Day 47 - 7/24/16 Manchester to Cedar Falls, IA

I was on the same road for over 40 miles today and it looked a lot like the road I was on yesterday but, the fields of green were just as beautiful as they were yesterday.  I'm staying with Mary on her family's farm tonight.  It may be her family's land but, they've been renting it out for other farmers to grow crops on their 360 acres.  

It was nice to sit around and hear Mary, her brother, Rex and his wife, Valorie talk about crops and farming and gardening – conversation you just never even think about growing up outside of Boston.  What a wonderfully different way of life, having to care for a patch of land this big.

  

After riding through miles and miles of fields, seeing the little barns and homes rising above the corn, it's really great to be able to spend the night in a place where the backyard is completely walled-off by 7 foot tall corn stalks.  No immediate neighbors, just plants stretching out into the horizon and massive pastel clouds filling the Midwest sky.  

I did some drawing in the yard while Mary read and the barn swallows flew, dove, and swooped in the sky, catching bugs before retiring to one of two barns in Mary's backyard.  One of them, she says, is going to collapse soon if a strong enough breeze comes along.

Day 46 - 7/23/16 Dubuque to Manchester, IA

Anticipating more heat, humidity and possible thunderstorms, I left as early as I could.  I stopped at the first gas station I saw for some snacks and saw I had I missed call from my friend, Vinny.  It's hard to pass up a conversation with this dude so I called him back.  He was waking up next to a river in Humboldt County, California, the place where they grow lots of green medicine.  

He just left one farm and was headed to another.  Damn hippies, am I right?  They know how to have all the fun and make a living from it too.  From the gas station I rode up and down some serious hills where I caught some beautiful views of Iowa.  I hear this state doesn't have much to offer (please correct me if I'm wrong) but I'm drinking in the bucolic beauty like it's ice water.  

Maybe the key to enjoying this scenery is just being on a bike.  Maybe that's why RAGBRAI is so popular.  At the bottom of the biggest hill I rode down, my next turn took me on 15 miles of shaded, packed gravel.  I was excited to throw the headphones on for this portion of the ride.  Pink Floyd and nothing else.  

The path wove through tunnels of green, occasionally opening up to vistas showing grazing cattle among ancient oak trees and trickling rivers.

At times, power lines bisected the trail, winding into the hills and cornfields, giving no hint of who's home they were powering.  Shooting out of the path back onto the main road, the hills found me again.  

Not nearly as demanding, I felt like a speedboat riding the currents up and down as I parted the sea of green.  On the crests of the waves, I could see no end to this ocean, only occasional patches of trees and farms veiled in silver-blue layers of humidity and atmosphere like they were painted into the scenery by a true artist.

Day 45 - 7/22/16 Galena, IL to Dubuque, IA

Another state has passed beneath my feet as I roll West on Ginger's saddle.  The states on this side of the country are a bit wider so I certainky won't be breezing through any of them, especially since the wind is typically coming at me, slowing my roll.  Today was a short ride, just what I needed after 8 hours of roasting in the sun yesterday.  I was aiming for Dubuque but wasn't sure where I would stay until late last night.  

A friend of mine, Cierra found me a place to stay through Airbnb.  This is also the girl that surprised her homesick boyfriend, Adrian, one of my best buds, with a weeks vacations back home with all his friends this past winter.  Girl's got tricks up her sleeve, and when I say tricks I mean incredibly selfless acts of kindness.  

I better get out to California soon to make it up to her before she does anything else for me!  Dubuque is a cool little town.  Maybe it's considered a city, sorry if I offens any DBQ natives.  I heard it was quite the happening place back when Chicago was still being built up.  Just another example of how being located along a major water source sets up a place for success.

 

 I wish I had wandered back down by the river to see the day turn into night but, the room I eqs spending the night in was just too damn cozy with a massive cloud-like bed that basically commanded me to lay down and close my eyes.

Day 44 - 7/21/16 Freeport to Galena, IL

At one point today it was 91 degrees with 75% humidity.  From the moment I started pedaling I was dripping sweat.  I knew it was going to be hot before I set out for Galena, I even knew about the hills along the way but, I thought I'd be okay.  I'm here now, still alive, a little sunburnt so I was right!  

But damn, it was a tough day.  I was on the road for 8 and a half hours.  I took a couple long breaks to cool down in the shade and I tried to pedal as little as possible but I was still melting every minute of the ride. I felt like I was full of leaks, every guzzle of water seemed to come right back out of my skin.  The hills I rode over were no joke, they reminded me of riding from Massachusetts into New York; I definitely haven't climbed anything like that since.  But man, were they beautiful.  

I saw some Grant Wood paintings during my recent visit to the Art Institute of Chicago and I felt like I was riding through his beautiful works of art.  The roads curved through the green hills and the rows of corn and soy followed.  Coming to the top I could see how perfectly rowed out the crops were planted, they almost looked like soldiers waiting for war in the golden sunlight.  Despite the beautiful scenery, it was hard to keep moving.  

Any patch of shade was an inviting oasis in the middle of the desert.  The need for water to quench my thirst was ever-present but, the need to dump some on my head was just as vital.  Silly me for buying a dark gray helmet.  I might as well put a bag over my head, the thing just heats up like an oven.  Enough complaining, I made it.  

There's no trip to the local brewery tonight or an excursion to get some ice cream like in Freeport last night with Tim and Dianne but, at least I could stand in the cold shower for as long as I wanted when I finally made it to the Palace Campground.  This will not be the last of the hills and the heat so I will have to plan accordingly and enjoy being soaked with sweat all stinkin' day.

Day 43 - 7/20/16 Marengo to Freeport, IL

Last night was great, first time in the tent since Indiana and first time stealth camping since New York!  I wasn't expecting to stealth camp but, the campground I had on my radar turned out to be closed for some reason.  What else was I supposed to do besides pitch my tent and make myself at home?  

The solitude and fresh air is a nice change from the citt.  Everything is good in moderation.  I got up early so I could beat the heat and the potential thubderstorms looming overhead.  It's also just really pleasant riding in the morning light, knowing I have the whole day to get where I'm going.  I may have escaped the heat for the most part but, I rode right into the rain.  The plus side to the rain, or at least the time leading up to it, was the clouds that added so much drama to the otherwise redundant scenery.  

To the North, the sky was streaked with pink and purple like it was 7:00pm what it was only 12 in the afternoon.  And straight ahead, nothing but blue-ish gray covering every inch of clear blue sky.  I would've had more photos if I didn't pack my phone away for fear of getting soaked.  

I'm glad I put all the proper rain covers over my bags before it rained because when it finally did with 10 miles left in my ride, I was so tired, I might've just said screw it.  There were a few moments when I was so hungry and tired and cold that I was hoping for a pick up truck to offer me a ride.  Looking back, I'm so glad I didn't even have that opportunity.  I found some trees in someone's yard that looked like a good umbrella.  

I stopped for a minute, gave myself a mental pep talk, put on my poncho, ate a snack and felt good as new!  Thus is no great accomplishment, toughing out 10 miles in the rain but, I was almost ready to throw in the towel if the opportunity came along.  From this point, I went slow, a comfortable pace, and tried not to look at how many miles I had to go on the odometer.  I just had to pedal, and that's all I did.  

Words cannot describe how nice the shower felt once I peeled off my soaking wet clothes.  As a human, I realize I have a great ability to make things seem much worse than they are, we all do.  But, if we just focus on the most important thing and ignore everything else, we can get through anything.

Day 42 - 7/19/16 Chicago to Marengo, IL

It's my first day back on my bike in almost 5 days, it feels good to spend the day with Ginger again.  We rode just under 70 miles which was a nice way to jump right back into it!  I spent last night with Neil and Rett and their dog, Pip again.  They're just too good for letting me store my bike at their place for the weekend and then letting me crash for another night since I was too dead from spending all weekend having too much fun with my friends.  

I feel beyond ready to tackle the rest of this cross-country ride.  I want to have some long days on the road while it's still flat farmland.  Neil helped me plan out my route a little bit last night.  Nothing too specific because plans change quite often but, he gave me a rough idea of the routes I should stick to and what towns might be beneficial or completely barren along the way.  

The next 1/3rd of the country is going to be much more sparse than what I've seen which should motivate me to move quickly to get to the good stuff further West.  Although it will be much more scenic, it will only be that way because of the inevitable mountains...  I know I'll be ready for them when I get there, until then, all I can do is enjoy the ride.

(photos of me courtesy of Neil Gregie)

Day 41 - 7/18/16 Chicago, IL - Day Off

This will hopefully be the last day off for a while.  I'm ready to hit the road again especially because I just said goodbye to my friends heading back East.  There's nothing left to do in Chicago except say, "see you next time!"  I do love this city, I had a feeling I would.  I feel like I'm hitting the reset button, like leaving Chicago is starting all over again – in a good way!  I'm about a 1/3rd across the country which means many more challenges and good times are waiting for me.  Not to mention the cities I've yet to visit and fall in love with.  I wish I had more to say, I'm still drained from the weekend and possibly crashing from a weeklong sugar rush from all the donuts.  I wouldn't change a thing about anything that has happened while I've been in the windy city, it's been a terrific experience.  I hope in the future, not necessarily on this trip, I get to spend some quality time with other cities and places so I can feel their presence within me as much ad I feel present within them.  Afterall, isn't that what we're all trying to do even on a small scale?  Feel comfortable and intimate with a place?  Know all the backroads and shortcuts and all the best kept secrets?  I don't know but it seems like that's what I want to know.