Day 63. Resting in Bradford, VT

The Adirondacks

Vermont Farm

View of Lake George from Fort Ticonderoga

Alicia at Front Gate of Fort Ticonderago

When we arrived at our destination here in Bradford,VT yesterday, we had a very nice welcoming committee hooting and waving at us as we came up the final hill, and the darling little girls ran down the driveway with balloons and bicycling medals complete with red/white/blue ribbon for us. Then it was the much anticipated hot shower and a delicious pasta dinner, which I had craved many times on the road, but surprisingly was just not available.

Our bodies are getting a much needed rest here today. Pete was having cramps in his leg and arm muscles last night, after many hours of sleep he is feeling better this afternoon.

An Amazing Journey
It is hard to believe that we are almost across to the Atlantic Ocean. About two more days of riding left. I am ready to be done. It has been an amazing and wonderful, hard and frustrating journey at the same time. As one cyclist told me (paraphrased), "It isn't the romantic bike ride that you imagine it will be, if it was easy everyone would do it." The amazing part has been not knowing what will happen up ahead, and yet cool and fun things were always around the corner. The wonderful part has been all of the great people we have met and talked to, in unexpected places. The hard part has been road conditions and traffic. The frustrating part has been dealing with the bugs. If you noticed I didn't mention the weather, although we suffered many days of humidity, I feel we have been blessed weather wise. (Not sure Pete would agree!) There was alot of unseasonably cool and cloudy days for which I have been extremely thankful for, since it kept me cool most of the time, and I have a tendency to overheat easily.

Last Roadkill Update
The roadkill across the Adirondacks has been completely different, it consisted of slugs, snails, frogs, salamanders, and their various colored round splotches left behind. Parts of the road looked polka-dot because of this. These are details that would not be noticed riding in a car. Everything is in HD (high-definition) when on a bicycle.

Looking forward to tomorrow's adventure... - Alicia


Dateline: Yesterday

The night before and this morning we watched the weather for the latest on the tropical storm moving up the eastern seaboard. Will it miss us? Will we experience the deluge of 2-4 inches, probably more in the mountains? We are in Middlebury, VT. The weather here is the typical riding weather of hazy, but clear-ish air with some promise of sun to come, evidenced by the filtered glow of the hazy clouds.

We start out southbound as our route takes us to the gates of Breadloaf just outside East Middlebury. As we parallel the Green mountains on our left, thick bands of dark gray clouds kiss the top of the ridge. On our right all looks good. "Are we really going to head into this, Alicia?", I ask. We pass through East Middlebury and before us is the beginning of the dread climb. It is impossibly steep. We have two initial stretches that are just too steep for us to ride. 5 miles into the ride and this. Impossible. There is a sign saying this road is not recommended for tractor trailers. Really!! We are expected to ride what a truck is not expected to travel?! After blowing out our legs, we walk the bikes, a cyclists ultimate humiliation - bikes are for riding. (We later learn some of these pitches are up to 13% grade - truly impossibly steep.)

The skies darken. The mosquitos emerge from the shadows and envelope us in clouds of hunger. Ahhhh! Ditch the bikes - find the bug spray - fend off the skeeters. Is this really happening?! At this point the tale would continue with: "... and then it rained.".

Only, thank God, it didn't. We endured. We persisted. We reached our goal after one of the toughest days of the trip. The clouds threatened all day, yet ever remained just before us, like we were closely following behind the rain. Often we felt light spray from the clouds; often we saw freshly wet roads, but never did we get full rain.

~Pete

Day 62. Bradford, Vermont

We have made it to the other side of Vermont. 89 miles; lots of
hills. The hills tend to be steep here. There were several that were
at 13% grade. A normal highway is graded to 6 or 7%.

At 10 am we had only covered 24 miles due to the climb over "Bread
Loaf". Still we pressed on and finally managed to join Dave and
Marianne Barthel at thier home here in Bradford. I worked with Dave a
few years back at Dartmouth. It is great catching up.

We will rest here tomorrow.

Two more days of riding to Portland, Maine. Wow! It's been some ride.

~ Pete (iPhone)

Day 61. Middlebury, Vermont

Good bye New York! It was good. We really enjoyed all the wooded lakes.

Adirondacks




Hello Vermont!!



As soon as we crossed Lake Champlain (via Ferry - awesome!) we knew we were in Vermont. There is just a certain look and feel some places have. It is very pretty here. The nice rolling hills and farmsteads really set it apart. Other states have stood out as well. I remember crossing the Red River from Fargo, ND to Minnesota and hitting this wall of humidity. That really marked the beginning of the hyper humid mid-west in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and especially Indiana. Ohio and New York as well. Now I know this has been an exceptional weather year for all these places, but one must take note of the high humidity especially when accustomed to the decent temperature and humidity of the great Pacific Northwest! Yeah Baby! The PNW rocks weather wise as long as you can tolerate a bit of rain (which I love).

We started off slooow. A really tough start. No motivation, hills right away, I was ready to quit at 20 miles. Except I know you can't give in to those feelings. We pressed on. And on. And on. Finally covering 85 miles to Middlebury, Vermont. We went over the Blue Ridge mountains which turned out to be an respectable climb. Our New York map shows no elevation profiles which is a shame - some of these climbs should rate a profile.

One of our long descents was spoiled by a deluge of rain. It almost was hail at one point. Painful. I threw on my raincoat, which is a useless gesture as I was already completely soaked. But it did make me a bit warmer and softened the blow of the driven rain and half frozen hail. Alicia had a bit of trouble stopping her bike. It was steep enough we had to get the additional leverage of applying the brakes from the handle bar drops.

We toured Fort Ticonderoga. There is so much history in this part of the country. This fort has played a critical role several times in the past. Originally built by the French to protect Lake Champlain, it changed hands several times over the years. Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Hudson river are all near and provide critical access to vast reaches of colonial North America. Fort Ticonderoga is where the two lakes meet. And the Hudson river is just south of Lake George. This is the same Hudson river that runs by Manhattan. It was a well built fort made of stone overlooking both Lakes.

We took a ferry that has been running since the 1700's connecting highway 74 in New York state to Vermont. It was a fun respite. I love being on the water in any form.

We plan to go to Bradford, Vermont tomorrow. It is slightly off route and will afford us the much anticipated opportunity of reconnecting with friends from the time I worked at Dartmouth. It'll be fun.

Less than 250 miles to go!!! Getting close!

Check out this little fellow screaming across the road. As stretched out, giving his all. Go man, go!!



~Pete

Day 60. Long Lake - Adirondack

The Adirondaks are great. This is a land of wooded lakes. Houses
with names dot the lakes shores. The Seguls Nest, Whispering Pines,
Singing Waters. Now I feel I need come up with a cool name for where
I live. How about Beer Parlor?

We started out with wet roads, a favorable weather report and no
rain. As we rode the clouds lowered, dew started forming on my
forearms, and my glasses started collecting water. After awhile we
took a break and there was a really fine mist falling. Is it mist or
just really thick clouds?

Wet, wet, wet... How many ways are there to be wet. There is, of
course, rain. But there is also the heavy dew. A couple mornings
ago, everything was so wet it might as well have rained. Then there
is exertion. Any and all of these can occur, sometimes simultaneously.

What good is a rain coat in these conditions? None! Unless trying to
stay warm you will be wet anyway.

Day 59. Boonville, NY

This is an attempt to capture what one of the hills we've climbed look like. The little gray line up the hill in the background is the same road as the foreground.


From Fulton we went north through Mexico to Port Ontario. We then headed due east through Pulaski with some soutward deviation. Once again, many hills were thrown up in our path, though we did manage to cover 80 miles.

Today we saw a few Amish and Mennonite farmers. The Mennonite was milling his own planks from logs.

It was a 10 dog day, some in pairs,as they hurled themselves at us at top speed. I can usually talk them down. It's funny because though we have Halt, a strong version of pepper spray that shoots 15 feet for dogs, by the time Alicia is able to pull it from the mount near her handle bars, the threat is passed. Just as well. I can just see accidentally shooting ourselves with it. If you have ever been shot with pepper spray you know this is no fun.

One dog just wanted to run with us and boy could he run. We were going about 15 and he just poured it on streaking ahead of us. He must have been going 20. Good show! I was impressed.

We left Lake Ontario for good once we left Port Ontario. It was a let down as the route today did not afford us any views of the lake even though we paralled the lake for 10 miles.

The day was very humid and the sun barely cast a shadow most of the day. In the afternoon rain threatened and we finally did get some sprinkles. Nothing serious though. Rain is expected tonight and tomorrow. Yuck.

Alicia goofed and mentioned that she felt a few drops. Now many of us know you just can't do that within earshot of a thunderstorm. Sure enough one of them heard her and thought we wanted to join in with it and play in the water as thunderstorms love to do. Shortly afterward it started spitting more rain and we even heard thunder. I was able to save the day through some adroit navigation and fast pedaling as we quietly slipped away. Whew! That was close. I think Alicia knows better now. :)

My Little Buddy

Yesterday I saw this little fella crossing the road. I stopped to give him a boost.




Orchards

This is one of many orchards near Williamson. Williamson is the self-proclaimed "core" of apple country.



Forests

This is a sample of the forests near us today.


I think we have 2 more days in New York. I am targeting being finished next Monday. It depends on how we handle the coming hills and passes as well as the weather. I am planning a rest day in this as well.

Later!!

~ Pete (iPhone)

Day 58. Fulton, NY

We have encountered the enemy and his name is "Endless Hills"! 73
miles. Our map mentions the last glacier formed hills similar to sand
dunes which are steep on one side and gradual on the other. The are
arranged so that the steep side faces west. We have confirmed this is
the case - the hard way!!!

We stopped in Williamson and sent back another 9.5 pounds of vital,
irreplaceable gear that we now must find a way to live without. But
we are lighter.

We had a nice lunch at a roadside fruit stand and restuarant called
Burnaps.

Lake Ontario

Day 57. Macedon

Oh what a day. We covered some good ground taking a shortcut around
Buffalo and cutting straight over to Rochester before jumping on the
Erie canal trail. After 107 miles we find ourselves in Macedon at a
hiker/biker/boater camp right on the canal at lock #30.

The odd thing is, we are not tired. Normally I am nearly catetonic
after a day like this, but we both feel great and we got it at a
decent time: 5:30ish.

Tomorrow we will go north to Lake Ontario and follow the the coast the
rest of the day eastward and northward.

I took a shortcut continuing on highway 20 to highway 33 which cut
diagonally across the state to Rochester saving about 47 miles.

Day 56. Rest Day in Orchard Park

Wild Waves Camp





Huntington



Cleveland



We are happily resting today. We stocked up on food for the day in the evening yesterday and have been holed up all day. Everything is now dry from the big wet yesterday, though it did take putting Alicia's riding shoes in the sun a few hours to get them dry. They were still sopping wet this morning, er, at 1 pm when we got up.

We first got up at 8am and ate breakfast, then went back to bed. What bliss. No riding today. Funny though I do feel antsy after a while.

We have ridden 3324.5 miles. Wow! That's a few, huh? This week was a new high with 544 miles covered. We have two maps to go: one 421 mile through New York state; the other, the wrap up, traversing 402 miles of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. From this we will cut off about 60 miles with a shortcut tomorrow and we plan to end in Yarmouth a bit north of Portland saving another hundred or so miles. I did a loose mapping of days and estimate we could be done in as few as 7 more days of riding. There will be another rest day - so 8. And the mountains may tax us in New Hampshire so maybe another. Still we are getting very near. It is starting to be exciting that we will soon finish.

After 56 days on the road, this is not one of those cases where it feels this is ending too soon. We are ready. It has not been too much and it certainly will not be too little.

What!? No Corn!?




Going Wild

You know how we say that dogs (and other animals) can go wild after being turned loose on their own. Well, in a sense I feel the same is true for me. Not wild but perspectives really do change. There have been several relaxations of attitude that I think is for the better. Things that I would once have watched for I am not so concerned about, other things I didn't think of I pay attention too. The "safety things" are not quite the concern they were. What happens happens. The facts are bad things do not happen often, people do care and are interested in you and your well being, and causing you harm is incredibly inconvenient for the one causing harm.

We take pains to be visible. Particularly in day light. We have these bright Yellow/Lime colored wind jackets that we put on the back of the bike when not being worn because frankly, you can see us from like half a mile. They are great. Better than yellow, or flashers. In rainy weather, the flashers are great. Especially Alicias 3 X 7 inch giant flasher. We also use our headlights in flasher mode so that cars from the opposite direction know we are here. This has been important in a few car passing situations. I also wave to people to be friendly but to make sure we are seen.

These are the precautions. After this, I know we have done what we can to be visible. If we need to be on the road because the shoulder does not exist or the shoulder is too rough, we are. People do give us accommodation most of the time. We find that we can count on the good will of others to a great extent. There are though some who are decidedly nasty. It always evokes the question: "Why do you want to risk killing someone just because we are a bit of an inconvenience? What is so bad about slowing down a bit?".

In the end though, our lives are entrusted to God's care. I am glad not to have a rear view mirror. That would be scary and we would probably have gone off the road several times by now avoiding what we "thought" might happen. I have cars go by with maybe 6 inches to spare. I may look bullet proof, but, of course, I'm not. One little brush would probably really screw me up.

The two biggest challenges have been the high speed highways that have no shoulder and the really rough city streets where you only have time to react, react, react and you must take a lane.

Still, I have lost the fear and replaced it with precautions, considered action, and trust in my fellow man that they do not want to cause an accident.

Camping in strange places; securing gear; riding with traffic; meeting people; agreeing to stay in peoples places; all of these have concerns with them. Concerns I have left behind. Loss is not to be feared and all of these are related to loss. Loss of property, life, freedom; it can be so paralyzing and at the least occupies too much attention. Let it all go. Focus instead on relaxing, meeting people, accepting generosity, and, satisfying the interest of others. The other stuff may happen but probably will not.

In a larger sense, we are facing this with my job situation. It will all settle out and all will be well. It is well now. Life is happening and we are happening with it. Life is good. Life is living.

Astabula




My Latest Fashion Statement



~Pete

Day 55. Orchard Park, New York

Here we are in New York state. An easy 73 mile day complicated by
afternoon rain. We had a bit of rain in the morning that really
picked up at our lunch break. We were also tired. It's been a big
mileage week. Over 500.

But really, our overall time was still good. It rained hard this
afternoon. We were drenched. It is warm enough that rain gear does
little good. You either get wet from rain or under the rain gear from
exertion. You really can't tell which.

We plan to stay in Orchard Park tomorrow for a much needed rest day.
Butch and Chuck may catch up and ride with us Sunday. We'll see.

Day 54. PA/NY Border - Joe Barber place

The adventure continues. Strong tailwinds today provide much but
delivered little. The map also promised
lots of riding with lake views. Sadly these things did not pan out.
Still a good solid ride.

We took a 2.5 hour break for library and lunch in Conneaut Ohio. We
were interviewed for the local paper. A reporter saw us and hailed us
over. We talked far a good 30 minutes.

At the library, I handled a few of the difficult things we have not
discussed much. I noted in the news recently some refernces to
"funemployment". This is a fun term to apply to the unemployed who
decide to do something fun with their time off. While many may have
resources to pursue these things and while what we are doing could be
seen as funemployment, I have to say that for us this is not easy or a
purely fun undertaking. It is actually very inexpensive to live as we
are right now while working through the job hunt and ceditor
difficulties. Today I spent time printing and faxing key documents to
the mortgage company. We will likely lose the house which is a
sadness. I really like our home and it was a very reasonable and
modest purchase when employed. Please understand these things are
difficult and are not far from our thoughts as we travel. The library
was very helpful with networking, printing, faxing, and shredding the
faxed documents.

We had passed through Erie, Pennsylvania today and had decided to
press on to make the journey to Orchard Park, NY easier tomorrow when
we came up to a fellow on the side of the rode. His name is Joe
Barber and he Is a pediatrician in Erie. He offered us a place to
sleep at his place very near where we were considering camping for the
night.

We are rested having showered, jacuzied, and washed clothes. His
place on Lake Erie is very nice.

The view below is of the Lake Erie shoreline from Joe's backyard. We
covered 93 miles even with the big break. The wind helped
occasionally, though we were often sheltered by trees.

Day 53. Perry, Ohio

Chillin to the band at the city park in Perry. Nice community event
next to Lake Erie. Free too. The people are really enjoying
themselves. It is nice to just sit back and enjoy the people and music.

We traveled 91 miles passing through Cleveland today. Lots of rad
urban riding. It is almost like mountain biking picking your way
through the minefield of potholes, car whizing by, asserting your
space on the road and whipping along at high speed. Dangerous but
also fun.

Tomorrow we are looking to Erie, PA or beyond.

Day 52. Wild Waves

Here we see Lake Erie. We rode 95 miles to get here. The weather was
decent; cool this morning, 88 this afternoon. We will be following
Erie for the next 250 miles.

It is nice in camp. Very much a resort. Too bad there us little
time to enjoy. We are bushed.

Severe weather is in the forecast. We'll see. Hopefuly it wil miss
us.

Today a tent pole broke. It's fixed, but will need repair soon. I'll
give REI a call tomorrow and see about shipping replacement parts to a
post office down the road, general delivery.

After that a tent stake snapped in half. Oh well, just another set of
things to deal with. No big deal.

We expect to skate through the Cleveland metro area tomorrow. About
85 miles.

Night All - from Ohio

Day 51. Grand Rapids, Ohio

We made it into Ohio. A 77 mile day ( which feels moderate not
stressful). Nice weather, lower humidity, no wind early, tailwind
late - a good day of riding.

This picture is of a civic building ( court house, I think) in
Napolean. Very interesting architectue.

Last night in Monroeville when we rolled into camp we saw a couple of
guys I thought we would not see again: Chuck and Butch. They had met
somewhere on the road and were traveling together. We last saw Chuck
more than a month ago. I figured he was at least a week ahead. I had
also heard Butch decided to shoot on down the road, so I was surprised
to see him. Good meet!! Truely the fellowship of the road...

This morning we found that Jean-Marc had arrived. Another huge
surprise. He last dropped into Minneapolis to rest. So I thought we
would not be seeing him again. But here he is. He rode 175 miles in
one day just to get across Indiana. I am impressed. I would not have
thought anyone could ride so far in a day. I'm pretty sure I
couldn't. It did take him around 18 hours though.

Day 50. Monroeville - 115 miles - Alicia is 50!!

What a day. We rode 115 miles to the edge of Indiana here in
Monroeville. We enter Ohio tomorrow. If we do 400 miles a week, we
have 3 weeks left.

On this 50th day, Alicia turned 50. We indulged in copious amounts of
ice cream at the Whippy Dip. I had so much, I was cold for 30 minutes
after I went back into the 80 degree heat. The orange ice cream
slushes were fabulous ( I had 2.). Alicia had a huge banana split.

So we continued off route at 7:10 am. It was cool in the 60's and the
humidity was way down. I had actual drops of water on my forearms
instead of the unbroken sheet of water I had previous days.

It was pretty windless and we had a plan to take highway 24 up through
Huntington. When we got to the divided highway at Logansport we were
very disapppinted to find it had no shoulder. We aborted that plan
and took business 24 into town. I found that business 24 continued as
other roads along the desired route so that is how we continued. The
roads were ok, sometimes no shoulder, but very little traffic. We
rejoined the route past Huntington.

Later in the day we had some nice tailwinds which made the last 25
miles easier than we felt.

The picture below is an ice cream truck as we entered Monroeville.
What is awesome is it says it is a song truck on the side. For years
we told our beloved children the ice cream truck was a music truck and
failed to mention it sold ice cream so this is like perfect!!

Fish, Food, The Beast, and More

Fish
My fish are hungry. Please be sure to feed my fish when you visit the site by clicking your mouse in the pool.

http://beerraam.blogspot.com

Goal
One of my goals for this trip is to lose weight. Last year, the day before my 49th birthday, I checked myself into the hospital because of some strange feelings in my chest and electric feelings in my arms. The doctors looked in my blood vessels, found some partial blockages, and put in a stent to open up one of them. I did not have heart damage which means, I technically did not have a heart attack. Still when I asked the doctor about alternative to the procedure, he said I could go home a die. Chilling and not much choice.

After all this, one becomes suspicious of every strange feeling. I had a stress test earlier this year with good results. At the end of January I started to diet with the notion of improving my health. So less food, less bad fats (monounsaturated fatty acids are okay), more fiber, less simple sugars, and, alas, no ice cream and other goodies. There is one food that can actually reduce build up in blood vessels: oatmeal. So I decided to eat more of that. Whole oats. They cook up fast in the microwave and have a good nutty flavor. I personally add nothing to it.

So at the turn of the year after bulk up season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, several birthdays and Easter), I started watching what I eat and weighed around 285. I have been floating around this weight for years. At the end of January I started logging my food intake with an iPhone app and weighed 278. To lose 2 pounds a week at that weight I could eat about 2100 calories a day. I also walked. I started walking to the MAX train station which is 3 miles one way from my house. Not every day, but many, and built up to walking for 2.5-3.5 hours at least one day of the weekend often both. I would often cover 11 miles.

When we started the bike trip I was down to 263.

On this trip I estimate we burn an extra 4-5000 calories a day (6-7000 total). There is a lot of room to eat. In fact, I have been more concerned about making sure I eat enough, even when I am not hungry, to ensure I have energy enough for the ride ahead. There is nothing worse than limping into the end of a ride because of bonking from not enough energy. It happens.

Well yesterday I had my first opportunity to weigh. I hope the scale is accurate. It says I have lost 43 pounds at a mid-day weigh in. I weighed in at 223. Nice. If I lose enough I may be able to reduce medications which is another goal. I would love to get to about 185. It looks like I'm losing about 7 pounds a week so sub-200 may be possible and even desirable as the last few pounds would be lost with a more favorable and reasonable diet.

There are challenges ahead, the big one adjusting eating habits to maintain the new weight. But I'm up for that. It's past time to put as much as I can, right. I don't want to be debilitated sooner than necessary as I ripen.

Strawberries

So we were riding along and I saw a farm advertising you pick strawberries. I thought: "Why not. We should stop in, pick a few, and enjoy!". We went on. A few miles later there is a farmers market selling strawberries only now I just must stop. I picked up a basket. Now what? How can I ride and eat strawberries. Well, I did. I found a way to balance the basket between my handlebars and brake cable and off we went. I was happily eating strawberries as we streamed down the road. It was bliss. Until I applied the brakes to catch something Alicia was saying. I lost half the berries. Still I had plenty to enjoy!! (Oh, and I did manage to share one or two with Alicia.)



The Beast

Prowling the roads is this immense scary beast. It has a high pitched sound, moves fast, and is tall enough to drive right over a cyclist. When we see these we cringe. They are also normally wider than a lane, extending into the shoulder where we poor, hapless cyclists try to dwell and pass quietly by.

See how it dwarfs the SUV?! A chilling sight to see looming up from behind.




Soybeans and Wheat





~Pete

Day 49. Rest Day in Monticello

This week we covered 445 miles for a total of 2780.5. Wow, the miles are really starting to pile up. We have another day and a half in Indiana; then Ohio. Next week at this time we expect to be near Niagra Falls. We attended church this morning. It is nice to fellowship with others of like faith. The church was small and friendly. It was also communion Sabbath; we enjoyed that.

Impressions

What is it like being on the road? Each day stands on its own. Planning can only loosely extend beyond one day. Mostly it is living in the moment. There is pedaling, moving down the road, listening for cars, checking how you feel, pressing on to gain more speed, slowing up to be sure you can sustain the effort, taking breaks to ease discomforts. Looking around.

It is always joy to move through the countryside on a bike. It is faster than walking, more sustainable than running. We really cover territory. Who would even want to trace out our route; by car even? It's 2700 miles. That is a very long car trip.

We are partners with events. We can't force outcomes. The wind is favorable or unfavorable. We make the best of whatever is provided. Sometimes that means we make only 30 miles in a headwind. Other times we are drenched in rain. Yet other times we fly with the wind and watch the miles speed by. A fellow hails us from the side of the road. We stop, talk, take advise, change plans. All very fluid and dynamic. There is nothing to force,; you just go with events. Life happens.

This is what it really means to "live the life" right now. There is no real planning, just action. Nothing is forced, it just comes. Our faith for safety and blessing is in God and we lay all at His feet (or try too). Literally anything can happen - and does. Act, move, breath, pedal, rest. It is enough. Find nightly shelter, talk to people. Listen.

These are the things that are the joy of bike touring. Yes, there are pains, we are often uncomfortable. These are nothing but annoyances when riding in the stream of life in the way we currently are.

Joy.

The offering

This moist, humid morning the corn stands straight and tall reaching for the the heavens, fresh blades pointing straight up as we slip by on our bikes. The horizon is a bit hazy. There are waves and bands of moisture seeming to rise from the corn heavenward. An offering from the corn.

The sun warms; the moisture continues its rise. Early higher clouds disappear. Humid. Clouds begin forming, it gets warmer. An envelope of moisture surrounds. Droplets form on everything; drops fall on my glasses despite my headband. The corn looks happy. Water envelops my arms in an unbroken sheet. My forearms are wrapped in sheets of liquid.

Clouds build. The horizon is less distinct. Is it darker over there? As we take a turn south, three hills are laid out before our view. The next three miles. It is very hazy and indistinct over the last hill. Rain? The sun is dimmer. The clouds still building.

No rain. We coast into town and take a break at our favorite chain, Caseys. Caseys is store, gas, and fresh daily donuts in one. We are warned of approaching storms on radar. It comes while at Caseys. The heavens open up releasing the moisture, returning the offering, renewing the corn.

For the next 5 hours, drenching rain and wind. Even with full rain gear, we are wet. But from rain or exertion - who can know? The rain hitting my lips as I ride stings a little. Big drops; driving rain. Not altogether unpleasant. We learn to live with feeling sloppy. It is a sloppy day for us.

The corn rejoices.

~ Pete

Day 48. Monticello, Indiana

We have made it to Indiana!

It is very humid - 71% at 5 pm - and about 85 degrees.  Rain was in the forecast, so we hoped to get here early, which we did.  We covered 71 miles by 2 pm.  About 5 hours ride time unassisted and unhindered by wind.

I prayed this morning that we avoid being rained on.  At 12 miles from our destnation I looked back to see storm clouds bearing down on us.  We stopped to tale a quick break 4 miles further on and heard thunder.  So we cut that short and got into our hosts place.  No sooner did we step on their covered porch than the rain started.  Giant, huge dollar bill sized drops.  Any single one could drench you.

Whew!  Thank you Lord!

Our hosts are Seventh Day Adventists.   They have graciously agreed to let us use the guest room in their home for the next couple days.  We will rest on the rest God gave man - the Sabbath of the fourth commandment.

We will continue Sunday and expect to be poised to enter Ohio Monday.  We expect to be done 3 weeks from Monday.

Here are some more pics from yesterday.

Day 47. Ashkum

This photo is from Kempton, IL. A town we nearly zipped through. A
fella stopped us on the way out of town and insisted we really needed
to see the bookstore. While the bookstore was nice and cozy, it was
two other things that really struck me. There were all these great
murals on the buildings.

See how Alicia added her touch to this one.

The other unusual thing for this town of 150 was the scooters and
unicycle. We saw 4 different scooters and one unicycle complete with
friendly kids guiding them around. It was almost surreal.

A cool-ish start today. Humidity you can feel. Light wind. As we ride the corn fields seem to offer up clouds of moisture to the sky.