Loads of trails

9/8/17 - 9/11/17

Every day the road is full of uphills and downhills, not just physically speaking; the Midwest is pretty flat. I left camp and started riding on a fairly busy highway with no shoulder. That was an uphill. Made much steeper by the fact that I had a terrible headwind slowing me down. It wasn't shaping out to be a great day. I decided to get an energy boost with an ice cream treat at a fast food place I'd been seeing billboards for all morning. When I arrive it was closed and I had to settle for stale carrots as my snack. More uphill, but every uphill leads to an eventual downhill. I hit a trail and just started cruising along. The best part about trails is I can listen to music without worrying about being hit by an unheard car. This was my downhill, and it lasted all day. I got to fly along in top gear through the lush wind-blocking woods jamming to music. It was glorious.

I saw a sign by the side of the trail saying I'd arrived at Neptune. Curious I stopped to discover that someone had created a scale model of our solar system along the bike path! I must have missed Pluto but as I rode into town I would simultaneously be riding past the planets and towards our sun. I had a blast looking out for the other planets as I pushed on. Unfortunately I only made it to Jupiter before I turned onto another trail, but it was fun while it lasted. I think I may have scared some of the other trail users as I shouted out "Look there's Uranus!!!!" as I zipped by.

I reached Madison and got to crash with my good friend Will. He showed me around his college UW Madison and I met a bunch of his friends. It was a great introduction back into civilization. The next morning I didn't want to leave, but after procrastinating until noon I finally hit the road.

I arrived at my campsite in Rome, Wisconsin later than I had planned due to my late start. I couldn't find the campground host so I just set up my tent. When I did eventually find them I had to sheepishly move my tent into the designated area when I thought no one was looking. Luckily for me the tent area was a long hill behind all the campers so I didn't have to worry too much. Unfortunately, after another dinner of bowtie pasta and powdered sauce, I slept the night on a hill.

I woke up to an unexpected conundrum. My host for that night in Milwaukee had gotten sick. I spent some panicked hours contacting anyone I could who I though might know someone in Milwaukee. My parents got in on the fun and soon them and their friends were also searching. I decided to just head into the city and started the ride. My mom really came through from me when about an hour outside of the city she gave me the contact information for a friend of a friend of hers who was willing to host me. I called up Marge and we arranged for my arrival at her home.

It was the first time I'd really biked through a bike city and it reminded me of how much I dislike it. I'd been lucky in Madison as I'd been routed on beautiful bike paths that cut through the city and I hadn't had to deal with traffic or cars or pollution at all. Milwaukee on the other hand had plenty of that. I got lost a couple times but eventually found my way back onto a bike path that ran along the shore of lake Michigan. It was great fun, as a kite festival seemed to be going on! Or maybe they just like flying kites a lot in Milwaukee but either way I saw a bunch of super cool kites.

Marge welcomed me into her home with a bowl of delicious lentil stew. I then lounged around grateful for the relaxation time until she convinced me to accompany her to a friend’s party. The drive there was filled with fascinating facts about the city as we drove through. I got fed delicious barbecue and had some lovely conversation with another cyclist. Upon our return home Marge convinced me to let her teach me cribbage and then destroyed me at it, twice.

I left Marge's and headed to the ferry dock the next morning. There I went to pay for my passage across lake Michigan and was told it would be $107. An assistant standing nearby took pity on me after seeing the shock on my face and offered a 7-dollar discount for students. Of course without my ID I had to pay the full price. This was a definite uphill. Luckily I got my money's worth by taking all the free individual jam packets and plastic utensils I could fit in my pockets. I also made sure to steal their electricity by charging my phone.

I then had to rush 40 miles to reach a friend's home before sunset. I shot off the ferry and in my haste I forgot to snap a picture of the "Welcome to Michigan" sign, something I planned to do for every state. I pedaled on trying to race the sun down the bike trial as I rode past prisons and farmlands.

When I arrive at Adam and Brianne's home I was exhausted but happy. They are cyclists that I had met on my previous bike tour down the West Coast two years ago. It was great to sit around and reminisce about that ride and discuss where everyone we had met was now. And they gave me so much delicious food! I even got to do my laundry for the first time and they lent me their portable battery pack! It was truly delightful to be back with old friends.

P.S. A note about the blog:

I can't edit the blog unless I'm using a computer so I may write posts on my phone but they will not get posted until I find a computer. So posts will be even later than they already are.

Also I can't caption photos, so that's unfortunate. I will try to describe the confusing ones in the post itself.

Lastly I'm just super delayed on posting these, but hopefully I will eventually get caught up. So when you read a post, please be aware that I may actually be hundreds of miles east of the places I mention. That also explains why multiple posts may be posted on the same day. Sorry for the confusion!