Here I go again, and now I have a "smart-phone": Leaving Saint Paul Thursday morning heading for NYC-- the 2nd Annual ride to NewYork, but this year instead of taking a right at Cleveland, I'll keep going up the Lake to Erie and then head for Pennsylvania's Route "V" that hugs I-80. Camping most nights, and trying to keep it under Thirty-Bucks a Day, I'll keep MBL posted on my progress, and you can follow my twits on twitter @ 1morekilometer.

See you down the Road...

--Arch

Join me? Pepin Thu; thru La Crosse Fri; thru Madison Sat; thru Milwaukee Sun; thru Chicago Mon...

Happy trails to you!

Godspeed. Miss bikin with ya.

Thursday, Sep 1st, 2011: Left late, 10:30 in the Morning.

Rode to Merrick State Park in Wisconsin, 185.27 kilometers, 12-hours on the road, moving-average of 18.9kph with a max of 63.4kph (most likely downhill into Welch).

The only hot day of the Tour, tho I didn't know it yet (I'd only packed for warm-weather)-- a Bank Thermometer in Maiden Rock, WI read 102 fahrenheit. I was riding as far South as I could to try to stay ahead of (or miss entirely) a Giant Storm System that was threatening Rain. I'd wanted to make Perrot State Park near Trempeleau, WI, but using my iPhone I settled for this Campground near Fountain City, WI, where I ate Dinner and had a few pints of Spotted Cow.

Expenses: Trail Fee (Cannon River Trail, from Welch, MN to Red Wing, MN) $4.00; Camping $14.00 (Burlington Northern Santa Fe RR Line with at least 4-Trains an hour runs thru this Park-- but after the first several you don't hear anymore cause you're too busy staring at the inside of your eyelids); Food $24.59.

Friday, Sep 2nd, 2011

142 kilometers; 17.9 kph; 10-hours in the saddle; Near Fountain City, WI to near Kendall, WI.

327.27 kilometers, $98.42, so far.

Didn't beat the weather: awoke 'early' to thunder and pelting rain, went back to sleep.

Got up mid-morning and broke camp, striking my tent and noshing on my 'Breakfast of Champions' (Can of Ravioli & Energy-Bar) in an intermittent drizzle.

The previous nite I had talked on the phone with a Ranger on cost/availability at Merrick so I spent some time finding the Ranger-Station to pay for the previous nite's tent-site. (Late as I was I wanted to get moving, and the Station seemed far from the road, but she was not only fun to jaw with [out of the rain] but she gave me a short-cut back to the road!)

The rain had largely passed and was only a trivial-annoyance, tho as I entered the Great River Trail near Marshland, WI, I learned what the early-morning storm had wrought: Destructive straight-line winds had felled many trees across the Trail, and I felt justified in NOT paying my $4.00 daily Trail-Use Fee as I lifted my 99-pound fully-loaded Touring Bike over tree after tree after tree all morning, midday, afternoon, and evening. There were spots where I had to back-track and get off the Trail entirely as giant trees made the Trail impassable (it travels thru a wetland/swamp in places).

By now I'd entered the Lacrosse River Trail where I saw or heard no evidence that any DNR crews were out clearing the Trail on the Friday of a long Holiday weekend that I'm sure was the last Hurrah! of Summer. I did run into several other Tourists coming the opposite direction and we shared info on places where the Trail was impassable. (I also felt a twinge of guilt seeing they'd paid the Daily Trail Fee, yet I stubbornly still pushed-on, sans Trail Tag.

On the "400" State Trail or the Sparta/Elroy State Trail (all four Trails are strung together) there are three old Railroad Tunnels that you're supposed to walk thru (because I'd gather most Riders don't have good lights, which I do), but I barreled through them with no problems as my B&M LED lightset fully illuminated even the longest of the Tunnels (the one with the bend in the middle where you cannot see either end). It was spookily foggy at the approach to all three tunnels.

On one of the few times I'd been on the road that day, I encountered Black-Buggy Amish who to me, as a Bicyclist, are ALWAYS friendly. Waves and smiles all-round! I'm happy to share with them, seeing life at our mutually slower pace.

It was again dark when I gave up my attempts to keep up the pace I'd set the previous day and threw in the towel at the Tunnel Trail Campground, near Kendall, WI. (It'd just make for a longer, uglier day tomorrow...) I'd stayed here last year, a 'Private' Campground with many amenities, and very kind proprietors who give Bicyclists a break on the Fee (at least the Fee listed on the Internet) and even gave me a beer! Free!

I'd eaten at a Restaurant close to the Campground and had had the Friday Night Fish Fry, and tho they kept the Fish coming (and they'd had Spotted Cow in bottles) i felt strangely not quite full even after a slice of Cherry Pie. So I ate more snack-items at the Camp Store at Tunnel Trail.

Food: $31.32; Trail Fee (paid in advance for next-day) $4.00; Camp: $15.83; Late-Nite Snacks and Postcards: $4.68

Saturday, Sep 3rd, 2011

201.38K; 17.2 kph; 64.6 max-kph; 15-hours in the saddle; Near Kendall WI to near Lake Mills, WI

528.65 kilometers, $133.65, 3-days, so far.

Start early (for me) at 8:20 after striking my tent under rain-threatening skies, while noshing my breakfast of choice (yes, I actually like wolfing-down a can of meaty-pasta with an energy-bar and some Gatorade!).

Ride the Sparta/Elroy Trail to Elroy where I supplement my Breakfast with some doughnuts at Kwik Trip, dodging the first rain-storm of the day.

Following the 400-Trail to Reedsburg where I dodge the second rainstorm of the day, again at Kwik Trip (did I mention I love Kwik Trip? The perfect location for the Gas-Station Gourmet!) I was steeling myself to head out into the rain, dawdling under the overhang out of the rain, when a rag-tag guy I'd never talk to under normal circumstances saunters up and starts talking about the rain and how he's waiting it out, too, as he's on a motorcycle. He tells me he just looked at some Woman's smartphone in a bar and saw the radar that shows the storm will blow over in about a quarter-hour. After he headed back to his motorbike I decided to wait for 15-minutes and then go, rain or shine. Sure enough, I pack my raingear and head out under gradually clearing skies, following a pre-entered Route on my Garmin Etrex Vista HCX to Madison, WI.

My Rohloff Speedhub is starting to make noise, a rhythmic almost thumping noise that has me worried. As I'm moving thru Madison I call my Bicycle-Mechanic back in Saint Paul and quiz him on the Rohloff (we're both pretty clueless, but we get by...) With a sunny tail-wind I was searching for a Bike Path out of Madison to Cottage Grove (where the Glacial Drumlins Trail begins) I ask 'the Man in the street' for directions-- he gives me good directions and we talk about my Rohloff, which it turns out he's saving-up for.

A word about Madison-- it's been remade into a Bicycling Town since I lived there in 1985/86! There are Bike Paths/Trails/Routes everywhere! And while I still got lost due to inadequate signage (more on this later) there are Cycling-specific rails-to-trails Paths all over town! I'd gladly live there again seeing what they've done with the place.

So I was feeling the Bonk coming on but was desperate to get to Lake Mills and pitch before the coming rainstorm and dusk, or both. On the outskirts of Madison I stopped at a fast-food restaurant to pound some calories and it started pouring, so I called someone who had a computer and asked them to look at the Radar-- they reported seeing nothing but green (massive rainstorm). So I ate and put on my raingear. But when I was set to go, the rain had stopped! I lit out for Cottage Grove, the Trail, and Lake Mills thinking I should take advantage of the lull, but it never started raining again! I stopped at an all-night Super-Market and bought a couple more cans of Ravioli, including a House-Brand for .89-cents! Yum!

It was kind of spooky charging through the woods and farmland on the Glacial Drumlins State Trail in the pitch black night, but I have a good Generator and Lightset so I was able to see the flora and fauna of Central Wisconsin as it whizzed by beneath my wheels. The most common Reptile? Frog. The most common Mammal? House Cat.

After the "Secret Shower" at the Lake Mills Depot I headed for the Campground, in the dark-- my lights found the 'Bicycle shortcut Entrance', but I wanted to go by the Paybox so I continued on the road, passing the auto-entrance in the dark, and by the time I'd turned around I'd insured my double Metric-Century by the time I'd found a vacant campsite (it was the start of the Labor Day Weekend, after all). I pitched while eating my 'high-end' Trail Mix and getting eaten by the voracious mosquitos that swarmed me whenever I stood still. (Two of them dined on me all night, leaving a big ugly red splotch when I slapped them in the morning.) I slept without brushing my teeth or taking my pills after a 15-hour travel day. Some rowdy and loud campers came in at Bar-Time, but I was too tired to care.

Food: $23.23; Camp: $12.00 (Discounted Rate for Bicyclists-- even lower had I been a Wisconsin Resident)

This is cool. Thanks!

I am interested in hearing further about this groovin' adventure. Waiting to read about remainder of tour. More, please?

Sunday, Sep 4th, 2011

145.84 kilometers; 18.6kph; 11-hours ride-time; near Lake Mills, WI to City Park in Racine, WI.

So Far: 674.49 kilometers; $213.88; 4-Days Riding.

Woke up late after my long-day and late-night. Ranger was initially adversarial as I'd not filled out form and paid (in the dark) but by the end of our conversation we were chatting like good friends-- he's moving out to Colorado to be closer to the Grandkids and will take a part-time Park Service job there as well. He charged me less than the auto-rate (as it should be).

Ate my Breakfast of Champions as I leisurely struck my tent and packed, filled my water-bottles, and meandered back to the Glacial Drumlins Trail where I bought a daily Trail-Pass ($4.00) from the same Ranger, figuratively wearing a different hat.

Out on the Trail my mechanical problem was intermittently either non-existent or REALLY bad-- I could sometimes hear and FEEL roughness in the pedal-stroke. I stopped at a Bike store on the Trail and they were initially disinterested but warmed up to a (as it turned out) fellow-Tourist. Gave me a partial list of Bike Dealers in Chi that handled Rohloff. Bought a jacket on an End-Of-Season sale as the days were cool and the nights cooler still (I'd foolishly packed for a Summer-Tour but was now riding in definitely Autumnal weather).

It struck me that I'd met a Rohloff-expert by chance last year close to work and I thought I remembered his email address-- I tried it and lo and behold he answered! We had an email tit-for-tat discussion and he told me about a company in Albany, CA, that'd assist me further with Q & A, tho he basically said that the sounds of the Rohloff eating itself were not normal. The jury is still out on what the problem was/is-- more on this in subsequent Posts.

When I hit Milwaukee at the end of the Glacial Drumlins Trail my pre-programed Garmin Device saved the day, again-- last year I'd burned up a lot of time getting in to the metro on questionable roads and gotten bum-directions from motorists (who are usually pretty clueless about roads they navigate daily). There are loosely connected Trails all the way to Indiana from the Milwaukee Area, some of better quality than others, but there is a distinct lack of Signage, ESPECIALLY for non-local Cyclists traveling through the Area. (Again, more on this conundrum later!)

Finding the Campsite was harder than it had to be as I, again, was now navigating in the dark, through the alternately mean-streets of ghetto-cities, juxtaposed cheek to jowl with Milwaukee proper, or auto-choked Routes that in the dark are a challenge to Bike through unless you claim your lane and don't take any crap from the non-sharing segment of that population. Once I was out in the Hinterlands of the rural-areas of urban sprawl it was better-going but still difficult to read informational and/or street-signs in the dark. When I finally located the City Park in Racine, I passed the unassuming entrance twice before I wound-in on the Garmin to see where I was in relation to the Park-Entrance. (My choice of Campgrounds had been gleaned from my iPhone as my first-choice, Zion State Park in Northern Illinois, was closed due to a mid-Summer windstorm that apparently blew down many trees that the Illinois State Legislature was loathe to replace, or even clean up. I hope they're back up and running by next year's MSP/NYC Tour.)

Before I'd made it to Racine, I'd experienced a late-day rain-storm that I was (mostly) prepared for with my new jacket, rain-covers for my non-Ortlieb bags and my Rain-Legs (a great Danish invention-- look it up on google!). Though only about a quarter of an hour in duration, the storm was sufficient to cool down the temperature and soak my socks, which was a drag in the now cool night.

Once in the Campground I took a slow troll 'round the Campsites to find one that was close to the Showers/Toilets and far from partiers/yard-lights. When I settled on a particularly dark site and was pitching, a man from a neighboring site came over to talk (he was a non-Tourist distance-rider as it turned out) and told me there was a light above this site that intermittently flashed on, and showed me a site I'd missed in the dark. When I'd pitched and showered he invited me to sit with his Wife and Father-In-Law at their roaring fire so I could dry my socks and warm up-- he also told me how to pay for the site as I'd said I was going to wait for the Ranger, who he said would never arrive.

Again, the Kindness of Strangers made me feel an inner-warmth as I zipped-up in my bag and slept under a large Oak tree in a Campground in rural Racine, Wisconsin.

Food: $9.42 (ate lots of Energy Bars I'd packed back in Saint Paul; Camp $23.00 (kind of steep, but the facilities were well-maintained and the showers very-warm, if not actually hot); Jacket: $47.81 (Rain, cool temps, wind-- a good jacket for the money, day-glo yellow/green with reflective hilites. A fine Louie Garneau product.)

Monday, Sep 5th, Labor Day, 2011

178.63 kilometers; 19.4kph; 11-hours Ride-Time; Racine, WI to Hobart, IN.

So far: 853.12 kilometers; $239.56; 5-days riding.

Woke late again (Surprise! It seems to be my M.O.) ate my traditional Breakfast of Champions as I struck camp and had a momentary pang of giddy angst as I watched the motor-campers from the previous night depart ahead of me. Rats.

Finally on the Road (following a convoluted series of Bike Paths South to Chicago) I was in an INCREIDIBLE Tail-Wind! I felt a strange Bonk coming on so I stopped at a Gas Station and bought 4-items, taking care to choose the most calorie-laden products I could locate. Sat in the sun by the side of the Gas Station in the otherwise cool mid-morning eating my second breakfast. Back out on the Trail again I still wasn't satisfied and stopped at a Burger King that advertised 2-for-1 Chicken Sandwiches. Ate and talked to a guy from Eastern Europe who was on his weekly Ride from Chicago to Milwaukee "for the fun of it"... I imagine he wasn't having too much fun today fighting the wind on his low-tech, used, 70's straight-gauge steel Bike, but he wasn't complaining. Stopped a final time for a peach and some yogurt in Lake Forest, IL. It felt good to be in the store where it seemed warm!

As I neared Chicago I encountered lots of pokey people on the Path on this, the last Holiday Weekend of the Summer, one clique of texting-teens I almost ran over as I was flying with the Tailwind on my heavy Pannier-laden Bike. Started riding with a Woman named Janice who asked me where I was headed-- it was a good thing as she forced me to pick up the pace. We rode in as she explained how to get to the Lakefront Bicycle Trail, only she kept riding further and further explaining that it was complicated to find this Trail or that Path, gradually becoming late for work at her EMT-job. I thanked her profusely as we parted ways and rode through a Sculpture-Park in to Chicago proper.

My Rolhoff had been sounding like it was eating itself for several days now, but the numbers I now called of local shops all proved to be pretty fruitless as they were mostly closed on Labor Day. Go figure. So I gave up and headed for Indiana. Many people had warned me about Bicycling through the South Side of Chicago, but same as last year, the only people to give me any problems were white-guys in big cars.

Luckily I was following a 'bread-crumb' path on my GPS and checking an iPhone Application 'BIKENAV' as well as a simple map of the area because I was instructed by the Garmin map (as well as Bike Route Signage) to cross a now closed Bridge (with, Surprise! No Posted Bicycle Detour)-- I just followed the cars.

Again on semi-contiguous Bike Paths through various communities that did or did not join to each other I cranked my way South and East eventually into Hammond, IN, where a totally confusing Bike-Route Connection from last year STILL hadn't been fixed! And night fell as I confusedly found myself riding in circles in the no-man's land of a dying strip-mall on the edge of the intersection of two car-choked streets. I eventually took one of them and on an overpass saw the Trail I'd desperately spent a half-an-hour searching for. When I went into the neighborhood that lay aside this Trail I had to backtrack a few kilometers to gain access as it was a limited-access Trail! A guy walking his dog commented on how 'nice and bright' my lightset was as I doggedly plodded South and East.

My Uncle called me and in the dark (pitch-black now on this unlit, rural Trail), pulling the phone out I also pulled out a water-tight case that I only realized I'd dropped when I replaced the phone after the conversation. Cursing, I went back to try to find the case in the dark, surprisingly finding it almost immediately... BUT, stopping to pick it up I couldn't get my left-foot out of the cleat on the pedal and I fell over, yelling curses now, bruising my ribs. It only hurt when I laughed, which I had to do when I realized I had overshot my turn-off and had to head North and East to connect with the Trail that lead through Gary to Hobart, where I was to stay with my Aunt and Uncle in lieu of camping.

I found the Trail to Hobart (which continues on into Michigan) after Riding on some roads with absolutely NO shoulders, again in the stygian darkness, following my Garmin-maps with only a vague idea of where I could pick up my 'bread-crumbs' again that led to this Trail. On the Trail I rode over a new section through a wetland in a seemingly well-to-do suburb before finally hitting Gary, with its run-down buildings, trash and general decrepitude.

When I finally reached my destination, my Aunt and Uncle had a cold beer and a hot meal waiting for me, on the first 3-State Day of the Tour-- I'd traveled from Southern Wisconsin, through Chicago in Illinois, into Northwestern Indiana.

Food: $25.68. (Lots of 'High-End' Trail-Mix and dry-mix Gatorade. As I didn't stop much after leaving Chicago for fear of (inevitably) Riding in the Dark. Again, my M.O.

While I had planned to spend a 'Rest Day' in Northwestern Indiana, my 14-speed Internal-Gear Rohloff-Speedhub was clearly not functioning properly and as I'd gotten closer to my Aunt & Uncle's house I'd gone over the possible scenarios in my mind: from continuing on and hoping it wouldn't totally malfunction; getting the Hub fixed by the California firm via FEDEX; buying and using an 'entry-level' Bike; or swapping-out the wheel, Hub and its accompanying cables and shifters with a traditional freewheel, derailleur, and accompanying cables and housing.

When I woke up on my Rest Day I phoned my Bicycle Mechanic back in Saint Paul and asked if he could send a wheel from a Bicycle I have stored in his shop (that's slowly being cannibalized of various parts for my current Bike) as well as, at his suggestion, the chain that was married to the cluster and a new steel chanring. As he'd have to order the chainring from Quality, the whole package couldn't be mailed until Thursday; Next I lined up a local Bike Store (in Valparaiso, IN) to do the switch, took my Bike in to their shop, and again called my Mechanic and had the two Mechanics talk over what was to be done, and where the replacement-wheel-assembly was to be mailed in Indiana.

I dropped my Bike off, and settled in to 4-days of sleeping, eating, drinking, visiting and site-seeing-- and a wee bit of planning and tamping-down my anxiety to slog on to NYC...

During my stay I tried as best as I could (when my Aunt and Uncle would let me) to pay my way for my unexpected 3-extra days in Hobart, buying groceries, cooking, picking up after myself, and generally getting along.

I went to REI in Chicago with my Uncle who'd gone in for a job-interview and bought a new 'Man-Bag' and an impulse-item off the clearance-rack of a coolmax hoodie, for lack of a better descriptor. All tolled the damages to my budget for my 4-days inactivity were Food: $126.92; Trains: $9.90; Clothes: $69.23; Drinks: $7.23 (sounds low, but that's what the notes say!)

The wheel arrived at the Bike Shop in Valparaiso on Friday mid-day with the regular UPS-shipment (at a cost of $166.00!-- Next Day Air), and the local Mechanic assured me he'd get to it "if he had time"-- he also said it probably wouldn't get done on Saturday as it was the Annual Popcorn Festival in Valpo (as the locals call it), so I added a bit of subtle-pressure combined with some left-handed begging and told him I'd show up at closing-time to see if it was ready.

It was, much to my relief-- I paid for the switch ($78.04), and collected my Bicycle with its newly-installed 'traditional' drivetrain as well as the Rohloff and its conglomeration of attachments, cables, shifter and parts. and went back to my Aunt and Uncle's to load up my Bike, ride it around a bit, buy and eat some processed-sweets and try to get to sleep 'early'. (Interestingly I had a weird nightmare and woke up in the middle of the night with my bruised-ribs playing a part of the dream...) This was now the Saturday morning of the 10th of September, I had spent 4-days, 3-more than planned, in Northwestern Indiana, and was now ready to continue on to NYC. The weather had been relatively nice the whole time I'd been lazily relaxing, now it was grey and overcast, looking like rain, which was in the forecast. The cassette & derailleur combo seemed whisper-quiet compared to the Rohloff, especially the last several days as it ate itself, with all the accompanying noise...

6.56K.

Love your posts, archiesturmer. Keep 'em coming!

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm glad someone's following this other than me-- I'll keep grinding away...

I am following as well. Hoping to undertake a journey like this in a few years.