Laporte, Indiana

Day 33; Left Madison in a fog of humidity, I would much rather take the dry heat (yes, even 114 degrees) over the humidity. Was immediately soaked after starting the ride, it was like we were trying to breathe underwater. As someone said you could "chew" the air it was so thick. Rode into Illinois today, state #8. There was a small sign in a industrial park that let us know! We camped @ Outdoor World, a sort of fancy KOA, outside (1.5 miles) of Belvidere, Ill. They had a great pool, it was Friday so they had a fish fry for supper, good local fish!! The night sucked bad, hordes of mosquito's, and I lay in my tent marinating in my own juices all night. Didn't sleep worth crap!!!

Day 34; Big day today, the first of our back to back centuries. Hot and humid again, everywhere we go people ask us why we are riding our bikes in such weather since it is a record heat day, have just got used to answering them with "we're just crazy", it seems to answer the question appropriately and people just nod in agreement! Rode fast and in a paceline with Bobbie and David F. Did the 100 miles in 5hrs 32 min, avg speed 17.1 mph. Felt good afterwards, good enough to find a small, dark, cool, bar in Coal City. The first 2 beers went down in single gulps, then it was 2 beers to 1 glass h2o. Had a bite to eat and then rode out to campground @ the Coal City Club. The Club is a private club on an old strip coal mine that has filled up with water so there is a nice lake there. Temp up into high 90's, no wind, and buggy as hell! It was so bad that Bobbie and I took a walk just to try to cool off. Bumped into Carol, who was trying to escape the bugs, and we walked down by the lake. A couple pulled up in their pickup and started untying their pontoon boat, carol asked for a ride, and they generously agreed. Great people who invited us to a "party" in 3 days, offered to let us come over to their house and stay the night in air conditioning, and they would make breakfast for us. It was already 10:30pm, we were bushed and already had our tents up, so we rather stupidly chose to stay @ camp. Another unbearable night!! It was Sat night, everyone else in the campgrounds was loud, drunk, and fighting. Getting used to not getting enough sleep.

Day 35; Century #2 in a row, started off slow but picked it up in the afternoon. Barely beat a thunderstorm into camp, 2/3 of the riders got stuck in a small town and had to seek shelter. Brian was riding through the storm and a local police officer stopped him and made him get off road! Everyone was anxious to get to camp. Had a big party to go to!! In Laporte, Indiana lives a 1999 Big Rider named Larry, and he puts on a giant party for the riders every year. BBQ'd pig, keg of beer, sweet corn on the grill, and tons of treats. I ate and drank until I thought I would burst. Difficult to sleep again, tough weather!

Madison, WI.

We have arrived in Madison, WI. home of University of Wisconsin, flagship of the Big 10 and as far as I can tell one of the best "party schools" of the universe. Man, the Student Union has lakefront beach property with stage, beer garden, outdoor grill and boat rentals. What a great place.

We crossed the Mississippi river into WI, @ LaCrosse, home of the worlds largest 6 pack of beer, I had my picture hugging it, it was wonderful. We followed the upper Mississippi river for a while and then climbed up into WI and dairy country. Quite a few Amish farms also. The thing that struck me was the sheer # of small farms, what with all the large corporations buying out the small farms of the west, it is nice to see that here there are still small, family owned, farms around. The route became relatively flat with lots of rolling hills after the big climb out of the Mississippi valley. Lots of contour farming with rotation of crops. Everything very green and hardly any irrigation noted. Miles and miles of corn and soybeans as we passed thru SE Minnesota and into Wisconsin. The Big Dogs (Dave W., Moon, and Justin) got bored with the corn and decided that they would have some fun, they stripped down naked and hid in the corn until Norm and several others rode by and they jumped out. They had a blast until some of the locals drove by very slowly to check them out, they feared for their "grundels", and skeedadled the hell out of there! The weather has been cooler and we have had favorable winds but the humidity has increased expotentially!!! It's like trying to breathe under water. It's not too bad if you keep moving, but feels as if you are in a sauna if you stop.

Our trip to Madison was 101 miles (my fastest century @ 5:45) and we arrived early. Unloaded the truck, showered and then Moon, Justin, and I walked down to the lake, sat and drank "a few" pitchers, and then hit a small corner bar on the way back to the University cafeteria for dinner. We went back to the dorms and Moon proceeded to fall asleep (or pass out if you prefer) and sleep all night. I walked down to the Union waterfront beer garden and met up with a group of Big Riders, and as the night progressed riders came and went. It was open mike night @ the stage and a few of the acts were worth seeing, most were not, such as "spoken word" aka rap minus the music, and quite a few rich, white, kids rapping about social injustice.... WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!! Fast Lucas and I were the last to leave and we cruised the downtown looking into all the bars and restaurants. We were very tired and did not feel like pushing the limits, we walked back to the dorm and I was showered and in bed by 2330.

Up @ 0830, felt great this AM. Showered, did wash, and packed bags and then headed downtown. When I arrived on State Street, the main drag, the 1st store was a card shop, I bought some postcards. The next store was a barber shop, had my hair and beard trimmed up. 2 doors down was a Mexican restaurant, had tacos and then walked down to the Capital building. On the way back to the dorm I spied a brewery, I stopped in for a beer and it proceeded to thunderstorm like a mother!!! It thundered, lightening, and poured buckets of rain. Water was running 2 feet in the street, cars were stalled, and people stranded. 5 beers and 1 order of hot wings later it had cleared off and quit raining. I walked back to the dorm and am doing my blog now, we are going to go to Sean's parent's house by van for supper tonight.

We have a long week ahead of us, 7 days, before our next rest day. Hope to be able to blog sometime soon. The computer here in the dorm won't let me download pics, sorry!!

Riding in MN.

Mt Rushmore

New Ulm, PARTY!!

Halfway!!

Badlands

New Ulm, MN.

Well, we made it to Minnesota, Ya sure, ya betcha! We made it out of South Dakota alive! Actually I really did enjoy most of SD, the Black Hills were quite awesome (the way we did it on our bikes) and being in one of the most memorable small town bars in my life. Sommer's Bar in Miller will be one of those places I will revisit in my memory frequently, DC, the owner took us in, almost like family, and made us feel welcome. He had photo albums of his family , the bar, and his motorcycles, and told us really old "bar" jokes until Moon shot beer out his nose! The only one that is "PG" enough to write here is the story of the old farmer who had a pet rooster named "Cluckey" who rode on his shoulder, he took his rooster everywhere with him. One night he decided to go to a movie, when he went to buy his ticket the girl @ the ticket booth informed him that the rooster could not go into the theatre. The farmer walked around the corner and stuck Cluckey into his overalls, went back and bought a ticket and went in anyway. The theatre was quite full so he sat next to a couple of old ladies. After a short time Cluckey became restless, the farmer opened the fly of his pants to give Cluckey some room. The little old lady sitting next to him leaned over to her friend and said "I think I'm sitting next to one of those perverts." Her friend asked, "What makes you think so?" She answered, "because he just opened his pants and let his 'thing' out." Her friend replied, "Oh Hazel, we are old enough that that shouldn't upset you!" Hazel said, "This is different." Her friend asked "Why?" Hazel said, "Because it's eating my popcorn!"

We have made it past the 1/2 way point when we rode thru Huron, SD. The weather has changed the last hundred miles of SD, the winds have been "kinder", still coming @ us but not so fierce and the heat has dissipated. We are now in cooler but more humid conditions. Everything has "greened up" with irrigated crops and small farms lining the Hiway, towns are becoming more frequent also so it seems as if we are not so isolated as we once were! It really reminds me of central Nebraska, you feels as if you are trying to breathe underwater and the corn smell in the air is as if you are in the middle of the field. The roads are not any better here, very little shoulder outside the white line, all the vehicles are close to us but most are quite courteous.

Yesterday as we left Tyler, MN. (a old Danish town) we rode into a gray overcast day, the rain started about 0900, it began as a drizzle and turned into a gentle rain, it never really "down poured" but we got pretty wet anyway. Several of us stopped @ a Subway shop in Springfield, MN. for a sandwich when the rain was the heaviest. There was one Semi that had very little room to pass due to oncoming traffic, when he got over as far as he could it placed his tires in the ruts in the road, you know, where all the water sits, and blasted me with spray, I swear if it wasn't for the fact I was sitting on my bike seat I would have had a cold, rainwater enema!!! The other thing was that spray from all the other vehicles were blasting us also, there seems to be a large number of livestock transport (mostly pigs) trucks on the Hiway, the ones with pig poop running out of every crack and opening in the trailers, and the rain was doing it's best to clean the rigs for the owners. There was a "rendering truck" , they pick up the dead animals from farms to make into make "soap or whatever", that sprayed me also. It took almost 15 min of blowing my nose and spitting to get the smell out of my system. When I arrived in New Ulm I was dry but smelled like "dead pig shit".

New Ulm is quite the experience, they just happened to be having their 1st annual Bavarian Blast, a German celebration. The beer flowed as if from a heavenly river and the bratwurst fell from above like rain drops. We had WAY too much fun, drinking, eating, dancing, and singing @ the top of our lungs. People around us were soon joining us and it turned out we were a lot more entertaining than most of the other parts of the event. They will remember us for a long time here. We met and had pictures taken with the Mayor and the Royalty. Some of the crew actually got up this AM and ran in the 10K run and Fast Lucas placed 1st in his age group and 2nd overall, oh to be young and foolish again!! I did not rally well this morning and stayed in bed until 1100, 1st time I've slept that late in almost 1 month. Moon, Justin, and I toured the Schell Brewery, great tour, and free beer. The beer went down hesitantly, but hey, it was free. The tour itself was very informative and interesting, well worth the time and bike ride to get there. Came back to the dorm, folded clothes and tent, packed up my bags and ready for the next stretch on the road. This has been a life changing trip so far and I value every day and the people that I have met, Do follow your dreams, for they can come true! Sorry to get so philosophical on you but I can feel the end closing in on me and I'm afraid to be swept back into the old routine!

On to new adventure in the AM, YEEEEEHA!!!!!!

Miller, SD.

Welcome to the other side of f'in nowhere. We know because we passed thru it yesterday!!! So far South Dakota sucks rocks!

After leaving Rapid City we rode thru the Badlands National Park, the day's ride was 103 miles and it was 114 degrees in the park, I have a picture of my cyclocomputer with the temp on it to prove it!!!!! The winds were light and variable and the hills seemed forever, you could see the water tower for Kadoka, SD. for over 10 miles, but it just wouldn't get any closer. When we did make it into town, it was about 1600 on Sunday afternoon, they roll up the side walks, close everything in sight and all leave town on Sundays. I rode around town for 15 min just trying to find a cold beer, I finally found a Conoco station out by I-90, and bought a 12 pack of Bud Light cans, yes, in a desperate situation I will drink whatever I can find!! I told the lady behind the counter I would drink urine if it was cold enough! She was somehow unimpressed by my blinding thirst. Went back to camp and proceeded to drink some ice cold, nectar of the gods, (never again will you hear me refer to anything Budweiser makes as coming from the almighty) and then spent several hours in and out of the community pool. Went to supper, had fried chicken and 2 huge baked potatoes. I didn't even set up my tent until after dark because it was so hot!!!

Yesterday we rode 95 miles into a 20-25 mph headwind into Pierre, SD. This was the hardest day mentally for me so far, I think it was the fact that it didn't blow directly into our face, but was a quartering headwind, that you couldn't draft off of anyone and get any relief. The day went on FOREVER..... It was the most time in the saddle of any days so far, even the century + days. It was hard for me to stay focused and upbeat, it felt like we weren't getting anywhere fast and sometime during that day we passed thru FREAKIN NOWHERE! So now you can figure out how we know where we are. Pierre was a nice town, down on the banks of the Missouri River, and we camped in the river side park there. We have now crossed into the Central Time Zone.

Today was a "short day", only 75 miles, and the wind had switched, it was now hitting us from the south east, from the other side of road, @ 20-30 mph, with gusts to 35. Several people think SD stands for "Sucks Richards", if ya know what I mean, and after today I ain't likely to dispute that. I am now out of familiar country, and from here on it is all new to me. I felt great today and pulled a pace line all day, felt as if I could do more mileage. When we, Justin and I, hit town we stopped @ the only bar in town, that was open and spent an hour enjoying cold beer and the proprietor's, Don, bad jokes and stories of life and times in Miller. We are set up in the High School, I am sleeping on the music room floor, (it is air conditioned!), my band geek kids would be proud of me.

The forecast is more headwind for days, but cooler temps, I will blog from Minnesota when I arrive.

Rapid City

Well, we had some pretty rough days! The trip to Hardin was a hoot, left @ 0730, it was cool (67 - 95 degrees) with a nice tailwind. Arrived in Hardin and was waiting for the girl @ DQ to unlock the door for lunch. Man, ice cream has never tasted so good!!! Hardin has a great community center with a full sized Olympic pool inside. We camped out behind the High School, the port-a-potties were about 100 yards away. We had a sudden evening thunder storm that helped cool us off. Getting used to sleeping these odd damn hours, usually in bed by 2100 and up by 0500.

The big day was Sheridan to Gillette, 109 miles, 103 degrees, 20 mile per hour headwind's the last 30 miles. The morning started out well, cooler with hardly any wind, first 60 miles fairly flew by. Rode with different groups of people and just really enjoyed myself! @ the 71 mile mark there was major construction, we stopped @ Spotted Horse, Wyo. population 2, the owner/bartender of the saloon and his wife/cook. It had A/C and was dark inside. I had a Polish sausage (a huge, home made one) and a coke and bottle of gatorade. I loved the sausage for the 10 min it took to ate it and it loved me every time I belched for the next 3 hours, as I plowed into the blazing hot and windy finish. We had to wait for an hour for the pilot truck to move us and our bikes thru the construction, 4 miles. Everyone was in camp by 1745, one of the best times ever according to Paula, the ride director, and as we rode into the city park where we camped there was one of those Shaved Ice stand/trailer sitting there. The ALAW bought us shaved ice and it never tasted so cold, wet, and wonderful as that day. I had 3 in about 15 minutes, talk about brain freeze! That night we had a monster thunderstorm, lightening (close too!), thunder, wind, and short intense rain. Everyone was out helping tie down tents, I was lashing down my rain fly and when I went to crawl back inside my tent my Thermarest mattress wasn't there, I took quick walk about and didn't see it, so I went back into my tent to look again but it wasn't there. I then started walking down wind from my tent, amongst the other tents to see if it was stuck against one of them. As I walked towards the busy road, Mark (one of the staff) was holding my mattress. He said he saw it fly by about 10 feet in the air, it lit on the road, one car hit it and it was stuck on the front of the car for about 10 yards and then it flew off and another car ran over it! Sure as shit it has a tiremark right down the middle of it, it still works though. It's one tough muther!!! Maybe they could use this story for advertisement!

Yesterday we left Newcastle, Wyo. and crossed into South Dakota. I rode with the "Big Dogs" (Dave W., Moon, and Justin), we rode to Custer, SD. on route and then split off to ride to Mount Rushmore. Rode by Crazy Horse Monument, stopped @ the gate, they wanted $4 per person to get in, we took pics and then rode on. The roads, all in all, were not too bad, and neither was the traffic. I have been to Rushmore more times than I can count, but this was certainly different, the climbs were not that bad coming around from the backside of the monument, we scooted in thru a locked gate and rode right up to the entrance, locked up our bikes and walked right in. None of the guys had ever seen it before so I got to enjoy their awe of this great place. We walked around the shop, had a cold drink and some ice cream and sat for a while, it was starting to get pretty hot by then. On the road from Rushmore to Keystone Moon and I bombed down, had a Rent-me Motorhome with rookie driver all over the road @ 30-35 mph. We passed him right @ the top and when I hit a 35 mph curve @ 54 mph I got a little spooked and sat up to slow myself down. We stopped for ice water in Keystone and then proceeded up 4 miles of 10% grade to get out of town. The rest of the trip was up and down with 2 other descents above 50 mph. Arrived in Rapid City about 1530, hauled our gear up to our rooms in the dorm, they are AIR CONDITIONED, and then quick shower and to supper in cafeteria. Gee, spaghetti again!

Moon and I rode over to the bike shop, about 1 mile away, and on our way back there was a train across the tracks, so we took an alley way and some side streets and came across one of the local "watering holes", stopped to have a beer, and after being invited to a table full of locals ended up drinking 3 mugs full. By that time the rest of the gang was downtown, so we rode to meet them. It was an interesting night, "Rabid City" (as one of the locals called it) has the distinction of having one of the worst "dive" bars I have ever been in. The "girl", who was more buff than the bouncer, checked all our ID's @ the door, yes, mine too, 1st time I have been carded in about 20 years. Our hair cuts looked conservative compared to the other clientele in the place. Only one other guy in bar older than I was, Rambo, the bouncer. 51 years old, looked much older, 5' 5", 160 lbs, balding, with 3" thick glasses. He was really wasted, drinking 22 oz cans of Colt 45 malt liquor. We only stayed for 1 drink there and then headed back to the dorm, I stopped @ Taco John's and was in bed in dorm by midnight.

Doing wash this AM while blogging, it is supposed to be 110 degrees today, I may just stay here and order a pizza for chow so I can skip the heat.

Billings

Ah Billings, the garden spot of Montana! Actually it is very green here and we are @ Montana State Univ @ Billings dorms. It is nice to be here, although this may be the first time I have thought of Billings in this way!!! Usually it is a quick gas stop then down I-90 @ 75 mph.

The riding is going wonderfully, we are only a little less than 1/3 of the way across the U.S. but have made some great friendships and laughed our asses off (the part we can still feel after riding 83 miles a day). Our trip across Montana has been interesting, we got stormed on from Missoula to Avon, lightning and thunder, 25-30 mph cross wind, and ice cold drops of rain pounding you. Your basic afternoon Montana thunderstorm. I just picked up the pace, swore @ the sky and taunted the clouds to give me all they had. I was flying down the road, laughing maniacally, when I spotted Sean standing off the road in the ditch. He yelled @ me to let me know that it was storming. We were about 20 miles from camp and I was not about to slow down, I yelled out "I love this shit" and then added "yippee i o mother scratcher" (edited for the younger crowd) and all of a sudden 6-7 helmeted heads popped up like prairie dogs, they had been huddling in a circle like a covey of quail in the bottom of the ditch to avoid the weather. It was getting dark and cold and they jumped onto their bikes to try and catch me. Rick da Tick and Little Eric caught me just about @ Avon. The worse the weather the better I was riding, I fairly sprinted into town. We stopped @ the Avon Cafe (everyone was there!) and I had soda and bowl of chili. Good stuff. Arrived @ camp wet but happy.

Moon ambles over to my tent and asked if I wanted to get a Mohawk haircut, I immediately said yes! I think it startled him how fast I said yes. Bobbie, my room mate on layover days is a licensed barber from Bonney Lake, WA. (By Seattle) and Brian (who has done the RAAM twice) had a pair of clippers (he buzzes his hair every couple of days). All told 12 riders are now sporting Mohawk haircuts. Young Lucas (16 y/o) to Norm (71 y/o) got haircuts. Boy, do you get some funny looks traveling across Montana dressed in spandex and having a Mohawk.

We passed over the continental divide @ McDonald pass, 6325 feet, and I hit 55 mph on the downhill. I would still be sliding down the road days later if I went down there!! Spent couple hours in Helena, eating breakfast, taking pictures and doing some shopping. Stopped in Townsend for the night and Kevin and I walked over to get a beer before supper, went to the Corner Tavern, which was filled with locals and the Native American bartender was a little abrupt with us @ first, I suspect it may have been due to us being strangers and having odd haircuts, but the clientele warmed up fast and bought us several beers before we could make our escape for supper.

We have had 2 good days of 90+ degree, sunny weather with favorable winds. Have rode with David Frankel for several days, funny guy and has a great blog also. bikerideusa.blogspot.com
Hope to have pictures soon.

Missoula

Second rest day, Missoula, Mt. feeling a little rough this morning. We went out last night, had a few beers, and Moon and I ended up eating breakfast @ 0230 @ some dive of a bar. Man, what good food! Of course we were just a little impaired. Moon sees this young couple gassing up their car @ a store, starts yelling about giving us a ride and when he offered them $5 they said yes. We stumbled in @ 0300 and crashed in our dorm rooms. 97 miles, 20 hrs and 1 pub crawl later.

The ride yesterday was scheduled for 101 miles, but there was construction and we had to sag in 1 of the vans through it, The road was rocks and very heavily traveled and the staff chose not to endanger anyone's life. Good choice!! It was cooler with partly cloudy skies, Justin and I rode together all day. We got a late start because of the night before. We had all bedded down @ the Thompson Falls H.S. @ 2100, I was listening to my I-pod and had fallen asleep. @ 2300 I woke and thought there was an airplane trying to land next to my tent. It was the sprinkler hitting my tent, water was pouring in thru the vents. People were yelling and I was swearing like a sailor. Moon rolled over and put his hands over the sprinkler to block the water and I was able to get out of the tent, pull up the stakes and drag the whole thing over to a dry area. Not only was most everything wet, but with all the ruckus and trying to dry things out enough to sleep, the tent was open for a long time and there must have been 1,000 mosquitoes in my tent and they feasted on me all night. It took me longer than usual to pack up all my wet crap and get it on the truck. Breakfast was down town so we rode to the restaurant and were @ the last of the line so it took forever to get our food! We started out @ the back of the pack but in Missoula were right in the middle. It did take us some extra time to get to the University because Moon and Dave had found the Big Sky Brewery and had chalked up the road so we would go there. Had a sample of every beer they make, all 8 of them. Needless to say we were quite happy when we got to U.M.

On the road

Well it has taken me almost 1 full week to get on this and send out some info. I am updating this 7/2 @ 1600 in Thompson Falls, Mt. in the High School computer lab, just finished riding and am doing a quick update prior to going to the showers. All is well and we are having a HOOT!

Norma and I arrived Seattle @ about 2100 Sat. night, checked into hotel and then walked down to the Pike Brewery, drinks and appetizer and then walked back up to the hotel. Bed about 0100, pretty tired.
Sunday June 25th, got up @ about 1000, walked down to the market and had breakfast in Kells Irish pub while watching the world cup, it just doesn't get much better than that. @ about 1500 we met Big Riders and family @ one of the city parks, had orientation and safety meeting. Picked up our jerseys and had supper. Monday June 26th, up @ 0400 and to the start a little late. Made the pictures and opening ceremony but got on the road late and I left my lunch in the car. Got lost right away, but 2005 Big Rider showed us the way and we were off! Climbed up Snoqualmie Pass in 100 degree, clear sunny day. Hotter than the hinges of hell!!!! About 1/2 way up the climb Norma came by on I-90, stopped and gave me my lunch and some cold water. She was giving another rider's friend a ride up to the campground where he was meeting his friends, he had had a flat and it was too hot and loud on I-90 to fix it there. Had lunch @ the Summit Pancake House. Camped @ Easton State Park, had a great meal provided by 2005 Riders and some cold beer. In tent by 2100, dead tired.

Didn't sleep too well and was up @ 0430, have been used to sleeping only 4-5 hrs a day because I was working so much and commuting, so @ 4-5 hrs after going to bed I am waking up, which means I am up way before the sun!!! On Tuesday 6/27 we rode from Easton to Vantage, 76 miles, started in the mountains and ended up in the desert of central WA. @ the Columbia river. Another blazingly hot day, finished the ride in a 7 mile downhill into a 20-25 mph headwind with temp of 123 degrees on my bike computer. Felt like riding into a jet engine. Cold beer and burger in Vantage never tasted so good! Camped there on the banks of the river in 25 mph wind all night, another restless night.

Plan to be back later to catch up the rest of this week, off to the showers, I am crusty with salt and smelling "pretty funky" right now.