Quick Update

We made it to South Dakota!  I've got quite a few days in between to fill in but we have got to get on the road.  It was a great surprise to hear that family was in our direct path so the boys were able to see another great aunt, Cord's Aunt Leora.  We stayed with Cord's cousin Jill and his other cousin Julie came over last night.  He hasn't seen them since he was 11 or 12 years old.

We sure can tell that we are getting further west.  We had the most beautiful ride through ranches and fields.  The annoying sweat bees seem to have been left behind.

We will be dropping into Nebraska as we cross the Missouri River.  From there we will ride through the sand hills toward Wyoming.  

The temperatures have been around 70 during the day and in the low 40's at night.  I picked up a fleece blanket to help warm us at night since we will be camping again.  

Sorry for the boring post.  I do have some great stories but it has been 10 days and over 460 miles since our last rest day.  My brain is tired.

Detour

On our way out of Guttenberg, we had just finished a four mile climb when we saw our road blocked.  Bridge out, 6 miles ahead.  Uggh.

I flagged down a minivan and asked her about the bridge.  Bicyclists ignore most detour signs because we are small and able to maneuver around most obstacles.  This was 6 miles ahead and we didn't want to take any chances.

She called her mom ahead and asked about the bridge.  "It's totally out?" I heard her repeat.  

I had to relay the news to the boys and we pondered our options.  In the end, we decided to follow the recommended route.  Anyone Spotting our route must have really wondered about our choice.  This added on about 13 miles to our journey.

We didn't let it get us down but continued on.  After we rejoined our original route, a tandem team pulled up next to us.  

"How did you manage the detour?" they asked.

"We followed the paved roads," we responded.

"We walked our bike across," they said.

My heart sank until they mentioned that the plank was only about 1 1/2 ft. wide and about 80 ft. long.  They said that it wouldn't have worked had they had panniers.  Zion has the trailer behind his bike so we made the right choice.

Near the end of the day we still had 10 miles to go and we were exhausted.  I asked a mom out playing volleyball with her kids if we could camp in their yard.

"Of Course," she kindly replied with no hesitation.

They have a "smaller" piece of property, only 87 acres.  We had a great flat place to pitch our tent and she ran out and bought all of us some Dairy Queen.  Cedar loved exploring the pond and we didn't have to push on.  Blessings.

Stealth Camping

The boys have been begging to stealth camp and we were given the perfect opportunity.  We were headed up to a state campground and had 17 miles left to go.  We had already gone 48 miles and nighttime was quickly approaching.  We were on a small road alongside railroad tracks when we saw a park through the trees.

I saw a minivan driving out and asked them if camping was allowed.

"I didn't see any signs saying camping wasn't allowed," he responded.

Zion managed to find a sign stating in small print that camping is allowed on all Corp of Engineer parks.  We were thrilled and found a spot hidden from the road.  This was very primitive camping with no water or outhouses but we were alongside the Mississippi with no other people to be seen.  Islands dotted our view of the river and we imagined Tom Sawyer using them for his mischief.  

We had only one train pass in the night and for that we were thankful.

MRT

The Mississippi River Trail winds up and down along the ridges and bluffs of Iowa.  This is just the type of road Motorcyclists love.  We saw at least 300 riding that day.  We always feel a kinship with them since they are the most likely to wave, offer help or just stop and talk.  

Zion usually rides behind us so I can't see what he is doing.  Apparently he enjoys returning their wave, fist in the air, peace sign, salute or general wave.  

Soaring

We rode along the Mississippi River on the Iowa side.  It was a perfect day for a ride, 70 degrees and sunny.  

"Mom!" Cedar called out, waving his camera around trying to get a picture, "They are all Bald Eagles!"

I veered into the road before pulling over because I was trying to look up.  We had been hearing their cries and he finally spotted them.

Later we pulled into an overlook, far above the river.  The eagles were soaring below us.

Discouragement

So, I've been wrestling with how to react to people who are not encouraging but rather discouraging.  We have had overwhelming encouragement from people we know and those we don't.  It is strange how the "you can't" overshadows everything else.

On a brighter side, a kind man and his 9 year old son bought and brought us dinner tonight.  He works loading grain onto barges but loves to bike.  He also gave us a new spare tube since Zion had a flat today.  He actually had 2 punctures, one from a nail still in the tire and one from a thorn.  They must have happened within minutes of each other because it wasn't until we were working on the tire that we found the nail.

I also contemplated changing routes but will press on with the northern route in spite of the cooler weather we will face.  

Mom?

"I thought you said that Illinois was flat," Cedar said.  

We spent the day riding through the hilliest parts of the state and very near to the highest point.

We reached 39 mph for the second time on our trip... in Illinois!  That is too funny.

Did you hear me cheer?

We arrived in Galena, Wisconsin yesterday and had to check out an exhibit on Ulysses S. Grant.  After that we went to the grocery store and spent at least 1/2 hour trying to load up the food we would need for our rest day.  We had to tie on the bread under Cedar's seat.  It was back down the hill and up another to our hotel.  We checked in and less than an hour later the storm began.  We were snug and dry in our room and I was more than thrilled.  We made it here without getting wet!  

Another dog...

So, we were happily pedaling along a country road here in Illinois when we saw two dogs approaching us.  

"Are you ready, Cedar?" I asked.

"Go, go, go!" he shouted. 

We zoomed past them and I thought we were in the clear.  I was wrong.

The smaller of the two dropped out of the chase quite early but the larger (think wolfhound) continued along side of us.  I hoped it would stop at the next farm but it kept going, past the first, second and third farms.  

"Cedar, we are going 21 miles per hour!  I can't believe this dog!" I yelled.  

Finally it gave up the chase and headed back for home.  Minnie was howling and we were laughing .  What a dog.

Zion caught up with us a couple of miles down the road.  "Did you see those two cute dogs back there?" he joked.  "It looked like that large one hit the back of your bike," he noted.

Ahh, the simplicity of adventure in the country.

One last thing

I forgot to mention that we love reading your comments.  I haven't had the time or energy to respond but we do read them.  

We loved the history about Waterloo.  Our travels should take us further north than route 6.  I imagine that the only thing that would push us south would be days of winds from the north.

We're off again

The boys and I are headed west once more.  We had a great day yesterday riding along the Fox River.  It was almost all bicycle trails and full of people.  

My uncle rode with us for the first 12 miles before turning back.  We rode through an interesting place called Fermilab.  This is a government run lab that is researching dividing sub-atomic particles to create energy.  We were interviewed for their newsletter by the woman who runs their educational center.

We later heard about a couple who have been walking across the U.S.A.  They began their journey in California.  We hoped to see them but they must have stopped for supplies.

We are going off the main bicycle route in order to shave 12 miles off our distance today.  It is time for me to wake the boys.

A special thanks goes out to everyone in Chicago.  We had a great time!

Why am I surprised?

After a great breakfast together with plenty of milk, we were off once again.  We rode through the Amish countryside and had to stop when we passed a sign for a bicycle shop.  It was open and we had a very interesting discussion with the owner.  He talked about the high usage of bicycles among the Amish and when I met his wife, she mentioned that they were going to visit her sister 30 miles away.  (I hope I have that number right in my head.  It could have been 15 miles and I doubled it for the round trip.)  I was just impressed that this young mother with her infant daughter would ride a bicycle this far.  He asked if we were blogging (another surprise) and it wasn't until we were riding that I came up with the questions I should have asked, the most prevalent being how they choose parts of our modern society to use and parts they do not.

We tried to see our president but missed him by 10 minutes.  We raced on our bicycles and were only able to see the helicopters taking off.  It was very interesting to see the amount of security, the size of the guns (Yikes) and the turnout of people in this small Indiana town.  After lunch, Dave headed north and we continued west.

We stopped for the night in Potato Creek State Park.  It was beautiful and we joked that we were not allowed to talk to anyone since we were trying to get to Chicago for the weekend.

Friday we headed for the Indiana Dunes.  We stopped for dinner along the way and for the first time, we found a campsite that was sold out.  The state park was full, the national park was full, every hotel we called was full and the only campground that had space was quite a distance away in the wrong direction.  

We were tired once again and thought we would try knocking on a door.  We saw a mom walking with 3 kids and asked her if she had room in her yard for our tents.  

"No, but my neighbors do," she answered.  She went up to their door and they quickly came out.  

They had a whole section of grass that we hadn't seen and it was perfect for us!

Larry mentioned that he came out from Ohio to work in Chicago and now was a pastor at a local Baptist church.

Why am I surprised?  Of course God is taking care of us but I still am caught off guard when things like this happen.

We were welcomed and their son started a bonfire for us all to enjoy.  Becky offered us showers (big smile from me) and we had a place to rest our weary heads.

Neil pulled Cord aside.  "This is really spooky," he said.  We all laughed.  He joked later that we must have a directory with us of Christians along our route.  

We had a fantastic breakfast with Larry and Becky before heading off to Chicago.  

Sweet Fellowship.  We are blessed.  Why am I surprised?

Leaving Waterloo

We left the bicycling route that we have been following.  Little did we know that most county roads are fantastic for cycling.  It was like riding on a large paved bicycle path with an occasional car for most of the state of Indiana.

Our experience in Waterloo was so great that we decided to try another city park.  We crossed into Indiana and tried a small town by a lake.  There wasn't a police officer to be found and people in general didn't seem very friendly.  With no luck at the parks, we  decided to call the churches in town.  We just wanted a place to pitch our tents where it would be legal.  Cord spent at least 45 minutes calling various churches but no one was able to help us.  Another touring cyclist rode by and our family grew a bit larger.  Dave is cycling around Lake Michigan and had only been on the road 2 days.  

Dave had spoken to the police and they said, "Ride out of town and knock on someone's door to see if they will let you camp in their yard."

We were feeling quite deflated that the church option hadn't worked.  We loaded up and rode out of town like a bunch of ruffians being chased by the law.

As we rode by homes I kept thinking no, no, no not that one.  Neil was in front and I yelled for him to stop.  I saw a woman working in the garden and they had a huge lot.  I thought that anyone who gardened would be alright with me.  Her son was working with her and when we asked for a place to camp, she looked a bit stunned.  5 bicycles and 6 people looking rather strange and the sun was setting quickly.  Her husband quickly appeared and we explained our situation.  We were all THANKFUL when they agreed to our camping in the yard.

Dan came out a short while later and said, "God has blessed us and we want to share what he has given us with you.  Please come in and take a shower if you like."

Deb checked on us and offered us the use of her washer and dryer.  It had been at least 7 days since we had done laundry and when you have only 2 sets of clothes to wear, that is an extremely long time!

I went in to take a shower after fixing dinner.  When I came out, Cord was in the kitchen, talking with Dan and Deb.

"You won't believe this.  The A's are Christians, they homeschool and they drink raw milk!" Cord said.  Cedar had been wearing his raw milk shirt and they have a dairy on top of growing corn and soybeans.  This was one of Cedar's main hopes for our trip.  He wanted to visit a working dairy and missed drinking his favorite drink.  What an amazing way God answered that prayer.

We stayed up late talking and were invited to have breakfast with the family.  Two of their three boys were home and I am so glad they were able to witness our meeting.  

Cedar and Cord got up early to see how the cows were milked so I had a singing boy for the rest of the day.  We were just so blessed to have met them and still shake our heads at the wonder of it all.

Kindness

I last wrote about meeting up with Neil and we had a hard day fighting headwinds.  Anyone who rides knows how difficult it can be, especially when it is relatively flat.  Having Neil with us helped the time pass since we were able to catch up on the past two weeks.  We pulled into town and noticed two recumbent bicycles parked outside the ice cream parlor.  Bicyclists usually stop to talk and we needed a break so we waited for them to come out.  They were finishing a 50 mile day, both retired or semi-retired principal/teachers.  We were planning on camping at the local state park which was only another mile up the road.  They were so kind and invited us to camp in their yard.

"It's only another 9 miles up the road," Corwin said.

I was exhausted and so ready to collapse into my tent but the offer kept getting sweeter.

"We have plenty of room for your tents.  I brew my own beer.  We are right on the river," Corwin added.

Rita mentioned, "You are welcome to take a shower."

We rested and I knew it was an offer that I couldn't refuse.  Meeting people has been the biggest blessing of our trip and we couldn't pass it up because of me.  We all fought for every mile to get there.

It was just lovely and secluded.  As we pulled up, they gave us the best surprise.  Corwin's brother had a place next door and they would move over there and we could sleep in beds!  We woke to fantastic espresso and the sound of birds singing.  What wonderful strangers to invite us into their home and bless us with a great nights sleep.  We left to fight the headwinds with uplifted spirits and the conviction to keep our home open to strangers as well.

(Due to the popular nature of the route we were on, exact location and last name have been withheld.:)

A heartfelt thank you to Rita and Corwin.

Reunion

So, I was never able to get my post written about our meeting Neil, a fellow bicycle tourist that we met in New York, near Lake Ontario.  He is from London and we spend a couple of days together riding to the Erie Canal.  From there we headed to Buffalo and he went on to Canada.  We didn't expect to see him again but were keeping in tough by reading each others blogs.  We had stopped at a library 20 miles west of Fremont, Ohio to eat lunch and check our route online.  When I checked my mail, he was writing from the library only 10 miles behind us!  We were fighting the same headwinds and he caught up with us later in the day.  We ended up riding to Chicago together and now have a new family member!  This was only the beginning of our miraculous week.

Chicago

We made it to Chicago on Friday afternoon with a greeting of... rain, of course!  We actually had 8 days of great weather so we just kept pedaling.  I'm a bit overwhelmed at the thought of catching up on our travels but the stories are just so amazing I'll just have to get to work.  Some of it will be out of order but the stories will be great, I promise!

First I will start with two quick ones.  The first happened just a mile or so outside of Chicago at a gas station where we were buying snacks.  I was talking to a man about our trip (this happens every time we stop) and mentioned that I was born and raised here.  He told me that I have an accent now and I don't sound like I'm from Chicago.  I found that to be hilarious since I don't perceive myself as having an accent.

We were eating some Chicago stuffed pizza last night since that was high on my list of things to do here.  We ordered a large and it was great!  We polished the whole pizza off.

Our waiter came back and looked at us surprised and puzzled.  "I have never had anyone finish one of those before," he said.  

If you have ever had a stuffed pizza, one piece would normally be enough, even for Cord.  We laughed and shared with him our reason for eating so much.  

Cord will be flying home on Wednesday.  It was hard to digest at the end of our ride that it was the end for him.  He began in the rain and also finished in the rain.  We all took turns riding next to him as we approached the state line.  We are sad.

Napoleon, Ohio to Waterloo, Indiana

We have had no problem remembering these two towns!  We are in Indiana and have been having a fabulous time.  We rolled slowly into town last night because of headwinds.  Aargh!  We asked a local police officer where we could camp and he directed us to the local park.  It was located next to the main railway line between Chicago and New York.  Everything was locked up so we walked over to the fire station.  There was a meeting going on so almost everyone was there.  They were so helpful, calling to have the park opened up for us, offering us showers and we were able to talk with them and eat chips and dip!  This is a volunteer run fire station and they have over 20 men who keep things running.  Amazing.  They are celebrating their 140th anniversary in October.  

Our night was one of the more interesting we've had.  The local police were watching over us at night which was great!  Cord mentioned that there was a police car parked nearby most of the night.  

We haven't begun to understand why the engineers must sound the horn at every crossing all night long.  There are 5 crossings in Waterloo and some trains would sound the horn just one long time.  I decided that we are experiencing a new level of tired.  I was able to sleep from 11 until 5 without waking up and that is with the ground shaking, horns blowing and just the loud sounds of freight trains rumbling by.  I did have earplugs in but that only changed the decibel level from 130 down to 100 at the most.  I do think that some engineers are just sounding the horn to torture everyone they pass.  Everyone here swears that they don't even hear the trains.

We have had a wonderful morning here in Waterloo.  Ken and Candy have a bed and breakfast and invited us for breakfast.  Ken interviewed us for the local paper and we ate a fantastic breakfast.  They have been called to minister through their bed and breakfast so the morning was a complete joy.  

Atomic Fallout Shelter

We haven't had internet access for the past week and I have no time to update!  We are in Ohio and wishing the winds were in our favor.

Yesterday we officially entered the midwest.  We are in farm country and passed by the strangest sight yesterday.  A house here in the country had a contraption in the backyard, big metal tubes that connected to the ground.  A large sign in front identified it as being an atomic fallout shelter.  I wonder how many people stopped to ask about it before they put up the sign.  Who designed it and does it work?  Are they fearful of an attack or is it leftover from the past?  Do they keep it stocked?  Would they let us in if we needed shelter?  I am so disappointed  we didn't get a picture of it.  Headwinds.  Uggh.