It was about an 80 mile trek from Columbus to Milwaukee, and we had a 7pm ferry to catch (we had decided to take a ferry across lake Michigan rather than go through Chicago or bike around Chicago), so we got a very early start, fortunately the wind was at our back and we blew into Milwaukee at about 330 pm.
First, I want to say that, as one of the first major cities that we biked through (with the exception of Minneapolis, where we used the bike freeway), we found that, on bike, the segregation of neighborhoods is even more obvious. In one moment we were in an impoverished, delapidated part of town, with awful roads, and less than 1/4 of a mile later we are in a yuppy neighborhood at a healthfood store. We also noticed an enormous racial divide. Apparently strucrual racism didn't go up in smoke as soon as Obama was elected. Who knew. But the dramatic differences really was a shock to our system, and what was worse, I think for both of us, was that we felt much more comfortable in the yuppy area. I don't think we would have stopped for coffee in the "rougher" part of town, but we didn't even think twice about pulling into this health food store and cafe. It really made us look not only at our national racism, and classism, but at our own, personal biases. We didn't really have any solution--except to admit our feelings of guilt, our culpability, to each other over organic Mocha Lattes.
But for all the hard time I give this health food store/cafe, it was very nice. We had a lovely talk with the barrista, who gave us directions to the ferry (it turns out that mapmyride.com did not offer realistic directions). You see, Milwaukee is laterally bisected (multisected?) by many rivers, and the only way to cross these rivers close to lake Michigan is on freeways (where bicycles are illegal). So we had to go back way west to find roads that would cross these rivers and take us to the southern part of town where the ferry was. We didn't think much of it... it was 330 and we didnt have to check in until 6 (though we were told that the deadline to check into the ferry was pretty strict). We were, of course, wrong.
Not only is Milwaukee a maze of biker-unfriendly-streets, but it turns out that pretty much the only way to get to the ferry terminal is off a freeway, so even though it wasn't for particularly long, Lindsey and I mounted a city freeway, braced our selves, and finally got to the ferry with only a few minutes to spare.
When we finally checked into the ferry we noticed that there were a couple of very nice bikes there. It didn't look like they were doing major touring (they didn't have panniers) but we were still eager to talk to them.
For whatever reason, on the Milwaukee/Muskegon ferry they let bikers on first, so it was there that we met Ken and Bob, two bicycling gentlemen who were friends from high school. We related our story and they almost immediately offered to let us stay at their places, which was an enormous relief-- Ken lived in Muskegon, where the ferry landed, and where the only place to stay cost 140$ (we were arriving too late at night to bike anywhere else) and Bob lived in Grand Rapids, where we were planning on going, but hadn't figure out where we were going to stay.
We had a lovely conversation with them before the ferry ride, but then spent most of the ferry ride looking for lindsey's phone which was right where she left it in my handle-bar bag, but which we didn't find until we landed.
We biked with Bob and Ken to Ken's place. Bob drove back home to Grand Rapids, and we spent a lovely evening with Ken and his husband, who funny enough, is also named Ken. We drank delicious wine (they were confessed wine snobs) and talked about their religious experiences, how they met, and their experience of coming out of the closet. Both Lindsey and I were both deeply compelled and moved by their story, by their commitment to be themselves, despite expectations of their generation (they were in their mid 60s we would guess).
We finally fell asleep, grateful for the extreme kindness and hospitality of strangers--not to mention their willingness to share their wonderful stories with us. Fortunately, the non-biking Ken was on facebook, and we are now facebook friends, so hopefully we can maintain some contact, and certainly return the favor if they ever come to Boston.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thursday: July 23rd-- things actually go according to plan (Cormac)
We have a nice long day of biking. Since we had left the Kay's we have been using directions from mapmyride.com, and more often than not we would either end up ona dirt road (no good for our bikes) or we would be given a direction that didn't make sense (like to make both a left and a right at the same intersection) but the one thing that stands out about this day is that it was blessedly free of such incidents.
We pull into our campground with plenty of sunlight to spare. We realize that we are no longer in North Dakota any more when they charge us a whopping 19$ to camp. Also, we learned that if someone goes out of their way to convince you that there is absolutely no horse poop anywhere near your campground, you had better not wear flip-flops.
Apparently there was a horse shoe nearby and we were given a spot near where all the trailers and horses had been.
We had a lovely time that night watching the sunset, reading our books, plugging our noses and cleaning our feet. One interesting thing happened though... pretty late at night, a car pulled up next to our campsight, and a man and a very young woman (his daughter, we hope) go to sleep in their car. The next morning when lindsey has to get up early to use the ladies' room, she sees them down there cleaning up and heading off before the campground opened. Very suspicious we thought. I mention this because people keep asking us about the creepy people we ran into, and this, which wasn't that creepy, was about as bad as it got.
We pull into our campground with plenty of sunlight to spare. We realize that we are no longer in North Dakota any more when they charge us a whopping 19$ to camp. Also, we learned that if someone goes out of their way to convince you that there is absolutely no horse poop anywhere near your campground, you had better not wear flip-flops.
Apparently there was a horse shoe nearby and we were given a spot near where all the trailers and horses had been.
We had a lovely time that night watching the sunset, reading our books, plugging our noses and cleaning our feet. One interesting thing happened though... pretty late at night, a car pulled up next to our campsight, and a man and a very young woman (his daughter, we hope) go to sleep in their car. The next morning when lindsey has to get up early to use the ladies' room, she sees them down there cleaning up and heading off before the campground opened. Very suspicious we thought. I mention this because people keep asking us about the creepy people we ran into, and this, which wasn't that creepy, was about as bad as it got.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Catching up...
Just so we are all clear (including us), we arrived at the following places on the dates indicated:
Frontenac State Park, Red Wing, Minnesota July 19
Holmen, WI whispering pines campgroun July 20
Sparta, WI biketrail walk-in spot July 21
Reedsberg, WI city park July 22
Columbus, WI county camp site right on route with horse poop July 23
Muskegon, Ken and Ken's house July 24
Grand Rapids Bob and Gayla's house July 25
Williamston, MI Susan and Jack's house July 26
Ann Arbor, MI Mindy's house July 27
Sylvania, OH Seneys' house July 28
Lakeside, OH July 29th arrival
Now for some more details...
We arrive in Sparta, WI and as we are passing a huge Wal-Mart, biking on a road with no shoulder and lots of traffic, we look up and see a big billboard with a picture of a man on an old-fashion bike - big back wheel small little wheel set up - that says 'Welcome to Sparta, Biking Capital of America' HA! Is this a joke, we wonder aloud? Did they mean to write Once biking capital of america? Because of all the places we have biked, Sparta is pretty low on the list as far as ease and quality and safety goes. We still do not know why they get to call themselves that. Maybe it is like the contentious 'Geographical Center of America' title that Rugby, North Dakota gave itself. As I mentioned before we had some really really really good carrot cake (mom, it is still not as good as yours, really). And we wound our way to a camping spot right at the beginning of the Sparta-Elroy rail to trails bike trail. As we were arriving Dave, a fellow cross country cyclist, was coming from the other direction and so we shared a camp plot as well as lots of sage advice to take East and West. Dave gave us two particularly good recommendations: try honey and peanut butter sandwiches sometimes just to mix it up and call the police station in towns that you would like to camp in because mileage-wise it just works for you and ask if you can camp in a city park.
The next day we were going to be faced with either an exceptionally short day or long long day based on the campsites we had found online so we thought we'd put Dave's advise to the test: we called the Reedsberg police (from a landline borrowed at a store because the area we were biking in was a cell-phone dead zone) and they direct us to the city hall who gives me the cell phone number of the city park and rec head. I call him and he says well, ok, that's fine, sure. So we camped in Reedsberg in a very nice city park. This park was like the town social center with a big swimming pool and tennis courts and plenty of green space. And we are pretty sure they left the bathrooms open over night just for us, because we saw a police office come by in the morning to lock them. Thank you, Reedsburg!
Frontenac State Park, Red Wing, Minnesota July 19
Holmen, WI whispering pines campgroun July 20
Sparta, WI biketrail walk-in spot July 21
Reedsberg, WI city park July 22
Columbus, WI county camp site right on route with horse poop July 23
Muskegon, Ken and Ken's house July 24
Grand Rapids Bob and Gayla's house July 25
Williamston, MI Susan and Jack's house July 26
Ann Arbor, MI Mindy's house July 27
Sylvania, OH Seneys' house July 28
Lakeside, OH July 29th arrival
Now for some more details...
We arrive in Sparta, WI and as we are passing a huge Wal-Mart, biking on a road with no shoulder and lots of traffic, we look up and see a big billboard with a picture of a man on an old-fashion bike - big back wheel small little wheel set up - that says 'Welcome to Sparta, Biking Capital of America' HA! Is this a joke, we wonder aloud? Did they mean to write Once biking capital of america? Because of all the places we have biked, Sparta is pretty low on the list as far as ease and quality and safety goes. We still do not know why they get to call themselves that. Maybe it is like the contentious 'Geographical Center of America' title that Rugby, North Dakota gave itself. As I mentioned before we had some really really really good carrot cake (mom, it is still not as good as yours, really). And we wound our way to a camping spot right at the beginning of the Sparta-Elroy rail to trails bike trail. As we were arriving Dave, a fellow cross country cyclist, was coming from the other direction and so we shared a camp plot as well as lots of sage advice to take East and West. Dave gave us two particularly good recommendations: try honey and peanut butter sandwiches sometimes just to mix it up and call the police station in towns that you would like to camp in because mileage-wise it just works for you and ask if you can camp in a city park.
The next day we were going to be faced with either an exceptionally short day or long long day based on the campsites we had found online so we thought we'd put Dave's advise to the test: we called the Reedsberg police (from a landline borrowed at a store because the area we were biking in was a cell-phone dead zone) and they direct us to the city hall who gives me the cell phone number of the city park and rec head. I call him and he says well, ok, that's fine, sure. So we camped in Reedsberg in a very nice city park. This park was like the town social center with a big swimming pool and tennis courts and plenty of green space. And we are pretty sure they left the bathrooms open over night just for us, because we saw a police office come by in the morning to lock them. Thank you, Reedsburg!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
We are in Lakeside, OH at Cormac's family's cottage currently sitting on the porch, a requiste Lakeside activity. We arrived here on July 29, 2009 (I write the date because it feels like nearly a year ago (exaggeration, yes) since we arrived here). Our bikes quickly found a home along the side of the cottage and really have not been ridden since! Ha. I think we were excited to have some time off the saddle.
We are well and healthy and quite relaxed!
To bring you up to date:
We left the Kay family house in Plymouth, MN heading for Frontenac State Park near Winona and Red Wings, Minnesota. Gene and Jane biked us from their place to the bicycle freeway trail that takes you along the south side of the city. We were very impressed by the bike path systems in Minneapolis and surrounding areas! We stopped to say goodbye at the Bike Stop on the Freeway (they have showers and bathrooms and a coffee shop for commuter convience!) and then continued on our way.
It took us longer than we anticipated to complete our days journey and we arrived at the base of Frontenac around 8pm, with about an hour of sunlit remaining. Yes, I did say 'base'. There, staring us in the face after an already long, hardish day, was a mile long pretty steep climb. So, we stopped, ate handfuls of our homemade trail mix, played some cards, changed out of our bike shorts, and then decided to go for the climb to find a place to set up camp. Frontenac is right on the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin, a cliff overlooking the Mississippi. The view was beautiful and we set up in time for sunset. Unfortunately, as we were about to get our sleeping bags in the tent we heard something making lots of noise in the wooded patch next to it. Rustling more than the rustling of a squirrel and then I swear I saw eyes, two glowing eyes. And cormac heard a growl. So we relocated, quickly, very quickly, rushing to see if the function space near the bathhouse was open and yes it was so we find our way inside to set up on the concrete floor for a cozy, indoor, sleep. Our camping pads are quite impressive as they actually make it possible to sleep on concrete.
The next morning, we rise early for our journey across the mississipi and into wisconsin. aiming for Holmen, WI. We had a good days journey, fueled by Subway (a very good deal), and arrived to stay at Whispering Pines campground. Well, we are now in populated-ville and that means that this was a recreational campground where people park pretty fancy RVs and live for the summer. The RV next to where we eventually put our puny little tent was owned by a family who lived in town and they just buy a month at the campground every summer. RV culture is very laid back, firepits, beer, swimming, sitting. Though it is a little disturbing to see a television set up outdoors, at the back of an RV, and people gathered round that. Kind of strange to connect TVs and camping. Well it is an expensive plot ($20) or so and they very kindly gave us cyclists a discount and some water.
The next morning, date(? - we've lost track). we began our shortish bike to Sparta, WI. Arriving at the library just before it started raining. We found a cafe with delicious carrot cake and went back to get a second piece:))
We are well and healthy and quite relaxed!
To bring you up to date:
We left the Kay family house in Plymouth, MN heading for Frontenac State Park near Winona and Red Wings, Minnesota. Gene and Jane biked us from their place to the bicycle freeway trail that takes you along the south side of the city. We were very impressed by the bike path systems in Minneapolis and surrounding areas! We stopped to say goodbye at the Bike Stop on the Freeway (they have showers and bathrooms and a coffee shop for commuter convience!) and then continued on our way.
It took us longer than we anticipated to complete our days journey and we arrived at the base of Frontenac around 8pm, with about an hour of sunlit remaining. Yes, I did say 'base'. There, staring us in the face after an already long, hardish day, was a mile long pretty steep climb. So, we stopped, ate handfuls of our homemade trail mix, played some cards, changed out of our bike shorts, and then decided to go for the climb to find a place to set up camp. Frontenac is right on the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin, a cliff overlooking the Mississippi. The view was beautiful and we set up in time for sunset. Unfortunately, as we were about to get our sleeping bags in the tent we heard something making lots of noise in the wooded patch next to it. Rustling more than the rustling of a squirrel and then I swear I saw eyes, two glowing eyes. And cormac heard a growl. So we relocated, quickly, very quickly, rushing to see if the function space near the bathhouse was open and yes it was so we find our way inside to set up on the concrete floor for a cozy, indoor, sleep. Our camping pads are quite impressive as they actually make it possible to sleep on concrete.
The next morning, we rise early for our journey across the mississipi and into wisconsin. aiming for Holmen, WI. We had a good days journey, fueled by Subway (a very good deal), and arrived to stay at Whispering Pines campground. Well, we are now in populated-ville and that means that this was a recreational campground where people park pretty fancy RVs and live for the summer. The RV next to where we eventually put our puny little tent was owned by a family who lived in town and they just buy a month at the campground every summer. RV culture is very laid back, firepits, beer, swimming, sitting. Though it is a little disturbing to see a television set up outdoors, at the back of an RV, and people gathered round that. Kind of strange to connect TVs and camping. Well it is an expensive plot ($20) or so and they very kindly gave us cyclists a discount and some water.
The next morning, date(? - we've lost track). we began our shortish bike to Sparta, WI. Arriving at the library just before it started raining. We found a cafe with delicious carrot cake and went back to get a second piece:))
Thursday, July 23, 2009
...
So Pastor Bob calls Cormac and says sure thing, we are welcome to hang out at the church to stay out of the rain. We then spend the afternoon talking to Pastor Bob about a whole range of things, many about pastoring a church, and relaxing in the Youth Room. Pastor Bob is so so kind and generous, offering us a shower repeatedly at his family's house - apparently he thought we needed a shower more than we did:). And then he took us out to dinner and set us all up to spend a comfortable night in the youth room. The kindness of Grace United Methodist Church had a big impact on our time in Fergus Falls. Thank you, Pastor Bob, and peace to you and your family.
We leave Fergus Falls on the 16th of July excited to start the Central Lakes Trail, which heads Southeast through Minnesota and connects to the Lake Wobegon Trail. This is when the sun was shining, we were flying with a tail wind, and I look around at the land and hear the quiet and think, I like Minnesota! We enjoyed a full day on the trail, camping that night in a town park in Albany, MN (mosquitos!!!). The next day we biked to the trail's end, in St. John and then spent some time at the St. Michael's University there, using the internet to figure out how to get from there to Minneapolis. Very nice people at the university!
So to fastforward a bit just to get up to date, we biked to Baker State Park on the 17th and stayed there - nice but pricey for a campsite ($18.50). And then headed into Minneapolis the next day only to get rained on as we were passing a movie theatre and so we decided to catch a movie. Lucky for us, because Jane Carlsen Kay and her friend happened to be getting out of a movie at the same time as we were and asked us about our trip and where we were staying...
Yep, we ended up staying with Jane and her family - Gene, her husband and Emily and Jessie, their daughters! We actually even stayed for 2 nights - that's how wonderful they were:) THANK YOU JANE, GENE, EMILY & JESSIE - for the bed, the food, the laundry, the shower, the company, the bike into minneapolis, the run in the woods, conversation, box wine...Cheers to new friends.
....
It's Thursday, July 23rd and we are currently in Portage, Wisconsin. We will be in Milwaukee tomorrow evening to get on a Ferry to Muskegon, Michigan! We are amazed, honestly, at how much we have biked already. Including today we have done 39 days of biking, and have been on this journey longer than that. It's about every 4 days or so that one of us, and generally both, begins yearning for home, for the comfort of a consistent place to put our head down and wake up or simply for a kitchen to cook a variety of food in. We have envisioned our new apartment many times - figuring out what colors to paint the walls and how to arrange the furniture. But overall we are just enjoying this chance to explore the country by bike. We know that come October we will be thinking about traveling again...
So Pastor Bob calls Cormac and says sure thing, we are welcome to hang out at the church to stay out of the rain. We then spend the afternoon talking to Pastor Bob about a whole range of things, many about pastoring a church, and relaxing in the Youth Room. Pastor Bob is so so kind and generous, offering us a shower repeatedly at his family's house - apparently he thought we needed a shower more than we did:). And then he took us out to dinner and set us all up to spend a comfortable night in the youth room. The kindness of Grace United Methodist Church had a big impact on our time in Fergus Falls. Thank you, Pastor Bob, and peace to you and your family.
We leave Fergus Falls on the 16th of July excited to start the Central Lakes Trail, which heads Southeast through Minnesota and connects to the Lake Wobegon Trail. This is when the sun was shining, we were flying with a tail wind, and I look around at the land and hear the quiet and think, I like Minnesota! We enjoyed a full day on the trail, camping that night in a town park in Albany, MN (mosquitos!!!). The next day we biked to the trail's end, in St. John and then spent some time at the St. Michael's University there, using the internet to figure out how to get from there to Minneapolis. Very nice people at the university!
So to fastforward a bit just to get up to date, we biked to Baker State Park on the 17th and stayed there - nice but pricey for a campsite ($18.50). And then headed into Minneapolis the next day only to get rained on as we were passing a movie theatre and so we decided to catch a movie. Lucky for us, because Jane Carlsen Kay and her friend happened to be getting out of a movie at the same time as we were and asked us about our trip and where we were staying...
Yep, we ended up staying with Jane and her family - Gene, her husband and Emily and Jessie, their daughters! We actually even stayed for 2 nights - that's how wonderful they were:) THANK YOU JANE, GENE, EMILY & JESSIE - for the bed, the food, the laundry, the shower, the company, the bike into minneapolis, the run in the woods, conversation, box wine...Cheers to new friends.
....
It's Thursday, July 23rd and we are currently in Portage, Wisconsin. We will be in Milwaukee tomorrow evening to get on a Ferry to Muskegon, Michigan! We are amazed, honestly, at how much we have biked already. Including today we have done 39 days of biking, and have been on this journey longer than that. It's about every 4 days or so that one of us, and generally both, begins yearning for home, for the comfort of a consistent place to put our head down and wake up or simply for a kitchen to cook a variety of food in. We have envisioned our new apartment many times - figuring out what colors to paint the walls and how to arrange the furniture. But overall we are just enjoying this chance to explore the country by bike. We know that come October we will be thinking about traveling again...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
another post, finally! Happy Belated BDays to HERO & RUSTY!
It's been a while since our last post and so much as happened that it is hard to figure out how to begin.
We left you on July 11th in Cooperstown, ND. Well, that night we made it to Page, ND. Enroute to Page, we stopped in Hope, ND (they had a water tower with a big smiley face on it - how hopeful:)) and met up with a couple biking on a tandem on the Northern Tier Route. Teresa and Reuben Peterson, from Modesto, CA are biking across the country as the first of many things on Rueben's 'things to do when I retire' list. We chatted a while and then Cormac and I headed on 15 miles or so more to Page for the night while Reuben and Teresa stayed in Hope. In Page, where the cars park in the middle of the road, Cormac and I caught a movie in the one theatre movie house. And, another night camping free in a ND city park.
The next day, July 13th, we saw the Peterson's (nice name:)) tandem outside the local cafe and ended up biking with them for a long 15 mile or so stretch directly into gusty head winds. Drafting off a tandem provides a nice shelter from the wind. Cormac and I agree that we would not have made that stretch in nearly such good time or spirits without Teresa and Reuben's help! At some point, we decided to take a break while they continued on. We arrive in Fargo around 4 or so and head to the bike store. The owner has converted an old train station into a Bike stor and cafe. A new chain and handlebar tape for Cormac's bike; and new bike shorts for Cormac's behind then a night at the local Howard Johnson's.
We lucked out with out timing in Fargo: We biked to the Laundromat to clean or very dirty clothes and then decided to get a beer...Well, we selected Dempsey's Pub and it was our lucky night because as we were entering, I noticed a handwritten sign in the window 'Josh Ritter 7:00-8:30' I did a double take because i was pretty sure that if they were talking about the well known Josh Ritter that there would be a bigger sign but I woman I asked was like 'yep, Josh Ritter, that Josh Ritter, here, I know, it's crazy, but great...' And so we got to see Josh Ritter perform in a small venue of about 40/50 people. I only missed 2 songs while biking to switch the laundry over to the dryer (I lost that rocks, paper, scissors round).
July 14th: Minnesota!!!
As we bike a whole day on nicely paved and secluded bike path, I think to myself, I like Minnesota!! Well, that was actually on July 16th that I thought that... July 14th was a short day mileage wise due to very strong headwinds (when you watch birds struggling to fly) and the threat of some serious thunderstorms. We left Fargo and crossed into MN in Moorehead. We were hoping to get to Fergus Falls but ended our days journey tired and thankful for a place to stay, which ended up being a motel. It was either that or the 'Pririe Chicken' in Rothsay, MN which was a massive statue of a praire chicken that people in the gas station thought it would be OK if we camped near. With storms coming we did not risk it.
Juily 15th: Another day of headwinds and eventual rain... There is, we were told, a predominant wind from the west. Predominant does not mean always, and we have been reminded of this fact on our trip. Happily, while we are chugging along some rolling hills into the wind, singing or praying or doing math in our heads - however it was that we were trying not to think about how many miles we had left - we see behind us a pair of bikers. They are getting closer (we were biking very slowly) and we realize they are the Petersons! Joy, our Headwind Buddies are here! They had also done a much shorter than anticipated day out of Fargo and stayed a few miles west of Rothsay. We biked the rest of the afternoon with them into Fergus Falls. We see a sign that says Fergus Falls 4 miles and it's a good thing that it was no further than that because right about then the sky darkened and we were getting wet. We biked a very fast 4 miles, worried by the thunder and lightning getting closer, to find happy shelter in Dairyland in Fergus Falls.
There were flood warnings out, you could see little waterfalls in the streets. This was some serious ran. Whew, thank goodness for Dairyland! The four of us set up in a booth for some lunch and card playing and figuring out sleeping plans... We were in good hands, we knew, when everyone in the place warned us NOT to stay at a motel that Reuben had just called that had really good rates. Cormac, flipping through a newspaper from the area sees a page with the churches nearby. 15 or so Lutheran churches, we counted, a Presbyterian and a Methodist. Cormac decides to put his Master of Divinity Degree to the test and calls the Methodist church. Why the Methodist one, you ask? Perhaps it was because Emma, our wedding officiant and friend was raised Methodist? We do not really know but it was a very good decision. Cormac leaves a message explaining that we are two Divinity School students/graduates and we are biking and need a place to spend the afternoon/evening until the rain clears. Pastor Bob calls back a few minutes later...
To be continued.
We left you on July 11th in Cooperstown, ND. Well, that night we made it to Page, ND. Enroute to Page, we stopped in Hope, ND (they had a water tower with a big smiley face on it - how hopeful:)) and met up with a couple biking on a tandem on the Northern Tier Route. Teresa and Reuben Peterson, from Modesto, CA are biking across the country as the first of many things on Rueben's 'things to do when I retire' list. We chatted a while and then Cormac and I headed on 15 miles or so more to Page for the night while Reuben and Teresa stayed in Hope. In Page, where the cars park in the middle of the road, Cormac and I caught a movie in the one theatre movie house. And, another night camping free in a ND city park.
The next day, July 13th, we saw the Peterson's (nice name:)) tandem outside the local cafe and ended up biking with them for a long 15 mile or so stretch directly into gusty head winds. Drafting off a tandem provides a nice shelter from the wind. Cormac and I agree that we would not have made that stretch in nearly such good time or spirits without Teresa and Reuben's help! At some point, we decided to take a break while they continued on. We arrive in Fargo around 4 or so and head to the bike store. The owner has converted an old train station into a Bike stor and cafe. A new chain and handlebar tape for Cormac's bike; and new bike shorts for Cormac's behind then a night at the local Howard Johnson's.
We lucked out with out timing in Fargo: We biked to the Laundromat to clean or very dirty clothes and then decided to get a beer...Well, we selected Dempsey's Pub and it was our lucky night because as we were entering, I noticed a handwritten sign in the window 'Josh Ritter 7:00-8:30' I did a double take because i was pretty sure that if they were talking about the well known Josh Ritter that there would be a bigger sign but I woman I asked was like 'yep, Josh Ritter, that Josh Ritter, here, I know, it's crazy, but great...' And so we got to see Josh Ritter perform in a small venue of about 40/50 people. I only missed 2 songs while biking to switch the laundry over to the dryer (I lost that rocks, paper, scissors round).
July 14th: Minnesota!!!
As we bike a whole day on nicely paved and secluded bike path, I think to myself, I like Minnesota!! Well, that was actually on July 16th that I thought that... July 14th was a short day mileage wise due to very strong headwinds (when you watch birds struggling to fly) and the threat of some serious thunderstorms. We left Fargo and crossed into MN in Moorehead. We were hoping to get to Fergus Falls but ended our days journey tired and thankful for a place to stay, which ended up being a motel. It was either that or the 'Pririe Chicken' in Rothsay, MN which was a massive statue of a praire chicken that people in the gas station thought it would be OK if we camped near. With storms coming we did not risk it.
Juily 15th: Another day of headwinds and eventual rain... There is, we were told, a predominant wind from the west. Predominant does not mean always, and we have been reminded of this fact on our trip. Happily, while we are chugging along some rolling hills into the wind, singing or praying or doing math in our heads - however it was that we were trying not to think about how many miles we had left - we see behind us a pair of bikers. They are getting closer (we were biking very slowly) and we realize they are the Petersons! Joy, our Headwind Buddies are here! They had also done a much shorter than anticipated day out of Fargo and stayed a few miles west of Rothsay. We biked the rest of the afternoon with them into Fergus Falls. We see a sign that says Fergus Falls 4 miles and it's a good thing that it was no further than that because right about then the sky darkened and we were getting wet. We biked a very fast 4 miles, worried by the thunder and lightning getting closer, to find happy shelter in Dairyland in Fergus Falls.
There were flood warnings out, you could see little waterfalls in the streets. This was some serious ran. Whew, thank goodness for Dairyland! The four of us set up in a booth for some lunch and card playing and figuring out sleeping plans... We were in good hands, we knew, when everyone in the place warned us NOT to stay at a motel that Reuben had just called that had really good rates. Cormac, flipping through a newspaper from the area sees a page with the churches nearby. 15 or so Lutheran churches, we counted, a Presbyterian and a Methodist. Cormac decides to put his Master of Divinity Degree to the test and calls the Methodist church. Why the Methodist one, you ask? Perhaps it was because Emma, our wedding officiant and friend was raised Methodist? We do not really know but it was a very good decision. Cormac leaves a message explaining that we are two Divinity School students/graduates and we are biking and need a place to spend the afternoon/evening until the rain clears. Pastor Bob calls back a few minutes later...
To be continued.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Our Map
Thanks so much David for the advice
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=107585128708090206048.00046d927390568464998
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=107585128708090206048.00046d927390568464998
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