July 31, Stage 25

July 31, Hudsonville,MI to Coldwater, MI, 2500 miles, 2500 ft climbing. Temps in the low 60s. A new dimension to the ride--rain. All day,mostly constant,sometimes heavy. Finished the day at 4:00, totally soaked. Not much else to the say about today. Steve, another psychologist, offered for me to draft him in the last 26 miles. Challenging to ride at his varying pace and avoid all the potholes in the road. Saved me a little, though. Actually,not easy to see through goggles in the rain. The Super 8 does not have a computer I can use, so I am pecking this out on my smartphone,while eating a Hungry Howie's pizza and salad,rather than walk a half mile or so in the rain to a fast food joint. Options in Coldwater are rather limited when one does not want to bike again in the rain. Did get another neck massage.p On to Ohio tomorrow.

July 30, Stage 24

July 30, Ludington, MI to Hudsonville (Grand Rapids), MI, 110 miles, 2500 climbing feet. Temperature high of 82--great day for riding, 6-7 mph headwind most of the day that was not too bad. A few hills out of Ludington, then rollers, then the last 40 miles were pretty flat. Route went through forest-lined areas that were gorgeous, then 12 bike trail miles, then about 20 on this wonderful, little-traveled winding, gentle up and down road through forests, then along shouldered and non-shouldered busy highways. The surprise was that the ride was supposed to be 121 miles, and ended at 111. The concern is that we will have a surprise 10 extra miles added to tomorrow's route. Quality Inn tonight. Yesterday, the 29th, was the Badger Car-Ferry day from Manitowoc to Ludington, a 2-hour preparation and loading time that embarked on a 4-hour trip from 2 p.m. Central to 7 p.m. Eastern as we switched time zones. Beautiful motel right on the Lake Michigan coast. The day and trip were welcome. I immediately sat down in one of the recliner chairs and was out like a light. The Badger had bingo, a game room, a quiet room, a gift shop and everything that one might want for lake-going. Badger is the last coal-fired ship on Lake Michigan, about 60 years old. An unexpected problem was that my bike computer stopped working. A new battery did not solve the problem. Trying to follow a cue sheet with many turns at exact mileages, without a computer would be a problem. My bike-shop-employee roommate guessed that Walmart might have a computer. After a few calls to the Ludington Walmart and attempts to explain what a bike computer was, the electronics guy told me that they had what I needed. Then, at 8 p.m., do I get my bike out of storage and ride the 3.4 miles to Walmart or take a taxi? Rode out to Walmart, got the computer, along with a couple of Burger King grilled chicken sandwiches for my roommate and me, since we had not had dinner, got back to the room at 9:15. An advantage of having a roommate who works who has the best job in the world, working in a bike shop, and who specializes in installing bike computers, is that he took over and had the new computer set up and installed in about 10 minutes. I would have spent about 45 minutes reading and decifering the manual. The computer worked great today. Another nagging problem is that the hip bursitis problem that I eased with a Cortisone injection 2 weeks ago in Missoula is starting to come back. Fortunately, it is not a problem while riding. Hopefully, I can ward it off with the I-Vitamin for another week. The neck pain was non-existent today. The massage probably helped greatly. Should be a relatively flat day tomorrow. Heading to Coldwater, MI.

July 28, Stage 22

July 28, Portage, WI to Manitowoc, WI, 127 miles, 4000 ft climbing. Another chilly morning that stayed chilly all day. 49 degrees this morning, wih temps bouncing up toward 60, then dropping back down. Strong wind mainly out of the west, some north. Route stair-stepped east, then north, over and over again. A few steep climbs. The altimeter on my computer registered 16-17% grade on one short climb, and 11-12 on another. Those take everything to slowly keep the pedals turning. Rain threatened, showered some after lunch, but held off again until we were off the road. Beautiful countryside, with dairy cows, horse-drawn buggies and horse-drawn steel-wheeled wagons transporting logs, field-stone houses. Passed by a prison, had lunch in Mt. Calvary that has a huge church that would have been nice to explore. As it was, we rolled into town in the middle of a parade. I also did not stop at the Cedar Crest Ice Cream Factory. The major feature of arriving in Manitowoc is that we now take the Badger Ferry--steam-powered, I think--across Lake Michigan tomorrow afternoon, arriving in Ludington, MI about 7 p.m. Then back on the road Tuesday morning, headed to Grand Rapids. After the first two days of this 7-day period, with the headwinds, and high mileage, I had concern about being able to handle the next 5 days. Favorable winds and rolling hills, much like what I am used to in central Iowa, helped me to survive. I felt like crying upon getting here for a break day, but decided that would not be manly. Having the day off of the bike is a real gift. PACTour, 30 years old, in 90 crossings of the country, has never before taken a day off. These folks are hard-corps. Getting to sleep in tomorrow morning will be a change from awakening at 5:00, getting organized, getting the bike ready, eating breakfast and being on the road by 6:30. I am running out of interesting stuff to talk about. If anyone has curiosity about something, let me know. Mentally and physically, I am pretty worn down, but that does not seem to limit me once I get going in the morning. Had great conversation with Jonathon from Australia over great dinner of seafood and pasta. He is an oncologist. Says that the depression his patients have, and are willing to discuss with him, is an existential depression since life and death are the reality. He says that most people do not have someone to open up those questions. Going to have the hotel--EconoLodge--do my laundry tonight. I am going to hit the sack. Marsha tells me that Joyce and Harold Templeman and Bill Cotton all have birthdays around this time of year. I missed granddaughter Jackie's birthday last week. I was late acknowledging granddaughter Jackie's second birthday last week.

July 27, Stage 21

July 27, La Crosse, WI to Portage, WI, 128 miles, 4300 climbing feet. Wind NW. Sometimes, when you wish for cooler weather, you get it. La Crosse had record low temperature last night--49 degrees when we had breakfast in the Marriott Courtyard parking lot, and prepared to leave. At the last minute, I had put in my full-finger Wind-Breaker gloves, and my leg warmers, that I almost sent home with Marsha. I had also almost sent home a fleece lined PACTour jacket that I figured would be nice for rides in Feb/March in Iowa, or just to wear around and show off, as a conversation starter. Temps never got above 60 and stayed mostly in the upper fifties. I wore the jacket and leg warmers all day. Cloudy, overcast, beautiful clouds all day. Rain held off until right now. The day started out of La Crosse with a 600 elevation gain, 8-10% climb. I was about the last one up the hill, because most of these folks are excellent climbers. A couple have asked me where I do hill training in Iowa. (If I am repeating myself here, forgive me.) My hill training is mainly the Grand Ave hill from 63rd to 56th St., maybe 3/8 of a mile and 90 feet of elevation gain. Or, Pifer Hill on the way to New Virginia--9% grade, about a quarter mile. We had two more 8-9% climbs during the morning. Those really wipe me out. The last 60 miles were flattish, ups and downs on secondary roads through woods, forests--oak, maple, pine. Crossed the Wisconsin River. This was probably the most beautiful day of the trip. Somehow, Wisconsinites did not clear cut the trees, as did the farmers from my home state of Illinois. The vistas were picture-perfect, with the clouds as a backdrop. Hardly any pictures, since I had the full-finger gloves and wanted to beat the probable rain, so you will have to take my word for it. Or, you can asked Ben's wife, Joanna, who is a card-carrying Cheesehead. The cue sheet was 4 sheets today with all the turns that we made on these random, little-used roads. John and Cindy from DC ride a tandem--thirty-somethings. They have their route cue sheet fastened to the back of John's jersey, so that Cindy can look at it and inform John of the upcoming turns. After the route flattened out, I realized that I could follow them, relying on Cindy's directions to John. If I had not followed them, I might still be out in the Wisconsin woods. Tomorrow, on to Manitowoc, 125 miles.

July 26, Stage 20

July 26, Albert Lea, MN to La Crosse, WI, 140 miles (was supposed to be 127!), 3000 ft climbing. Perfect day of riding, although it did get a little long. Temps in the upper 70s/low 80s, strong wind out of the west and a little north, variety of scenery--looked like Iowa. Wandered around getting out of Albert Lea on county roads to first stop at 31 miles in Rose Creek. Then rode the Shoting Star State Bike Trail for 12 miles--it paralleled Route 56. Then began some nice rolling hills, kind of like from Martensdale to Osceola and Leon, kept going east, then north, over and over. At Preston, joined the Root River Trail, a popular trail that goes through Lanesboro, a very neat town that the bike trail enlivened years ago (Marsha and I spent a weekend there years ago, riding our tandem.), then on through Whalen, Rushford, and on to Houston--41 miles total. A nice break from highways, interstates, automobiles, trucks, etc. The trail looks a lot like the Raccoon River Trail from Adel to Panora, or the Saylorville Trail, only more overgrown with trees canopying nearly the whole distance. After the trail ended, took Route 16 up and down a few pretty good hills the final 22 miles into La Crosse. Took a couple of pictures of the Mississippi River. Arrived at our Courtyard by Marriott Hotel about 5:00. Felt pretty good today, although 140 miles gets kind of long. Marsha's visit yesterday, although brief, helped much. My new roommate Dave--probably mid-50s-- and I had pork loin dinners at Piggy's across the street. Dave rides like the breeze. For the past 20 years, his job has been at a bike shop in Omaha--knows bike world well, knows Bike World folks, organizes trips for customers, did the first half of the Northern Transcontinental 3 years ago, and is now back to complete it. He believes that he has the best job in the world. Hmmm. I thought that I did. Next two days crossing Wisconsin, 135 and 125 miles. More climbing. SW Wisconsin has some brutal hills. Really helps to have a non-headwind. Just want to get to that Badger Ferry for a day off.

July 25, Stage 19

July 25, Worthington, MN to Albert Lea, MN, 124 miles, 1500 climbing feet, according to the itinerary. Reluctant to check my computer altimeter since it was not always working accurately. The main theme of the day was the 15 mph wind out of the southwest that eventually moved more out of the west. We are headed east!! Most of the day spent moving along in the 18-22 mph range. Caught a couple of folks to draft off for awhile. Greg, a chiropractor from northern California, and his son Zack, power their tandem day after day. Zack lives to bike. On hills, he is out of the saddle most of the way up, which helps Greg alot. I rode about forty miles on my own, seeing many wind turbines, much like the Storm Lake, IA area. We crossed the Des Moines River in Jackson, MN. Did not stop at the Prairie Dog Museum in Fairmont. Afternoon stop was at an old historic gas station--garage/house. Rode awhile with Bob and Mike, the CT attorneys. They were moving along at 22-24 mph, which I could maintain for about 10 miles. Then, they were gone. Got into Albert Lea about 2:30, which was wonderful. Most days are rolling out of bed with some effort, needing more sleep, getting organized with whatever I will need during the day, eating breakfast in the parking lot (oatmeal is getting old), riding with the goal of trying to get as many miles in before the temperature gets into the 90s, refueling at the 3-4 stops during the day (they are spaced about 20-30 miles apart), arriving at the next overnight town, cleaning the bike, cleaning the body, doing laundry, eating, blogging, getting to bed. Each day is rather long, and all of them fly by in a blur. A surprise today was about 5 miles out of Albert Lea, this guy in a car passed me slowly, and yelled, "You are doing pretty good for an old man." The car then pulled off the road and out steps Mark Sherinian, a biker friend from Des Moines. He had been doing a deposition a few hours away and this was sort of on his way home. The main treat for the evening was that Marsha drove up from Des Moines. She brought a few things I needed and took back some of the extras I did not need. Her main concern was how stooped I am. She and Mark agreed that I may need a walker when I return home, or we will need to sign me up for a nursing home. She gave me advice on stretches that will help. We had dinner together before Mark headed back to Iowa. His quote for the evening: "Ellery, you are either a tribute to human endurance, or absolute stupidity." Having Marsha here was wonderful. She is the ultimate biker enabler. Having Mark surprise me was a real treat, also. They and my niece and her family in Rapid City have been the only people I have known previously that I have encountered for the past 2.5 weeks. Tomorrow crossing the Mississippi and into Wisconsin. Glad to hear from the grandchildren, who are all in Kona, HI right now. Why am I riding a bike across the country while they are enjoying themselves on a beach in Hawaii? The choices we make!! Regarding body report: shoulders very stiff, seat is uncomfortable, legs are getting worn down day by day, but keep going, ride is a pain in the neck, a little bruising in the palm of my hand. (I really appreciate your comments--I read all of them, and they are so encouraging. I sometimes do not have time to comment on them, and sometimes can't think of anyting articulate to say. This whole thing is rather disorienting--riding hard each day to get to another town whose main meaning is the overnight motel. I absorb your comments, think about them during the day and will have them as a precious treasure when I can slow down and absorb them. I am daily mindful of how much I appreciate so many people in my life, and how dependent I am on so many people. Actually, we are all very dependent on many people to get through life.

July 24, Stage 18

July 24, Mitchell, SD to Worthington, MN, 135 miles, 2,240 climbing feet. A non-headwind day, thankfully. Began with a 5 mph SW wind, that eventually shifted around out of the west and we were headed east all day. By the end, probably a 10 mph tailwind, which made today much more pleasant. A little less time in the saddle. Temp was not as hot as other days. Got in about 4 or so. The terrain and roads had the feel of Iowa and Ragbrai. Two other riders commented on the similarity. The further east we came, the less hilly. Pretty isolated, compared to travelling with 15-25,000 of my closest friends. Luverne, MN was the biggest city at about 5,000 pop. It is nice to see some civilization, of towns, more corn and soybeans, the smell of money at hog confinements, etc. Looked like some wetland preservation along the way. Got some hopeful help for my lip at Walgreen's. The big item for tomorrow is that Marsha is coming up to Albert Lea to check out my condition and offer encouragement. Many of us are trying to hang on to get to the ferry boat ride across Lake Michigan next Monday--a day off the bike. Laundry is done and drying. Bedtime.