of the road going the other way and I did feel for them. They looked kind of exhausted from dealing with their headwind.

Arriving early at the campground has its advantages: quick access to a shower, washer and dryer. So I took the opportunity to do my laundry that had been fermenting for days in my trailer. Just about the same time as my clothes were done

Flax Field

“drying” there were two other people in the laundry pulling their clothes out of their dryers. Their clothes were not dry. I checked mine and, sure enough, they weren’t dry either.

Roadside Grasses with Evidence of Tailwind

We all came to find out that someone in the office either didn’t check the status of the giant propane tank outside of the laundry room or forgot to call for delivery. It was time to utilize my usual method of seeking two trees a small distance apart and attaching the nylon cord I brought along for just this purpose and hang the clothes outside in Mother Nature’s dryer – the sun.
We did get a taxi into town at night to go to a rare luxury: a movie. The driver was wryly humorous. I had noticed a sign for the State Fair and I asked him he was going to go get to go to it. He responded that he would be going to it a lot, but not seeing anything. It took a second for that to sink in for me.
On the rest day I’ll take the time to resupply a few things, find a cappuccino, find a good used-book store, and explore Minot again after 3 years.
Roadside Grasses in Motion

5 July Monday Epping, ND – Stanley, ND

2010-07-05T23:29:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Epping, ND
Ending Point: Stanley, ND
Via: Ross
Mileage: 60.6
Time: 6:11
Mph: 9.8
Terrain: very hilly to start, then flat for a while, then hilly again
Vertical climbing: 1,723
Temperature High: 65
Temperature Low: 55
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich, PB&J sandwich
Dinner: veggie patties, fries, soda (as you can guess this was at a restaurant)
Weather: rain (hard at times) first 40 miles then partly sunny, excellent tailwind
Lodging: Bull Moose B&B
Cumulative Mileage: 1,335
Miles to Go: 3,064
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 29 including 2 rest days (33%)
Distance Completed: 33%
Days to Go: 59

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Leaving Lewis and Clark State Park took us along some low land that lies next to the lake. The road snaked around hills and butte-like rocky structures. Even though exiting the park was difficult because it was all uphill, the area after was refreshing and relaxing. In the middle of that relaxing time rain did appear. I suppose you could say that it threw a damper on my joy.
     For a good bunch of miles the rain fell and on the road we eventually had to take to get to Route 2 there were a great many oil trucks who went by so fast that we were sprayed copiously and almost blown over. On the transitional road I found the magic of the plains hills: go up and up for what seems like an hour, reaching the “summit” and seeing the next summit not far off after a miniscule downhill.
     I arrived at a rest area about 15 miles west of Stanley where it finally stopped raining. While I was changing clothes and arranging my trailer a motorcyclist pulled up wanting to know what I was up to. He also wanted to let me know what he thought of North Dakotans; they were a rude aggressive bunch according to him. As I started rolling off another guy wanted to stop and talk to me. Without my even asking he told me about a friend of his was killed on a bike in Arizona. I told him that was why I had so many flags and the like. He mentioned that his friend had the same thing. It’s not totally clear why he was saying this. I’m doing as much as humanly possible to be visible. Short of leaving the road, leaving the tour and holding up in my living room with a cold fizzy drink and Season 8 of 24 there’s no way to ensure perfect safety. I thanked him for his concern and rolled away.
     The scenery now changed to vast grassy fields with canola fields and purple flowers. The vistas expanded tremendously after the rain stopped. The hills moderated to gentle, but annoying, rollers.
     We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening full enjoying all the amenities of living inside an actual building with carpeting and furniture. It took a while to get used to (probably 7 microseconds) but we struggled and overcame our hesitation.

4 July Sunday Culbertson, MT – Epping, ND

2010-07-05T22:28:00.005-04:00

Starting Point: Culbertson, MT
Ending Point: Epping, ND
Via: Bainville and Williston
Mileage: 64.3
Time: 5:30
Mph: 11.7
Terrain: flat until Williston then very hilly
Vertical climbing: 1,846 ft
Temperature High: 77
Temperature Low: 65
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich, PB&J sandwich
Dinner: chicken patties, salad, cookie
Weather: partly cloudy, tailwind
Lodging: Lewis and Clark State Park Camping Area
Cumulative Mileage: 1,276
Miles to Go: 3,124
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 28 including 2 rest days (32%)
Distance Completed: 31%
Days to Go: 60

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Our last day in Montana was a day with perfect riding conditions: not too hot and a tailwind. There was a Welcome Store about 2 miles this side of the North Dakota state line and I stopped in there for Breakfast – Part 2. The owners and their parents were there and they were bemoaning the fact that it is nearly impossible to find help to hire. Everyone wants to work in the newly developed oil fields in the area where the salaries are much higher.Even in Williston they were having the same issue. At the theater in town, there was a manniquin in the ticket booth out front with a Help Wanted sign posted.

At the state line there is a casino/bar where I had a celebratory O’Doul’s beer (non-alcoholic). I was sorely tempted to try to raise some money for ALA by gambling, but it wasn’t that hard to resist.

Last Look at Montana

Originally we were supposed to stay in Williston in the town park and have use of the Recreation Center. Joe found out mid-morning that the Rec Center was closed. So we bypassed town and continued on to a new spot: Lewis and Clark State Park which lies right on Lake Sakakawea.

Lake Sakakawea which is actually formed by a dam across the Missouri River.

The hills we had to deal with on the way there were some of the steepest hills we’ve had since Washington. There was one downhill that was a 41.5 mph hill for me which is my top speed so far on this tour. It felt just a little worrisome. We rode through what looked like more badlands and ended up at a campsite on the shore.

Camping in Lewis and Clark State Park. Dolores is pictured.

Since it is July Fourth there are all kinds of fireworks going off, but not in the state park. There they are prohibited. The fireworks are on the lake and virtually surrounding the area. We did have our own mini-fireworks when Dolores discovered a sizeable Bull Snake not far from her tent. Everyone worried that s/he would crawl into our sleeping bags so we made sure that all tent zippers were securely fastened.

Hay Bales in Daylight as we bid a fond farewell to MT

3 July Saturday Wolf Point, MT – Culbertson, MT

2010-07-05T22:15:00.010-04:00

Starting Point: Wolf Point, MT
Ending Point: Culbertson, MT
Via: Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Poplar, and Brockton
Mileage: 61
Time: 4:57
Mph: 12.3
Terrain: gently rolling hills and some flat
Vertical climbing: 609 ft
Temperature High: 70
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: tuna sandwich, turkey/cheese sandwich
Dinner: turkey dogs, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, chocolate cake
Weather: partly cloudy, tailwind
Lodging: Town Park
Cumulative Mileage: 1,211
Miles to Go: 3,189
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 27 including 2 rest days (31%)
Distance Completed: 30%
Days to Go: 61

Fund-raising status:     $32,090 raised and collected.
                                   $ 1,464 to go to reach $250,000

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Today the wind shifted and helped me immensely. The sky was overcast to a degree so the intense sunlight let up for one day and because of my speed bugs were not an issue. Riding through a reservation, even on such a superficial level as seeing while moving, reveals a very depressed economy. Today the tribal police stopped me and told me that I needed to ride my bike as close to the grass edge of the road as possible. He warned me about all the intoxicated drivers out this weekend especially since it is not just July 4th, but also Pow-Wow weekend. He further warned that people would just as soon mow me down unless I get off the road.

Montana Badlands with Sunny Day

With the prospect looming of leaving Montana, I feel energized. We’ve been here a long while. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the Big Sky every day because, indeed, I did except when that Big Sky was filled with rain.

At a gas station in Brockton I stopped to get a bottle of sports drink. Out at the pump I was sipping away noticing that the time clock outside was about 4 hours fast. A car pulled up to get gas and out stepped a clearly intoxicated driver. He was a Native American who introduced himself to me at Jimmy Tuttle. He was very friendly and didn’t seem to be one of the drivers who would just as soon mow me down as look at me. At one point in our conversation, my bike almost fell over and he said, “Oh, you almost lost your horse, there.” He wished me well on my journey and I went on my way.

This is actually a hill -- the last one for the day before Culbertson

In Culbertson we stayed in the town park which had a lovely covered pavilion. There was a cyclist who showed up with her derailleur all messed up – the chain was sort of wrapped around the derailleur and the chain had struck all of the spokes on the rear wheel. Joe helped her out.

Hay Bales at Sunset

It turned out that she would have to replace the derailleur wheel, a drop-out and all the spokes. For the time being Joe provided her with a one-speed bike. He is an incredibly resourceful mechanic and I always pleased if he is around when I have a break-down of the mechanical type.
One outstanding area we biked through was what looked like mini-Badlands like in South Dakota. This was on the Bureau of Indian Affairs highway that took us off Route 2 for a good while.

2 July Friday Malta, MT – Wolf Point, MT

2010-07-03T12:58:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Glasgow, MT
Ending Point: Wolf Point, MT
Via: Nashua, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Frazer
Mileage: 55.7
Time: 6:11
Mph: 9.0
Terrain: gently rolling hills and some flat
Vertical climbing: 746 ft
Temperature High: 100
Temperature Low: 85
Lunch: sports drinks
Dinner: sesame noodles, salad, watermelon and cream puffs
Weather: intensely sunny, headwind (until the evening when there were violent T-storms)
Lodging: Town Park
Cumulative Mileage: 1,150
Miles to Go: 3,250
Projected Distance: 4,100
Days completed: 26 including 2 rest days (30%)
Distance Completed: 28%
Days to Go: 62

The air in Montana is surprisingly dry, but fortunately the towns are near enough to each other to be able to stock up on water and sport drinks to keep from drying out like a prune. By the time I reached Frazer, I had run out of water, though and was able to locate the store. The day was quite uneventful mostly because it was so hot. I had to keep riding to get in in time in order to cook with Dusty.

En Route to Wolf Point via Fort Peck Indian Reservation

Coming Evening Gale/Storm

After dinner the weather changed drastically. That was when the drama began.

A wind came up while I was in the pool cooling off. It was such a strong wind that I didn’t need the pool anymore to cool off. It was downright cold. About an hour after that, it was without a doubt, gale force winds (50 mph+). All of our tents were almost totally flat on the ground. I did get inside mine and was able to stick a foot up on the ceiling to try and maintain structural integrity. This did work. Then the thunder, lightning and rain came. The thunder and lightning were, for the most part, simultaneous which was frightening. Giovanni’s tent was almost taken out by a garbage can that was flying around. The thunder continued for some time – this kept me awake a good while. Then in the middle of the night after I had been able to get to sleep I had to leave the tent to have a quick conversation with nature. In the distance all across the sky there were lightning flashes every few seconds. I was truly glad that we were biking at that point.

1 July Thursday Malta, MT – Glasgow, MT

2010-07-02T00:52:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: Malta, MT
Ending Point: Glasgow, MT
Via: Saco, Hinsdale
Mileage: 71.6
Time: 7:51
Mph: 9.1
Terrain: gently rolling hills and some flat
Vertical climbing: 701 ft
Temperature High: 84
Temperature Low: 70
Lunch: turkey/cheese/avocado sandwich, banana, sports drinks
Dinner: pizza
Weather: overcast, headwind (until the evening when there were violent T-storms)
Lodging: Cottonwood Inn and RV Park (camping)
Cumulative Mileage: 1,095
Miles to Go: 3,305
Projected Distance: 4,100 (re-adjustment due to not going to Alberta)
Days completed: 25 including 2 rest days (28%)
Distance Completed: 26%
Days to Go: 63

Though my report above indicates that we went through 2 towns in 71 miles, it is still somewhat deceptive. The town of Hinsdale has a store/gas station. The town of Saco (rhymes with make-o NOT block-o as in Maine) has a restaurant, grocery store, motel and library. It isn’t clear if the hotel pictured is still in use. Perhaps the Styrofoam cups in the window are a clue. Due to time constraints I didn’t investigate further.

Fighting headwinds from Malta to Glasgow.

With so many miles to go in a day, it’s fairly difficult to focus on anything other than getting to the end of the day. A headwind makes that task all the more daunting. Based on my experience yesterday with bugs, I began the day fully outfitted with anti-bug clothing that included a bug net over my bicycle helmet. Today was a trifecta of challenge: distance, headwinds, bugs.
The route was visually surprising…When my GPS told me that the terrain was basically the same altitude for a distance, it still appeared to me to be going uphill (usually). It was a mystery to me how we could keep going up hills when it appeared that cars from the opposite direction coming from a lower altitude.

Finally arriving in Saco, I sought out sport drink to get cooled off. Dean, Joe and I sat around a while eating lunch.

Hotel in "downtown" Saco

As I was getting ready to leave, a young man of about 14 approached me and asked me if I was going to let him try my recumbent. I said no mostly because of the pressure to leave. Aside from that I was also concerned that he might fall and hurt himself and/or the bike. Strangely he asked me if people had been throwing things at me while I was biking down the road. This made me wonder if it didn’t get him angry that I wouldn’t let him try my bike.

The rest of the ride was what is bluntly referred to as a “slog.” Some distance after Hinsdale there was a rest area where I discovered yet another type of bug to go insane from: gnats. Yesterday it was mosquitoes.

Downtown Saco

30 June Wednesday Harlem, MT – Malta, MT

2010-06-30T23:57:00.008-04:00

Starting Point: Harlem, MT
Ending Point: Malta, MT
Via: Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Dodson, Wagner
Mileage: 47.5
Time: 4:17
Mph: 11.1
Terrain: flat
Vertical climbing: 87 feet – almost perfectly flat!
Temperature High: 82
Temperature Low: 71
Lunch: PB&J sandwich, turkey/cheese sandwich, banana
Dinner: restaurant
Weather: cloudy, some tailwind
Lodging: Edgewater Inn
Cumulative Mileage: 1,023
Miles to Go: 3,377
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days completed: 24 including 2 rest days (27%)
Distance Completed: 23%
Days to Go: 64

This video is of a bird seen just west of Malta, Montana. There is another bird in the video that can't be seen, but can be heard. It is flying around not far from my bike in what seems to be a warning mode. In about 5 different wetland areas today there were these birds who would get upset that I was passing by. Any help identifying this bird would be helpful!!


Here is a still picture of that same bird.

Yesterday evening should well have been a warning about the state of mosquitoes in this part of Montana. One thing I couldn’t write about last night was how voracious they were. At one point in the evening a very strong wind came up and it seemed to threaten to bring a storm with it. It seemed like a good idea to go and sit on a bench just outside the closed library in order to do a blog posting. Things were fine as long as the wind was blowing. As it stopped, mosquitoes came out in swarms and were trying to get to my hands and face, so I couldn’t type properly. After typing every word, a swat was necessary to try and chase them away.
     Today was a battle with them from the second I stepped out of the tent. During the ride I thought that if I could ride fast enough it would be possible to escape them. No such luck. It became necessary to wear long pants, a bug net over my helmet and a jacket that has so far proven impervious to mosquitoes. Fortunately it wasn’t 90 degrees out.
     In the evening we were scheduled to eat at a restaurant and I went bicycling into town to locate it. I made the mistake of asking a couple walking their dog where The Hitchin’ Post was. They didn’t know, but what they did want to know was how my recumbent was to ride. Further I told them that I was biking across the country. This all meant that they had a bunch of questions. It also meant that my legs were exposed and any mosquito within a quarter of a mile was headed my way. It was absolutely necessary to get moving because I was being swarmed.
     Tomorrow will be much the same I fear.

29 June Tuesday Havre, MT – Harlem, MT

2010-06-29T22:47:00.000-04:00

Starting Point: Havre, MT
Ending Point: Harlem, MT
Via: Chinook, Zurich
Mileage: 44.4
Time: 4:59
Mph: 8.9
Terrain: mostly flat
Vertical climbing: 213 feet (it’s getting to the point of such flatness that it’s almost not worth reporting)
Temperature High: 94
Temperature Low: 82
Lunch: PB&J sandwich, smoothie
Dinner: sautéed chicken breast with potatoes and veggies, salad, watermelon
Weather: brightly sunny, headwind
Lodging: Harlem Town Park
Cumulative Mileage: 976
Miles to Go: 3,424
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days completed: 23 including 2 rest days (26%)
Distance Completed: 22%
Days to Go: 65

     The temperature was already over 80° at 8:15 when we rolled onto Route 2 East for the next adventure. As I rolled along what was left of the main street in town, I fruitlessly searched for a coffee place to get some caffeinated iced drink to begin the day. It was “only” 20 miles to the next town and I thought it wouldn’t be at all difficult to wait until then. I hadn’t counted on the inevitable presence of headwinds. We were making such good progress until today.
     By the time I got to Chinook I was fairly well depleted – exhausted and thirsty. Bikini Coffee was right where I had remembered it from 2007 and it was still owned by the same friendly woman. The name of the little coffee shop is misleading: there isn’t nor were there ever any bikinis visible. Rolling into the little parking lot brought back strong positive memories of the last time as I rolled in with Kevin and Bruce. I wondered where they were right at that time of the morning.
     It was way too hot to have any sort of hot coffee drink and I was hoping that a smoothie with fruit might be a better idea.
     The terrain of the ride changed again today. As we left Havre, we rode along the Milk River and instead of finding huge tracts of grasslands with views far into the distance we saw many tree stands sprouting up. Beyond the tree stands were the endless flat plains, but along this stretch the trees that broke up the monotony of the view were prominent.
     When the temperature gets this hot, my primary focus is getting to the end of the ride, getting out of the sun and getting cooled off. At one point along the way there were some interesting looking birds that seemed to be preparing to dive-bomb me. They had long beaks and my guess was that they were either Marbled Godwits or American Avocets. I really did want to take a photo, but it was too hot to stop. This is the “down-side” to bicycling in extreme heat. I’m banking on the idea that there will be more of them elsewhere.
     In Harlem there were enough cyclists assembled together in the same place to call the location a tent city. In a brief conversation with Mitch, who is bicycling across the US with his son to Connecticut, I remarked that it was just like Woodstock except that there was no music. Mitch added, “And no mud.” And my last addition, “yeah, and no drugs.” We agreed that except for those things this was just like Woodstock.
     At the campground were two guys, Sean and Dave, who were bicycling across the US to the East Coast as well and raising awareness of the importance of organ donation. Two days ago in Chester a guy, Derrick, had given me a green wristband to wear that says, “Donate Life.” That wristband was given to Derrick by Sean. He expressed great approval of my wearing it.
Harlem is a very small town (population: 848 according to Adventure Cycling) and everything, except the supermarket, closes at 4pm. So to seek shelter from the heat and be able to have at least the remote possibility of having a coherent thought I set up my computer desk on top of a washer in the Laundromat across the street from where we are camping.
     I’m seriously considering leaving extremely early tomorrow to try and avoid the heat of the day.

Date: 28 June Monday Chester, MT – Havre, MT

2010-06-29T22:41:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: Chester, MT
Ending Point: Havre, MT
Via: Joplin, Inverness, Rudyard, Hingham, Gildford, Kremlin
Mileage: 64.4
Time: 5:08
Mph: 12.5
Terrain: mostly flat with a good bunch of small hills
Vertical climbing: 573 feet
Temperature High: 88
Temperature Low: 65
Lunch: PB&J sandwich
Dinner: sautéed chicken breast in sherry sauce, tomato and cucumber salad, rice pudding and chocolate pudding
Weather: brightly sunny, some tailwind
Lodging: Montana State University Northern Dorms
Cumulative Mileage: 931
Miles to Go: 3,469
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days completed: 22 including 2 rest days (25%)
Distance Completed: 21%
Days to Go: 66

Today is my day to cook with Andrew, so I bypassed any side trips to museums and the like. I did stop in two taverns to get a diet Coke to cool off. Since there was less wind today the sun was much hotter. All reports say that tomorrow will be hotter still.

Those mountains in the distance that I mentioned on a different dayactually have a name that I found out today: Sweet Grass Mountains. Compare this view with the previous one.

Staying in the dormitories is relatively comfortable though down the hall are students in for basketball and football training. They play their music rather loud and their doors are open. As you might imagine, they’re not playing Verdi.

A town upcoming in the distance. You can just make out the water towers.

Both Andrew and I were called upon to exceed our usual efforts in cooking. The kitchen was filthy. There were dirty dishes piled up in the sink. All surfaces had food remnants on them. The fridge had food from the Pleistocene Era. The floor, which was unfortunately carpeted, had stains and food everywhere. The trash can was overflowing with what looked like some sort of new life form evolving and just about ready to leap out. So Andrew put in a superhuman effort to make the facility useful for us without having to worry about whether we contract salmonella. To be fair, I have to admit that the situation reminded me of my own college days though not with any sense of nostalgia.

27 June Sunday Cut Bank, MT – Chester, MT

2010-06-27T23:22:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Cut Bank, MT
Ending Point: Chester, MT
Via: Ethridge, Shelby, Dunkirk, Devon, Galata, Lothair
Mileage: 67.4
Time: 5:28
Mph: 12.3
Terrain: mostly flat with some hills
Vertical climbing: 519 feet
Temperature High: 84
Temperature Low: 64
Lunch: cheese sandwich, hash browns, toast, banana
Dinner: Frito Pie with Chili, salad, pie
Weather: brightly sunny, some tailwind
Lodging: Town Park
Cumulative Mileage: 867
Miles to Go: 3,533
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days completed: 21 including 2 rest days (24%)
Days to Go: 67

Today started pretty much like yesterday ended. There was a gentle tailwind that was possibly gentler than yesterday’s. I was hoping that, since it was Sunday morning, there wouldn’t be much traffic.

On the left is a photo of our campground in Glacier National Park. Dan and Dan are onlookers as the old woodsman from Maine plies his trade of hot dog roasting

That was a vain hope as it turned out. Route 2 in this part of Montana follows the railroad mile for mile. Plenty of freight trains passed by and I saw only 1 passenger train.

Every few miles I would check behind me to see if the mountains were still visible.

The view to the north of Route 2.

As we got furtheraway from Cut Bank, they became fainter of course.
I did stop in Shelby because I saw 2 bicycles in front of the only open restaurant in town. It was a bit early for the second breakfast ritual so a simple order of hash browns seemed sensible. The server was extremely busy so she never brought silverware for me. At one point she finally came over and saw that there was a set right in front of Giovanni. She asked me if I would like to use that set. To further encourage me she continued, “See, he hasn’t even spit on it.” That was the deciding factor for sure and thus I had silverware.

As we progressed eastward, the views of the distant land expanded. It seemed like we could see 30-40 miles in any direction. This character of the plains can be boring in a car, but it is striking on a bicycle. The limit of view or the horizon was at least 2 hours away for me. Along the way to the horizon there was plenty to see: wheat fields, grassy fields, purple flowers, various birds, grain elevators, trains, and distant mountains to the north. Every town has at least 1 grain elevator. Most of them have water towers with the town name embossed on it. There were some grain elevators that looked fairly ancient; these were made of view.

By the time I got to Galata, it was time for lunch. It was also time to find some shade to get out of the burning sun. The shade I found wasn’t much better than that which I found in Minnesota beside a stop sign. This shade was provided by the gas pump at a closed gas station. There were about 6 inches of refreshing shade.
About 15 miles outside of Chester, Joe caught up to me. By this time I was almost out of water so to pass the time and forget a bit about thirst and since we both had had our fill for today of distant views and waving grain we had an impromptu French lesson. We went over some of the more common irregular French verbs in the present tense. The miles just melted away as we wrestled with form and spelling. Tomorrow will be the quiz.

By the time I arrived in Chelsea, the bank thermometer said that it was 88°. The sun was bright and intense. There was a supermarket in town that was open. It had a “15% discount on everything” sign out front. So I purchased 3 drinks and proceeded to drink one of them at a table set up in the store. The owner asked if there was anything else I needed; I mentioned that one hour in the walk-in freezer would be nice. As I sat there drinking my sport drink, he came over with 2 soft-serve ice cream cones and said, “This should cool you off.”

Joe, our indefatigable leader, putting up with way more than any leader should at breakfast

26 June Saturday East Glacier, MT – Cut Bank, MT

2010-06-26T20:15:00.007-04:00

Starting Point: East Glacier, MT
Ending Point: Cut Bank, MT
Via: Browning
Mileage: 47.2
Time: 3:22
Mph: 14
Terrain: mostly flat and generally downhill from East Glacier
Vertical climbing: 681 feet
Temperature High: 77
Temperature Low: 55
Lunch: ham& cheese sandwich, pear
Dinner: Chicken Wraps with veggies
Weather: brightly sunny, tail wind
Lodging: Riverview RV Park & Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 799
Miles to Go: 3,601
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days completed: 20 including 2 rest days (23%)
Days to Go: 68

Our hardy group of adventurers on the way out of Glacier National Park.

This is the first day that riding felt easy. A tail wind definitely helps and a general downhill trend completes the helpful duet. Since the beginning of the ride I’ve been able to raise $31,610 on the road which puts me at $1,954 away from my $250,000 goal for my 15 years of fund-raising.     &nbspThe generosity of people on the road is striking and inspirational. They’ve given not just pledges, but food, places to stay, water and just all-around friendliness and helpfulness. They’ve given not just to me but to virtually all the members of our group in one way or another. So all of this combined makes for a very positive attitude on my part.
     Remember: pledging happens at http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

Today’s ride was very rapid and with every mile the mountains gradually disappeared and what were left were wheat fields and other cultivated areas that were of indeterminate crop. Some vague tiny mountains appeared in the distance. Beef cattle and horses were pretty much the only visible animals. Some marshy areas had birds that were not happy as I biked through. A couple did buzz my head quite closely.

Last clear view of the Rockies.

Today almost feels like a rest day since it went by so quickly. Tomorrow we get back on track with the regularly planned route. We are 2 days ahead of schedule right now, so we’re banking those for a rainy day.

The Oncoming Prairie

25 June Friday Essex, MT – East Glacier, MT

2010-06-25T19:40:00.005-04:00

Starting Point: Essex, MT
Ending Point: East Glacier, MT
Via:
Mileage: 35.3
Time: 4:06
Mph: 8.6
Terrain: mountainous with one pass (Mariahs Pass 5,254)
Vertical climbing: 1,482 feet
Temperature High: 74
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: cheese/hummus and PB&J sandwiches, apple
Dinner:
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Y Lazy-R Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 752
Miles to Go: 3,648
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 69

Our hosts at the RV Park prepared for us a fine breakfast buffet of breakfast burritos, coffee, cereal and fruit. This was an especially wonderful gift seeing as there was no food to buy at the store the previous evening. Today would be our last “official” day in the Rocky Mountains. Already the prairie is very visible to the east; there were even a few spots along the way down from the pass where the aroma of sage was detectible.

The Middle Fork of the Flathead River with Mountain view

The last time I passed this way I never knew about the mountain goat viewing spot. Finding them made me wish I had brought really good binoculars. Realistically, however, that would be even more weight. So the pictures I was able to will be as close as I (and you, by extension) can get.

Even though the East Glacier area seems much less visited than the western part, it is still stunningly beautiful with the road snaking through narrow mountain gaps.

The Middle Fork of the Flathead River runs alongside

and snakes along as well.

Mariahs Pass View

We’re coming to the end of our shorter days and will be back on the normal 50-70 miles days beginning the day after tomorrow from Cut Bank, MT. Personally it is encouraging that we’re done with mountains and passes for a while.

24 June Thursday Apgar, Glacier National Park – Essex, MT

2010-06-25T19:38:00.000-04:00

Starting Point: Apgar Glacier National Park, MT
Ending Point: Essex, MT
Via: West Glacier
Mileage: 29
Time: 3:45
Mph: 7.7
Terrain: mountainous
Vertical climbing: 1,225 feet
Temperature High: 73
Temperature Low: 65
Lunch: avocado/cheese/hummus sandwich
Dinner: ravioli, huckleberry pie
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Glacier Haven RV Park
Cumulative Mileage: 717
Miles to Go: 3,683
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 70

     As expected, when we awoke there would be no announcement, no reveille and 21-gun salute to let us know that Logan Pass was open. We won’t go into Canada until about August 12th now. It’s not that the eastern part of the national park isn’t lovely, it is. It’s just that we wanted strongly to be able to get a rest day in Waterton and enjoy all that that little town has to offer. We went almost as far as Essex where we stayed in a new RV park.
     Going along Route 2 East one gets an alternate view of the high peaks of Glacier National Park. There is a fairly high river running in the same direction of the highway.

The wildlife I was able to see was most likely an elk. From a distance it saw me approaching and, as always, as I dismounted the bike to get out the camera, it scampered or rather bounded back into the woods.

In the lap of luxury at Glacier Haven Campground in Essex, MT

The road runs through a fairly deep valley and thus there are mountains hovering over covered with pine trees of several types. River rafting busses were busy shuttling clients and rafts back and forth on the road. At around 1pm I stopped at a bar to get my customary diet Coke and eat lunch. There were 3 motorcyclists outside the bar who watched as I pulled up. As I was passing them to get inside, one proposed the idea that I must get really good mileage. These days my answer I is a little understated: I said that I get 75 miles/sandwich. It’s really more like 40.
The RV Park where we stayed and the café alongside is run by a family with 3 generations sharing all the various jobs. The children help out during meals taking dessert and coffee orders, bussing tables and just looking cute in general. The huckleberry pie does rival, admittedly, the berry pies of Moody’s Diner of Waldoboro, ME.

The walls of the café were covered with elk heads, deer heads, lynx (in entirety), a bear skin and other trophies successfully hunted by Randy, the owner. He had plenty of stories about his hunting experiences. He seemed to especially enjoy the one where he came face to face with a grizzly bear. As the son relates it, the bear saw his dad and the bear saw the pepper spray and just hightailed it out of there.

Pinnacle View along the way up to the secret outlook which we didn't reach. Joe tried after dinner and came upon a mountain lion running away from him fortunately.

There were stories about he and a ranger worked with rubber bullets and loud noises to hassle a mama grizzly enough so that she would run anytime she saw a human. He described how we could get to a really excellent vantage point to get a view of a huge waterfall. The directions were a little vague but I tried both walking there and cycling there with Andrew. In the first case I had to get back to camp because it looked like it was going to rain. In the second, we ran out of time. Randy, the hunter, warned me to not go alone. “When you’re out there hunting, you’re being hunted, too.” So around every bend I expected either a rabid moose or a really angry bear to come running by. The woods were quiet though.
Dinner with Randy and Julie was very much a home-style affair with burgers for the carnivores and spinach/mozzarella ravioli for the vegetarian (me). It was the best ravioli I’ve had in a while. We all had wonderful huckleberry lemonade that looked more like a marguerita without the alcohol.
Though our distance today was miniscule, we had another chance to enjoy our second-to-last day in the Rockies before moving on to the vast prairies.

23 June Wednesday West Glacier, MT – Apgar, Glacier National Park

2010-06-23T23:59:00.001-04:00

Starting Point: West Glacier, MT
Ending Point: Apgar, Glacier National Park
Via:
Mileage: 5.4
Time: :37
Mph: 8.8
Terrain: flat and downhill
Vertical climbing: 42 feet
Temperature High: 70
Temperature Low: 60
Lunch: veggie wrap, fries
Dinner: beans & turkey franks, salad, s’mores
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Apgar Glacier National Park Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 688
Miles to Go: 3,712
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 71

Today is basically an unscheduled rest day with a chance to walk around the park a little, sleep, write, read, sleep and do nothing. That is what my agenda looks like anyway. Our campsite is in the National Park with close proximity to Lake McDonald and Apgar Visitor Center.

A visitor to our campsite. I'll wager a gray Jay and await verification from my bird expert.

This just in: after nearly two weeks of checking and pleading with the park rangers to let us cross over Logan Pass, we won't be allowed to do so. The pass is still closed so we will go toward Essex tomorrow then on to East Glacier and Cut Bank. This will cut out Waterton Park which is extremely disappointing and Cardston (the home of Faye Raye of King Kong fame).

Lake McDonald with the ever elusive Logan Pass nearby.

22 June Tuesday Whitefish, MT – West Glacier, MT

2010-06-23T23:51:00.001-04:00

Starting Point: Whitefish, MT
Ending Point: West Glacier, MT
Via: Columbia Falls
Mileage: 28.9
Time: 3:17
Mph: 8.8
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 739 feet
Temperature High: 72
Temperature Low: 57
Lunch: cheese and hummus sandwich, tomato, cherries, dried fruit
Dinner: tacos, chocolate cake
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Glacier Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 683
Miles to Go: 3,718
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 72

     Knowing ahead of time that a day is going to be makes that day seem so much shorter. The group had all agreed at dinner last evening that we would leave later today. This would give us a chance to get to the last bike shop for a while, go to the post office, relax at a café, and so forth. My goal was to catch up on 4 days of blogging and posting. I’m still optimistic that there is more stuff I can mail home to lighten my load.

     We have been checking for days with the National Park Service to see if Logan Pass was open so that we could continue our route to Waterton Park in Alberta. Our plan is to get as close as possible to Logan Pass so that we can get up early enough to start bicycling at sunrise. This would give us the opportunity to be at the top in time for the park’s curfew for bicycles. They can’t be on the way up between 11am and 4pm. We’re still awaiting word about the pass.

Our first view of what we were missing in the rain

     Today’s weather is such a stark contrast to that of yesterday. Sunny and warm with not much wind were the highlights. The side road to West Glacier is much more bike-friendly than the main drag. The road is so filled with RVs, cars, shuttles, busses and trucks that we bicyclists are driven away.
     This short day and tomorrow should give me the requisite energy to make it up the pass in good time if we get the chance.

21 June Monday Eureka, MT – Whitefish, MT

2010-06-22T13:58:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Eureka, MT
Ending Point: Whitefish, MT
Via: Trigo
Mileage: 28.9
Time: 4:10
Mph: 6.9
Terrain: mountainous
Vertical climbing: 1,300 feet
Temperature High: 55
Temperature Low: 47
Lunch: PB&J sandwich, pea soup
Dinner: rice and veggies, homemade cheesecake and rhubarb torte
Weather: rain, heavy at times
Lodging: Downtowner Hotel
Cumulative Mileage: 654
Miles to Go: 3,746
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 73

     Almost immediately after exiting the campground and following the official ACA map to Whitefish, I found the road to begin ascending in a most inhuman fashion. The other two times leaving Eureka we stayed on the main road and it was challenging without a doubt, but this back road was much worse. Further along the way there were a couple of cattle grates to cross to add to the fun.
By the time I got to Fortine (rhymes with more-fine) the rain had done its job helping me get hypothermic again, so I thought that it might be possible to find a laundromat in town to get everything dried off. The postmaster at the not-to-tiny post office said there was one in Trigo just a few miles away. I discovered, upon returning to my bike, that I had a flat tire. I walked out of the center of “town” to get on the main road to see about catching a ride with someone. As I walked out of town, I recognized a small building that had been a restaurant and ice cream stand across the street. There were no identifying signs but there were people inside so I walked over to check if there was anything to eat. The main person there related that it was not open yet but should be in a week’s time. He asked if there was anything he could help me do. The list I gave to him was fairly long. It included fixing a flat, providing hot food and giving me a ride to Whitefish. He was willing and happy to help with the flat. That was probably the best part. When I get hypothermic my hands don’t function very well as they get frozen. So we worked on finding the puncture. I couldn’t find the spare tube so I was forced to repair the damaged one. At least as of this writing, the air is still in it.
     They were setting up the place as a new business called On the Fly which would replace the business that was there before. This new owner had some stories about the previous one. It seemed that he had never been inspected and had been working under the “radar” for many years. It wasn’t until the Town Manager stopped by and noticed how filthy the place was and asked if the store was legal. It also came to light that the previous owner had a penchant for closing the store anytime he accumulated $20. Rumor had it that he would then go to the nearest casino and gamble with it.
     The store had a microwave and it was a very happy turn of events that I was able to use the dehydrated pea soup mixture (that I had just started carrying this morning) and make warm soup to warm me up from the inside out.

According to them, there was no place to dry clothes in Trigo, so I was happy that I hadn't plodded all that distance.

Kate Cunningham, our inimitable co-leader, leaves today to lead another tour for Adventure Cycling. Out thanks goes out to her as do our good wishes.

Finally everything was in place for me to leave and he offered to drive me to Trigo where he needed to buy some metal parts. With the rain as it was, I wasn’t going to turn him down. We hurtled past the destination of which he had spoken and he said he would drop me off the Stillwater Bar. I gleefully agreed. That put me within 14 miles of Whitefish.

In the evening we had a friend of Joe’s, Laurie, cook for us. She made an out-of-this-world cheesecake with Oreo crust. Today was the day that Kate, our co-leader helping Joe get started was to leave to go lead her own tour.

A Celebratory Indoor Dinner with Laurie Presiding

20 June Sunday Libby, MT – Eureka, MT

2010-06-22T13:08:00.001-04:00

Starting Point: Libby, MT
Ending Point: Eureka, MT
Via: Rexford
Mileage: 72
Time: 10:46
Mph: 6.7
Terrain: mountainous
Vertical climbing: 2,320 feet
Temperature High: 65
Temperature Low: 52
Lunch: cheese and hummus sandwich, PB&J sandwich, dried fruit
Dinner: vegetable stew
Weather: partly cloudy, then T-storms
Lodging: Riverside Park
Cumulative Mileage: 625
Miles to Go: 3,775
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 74

I knew this day would be long due to both distance and terrain. I hadn’t expected to be on the road for 12 hours, however! In the morning I was struggling to get out of camp by 8am with the hope that that would have had a positive effect on my arrival time in camp. That turned out to be in vain.

     The highlight of day, of course, is Libby Dam and Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway. You might notice the strange sound of the name which might tempt one to think that it is a First Peoples’ word. It’s actually the result of a naming contest from when the dam was being constructed combining Kootenai, Canada and USA. It is a vast lake with roads that follow the shoreline closely on both sides.
     In our daily map meeting we discussed the feasibility of riding on the east vs. the west side. According to the Adventure Cycling maps, the west side was hillier and 5 miles farther. The debate outcome was a so-called “no-brainer” for me. Enough hills already and I sure didn’t really need more miles.
The east side was no picnic either. There were incessant climbs which, as usual, proved my undoing. There was one point at which I was so exhausted that I was practically falling off the bike because of falling asleep. I finally decided to stop and rest for a bit. I pulled over in a turnout, took out my sandwich container (a 2-compartment Tupperware™), turned it over, put it on the ground and lie down using it as a pillow and fell asleep for about 20 minutes on the asphalt. That helped a good bit. Not long after waking up as I was riding along, I spotted a deer up ahead. When I caught up to it, it was already half-hidden in the trees along the side of the road. With it was an added bonus: another deer. As I rolled by extremely slowly (it was an uphill -- what a surprise), they just stood and stared at me. So I thought that if I could just stop the bike and dismount quietly I could get their picture. No sooner had I stopped when the next I saw of them were their white tails bobbing up and down running away.
     There were no services or no water after Libby Dam so the only hope of sustenance was in greater metropolitan Rexford (pop. 151). After the west side road rejoined the east side there was still a substantial distance to go before that town. It was at that point that the thunderstorms started. At first there was only distant thunder, but it didn’t take long for sky-filling lightning bolts to appear. That situation is one that I’ve never fully solved. It would make no sense to stop out here in the middle of nowhere to wait out an indeterminately long storm, but it is also very unsafe to be biking when there is lightning. At one point, Dolores passed me. She was about ½a half mile ahead of me when a lightning bolt appeared. I would have sworn that it was headed for her. But she is still with us as am I.
     Arriving in Rexford, I recognized the place (Mariner’s Haven) where we camped in 2004 and wondered why we hadn’t stopped here. I was out of water and food basically so I had to find the “center” of town to see if something would be open on Sunday evening.
     There was one place: some steakhouse. As I walked in there were a younger man and a woman sitting at a table I was passing. He asked how the riding was. We had a brief conversation and he warned me that the menu was pretty much hamburgers, steak, fried steak, sirloin steak, hot dogs and prawns. He also warned me to not bother asking for a menu as the only things available were the above-mentioned carnivore delights. I was able to have a pile (literally) of curly fries. The service was a little under par (probably in the -3 star range): I had to ask for a napkin (I was brought a pile of paper towels), I had to request a glass for “pop” and I had to request a fork.
     After eating as much as I could stomach, I went back outside and had further conversations with the two younger people. We agreed that the place was a vegetarian’s nightmare. When I told them that I ended up eating curly fries, the guy, Mike, said I could have eaten theirs. They were both very friendly and warm. What lacked for physical nutrition in the steakhouse was more than made up for in the fine conversation we had. The woman with Mike expressed a great liking for the fish sock on one of my flag poles.
     With a warm belly, filled water bottles and a refreshed spirit I was able to manage the rest of the way to Eureka. There were no more thunderstorms at least.

19 June Saturday Heron, MT – Libby, MT

2010-06-22T12:15:00.007-04:00

Starting Point: Heron, MT
Ending Point: Libby, MT
Via: Troy
Mileage: 51.4
Time: 6:27
Mph: 8
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 811 feet
Temperature High: 84
Temperature Low: 55
Lunch: cheese and turkey sandwich, BBQ beans, cole slaw
Dinner: rice with veggies
Weather: sunny
Lodging: 2 Bit RV Park
Cumulative Mileage: 553
Miles to Go: 3,847
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 75

It was a long ride along the Bull River from Heron. This road was nestled in between two mountains chains it seemed. The most impressive of these were the snow-capped Cabinet Mountains which were visible for miles. There were a lot of wet lands that would have been perfect habitat for moose or elk, but I saw none. As I was approaching the “official” scenic overlook for the Cabinet Mountains, I saw a pick-up truck with a guy using binoculars and though that maybe he had discovered some worthwhile sighting. I asked him if had and he related that he saw nothing there, but a couple miles further down the road and off a side-road about a mile he had seen 3 moose. I found what I thought was the side-road to which he was referring and went down it a ways. The only wildlife I heard, though I never actually SAW any, were some invisible dogs by house hidden by dense trees.

Much further along the way we were to turn on Route 2 which would lead us into Libby. About half-way from Heron to that turn-off there was a bar/restaurant/casino celebrating its 25th anniversary aptly named “The Half-Way House”. It was the same place I remember in that the lights were turned down low and the décor was a mixture of old-timey doodads and cowboy/cowgirl Western collectibles, like steer skulls.

The stark difference in 2010 from the other 2 times I passed this way was that smoking was not allowed inside. I was ecstatic to be able to stand around inside absorbing the conversations around me without having to struggle for each breath. As in Maine, though, there was the usual gauntlet of smokers just outside the front door that one had to negotiate to enter the building. Several of them were curious about my “rig” and I told the story about biking across the country for the fourth time for the Lung Association. They considered it humorous that here I was pedaling from coast to coast for ALA and here they were smoking like chimneys.
     Inside I thought it might be a healthy choice to supplement my meager sandwich with some local BBQ beans and cole slaw. I asked the bartender for these items and she said I’d have to go out back to get them. I had to meander through some poorly lit passageways and shed areas to find the giant 55-gallon drum barbecuing steak, chicken and beans. There were local “boys” busily drinking beer (at 11:30am) hanging around at the bar by the BBQ pit. It took them some effort to locate the woman responsible for serving me these side orders. In the meantime, they wanted to know about my bike ride. They kept pressing me to have steak. Their comment was, “What? No meat?!” I had to give some answer that would satisfy their curiosity and still protect my dietary needs. It seemed to ease their minds that I had some turkey in my lunch container back over in my bicycle trailer.
     Further along a stop at the Kootenai River and Falls was necessary. By this time it was quite hot out on the road and the cooling falls wouldn’t have provided very welcome cooling air. Before trudging down the trail and over the railroad bridge I needed a snack and a cooling drink. Fortunately there was someone selling mementoes and “pop” at the right temperature. Right next to the little kiosk was the only picnic table in sight and even though there was already a person sitting there, I plunked myself down with impunity. As always, the person had seen my bike and wanted to know what I was up to. It turned out that she had just retired from being a teacher in Anacortes, WA and she thought it striking that I would have just left from there on bicycle. After the refreshing fizziness of my drink I went down to the falls.

     They were unusually powerful and high. There was a really cute couple there for whom I offered to take their photo together. On the way back to my bike, I passed that same couple and I asked them where they were headed. When they said that they would being going to Whitefish, I mentioned that I would be there in two days. They said they would save me some food. As they drove off in the RV, I was tempted to catch a ride. But there weren’t that many miles left before Libby.

18 June Friday Sandpoint, ID – Heron, MT

2010-06-22T11:46:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Sandpoint, ID
Ending Point: Heron, MT
Via: Hope, East Hope, Clark Fork
Mileage: 47.4
Time: 5:12
Mph: 9.1
Terrain: relatively flat
Vertical climbing: 1,054 feet
Temperature High: 65
Temperature Low: 50
Lunch: cheese and hummus sandwich, clam chowder, peanuts, banana
Dinner: fettuccine alfredo (note: I DID cook this.), fresh-baked bread and salad
Weather: partly cloudy
Lodging: Cabinet Gorge RV Park
Cumulative Mileage: 501
Miles to Go: 3,899
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 76

After enjoying a fine rest, recuperation and restorative deep pressure massage therapy in Sandpoint, I was ready to continue on. The day was calm and clear with good sunshine and few hills. We rode along the Lake Pend Oreille for miles – this was a beautiful scene with mountains and blue sky as the back drop.

Osprey Sighting Along Lake Pend Oreille. This time I'm sure it's an osprey!

The highlight of the town of Hope has twice before been the café/bakery. The great disappointment of the day was that the café was closed. Supposedly we arrived in Hope an hour before opening time. I even stopped next door in the Town Office to see if they might know something about whether someone might show up before the official time. They didn’t. I’ve stopped there before and the pastries and coffee were wonderful.

The View of Lake Pend Oreille along Route 200

According to some sources this small grouping of towns was actually a trio Hope - East Hope - Beyond Hope. I never located the third town; there was an RV park called by that name.
Today was Dolores’ and my turn to cook and fortunately it was a relatively short and easy day. I was able to get into camp not much after the deadline. We were able to eat dinner at 6:10 – only 10 minutes late! The lady at the store was extremely pleased that we were shopping for 10 people. After Dolores and I were done shopping, one might have thought a horde of locusts had flown through the shelves.
I had remembered from previous stays at our campground that there was a hard-to-find trail that led down to the river with a fine vista over the surrounding mountains. During the night there were several trains (a theme we will soon come to dread) that passed by on the tracks running next to the river. I awoke wishing I had camped down at the shore to see them. I’m sure the local cougars would have relished that idea too.

16 June Wednesday Cusick, WA – Sandpoint, ID

2010-06-18T02:45:00.003-04:00

Starting Point: Cusick, WA
Ending Point: Sandpoint, ID
Via: Usk, Newport(ID), Old Town, Priest River, and Sagle
Mileage: 55
Time: 7:07
Mph: 7.7
Terrain: hilly
Vertical climbing: 2,350 feet
Temperature High: 55
Temperature Low: 43
Lunch: cheese and turkey sandwich, energy gel, hot cocoa, peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Dinner: tomato soup, fettuchine alfredo (note: we did NOT cook this. Our leader wisely had us go out!)
Weather: rain, heavy at times
Lodging: La Quinta
Cumulative Mileage: 454
Miles to Go: 3,946
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 77

Today was the worst conditions in which we have ridden. The rain started pretty much immediately after finishing breakfast. I hauled all my gear, bike and trailer into a sheltered spot just inside a barn so that I could load stuff and stay dry. That worked fine, but down the road about 5 miles into the ride I got a flat tire and spent plenty of time getting wet by the side of the road.

     As in past trips, I rolled into Newport soaking wet and cold. Right after crossing the bridge into Oldtown, ID I stopped at a gas station to get some warm drink in me. Hot cocoa fulfilled its duty. I had bought an egg and cheese English muffin which I put into the microwave. Either it was bad to start with or I overcooked it, but half of it was hard, tasteless and virtually inedible. In a word, it was disgusting. Even though it was raining and the calories might have helped had I been able to chew the item, I reverted to my friend, the peanut butter and jam sandwich.
     As the miles wore on it became clearer to me that I would be late to go shopping for dinner. It was a joyous moment when Joe called me to tell me that there had been a change of plans: we would not be camping as previously discussed, but we would stay in an actual hotel. It was still miles to go before Sandpoint, but my spirits were lifted despite the rain, cold and fog.
     Tomorrow would be a well-earned rest day that would give me a chance to get current on this blog and keep you, my readers, appraised of the ride. As it turned out, I was able, too, to find a massage therapist to assist me with me with my pained legs and lower back. This was a God-send, indeed.

15 June Tuesday Colville, WA – Cusick, WA

2010-06-18T02:15:00.015-04:00

Starting Point: Colville, WA
Ending Point: Cusick, WA
Via: Ione
Mileage: 40.1
Time: 5:20
Mph: 7.5 (first 16 miles in a time of 3:37 4.4 mph)
Terrain: mountainous, 1 pass – Tiger Pass (3,250 feet)
Vertical climbing(note NEW term): 2,350 feet
Temperature High: 67
Temperature Low: 53
Lunch: cheese and turkey sandwich, peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Dinner: Noodles and veggies, tortellini, salad, chocolate chip cookie
Weather: partly cloudy
Lodging: Pend Oreille County Fairgrounds
Cumulative Mileage: 399
Miles to Go: about 4,001
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 79

It turned out that I was seriously mistaken about the “ease” of today’s ride. I had a distorted mental image of the shape of the ride.

It was much longer than I thought. Once I got on the plateau that was Tiger Pass, the forest seemed to go on forever. At one point I came upon a car that had pulled off the road to wait for me to arrive. A guy, Ron, wanted to know how far I was riding. As always, I made a plug for the American Lung Association and he expressed very strong support for what I was doing. He went on to share personal stories about family had died or been affected by tobacco and lung disease. It was a wonderful surprise to find this connection in what was really the middle of nowhere. After we parted ways, the forest seemed to be less blasé and uninteresting. My effort of all the pedaling seemed to diminish as I thought about the impact of what I was doing.

One of the more unusual sculptures we have seen in our traverse thus far

The countryside just outside Colville

Finally I got down off the pass and I rediscovered what I had forgotten from 3 years ago: there was a stiff headwind would be present for the entire distance of 28 miles to go. Just then I got a call from Dean. He and Chris had been shopping in Ione when they met an Australian couple, Tony and Charne (pronounced Sha-Na) driving an RV around. Dean wanted to know if I wanted Tony to stop by where I was and take my trailer so I could get in sooner. The mathematics of that calculation wasn’t difficult. With 28 miles to go and going 7.7 mph, it would take about 3:41; this would make my arrival in camp at 9:10.

When they arrived not long after the phone call, they helped put my trailer in the RV. Then they proceeded to put my bike in as well. Tony then said that I would have to figure out how to get myself to the campground since there was no more room in the vehicle. It became clear that he had very wry sense of humor. We were driven the rest of the way by these two extremely generous people. Eventually not only did they share their company, their food and their wit with us, but the next morning, Tony handed me a pledge and wished me luck with my two kinds of pedaling. It took me a second to get the pun --- Pedaling/Peddling (as in fund-raising). Remember it hadn't been that long since waking up. What was most striking as we were being driven in the comfort of an RV was the length of time it took to get to camp. It seemed much longer than 28 miles.

Tony had been a general in the Australian army. Since he and I were two peas in a pod in regards to humor, as we were waiting for dinner, I asked him what position was a higher rank: Major-General or General. He related that it was the former. I informed him that I was a Major-General. He wanted to know where. Only people in Brunswick would have known that I had been the Major-General in Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert and Sullivan) a couple of years ago! He enjoyed that idea quite a bit. They joined us for our map meeting after dinner. With the combination of his and my senses of humor, the meeting was livelier than usual.

On the Way to Tiger Pass

14 June Monday Republic, WA – Colville, WA

2010-06-18T01:37:00.008-04:00

Starting Point: Republic, WA
Ending Point: Colville, WA
Via: Kettle Falls
Mileage: 53.8
Time: 7:04
Mph: 7.6 (first 16 miles in a time of 3:37 4.4 mph)
Terrain: mountainous, 1 pass – Sherman Pass (5,575 feet)
Vertical gain: 2,869 feet
Temperature High: 65
Temperature Low: 50
Lunch: cheese sandwich, peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Dinner: rice and beans, bean salad, chocolate chip cookie
Weather: overcast
Lodging: Stevens County Fairgrounds
Cumulative Mileage: 359
Miles to Go: about 4,041
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 80

So I don’t forget about an item that was brought to my attention, I need to issue a correction. You might recall that I went out on a limb to claim having sighted an immature eagle. I received a cautionary note via email titled “I’m not sure I agree with your police work there…” For any film buffs out there, that is a quote from Fargo, a Coen Brothers film. In any case, before I digress too far… This cautionary note was sent by my wife who is also my bird resource. She knows them way better than I do. The bird was actually an osprey.

On the way up Sherman Pass Part 1

“Yet another day for another pass” should be the sub-title for today. They’re not over yet. As we departed the fairgrounds we began the inescapable upward climb to the top of Sherman Pass.

On the way up Sherman Pass Part 2

A mile or two out there was a warning sign flashing that instructed motorists to tune to 1530 AM for important information. Just beyond that was a work crew and it seemed sensible to check with one of them. He said he didn’t know about any hazards, but that the sign had been flashing for months.
The only hazards that I did come upon were a couple of deer running across the road and there was a mysterious animal too far ahead to identify. It was dark brown and furry. It was thin at one end then it got bigger in the middle and it was thin again at the other end. No, not a bear. Not a raccoon. I welcome any educated guesses.

This pass was the one I remembered from the other times; there were huge tracts of burned-out trees.

There was still a long way to go to full recovery, but it was clear that the forest was growing back slowly.

Along the way on my side of the road, there was a street sweeper machine working away cleaning the shoulder. This was probably the first vehicle that I was able to pass. Some of the other riders and I played hop-scotch all the way to the top. I was looking forward to eating my sandwiches there when I came upon the same mom, daughter and daughter’s friend from other days. They had already arrived at the top. They were cooking up a soup and rice mixture. As I munched on my simple fare, the aroma of the soup wafted toward me and, at least at the molecular level, I was able to enjoy their dish as well.

Looking back down the road to Sherman Pass. This gives a sense of the kind of climbing we've been doing for 7 days.

At the pass with friends(Erica and Shawna[sp]). This would be our last meeting since they're now going on a different route.

The Columbia River and Roosevelt Lake lie at the bottom of the pass by Kettle Falls. My initial plan was to stop in Kettle Falls because it seemed like I had actually made good time getting this far. Not too long after passing a paper mill, my chain broke as I was riding up yet another hill. That took care of all the time I had stored up.

     It was delightful to be able to finally arrive at the fairgrounds in Colville, though. The other times when I had been here, the place was devoid of all activity except for bicyclists coming through. This time, however, there was a baseball game going on with all the liveliness and high-spirited sentiments expressed by the cheering fans. We camped right next to a rodeo ring (I think that is the correct word) where there were horses galloping around and riders, some with flags and some without. There were unseen people practicing both the Canadian and United States national anthems. They were practicing for some big event coming up this weekend.
     Dusty left us to go back home to change his luggage setup. He had been pulling a Bob Trailer but it wasn’t working well for him at all. He’ll rejoin us in Whitefish, MT.
     The next morning seemed like it would be an easy crossing over Tiger Pass so I took my time at a café in the morning. One of the baristas talked to both Joe and me. Because we were bicycling across the US, she said that “we were her heroes.” It certainly makes the effort feel worthwhile when it inspires others.

13 June Sunday Tonasket, WA – Republic, WA

2010-06-15T13:42:00.002-04:00

Starting Point: Tonasket, WA
Ending Point: Republic, WA
Via: Wauconda
Mileage: 43.1
Time: 6:48
Mph: 6.3
Terrain: mountainous, 1 pass – Wauconda Pass (4,310 feet)
Vertical gain: 1,952 feet
Temperature High: 78
Temperature Low: 72
Lunch: cheese and jelly sandwich
Dinner: chicken and veggie burritos, cinnamon rolls
Weather: bright sun
Lodging: Ferry Fairgrounds
Cumulative Mileage: 305
Miles to Go: about 4,095
Projected Distance: 4,400
Days to Go: 81

At the beginning of the day it seemed like the weather was going to be as hot as yesterday. Fortunately it wasn’t. It was still hot enough to give me “hot foot.” The first 32.5 miles were pretty much uphill. Every mile was making me fume about the civil engineers who designed these roads. I was dreaming at times about either a rails-to-trails path to go on with no hill or a bicycle with electric assist. It’s always shocking to find terrain that goes uphill for so long. This is especially true when thinking about the terrain in Maine.

     Five miles outside of town there were petro glyphs that our 2004 leader had managed to photograph. Today for some reason, I never found them. Admittedly the primary cause was the interminable uphill leaving town that forced me to concentrate on rolling rather than stopping.

Yet another pass. Only 2 more before we leave the challenging state of Washington.

In Wauconda there is a store just before the actual pass. In both 2004 and 2007, it was open for business. Today was Sunday and the store had just acquired new owners. So, even though I was counting greatly on it being open so I could find water, it was closed and dark. This was sorely disappointing. After arriving in camp, it became apparent that many people had been counting on buying something at that store.
     Coming down from Wauconda Pass, I came upon 2 riders, Don and Ginny, who were also doing the Northern Tier route on their own. We more or less rode into town together to find that virtually everything was closed. It was a fine discovery to find one restaurant open. There I was able to restart my national cole slaw quality survey.
     Our campground was right next to a lovely loudly flowing stream.

12 June Saturday Winthrop, WA – Tonasket, WA

2010-06-15T01:31:00.008-04:00

Starting Point: Winthrop, WA
Ending Point: Tonasket, WA
Via: Twisp, Okanogan, Omak, and Riverside
Mileage: 71.1
Time: 8:04
Mph: 8.8
Terrain: mountainous, 1 pass – Loup Loup Pass (4,020 feet)
Vertical gain: 2,778 feet
Temperature High: 87 on thermometer in Tonasket, certainly over 95 on the blacktop where we were bicycling)
Temperature Low: 49
Lunch: hummus sandwich, peanuts
Dinner: pasta, veggies and ice cream
Weather: intensely bright sun
Lodging: Shannon’s Ice Cream Parlor lawn
Cumulative Mileage: 262
Miles to Go: about 4,138
Projected Distance: 4,400

The terrain is as dry as I remember it. Sage is everywhere and its scent is omnipresent. The hills are barren and rocky. The hills are alive with the sound of quails calling to each other from one hill to the next. It is always worrisome to me when the weather gets this hot. The greatest challenge has been to not run out of water before the end of the day. When we’re out in the middle of nowhere there isn’t any easy option to find water.

Bird Displeased with my Presence in its realm.

Today I was very fortunate, though, because of a mother who is driving a vehicle for her daughter and her daughter’s friend. The two young women are biking across the country on our route more or less and the mom is helping them in this first really difficult part. In any case, she gave me water at the top of Loup Loup Pass.

I'm going out on a limb here to claim that this is an immature eaglet that I spotted near Okanogan

In Okanogan and Omak there was a distinct Mexican presence. There are apple orchards and the Mexicans are there to help harvest just like in Maine. There was even a Mexican store with all things Hispanic for sale.

Another distinct sense I got was a widespread abject poverty. There was a lot of property that looked abandoned or run-down. Most store fronts were empty.

Arid Okanogan. 85 on thermometers. 100 6 inches above the blacktop where this rider's feet reside while pedaling!

The only time when it was possible to cool down before the end was in the small town of Riverside. There is an antique store there with a shaded porch. They had ice cream for sale as well.

Quail

This bicycle seen at the refreshing spot in Riverside reminds me that I can be grateful that I'm not riding THAT one across the US.

Another Bird Sighting in Riverside

11 June Friday Winthrop - Rest Day

2010-06-12T00:45:00.001-04:00

Our Mexican dinner at Carlos 1800

A simple but filling affair with wild singing for anyone with a birthday.

Chris celebrated his 65th birthday today and he got to wear the celebratory sombrero and he got to wear also the cake icing.

On the way back to the campground, the sunset was rather spectacular. It's really clear just how different the climate and vegetation are east of the Cascades.

10 June Thursday Newhalem, WA – Winthrop, WA

2010-06-11T20:10:00.014-04:00

Starting Point: Newhalem, WA
Ending Point: Winthrop, WA
Via: Mazama
Mileage: 65
Time: 8:41
Mph: 7.5 (The first 32.5 miles were at the blistering pace of 5 mph)
Terrain: mountainous – 2 passes Rainy Pass (4,855 feet) and Washington Pass (5,477 feet)
Vertical gain: 3,755 feet
Temperature High: 53
Temperature Low: 45
Lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich (2x) + a very late veggie burrito at the Mazama Store
Dinner: pizza
Weather: rain showers
Lodging: KOA Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 191
Miles to Go: about 4,209
Projected Distance: 4,400

It’s funny how one can forget the really difficult parts of an expedition ride after 3 years. The ride up Rainy Pass seemed to go on forever and I just couldn’t get beyond 3-4 mph in general. One of our riders ended up walking most of the hills which meant walking most of the day.

Diablo Lake

On the Way to Rainy Pass

As we ascended the mountain road, the temperature got colder and there were a fair number of showers. By the time I arrived that the first pass (6 hours after starting) it was difficult to stay warm. I had run out of water, but fortunately a couple drove up and were happy to share the extra water they had.

The Rig and The Rider

There was snow at the top of both passes – it wasn’t on the road but all along the sides. That couple I mentioned had a very cute black lab dog that got out of the car and was rolling around on its back with great fervor.

This reminded me of the two college-age women from 3 years who stopped their car at the same spot and were also rolling around on their backs in the snow. They had bikinis. The dog was cute, but not THAT cute!

Rainy Pass Visitor -- Canadian Jay

The descent into Mazama was as I remembered – all downhill for 20 miles more or less. Fortunately the store in that town was open even though I walked through the door at 6:05, they were willing and happy to make me a coffee and provide me with a fine veggie burrito. This gave me enough energy to go the last 20 miles into Winthrop.

9 June Wednesday Concrete, WA – Newhalem, WA

2010-06-11T20:03:00.004-04:00

Starting Point: Concrete, WA
Ending Point: Newhalem, WA
Via: Rockport, Marblemount
Mileage: 46.5
Time: 7:24
Mph: 6.3
Terrain: very hilly
Vertical gain: 2,175 feet
Temperature High: 59
Temperature Low: 52
Lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich (2x), soup
Dinner: pasta, veggies and tuna; fruit compote
Weather: rain
Lodging: Colonial Creek Campground (National Park Service)
Cumulative Mileage: 126
Miles to Go: about 4,296
Projected Distance: 4,400

Since we were west of the passes in the North Cascades National Park, it is to be expected that there would be rain. We were incredibly lucky to have not had rain on day #1. Combined with wet weather we were going to start going uphill. This combination can challenge even the hardiest of adventurers. At Rockport, there was a store that had heavenly hot chocolate with whipped cream. Along with the tasty revivifying snack there was good conversation with the woman who was working there, her friend and another young woman who came in.

View from Colonial Creek Campground

At first there was talk of hunting bear in the area. This made me wonder about any encounters between those ursine beings and Homo sapiens. Apparently these bear were not for personal eating; once killed they had to be brought to the ranger station who would then (if one is believe such a story) deliver them to the local prison as prison food. The other young woman had a long story about a male friend. The conversation involved the use of the word, “like”, at least once in every sentence. She was wondering if he had been stalking her.
I suppose that when one is riding in the rain, one takes one’s entertainment wherever it may be found.

Lush Mossy Trees at Campsite

     I had been hoping that we would be able to stay in Bunkhouse #13 as we did in 2007. The day would have been shorter and the sleeping arrangements much more comfortable. It was not to be. This made me realize just how lucky we were to be able to secure those accommodations 3 years ago. I did stop at the store by that area because I was cold and wet and needed something hot to eat. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches just don’t do it when it’s raining. I was able to secure and heat up a can of minestrone soup. The deliciousness was just marvelous. The proprietor had already given a large serving of fudge, gratis, to the rest of the group who had already passed by. So that was something to look forward to.
     I dreaded going to Colonial Creek Campground because I knew that it wouldn’t be possible to take a shower. What I hadn’t anticipated was that a shower would be unnecessary – we were already wet for the entire day.
     At our site we had a lot of interested chipmunks as visitors. They were virtually fearless and would come right up to our bicycles, panniers and trailers.

8 June, Tuesday Anacortes, WA – Concrete, WA

2010-06-11T19:21:00.007-04:00

Starting Point: Anacortes, WA
Ending Point: Concrete, WA
Via: Bay View, Sedro-Woolley
Mileage: 57.7
Time: 7:09
Mph: 8.1
Terrain: moderately hilly
Vertical gain: 415 feet
Temperature High: 73
Temperature Low: 62
Lunch: almonds, Twinkies, Gatorade, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, hummus/avocado/Swiss cheese sandwich
Dinner: couscous spicy chicken
Weather: sunny
Lodging: Eagle’s Nest Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 79
Miles to Go: about 4,343
Projected Distance: 4,400

As always with a major effort looming I have great trepidation. While awaiting the start and the first pedal stroke, I’m washed over with the enormity of what I’m about to do. This never happens in the planning stage or in the stage where I’m revealing my project to others. It strikes only at the actual event. In some ways it’s not unlike what happens to athletes before competitions where nervousness and many trips to the restroom reign. Even though I’ve done this route twice there is no diminishing effect on the power of this doubt. Søren Kierkegård had a relevant title, “Fear and Trembling.”

Left: Skagit River between Sedro-Woolley - Concrete

The most striking idea is that we were about to leave the ocean and not see another ocean until September 2nd. As I’m a sea lover, that is a long time.

The start was certainly made much easier because it was a fine sunny day. I spent most of the day riding alone reveling in the beautiful temperate rainforest-like wilderness. Along the Skagit River were many tiny waterfalls feeding the river. Along these waterfalls, were large clumps of lady ferns. These are delicate ferns with many small very light green tendrils extending from the stem.
The day was definitely very long and exhausting. Kate had suggested that I just need more Vitamin I (Ibuprofen). Extra-Strength Tylenol did the trick to some degree.

Eagle's Nest Campground

Monday, June 7 - Shakedown-Ride

2010-06-11T18:57:00.011-04:00

Starting Point: Anacortes, WA
Ending Point: Anacortes, WA
Via:
Mileage: 22
Time: 2:46
Mph: 7.8
Terrain: very hilly
Vertical gain: 1,502 feet
Temperature High: 65
Temperature Low: 55
Lunch: cheese sandwich, PB&J sandwich, apple
Dinner: rice and tofu, pie and salad
Weather: sunny
Lodging: last night at San Juan Motel before camping starts
Cumulative Mileage: 22
Miles to Go: about 4,378
Projected Distance: 4,400

     The shake-down ride is designed to 1) encourage riders to send stuff home and 2) reveal any major mechanical problems before starting the ride eastward. Fidalgo Island where Anacortes is located is definitely hillier than any coastal area around Brunswick and every slope reminds this cyclist, and certainly all others in my group, that every ounce of extra weight is being hauled up the hill by pedaling. If I could avoid maintaining a BLOG, I could forego hauling a computer and all its extra paraphernalia.

          Fidalgo Island Garden

     Right now there are 11 in the group. There is a co-leader who will leave us in Whitefish, MT. It’s not totally clear to me why she is here, but my guess is that she is assisting a new young leader to get settled in and confident in all the aspects of being a leader.

Wheel-Dipping Ceremony Visitor

Rear Wheel Dipping Ceremony in the Pacific Ocean

We took a short-ish ride from our motel to Bowman Bay State Park. The view there gave me a much clearer sense of being at the ocean. Though it was probably just Peugeot Sound, it gave the impression that we were looking at open water. In previous trips we rode to place that was more of a sheltered cove where one could see an island right off shore with no view of open water at all. As we were lining up to do the ceremonial rear wheel dipping, there were various kayak guides who came over wondering where we were headed. Only briefly did I entertain the idea that maybe kayaking in the area would be a lot easier than what I was about to embark upon.

Present at the wheel-dipping ceremony (from left): John "Giovanni" Stephens (Santa Fe, NM), Joe Loviska, Leader (Seattle, WA), Dean Swoboda (Glendale, AZ), John "Dusty" Samouce (Conner, MT), Chris de Saint-Croix (Soda Springs, CA), me and Dolores McKeough(New York, NY).Of the 11 in the group, 8 made it to the state park. The others had missed the turn and gone directly to Deception Pass. On the left is the photo of all of us. Added to Dan Tamaroff(San Antonio, TX) and Dan Neidegger (Auburn, WA). It wasn’t until all of us went there when we were able to have a real group photo. Deception Pass is a narrow inlet with a bridge high above and it has a wonderful view of the fast-moving water below and the ocean just beyond the edge of the pass. Our riders spent a good half-hour exploring around the bridge. Most had never seen the area.
One very surprising aspect of today was my speed. For some reason I just didn’t have any oomph. It could have something to do with the fact that my trailer is now fully loaded. In training I had filled the trailer with tents and a couple of good-sized logs from our wood supply. It seemed like that should have been enough. It wasn’t.

2010-06-06T17:55:00.002-04:00