I spent a couple days helping my cousins at Pink Tiger Farm. I picked gooseberries, planted peppers, and weeded raised beds. The bumblebees really like the flowers on the prickly pear cactus. Before taking the Amtrak back to Chicago, I met up with my Aunt & Uncle in Carbondale. In total, I biked just over…

I got on the TransAmerica route this morning for the last stretch of cycling. It was still windy and hilly, but nothing too eventful. I stopped in the Goreville grocery store and came back out to a note from a group of cyclists who had passed going west while I was in the store. Unfortunately,…

It was very windy today and mostly through open fields. I decided to break the last 115 miles into two days instead of a really long one. I took the Cave in Rock ferry into Illinois and turned into the state park to camp.

Finally, a short day! There were intermittent storms and I did not have phone service, so I had to guess based on the sky. In the morning, I visited The Homeplace, an 1850s farm recreation. It was a special blacksmith focussed weekend, so I got to learn a bit about different types of furnaces. Because…

I had a bit more highway riding in the morning before connecting to the Underground Railroad route. There would have been moderate headwind, but curvy trees lined streets kept them at bay most of the time. Some trouble with dogs throughout the day, but not as bad as Kentucky. I did have to spray one…

I spent almost the whole day on a 4 lane divided highway with rumble strip and a wide shoulder. The shoulder changed finish every 10-20 miles ranging from equally smooth as the freshly paved road to so poorly maintained it is basically gravel. A couple times the shoulder cut out for a mile or less,…

I got a late start (intentionally, expecting it to be a short day and trying to wait out rush hour). I was immediately confronted with unrelenting headwind that turned it into a rather long day. I spent the night at Warm Showers hosts, Ed & Deb’s, house. They also helped me route plan both for…

Today came with much variety. There was a mix of rail trails, rolling hills, and flat highways. On one of the rail trails, I rode with a local cyclist about 5 miles and he told me about some of his bikes and riding history. Later, a Warm Showers host waved me down as I was…

Today was the last day of my trip. The ride between Milwaukee and Chicago is one I have done many times before and is mostly on bike paths. I noticed the McClory path had been resigned both as part of US route 37 and to make some road connections easier to follow. In the end,…

It is starting to warm up again. Today’s ride started with the last notable climb, but it was not more than 600ft. Then, rolling hills the rest of the day. I took the Merrimac Ferry across the river. It is a free 15 car ferry that runs 24 hours a day about 7 months of…

Not quite as cold this morning. First thing, we broke camp and headed to the park. I thought I found an area we could set up right away, but when I found the top, someone had set at least 8 different anchors and only dropped 1 rope. No one was climbing and only 2 people…

It was cold this morning, in the low 40s. We got a pretty early start heading to Devil’s Lake and met at the East Rampart. We decided to climb in the Pseudo Hawk’s Nest area because there are lots of natural anchors available and there are a lot of routes in our skill level. A…

Only a half day of riding and mostly on rail trails. I got to Devil’s Lake State Park around 1pm and just in time for a downpour. The staff in the visitor center had an old climbing guide book they let me read through. Once the rain passed, I went to check out the largest…

I woke up to thunder, but not yet rain. I tore down my tent and got to a shelter before the storm actually arrived. Then, I was parked for almost 3 hours. As soon as lightning was well ahead of me, I got back on the road in the rain. I had a lot of…

I headed out of St Paul just after the sun came up. The length of the day is becoming a factor in how far I can go. I crossed the Mississippi river into Wisconsin pretty far north. I was planning on taking a different bridge – I’ve done this section of riding before and have…

It was chilly and cloudy this morning and didn’t really get warm until late afternoon. About half the day was on paved bike trails. One of them had been recently refinished and was very nice to ride on. Dome others were a lot bumpier with frequent horizontal cracks. I got a dozen ears of corn…

I took a short detour this morning to see the Blanchard Dam on the Mississippi River. The weather was good most of the day. Toward the evening it started to get dark and drizzle, but did not develop into anything more. Close to my destination I saw a sign for an Amish bakery and decided…

I can feel I’m getting close to home. High humidity, less wind, and flat terrain. Much of today’s riding was on paved paths. I was in a hurry to finish my riding before thunderstorms rolled in. I was very thankful to have a Warm Showers host who I had reached out to just yesterday evening.…

Most of the day there were enough trees to keep the wind manageable. I passed at least a dozen lakes, some with swans. The thing Minnesota does not advertise is that it’s many lakes mean even more mosquitoes. No matter how much bug spray I use I seem to still get dozens of bites. I…

I got a bit of tailwind in the morning, but it turned into strong headwind after I turned east. In Fargo, there was a very loud public concert happening at 10am. I stopped for a bit to listen and eat lunch. Most of the day was riding through farmland. There are more trees, which offers…

It is becoming noticeable that the days are getting shorter. It is not light enough to begin riding until after 6am now. This morning there was thick fog again, luckily not many cars and you can hear them from about a mile away even if you can’t see them. The fog cleared around 10am and…

It was raining a bit when I woke up and I decided to wait for it to pass before heading out since I had a low millage day planned anyway. When I did begin riding, it was once again into strong headwind. However, halfway through the day the wind changed to a moderate tailwind and…

The wind continued similar to yesterday, a strong crosswind/headwind. Most of the day was on old highway 10 with some sections on I94 since some of old highway 10 is gravel. At one point there was a gravel detour due to construction that was practically sand. I had to walk past some sections because I…

The wind was strong again today, but more of a crosswind. I stopped at Dakota Cyclery in Medora, ND, the shop that had shipped me a replacement wheel, and had them properly torque my cassette lock ring. I took a short break at the Painted Canyon rest stop. There were some large animals (I think…

I finally got back on the toad this morning! I was on highway 200 all day. The weather was good with a gentle crosswind in the morning which turned into a strong headwind in the afternoon. I stopped at a rest stop and saw a bird on the sidewalk with its mouth open. It stayed…

First thing in the morning, I prepped my bike to replace the wheel. The replacement wheel was supposed to arrive by noon, but ultimately did not come until 4:30. During the replacement process, I noticed my rear derailleur cable was damaged and replaced that as well. By the time I was done workin g on…

I continue to be parked at the Sand Springs Store. Today I mowed the grass around the camper hookups which are in the horse area. As soon as I started mowing, the horses came over to graze in that area. I’m not sure if they wanted company or were worried I might now away the…

Still at the Sand Springs Store. I mowed about an acre and a half of dry wheat grass, which feels like barely a dent on the 8 acre property.

I have a replacement wheel on the way from a bike shop in Medora, ND! It is coming off of the shop owner’s husband’s project bike that ended up being too small for him. It will not arrive until Friday, so I may not get on the road again until Saturday.

I got a good, early start this morning and was excited for a mice easy day of downhill riding. The wind had other ideas. I had to work for every mile of progress against a strong headwind all day. There is not much in this part of Montana. There are little sunflowers that grow along…

I got a good, early start today. Which did mean missing complimentary pancakes at the KOA. I made an early stop in Belt which had a surprisingly medium sized grocery store. The store had taxidermy all around the walls. The ride was mostly uneventful today. A few hills here and there and mostly through farmland.…

Today was a pretty short day of riding because of limited camping options. I had a moderate headwind all day, so I was okay with the short distance. I met 2 cyclists headed the opposite direction along the road and we exchanged blog info. Once in Great Falls, I went to Bighorn Outdoor Specialties for…

It was cold again this morning, so I opted for a late start. The terrain was mostly flat, but there was headwind that got increasingly strong throughout the afternoon. There was a free Shakespeare in the Park show happening when I got to Conrad. I had missed the first half and never really figured out…

When I woke up it was cold & there were snow flurries. As a result, I got a late start. When I got to the sign for Chief Mountain border crossing, it was unclear if the port was open, so I decided to continue toward a different port. The Canadian customs agent didn’t think the…

Thunderstorms continued into the morning and I planned on spending a second night at Avalanche. Things began to clear around noon, but that did not leave enough time to get up the pass before the 3pm bicycle restriction. I decided to hike the trail to Avalanche lake. It had a decent amount if elevation and…

A short day today both because of entering Glacier National Park and because of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Glacier has a lot of rules around who can can be where when that are not especially well advertised. Bicycles are not allowed on most of Going-to-the-Sun road from 3-6pm this time of year. I got into…

Today was a long, high millage day. For the first 60 miles I saw about 1 car per mile and there were no services. It was also very cloudy and I was starting to get worried about electricity. I did see a bald eagle and some roadside rock climbers. The afternoon was a mix of…

I made it across the Idaho panhandle in a single day. The terrain was mostly easy, rolling hills. There were a few areas with no shoulder and guard rails with high traffic, but more of the roads were low enough traffic shoulders were not needed. Crossing the Pend Oreille River, there were suddenly a ton…

Today I headed out of Seattle. For the last few days, the Easy Fire in NW Washington has been on my radar. It has caused intermittent closures on state highway 20 that was part of my planned route home. After much consideration, I opted to take an Amtrak train to Spokane and will link back…

I made a trip out to the peninsula. I took the Edmonds-Kingston ferry across the sound on Friday afternoon. I spent some time hanging out in a park where I met an unattended dog. It’s owner appeared to be taking a nap in their car. We played fetch for a good while before the owner…

I went on a rock climbing excursion to Exit 38, Deception Crag with some of Alyssa’s friends. This crag is located on the Palouse to Cascades Trail (the one actually ridable section), so it is easy to access on a bike. We climbed in the Substation and We Did Rock areas. Substation is tucked away…

I got started pretty early today, which was good because the Palouse to Cascades trail continued to be rocky and slow to ride, not to mention I was continuing uphill with headwind. Not 20 miles into the day I ran into a detour. Not too surprising on a trail that is known for being more…

I am going to start off today with a PSA: Do not honk at bicycles to say hello or for any reason besides alerting them of imminent danger. It is not uncommon for this to happen, but today it has been very frequent. There are a few reasons why this not only annoying, but also…

Started the day with a bird landing on and then proceeding to poop on my tent. Luckily, the riding went well. I finished the Couer D’Aleans trail and took state highways go Colfax. I camped at the fairgrounds, which is away from town and doesn’t allow fireworks.

The morning was rough. I had been warned that some of the rail trails going west are not actually ridable, but thought I had done my due diligence by looking up the specific trails I would take. I attempted The Route of the Olympian, which had stated that the east end was the least developed…

Today was a bit of a rest day biking-wise, but still a very fill day. I got to Missoula before noon and stopped at Walmart to restock consumables. While I was sitting near the bike rack eating lunch a stranger asked if they could pick dandelion fluff out of my hair (there was so much…

Another late start today, part due to cold weather and part because I had been recommended to visit the Nez Perce Visitor Center, which opens at 9am. The visitor center documents the history of the Nez Perce tribe as they were exiled to reservations and massacred in battle when they chose to flee instead of…

I spent the morning talking with Blue & Larry at the Bike Walk camp and got a late start. The millage today was not that much, but the wind was brutal. There were 2 moderate passes. For the first one, I had to take several breaks because the wind was blowing me off the road.…

It was extremely cold this morning, barely above freezing. I was not able to start riding until 8am because of the cold and I had millage to make up. I was also practically out of food and very hungry. In Ennis I got excited about running into a farmer’s market, but it turned out to…

Today did not go as planned. I had hoped to start riding at 5am in order to beat traffic out of the park. When I woke up it was 37F and I only brought spring/fall gloves. At 5:30, I tried to roll out but my hands could not take the cold. I waited inside the…

Rolling hills and mild wind in the morning as I went through the Wind River Indian Reservation. I had to use my pepper spray on a dog that bolted across the highway to try to bite me. The pepper spray did not fully stop the attack, but made it so pointing the bottle at it…

I got a really early start today with a plan to take a break pretty early in Jeffrey City. When I got there, there actually was nowhere to take a break. I did stop in the only open business, a one man pottery shop. He sells his wares exclusively in person in Jeffrey City, WY.…

Wyoming has been very pretty, but also very empty. There was a Walmart to stop at in Rawlins and then absolutely nothing until the Three Forks gas station in Muddy Gap where I camped with Iris & Collin whom I had met at the church yesterday. We found a brick and a chair that was…

It turned out to be a mistake to spend the night on top of the mountain. It was so cold in the morning my fingers went numb with my spring/fall gloves. It also didn’t help that I was coasting downhill for the first 2 hours and not exerting myself at all. I took a long…

Today I went up my first mountain! It was by no means an easy day, but much less of a challenge than I was expecting. Just about the whole day was climbing at a 3-6% incline. I never needed to go into my lowest 2 gears. I was still absolutely exhausted when I got to…

It was a short day of riding today, I was in Fort Collins by 10:30am. I stayed at a Warm Showers and was relieved to have somewhere good to sleep after so many rough nights in the last week. The host had a lot of touring experiences to share and made me feel a lot…

Strong headwinds and crosswinds made riding very difficult today. I took a break in Sterling, CO because west of there it is basically no services until Fort Collins 100 miles away. Past Sterling, the road had a lot of large trucks, which create their own wind patterns and complicate riding. I found one type of…

Today I crossed into a new time zone, new state, and new weather front. It was actually quite chilly most of the day with a high temperature around 60F. I did have mainly tailwind and knocked out a lot of millage. I also encountered a type of rumble strip I had not seen before that…

I got an early start this morning and tried to get as much millage in before noon as possible because the afternoon wind was going to be strong. When I got near my original campsite, I realized the wind would be tailwind for the next stretch and that there were camping options every 10 or…

I got a late start today after another night of storms, but I had a short day planned anyway. The wind was brutal for the first 25 miles. It was mostly cross wind, but at around 25mph it made it difficult to travel in a straight line. Later in the day wind became more reasonable,…

I was exhausted this morning and slow rolling after 2 nights of little sleep. Luckily, it was a short day. I camped at the city park called Munchkinland. There were scattered storms throughout the afternoon and evening that meant more time hunkered down in a bathroom. It also turned out the annual Washington County Rodeo…

I considered taking a rest day after being up part of the night with storms, but it was going to be relatively cool and minimally windy. I expect strong head winds the rest of the week and decided it was unwise to stay put. About half way into the day I ran into a road…

Today was fairly low millage, but very exhausting. I made sure to be on the road by 6am because I knew it would be over 90F by midday. By 8:30am I was run off the road and busted my front wheel on a stick. It was busted bad enough that it wouldn’t roll. I walked…

Today was again mostly limestone trails with some streets at the end. I met a horseback rider on the Rock Island spur of the Katy trail and got to ask about proper etiquette for passing a horse. She said to announce yourself reasonably in advance (she usually turns around so the horse can see what…

I continued on the Katy trail today. There was a bit more elevation, but pretty much everything is less than a 3% grade so it isn’t difficult, just a bit slow. There was a self serve farm stand that had eggs, jam, cold drinks, ice cream, granola bars, and homemade cookies. The railroad had one…

Today I started sluggish, but it turned into a very good day. I got on the Katy trail, a rail trail that is owned by the Missouri state parks and runs for about 200 miles. It is crushed limestone, so a bit slow rolling compared to pavement, but having a space free of cars fully…

Started out early trying to beat the rain to a city where I could wait it out. I was not so lucky and was soaked by the time I got to Festus. The rain lasted a couple hours, do I did take a long break at Main Street Cafe. Most of the day I was…

I had ordered an 8-speed cassette with a larger cog online, but it seems to be lost in the mail. One of the bike shops in Carbondale had a similar 9-speed cassette available, so I picked that up when they opened. Then I headed over to my aunt & uncle’s house where other parts had…

It was a fairly uneventful day. Pretty flat all day, but very windy when I crossed back into IL, so I did not get to the crab orchard campground until it was getting dark.

There were scattered thunderstorms today, do I did my best to time my riding around them. I stopped for a few hours in Owensboro to let the weather settle and checked out their free art museum. 3 miles from my campsite at John Name Audubon State Park, it started to downpour. I pulled over and…

This morning I crossed over the Ohio River into Indiana to follow the ACA Underground Railroad route. It was interesting to see how different the roads are between states. The main thing I noticed was that Indiana roads had more stop signs in the middle or bottom of hills and more sharp turns in the…

I had started out the day generally heading northwest, but unsure where I would end up. My backup plan was a campground about 15 miles south of Louisville, which would have given me a very long day tomorrow with limited bail out options until late in the day, which was not compatible with the weather…

It rained all night and into the morning, so we decided not to attempt climbing today, especially since the crags were all several miles from our campsite. I decided to head out from Red River Gorge a day early to buy some flexibility later in the week. I also decided to leave in a different…

We had not planned ahead which crag to climb at and were surprised to find that Miguel’s is several miles from all of them. The nearest option required a permit request at least a week in advance. We decided to go to Muir Valley, about 8 miles away. There was a lot of hiking to…

Today was short millage-wise, but the elevation was brutal. There was some walking uphill and the experience has led me to make some modifications to my bike. First, I plan to replace my cassette with one that can go into a lower gear. I am also looking into adding a front rack so that I…

It was a lovely day with a lot of riding on state roads. Most things were closed for memorial day, but some of the gas stations offered a good selection of food. Early in the day we crossed into Kentucky on a ferry and met a traveler from Germany who was driving and mountain biking.…

Ended up heading out of Goreville early since storms had made the rocks wet. Stayed at a horseback riding campground called TK Ranch. All the horse people had bailed because of the storms. There was a tornado warning and thunder storm, but we were okay and on the road again now.

Neil and I started the day climbing at Giant City in the Devil’s Turntable area. Around noon, we headed out to Goreville to climb at Ferne Clyffe. We only climbed 1 route at Ferns Clyffe because we were exhausted, but it was a really fun one. Since there are expected to be severe storms in…

Today I picked up Neil at the Carbondale Amtrak station and we headed to Giant City State park to rock climb and camp. Unfortunately, there were a ton of bugs and we only ended up climbing one route before heading back to camp. Attempts were made to start a fire, but it never really took.…

The folks I stayed with last night very kindly dropped me off in Carbondale. Choke at Carbondale Cycle Shop looked at my bike at 8am even though the store doesn’t actually open until 10am and determined that the fork could not be safely bent back since it is creased. Choke pulled out several used forks,…

Things got shuffled around a couple times today and ultimately it was a short one. Despite that, I still spent a good 7 hours on the bike because of the wind. It’s kind of crazy the stark difference when you hit a town and there is something to cut the wind, but for the most…

Yesterday I started in Chicago and spent the night at a Warm Showers in Ashkum, IL. Warm Showers is an online community of bike tourists who offer a place for other cyclists to spend a night along their way and, in most cases, shower. The property backs up directly to swimmable river and was generally…

I’m on the road, headed toward Southern Illinois. Most of Friday was spent packing and running errands. I ultimately ended up reverting back to a 50-30 chain ring setup because the crankset on the 52-30 was slightly more narrow and I did not have enough time to evaluate if this would be a comfort issue.

Earlier this week I noticed a clicking in my drive train. I ultimately decided to replace the full drive train, but through that process isolated the issue to the cassette. In the process, I also increases my gear range from 50-30 in front to 52-30 and from 11-28 in back to 11-34. I suspect I…

In just 26 days I will be heading out. In the mean time, I am making some final tweaks to my setup and getting in miles.