Valparaiso, Indiana - Day 35

Right now I am actually in Sandusky, Ohio. I meant to provide this post the last rest day, but as I mentioned last post, I went to Chicago to spend time with my sister Alison and as a result, I did not have too much time for the internet. Anyway, on to the good stuff.

Day 28 - After a quick breakfast at the Martin Luther College dining hall, I left by myself. I rode through the streets of New Ulm and left the city. The day was overcast and foggy which made for a nice and cool ride. I went at my own leisurely pace today and took in all of the green that Minnesota had to offer.

The day's ride concluded in Owatonna, Minnesota. A few of Reuben's friends came and brought musical instruments which entertained a few of us for a while. Shortly thereafter, Chad and I paid tribute to the founding fathers of butt-rock (Nickelback and Creed) by singing along to a few of their greater hits. Eventually, a massage train began to form and I found myself trying to crack Patty's back. Apparently, I was pushing too hard though because she farted.

Day 29 - After another simple breakfast of oatmeal, cereal, and bananas, I left on my own again. Eventually though, I caught up with Noah and in passing him, he mistakenly thought that I was challenging his riding. So for the next seven or so miles, we stupidly raced up and down hills and beat our tired bodies up even more. The races concluded at a breakfast stop a few of the riders from last year had set up.

After a bit of more riding Noah and I found ourselves about twenty miles away from camp and completely worn out. Luckily we ran into Chuck who pulled us and a few other riders along all the way into Winona and to Winona State University where we stayed that night. After a short nap and an episode of That 70's Show, I ate dinner and then talked to my friend Travis who actually just finished his own cross country biking excursion. Shortly thereafter, it was time to sleep.

Day 30 - The day was pretty hazy as we crawled out of the Mississippi Valley. About seventeen miles into the ride we met the Meyer Family who provided an incredible breakfast stop complete with home baked goods and freshly brewed coffee. Leaving by myself again I made into the state of Wisconsin, through the city of Lacrosse, and began the climb up to Amish Country.

Wisconsin is an amazing state. The entire state is filled with beautiful rolling hills, wide green fields, plenty of running water, beautiful old farmhouses and trees everywhere. It was everything I expected it to be and more. I only got to see a few Amish people, but they were quite friendly and waved at me even though I was so sweaty and disgusting.

We stayed at the fairgrounds in Viroqua, Wisconsin and since it was Doug's birthday, we all celebrated with some locally brewed beers and lots and lots of delicious chocolate cake. A bunch of us spent a good portion of the night talking about bikes we wanted and such and after an interesting discussion of the group shower social dynamic we all fell asleep.

Day 31 - It was very foggy in the morning which posed for some uncertain riding. However, the sun shone through eventually and we were able to see more of the beautiful Wisconsin landscape. It was an long day scheduled to be about 109 miles, but after getting lost about ten miles outside of Madison we made it even longer of a day. We managed to get back on track however and within a little bit we had made it successfully to our group campsite way outside of Madison.

The campground was amazing. It was completely secluded from everything. We were in between a forest and a crop field and despite the killer mosquitoes we had a fun time.

Day 32 - The day took us into Illinois; however, I managed to get lost somehow. After a while though, I found my way back to the route after a few friendly locals pointed me in the right direction. At the last rest stop, Nick told us that the directions on our cue sheets were wrong, so Noah, Letty, Rachel, Simon and I went into a small town and got some delicious Mexican food.

After a while, we got pointed in the right direction and after making it to camp in Belvidere, Illinois, we all spent time playing basketball, ping-pong, guitar and watching the last little bit of the Tour de France.

Day 33 - I left with Reuben, Ed, and Austin and we cruised along at a decent pace all the way through very pastoral countryside. We passed a lot of cornfields, soybean crops, and farms along with a lot of roadkill and hog farms.

After we arrived at camp in Coal City, Illinois, the four of us went down to the beach on the lake to go swimming and get some food at the concession stands. We had a great dinner catered by some locals which included spaghetti with meat sauce and some of the best garlic bread I have ever had. Afterwards, Austin told us the legendary story of Ed's first marathon he ran. Apparently, he did not train at all for it, but still managed to complete it. Sadly though, he could not walk for a week afterwards. Still though... good man.

Day 34 - I wanted to get into Valparaiso early so I could have more time to spend with my sister in Chicago, so I stayed on Reuben's wheel for most of the ride and he hauled us in to Valparaiso University in good time. We passed into Indiana and I really must say that roads there are pretty awful.

After packing up a backpack with the essentials Joe's friends picked the two of us up and drove us to Chicago, where I met up with Alison. After settling down, we went out to burgers at Kuma's where I ordered the Kuma Burger: a burger topped with bacon and a fried egg. Delicious. I meant to see more of Chicago at nighttime, but after we got back to her apartment, I laid down on the couch and literally passed out.

Day 35 - After a late (8 o' clock) wake up. Alison and I walked to meet her fiancée Geoff for brunch. Alison got a gigantic and delicious German pancake which I ate a good portion of. The night before, Geoff was on call at his hospital at Northwestern and sadly he did not get much sleep. So after breakfast, my sister and I walked around downtown Chicago to do some shopping and sightseeing while he went back to their apartment to sleep.

Before it was time to go back to the Valparaiso, the three of us went to get some incredible Mexican food in Chicago before driving back to Indiana.

Our next rest day is in Burton, Ohio. We get there tomorrow and I promise that I will update on time Friday.

New Ulm, Minnesota - Day 27

Day 21 - After breakfast everyone left Rapid City, South Dakota in a pretty large group and since the roads were narrow we established what was an informal pace line for the first leg of the ride. At one point, after my pull, I stepped out to the side to let everyone else pull up and I was astonished to see about eighteen people riding in single file within six inches of the next person's wheel. After the first rest stop, the groups began to break up and by the time we entered the Badlands, everyone was kind of riding on their own and quietly taking in the scenery.

Being in the Badlands is like being on the moon because of all the craters and just how beautifully desolate it all is. Tony described the formations as looking like giant sandcastles. Different layers have different colors and it was cool to see lime green and magenta splayed along the sides of these buttes.

Kadoka is yet another small town across America. The entire place looks like a city park and the people are all very friendly. We had a catered dinner of fried chicken and roast beef at a local restaurant and then after some chatting, everyone dozed off one by one.

Day 22 - The same restaurant that catered to us the previous night provided a delicious breakfast of biscuits and gravy. I rode by myself today to let my thoughts wander free, but the ride was so quiet and the yellow-green fields, open blue sky and rolling hills occupied my mind enough. I stayed alone until Tony caught me with 20 miles to go into Pierre. We rode together for the last little bit and stopped to take a picture before we crossed over the Missouri River into the eastern half of the country.

Camp was in a really nice park right along the Missouri River. Since there were some bootleggers and homeless people in the park, most of the group stuck around in the park to make sure that nobody went rummaging through our stuff. Noah, Simon, and I watched the sunset from a small dock and after writing some postcards (which I have still not sent out) I went to bed.


Day 23 - The scenery on this day was extremely boring. I took a total of two pictures: one of a gigantic farm-machinery contraption on wheels and another of a water tower. Reuben and I rode quickly to get to Miller so we could at least sit down on a comfortable chair in an air-conditioned high school auditorium.

That night we celebrated Chad and Janet's birthdays. Chad turned 21 so we stuck around the bar after dinner to buy him drinks. The locals were really friendly and seemed genuinely interested in what we were doing. It is nice to know that we are doing seems to be having a small effect.

Day 24 - Again, the day's ride was very boring but early on when the sun was still low and the roads were clear, I felt very relaxed and at peace. Today we crossed the halfway point for our journey, so hopefully we will get some more of "Oh, you're almost there then" rather than "Well, you've got a long way to go." The ride finished in De Smet, the childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. De Smet is a perfectly quaint town with lots of beautiful green lawns and tall rows of trees everywhere. Our campsite was in a beautiful park, something you might find in a secluded part of Paris along the Seine River. We had a filling dinner at a Catholic church and afterwards the sun was still up at 9 o' clock. A bunch of people were working on their bikes while I laid in my tent enjoying the sunlight and some music.

Day 25 - We woke up to a nice little thunderstorm and pouring rain. After hastily packing everything up in the rain I left with Dewayne. Poor guy had half his stuff packed and his stakes just pulled up when the rain started pouring and the wind started blowing. We got breakfast in town and then chased the storm that just hit us and ran from a new storm that had formed behind us. Halfway done with the ride, we had arrived in Brookings, South Dakota and the storms had dissolved. Doug, Ed, Austin, Reuben, and I messed around town for a long time before setting out again.

About sixteen miles to camp we crossed over into Minnesota. I was pleasantly surprised at all the green lushness in the state. There are a lot of trees and lakes in Minnesota and so far I have not seen anything to call boring. I saw a lot of windmills in the middle of crop fields. The whole idea of windmills is quite genius actually. They are aesthetically pleasing and a good source of natural energy.

I arrived in Tyler, Minnesota and after setting up my tent and taking a shower, a few of us walked over to a pizza buffet for dinner. It was Ed's 28th birthday so we stuffed him silly with pizza and then fed him ice cream cake. After dinner, a few of us threw around a frisbee and then went to bed.

Day 26 - There was a thick fog hanging low over the air. It was very dark and ominous, but surprisingly peaceful. Nobody said anything for the first part of the ride. The air was cool and chilly as we rode mile after mile into the hazy unknown laying before us.

Eventually, the fog lifted and the sun burned through the clouds. Puffy and pearl white clouds stayed behind over a bright and deep blue sky. There were huge fields of grain, corn, and soy growing right alongside the road on the way to New Ulm. As we approached the outskirts of the city, there was a sudden increase in trees and I was immediately reminded of being back home.


We arrived at the Martin Luther College just in time to unload and choose rooms. After cleaning up and taking a nap, we had a simple dinner of rice and chicken teriyaki at the dining hall. After dinner, a few of us walked over the movie theater and watched the premier of the new Batman movie, The Dark Night. Afterwards it was 1 o' clock in the morning, and not being accustomed to staying up so late, after we got back to the dorm we passed out very quickly.

Day 27 - Chad, Austin and I got breakfast at a small breakfast diner in downtown New Ulm. I got two eggs, hash browns, sausage links, two pancakes, and a biscuit and gravy platter. Against my own expectations, I finished everything without a stomach ache. Afterwards, we went to the laundromat to wash our filthy clothes and while waiting for everything to dry, the three of us joined Greg and his fiancee Sarah for a game of Life.

The trip is over halfway done now and now there are "days left" rather than "days done." Each morning I wake up, I know that I get to do something incredible. To be honest with you, I am having too much the time of my life to even think about returning to civilization. My parents are going to kill me for saying this, but as soon as I get back I want to buy an actual touring bike so I can start doing my own unsupported rides all around North Carolina and elsewhere.

The next rest day is in Valparaiso, Indiana on July 27. I think that I am going to visit my sister Alison in Chicago that day and possibly the night before as well. You can expect an update on one of those two days.

Rapid City, South Dakota - Day 20

Day 15 - The day's ride was only 54 miles so a few people stayed in Billings to explore the city and visit museums. However, I just wanted to get going so I left with Tracy. The entire ride was very colorful and highlights included yellow flowers, a wide and open powder blue sky, and gigantic killer dandelions the size of my palm.

After making it into Hardin, Montana and setting up my tent I got lunch with a few of the other early riders. We ate some tasty Indian (Native American) Tacos at a local establishment. Later, just before dinner, a few of us went to the community center to go swimming. Following a phone conversation with my sister Carolyn I fell asleep to the Beatles.

Day 16 - Today I finally got chased by dogs. Apparently, this is an issue that a lot of bikers run into frequently. I have never been so blessed to experience such a rush. Noah, Simon, and I took some lewd pictures at a Native American Memorial park we ran into a few miles later. Later on, after lunch, a friendly stray dog started tagging along after us for a few miles. Being dog owners, Noah and Simon turned around and led the dog to the nearest inhabited building while I went on. I made it into the state of Wyoming and after a very hot last thirty miles I arrived at camp in Sheridan, Wyoming. I know that state borders are invisible lines but I must say that crossing the border into Wyoming was a sigh of relief; mainly because Montana is just so freaking big.

We stayed at a luxurious KOA campground that night, so there was no real reason to leave. A few people went into town to watch the Tour de France but I stayed at camp and ate a lot of ice cream before passing out due to the lactose overload.

Day 17 - Today was an extremely long day. The ride was about 112 miles and though I felt good for the first half of the ride, by the second half of the ride I was barely paying attention to anything but the road directly in front of me. I just wanted to make it into camp and take a shower. Part of the ride was extremely green with lots of tall trees but part of the ride was extremely brown with never ending climbs.

I rode into Gillette, Wyoming with Tony. About five miles outside of the campground we both saw a car pull up behind us and just stay on our tails. I tried to wave them on but then a girl poked her head out of the passenger side window and started taking pictures of us. We were a little disheveled and sloppy from being so tired, but after we made it into camp we found out that the pictures were for a story that the city newspaper was doing about us. Check out the article they did on us here. Sadly, they did not use the pictures they took of Tony and me. Maybe it was because I was shirtless and disgusting.

Day 18 - Unluckily, I woke up to a pretty awful tension headache which put me in a bad mood for the entire ride. In order to not put every one else in a bad mood I was pretty silent. Because of this, I did not really care to take in my surroundings. All I really recall was a bunch of rolling hills and a lot of green and wide open spaces. But at one point, Noah and I raced an antelope running along the side of the road. We clocked the antelope at around 25 mph.

We ended up staying at a Senior Center that night in Newcastle, Wyoming. After dinner, about ten of us played a T-shirt trading game and I ended up with Liz's Starbucks shirt and water bottle while Nick ended up with my UNC Crew shirt.

Day 19 - I left with Noah and within twelve miles we hit the South Dakota state line. The scenery was awesome. There were deep green fields and rising hills on both sides of the road. After a little bit of more riding we made it into the Black Hills National Forest. The climb to the peak was refreshing and quiet. There were a lot of tall evergreens that casted much needed shadows on to the road. Speeding down the road right next to the cliffs was pretty exhilarating. I wanted to take a video of it but I figured that might be a little dangerous.

Eventually, we made it into Custer, where Noah and I messed around for two hours before setting out again. We entered Custer State Park and began to climb up towards the top. This park is absolutely incredible. There are magnificently tall dark green trees and sparkling blue streams that seem to whisper a quiet peace. There is a lot of camping in this park and I would love to come back one day and just get lost here.

After leaving the park, we had to battle some ferocious crosswinds to make it to the checkpoint just before our final turn. After reaching the checkpoint and turning onto highway 79 we had to battle a steady headwind of 35-40 mph with gusts up to 50 mph for eighteen miles. It was pretty miserable and we were forced to break up our groups. After gritting my teeth and yelling at the wind (I was kind of going nuts) for about two hours I finally arrived at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and checked into a nice dorm room.

Day 20 - Simon and I got breakfast at a place called Tally's this morning where I ordered steak and eggs with hash browns and a pancake. After getting back to campus, Janet drove Letty, Rachel, Chad, Simon, Noah and myself to the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments to do a little bit of sight seeing.

These guys did a few things for the USA I guess

Tomorrow we have a century to ride to Kadoka, South Dakota. We have six days of riding through the rest of South Dakota and then into Minnesota and then a rest day on July 19 in New Ulm, Minnesota.

Some reflections of the trip so far:

- The USA is really big
- Bargaining is really easy
- Rednecks do not have to be from the South
- Native Americans have extremely interesting stories. Do a little bit of research and you will be surprised with the diversity among the different groups
- You are only as old as you think you are
- There is absolutely nothing you cannot do

Billings, Montana - Day 14

Day 10 - The morning was dark and fog hung low over the hills and mountains as we left Missoula. Although some people might call the weather miserable, the air was cool and a nice change from the usual heat and dryness. As the day progressed the air got lighter, but puffy clouds remained blotting the wide sky.

As Noah and I approached the campsite in Avon, Montana, we stopped at a restaurant known widely for their incredible pie. Eventually, we finished up the last three miles of the ride and set up camp in a building at a campground intended for elementary schoolers. Needless to say, it was quite cramped that night.

Day 11 - We left the campground early in the morning after a light breakfast and began a climb that started out gradual and progressed to steep near the crest. After eleven miles, we were at the top of MacDonald Pass (elevation 6325 feet). This is the highest point for the entire trip and it was a rush to finally be at the top. The scenery was much the same as the past few days, but beautiful still. Shortly after catching my breath, I began a long and steady descent into Townsend, Montana where we set up camp at a high school.


After dinner we went swimming for a while at a local pool. Following that, eight of us played a pretty sorry game of ultimate frisbee before falling asleep. Funnily enough, I feel like the more exercise I do, the lazier I get.

Day 12 - The day began with a beautiful climb through Helena National Forest. Right on the side of the road there was a babbling stream and as the sun filtered through the trees the light speckled the water amazingly. The road was still wet from the night before and everything seemed to shine.

We passed through White Sulpher Springs where the town held a parade for July 4. One of the more interesting floats included Confederate Flags with posters boasting, "The South will rise again." Hmm... Montana.

After making it to camp in Harlowton, Montana, seven of us had a hot dog eating competition. Noah won by eating six hot dogs in about five minutes. Montana has almost no rules about fireworks and so Doug bought fireworks powerfully equivalent to what the city of Raleigh might set off for the show at Meredith College for dirt cheap. All of us played with fire late into the night (11 o' clock) to celebrate the birth of our country.

Day 13 - Howling winds woke me up early and after taking everything down I discovered that half the people had left early already and so there was no organized breakfast. Luckily, there was a diner not too far away and on the way to Billings. After finishing breakfast, we set out at 8:30 AM, about two hours later then we normally would. The wind was at our backs most of the day so the ride went by very quickly considering our late start.

Apparently Meth is a big problem in Montana
Joe, Reuben, and Noah agree

Billings, Montana is the largest city in Montana and after settling into the dorms at Montana State University, we had an incredible dinner that most notably included over-sized pieces of steak. Later that night before bedtime, a few of us rode our bikes to watch Hancock.

Day 14 - Late this morning a group of us got breakfast at a place called Stella's. Chad tried to eat four monster pancakes for the grand prize of one free cinnamon roll. He got through two and then bonked. After a painful walk back to the dorms, we mostly lounged around and did a lot of nothing. Rest days tend to be like that. Before July 12 (our next rest day in Rapid City, South Dakota), we will leave Montana, enter Wyoming and arrive in South Dakota. Expect an update then.

Missoula, Montana - Day 9

Today is a rest day in Missoula, Montana and seeing as I have internet access today, here is another update!

Day 6 - A small group of us left the Gonzaga campus from the Centennial Trail and rode across some very nice rolling hills until we got to a small town hosting some sort of festival. There were Lion King floats and people dressed up as old Scottish soldiers marching through a small downtown area. We rested here and then made our way into the state of Idaho. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Idaho is not all like Napoleon Dynamite.

We arrived in Sandpoint after a little while. It is a really nice city with a cool downtown and lots to do and lots to see. The buildings kind of remind me of the East Village in New York City. A group of us went to the beach and cooled off in the water before dinner back at the high school where we stayed.

Day 7 - Leaving Idaho was incredible. This section of the trip has been the most breathtaking so far. Everywhere as far as the eye can see, there are high mountains, deep blue lakes, and amazing evergreen trees. I rode with Noah for most of the day and we just kept our mouths shut as we tried to soak everything in.

Eventually, everyone crossed into Montana and we stopped to take pictures. After the second rest stop about halfway in, I set out with Nick, our mechanic (also a very strong rider who I probably should not have been riding with), for about twenty more miles until we saw a lake that we wanted to jump in. A lot of places in Montana have huge bodies of water surrounded by about a quarter mile of fields with white and purple flowers followed by immediate hills speckled with evergreens. So, about one hundred feet from the last rest stop, we pulled over onto a dock and dove in. The cold water was refreshing to our tired legs, and after refilling our water bottles at the rest stop we rode the last twenty miles into Thompson Falls. We had a catered dinner from a restaurant called Minnie's. I ate until I was almost comatose and went to bed shortly thereafter.

Day 8 - Minnie's allowed us to come in for breakfast. I thought that I was going to eat a small plate of something light; but, after they brought out four biscuits smothered with gravy, with a side of two huge scrambled eggs and a tall glass of milk, I began to think otherwise. Being the idiot that I am, I finished everything on my plate and made the first twenty five miles of my ride miserable. After digesting, I felt a lot better and then set out by myself and went through some incredible hills, lakes, fields and mountains. The day began early so the shadows playing through the thick forest of trees as the sun rose were nice and cool.

After a quick climb to our halfway point, I set out by myself again and made it into Missoula County. The heat was beginning to get to me so I resolved to make it to camp as quickly as I could. The day's ride was just over a hundred miles and with twenty left to go I put up my camera and sprinted to Missoula before I could pass out. The picture above is the view behind me as I rode towards my destination. It was curious to see how far I have gone in so little time.

The heat was getting to a lot of people, so after unloading all the gear, our rider leader Daniel had to make a few calls to organize how to pick the struggling riders up. In the meantime, I took a shower and then Reuben, Tony, Chuck, and I went to a sports bar for a snack. After we got back, we immediately went to dinner and ate even more. And by the way, I have decided to do the Burger Tour de America and try a cheeseburger (or two) every single day.

We stayed at a dormitory at the University of Montana and there was a piano there. After some songs and singing, it was time to sleep.

Today, I woke up and went grocery shopping. After coming back I printed out some sheet music for piano and Noah and I rehearsed Ben Folds Five's Brick, which we plan on performing to perfection later on in the trip. After walking around town for a little bit, I cleaned my bike and now I am just waiting to go to dinner. The University of Montana has a very nice layout with some beautiful green lawns reminiscent of Polk Place back at UNC.

Tomorrow, I will be in Avon, Montana. Our next rest day is in Billings, Montana July 6, so you can expect another update then.