Thursday, September 29, 2011
A change of plans
So instead of biking to maine, we will now be riding to Boston, The details will be coming in the next two days. Thank you for following us on our adventures
Upstate new york is notthing your hear about back in portland. Its always the "Big Apple" that is brought into the portlanders mind to travel. After our ride to Rochester, I feel a need to inform the west coast of a peaceful, beautiful, and kind area of New York. We rode a bike trail that followes the Erie Canel for 200 miles. On the way we stayed at three diffrent towns, each almost identical in aperrance. Hank's Dad grew up in rochester new york and planned for us to stay with his old friends from his college days, with the oppurtunity to stay in a house with a warm shower got us very excited. Riding away from the peace of no motor vechiels, we headed onto a main street and towards lake ontario. where we planned to meet Ed's friends.
We climbed up and down rollers, a fast coast into a hard pedal up the hills, north we road, heading towards Hank's Dad's friends. Upon arriving we found an empty house, wondering towards the back the hung out and waited for the owners. Staring at long pond and relaxing for 5 mintues we heard a load scream, " oh my god, they are here!". Martha ran down the stairs and gave us each a hug. Tim walked down the stairs after Martha and invited us inside. after our intrductions, we walked inside and found huge leather couches that attracted us, almost more than the showers and laundry. Tim walked inside with a 12 pack of creme ale, apparently a memory of hank's dad. Soon the food begun to simmer, boil, fry, and broil. Gathering around the diner table we drooled over the home cooked meal of grilled steak, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, sauted mushrooms and steamed broocli covered in a swiss cheese. Can we ask for more, no! beau and charles sat for an hour trying to finish everything while thier stomaches complained about the task. Later in the night we got excited to watch the very new two and a half men, with Ashton Kuther, follwed by the roast of charlie sheen. Tim and Martha stayed awake as long as they could, and drank probably more than they should of, but the night ended well, and we all were happy to have a rest day with martha, a lake, and a couple of kayaks.
We woke very late, all of us sprawled over the house, tim left for work early, and the Grand children came soon after. We woke to the kids asking thier grandmother who we were, and if we were nice. Playing thier secrect agent games as we slept, doing thier best not to wake us, we soon crawled from our slumber. A kid dressed as batman, and another as spider man, had us running around, shooting laser beams at them as we toasted our bagles. Once they got use to the big kids, we sat down and played with playdo for a couple of hours. As charles and beau made sculptures hank and donald headed out on the kayaks, paddling into the silence of a quiet lake. Soaking in the freedom and calmness of the water we waddled around the lake. Relaxing for the day we got ready to head out for the day following. A 40 miles day should shake off the laziness and get us back into shape. So we hope...
In Rochester Tim and Martha showed me my Fathers stoping grounds, the house he grew up in, the high school he atended, and the bars he drank at, and some very great stories. Dad, dont worry, they wouldnt tell me the good stories, they said that the good ones would be left for you to tell me. A parent feel, and kindness made us not wanting to leave, but the ride must continue and so we had to leave. A sad face, wrinkles in a frown, and not wanting to mounts our bikes, we did just that, riding off in the distance we rode, upstate new york awaited.
We climbed up and down rollers, a fast coast into a hard pedal up the hills, north we road, heading towards Hank's Dad's friends. Upon arriving we found an empty house, wondering towards the back the hung out and waited for the owners. Staring at long pond and relaxing for 5 mintues we heard a load scream, " oh my god, they are here!". Martha ran down the stairs and gave us each a hug. Tim walked down the stairs after Martha and invited us inside. after our intrductions, we walked inside and found huge leather couches that attracted us, almost more than the showers and laundry. Tim walked inside with a 12 pack of creme ale, apparently a memory of hank's dad. Soon the food begun to simmer, boil, fry, and broil. Gathering around the diner table we drooled over the home cooked meal of grilled steak, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, sauted mushrooms and steamed broocli covered in a swiss cheese. Can we ask for more, no! beau and charles sat for an hour trying to finish everything while thier stomaches complained about the task. Later in the night we got excited to watch the very new two and a half men, with Ashton Kuther, follwed by the roast of charlie sheen. Tim and Martha stayed awake as long as they could, and drank probably more than they should of, but the night ended well, and we all were happy to have a rest day with martha, a lake, and a couple of kayaks.
We woke very late, all of us sprawled over the house, tim left for work early, and the Grand children came soon after. We woke to the kids asking thier grandmother who we were, and if we were nice. Playing thier secrect agent games as we slept, doing thier best not to wake us, we soon crawled from our slumber. A kid dressed as batman, and another as spider man, had us running around, shooting laser beams at them as we toasted our bagles. Once they got use to the big kids, we sat down and played with playdo for a couple of hours. As charles and beau made sculptures hank and donald headed out on the kayaks, paddling into the silence of a quiet lake. Soaking in the freedom and calmness of the water we waddled around the lake. Relaxing for the day we got ready to head out for the day following. A 40 miles day should shake off the laziness and get us back into shape. So we hope...
In Rochester Tim and Martha showed me my Fathers stoping grounds, the house he grew up in, the high school he atended, and the bars he drank at, and some very great stories. Dad, dont worry, they wouldnt tell me the good stories, they said that the good ones would be left for you to tell me. A parent feel, and kindness made us not wanting to leave, but the ride must continue and so we had to leave. A sad face, wrinkles in a frown, and not wanting to mounts our bikes, we did just that, riding off in the distance we rode, upstate new york awaited.
Oh, Canada!!
"Jumping Jesus! Portland? My God, I remember Portland, was there back in the 70's. Driving around and didn't know more than a dog knows about his dad. So how has it been fella's,?" Our first conversation in Ontario Canada was a great begining to the rest to happen after. The owner of a small gift store in Sombra, a gentleman in his late 60's sat in a chair behind his desk, looking up at us, his eyes still light with a spark of youth, he kept speaking in a rapid jumble of words and phrases. "You guys just crossed the good ol' blue ferry? A good boat there eh?" The rest of his words passed our ears, as we smiled and just wanted to exchange our American currency for some Canadain Cash. We finally got our money exchanged and hurried out of the store. Outside we looked around, Canada, finally here and we have no clue where to go. Riding north along the river we found a campsite were we set up camp and got ready to celebrate our arrival in our first province and out of our 7th state.
From Sombra we rode south and slightly east to the coast of Lake Erie. The ride was no different from another, the usual farm after farm, mile after mile of corn crops. The scenrey finally started to turn into a flush green spread thought the country side. A fimalar sight that brought back memories off home. We finally have learned to avoid if possiable, and if not possiable to spend as little time as we can in any big city. Which we accomplished in Wallecburg. By the end of the day we rode over a hill and got our sight on the third Great Lake of our trip, Lake Eire. A deep teal "Ocean" layed out infront of us, out in the distance was no shore, but onloy where water meet sky. An amazing sight to see, a fathomless awe to behold.
For the remainder of our travels througout Canada we followed Lake Erie towards the east. The one thing that amazed me was the wind turbines scattered throughout the land along with solar pannels in every other farm. Something we never saw in America and that we see a huge advantage if so. We got blank stares when asking for the bathroom, but pointed in the right direction when asking for the washroom. 1000 eh's later, we took a look a look at our maps and realized that we would be going to Niagara Falls today.
Battleing headwinds up the river, we soon heard the load crash of water pouring off, making the glourious Niagara Falls. A spatuaclur sight to see. The best view was crowed with tourist from all over the world. After riding our bicyles for 4000, we all kinda felt like yelling just that and a "get out of our way!." Instead we polietly waited intill we could mange to shimmy our way into the better view. After a couple of beers we decided to cross into back into the good Ol' USA. Crossing back consitied of the usaull were are you from where are you going. After customs we made our way to an Indain Buffet, which ended up with us moaning and complaining about deciding to eat at a buffet as we rode towards the KOA for camp. On our way we decided that a motel would be just as expensive and checked into one on the way.
Today we road out to niagara where Charles, Beau's brother would be meeting us to join us on our ride to Maine. Seeing a familar face was very strange and exciting. We watied for him at a gift shop that displayed the "barrels" that were used by insane people to go over the falls. Why they wanted to, I have no idea, the fact that they did it, pretty cool. After an hour of fantizing about making our own "barrel" we say a grey hound bus pull up. Walking outside we saw the beautiful, bearded, goofy, and smiling charles unpacking his bike. We all circled around him as he assembled his ride for the next two weeks. After showing the new biking member niagara falls we headed back to camp and rested for our ride for the day following.
From Sombra we rode south and slightly east to the coast of Lake Erie. The ride was no different from another, the usual farm after farm, mile after mile of corn crops. The scenrey finally started to turn into a flush green spread thought the country side. A fimalar sight that brought back memories off home. We finally have learned to avoid if possiable, and if not possiable to spend as little time as we can in any big city. Which we accomplished in Wallecburg. By the end of the day we rode over a hill and got our sight on the third Great Lake of our trip, Lake Eire. A deep teal "Ocean" layed out infront of us, out in the distance was no shore, but onloy where water meet sky. An amazing sight to see, a fathomless awe to behold.
For the remainder of our travels througout Canada we followed Lake Erie towards the east. The one thing that amazed me was the wind turbines scattered throughout the land along with solar pannels in every other farm. Something we never saw in America and that we see a huge advantage if so. We got blank stares when asking for the bathroom, but pointed in the right direction when asking for the washroom. 1000 eh's later, we took a look a look at our maps and realized that we would be going to Niagara Falls today.
Battleing headwinds up the river, we soon heard the load crash of water pouring off, making the glourious Niagara Falls. A spatuaclur sight to see. The best view was crowed with tourist from all over the world. After riding our bicyles for 4000, we all kinda felt like yelling just that and a "get out of our way!." Instead we polietly waited intill we could mange to shimmy our way into the better view. After a couple of beers we decided to cross into back into the good Ol' USA. Crossing back consitied of the usaull were are you from where are you going. After customs we made our way to an Indain Buffet, which ended up with us moaning and complaining about deciding to eat at a buffet as we rode towards the KOA for camp. On our way we decided that a motel would be just as expensive and checked into one on the way.
Today we road out to niagara where Charles, Beau's brother would be meeting us to join us on our ride to Maine. Seeing a familar face was very strange and exciting. We watied for him at a gift shop that displayed the "barrels" that were used by insane people to go over the falls. Why they wanted to, I have no idea, the fact that they did it, pretty cool. After an hour of fantizing about making our own "barrel" we say a grey hound bus pull up. Walking outside we saw the beautiful, bearded, goofy, and smiling charles unpacking his bike. We all circled around him as he assembled his ride for the next two weeks. After showing the new biking member niagara falls we headed back to camp and rested for our ride for the day following.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
day 80- 85
hiding from the rain, we sit inside a warm hotel room, our bikes and clothes spread across the room, a thick musky smell rises from our feet and belongings filling the room from brick wall to brick wall. Sprawled on the beds, we mindlessly stare at the t.v. It is still a little unreal to us that Canada sits right across the river that the Inn sits on. The last half of Michigan flew by, from the Cafe in Clare (the city of the last blog update) to midland, to bay city, to a small campground near fairgrove, to Emmet KOA, to marine city. Sitting on the edge of our seventh state and staring at our first province, the excitement of Canada preempts the memories of the last half of Michigan. I will give a brief summary of our days from Clare to our comfortable hotel on the boarder.
The ride from clare to Midland was strictly on a awesome bike path called the Pere Marqutte Trail. An old railroad tracks turned into a non-motorized multi use path labeled Rails to Trails. A brilliant system sprouting all over the country. 28 miles with a nice tailwind brought us to a pizza joint in Midland, where the employs gave us each two free t-shirts to advertise on our way to Maine. Riding through town we started to notice large troll decorations placed in the gardens on every corner of downtown. We found a nice camping spot hidden a forest next to a river.
We woke up to the worst rain we have had on the trip so far. Pounding hard on our tents, we fell back to sleep. Waking up at 2pm we called a rest day. Eating alot and stretching our legs we had a good relaxing day.
Bay city sits right on Lake Huron, the largest lake in the world, if you dont include oceanic lakes (Caspain Sea would be the largest if so). At the camp we were invited over by our next door campers for sloppy joes. Later in the night one of the men brought over hot dogs, and a couple of logs to make a fire. We quickly grabbed kindling from the forest but found it useless as he rushed back with his a pair of his wifes underwear. Slightly confused, it soon made sense as he drenched the underwear in gasoline and made our fire, telling us not to let his old lady know about her underwear being lite on fire. The family was awsome, continually bring food over through the night and offering coffee in the morning.
The two days to the Emmett campground were very uneventful. We camped at a small campground the day before the KOA. On our way to the Emmet campground we meet a fellow cyclist, his only luggage was a bag on his rear rack. He was a true minimalist. Finding that he started in Seatlle a month ago, we figured he rode around the same milage as us, just didnt take the two week break in minneapolis. At the campsite we offered for him to stay with us so he would't have to pay 20 for a site.
Rain is no fun to ride in. 40 miles in the pouring cold droplets that pounded on us made for a very quite ride as we held our heads down and pedaled hard. We finally hit St.Clair and got our first glismpe of Canada. At the Burger King we called all the local Hotels, getting dry and having a nice warm shower was to tempting. And here we sit, watching South Park and ordering Pizza. (I apologize for the short posts, the T.V is very, very distracting)
The ride from clare to Midland was strictly on a awesome bike path called the Pere Marqutte Trail. An old railroad tracks turned into a non-motorized multi use path labeled Rails to Trails. A brilliant system sprouting all over the country. 28 miles with a nice tailwind brought us to a pizza joint in Midland, where the employs gave us each two free t-shirts to advertise on our way to Maine. Riding through town we started to notice large troll decorations placed in the gardens on every corner of downtown. We found a nice camping spot hidden a forest next to a river.
We woke up to the worst rain we have had on the trip so far. Pounding hard on our tents, we fell back to sleep. Waking up at 2pm we called a rest day. Eating alot and stretching our legs we had a good relaxing day.
Bay city sits right on Lake Huron, the largest lake in the world, if you dont include oceanic lakes (Caspain Sea would be the largest if so). At the camp we were invited over by our next door campers for sloppy joes. Later in the night one of the men brought over hot dogs, and a couple of logs to make a fire. We quickly grabbed kindling from the forest but found it useless as he rushed back with his a pair of his wifes underwear. Slightly confused, it soon made sense as he drenched the underwear in gasoline and made our fire, telling us not to let his old lady know about her underwear being lite on fire. The family was awsome, continually bring food over through the night and offering coffee in the morning.
The two days to the Emmett campground were very uneventful. We camped at a small campground the day before the KOA. On our way to the Emmet campground we meet a fellow cyclist, his only luggage was a bag on his rear rack. He was a true minimalist. Finding that he started in Seatlle a month ago, we figured he rode around the same milage as us, just didnt take the two week break in minneapolis. At the campsite we offered for him to stay with us so he would't have to pay 20 for a site.
Rain is no fun to ride in. 40 miles in the pouring cold droplets that pounded on us made for a very quite ride as we held our heads down and pedaled hard. We finally hit St.Clair and got our first glismpe of Canada. At the Burger King we called all the local Hotels, getting dry and having a nice warm shower was to tempting. And here we sit, watching South Park and ordering Pizza. (I apologize for the short posts, the T.V is very, very distracting)
Friday, September 2, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
day 76 to 78
The past four days in Michigan have been wonderful. From the scenery and vegetation to the people and towns. We left ludington a little late, forcing us to make a shortcut to our campground for the night. The woods started to get thick and very green. Rolling hills stood in our as we cycled to Leisure Time Campground. Sitting outside as we all re-grouped we spotted a cyclist walking towards. He hopped over the fence still in his spandex, reaching us his first words, "its quite expensive here." He was silent as we asked him how much, staring at the campsite for a while he turned and faced us " you usually can bargin the price down but I'm a little to tired." the campground host came walking out asking if he could help us. Hank asked for a site that could fit all five of us. The health department only allows two tents per site, even though we could easily fit ten. He said he could make a deal with us if we got two site. Talking it over amongst ourselves, he made the deal for us and said " what the health department doesn't know doesn't hurt them" and allowed us to have one site. That was easy...the couple came over later in the night to chat with us. They were on a world bike tour. starting in New Zealand than to L.A, up the pacific, across the northern tier, than to Europe to ride to china. Some of us were extremely jealous and inspired by their journey. Warren, the guy talking to us before said that in the states, everyone they encountered have been extremely nice, giving them money, food places to stay. Saying that you would never find that in Europe, he said we have something very special here in the states, something to be very proud of. (At least we have that :) ) Thinking back on the trip, he is indeed right, the people and culture here have been amazing in many ways towards us. We do have something to be proud about and hope it continues throughout our trip, and even after than.
The following day we made it to Luther. Around 30 miles, the group was moving really slow as a couple of us were a couple miles ahead riding around 8mph waiting for the others. With 50 miles to the next campground, daylight would not of made it possible. Once again the negotiation of a discount on a campsite was easy, getting on campsite for only 20 dollars, showers included. The ended early as the clouds grew thick over head.
Waking to rain, we covered ourselves in our rain equipment and got to it. Packing up as quickly as possible. By the 5th mile the sky cleared and we were sweating once again, stripping layers every 500 feet. Making it to Lake George we stayed at the local campground, taking showers, reading, and cooking up chili dogs.
The following day we made it to Luther. Around 30 miles, the group was moving really slow as a couple of us were a couple miles ahead riding around 8mph waiting for the others. With 50 miles to the next campground, daylight would not of made it possible. Once again the negotiation of a discount on a campsite was easy, getting on campsite for only 20 dollars, showers included. The ended early as the clouds grew thick over head.
Waking to rain, we covered ourselves in our rain equipment and got to it. Packing up as quickly as possible. By the 5th mile the sky cleared and we were sweating once again, stripping layers every 500 feet. Making it to Lake George we stayed at the local campground, taking showers, reading, and cooking up chili dogs.
day 74 75
74
another time change in michagian, had us waking up at 9:30 instead of our usual 8:30. Scrambling to pack up our gear before a camp staff member finds us camped out in the middle of a trail, we got ready to hit town for breakfast and figure out just how many days Minneapolis put us back on our shcedual. Splitting up, three of us went to subway, our usaul breakfast stop, while Hank and Beau went to a nearbye cafe for a good homemade omlete. Since we took a more straight shot through wisconsin, we have nbeen off the planned Adventure cycling planned route. Grateful to be back on the maps for they took away the stresses of finding good roads to ride on, where to camp, the nearest town, and bike shop, we took a look at just how many miles we have left to accomplish. 1300 miles are ahead of us, not alot since we have already acomplished 3000. Deciding to take a nice break in Ludington we stayed at the cafe for about 2 hours, and then hoped over to the nearest bar for a couple of beers and blog. On our way a cyclist passed us and turned around to talk, we all scrambled away, tired of the same constant questions and answers. Evan got traped as she started to talk about how she sttempted to conqure the southern tier, but quite with hopes to try it agian. Offering us dinner, we declined because we needed to catch up on our blog, she quickly starterd to dig into her backback and pullked out money for us, Evan said it was to much and that we were fine on money. She insistied on helping fellow bikers and told us she was buying us a beer. We gave in and headed to the Blue Moon tavern for our beers and homework(Blogging). They bartender, a very friendly freespoken woman demanded that she was to be put into our blog. Here you go Annette, thank you for the laughs and the beers! We found the local beach and great place to sleep. Right on the beach by the ocean like lake and under the bright stars, we made a nice temperpedic bed out of the sand and drifted to sleep with the waves crashing onto eachother.
75
Once again we woke up late...This time 11'oclock. Minneapolis still has her claws on us, we decided to stay one more night in Ludington, hoping to finish the blog, venture through town and go swimming. Visiting the same restraurnats, the same stores and riding through the same streets we headed for the lake. Today's weather made for a great day to take a dip. Running through the sand like a group of teenage girls, giggling and pushing eachother we jumped into lake and amazed by the tides. Body surfing and wave jumping for a couple of hours got a little tiring. Hungry, we headed to grab lunch. Devoring our meals in no more than 5 minutes we decided to call it a day and sleep on the beach once agian.
another time change in michagian, had us waking up at 9:30 instead of our usual 8:30. Scrambling to pack up our gear before a camp staff member finds us camped out in the middle of a trail, we got ready to hit town for breakfast and figure out just how many days Minneapolis put us back on our shcedual. Splitting up, three of us went to subway, our usaul breakfast stop, while Hank and Beau went to a nearbye cafe for a good homemade omlete. Since we took a more straight shot through wisconsin, we have nbeen off the planned Adventure cycling planned route. Grateful to be back on the maps for they took away the stresses of finding good roads to ride on, where to camp, the nearest town, and bike shop, we took a look at just how many miles we have left to accomplish. 1300 miles are ahead of us, not alot since we have already acomplished 3000. Deciding to take a nice break in Ludington we stayed at the cafe for about 2 hours, and then hoped over to the nearest bar for a couple of beers and blog. On our way a cyclist passed us and turned around to talk, we all scrambled away, tired of the same constant questions and answers. Evan got traped as she started to talk about how she sttempted to conqure the southern tier, but quite with hopes to try it agian. Offering us dinner, we declined because we needed to catch up on our blog, she quickly starterd to dig into her backback and pullked out money for us, Evan said it was to much and that we were fine on money. She insistied on helping fellow bikers and told us she was buying us a beer. We gave in and headed to the Blue Moon tavern for our beers and homework(Blogging). They bartender, a very friendly freespoken woman demanded that she was to be put into our blog. Here you go Annette, thank you for the laughs and the beers! We found the local beach and great place to sleep. Right on the beach by the ocean like lake and under the bright stars, we made a nice temperpedic bed out of the sand and drifted to sleep with the waves crashing onto eachother.
75
Once again we woke up late...This time 11'oclock. Minneapolis still has her claws on us, we decided to stay one more night in Ludington, hoping to finish the blog, venture through town and go swimming. Visiting the same restraurnats, the same stores and riding through the same streets we headed for the lake. Today's weather made for a great day to take a dip. Running through the sand like a group of teenage girls, giggling and pushing eachother we jumped into lake and amazed by the tides. Body surfing and wave jumping for a couple of hours got a little tiring. Hungry, we headed to grab lunch. Devoring our meals in no more than 5 minutes we decided to call it a day and sleep on the beach once agian.
73 Moving without pedaling
Throughout the trip we have had checkpoints, certain areas that standout and entice us in different and unique ways. The first being Sandpoint Idaho, followed by, Glacier National Park, Fargo North Dakota and Minneapolis. Reaching the next one today, we will be boarding the S.S Badger to take us across Lake Michigain. The four hour ride turns into 5 hours from the Eastern Time Zone, our final time change. We camped 25 miles away from Minitowoc, a quick hour and half ride brought us to the downtown of the lake city. We stopped at a local pub to pass the two hours in till the ferry left, choosing the first one we found we were surprised to be walking into the oldest house and bar in the whole town. Autographed pictures hung from the wall, all saying there thanks to the Stage Door, and how much they loved it. The Lady serving us was the second owner of the bar, which was built around the 1880's. Talking with her about the history of her building and our trip she turned on the news for us to watch as we enjoyed our Irish style beers. The weather channel instantly grabbed our attention as warnings of the east coast hurricane Irene was being brodcasted. As the news anchor was urging everyone in the area to stay inside and away from the beach, we quietly thought about the different historic events that we have encountered or have happened on this trip, from the Williston oil boom, to the flooding in Minot and now the first time New York City has been evacuated from a Hurricane. At least we have a month for the coastal cities to repair and clean from the aftermath. Realizing that we have to make our boat, we road down the street and to the harbor. A huge boat in the far distance floated towards us as we eagerly waited to board. The constant questions about who we are where we are from and were we are going to a little to repetitive. With the cars unloading from the ferry we watched the works drive the cars out and then sprint back to drive another from the belly of the boat. Finally it was our turn. Stacking our bikes under a stair well, we climbed to the upper deck and waved bye to Wisconsin. Finding a quite room, some of us slept others updated their journals, and some grabbed drinks from the bar. Four hours latter we rode off the boat and entered our 7th state, Michigan. After dinner we headed for a campsite in town, the road turned off into a gravel road leading to a dark creepy forest. Following the trail we gave up and found a nice spot to set up where hopefully no one would harass us.
72
Written by Beau
the sounds of a tractors engine woke us. As we stumbled out of our tents a hayride packed with sugar filled kids and an unenthused Yogie Bear rolled by. While packing up camp we all decided to wait for the water slide to open because we were unable to the day before. In the meantime breakfast sandwiches and bike matenice kept us busy; Hank and Kane switched their tires, evan re-wrapped his handlebars, and Beau adjusted his brakes. Two hours later it finally opened. All five of us were in our shorts and got ready for some childish fun. Little did we know it cost even more money for a wrist band to be able to go down the slide. Fortunately we had to walk up three flights of stairs to get to the top of the water slide. The kind little girl let us each go down the slide once versus having to walking down the stairs. we got our kicks then it was time to hit the road. A few short miles into the ride Donald got yet another flat. And a few more miles another one. We stopped in appleton for lunch. Appleton is a large town about twenty miles east of Fremont. Hank was in dire need of new clips for his shoes, for his current ones were useless. The traffic out of Appleton stop and go, stop and go. No good to keep a steady pace. but the terrain changed quickly into Wisconsin Country roads. We had planned to head all the way to minotowoc but the sun was going down quick and it still another twenty five miles there. Brillion became our nesting point for the evening. In brillion there was no camping so we found spot behind some grass tall enough to hid us and our tents.
the sounds of a tractors engine woke us. As we stumbled out of our tents a hayride packed with sugar filled kids and an unenthused Yogie Bear rolled by. While packing up camp we all decided to wait for the water slide to open because we were unable to the day before. In the meantime breakfast sandwiches and bike matenice kept us busy; Hank and Kane switched their tires, evan re-wrapped his handlebars, and Beau adjusted his brakes. Two hours later it finally opened. All five of us were in our shorts and got ready for some childish fun. Little did we know it cost even more money for a wrist band to be able to go down the slide. Fortunately we had to walk up three flights of stairs to get to the top of the water slide. The kind little girl let us each go down the slide once versus having to walking down the stairs. we got our kicks then it was time to hit the road. A few short miles into the ride Donald got yet another flat. And a few more miles another one. We stopped in appleton for lunch. Appleton is a large town about twenty miles east of Fremont. Hank was in dire need of new clips for his shoes, for his current ones were useless. The traffic out of Appleton stop and go, stop and go. No good to keep a steady pace. but the terrain changed quickly into Wisconsin Country roads. We had planned to head all the way to minotowoc but the sun was going down quick and it still another twenty five miles there. Brillion became our nesting point for the evening. In brillion there was no camping so we found spot behind some grass tall enough to hid us and our tents.
day 70 Ive got the magic in me
Waking yup in Stevens point was not like another day on the trip. We all woke up to a huge lawn mower right next to us, so we all packed up as fast as we could so the next time the lawn mower came around we would be gone. Before we could finish our breakfast Kane had already convinced us that he would pay for a cheap run down motel, so we can have and undeserved rest/laundry day. The motel was a small two bedroom, not a room you would want to fit 5 smelly guys and 5 bikes. After rearranging the motel to fit our bikes and gear, we headed to the local laundromat to was the STANK out of our clothes. As the smell was being washed out of our clothes we all looked for something to eat...Hank and Evan found a wonderful mcDonald's and the rest found another buffet. Hank and Evan returned to the motel rather earlier than Kane beau and Donald... they were taking their time at the buffet, about 2 hours went by before there was no room in their now bloated belly's. So they walked slow, hunched over holding their guts when they walked in they all flopped on the beds and complained about how much they ate. The stank had been washed into one half B.O and one half laundry detergent making for a interesting smell to say the least. After sitting around watching T.V we got the idea t go see a movie, we ended up seeing 30 min or less, with Aziz and Danny McBride. After the "stoner" flick and laugh riot came to a end they made their way to the gas stating to grab a 12 pack to bring back to the small hotel Once all the beer was gone Hank knew there was only one thing left to do. TACO BELL!! this was not the normal run of mill t-bell, it looked just any other taco bell, tasted the same, cashier was the same boring guy hating his job, but it was all of the other customers that made the night for us. About 50 college kids and one long bearded balding man where all playing magic cards. Yes, magic the game, other not so popular game...kinda like Pokemon's distant cousin that was adopted into the family. Anyways we looked around and had a quick ;laugh. we left with our 20 or so burritos and headed back to the motel to devour the poorly made food. After we ate all the taco bell as we possibly could, we passed out into our food coma.
71 yogie huh? yogie what? yogie Bear?
Waking yup in Stevens point was not like another day on the trip. We all woke up to a huge lawn mower right next to us, so we all packed up as fast as we could so the next time the lawn mower came around we would be gone. Before we could finish our breakfast Kane had already convinced us that he would pay for a cheap run down motel, so we can have and undeserved rest/laundry day. The motel was a small two bedroom, not a room you would want to fit 5 smelly guys and 5 bikes. After rearranging the motel to fit our bikes and gear, we headed to the local laundromat to was the STANK out of our clothes. As the smell was being washed out of our clothes we all looked for something to eat...Hank and Evan found a wonderful mcDonald's and the rest found another buffet. Hank and Evan returned to the motel rather earlier than Kane beau and Donald... they were taking their time at the buffet, about 2 hours went by before there was no room in their now bloated belly's. So they walked slow, hunched over holding their guts when they walked in they all flopped on the beds and complained about how much they ate. The stank had been washed into one half B.O and one half laundry detergent making for a interesting smell to say the least. After sitting around watching T.V we got the idea t go see a movie, we ended up seeing 30 min or less, with Aziz and Danny McBride. After the "stoner" flick and laugh riot came to a end they made their way to the gas stating to grab a 12 pack to bring back to the small hotel Once all the beer was gone Hank knew there was only one thing left to do. TACO BELL!! this was not the normal run of mill t-bell, it looked just any other taco bell, tasted the same, cashier was the same boring guy hating his job, but it was all of the other customers that made the night for us. About 50 college kids and one long bearded balding man where all playing magic cards. Yes, magic the game, other not so popular game...kinda like Pokemon's distant cousin that was adopted into the family. Anyways we looked around and had a quick ;laugh. we left with our 20 or so burritos and headed back to the motel to devour the poorly made food. After we ate all the taco bell as we possibly could, we passed out into our food coma.
71 yogie huh? yogie what? yogie Bear?
Once the food coma wore off we packed up our things and kinda cleaned up the motel...not to much though. When we finally stopped sitting around enjoying the last few moments we had to lay on a real bed we left the motel around11am...a pretty slow start since we should be use to waking up/ packing up by 8. 3 blocks later we found our selves in the local bike shop, looking for new cleats for Hank. We left campus cycles with free water bottles and finally hit the road. Our ride consisted with Donald racking up as many flat t;ires as he could possibly get. not literally but he did get four flats within the day. The tail winds made up for the misfortune of flats. With the 25 mph tail winds we made it weyauwega, 30 miles from Stevens point, in good time. As we sat around eating Subway we soon found out that the campsite that we planned to sleep at turned out just be a online camping store. A good 30 minutes passed before we stopped looking at our IPhone and asked a police officer where we could sleep. The closet place was 10 miles southeast in the town of Fremont. The Fremont campsite was like an amusement park mixed with a campsite. The pool had a 20ft water slide and this is the only reason we payed the stupid amount of money to stay there, also the whole campsite had the theme of Yogie Bear and jellystone park. we camped on the corner of Boo Boo drive, and Cindy bear ave. All we could say is that we are not in Oregon anymore. Wisconsin has the fake Jellystone and all we have is the enchanted Forest. 20 hot dogs later it was time for bed in Jellystone, hoping yogie wouldn't come in the dead of night and steal the food in our panniers.
Day 68/ 69
Written by Donald
We started out the morning wearily from falls creek grabbing a classy breakfast at the nearby gas station. Breakfast burritos filled with an almost creamy like egg mush, and sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits. before we tool off a lady drove up to us and asked if we needed anything for our ride, it was the 3rd person to offer us something Falls Creek. Great little town. As were getting closer to the east the weather has held up great, its got a bit cooler as well so were not waking up drenched in sweat. It was a smooth ride along highway 10 and with a short ride of about 30 miles we stopped the day early in a town called Nielsville. After grabbing lunch at Subway we hung out in a grassy area near the parking lot which slowly turned into a 45 min nap from such a long excruciating day. Once we slowly awoke one by one we decided to whine down the evening with a beer at the local bar. After watching football play being analysed from TV highlights, the bartender changed the channel and we were fortunate enough to have it switched to...The Proposal, that's right The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and that one guy who always gets unfitting roles and reminds you of the dude who didn't even know but hated in highschool. But none the less we watched the whole movie happily, which I guess cycling across a country at the point you'll find anything on TV somewhat amusing. Once the credits rolled an advertisement for Bridal Wars came up and we though it was time to leave. For what we thought a nearby campsite ended up being about 15 miles away and with the sun setting we though we would ride around the neighborhoods and try to find something closer, eventually finding a nice park on the side of the road which we luckily had no problems with. The following day we woke to another good day of weather and continued our ride along highway 10. The re-route through Wisconsin which has taken us through the center as opposed to the North has been great. Scenic and bike friendly. Continuing our ride we were also getting into Amish country which is defiantly something new to all of us. We started seeing carriage signs on the side of the roads and a couple of them parked in a big barn. Eventually we saw a large Amish family sitting out in their lawn and as we road by all heads turned and faced towards us. As much of an experience as the culture seemed to us I'm sure riding by they were just as curious. With a nice ride of about 60 miles we ended our day in which happened to be a pretty big college town called Stevens point. Our first stop was dinner at a local diner that had great food for cheap[ and after discussing our plans on where to camp we thought we would give another shot at stealth camping. Riding around we found a huge park with a luxurious playground set and even had a disk golf course right along the lake side. unfortunately we didn't get to play disk gold but we did happen to find the perfectly spot for all of our tents that was surrounded by large bushed and trees staying out of sight. We called it a day and found home for the evening. And after having a beer and stargazing we rested up for the riding to come tomorrow.
We started out the morning wearily from falls creek grabbing a classy breakfast at the nearby gas station. Breakfast burritos filled with an almost creamy like egg mush, and sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits. before we tool off a lady drove up to us and asked if we needed anything for our ride, it was the 3rd person to offer us something Falls Creek. Great little town. As were getting closer to the east the weather has held up great, its got a bit cooler as well so were not waking up drenched in sweat. It was a smooth ride along highway 10 and with a short ride of about 30 miles we stopped the day early in a town called Nielsville. After grabbing lunch at Subway we hung out in a grassy area near the parking lot which slowly turned into a 45 min nap from such a long excruciating day. Once we slowly awoke one by one we decided to whine down the evening with a beer at the local bar. After watching football play being analysed from TV highlights, the bartender changed the channel and we were fortunate enough to have it switched to...The Proposal, that's right The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and that one guy who always gets unfitting roles and reminds you of the dude who didn't even know but hated in highschool. But none the less we watched the whole movie happily, which I guess cycling across a country at the point you'll find anything on TV somewhat amusing. Once the credits rolled an advertisement for Bridal Wars came up and we though it was time to leave. For what we thought a nearby campsite ended up being about 15 miles away and with the sun setting we though we would ride around the neighborhoods and try to find something closer, eventually finding a nice park on the side of the road which we luckily had no problems with. The following day we woke to another good day of weather and continued our ride along highway 10. The re-route through Wisconsin which has taken us through the center as opposed to the North has been great. Scenic and bike friendly. Continuing our ride we were also getting into Amish country which is defiantly something new to all of us. We started seeing carriage signs on the side of the roads and a couple of them parked in a big barn. Eventually we saw a large Amish family sitting out in their lawn and as we road by all heads turned and faced towards us. As much of an experience as the culture seemed to us I'm sure riding by they were just as curious. With a nice ride of about 60 miles we ended our day in which happened to be a pretty big college town called Stevens point. Our first stop was dinner at a local diner that had great food for cheap[ and after discussing our plans on where to camp we thought we would give another shot at stealth camping. Riding around we found a huge park with a luxurious playground set and even had a disk golf course right along the lake side. unfortunately we didn't get to play disk gold but we did happen to find the perfectly spot for all of our tents that was surrounded by large bushed and trees staying out of sight. We called it a day and found home for the evening. And after having a beer and stargazing we rested up for the riding to come tomorrow.
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