Day 29 - 7/6/16 Elkhart to South Bend, IN

I woke up at 6:30am to the sound of heavy rain and thunder with the realization I never brought my bike back inside after getting lunch yesterday.  Luckily, only my tent and sleeping pad were straped down to my bike and the bag they're in kept them dry for the most part.  As I walked back through the kitchen I saw he guy that came in last night.  I heard a car pull up yesterday evening but didn't think too much of it since some of Neil's other friends stopped by throughout the day.  This guy was looking for Neil when he came in but I told him he was out of town for a couple days.  After that, he went down into the basement and didn't come back up until I saw him this morning.  I was too tired to introduce myself or inquire any further as to why he was there.  I'm sure he felt the same way about seeing me.  Neil's house seems to have a pretty loose open-door policy.  I didn't leave until after 12:00pm for a few reasons:

1. I was waiting for the rain to stop

2. My next host wasn't expecting me til after 3:00pm and I only had 30 miles to ride.

And 3. No one was there to make me leave.  That's okay, right?  I wasn't making a mess or eating all the food in the house so what difference does it make?

Day 28 - 7/5/16 Elkhart, IN - Day Off

So grateful for a day off.  Not that I'm tired from riding but, I just have a lot of time to kill and the more nights spend under a roof, the better.  I wasn't planning on visiting Chicago but, the timing is almost perfect enough for me to meet 3 of my best friends in the city to catch the Pitchfork Music Fest.  I say almost perfect because I'm a little ahead of schedule.  I'm only a couple hundred miles feom Chicago but I have about 10 days to kill before the festival.  It will surely be nice to take it slow and spend extra time in some places and stop and smell the roses along the way.

Day 27 - 7/4/16 Angola to Elkhart, IN

I was real happy when Neil asked me if I was interested in watching fireworks before I even got to his place.  Him and his girlfriend and his 2 kids had plans to drive to Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Michigan to watch the show with hundreds, maybe a thousand other folks huddled close on the beach.  I'm sure some of the families had gotten to the beach and claimed their spots very early in the day.

 

 We still managed to get a good spot a couple hours before the fireworks were scheduled to start.  We dug out some seats in the sand, covered them in a blanket and waited for it to begin.  Neil's kids played in the water while Neil, Erin and I made some dinner on the beach.  With our sandy seats aimed at the pier jutting out into the water, we watched the sun set as the lake filled up with boats to get the best view.  

By the time the sun has disappeared, the surface of the water looked like a reflected city with all the lights from the boats so clustered together.  It's amazing how much waiting and anticipation leads up to 20 minutes of colors and explosions but, it was all worth it.  The fireworks brought back so many memories and happy feelings of 4th of Julys in the past.  I remember when I used to be afraid of these things, running from the seawall back to our beach house where my Papa was sitting quietly.

  

He knew I was afraid and reassured me there was nothing to be scared of.  A few years later and you would find me on the beach lighting off my own fireworks, putting on a smal show for whoever was watching on the seawall that night.  4th of July is like Christmas in th Summer time.  It's a wonderful opportunity to spend time with friends and family and stay up late and party.  I've done a few different things the last few years since my family sold our beach house.  I've visited friends in Maine, had barbecues at home and found places to hang out and drink and not worry about anything.  I'm glad I found some friends for the night this year and some fireworks to watch with them so far away from home.

Day 26 - 7/3/16 Delta, OH to Angola, IN

I don't think I passed a single business for the bulk of my 65 mile ride today.  It was all farms, houses, big chunks of road, 10-14 mile stretches at a time which made it easy to put on some music and get in the zone.  

The roads I was on were so rural I didn't even see a "Welcome to Indiana" sign.  Angola was the first hint of a town I saw all day.  It seems like your quintessential small town.  I'm sitting in the Village Kitchen on the 4th of July getting a fat plate of food for $4 while the locals seem to be continuing conversations they started here yesterday.  

Chairs and blankets are already lined up along the street at 8:00am for the parade at 11:00am.  Having a fire and eating s'mores with Lou Ann and her family while her grandkids caught fireflies in a jar might've been the most American I've felt, whatever that means.  

I've said it so many times but, nights like these, meeting families, becoming a temporary member has been the highlight of this trip.  

Sure, every family has been different but that's what makes this all so special.

Day 25 - 7/2/16 Toledo to Delta, OH

Today was a particularly short ride even with a 6 mile round trip from Sarah and Howard's place to the Toledo Farmers Market.  I met a guy named Drew when I first got to Toledo.  He saw my bike outside the coffee shop I was in and he offered me a place to spend the night immediately.  After telling him about my warm showers hosts in Toledo, he told me about his delivery/catering service he executes on his bike.  

I was finishing up one of the Holey Toledough donuts I got at the coffee shop where his wife works when he told me his friend is the one that makes them.  Drew told me I ought to go to the farmers market the next morning to meet Chris, the chef behind Holey Toledough donuts.  More donuts?  Of course I planned on going.  Chris was very interested in my bike journey and gave me a t-shirt right away to wear on the road.  Yesterday I only had a glazed donut from his kitchen but today, I got a beautiful boysenberry and cream for the road.  Even after this 6 mile detour, I still rode less than 35 miles to Delta today.  

I'm staying with Gail and his son, Gail.  I met older Gail in Geneva, my first night in Ohio where we stayed at adjacent campgrounds.  He didn't hesitate to invite me to stay with him when I got a little further West.  Sure enough, I'm here now.  Not only do I get to stay with Gail, I also got to meet his parents and one of his sisters while we celebrated his niece's birthday. 

They were all a wild bunch that asked me lots of questions about my trip but also traveled down memory lane so I got to hear all the funny and embarrassing stories of Gail and his sister, Trudy when they were younger.  Gail's parents live just a few miles from his house and on the short ride home the 2 Gails and myself stares in awe of the evening sky streaked with pink, purple and gold.  

We had a nice bon fire in his backyard and listened to all the fireworks his neighbors lit off for the next couple hours.

 Even though it wasn't my family and friends, it was nice to be part of someone else's celebration for the holiday weekend.

Day 24 - 7/1/16 Fremont to Toledo, OH

It feels like the perfect summer evening.  The house is still holding onto the heat of the midday so I'm out on the front porch feeling a cool, gentle breeze on my bare feet and listening to the light twinkling of the wind chime.  

The remaining rays of sunshine are caught in the leaves of the tree in the front yard.  

There's not much else to say, this is just the summer day ceremony, watching the light dim and the colors change while dogs bark and lawnmowers hum in the distance.  I'm getting used to homes not being my homes but still feeling like home.  

Like wearing someone else's well-worn t-shirt, you know it's but yours but you would wear it if they let you keep it.

Day 23 - 6/30/16 Oberlin to Fremont, OH

Yesterday, a lot of things were up in the air and today, I got to see where they landed.  I woke up on Alizah's couch and eagerly waited for 10:00am to roll around so I could try to get a diagnosis from Swerve, the bike shop in the center of town.  I was hoping with all my heart that if I needed a specific part they'd have it and put it on without charging me a thousand bucks.  After a bit of trial and error while I waited like a loved one waiting outside the operating room, Joe had fixed the problem– almost.  My chainrings were quite worn down so he replaced those with a used part but, the teeth on my cassette were too worn down to call it fixed.  He didn't have the right part at the bike shop but was able to Frankenstein a piece together so I'd have at least one strong gear that could get me 20 miles to the next bike shop.  I couldn't thank him enough, especially when he told me I only owed him 10 bucks.  

Things were landing right where they needed to.  Alizah met me at Swerve and was just as excited about the results.  We headed back to her place where she made me some lunch before I packed up and left for Norwalk, the next closest bike shop.  I met another Joe here who actually referred to himself as the bike doctor.  He didn't say much when I met him, just squatted down, started counting the teeth on my cassette and went to work.  Within 15 minutes, he was done.  I barely got to look around the whole store before my bike was ready.  He only charged me for the parts, not the labor as Joe feels it's his duty to take care of touring cyclists.  

Before I knew it, I was back in the sunshine out on the bike path riding a bike that felt brand new.  I spoiled myself for the night and got a motel room in Fremont.  

I mostly did this because the weather is supposed to be not so nice in the morning and after all the running around getting my bike fixed I didn't want to have to figure out a spot to stealth camp and wake up in the pouring rain.

 

 An overall amazing day, I'm so excited to keep riding knowing my bike is that much stronger now.  Just a couple more thousand miles to go.