I want to thank my daughter Noelle and son-in-law Craig for their
generous hospitality while we visited Chicago.  I had called ahead and
requested everyone's favorite drink whether beer, wine or soda and all
were awaiting us on that humid Chicago afternoon.  Also, a
refrigerator full of snacks were provided as our arrival anywhere does
resemble a cloud of locusts.  Craig and Noelle arrived home (he from
the airport as he was just back in town) and insisted on treating us
to a feast ordered from their favorite "around-the-corner"
restaurant.  Thanks so much from all of us.

Well, if we were all over the place yesterday, today got much worse.
It went wrong because we just presumed a city the size of Sparta
would have at least one motel, but alas, it did not.

Bonnie, Ken and I thought we would get in a half day of pedaling
while waiting for Gail, Susie and Martin to catch up. Bonnie was
meeting some friends at Sparta, and went to Canadian Lakes with
them. Because there was no motel in town, Ken went south to Grand
Rapids, while I continued east to Greenville.

Fortunately, I was able to warn the last three about Sparta before
they left Muskegon, and so they went to Coopersville. With a little
luck we will all meet up in Ionia tomorrow.

There are a lot of great things I can say about Michigan, like how
superb the bike paths are, but all that dominated my thoughts today
were two words, HOT and MUGGY. It was the first time I was actually
hoping for rain.

To date I have pedaled 2,565 miles and climbed 103,600 feet.

This is a two day summary, and is particular to me alone, since
everyone did different things.

Yesterday (Wednesday) morning I left Noelle (please note the correct
spelling) and Craig's and cycled a few miles cross town to
Cargo's chicago office. I spent the morning and half the
afternoon there, and then I started my trek north.

I made it back to the lake shore and rode the Lakeshore Bike Path to
Rodgers Park, and then through Evanston. A couple of miles west I
picked up the Green Bay Bike path and took that all the way to
Highland Park, where I sent the night, A special thanks to the guys
at High Gear Bicycle Shop for their travel advice and for
recommending Assos.

The next day I left early and as luck would have it, the next bike
path I needed was running right across the street from my hotel. I
got on the Robert McClory Bike Path, and rode that all the way to
Kenosha, WI. After riding cross town through Kenosha, I found
another bike path to Racine. I could have continued on the system of
bike paths, but it got too confusing, and I switched to the road. I
met up with Bonnie and Ken in South Milwaukee, and we made our way
to the ferry landing, by a route some one and recommended to Bonnie.
It turned out to be a great way to get into Milwaukee. Quiet
residential street took us all the way to our destination.

We spent two hours at Sven's Coffee Shop, and then took the
"fast" ferry across Lake Michigan. Gail, Susie and Martin are
scheduled to take the ferry tomorrow at noon. Ether we will wait
from the here, or start to proceed slowly down the road and take our
down day when it rains.

As of today, I have cycled 2508 miles, and climbed 102,019 feet, and
have been on the road 44 days.

Yes, we all arrived safely in the Windy City.

From Aurora, we were able take this great bike path over 70% of the
way. This time it was almost exclusively a hard packed dirt path
that worked just great. It took a little more pedaling effort but it
was worth it, because the ride was so smooth, and many stretches
were through tree covered lanes that shaded us from the blazing sun.

The path ended about fifteen miles from the lake. We then had to
travel across town. However, we found a good road with a bike lane,
and made it all the way to Millennium Park just south of Navy Pier.

Tonight we are all camping out at Bonnie's daughter and
son-in-law, Noel and Craig,  house in Lincoln Park (Chicago).
Tomorrow, Gail, Susie and Martin are leaving for Milwaukee early in
the morning. I will be spending the day in Chicago and heading north
after rush hour. Ken and Bonnie will start for Wisconsin on
Thursday. On Friday we will all meet at the Ferry in Milwaukee.

As today we have cycled 2,410 miles and climbed 100,433 feet and we
have been on the road for forty-two days.

Some days either the headwinds or the hills just wear you down. You
get on your bike and pedal for what seems like hours and then your
legs begin to ache, and then your seat and then your back, neck and
hands. So you look at your cyclometer, and to your horror, you find
that you have only gone less than a mile.  You just know it is going
to be a long day.

However, there are of course other days where the opposite is true,
and today was just such a day.

It began with a bit of a risk, because we decided to change the
route. As much as we enjoyed the Grand Illinois Bicycle Trail, its
round about route to Chicago from Princeton was over 140 miles. That
meant two days of over seventy miles on the various surfaces the
bike trail offers. It seemed a bit too much.

Whereas the more direct route was around 11 miles and on pavement
for most of the way. So up we pedaled on Route 34. Today the strong
winds rotated clockwise and we had gusts of up to twenty miles per
hour pushing us along. We only realized how strong they were when
the road would turn north for short stretches. If the temperature
had not reached 98 degrees, we could have made Chicago.

It is amazing how much more affluent the farms in Illinois appear.
The barns are bigger and newly painted. There are larger and nicer
homes. I guess the extra rain goes a long way.

Tonight some of us split off again. Susie went to visit friends in
Geneva and Bonnie went to visit her son in Woodridge. We will all
meet up again tomorrow in Chicago at Bonnie's daughter's
house.

So far we have pushed our bikes 2,361 miles and climbed 99,487 feet
and have been on the road 41 days.

At 1:30 in the morning I was awaken by thunder, lightning and heavy
rain. Those sounds sure help me get back to sleep real quick. By
morning it was still very overcast, but the rain had stopped. We
still had to rig for rain. That means wrapping our panniers in
plastic and getting to listen to them flap as we ride. And for some
of us, it means wearing those plastic rain clothes that turn out to
be mini saunas, where you can get just as wet even if it doesn't
rain.

By mid morning it began to clear, and we unwrapped. But sure enough,
two hours later the sky was again filled with rain clouds. We even
felt a few drops, so we stopped and wrapped up everything again. But
the rain held off. I guess all's well that ends well.

To begin with, Earl from yesterday's blog is not Earl, but Errol.
Errol rode with us this morning and took us to the Hennepin Canal
Trail. He rode with us for ten additional miles on the trail and
impressed us with his knowledge of the history of the canal. He made
a picturesque ride interesting as well.

The Hennepin Canal runs for about one hundred miles. We rode the
bike path that runs along side it for about fifty. It was beautiful
bike path that ran beside the canal and over many bridges. The down
side was, the surface was either loose gravel or hard packed earth.
While it was easy to ride on, it definitely took a few miles per
hour off of the average speed, and we arrived in Princeton a bit
later than we had hoped, and our legs were a bit more tired.

But we did not get wet and we had to deal with very few cars, and
that made it worth while. Again a special thanks to the Bodens for
their hospitality and breakfast as well.

As of today we have pedaled 2,282 miles and climbed 98,053 feet.

Eric Goodis is our token Canadian. That says it all, aye,

Today we crossed the might Mississippi River and entered the State
of Illinois. We crossed it on the Rock Island Centennial Bridge.

If you have been following the weather in this part of the country,
I am sure you are aware of the heavy thunderstorms we have been
having, and today was no exception. All things considered, it could
have been a lot worse for us. We waited out one heavy down pour and
left a little later then usual. We did get caught in one rain storm
for about an hour and half. Either because it was Saturday, or the
thunderstorms deterred a lot of motorists, traffic was light. By the
end of the day it was actually sunny, hot and real humid. Welcome to
Illinois.

We also knew that Martin's cousins, Bob and Nan Boden, were
expecting us, so we road on. A special thanks to the Bodens for
their hospitality. There was cold beer, drinks, chilled wine and
appetizers waiting for us when we arrived. We got to take showers,
had a B-B-Q, and do our laundry. And as a special bonus, Martin's
friend, Earl, who used to own a bike store and is the President of
the Quad City Bicycle Club, came over and helped us with some minor
repairs.

Tomorrow, Earl will ride with us to the Grand Illinois Bicycle Trail
and off we will go to Princeton, Illinois. They are still calling
for Isolated Thunderstorms, but we will see.

But as of today we have cycled 2,215 miles and climbed 96,834 feet.

As I did not ride today, the following has been written by Bonnie.

While some of our group only camp when required, three of us persist
in the notion that we ENJOY camping despite our misadventures thus
far. In that light, Ken, Martin and I chose to camp last night in
the sprawling 70-acre RV Park in the Amana Colonies.  We carefully
selected a cottonwood-shaded area so isolated that the camp host had
to haul in a picnic table with his truck.  The sand volleyball court
nearby was deserted…after all, the park was full of senior citizens
there for the Polka Festival. Do you know any seniors who still
play sand volleyball?  BUT, just as we started eating our dinner
(tuna, noodles and beans) the cars started filing in and we soon
found ourselves in the midst of a crowded parking lot full of
beer-drinking, loud, young players.  Martin had to protect his tent
from being overrun by placing his bike in a defensive position.
Thankfully, they departed by dark.

This morning we all had breakfast at the Brick House Restaurant, run
by the same family for 60 years.  The pancakes rated as "best of
trip" thus far and Gail had more REAL oatmeal than she could eat.
A tour of the woolen mill and a quick visit to the bakery and we
were off to meet Eric in Coralville fighting headwinds all the way.

Bonnie is the senior female on the trip and is single.  Children:  Joy,
Noelle (m. to Craig) and Daniel (m. to Nicole).  Grandchildren:  4.
Since I am the one who wrote the other bios I will now write in the
first person.  I wanted to do this trip so badly that I actually quit
my job of 30 years as an RN and hope to be rehired when I return.  I
have been cycling off and on for decades but started touring about 15
years ago, joining the Knickerbikers in 1998.  Hobbies:  Hiking,
camping, backpacking, travel.  What I have learned about myself on this
trip:  I am able to do things I didn't know I could.  Examples:
Maintaining balance on a bike when the wind tries very hard to knock me
over and holding on to a sprinkler head for 30 minutes to keep it from
rotating and soaking ALL of us in the dead of night.

Coralville is suburb of Iowa City, in case you were wondering. But
it is only your writer who is here. We have split up, but only for a
day or two.

Bonnie, Ken and Martin are camping in the Amana Colonies. Gail,
Susie and Stogs are in a motel somewhere in the same colonies. Ken
and Gail, and possibly Susie, will be joining me in Coralville
tomorrow, and we will be meeting up with the balance in Moline on
Saturday.

As for me, I will spend the entire day tomorrow not cycling.

The weather was great today. We still had the head winds, but they
only became real annoying late in the day, and I was the only one
still cycling by then. We all ate lunch today in this great
restaurant in Marengo, IA, and the local newspaper came to interview
us and take our picture.

On Saturday, as we cross the bridge from Davenport to Moline, we
will be leaving Iowa. Before we do, I would like to thank Eric
Skoog, the owner of Cronk's Café, the oldest restaurant in
Denison, for putting us in touch with Chuck Offenberger. Chuck, also
know as The Iowa Boy, was one the originators of the famous RAGBRAI,
the annual bicycle ride across Iowa. He helped us stay off the
shoulder-less highways, and make our way across the state on the
county roads.

To date, the 37th day, I have cycled 2,145 miles and have climbed
over 95,000 feet.

Ken King is our senior member and proud of it at 66, soon to be 67.
Married to Sheryl for 44 years and he thanks her for her understanding
in allowing him to do this trip.  Children:  Barbara and Julie, spouses
Kelly and David.  He has three grandchildren and another due any
day...message will be posted.  He still enjoys working part-time as a
CFO and may or may not resume that upon return home.  Ken has been
cycling since 1972, joined the Knickerbikers in 1980, and inherited
the "club servant" role in 1994 from the founder of the club.
Translation:  He puts together and publishes the Knickerbiker Bull-A-
Ton though Sharon Goodis has been doing a fine job of subbing in his
absence.  Since 1980 Ken has been on a cycling tour every year and has
led many tours in the U.S. and internationally.  Hobbies:  Docent at
Torry Pines State Park, hiking.  What we've learned about Ken:  He
would, if possible, talk to every person he meets along our route and
most are pleased about that.  He is willing to climb barbed wire fences
ONLY when instructed to do so by a highway patrolman.

Where are these places? Has anyone ever heard of them? Do they
really exist?

The reason you have not heard about some of these places is because
we have opted to stay on real small county roads which pass through
small towns. There is a big difference between the small towns in
Nebraska and Iowa, In the latter, the small towns still seem to be
thriving, where as in Nebraska, a lot of them are two shades from
ghost towns.

We have been meeting a lot of interesting people in these small
towns. Today in Ira, IA we meet Pastor Jim Olsen who is from, yes
you guessed it, San Diego. And he was on his brand new bike and was
taking it out for a spin.

We ate lunch in a bar in Maxwell; not the healthiest meal on the
tour. The riding was hard again today. Not only are the county roads
hilly, but the head winds have still not let up. But we still
managed make to seventy miles. The good news is, it did not rain on
us.

Interesting question for the day! Why did Stogs have to pull out
grass from the back of Susie's shorts?

We have passed another distance milestone today. We have cycled
2,060 miles and climbed 91,830 feet.

Susie, age unknown, has been married to Stogs for 38 years.  Children:
Tanya (spouse John), Tim and Tish.  Grandchildren: 2.  Susie is a
retired elementary school teacher.  How did she start touring?  By
asking Stogs for a bike and a cycling partner as a Mothers' Day gift
about 16 years ago.  He gave her the bike and later fulfilled the other
half of her wish.  Susie joined the Knickerbikers 13 years ago and
since then she and Stogs have been on many of the tours.  Hobbies:
Scrapbooking.  What we have learned about Susie on the trip:  Susie
needs plenty of sleep but when she gets enough she volunteers to cycle
120 miles in one day.  She has also entertained us with her tales of
early adventures in homemaking.  Stogs has joined us on the tour and we
are grateful for his help.  His new nickname is "Scout".
Knickerbikers, we're holding him here until you send a replacement who
is as helpful as he has been.

Today we left the home town of Donna Reed. There is even a Donna
Reed Museum.

Martin said the roads in Iowa are like snakes; no shoulders. Because
of this Gail and Ken decided to search for alternative routing. If
we had to ride on the roads, they thought it was better to find
routes with less traffic. The trouble with the more rural roads is
they tend to follow the lay of the already hilly land, and so we
rode the roller coaster.

The roads actually were quite nice, and today did not have to be one
if the worst days of the trip, but it was. For most of the morning
it rained, and when the rain stopped and we were thoroughly drenched
the head winds picked up. But every now and then it would sprinkle
just to make sure the winds did not dry us off.

And we did this for seventy-five miles. We were on the road for over
nine hours. The other problem with the rural roads is that there are
few services for liquid exchanges and snacks. We did get to eat
lunch in a bowling alley in Coon Rapids. They claim they serve the
best burger in Carroll County.

As of today we pedaled 1,991 miles and climbed 89,302 feet. And
because some one asked, we have been on the road thirty-five days.

Martin is 66-years-old and single.  Children:  David and Michael.
Originally he is from Champaign, Illinois, and has lived in San Diego
since 1978, retiring from the U.S. Navy in 1989 after 30 years of
service.  Martin started bicycling after knee surgery in 1984 to rehab
the knee.  He gradually built up to bicycle commuting 36 miles daily
plus numerous 50 mile organized rides on weekends.  A newcomer to the
Knickerbikers, he joined in April of 2004.  Hobbies:  Skiing, golf,
camping, backpacking, and woodworking.  What we've learned about Martin
on the trip:  He ALWAYS knows exactly what he wants to eat and needs to
eat often, but the waitperson often gets the order wrong.  Now we all
listen as he orders so we can be witnesses when the wrong food
arrives!  Martin is very well organized...where did you learn to fold
that tent?

We not only changed states today, but also terrain. We had to say
goodbye to the nice flat or downward grades of Nebraska, and hello
to the rolling hills of Iowa. That will cut into our daily mileage
tally. To get back into the hill climbing mode, today was scheduled
a bit shorter, and we got to Denison in less than sixty miles.

We are staying in The Park Motel, (www.theparkmotel.com) which is
listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in
1940, and is on the famous Lincoln Highway
(http://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/).

But more importantly, Ken, Martin and I are staying in the very room
that John F. Kerry used during the hard fought Iowa campaign. I hope
we fair better than he did. As a side note, Iowa will be last
`red' state we will be in for the rest of this tour.

Since John Kerry does ride a road bike, I know he will be proud to
know that to date we have pedaled 1,915 miles and climbed 85,940
feet.

We have had requests from several of you for information on members of the group
who they are not familiar with. Bonnie will attempt to post brief bios on all of
the members.

Gail is the "baby" of our group and has been married to Arthur for 11
years although they have been together for a total of 25.  She doesn't
remember HOW she discovered cycling but it was about 15 years ago.
Eight to nine years ago she joined the Knickerbikers thanks to Gayle
Ziaskas and has done two other tours with the group.  Hobbies:
Photography, European touring with and without the bicycle, dogsitting,
gourmet cooking and baseball.

What we have learned about Gail on the trip: We have all learned to ask at
breakfast, in unison, whether the oatmeal is "real" oatmeal because Gail likes
it "real".  Thanks to her photographic memory she was able to locate a lost
wallet under a nondescript bush in the desert.

Nebraskans are found of saying that of you do not like the weather,
wait a few minutes and it will change. Unfortunately, the converse
is true as well. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day, but today we
woke to a completely overcast sky. And yes, it was raining.

Out came the rain gear. We got away with light rain or drizzle all
morning, but after lunch we had a good hour of steady rain.

Speaking of lunch we ate at the locally famous North Bend Corner
Café. We arrived in time for there Sunday morning brunch. We had
to wait for a table with the Presbyterians. I mentioned that, because
they explained to us how it works. Evidently, the Lutherans and
Methodists get out of church first and they get all the tables. Next
come the Catholics and they get any leftover tables and the first
dibs on the second seating. Unfortunately, the Presbyterians get out
last and always have to wait.

The fowl weather did not stop us today, and we cycled the seventy-
one miles to Blair, NE. Blair is right on the Nebraska Iowa state
line, and early tomorrow we cross the Missouri River and enter the
Hawkeye State, birth place of Herbert Hoover and John Wayne.

To date we have pedaled 1,858 miles and climbed 84,771 feet.

Because some of us needed to dry out our tents and gear this morning,
we got a late start. Columbus was forty-two miles away. We were told
that after Columbus there would be no more motels until Fremont and
that was ninety miles away, so we decided early that we would take
half the day off.

We were all falling behind on laundry, bicycle repair, and butt
maintenance. Besides, Stogs is coming to visit Susie tonight, and I
guess she needed time to get gussied up.

So today was a nice easy forty two mile ride on a sunny Nebraska
morning.

As of today we have cycled 1,787 miles and climbed 83,805 feet.

We wish you all a great Memorial Day Week-end. I think I will take a
nap right now. Yaawwwnn….

The problem with camping is it takes at least another half hour to
leave in the morning because you have to pack up and load all your
stuff on your bikes. Why such a big hurry? Because on the days when
the road turns north west we know we are going to face head winds as
the day progresses, so we have been trying to cover as many miles as
possible before the winds pick up. And pick up they did.

A lot of the `towns' on the map of Nebraska, are not towns at
all. They are grain elevators, with a train stop and a gas station;
no restaurants, and more importantly no motels or campgrounds. We
are now trying to plan ahead a bit better. It turns out that our
intended stop, Duncan, NE was just one of those whistle stops. There
are not motels between Central City and Columbus, and since most of
us camped last night, we wanted a motel.

We arrived in Central City around 3:00 PM. We had already ridden
close to seventy miles, of which the last thirty were in the winds,
and decided not to go the additional forty plus miles to Columbus.
No problem, there were two motels in Central City.

Ah, but the best laid plans of mice and cyclists…. There was some
affair in town and both motels were sold out. But we were in
Nebraska. The police officer let us set up our tents in the town
park. There were public bathrooms, but no showers.

When we got to the park we found out there was nice soft green grass
and a municipal pool, and therefore showers, but the lady was just
closing up. We told her of our plight, and she offered to come back
at 7:00 PM, once we were all set up, and re-open the showers for us.
Like I said, I love Nebraska.

By Central City we had cycled 1,744 miles and climbed 83,731 feet.

And at this point I would have liked to write that they slept
comfortably in their tents all night. But such is not the way this
trip has been unfolding. What the nice police officer neglected to
inform us, or was totally unaware of, was that the park was equipped
with an automatic sprinkler system. At 1:30 in the morning they
started up.

Now Bonnie, the consummate camper, actually set up her tent right on
top of one of these recessed sprinkler heads. Up it pops and starts
to spin and spray. Her pannier starts to hop around, and her first
impression was that her pannier was exploding so she crawled to back
of her tent for cover. Then maybe it was the sound of the other
sprinklers hitting the tops of the other tents, but she soon
realized what was happening. She reached out and under her tent and
tried unsuccessfully to turn it off but at least she was able to
direct it away from the tents in the immediate area. She had to hold
on to it until 2:00 AM. Some bikes got wet, and some tents got a lot
wetter than others. The sprinklers went off again at around 5:00 AM,
but it did not appear to be with the same intensity and not all the
same sprinkler heads, but it was enough to wake us up again.

I believe congratulations are in order. Two of the Bookenders, Gail
and Susie, rode their first century today. And we have all
become "Touring Centurions" today. That is we rode the
distance fully loaded. And it was not close. We all rode close to
120 miles. And at least two of us, one whom I know quite intimately,
rode the entire day on blister patches.

Conditions were obviously perfect. There was almost no wind in the
morning and when the winds did pick up, they were more often tail
winds. While the temperature did creep up into the eighties, by then
there was a cool breeze. Traffic was light and the road was great.
What an exhilarating day.

Nebraska! Some people find it flat and boring. While it is not as
dramatic as Colorado or Utah, I love it. We are surrounded by either
green farms, or fields of rolling grass. and lots of trains
streaking across the plains. The roads are clean, the drivers are
courteous and the people are so friendly. And a lot of the small
towns smell like hops.

Besides, where else can you have breakfast at seven in the morning
with five grey haired laughing ladies who are celebrating a birthday
and insisting we share in their birthday cake.

We are now up to 1,673 miles and 83,567 feet.

I would like to say we blew into Nebraska today, but what actually
happened was the wind almost blew us away from Nebraska. We woke up
to a cold, grey, drizzly and windy morning. That was what probably
accounted for our slower than usual start.

We had to go thirteen miles due north to pick up Highway 30 in
Nebraska. The north westerly winds were so strong, it took us two
hours. But during that time we got to watch the rain front blow
east. It was with great relief that we turned east in Nebraska, but
the winds stayed really hard.

You know it is going to be tough when you are on the plains and the
only thing in the wind's way is you on your fully loaded bike.
Highway 30 does not go straight east, but follows the North Platte
River, which snakes its way across Nebraska. So every time we veered
south, we had a bit of tail wind, but every time we veered back
north, we faced a head wind. But the worst part was that all day we
fought the cross winds. It just tires you out.

We had biked sixty-five miles by 4:15 PM and decided to call it a
day, eighteen miles short of our goal of North Platte. We are in
Sutherland, NE which was the last motel before North Platte. Just
like eastern Colorado, so many of the small towns in Nebraska are
closing down as well. We ate lunch in a small café occupying the
basement of an abandoned school in Brule, NE. Supper was at the Sno-
White, the local version of Dairy Queen. It was that or the Gas
Station. We will probably have to pedal to Hershey for breakfast,
where we will get to hear Gail ask again: "Is that real oatmeal
or instant?"

To date we have cycled 1,556 miles ad climbed 83,114 feet.

And now a word from Bonnie:

Today we saw so many trains that I felt I was in the midst of my
grandson Bradley's train set. At times I was hopeful that he
would reach down and move me forward to a sheltered area. By the way,
Happy Fourth Birthday to Bradley!

With a big black band of thunder clouds streaking across our path we
headed out from Sterling today. (It is amazing how much sky you can
see when the horizons are so far, and the air so clear.) We were
taunted with rain all around us. We even felt a few drops, and often
the road we were cycling on was wet from showers that had just
occurred, but we biked another sixty-five miles with out getting
wet. In Crook, CO we were told that it had rain three timed before
we got there. We were not in our motel rooms thirty minutes, when it
began to pour.

Highway 138 could not have been better. It had smooth pavement and
eighteen inch shoulders that we rarely used, because traffic was so
light. For most of the ride all I could hear was the sound of my
tires on the asphalt, which was only interrupted occasionally by the
sound of Gail and Martin mooing at the cows. I think they have read
too much Gary Larson. Do they really think the cows will respond? I
could just picture Mrs. Cow turning to Mr. Cow after we rolled by,
and saying, "Did you here what that women in the silly yellow
jacket and bulging black shorts just called you?" Mr. Cow looks
up and says, "I thought she was talking to you, dear."

Speaking of cows! We did see a bunch of real cow-persons (yes there
were cowgirls as well) on horseback driving a small herd of cows
across the road. The cows were mooing and complaining. I realized
then that they sound just like the Bookenders did when I made one
itsy bitsy small wrong turn this morning.

Well, your writer did not have a real good food day today. Because
Interstate 76 runs a few miles south of Hwy 138, almost all of the
restaurants in the many small towns that it connects have closed and
moved to the interstate exits. All that is left are bars that serve
food.

We stopped for lunch at this little bar in Sedgwick, CO. All food
served came out of the freezer and into the microwave. Down home
cookin'! Basically all she had were frozen pizzas and what she
called microwavable sandwiches. She had ten different types of
pizza, all with sausage in various combinations. I asked if she had
one with out meat, and she then attempted to convince me that the
Canadian Beacon Pizza did not have any meat. My fellow travelers
found that very humorous. Even the sandwiches all had various and
previously unheard of meat combinations.

Oh well, I have had worse lunches than beer and chips. I asked her
about the beers. She had Coors, Coors Lite, Bud, Bud Lite, Miller
and Miller Lite, and then she mentioned some beer I had never heard
of, so I asked her about it. All she said was that it was not a
premium beer like Coors. So I ordered a Coors. I can hear Nick
laughing as I type.

But it was at super that my fellow travelers really got a big yuck.
We are staying at the Grand Motel in downtown Julesburg. But just
like in all the other towns along these small highways, there are no
restaurants, so the super friendly and accommodating owners of the
motel chauffeured us to the interstate and back for supper. So there
we are in another restaurant that does not believe in serving
anything that did not meet a violent death. Because I missed lunch
and had biked sixty-five miles, I decided to slum and have chicken.
This is what they found so amusing. How was I supposed to know that
something called "CHICKEN Fried Steak" is not chicken?
Evidently some folks felt that there was too much loss of tallow
when you just grilled or otherwise cooked fatty ground beef. So they
dip it into batter and deep fry it to lock in every last ounce of
flavour. And just in case that isn't rich enough for you, they
then smoother it in gravy. For those of you that have read my
previous reports, do you remember the heavy lump in my chest that was
previous occupied by that Peanut Butter Pie? Well it is now full
again with three bites of Chicken Fried Steak. That is the last time
I order the same thing as Susie.

I guess that is the price you have to pay for biking on what use to
be the Overland Trail. Tomorrow, if it does not rain too hard, we
will cross into Nebraska. Now corn! That is something I can eat. To
date we have biked 1,491 miles and climbed 82,223 miles.

What! Did that say Sterling, not Julesburg? Yes dear reader, for the
first time this trip, we did not make our goal of Julesburg. You
would have thought if we were going to stop short, it would have
been on the Loveland or the Vail Pass days. But today was actually
the day I most suspected we would not complete. It was only day
scheduled at 118 miles.

Why did I schedule such a long day? The problem is, there is nothing
in the way accommodations between Sterling and Julesburg, and
originally I had hoped that 65 miles would be too short of a day.
Technically it is all flat or downhill, and thought we should give
it a shot.

But several factors made it unfeasible. The first hour went as I had
hoped. We were tearing down the interstate at an average of eighteen
miles per hour. We reached Ft. Morgan in less than an hour. We then
pushed onto Brush, and also made pretty god time. In less than two
hours, we had gone over twenty-five miles, and that is with a
bathroom and refreshment stop. We were talking about lunch in
Sterling.

But as we turned north on route 6, things changed. To begin with,
while the grade was still technically down, it was so slight, that
if it wasn't for the altimeter I have on my bike, I would never
have known. Then you have to add to that the weight of the fully
loaded bikes. We are always riding in one or two gears lower on the
flats. But then yesterday's nemesis came back for a visit; heat
and head winds. They increased steadily as the day progressed. My
bike thermometer reached one hundred degrees. When we reached
Merino, CO. we had to stop for lunch and we were still thirteen
miles from Sterling. There is practically no shade in this part of
Colorado, so the only break from the sun and wind is to go indoors.
It was so windy, that we needed a pace line.

We knew then that Sterling was as far as we would go. Because if we
would have passed Sterling there would have been no motels until
Julesburg, or we would have had to camp. Nobody was interested in
two nights of camping without facilities (showers, etc.), especially
in this heat. The clincher was that we heard that the area was under
a tornado watch in afternoon. Suddenly, everyone felt like a motel
in Sterling seemed like the prudent thing to do.

While it is supposed to be cooler tomorrow, they are also calling
for "Strong Scattered Thundershowers". But as of today, we
have
cycled 1,427 miles and climbed 82,077 feet.

For some reason, when I sit at my keyboard at the end of the day, I
try to sum up and decided whether it was a good day or not. When
in reality, most days are a bit of both; usually more of the
former.  Today was no exception.

We said good-bye to Walter, and headed out of Boulder on one if its
remarkable bike paths. A few of the group evidently begged some
restaurant/bakery to serve them day old pastry, at least an hour
before they were open, but I was not there, so I hope one of them
will write it up. Boulder has the most amazing network of bike
paths. You can seriously commute all over the city on dedicated
paths. They even separate the pedestrian paths from the bike paths.
What thoughtful town planners.

Today was our first full day of touring fully loaded, and I was a
bit concerned. But when we got on the highway, things seemed to be
going well. A slight down hill grade did not hurt either. So I got a
little cocky, and started clocking down the road, with Bonnie and
Martin close behind. We were averaging between seventeen and
eighteen miles per hour. But the bike gods do like cockiness, and in
our haste, we over shot our turn off by four miles. An extra eight
miles early in the morning is not big deal, but some how I know we
were going to regret it later.

In Dacono, CO we ate lunch at Jerry D's, the local biker bar. I
think what attracted us was the sign that read "Cold Beer, Greasy
Food, Beer Garden In The Rear". Watch for the pictures on SmugMug
in the next few days. Lois did not behave herself.

After the lunch the road got a little hillier, and the heat started
to build up. It hit ninety-six degrees on the asphalt and by the
time we reached Hudson, CO it was two o'clock, we were totally
parched and hot, and still had thirty-two miles to go.

It should have been a quick scoot down the I-76, but ahead of the
cold front that was moving in., came the winds. While they were
primarily crosswinds, they did become slight head winds at times,
but the worse part was, they were hot and dry. Even though we had
refilled out bottles at Hudson, they were soon running low again.
The heat, the dry winds, the long miles and extra loads soon began
to take its toll. Butts, hands, arms, backs and shoulders soon began
to ache, especially because dehydration began to set in. All I kept
thinking about in the last few miles was, if we had not had done that
extra eight, we would have been there by now.

Were we glad when we saw the Wiggins sign, that read three miles,
and it had the lodging emblem on it? Were we sad to find out that
the town's only motel was closed years ago, and all the restaurants
and supermarket were also closed on Sunday? Gail asked at the fire
station, and it turned out that the nearest motel was close to
twenty miles further, it was after six and those thunderclouds were
moving in pretty quickly. They told us we could camp in the town
park, and hopefully the restrooms would be opened, but they were not.

But as luck would have it, a town councilman was mowing his lawn
across the street, and after telling him of our plight, he actually
got the town Sheriff to open the restrooms for us. The closest
restaurant was in a gas station about one and half miles away, but I
guess we were more hungry than tired, and off we went. We got back
in time. We set up our tents, locked our bikes under the shelter,
and were in our tents as it started to rain. And here I am now
sending this up via a Verizon Wireless phone card. Can you hear me
now? Don't you just love small town America, and a special thanks
to Jim for his assistance?

In the end we biked over eighty miles, fully loaded, in temperatures
that reached ninety-six degrees. I do not have the exact figures
because in my rush to set up tent, I left my cyclometer on my bike.
Since this is on battery power, I will say good night now.

While it is only twenty-five miles from Golden to Boulder, it felt
like seventy-five. Today was the first day we all rode fully-loaded.

Today is Walter's last day. So we all decided to ride it fully
loaded as a trial run. This gave us an extra day to re-think what we
will take with us, and what we will send back home. Gail and
Ken had been riding with both their rear panniers on for most of the
trip, so it was not that much of a shock.

Now lazy me on the other had, could not believe the difference. To
begin with, I have never ridden with front panniers before, so
learning the new steering was quite an experience. An extra fifty
pounds gets you down into your granny gear a whole lot quicker. I
began thinking about cutting off the handle on my hairbrush, or
spilling out some of my Listerine.

But we made it to beautiful downtown Boulder, where we biked through
the campus, waked the Pearl Street Mall, and had lunch there. We
then headed back to the campus and checked in to the Youth Hostel.
Tomorrow we say good-bye to the mountains and head out across the
plains. The heat wave is supposed to last one more day, then the ole
heat wave breaker, thunder showers.

To date we have cycled 1,277 miles, and climbed 79,509 feet.

A word about Walter. He was great. Probably because of his years of
bicycle touring and his great knowledge of geography, he always knew
where we would be and when. We would be on some bike path for miles,
winding up and down, in and out, and when the path would come close
to the road, there was Walter. Not only would he be there if we
needed water, but often he would have some interesting geographical
fact about the area we were cycling in. He will be missed,
especially when I am schlepping my stuff up a hill.

Two passes in two days. The Loveland Pass, was not so much up and
down as yesterday; just straight up, for nine miles in air that was
getting pretty thin. We took a break at Arapaho Basin, the highest
ski resort in the U.S.A., and of course there were still plenty of
skiers. But the continental divide was still another 1,500 feet
higher.

I will let the pictures speak for our mood at the top. I suspect
relieve was definitely one of the emotions.

A rapid descent, and in no time we were in Georgetown for lunch;
just another one of great those Colorado small towns. It is like
cycling into the old west. We then pushed on to Idaho Springs on
this great frontage road. There was almost no traffic, and we were
still heading down, so pedaling was easy. Due to road work, we
missed the Information Centre and a lot of the motels. Besides we
were still feeling pretty pumped up, and even though it was after
3:00 PM, we decided to push on to Golden which was less than twenty
miles away.

It is twenty miles if you can take the I-70 or Route 6, but due to
the tunnels, cyclists are barred from both. We ended up taking this
thirty mile route that was a combination of bike paths and old
country roads, with two serious climbs; one of which was over two
miles at a 9% grade. That would have been a tough climb on a normal
day, but after Loveland Pass, we were all a bit low on leg power. To
add to this climb, we were now at a low enough elevation to be
affected by the unseasonable heat wave the area was having.

To further complicate the situation, the route we entered Golden on,
was not a major road, and had no motels. We ended up downtown
with no where to stay. After rejecting one establishment, we ended
up pedaling an addition ten miles to a reasonable motel on the
outskirts of town, and arrived just as the sun was setting. All's
well, that ends well.

To date we have cycled 1,250 miles, and climbed (are you ready)
77,845 feet.

Today was also the Stogsdill's 38th anniversary. We of course
wish them many more happy years together.

Tomorrow, May 21st, is my 33rd anniversary. To my wife Sharon, "I
miss you and wish you were here. Happy Anniversary!"

The following are comments about today's ride by some of your
favourite cyclists.

Martin:  They are done.  My brother Steve would be interested to
know that we stopped to rest and have a snack at Arapaho Basin.

Bonnie:  On my first trip west I cowered every time I looked out the
car window down into a steep canyon and did not do ANY of the
driving.  My second trip west was 30 years ago when I did all the
driving (in a car), pulled a camping trailer and moved myself and my
three precious children to San Diego.  However, I went out of my way
to avoid going over the higher passes heading south to cross the
Rockies.   So, what was I thinking…30 years older and riding a
bicycle over two of the highest in the Rockies?!  The ascents were
steep and difficult but the most frightening part was flying down
the other side of the mountain.  I know Eric mentioned the avalanche
we had to carry our bikes over yesterday but also unnerving was the
tunnel with the floor covered with thick ice.  As I completed the
trek through the tunnel I heard a local say, "This is where old
what's-his-name broke his leg last year".  Anyway, the
dreaded passes are behind us and now we've gone on to other
challenges such as finding a hotel in Golden.

Ken: It's interesting to me how the unanticipated developments
compare to the anticipated ones. Loveland pass, 11,990 feet and the
continental divide, was continually discussed in recent days. Yes,
it was a challenge, but we all managed to grind up to the top in
good spirits. The tough part began in the 90 degree weather on the
eastern side.  In Idaho Springs, we asked locals how to get to
Golden, and got a lot of different answers. Our original route
wasn't available (tunnels-closed to cyclists), so we wandered
around, up several unanticipated hills on worn-out legs, into
Golden, where there were three hotel choices: two very expensive
ones and one that was too sleazy even for us. So we wandered around
some more, and just as the sun set, we found a motel 7 miles out of
town. No, we were NOT going to pass this one by. It was dark, and we
had done approximately 76 miles.  Today was an "adventure"
for sure!

The Vail Pass! Well, we all made it. Was it difficult? You bet, but
not too difficult.

The good part was for most of the climb and descent; we were on a
dedicated bike path. It cut through snow banks, accompanied babbling
brooks, looped through forests, darted through meadows, and guided
us by ice covered lakes. At one point we had to portage our bikes
over a snow avalanche. The path took us over the summit, through
Cooper Mountain and then to Frisco. The ride concluded with a loop
around the north shore of the Dillon Reservoir.

The bad part was that the bike path, unlike a highway, had no grade
limitations, and three times we had to climb grades that appear to
hit between fourteen and fifteen percent. Because of all the ups and
downs, I am sure it added about 50% to the climb, and several extra
miles.

But now that it is over, all we will remember are the good parts,
until we think of tomorrow that is. Tomorrow, we climb over the
Loveland Pass, which reaches close to 12,000 feet, and has an
average grade of 5%. Are we nervous? Only if we think about it!

To date we have pedaled 1,172 miles and climbed 70,305 feet.

Today we had a true vacation day, playing tourist in
Glenwood Springs. In the morning, Bonnie, Gail, Ken,
Walter and Susie took a gondola up to the Glenwood
Caverns, where we were awed by the stalactites,
stalagmites, and soda straws. The hike through the
caverns was worth it! We gained over a thousand feet
on the gondola, and didn’t have to pedal once! Eric
refuses to add this elevation to our total, though.

After lunch at Juicy Lucy’s, Susie soaked in the hot
springs while Bonnie, Gail and Ken explored the town,
hiking up the hill to the cemetery where Doc Holliday
was buried. We also saw the site of his demise
(consumption), which is now a store with outdoor gear.
Back then it was a landmark hotel.

The town is loaded with historic buildings and
Victorian houses. There was even a barber shop with
old-fashioned chairs, and Dairy Kreme, circa 1955,
with red stools and a black and white checkered tile
floor. Everything seems to be in bloom: tulips,
lilacs, dogwood, and apple blossoms.

Gail was on the lookout for a new visor for her
helmet. At a local bike store the owner said he had
none, then paused and went to the trash and pulled out
a very well worn helmet with visor intact. He
skillfully detached it, even pulling out his X-acto
knife to remove the Velcro from the helmet. We still
don’t have the verdict on whether it works but he was
impressed with our endeavors.

Upon return from town Bonnie and Gail spotted Martin
on his balcony, knife in hand! “Drop the knife and
step away from the edge!” they yelled. Then they
realized he was only applying new tape to his
handlebars, not planning to do anything drastic to
avoid going on.

Late in the afternoon, Ken, Bonnie, Gail and Susie had
massages at the Yampa (curing waters) Vapor Caves. The
thighs needed particular attention: ouch!

We feel restored and ready to tackle the next three
days of climbing as we traverse the Rockies. Oh, and
where was Eric? Working hard, only taking a break for
lunch and dinner. If he could figure out how to work
from the bike he would!

By Ken King and Bonnie Brennan



__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail Mobile
Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone.
http://mobile.yahoo.com/learn/mail