Website contains pages of tidbit stories of unique experiences , Bicycling and Personal.

Highlight #2 2013

At the beginning of day two I must have been in the flats or near a river or a creek.  There was water standing everywhere.  I adjusted my route on the fly, again, by turning onto a paved bicycle trail.  After a few miles down the trail I ran across what appeared to be a large area puddle.  I thought it would be fun to go through but I soon realized how deep this “puddle” truly was.  For 50 yards I had to pedal through 2 ½ feet of water.  Just short of the tops of my water bottles according to the slim-line left on the bottles after the puddle.  My shoes filled with water and luckily they drained since bicycle cleats have holes on the bottom of the soles.  These holes also allow cold air in for cooling on hot days and freezing on cold days.  My feet were numb for the rest of the 40s degree ride this day. 

Highlight #3 2013

During the morning of the third day of the ride, I was in northern Illinois when my rear tire went flat. I was riding south on Lewis ave. then I turned west on Yorkhouse Rd.  About 100 yards further down from YorkHouse Road my rear tire went flat.  I remembered the last intersection had a fuel station on one of the corners, so I decided to walk the bicycle back to use their air pumps instead of my co2s and a small hand pump.  As I was approaching the intersection I noticed I picked up a closing follower.  He came from nowhere and he continued to follow me across the intersection into the fuel station at a closing-in pace.  When I entered the fuel station property I wondered if this is what I felt it might be, so I walked straight towards the station front door then I diversed my path with a sharp right turn toward the air pump.  Before I reached the pump I noticed he was very close.  At the pump I leaned my bicycle up against the pole next to the pump and turned to have a face-to-face with my immediate problem.  You see I knew for sure there was a problem when I turned right toward the pump because behind the pump, along that whole side of the fuel station property was a wall and a drop off on to the next property.  He had no other reason to be in that direction with me.  When I turned we were four feet apart, one step further than arms reach.  He stopped.  And we starred at each other for about 30 seconds, which felt like minutes.  I was cold and tired and not in the mood.  He was after something.  My feeling(s) were cold and I was thinking I was too old to do this shit again.  It was a memory of the survival confrontations I had growing up and living on the southside of Chicago.  There wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to stop me from finishing this ride or taking the bicycle.  He must have been smarter than most criminals and realized it wasn’t going to be easy and this wasn’t my first “rodeo”.  He turned and walked away back across the intersection and disappeared.  I fixed the tire and rolled on.  The unexpected moral of this story, besides it not being a good idea to not listen to your daughter and to always carry the pocket knife in an easy-to-access location, is that the air pump was not free and I had no loose change, so I had to use my co2 and small air pump anyway.  In Illinois air is not free. 

Highlight #4 2013

 Near the very end of my trip I stop at the family cemetery plots.  Those who have read my previous trips would already know my end goal.  Right before the cemetery there was a hot dog stand/small window serving type joint.  It was closed and out of business.  This joint has been at this location my whole life and was a usual stop for all cemetery visits.  So I went meal-less to the cemetery park.  I may need to find some place to replace it for my next trip. When I ended my trip at Laura’s tree, Tom and Laura were there along with my wife (Sharon) and grandson (Zach).  After posing for my yearly picture, we went for dinner.  After dinner we did something awesome.  Tom took Zachary for a “candy run” to Walgreens.  Thanks to Tom for a better replacement to a hotdog with my past-on family.  It is candy for my leg pains.  Yes, Tom let me have candy also.  2013 is when a new tradition is handed across from family to family. 

Highlight #1 2013

On Day 1, as I arrived at the beginning (north side) of the extremely hilly (painful) stretch of Seven Hill RD. (co. rd W), in the town of Johnsburg, WI, It started to rain.  I have been watching this storm move toward me for the last 20 miles.  The storm front was very dark, grey, and ugly.  It was pretty awesome to see, if you weren’t on the road or on a bicycle traveling on the road.  Under a picnic canopy of the this town’s church, I called my daughter and asked her to go to a weather radar online and find out; how bad is it going to be and how long will it be storming.  It wasn’t good news. Janet told me it was all RED and YELLOW on the radar coming right at me from the south west.  It was going to be all day, including lightening.  I already was experiencing the lightening.  So, I suited up with my new rain gear and hit the road again.  At the south end of seven hill road (27 miles of constant rolling steep hills), I pondered “is it wrong for a grown man to lay down on the road and cry in pain.”  The only comfort I had all day was once in a while the cows were taller than I, and maybe they would attract a lightning bolt before I do.  The rain was so hard I could not see more than 10 feet in front of me.  When I was pedaling down highway 45 I could not see my left turn, road double D, on the other side of the road which was my first of many trip adjustments, without a full map to cover me when I go off trail.  Thank God for a compass, when I remember to pack one.