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.