Day 30, June 29, 2019

Henry's notes for today:

Bismark at dawn

Jaya Allen

Day 30: Fearful of the impending heat and potential change of wind direction from east to west later in the day, we did wake up at 4 am, and were seated at the Perkins restaurant by 5 am. Having filled our bellies, we were ready to roll at 6 am. As promised, a tailwind from the east caressed our backsides, and we crossed the Missouri River between Bismarck and Mandan. We rode steadily up and down over many hills, which was not nearly as onerous as it could have been. At our first break after 36 miles, we stopped at the grocery store in New Salem, ND. The store was blaring polka music through its outside speakers, for unclear reasons. To ward off the potential for heat exhaustion, Tim had an ice cream cone there at 9 am. He says that's fair, because he had already been awake for 5 hours. We continued riding, crossing from CST to MST in Hebron, ND. There is a sense of controlled euphoria when crossing a time zone, as it signifies progress. Today's routing took us partly onto Interstate 94, because of the paucity of county roads in this section of ND. Sounds nerve-wracking, but it was not as bad as we previously imagined. Given the time change, we reached our original destination of Richardton (pop. 529) by 12:30 pm. The cloud cover protected us from direct sun, but it was nevertheless quite warm and humid. None of us wanted to set up tents, only to bake in them, and the only motel in town appeared to be a potential haven for bedbugs, with no pool and questionable AC functionality. We did not feel physically taxed yet because of our healthy tailwind, and made the decision again to push forward to Dickinson, a mere 22 miles away, which had more plentiful hotel options. As in Bismarck, we were lucky to get a very nice hotel room, with the town's lodging almost fully booked for "Roughrider Days Fair & Expo".

I was able to coordinate a brief visit with Jaya Allen, who pitches softball for Dickinson State University. She was a star pitcher for Shadle High School, and her mom Chandra was my scheduler and patient coordinator for many years.

We each felt blessed to be riding today, and it is a manifest delight to have all the tall grass in front bowing down away from us as the miles click away, giving us reassurance that our helping hand is still behind us. We encountered 4 other cross-country bike riders today going the other way. They seemed discouraged, as they were not the favored ones today. Even so, we all wish each other safe travels, and we know that we are destined to take turns being helped or hindered by the fickle winds in this vast expanse of land.

Maps of today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3796376850

Jeff had a twitchy thumb today
Part A:
https://www.relive.cc/view/u3635090443

Part B:
https://www.relive.cc/view/u3635914852

More pictures:

More Farm Art

Crossed the Missouri River

Cow on ridge above New Salem

Day 29, June 28, 2019 Rest Day in Bismark

Rest Day in Bismark:

A good place to display this picture of our motto:

Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos!

Henry's notes for today:

Day 29:  We tried to sleep later on our rest day, but our internal clocks did not cooperate.  We were all awake by 6 am.  It was raining hard, and for once, we did not have to ride in it!  After breakfast, the rain stopped, and we cleaned and lubricated our bikes.  We then embarked on a mission to restock.  Linda and Jeff had partially worn through a pair of their biking shorts (they request that any snide comments be held in check).  Linda also wore out her biking gloves.  We all journeyed together to a bike shop.  The 3 guys had stretched-out chains that needed to be replaced.  I required a new set of rear brake shoes.  Everyone bought extra spokes.  We visited Target, Scheels (like a Dick's Sporting Goods), a hardware store, all in close proximity.  I got a haircut, as it is supposed to reach 96 degrees tomorrow.  To that end, we agreed to get up about 4 am, to be packed up and ready to go at 5 am to beat the heat as much as possible.  There might be some ice cream tomorrow.

Day 28, June 27, 2019

Expansive North Dakota Sky

Henry's notes for today:

Day 28:  We awoke to some light rain, and we left perhaps an hour later than we normally would have.  We experienced a mild pleasant tailwind out of Gackle, heading to Napoleon, where we would have lunch.  All the towns we have been encountering are very small, and we are lucky if the town's restaurant is open when we arrive.  Since leaving central Minnesota, we have had to be extra careful to make sure we have enough hydration and snacks to get us to the next little town.  There is hardly any civilization between these little towns, but the verdant landscape has been a joy to behold.  Wide open farmland and wetlands, with gently rolling hills in all directions, as far as one can see.  It is a bird hunter's paradise, as numerous ducks and geese scatter from each pond we roll by.  There are egrets and the occasional pelican.  I saw a pheasant today when I stopped on the roadside for a snack.  All of us have been pleasantly surprised by what we have discovered as we entered the Great Plains of ND.

Rhythmically pedaling on a long stretch of road, we encountered another Tim, a high school math teacher from Minneapolis who was riding across the country solo for the second time.  Last year, he rode from Portland, ME to Seaside, OR.  This year, he is doing the exact same route, but going from west to east.

We arrived in Hazelton (pop. 218) at 3:30 pm, and it was almost 90 degrees.  Our original plan was to camp overnight there, but the town did not have a pool.  Bismarck was another 45+ miles away, but since we had good luck with a tailwind all day, we decided to push forward after some refreshments, since we had a rest day planned the next day.  Upon leaving Hazelton, it wasn't clear if we had made the right choice, because a headwind immediately greeted us.  Fortunately, that abated when we turned west after 14 miles, and our tailwind resumed.  About 10 miles outside Bismarck, Jeff got a rear flat (our 2nd of the trip collectively), but that was quickly resolved with Tim's help.  Linda and I worked on a Bismarck hotel reservation while that repair was occurring.  We were lucky to get a room, as Bismarck is hosting McQuade, the country's largest charity adult softball tournament this weekend.  We arrived at 8 pm, after logging just over 110 miles for the day.  Tim 's computer says we are now 1,850 miles from our starting point.  I looked on Google maps, and it looks like we have about 1,400 miles and 45,000 feet of total elevation gain left before we reach Anacortes.  We're all glad to have a nice place to rest and recover for a day.

A cautionary note for other bikers: in Wisconsin and Minnesota before we merged onto the well-documented Adventure Cycling northern tier route in ND, Google maps tried to route us onto several gravel roads.  It helps to ask the locals at each town if you are not sure.

Leaving the Honey Hub in Gackle

A ridge of old thrashers. We see a lot of art made from old farm equipment

Another ice cream stop

Common menu items. Fried pickles and fried pickle fries. Haven't tried either yet.

Maps of today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3790788267

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3632619232

Day 27 June 26, 2019

Our camp in Ellendale, ND early morning

Henry's notes for today:

Day 27: History tries to repeat itself, in more ways than one. The wind revisited us again, ruffling our tents at 4 am, and we all spent the next couple hours not quite asleep, yet not quite awake, thinking that we would be buffeted by headwinds all day once more. Nevertheless, we dutifully arose, packed up camp, and went to the only local restaurant in Ellendale for breakfast. It was a delight to discover that we had a mild tailwind for our morning ride heading straight north. We arrived in Edgeley (pop. 563) in what seemed like record land speed compared to our plodding pace yesterday. Edgeley was the town that was 26 discouraging miles out of our reach yesterday. Jeff kept calling out incredulously our 5 mile interval times: "Sports fans, we covered the last 5 miles in 18 minutes!" Tim could not contain his excitement that we had gone an average of 15.6 mph between Ellendale and Edgeley. I was bouyant to be making the ride this morning, and not yesterday in the punishing wind.

Henry's rear tire

BBQ in Edgeley

Our plan in Edgeley was to buy provisions for lunch at their grocery store, as there was a no man's gap of 40 miles before we would arrive in Gackle, ND (pop. 310). Since western Minnesota, the towns have been getting noticeably more sparse. Tim made the executive decision that he was going to mail a package of some nonessential items home to offload some weight, as the post office was right there on Main Street. We all contributed a few items each to his package. Even unloading a few ounces made us feel better.

We thought we might stop for lunch 20 miles or so down the road. We scroll through a mental checklist whenever we make our purchases: how much extra weight in food am I willing to carry on my already too-heavy bike, how hungry will I be in 2 hours, is this sub sandwich going to be enough, etc.  We had just stepped outside the store with our thoughtfully planned lunches, when a local resident strolling by informed us about the free BBQ a block away, an annual event sponsored by Dakota Plains Credit Union, headquartered in Edgeley, as a gift to the community. The allure was too great to resist, and we ended up being local celebrities. Our mug shots were captured with Dakota Plains CU management, and we will likely be in their next newsletter or Facebook posting.

Heading towards Gackle, we joined up with the popular northern tier Adventure Cycling route across America. There is an almost legendary Warm Showers haven in Gackle called the Honey Hub, which we had heard about way back in Maryland when we crossed paths with "The Roaming Kiwi", a nomadic New Zealander who has seemingly biked everywhere, including across America in 2018. He analyzed our route, and recommended that we not miss the free lodging provided in Gackle by Jason and Ginny Miller and their 4 children. They are incredibly generous to open up part of their basement to complete bicycling strangers, providing beds and a separate bathroom. Jason is a 5th generation beekeeper, and his company produces the Honey Stinger line of health food products. The Honey Hub is a true oasis for bikers, providing a fridge full of treats (pay on the honor system), as well as a free washer and dryer.

We rode just under 70 miles today, and had time to do some bike maintenance upon arrival. I had noticed about 200 miles ago that my rear tire tread wear indicator was showing, and Tim helped me change out my rear tire in no time flat.

Bike Maintenance at the Honey Hub

Tim then noted distressingly that he had 2 broken spokes on his recently replaced rear wheel. How could this be happening again? In retrospect, he might have run over something that popped up and broke his spokes just before arriving in Gackle. Tim had spare spokes along, but they fit his old damaged wheel, and not the current one. The nearest bike shop to obtain replacement spokes would be in Bismarck, 100 miles away. There is a cheerful ending to this - after some rumination of repair options at dinner, Tim was able to move 2 spokes from his front wheel to the back, and use his spare spokes to replace the ones on the front wheel. There was just enough extra threading on the front wheel spokes to make it all work. The rear wheel was made whole again, and will be tested to tolerance again tomorrow. 

Maps of today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3787193072

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3630004162

Day 26, June 25, 2019

Henry's notes for today:

Day 26: The wind started ruffling our tent flaps ominously at 4 am. We concocted a breakfast of oatmeal and blueberries over the camp stove to get us started. About 20 miles out, we stopped at a convenience store to get a breakfast sandwich for some protein. There was no real elevation gain today. Our challenge was a steady headwind all day with gusts to 30 mph. We exited South Dakota and entered North Dakota, state #10. The part of SD we traversed looked very much like MN, with numerous lakes and wetlands. We will be in ND for a number of days, as it is a big state, and there is a rest day planned in Bismarck. We had a 96 mile day planned, but when we reached Ellendale, ND at 70 miles,  we decided to call it a day, as we were collectively pretty wiped out, except for Tim, who hoped to ride further. Ellendale allows camping in their city parks, and we came up with a mutually acceptable Plan B, thanks to Linda finding a new route for the ensuing days that we could all live with. We had a late lunch, followed by a refreshing and invigorating swim session at the city pool. We made one final field trip to the local drive-in for ice cream, before retiring to our city park campsite. The wind retreated and it was dead calm by 9 pm, so we will see what tomorrow brings.

Maps of today's ride:

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3628301548

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3784189373

Cheese curds are a fave food here- plain, salted, fried, lots of flavors 

Day 25, June 24, 2019

Henry's notes:

Day 25: We all awoke refreshed from a good night's sleep in the giant machine shed. Because of the massive roof, it sounded like there was heavy rain falling. In reality, it was raining relatively lightly. We enjoyed a healthy, filling breakfast. We generally try to discourage Tim from drinking coffee, because it totally stokes him and then he rides like a wildman. However, we didn't have the heart to withhold Ainars' and Deb's flavorful coffee, so we let Tim have some today. Our hosts had us each pack ham sandwiches and a Naked juice bottle, then we said our goodbyes and headed out. We only had to endure 1.5 miles of gravel road leaving their farm, and we were contentedly on paved roads the rest of the day. The rain stopped after 2 hours, and the sun gradually emerged. We crossed into the northeast corner of South Dakota, state #9. There was a 6 mile climb after entering SD, made harder by a moderate headwind. Arriving at the top, the view backwards to Minnesota was quite spectacular. We ended our ride for today at Roy Lake State Park. Linda did well again, even though her symptoms aren't completely gone, and Tim really likes his new rounder wheel, as well as regaining the option of using his rear brakes.

Maps of today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3780903069

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3625655977

Leaving Ainars and Deb Silis

Into North Dakota Red river flows north and Minnesota river flows south from here

Town hall in sissiton S.D

View from Tim's tent as he went to sleep at Roy Lake State Park, SD.

Day 24, June 23, 2019

Henry's notes for today:

Day 24: Gravel, headwind, and crucial victories. Having had a late dinner last night, we decided to ride 20 miles before sitting down to a proper breakfast. The best deal at the only restaurant open early Sunday morning in Montevideo, MN was the buffet, so we unintentionally ended up with 2 buffet meals in a row. Sufficiently fueled, we resumed riding. We took a break in Milan, MN (pop. 359) and encountered Mr. Billy Thompson, 90 year old proud veteran of the Korean War. He is undoubtedly the oldest resident in town, has lived there his whole life, and he entertained us with a well-rehearsed stand-up comedy routine. He made sure we knew that he was the last remaining Lions' Club member in town. Onwards, our northbound ride was slowed by notable headwinds. Our last 10 miles was mostly on soft gravel, which added to our difficulties. Despite less than ideal road conditions in a sparsely populated area of Minnesota, Tim's visibly wobbling rear wheel made it all the way to our destination today without completely coming apart. Linda also completed the ride, despite some residual symptoms from her BPPV. She is tough. We are all amazed at her spirit and resiliency.

Mr Billy Thompson tells a joke

Our hosts today were Ainars and Deb Silis, who greeted us at their retirement farm property near Chokio, MN (pop. 377).  They are growing a vineyard of Minnesota Marquette red grapes, developed at the University of Minnesota. Ainars is the last of Tim's high school classmates we will be visiting. Ainars is retired from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and Deb is a retired high school chemistry teacher. Upon arrival, Ainars whisked Tim and his bike away to nearby Morton, MN (pop. 378) to obtain a rear wheel replacement from the resident bike/guitar repairman. Once again, we were treated to a great dinner and exceptionally comfortable accommodations in their machine shed. Sounds unusual, and you had to be there to truly appreciate it.

Maps for today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3777705057

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3623536357

a looonngg day of gravel roads

Day 21, June 20, 2019

Apologies for this entry being out of order.

Day 21, June 20, 2019


Day 21: Generally restful night at the campground, although Linda and Jeff Polzin had encounters with 2 aggressive raccoons who would not take no for an answer at about 11 pm.  One of them managed to score a Little Debbie snack that Jeff was hoping to save for breakfast.  Linda threw shoes at her raccoon, who was not fazed.  The critters finally decided no more handouts were forthcoming, and moved on.  Daybreak was sunny and promising.  For our a 25 mile ride into Rochester, MN to get breakfast, we had to traverse about a dozen undulating hills surrounded by scenic Minnesota farmland.  The corn is on schedule to be "knee-high by the 4th of July".  Rochester is a company town, and Mayo Clinic is boss.  After breakfast, we did a mini-circuit of the town's running and bike shops to find some orthotics for Linda and Tim, who were experiencing intermittent hotspots.  As we left Rochester, it started to rain lightly, but the drizzle gradually increased in intensity.  By the time we arrived at West Concord, we were soaked.  We were glad the day's ride was a little shorter than average.  Norman and Judy Mett were our hosts tonight.  They had the fireplace well-stoked already when we arrived.  Norman is another of Tim's high school friends, and is a "retired" large animal vet - he still does some work from time to time, when the need arises.  Judy is a retired Mayo transcriptionist.  We were treated to a fabulous T-bone and sirloin steak dinner, with perfectly prepared potatoes and homegrown asparagus.  We listened to nostalgic stories of Tim and Norman working on a farm, and also for Giant Foods, during high school and college summers.

After dinner, Norman took us to Balzer Dairy Farm, where Scott Balzer gave us a fascinating tour of a modern robotic milking operation with 113 cows and 2 milking machines.  The milking is all computerized and automated, and goes on 24 hours a day.  Each cow is tagged, and the computer recognizes which cow is there to be milked.  The computer also knows the shape of each cow's udder, and how many and where the teats are located on each udder.  A laser gently guides the milking device into place over each teat.  Most cows are milked 3 times a day, and each cow produces an average of 11+ gallons of milk per day.  It takes about 6.5 minutes from the time the cows walk into the milking station, to the time they walk out.  Very efficient.  The process demonstrates the power of positive reinforcement; the cows are enticed to voluntarily go to the milking station because they will be fed a healthy treat automatically by the machine.  The machine first determines if the cow's udder is full enough to milk.  If not, the cow is gently guided out, and does not get a treat.  So the cows learn pretty quickly to not go to the machine unless their udders are full.  The cows are housed in clean and very humane temperature-controlled conditions.

Approaching Rochester. Guess what most of the buildings are for?

The Plummer Building, the original Mayo Clinic building from 1928.

Norm and Judy Mett were our hosts

Maps of today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3767717132

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3617814598

Day 23, June 22, 2019

Henry's notes:

Day 23: A day with significant speed bumps.  Linda woke up with severe nausea and dizziness that had started the night before.  She could hardly stand up to walk even a few steps without losing her balance.  It did not appear that any riding was going to be possible today.  After consulting with our in-house family doctor (Jeff Polzin), the working diagnosis was benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).  One of the treatments for this is the Epley maneuver to dislodge an otolith (one can find anything on YouTube), and Jeff P had done this about 50 times in the past for his patients.  So we tried it for Linda, and she was immediately better by 80%.  After about an hour, Linda took a spin on her bike, and decided that she was going to try riding.  We finished the filling breakfast prepared by Ken and Cathi, and said our goodbyes, being very grateful for another homestay.  We were also sad to see our riding companion Jeff Polzin leave to go home to Black River Falls, after having him ride with us the last few days.  We kept a close eye on Linda, but she seemed to be doing fine, and her nausea gradually improved through the day.

Rain was predicted for the evening and also overnight, so we decided to ride about 5 miles further (despite our late start) to stay at a casino hotel, rather than camp in a state park.  Our ride was thus extended to 90 miles today.  About 50 miles into the ride, Tim's rear wheel rim split out.  We were way out in the country, and nowhere near a bike shop.  Tim decreased the pressure in his tire, unhooked his rear brakes (!), and didn't really have much choice except to keep riding.  Amazingly, he made it the whole way without the rim completely coming apart.  He is hoping that the rim will hold together for one more day, when his friend can take him to a bike store for a wheel replacement.  The bike shops are few and far between in this part of the state . . . 

The problem wheel.

Today's ride was largely along the Minnesota River Scenic Byway, and we had a tailwind, but it was made more difficult because about 75% was on very hilly gravel roads.  That took a lot out of us.  The alternative path on paved roads to the same destination would have added another 20 miles, so we chose gravel.

We had a buffet dinner at the casino for the first time on our journey.  There were raw oysters (which Tim skipped) and ice cream (which Tim did not skip).

Maps of today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3774265616

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3622465837

Day 22, June 21, 2019

Day 22: Left the Mett's after a filling breakfast.  Cool overcast day with a tailwind.  Country roads with minimal traffic, and about 50% of our ride today was on bike trails.  With Tim's careful planning, we are blessed with some bike trail riding almost every day.  We passed through Faribault, MN, which is only 13 miles from Northfield, MN where Tim's wife Priscilla is attending a Carleton College class re-union.  Because of logistics, Tim and Priscilla couldn't get together to see each other, despite being in such close proximity!  We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Madison Lake, which is only 60 miles straight south of Waconia, MN where I lived for about 2 years (4th and 5th grades).  We arrived at Ken and Cathi Davey's Lake Crystal home about 3 pm, just a few miles west of Mankato.  Ken went to high school with Tim and Jeff Polzin, but is a year younger.  He is a semi-retired cabinet-maker. Cathi works with Minnesota state Department of Natural Resources to improve the visitor experience to the Minnesota River in her area.  Showers, snacks, conversation, and another excellent dinner.  Jeff Polzin's brother Danny arrived for an evening visit from St. Peter, as did Linda's brother Kurt, from Minneapolis.  A memorable summer solstice. We have one more of Tim's Mankato high school classmates to visit in 2 days, before we leave the state.

Maps of today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3770512742

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3619682677

Said goodbye to ken and cathi davey - after Linda was able to stand upright. Nothing like having a guest you don’t know arfing in your living room 

Day 20, June 19, 2019

Quilt patterns on a barn

Henry's notes:
Day 20: Sunny again! We said goodbye to Susie Polzin. Her husband Jeff is an avid and long time bike rider, and will ride with us to Mankato before he peels off to go home. The ride today was notable for a descent to the Mississippi River valley, crossing the river from WI to Minnesota (our 8th state), and then a steep ascent out of the valley. We are not halfway yet, but crossing the Mississippi River is a milestone. Our terminus today was Whitewater State Park, which welcomed us with very modern shower facilities.

We are five for a few days.

Maps of today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3764902458

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3615912154

Day 19 June 18, 2019 Third rest day

Rest day in Black River Falls with Sue and Jeff Polzin (and their horses).
 Henry’s notes for the day.

Day 19: Sunny day. After breakfast, we cleaned, lubed, and adjusted bikes. Tents were laid out to dry from our last rainy day. Tim and Jeff successfully reattached Jeff's front rack. Linda's cousin Kath Morgan and her husband Tom drove down from Eau Claire, WI to have lunch with us at the local country club. After lunch, we went to get a few provisions from a local store. Meanwhile, Tim and Jeff Polzin went to do some standup paddle-boarding. The Polzins have 8 horses, and we all met up for an afternoon 4 mile ride on their 50 acre property along a spring fed creek. It was quite an experience for all of us who were amateurs riding in that kind of saddle. It was pretty exhilarating to gallop over 20 mph - no pedaling required! A University of Wisconsin at Madison 4th year medical student joined us for the ride. Although retired from medical practice, Jeff Polzin and his wife Susie happily and generously guide trips for any medical students doing a clinical rotation in Black River Falls. We spent a pleasant evening conversing over a spaghetti and meatball dinner. Susie additionally has the unusual hobby of breeding moths and butterflies. She has bags tied around branches all over her property to protect the larvae in their cocoons as they undergo metamorphosis. A very enjoyable rest day was had by all.

Representative of bags used by Susie Polzin to protect moth and butterfly larvae while in the cocoon stage.

Lots of paper mills in central Wisconsin

This one in the Wisconsin river June 18

Three amigos go riding

Picture overflow from June 17 ride to Black River Falls

Links to more pictures

There is a new section in the sidebar titled Picture Collections. I have added a link to Jeff's pictures and may add Tim's pictures, too.

They are getting lots of good ones. The newest ones are on top.

Priscilla

Day 18. June 17, 2019

Henry's notes for today:

Day 18:  We woke to glorious unfettered sunshine, which we had not seen for many days.  Paula and Matt had prepared a hearty breakfast for us, highlighting Nueske's Canadian bacon, out of Wittenberg, WI.  As we started our ride for the day, we were overjoyed to be dry, and riding in the sunshine with a cool breeze.  Jeff Polzin would be leading us to his home in Black River Falls, where we would be staying for 2 nights (including a rest day).  We rode along the Wisconsin River for a while, and at one of our picture stops, a patrol car pulled up.  We met Adam Berry from the Wood County Sheriff's Department, who had completed a trans-America bike ride by himself 8 years ago.  He said he averaged 108 miles per day.  It was a pleasure talking to him.  We had another turtle encounter on the road - this time it was a large snapping turtle, which Jeff P expertly handled by the tail.  Subsequently, we found a Kwik Trip relatively early in the day, which allowed Tim to have his first of 4 ice cream treats for the day.  I bought him an ice cream sandwich there.  We kept riding and had lunch at the Dexter Lake Drive-In, where Tim enjoyed a mint chocolate chip shake, and a turtle sundae.  The others had a root beer float in a frosted mug.  Those calories proved to be important, as we encountered an unexpected 2 mile slog through a trail with what seemed like quicksand.  Jeff Cohen broke a bolt on his front pannier rack, and Tim carried an extra pannier on his bike the rest of the day.  Heroic.  We stopped at the local hardware store as we entered Black River Falls, to buy what was needed to extract the broken bolt and repair Jeff's rack.  Jeff Polzin's wife Susie had a delicious marinated turkey dinner ready and waiting for us.  We had rhubarb custard pie a la mode for dessert, the 4th ice cream of the day, for anyone who is keeping count.  We are riding sequentially from one gastronomic experience to another.  Tim, Jeff P, and Susie all went out for a evening horse ride to see the fireflies.  We are all looking forward to a rest day.

Maps of today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3758033873

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3611654986

Jeff Polzin saving the turtle from certain death

Construction work and sunny skies

Ice cream stop in Dexterville

Day 17, June 16, 2019 Fathers day post

Tim's notes from Day 17, June 16, 2019

We are now in Plover, Wisconsin having covered 1061 miles in 15 riding days with two rest days. We have camped six nights, had four hotel nights, and stayed with generous hosts the other 7 nights.

Fathers Day started with a rainy night in tents at High Cliff State Park near Appleton, Wisconsin. The rain stopped between 5AM and 7AM as we broke camp and let loose again for wet riding at 50 degrees 12 miles to the Third Street Cafe in Menasha for a hearty breakfast with friends of Linda and Henry.

We exited the restaurant for another soggy hour of riding before Linda got our first flat tire during another fortunate dry spot in front of a Quik Stop Truck Stop. We made a quick fix and stocked up on afternoon eats. The afternoon alternated between light mist and dry as we crossed the lovely Wisconsin dairyland. About 20 miles outside Plover we were joined on bike by my high school friend, Jeff Polzin, who will host us for two nights in Black River Falls and ride with us to Mankato, Minnesota.

Tonight we are all enjoying a barbecue and warm beds in Plover with Linda and Henry's med school friends Paula and Matt.

Henry's notes for today:

Day 17:  The pitter patter of rain on my tent started at 4 am, and my heart sank knowing that it would be at least another partial day of wet riding.  However, we had social commitments, and had to stay on the move.  We met Charlie and Mike again, as well as Henry's hand surgery colleague Jon Cherney and his wife Pam for a filling breakfast at the Third Street Diner.  Jon has had a very successful hand surgery practice in Appleton since 1995.  He is in a group of 7 hand to shoulder surgeons.  The cold rain continued as we said goodbye to our friends in the Appleton area, and headed west towards Plover, just outside Stevens Point.  Because of where we changed Linda's flat tire, we had our first introduction to Kwik Trip, a great convenience store chain based in La Crosse, WI.  The special treat for the day was 2 Snickers ice cream bars for $2, which Tim discovered in the freezer case.  Tim and I could not resist.  After consuming other lunch specials at the Kwik Stop, we kept riding; the rain did stop eventually in the early afternoon.  We joined up with Jeff Polzin, Tim's childhood friend, about 20 miles east of Plover.  Jeff's wife Susie conveniently dropped him off to join our slow-moving peloton.  Jeff lives in Black River Falls, WI, and will be riding with us to Mankato, MN.

Our evening destination was at Matt and Paula Riordan's in Plover.  Matt was Henry's residency classmate in St. Louis, and retired just over a year ago from a very busy Stevens Point general orthopedic practice.  We were treated to a fabulous steak tenderloin and bratwurst dinner, with all the trimmings.  Our hosts were again exceedingly gracious, and treated us like royalty.  It was great for me and Linda to catch up with Matt and Paula.

From left right, new faces are Jon and Pam Cherney, Mike Uhing, Charlie Gaebler-Uhing.

The Riordans took good care of us. Thank you!

Map of Today's ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3754947557

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3609653221

Day 16 June 15, 2019

Henry's notes:
Day 16:

Since we got in so late from the ferry crossing the night before, we slept in until 8:30 am, getting up in time to slide into the hotel breakfast before they cleared things away. We had a shorter ride scheduled to the Appleton area, and didn't need to leave right away, so we threw in a load of laundry. When we left Manitowoc, it was in the low 50s with intermittent drizzle/rain for the ride to High Cliff State Park on Lake Winnebago just outside Appleton.  We decided to camp, because the rain had stopped by the time we arrived. The camp host we met told us there was a no-cost and available tent campsite for bikers like us. The state park was sprawling, with amenities that surpassed our prior disappointing private campground experiences. Linda and Henry's medical school classmate Charlie (Charlene) and husband Mike Uhing drove up from Milwaukee to greet us with a fabulous picnic spread about 4 pm. Most of it was devoured, as there were no places to get lunch on our route into the park. A state park warden approached us while we were in the midst of our mini-feast. We thought we were going to get busted for talking too loudly, or some other misdemeanor. He only wanted to let us know that the camp host had mis-informed us, and that there would be a charge for the campsite after all. No biggie; we were happy to pay for the campsite. We topped off the evening with a dinner at an Asian fusion restaurant. Charlie and Mike dropped us back at the campsite, and we agreed to meet them the next morning at a diner in Menasha for breakfast, about an hour's bike ride out of the park towards Plover, our next destination.


Maps of today's rides:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3750986694

https://www.relive.cc/view/u3607814365

Manitowoc, WI

Manitowoc, WI

Brillion WI

Maple Grove, WI

Whitelaw, WI

High Cliff State Park 

Mike and Charlie Uhring brought dinner to our camp site.