Journey with Jeff

July 22, 2018

Day 35 – Fond du Lac to Manitowoc, WI – 61 miles, 1,470 feet vertical

In honor of our upcoming rest day and four-hour ferry ride across Lake Michigan, we all went out for a really good dinner at a nearby Mexican Restaurant.  By “really good”, I mean that the giant margaritas were out of this world.  (Please note the plural – margaritas.) Therefore, this journal entry may be abridged and heavily redacted. 

With a welcome short day – and by the way, we are all still amazed that 61 miles constitutes “short” – we had a lazy start time with an 8:30 load and go.   No “early  rollers” today, just one start time for everyone.  The only problem?  It was still raining and we were just getting tired of the rain and the wet.  So, a few of us – Garry, Tami, Randy and I – stayed back in the hotel.  We had been checking radar and the “green blob”, as Tami called it, was moving past us.  We decided to keep an eye on the “green blob” and chilled on the comfy lobby couches at the Holiday Inn.  We had to get special dispensation from Judy, but … she relented.  

Around 9:30, we headed out and although the roads were still wet, it had stopped raining.  So, we made the right decision.  Still, … it was very w-i-n-d-y!  Anyway, it eventually cleared up and we had a nice day.

Our ferry ride tomorrow departs at 2pm.  But, we were instructed to be there at 12 noon, and on top of that, we lose an hour to Eastern Time.  So all in all, it’s a seven-hour tour.  

Sleeping in tomorrow, so I will bid you all adieu and point you to the photos from today’s “short” ride.  See you in Michigan. 

Good night folks.

…Jeff

July 20, 2018

Day 34 – Mauston to Fond du Lac, WI – 95 miles, 2,680 feet vertical

Cumulative totals: 2,553 miles, 93,380 feet vertical

Another (yawn) 95 miles today.  We’d end up finishing in the rain (again), but nothing would dampen our enthusiasm today.  It was just beautiful.  We rode mostly on back roads, away from traffic, away from trucks with nothing but sun, sky, great friends and lots of laughs.  It was another day to just chill and be thankful that we are able to do this incredible ride. 

Everyone was in a good mood. Tomorrow is a “light” day at only 61 miles and then after that, we have our next “rest day” during which we will take a 4-hour ferry ride across Lake Michigan.  (And, no, the boat ride doesn’t count toward our mileage.)  I am already starting to feel the pangs from the inevitable end of this journey.  The line of green dots on Where’s Jeff is getting longer and longer and even we can’t believe it.  But enough about that. 

Halfway through the ride today, we stopped in Princeton, WI for their world famous bratwurst.  Normally, this would be a dangerous thing to do, but it was worth it.  The bratwurst was delicious!  Just about everybody stopped here for lunch.  

Our weather-luck ran out after the 70-mile SAG 2 stop and it rained off and on for the rest of the ride.  As with yesterday, it was mostly “on”.  And again, as with yesterday, I spent the last 20 miles thinking “hot” … “tub” … “hot” … “tub” … “hot” … “tub”.  Hey, it works for me – you can choose your own coping method. 

Tonight, after dinner, we had the long-awaited T-shirt swap.  Everyone was instructed (pre-ride) to bring a clean T-shirt for the event and to be prepared to tell a story (if there was one).  We followed Yankee Swap rules which meant that all the merchandise first made it into the center of the room.  Then one by one, each person got to pick one item to keep.  The rub was that you could also decide to “steal” a previously chosen item.  This would totally piss off that person, who would then pick – or steal – another item.   No immediate steal-backs allowed, and after an item changed hands three times, it was considered “sold”.  All I can say here is that there are no friends in a Yankee Swap.  Things got ugly pretty quickly, but everyone had a good time and no one went home empty-handed.

Please enjoy these photos from today’s activities and be sure to follow along at Where’s Jeff.  I welcome comments or questions, so feel free to weigh in.  

Thanks for following.

…Jeff 

July 20, 2018

Day 33 – La Crosse to Mauston, WI – 75 miles, 2,570 feet vertical

It was Day 33 out of 50 with 2,458 miles covered on our way to a total of 3,700 or almost exactly two-thirds of the way to our final destination.  (I just wanted to throw in a little math to get us started.) 

Once again, morning skies were dark and threatening with heavy rain in the forecast.  And so, once again, we set out with dry roads, but we had a feeling that this time, the Sword of Damocles would eventually fall.  (If you missed yesterday’s post, please read that for an explanation and do watch the Three Stooges clip that explains Damocles in a way that even a seven-year old can understand.)

And it did fall.  Big time.  We got soaked. 

Today’s ride feature was the Elroy-Sparta rails-to-trails bike path that included three massive rock tunnels that cut through their respective mountains.  Cars can drive up and over, but trains need a steady grade.  The first tunnel was almost one mile long and it was absolutely pitch black once inside.  Audrey (being a teacher) educated us that when it’s pitch black, you can’t be sure if your eyes are open or closed.  So, our headlights (and for me, a bright LED flashlight) came in handy.  

We were also advised to bring flip flops or other footwear that would give us better purchase than our cycling shoes with their unwieldy cleats.  The ground was uneven with lots of gravel and wet with puddles from groundwater dripping from the ceiling.  So we did … and walked a mile in a pitch black tunnel with our rear lights flashing and water dripping all over the place.  It was eerie.  It was different.  It was fun.

It was also muddy on the trail, especially with the constant on and off drizzle and several folks had some spills (luckily, nothing major.)  Unfortunately, the Damocles Sword fell around the 50-mile mark and Tom and I rode the last 25 miles in on-again/off-again pouring rain.  (Um, … mostly on-again.)  The saving grace was that it was relatively warm (one town’s bank displayed 68 degrees) and so, at least we weren’t freezing.  

Still, it wasn’t pleasant.  I thought back to my daughter Samantha’s soccer games when she was in high school.  The girls would play in the rain and didn’t seem to care one bit.  We parents, of course, were miserable on the sidelines.  And so, I spent most of the last 20 miles thinking about the hot tub that awaited us at our destination.  Tom spent most of the time either zoning out or thinking “big thoughts” – or so he says. 

Please enjoy these photos from today’s wet and muddy ride and check out our progress map at Where’s Jeff at jeffblye.com

Thanks for following. 

…Jeff

July 19, 2018

Day 32 – Rochester, MN to La Crosse, WI – 87 miles, 3,130 feet vertical

Executive Summary / Highlights:

• Rain threatened all day but mostly held off.
• Beautiful ride over rolling hills, including eight miles on a secluded (and flat) bike path …
• … but headwinds hounded us much of the day. 
• Only one kick in the teeth: a one mile climb at 12% grade. 
• Managed to have a life-affirming double espresso at Barista’s Coffee House in Houston, MN.
• Enjoyed “reading” my fourth book. 
• Crossed into our sixth state, Wisconsin.
• Crossed over the mighty Mississippi River.
• Wondering how to get our bike helmets on tomorrow morning over our cheese head hats. 
• Oh, and yeah: new tires were great.  No flats today. 

I loved cartoons as a kid.  I watched Bugs Bunny all the time and it was very educational.  I was probably introduced to every famous operatic aria and orchestral piece while Bugs Bunny continually outsmarted Elmer Fudd.  (“Silly Wabbit!”)

I also loved watching the Three Stooges.  Every day, after school, Officer Joe Bolton would remind us, “Now kids, don’t try this at home,” right before Moe, Larry and Curly poked each other’s eyes out or hit each other on the head with a steel head hammer.  Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.  And this is where I first learned about the Sword of Damocles.  Watch for yourself right here.

Well, we had the Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads most of the day today.  When I woke up this morning, the forecast on The Weather Channel was for heavy rain and thunderstorms – 90% chance.  And it may have been still dry when we saddled up, but the skies were dark and threatening.  It looked like it was going to come down any minute.  We rode and rode, wondering how long the rain was going to hold out. 

At SAG 1, it started to drizzle lightly and riding through the mist was like having air conditioning.  But then it got a little wetter and switched over from air conditioning to light rain.  I stopped to put on my rain jacket and rode for a while in the rain.  But it never got much worse than that and in fact, after not too long, it stopped.  The last half of the ride was just fine.  We should all buy lottery tickets. 

Unfortunately, tomorrow looks pretty wet as well, if the forecasts are anywhere near accurate.  Nothing to be done – unless there’s lightning, we’ll be riding.  So we shall see what we shall see.  

I was afraid my camera would be in a plastic bag all day, but instead, I had to edit down from well over 100 pix, so please enjoy these photos from the day.  And check out how we just crossed the Mississippi River at Where’s Jeff at jeffblye.com

Thanks for following.

…Jeff

July 18, 2018

Day 31 – Mankato to Rochester, MN – 100 miles, 2,330 feet vertical

We knocked off another 100 miles today to take us from small towns to a major city, Rochester, MN.  I had a flashback to when my daughter, Samantha, was going to the University of Rochester, in New York.  I would often check for available flights from Long Island to avoid a boring 6-hour drive to visit her and would always be surprised at all the flights to Rochester – – – Minnesota!  At any rate, here we are, in the home of the Mayo Clinic.  

Full disclosure:  my Garmin only registered 99.9 miles and I saw some folks circling in the parking lot to bump it up to 100.  Not for me, thank you.  I had a milkshake to scarf down.

If you want to know about the scenery today, just refer to my post from yesterday.  It was another hundred miles of corn and soybeans.  Sometimes, it was corn on the left and soybeans on the right, and sometimes vice versa.  It got so monotonous that I stopped to watch a field of cows slowly making their way back to the barn, mooing the whole way.

Around 80-miles, my rear wheel got a flat and I sat on the side of the road fixing it. I found a sharp, nasty mother of a staple sticking out of the tire.  Yeah.  At any rate, it was time – and tonight at Mechanics, I changed out both front and rear tires.  Hopefully this will give me more of a fighting chance for the next thousand miles or so.  In the meantime, I am up to nine flats.  

It was a kind of family day today during the ride and also at our Rap talk.  We’ve had guests before but not this many on one day.  Here goes:  

• Rick from Ontario was visited by his sister-in-law Rosie and husband Bruce
• Tami’s Mom is here along with her husband Jeff
• Brad’s son Zack, daughter-in-law Jenn and grandson and future cyclist Brooks.
• Paula’s sister-in-law Nancy
• And finally, Tom’s brother Dan rode with us today and they passed by their childhood house in Minnesota. 

Please enjoy these photos from today (although be warned that there are more pix of corn and soybeans.)   And check our progress at Where’s Jeff at jeffblye.com

Thanks for following.  (Yikes, forecast is for rain tomorrow. Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted.)

…Jeff