2 Lefts

In the last sunlight of the evening three deer jumped out from the brush surrounding the grassy lawn at the campground. We were sitting at our picnic table and stayed very still as the mother and two young ones pranced about. They were 100 feet or so away and didn't seem too bothered by us. Their movements are very sudden, jutting a leg or pulling it back with angular, staccato movements. The next morning Rach put the steam on and we were thundering down the road. It was made of even concrete sections and we went "Ka-thunk, Ka-thunk" just like a rail car when our tires passed over the seams. We must have had a good dinner because we were blazing during this stretch of the day, riding strong. With no wind holding us back it was a delight to make quick time. The weather was perfect too. We stopped for lunch at a grocery store in Cascade, Iowa. They had a deli counter and I asked if they made sandwiches to order. "Like what would you want?" "Cheese and wha...

Yesterday we continued to enjoy a change in scenery as the corn fields gave way to... corn fields with small hills and clumps of trees. We'll take what we can get. Mike had predicted we would see 0 goats, I predicted 2, we saw 2. It's all that machine learning I do at work. Makes me good at predicting things. Or it was luck. One of the two. The terrain grew hillier and the wind picked up as the day wore on. Surprise, surprise, the wind direction was not in our favour. It's almost like we're riding into the prevailing wind direction... I found the combination of up-hill riding and a headwind challenging. We approached mile 50 towards 5 pm. Since our chosen campground was waiting for us at mile 70 we pushed on and covered the final 20 miles at a good pace. The road to the campground was a 2.5 mile gravel track, which led us between two swamps before depositing us in front of the Mississippi River. It was worth the ride. Even better than the view was the campground host ...

A light began to emerge in the leafy distance of the corn rows yesterday morning. We left Wenona and did about 20 miles of the usual farm lanes before crossing the Illinois River and stopping in at Henry, a small town of a few thousand people. The grocery store was small, but our first in close to a week. We took a break in the central park which had a large missile as commemorative military memorial. It was here we began to depart the squares of tedium. The terrain shifted and there were even small hills! The roads had bends, curves, wandered and wavered instead of running razor straight down the grid. A delight! A revelation! There were a few small farms sprinkled among the mega-crops and we saw goats and cows as well as dogs who wanted to chase us. Traffic was quiet, temperatures cool, and fleecy white clouds kept us company. I gladly welcomed the changes in scenery. If variety is the spice of life, the last few days were a bland dish. The wind was still against us and when I to...

Our hosts at the Greenhouse B&B continued to ply us with food Tuesday morning and brought us freshly cooked corn and hard boiled eggs to speed us on our way. We reluctantly left their oasis and resumed riding through the corn. This region of Illinois is carved into regular squares that are one mile long, one mile wide, and perfectly aligned with the points of the compass. It may be efficient but it sure isn't interesting. I passed the time by looking for shapes in the clouds (train, Marge Simpson, dog) and estimating how many ears of corn were in the square mile blocks we rode past (50 million). The temperature was great, the sky was blue with puffy white clouds (perfect for shape-finding), through the wind was less than helpful. There continued to be no grocery stores along the route so we made do with food from gas stations and mini-marts. Mike managed to get a veggie sandwich from one, and we found bananas and an orange at another. We ended the day in the town of Wenona, o...

Another thanks to Kyler and the kindness of strangers. We packed up camp, oiled our chains (what a magnificent change that brought about) rode 12 miles or so and left Indiana for Illinois. No welcome sign - it was an uneventful crossing. What is there to say about today? At one point I said "Well, that's an interesting drainage ditch." Nothing against the fine folks of the Midwest, but that tells you all you need to know about the variety of scenery here. Corn and soybeans. On a positive note though, most of the roads are nearly deserted and there's no trucks to shout over. On the flip side: I may have run out of stories. Rach and I each took turns taking the front, 10 to 15 miles at a stretch. We've rarely had full-on headwinds but plenty of cross winds or diagonal breeze. That slows down the pace. The weather was perfect with cloudy skies and mostly cool temperatures. Some blue haze in the distance threatened during the afternoon but we were both glad to not...

We awoke to rain hammering on the roof of the carport we were camping under. Happily, it eased off as we went about our morning routine. We had tea with breakfast, which indicates either a leisurely start to the morning or cold weather. Today it was cold. Mist and drizzle surrounded the campground and stuck with us as we rode away from the town of Fletcher. It reminded us of Ireland, though Indiana is warmer. This morning's ride showcased the Indiana Special: corn, soy beans, and rain. Mike is sick of corn. And rain, come to think of it. Towns are few and far between with no supermarkets, only convenience stores. Luckily we knew this was coming and had stocked up on fruit and dinner-type foods two days ago. We did find a gas station selling potato wedges and ate those at a picnic bench until it began to rain. Our route is taking us on quiet roads through the corn fields and we are enjoying the lack of traffic. It makes it much easier to have a conversation while riding. As rain d...

Well sports fans, there have been limited to no internet connections out here in Indiana so here are the events of the last three days of tour: When we planned out our day from Defiance we had a shorter option, a big gap of nothing, and then a longer option for a place to stay. We did not (me really) have legs of lightning that day so we called it after 40-some-odd miles in the corn fields at a small town called Monroeville. Monroeville has a decades-long tradition of hosting touring cyclists in the community center at their city park. After a phone call we met an older gentleman named Warren who showed us the whole place: bathrooms, shower, washer/dryer, industrial kitchen, television, etc. He was exceedingly kind. That evening the park had a small car show with musicians playing in the bandstand. I was feeling tired so we laid low after dinner. They even had cyclist goodie bags! The next morning we woke up to outrageously loud thunderclaps. Uh oh. But by the time we were ready to...

Yesterday was a slog. I had felt pretty good on our 88-mile day and thought a 69 mile day would be straightforward. And it would have been were it not for the headwind. The weather forecast had predicted winds coming from north-north-west but this felt much more like west. Just west. Head on. We traveled a mile before stopping at a grocery store for a snack. Then we pedaled another 10 miles before running out of energy again and stopping at another grocery store. Mike visited the in-store Subway for a breakfast sandwich and found some kettlecorn. I eyed some fudge made locally by Amish people. Unfortunately it was sold in one pound tubs which is a dangerously large amount to be alone on the road with. The best stop of the day was in a small town called Grand Rapids (not the one in Michigan). We had a spectacular view of the Maumee River and bought treats from Rita's Dairy Bar. Just so everyone is fully informed: I had a butterscotch milkshake, Mike had two scoops (one of butter p...

Just as we were drifting off to sleep in our tent at Perry Park I heard someone shout "Call 911! Call 911!" I heard a few other voices but no further commotion and decided that it might be a joke and went to bed. When Rach and I woke up the next morning we saw Charlotte, the caretaker for the park, campground, and boat ramp. Apparently she had taken a nasty spill but she always wears a fanny pack (to the embarassment of her daughter) and it had spared her any serious injury. We said our goodbyes and started the day's miles. We were headed toward Cleveland, and like most other big cities, there are no campgrounds near the core of the city. Rach contacted a Warmshowers host but it was going to be quite a long ride. Sheryl and her family were going to be away but she said we could camp in the yard and use the bathroom at the marina very nearby. Sounds great. Then another text from Sheryl: the marina man does not want to share the bathroom. They have bushes at the house. Hm...