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Lisle, IL to La Porte, Indiana Yuck! Today was no fun. It was a long day - I clocked 112 miles. I knew it would be a long day, so I got ready to leave early. Unfortunately I was greeted with a flat front tire. Of course I haven't had many, so I didn't mind and I was still in camp. However, my spare tube had a large rip in it and I couldn't use it. I repatched the tube on the tire and took off. Over the next 3 hours I managed to make 10 miles and take off the tire 4 or 5 times. I had no spare and finally the tube tore at the valve stem. I was out of luck. I was parked at a local K-Mart, but they had no tubes my size. Finally a biker - who was leaving even later than I stopped and gave me a spare tube. Yea! I was on my way. The Windy City lived up to its name. We had a fierce headwind for the first 30 miles. This was compounded by being in the suburbs, passing strip mall after strip mall, for the first 60 miles of the ride. Naturally there was a huge amount of traffic on the road, and little of it was friendly to bikers. I was happy to finally arrive at the Indiana state line. There we were welcomed by heat and high humidity, which was coupled with narrow, potholed roads. Things were not looking up, but at least the headwind was now a sidewind. On a day like today I tried to find the silver lining wherever I could. At mile 80 I almost "hit the wall." I had been taking lots of fluids, but apparently I needed even more. I sat in a daze and rested for a while at one of the interim pit stops that had some cold water. It saved me and revived me, but I wasn't going very fast after that. I must admit that I didn't pay much attention to the scenery today. I was far too busy watching the road and checking traffic. I suspect that tomorrow will be much better - especially because we will be out of the Chicago area and not have to worry about urban riding. This was a hard day - something with which almost everyone agrees. For me it was the first so-so day of the whole trip. It wasn't much fun, but it is over. That's all for today. I need to go eat and sleep. I'm pooped. Later ... rkw | |||
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La Porte, Indiana to Kendallville, IN Today was a flat day. Both the topography was flat and so was my tire. I at least made 30 miles of a 100 mile day before having my first flat of the day. Sighh. I kept patching the inner tubes that I carried with me, but they wouldn't keep air. Finally, at mile 50 I stopped in Goshen (or rather went off the route to get to it). There I splurged and bought a new front tire. It had been on the back for most of the trip and was pretty worn. It lasted 2653 miles. I guess that's not too bad. I had a propoer burial ceremony for it. Overall, even with the delays, the day was wonderful. We were on very small, back country Indiana roads (which also means that in many places they were washboarded and rough as could be). But, rolling through the fields was quite a relief from the nerve wracking ride the day before. For the second half of the route we were traveling through Mennonite and Amish country. I met and passed a dozen or more horse and buggy. In places I watched a number of men pitching hay on horse-drawn wagons. It looked like a lot more work than I was doing. It was very hot (again) and there was no break from the sun until I got to camp. However, about 16 miles from camp there was a very inviting lake beside the road. I dove in with several other riders and it served as a great break in the day. The lake was warm, but felt much cooler than the surrounding air. Our camping spot is very nice. We're in a local camping area beside a large lake. Yep, as soon as I arrived I dove into the lake (and I think just about every other rider did as well). Indiana did an exceptional job today. It didn't storm on u s, we has a tailwind for most of the day. Now, if only the Department of Transportation will do something about the roads, we'll be set. In any case, today was a very welcome change to yesterday. Time to go eat. That's all for today. Later ... rkw | |||
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Kendallville, IN to Napoleon, Ohio Barry and Cathy:Here's today's report. Sorry. I've forgotten how many days I've been on the road. It seems like I've been biking across the country. It was humid, but cool. Humid in the sense that it rained on me for the first two hours. That was fine, because I was already soaked from a spectacular lightning and thunderstorm the night before. My tent didn't leak, but I went into the town to find a phone to finally reach my family (who should be safely ensconced in Houston by now, but to no avail). On the way back it started raining in earnest and I was soaked. That made today laundry day. The ride in, despite the rain, was very nice. We had a tailwind most of the way. We also said hello to Ohio, my 10th state this ride. Only two more to go before we hit DC (and I may just ride over into Virginia so I can claim 13). Ohio was a welcome change from Indiana - suddenly the roads improved by 200 percent. The scenery also changed a bit Where we are now traveling the area i s very flat and the fields seem to stretch for miles and miles. I can't see as far as in Montana or South Dakota. There are too many trees that periodically break up the stretch of the fields. There wasn't much color today - it was too washed out by the c l ouds. However, it is clear that the farmers were excited by the rain. So long as the rain is warm, I don't mind. The ride went very quickly - only 70 miles today. If we hadn't entered the Eastern time zone, I would have been in Napolean by noon. This has g i ven me some time to do some exploring and to clean all of my wet clothes. The sun keeps trying to break through, but there is promise of more rain tonight. I'll stick to my tent and try to stay dry. That's all for today. More corn, soy beans and hay. Later ... rkw | |||
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Napoleon, Ohio to Sandusky, OH Today the weather gods smiled on us. Although we had a torrential rainfall during the night, the sky was cloudless in the morning (although the haze was very thick). During the day we had strong tailwinds, light scattered clouds and low 80 degree temperatures. As well, the roads were very nice. Even though we were on small one and a half lane farm roads, we couldn't have asked for much better riding conditions. Today we saw more corn and soybeans. Of course, there were two real highlights. The first was passing near the Heinz Catsup factory. Indeed the odor wafting down the road was catsup. The second was stopping at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum. The grounds on which the house and the museum are located are wonderful. Apparently the Hayes' made more than a few dollars before and after the Civil War. The grounds are dotted with huge oak and hickory trees that are more than 150 years old. Many of the trees were named after guests who stayed at the mansion. I neglected to go into the research library part of the grounds. On the other hand, dressed as I was, they might have been very skeptical that I was an academic. Of course, many of my colleagues share the same concerns - even when I'm not in my biking clothes. Tonight we are in Sandusky (or properly we're in Cedar Point). Nearby is a large amusement park with 8 different roller coasters. I think I'll find something else to do tonight. Tomorrow is a day off. It'll be nice not to have to get up at the crack of dawn. We've been riding for six days and I think I need to take some time off. We're almost to DC. Only 9 more days. That's all. Time to go check out the area. Later ... rkw | |||
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Sandusky, OH Today was a day off and I took the entire day off. The morning was spent in a pleasant coffee shop. It was nice to have great coffee again. I spent the time working on a proposal with my old graduate student. It at least reminded me that I still have a mind and am not simply a stomach with legs for pedaling. During the afternoon I found a local winery and managed to sample just about everything they carried. I was surprised at a couple of the wines - they had some character and weren't too bad. In the late afternoon I simply sat in a park overlooking Sandusky Bay. I had some fresh bread, some cheese, olives and some wine. I finished most of a silly science fiction novel and watched the fish jumping in the water. It was very relaxing. | |||
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Sandusky, OH to Chagrin, OH Today was mixed riding. The first 45 miles were along Lake Erie. There were some great beaches along the way, but it was too cool and cloudy to stop and take a dip. Even so, some of the scenes were very pretty. The remaining 30 miles of the ride were in urban traffic. We traveled through downtown Cleveland. The highlights were Jacobs field, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (which I stepped into, but did not tour) and University Circle. When in University Circle I stopped at the Art Museum. It has a fabulous collection, including two huge "water lilies" by Monet, a fine collection of Greek and Roman sculpture and some impressive contemporary pieces. I spent a long time walking through it. It was very nice to be in cool, quiet surroundings after dodging traffic on the road. The remainder of the ride was nice, but nervewracking on occasion. I only got lost a couple of time trying to thread my way through Cleveland. I know I could never retrace the route. Tonight we are camping on the Polo grounds in Chagrin, which is south and east of Cleveland. The grounds are beautiful. We have left the flatland and are back into rolling hills. The houses that are tucked away around here are on very large tracts and the houses are good sized as well. We'll have to be on our best behavior here. That's all for today. Tomorrow promises to be a short ride. | |||
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