The Adventures of Nan, Greg, & Festima Lente

August 1, 2010

       We had a great sleep at the park last night and I was ready to continue my ride.  We have about 140 miles to go until we arrive at Nan’s mom and sister in East Troy, WI.  I plan on doing this in three days so that is about 45 miles each day.

       When we were at McDonalds yesterday, to work on the internet and so I could plan my route, Nan showed me that Google Maps has a function that lets you plan a route for bicycling.  This was a whole lot easier than what I had been doing; going to maps and planning each twist and turn for a 40 mile ride.  Sometimes a path would only go for a mile or less so the entire procedure was very tedious.  I find that using Google Maps is much easier so I plan three day’s worth of riding and copy the route onto Microsoft Word.  So that I know where I am supposed to go, I then hand write each turn onto a notebook so that I can carry the route with me on the bike.

       As we leave this morning, I know that the first 2 miles is up a hill behind the campground so I ride with Nan as we head for the first leg.  I am lucky that I did this because the road up the hillside is all gravel and my bike will not traverse anything but pavement.  When we reach the top, Scenic Ridge Road, we find that the road name is accurate.  To our east is a valley that stretches for miles.  Corn fields meander throughout the rolling hills and here and there are farms with their colorful barns.  I begin my ride to the north and after 1.9 miles the directions tell us to turn left.  This is confusing as that seems to lead us back to the river where we had just left.  We follow the route anyway but I have to load the bike as this is also a gravel road.  After another left turn, we are truly back where we had started; the route took us in a 10 mile circle.  This time the directions tell me to turn right which seems more correct so I mount up and ride the 1.2 miles to my next turn.  Again the route puts us on a gravel road so I reload the bike and begin my car ride.

       After about 6 miles of gravel, we reach a paved road so I again begin my ride.  The first section is a slight downhill country road and after a few hundred feet, I scare up a deer which crosses in front of me.  The road continues down steeper and soon I need to shift into the high range on my front sprocket but as soon as I do, the chain comes off and I must stop the bike to reset the chain.  I am now at a dead stop at the bottom of a hill; all of the momentum I built up is now gone.  I grunt and groan as I peddle my way up the hill.  I am able to ride a short distance on flat ground and then reach another down hill.  Again, I loose the chain as I shift into high gear.  I fix it at the bottom of the hill but don’t have the energy to get to the top of this hill.  Nan picks me up for another car ride.  At the next flat area I again begin my ride but at the first turn we are again on a gravel road. 

       We arrived at Le-Aqua-Na State Park north of Lena, IL and set the tent for the night.  After all the gravel roads we ran into today, I know that I cannot use Google Maps for planning my bike route.  I must send Google a comment about their routing and tell them that it is useless for road bikes with skinny tires.

Total distance ridden: 5.6 miles. 

Total time ridden: 0 hour: 23 min. 

Calories burned: 320. 

Fat burned: 37.8 g.

August 2, 2010

       We awoke late and had a good breakfast.  After everything was stowed, we left the campground and I began my ride when we reached a designated bike path.  This path is an old railroad line that has been converted to hiking, biking, equestrian, and snowmobile.  The trail is covered with crushed limestone and I was at first leery about this trail but a short ride proved that there was no problem for me.  I rode this trail to its end and then met with Nan to decide how far I would go next.  We both left the trail end; Nan in the car, me on the bike.  I peddled for several miles until I hit my third of fourth long hill and then I was finished for a while.  I loaded the bike and we continued our trip towards Rockford, IL.

       About 12:30 we entered the small town of Ridott, IL and stopped at the city park for lunch.  This town has 4 north/south streets and 3 east/west streets; I am talking SMALL!  After lunch I rest for a while and let the lunch digest then return to the bike for more riding.  I make it a few more miles before my legs and butt give out for the day then load the bike and hop in the car.  Before long we are in north Rockford and the rain has again started.  We find a campsite at Rock Cut State Park, set the tent, then head for a McDonalds and then a place to print tomorrow’s bike route.

 Total distance ridden: 13.7 miles. 

Total time ridden: 1 hour: 15 min. 

Calories burned: 770. 

Fat burned: 75.0 g.

August 3, 2010

      We awake in the rain and take the tent down while it is still raining – a new experience.  After a shower and a slow drive east, the rain begins to slow and finally stop.  We find the bike trail even though our map gives us the wrong directions.  The trail is a ‘rails to trails’ route along the old KD Line.  The trail is smooth, flat and fairly straight.  This path is fully paved and after yesterday’s trip, I have found that black top riding is a lot easier than riding on crushed limestone.  There are markers along the trail telling about the train line history, the Indian history, and the land.  It is all very interesting even though stopping to read the signs is detrimental to one’s health because the mosquitoes bombard you the minute you stop.  I meet up with Nan at the end of the trail and after a short rest I head north.  When I am within spitting distance of Wisconsin, the temperature begins to get to me so I hop in with Nan and we leisurely drive to East Troy, WI for our stay with Nan’s sister and mom.  We will be here for several days.

 Total distance ridden: 14.4 miles. 

Total time ridden: 1 hour: 11 min. 

Calories burned: 809. 

Fat burned: 88.7 g.

August 5, 2010

       Yesterday was a ‘drive around’ day.  Nan and I took Nan’s mom to get some blood tests, we went to Wal-Mart, and we drove through the country looking at beautiful southern Wisconsin.

       This morning I got up and wanted to do some riding.  I had mapped out a general route and dragged Nan and her mom with me as ground crew.  We drove about 20 miles towards the route but the GPS could not determine the location where we were supposed to begin the ride.  After driving around for a while, we found some street names that matched the route but we couldn’t figure out the location of the bike route.  We saw a County Patrol and asked and were told we were only about 500 feet from where we wanted to be.  When I mounted the bike, I found that I had not brought the bike computer with me so I have gone back to Google Maps and recreated the route to determine the mileage.

       I followed what I heard as the instructions but when I got onto the route, none of the streets would match up with my printed route even though the signs along the road listed this as a bike route.  I rode for a while with the 10 – 15 MPH wind in my face and soon became totally winded.  I waved down the ground crew and hopped in the car as we leisurely drove back home.

       Later in the day, after lunch, I took another ride around town and doubled my time and mileage.

Total distance ridden: 11.3 miles. 

Total time ridden: 1 hour: 04 min. 

Calories burned: 640. 

Fat burned: 66.5 g.

August 6, 2010

       Today was a ‘get ready’ day.  Since we had spent several days visiting relatives, everything was pulled from the backseat and trunk of the car.  I had the oil changed and spent $8.00 (that’s lots of quarters) washing the car and vacuuming the interior.  When I returned home, we spent the rest of the day getting everything but our tent and sleeping mattress packed and put into the car.

August 7, 2010

       Nan and I drive into Milwaukee where I will begin my ride towards Minocqua; a planned three day trek.  On the south side of Milwaukee is a golf course and park located right along Lake Michigan and the bike path leads up through the woods, into Downtown Milwaukee, back out to the lake, then up to White Fish Bay.  This will give me a ride of about 20 miles.  We will then drive up the east side of Lake Winnebago and camp just south of Appleton.  On Sunday we will go from the camp site and I will ride/drive over to Wausau and then on Monday we will finish the trip as I ride/drive from Wausau up to Minocqua.  All in all, this shall prove to be and interesting trip.

       As I leave from the golf course, I head into the woods then out into an open meadow where I have to come to a complete halt: a doe and her two fawns are blocking my path as they graze on the grass and leisurely wander.  Although the doe is a bit leery, the fawns simply stare at me and wiggle their ears.  These must be ‘spring’ fawns as they still have faint traces of their spots.

      As the deer continue on their way, I continue on mine.  The ride up towards Downtown is a great ride, although rough from the pavement.  I stop at one point along the cliffs and watch as a sailboat race unfolds below me.  After coming off the path, I hit the city streets and they are poorly marked.  Within a few minutes I am second guessing myself if I am where I am supposed to be.  I see two bikers and ask if this is the correct route and they ask me to follow them into the city.  When they reach their turnoff, they instruct me on how to detour the bridge reconstruction and I am on my way. 

       After crossing the bridge I again loose the route but can lead myself north and east towards the lake.  When I encounter route signs, I am confused because they seem to lead south rather than north.  Luckily there is a concert and some bikers near the turn so I go back and seek out some bikers for directions.  I am told that this street fair is several blocks long and that near the other end is a booth which has bike maps.  I head towards the booth to pick up a map but along the way I am bombarded with erotic smells coming from all of the vendors; bratwurst, beer, pop corn, hot dogs.  It is a wonder that I don’t stop and gorge myself!

      I find the map and get some simple directions and head for the lake.  When I get to the lake I am at the Milwaukee Art Museum; a stylistic building with sprawling wings that reach towards the sky.  Farther up the lakefront is the beach with all of the Saturday ‘beachers’ out to get their day in the sun.  I wonder why so many people walk right across a bike path without even glancing to see if I am totally out of control and about to run into them.  I successfully maneuver my way through the hordes of people and reach a quieter section on the path.  Again, I am overcome by the lack of signage for the bike path and am soon lost.  At one corner I get out my map and try to determine my next turns.  I take off and have a good ride through the park and soon find that I am right back where I was 15 minutes ago.  I again get out my map and as I am looking for the right path, another biker happens along and I seek his advice.  He asks where I am going and when I tell him, he says that getting to that path is nearly impossible if one has not done it before.  He graciously takes me on a ride through several back streets to an old high school, around the baseball field, behind the track field, along a paved path.  He shows me that this isn’t the path I want but that I need to take a side path to get where I want to go.  I thank him as I ride towards Lincoln Park near Whitefish Bay; my meeting place with Nan.

       I continue to have a great ride, making good time without getting too tired.  As I change from one path to another, I hear my name being called and as I look around, I see Nan waving at me.  Finally, a meeting that happened as it was supposed to.

       After I mount my bike we drive north towards High Cliff State Park just outside of Sherwood, on the north side of Lake Winnebago for our night’s camping.  Although we lived nearly two years in Oshkosh on the west side of Lake Winnebago, we have not driven the east side of the lake so we are seeing many new sights.  As we travel north the skies darken and by the time we reach the campground, the raining is coming down in sheets.  We pull up to the Ranger Station and Nan asks for a tent sight for the night but we arte told that there is no room in the campground.  The Ranger gives us the phone number of another campground but when we call them, we are told that, they too, have no room.  We check our GPS for local campgrounds and find none so Nan calls a Super 8 motel only to find out that the only thing they have available is the Honeymoon Suite at $110.00 a night – way out of our budget.  When we ask ‘What’s happening?” we are told that the Green Bay Packers have something going on in Green Bay and everything is booked up.

      We head west towards Wausau and Nan continues to try and find a place to stay for the night.  When we research the campground in Wausau, Nan finds out that campground is closed for the 2010 season.  A call is made to another state campground and Nan is told that they have two sites w/o electricity.  The price is $17.00 plus $10.00 to get into the park:  $27.00 for a small chunk of land, with no utilities, for about 10 hour’s use.  Too much for my taste.

       I give a call to my sister in Minocqua and tell them that we need to check in two day’s early.  We find that the second cottage (the ‘little’ cottage) is empty and that we are welcome.  We continue our drive and as we head farther north, the skies darken and soon we have light rain.  When we are 40 miles from out destination, the skies let loose and Nan is driving in a torrential rain and can barely see the road.  This heave rain continues until we almost reach the cottage but lets up to a heave drizzle for that last few miles.

       We are enthusiastically greeted by Annie and Larry, me sister and brother-in-law.  After a few minutes talk, we pack what we need into the cottage and hit the bed after a    L O N G day.

Total distance ridden: 23.3 miles. 

Total time ridden: 2 hours: 02 min. 

Calories burned: 1305. 

Fat burned: 129.6 g.

Total Distance for Week:

 Total distance ridden: 68.3 miles. 

Total time ridden: 5 hour: 55 min.

July 25, 2010

      We headed north from Pere Marquette State Park with me driving.  After the torrential rain we had last night, I was afraid of what the roads might have in store – possible water on the roads, cars crowding me, etc.  Our goal for today is Hannibal, MO and visiting Mark Twain.  We drove the river bottom on the Illinois side of the Mississippi and there was no flooding so my fears were unfounded.  Our route carried us from the Illinois River up the dividing peninsula to the Mississippi River.  This section is an area that was unscathed by the glaciers during the Ice Age and it is very hilly while the surrounding areas are flat.  The drive was uneventful but we were able to stop and view geese walking across the road, views of the river, and just generally ‘linger’ our way along.  Our intended campground is at Mark Twain Lake to the west of Hannibal.  We arrive at the campground in the early afternoon, set the tent, and sit back to read and relax.  That’s what old retired folks do.

July 26, 2010

      After a restful night, Nan and I drive to Hannibal to tour the town.  Our first stop is the old part of town that spends all of its time and effort celebrating Mark Twain; the Tom Sawyer house, the Becky Thatcher house, that sort of stuff.  We first take a ‘Clopper’ ride, a 20 minute horse wagon tour of the old area.  This allows us to decide what is important to us for further investigation.  We walk the main street and wander into and out of various houses and stores.  The highlight of the day is a ‘Meet Mark Twain’ presentation at the M.T. Museum.  The mark Twain impersonator dose a great job.  His knowledge of the Mark Twain history is delightful to me as he opens the floor for questions and answers them all as Mr. Twain would have.  He talks about his time in Europe, out west in Nevada and California, his friendship with Edison and many other things.  When I talk to him after the presentation, he says that he presented everything as Mark Twain would have presented it.

      We then head to ‘Lover’s Leap’, a lookout on the south side of town.  This has a legend of an Indian Brave who was in love with a lovely Indian Squaw from another tribe.  When they were being chased by Braves trying to prevent them from being together, they leapt, arm-in-arm, to their deaths. 

From Drop Box

As we watch clouds roll in from the west, we rove about Hannibal to look at some of the old homes.  By the time we return to our camp site, 25 miles to the west, the rain had swept through the area and drenched our sleeping tent and screen tent.  There was a very small area inside the screen tent that was ‘kinda’ dry so we wedge ourselves into the space and have dinner.

July 27, 2010

      After a quick breakfast, we leave Hannibal, cross the Mississippi into Illinois and I finely return to my riding.  I head north along a state road that is quite loaded with truck traffic and there is so little shoulder that sometimes I feel that I may be run off the road.  At times I feel uncomfortable but the area is flat so I am able to see quite far behind me with the rear view mirror.  This ride takes me along the cliffs on the east side of the river.  These rock cliffs range from 20 feet to 100 feet high and are of limestone.  As I approach the old town of Quincy, IL, I pass an area that has huge fans blowing into the cliffs and I am unable to figure out what this is.  About a half mile up the road I see trucks crossing the road and going into the cliffs and I soon understand that this is an underground storage area.  As I pass the opening where the trucks are entering, I am suddenly chilled as 55 degree wind is blowing out from the storage area.

      I see Nan waiting for me by the side of the road and she indicates that to the east is one of the oldest swinging bridges existing in the U.S.; something we should stop and see.  I load the bike on the back of the car and we head up a steep, windy road trying to find the bridge.  After a 15 minute search, we decide that this is a poorly marked bridge and we give up our search.  We head back down the road to the river road and head south to Dan and Lock 21 with the intention of having a nice lunch before I return to my biking.  At the dam we watch as 2 work barges that had been working on the dam come over to the lock and begin unloading some equipment and reloading a small boat onto one of the barges.  It is most interesting to see the crane operator work the crane to get the equipment loaded onto a trailer – all the little movements that are needed to get things done.  We end up spending over two hours watching this symphony of equipment take place.

      Time passes quickly and we are planning on making some miles before we camp so I forgo any more riding for the day.  We head north to the town of Nauvoo, IL and the City Park.  Nauvoo is a settlement that the Mormons lived in during the 1840’s.  As we look around for a place to pay for our campsite, we stop into a ‘museum home’.  The fellow at the home has lived in the town all his life (about 80 years) and is full of history; his tour of the home is great and we learn all about the town and his family.           

      We get our camp set and then begin to tour the town.  Nauvoo is holding a Mormon pageant and there are Mormon families from all over the U.S.  We pass the new Temple with its brilliant white façade and look at many original brick buildings around town.  This is such an interesting place.  A real bonus for us is that this campsite is the first one where we needed a blanket at night – hurrah for cool weather!!

Total distance ridden: 10.0 miles. 

Total time ridden: 0 hour: 45 min. 

Calories burned: 594. 

Fat burned: 70.7g.

July 28, 2010

      We are up early and get everything put away.  I begin my ride from the Nauvoo Campsite and head towards the main road.  As I am heading down hill, I try to shift into high gear on the peddle sprocket and hear a bad noise.  I stop and check and find that the front derailleur has broken so I make sure that nothing will jam up the works and keep going.  Luckily, I spend very little time in the high range so this will not impede my progress. 

      The ride is good and I make acceptable progress over the next hour.  Nan stops and I join her so we can have breakfast of bagels and cream cheese.  After a deserved rest I am again on my way.  We reach a crossroads with one leg heading into Iowa.  Although we want to camp in Illinois this evening, I tell Nan that I want to at least bike a little bit in Iowa so that I can hit all 10 states that border the Mississippi.  With Nan leading, I cross the bridge and see her waiting for me in a parking lot at the bottom of the bridge.  I continue on and I am soon on a very long and steep hill.  I make it less than half way up before I know I am beat by the hill.  Nan is waiting for me at the first turnout and I load the bike on the car.

      We drive into Burlington, IA and head for a bike shop so that I may procure a new derailleur.  Since we are now near the last bridge we can take over the river and still get to our night’s destination, we cross into Illinois.  When we get off the Interstate, Nan pulls over at a rest area so I can again continue biking.  This rest area has an old covered bridge that we wander through and find that the construction, size, and wood is almost identical to the covered bridge in our home town of Crown Point, IN.  This is all very nostalgic for me as I remember climbing all through our hometown bridge when I was in my early teens.�

I leave the rest area and have a good though tiring ride to Delmar State Park in Oquawka, IL.  This was another nearly empty park and when the Park Host showed up to collect the fee, he gave us some information about the town.  Oquawka’s fame comes from an elephant; Norma Jean.  Back in the 1970’s, a circus was in town and they had Norma Jean chained to a tree.  A storm came through and lightening struck the tree and that bolt killed the elephant.  The town tried several things to get the carcass hauled away but no one would take it so in the city park they dug a rather large hole and buried Norma Jean.  Several town’s people donated time and materials and erected a memorial for the elephant.

Total distance ridden: 17.0 miles. 

Total time ridden: 1 hour: 22 min. 

Calories burned: 995. 

Fat burned: 105.3 g.

July 29, 2010

      As we leave Oquawka, I want to stay off the narrow highway so I ride in the car.  After ½ hour of driving, we arrive at a town that isn’t on our route and when I finally find  the town on the map, I see that I have not given Nan proper directions so we have to turn around and head back.  By this time the weather looks threatening so I continue to ride in the car and watch the weather.  As we get farther north, we cross into Muscatine, Iowa as there looks like some interesting biking on the west side of the river.  The town is an old river town and we drive through it for a cursory look.  We head up the river road and are soon at Wildcat Den State Park and the site of the oldest Grist Mill between the Mississippi and the Rockies.  We drive to the mill and are greeted by the President of the mill’s historic club.  He gives us an extended tour of the mill pointing out what was original in the 1840’s, what was added later, about 1880, and what was done in the restoration.  Nan and I spent the better part of 2 hours touring the grounds and the mill and then returned to our northern drive.  The weather was now nice enough to bike but the time had gotten past us and it was now approaching 3:00.  Had I started riding now, we would have to camp on the side of the road.

      We headed into the Quad Cities area and stopped at McDonalds to work on the Internet.  By the time we were ready to leave, it was after 6:00 and we couldn’t find a decent campground close to out location.  We began to head back to Wildcat Den when we came upon a city park in Davenport and we were able to get the last tent site in the park – and all of the RV sites were taken.  Since it was soo late, we headed to a grocery store and got a pre-cooked chicken along with some potato salad and desert.  We had a great meal without cooking.

July 30, 2010

      As we were packing the tent this morning, the rain started again.  We were just able to get everything put away before getting soaked so, again, riding was out for a while.  We drove through Davenport and headed across the river into Moline, IL.  Moline is the home of the John Deere Company and I had seen that the son had built two mansions.  We drove to see the places and spent an hour or more wandering through the luxurious gardens.  One interesting thing was watching the bees as they flitted about the heather; on their legs we could see the pollen they were picking up for later distribution.

      We left the mansions and headed towards the river and on our jaunt; we passed the John Deere museum where I asked Nan to stop.  We got out and entered.  Both Nan and I were fascinated by the displays; besides having several totally huge pieces of new equipment, they had some restored tractors dating back to the 1920’s.  Another piece of equipment shown was a timber harvester.  This piece of equipment is able to drive up to a standing tree and saw it off at the base, move to another tree and do the same, then move to a third tree.  It will then take all three trees and lay them gently down into a pile.  Another option with this harvester is to drive up to a large tree, cut it at the base, turn it horizontal and strip and section the trunk into 8 foot sections.  It was truly amazing.

      At the Pavilion, one of the employees suggested that we might want to stop by and Ice Cream Shop that was down several blocks in the historic district, and who are we to turn down ice cream?  We wandered down to the district in the rain and found and old building that fit the description.  When we entered, we were surrounded by hordes of people.  This shop is an icon for Moline; it has been in the town for 102 years and in the same location since 1918.  They make their own ice cream and our Hot Fudge Sundays were delicious.  The Shoppe also had home made chocolates.  We looked at many styles of chocolate covered this and chocolate covered that and it all looked like it had our name on it but it was all soo expensive; over $20.00 a pound!  I am sure that it must have been good.

      With the weather still threatening rain and getting drizzle off and on, we left Moline and headed towards our campsite some 45 miles to the north.  As we reached the north edge of town, we saw a State Park on the river and decided to stop and set camp early.  This gave us a total travel distance of about 15 miles rather than the 50 we had planned upon.  Here it is, only 5:30 and we are ready for dinner.  As I sit writing this, I can smell a delicious pork roast being cooked by my lovely wife and ground crew.  Time to eat.

Total distance ridden: 0 miles. 

Total time ridden: 0 hour: 0 min. 

Calories burned: 0. 

Fat burned: 0 g.

July 31, 2010

      Again we wake up to rain.  Last night we had a good wind and a hard rain and this morning the drizzle comes down.  We get the tent packed between showers and wait until the campsite opens at 9:00 so we can get our bathroom key deposit returned.  The drizzle keeps me off the bike as we head north towards Savannah, IL.  As we travel, the weather starts to clear and I decide to get back on the bike.  I put on my biking clothes and get on the bike path.  Here in northern Illinois, there is a great bike path that runs closer to the river than does the road. 

      I encounter a strong head wind; about 12 to 15 MPH.  This really impedes my progress and I am getting tired much more quickly that I should.  I ride for about an hour and a half, getting in just over an hour of ‘peddle time’.  I need a rest and the bike path has disappeared so Nan picks me up and we travel north.  After we stop and tour several antique shops, we have a bite to eat and I again return to the bike.  The temperature has risen and Nan picks me up in 100 degree weather.

      When we get to Savannah, the road is closed and the detour is not marked.  A quick discussion with a railroad worker confirms that there is really a way to get to our goal.  We return south the car dealership and find the detour.  By 4:00 we are at the State Park and get our tent set before heading into town and the internet.  By 8:00 we are back at the tent and dinner is being served.

Total distance ridden: 19.2 miles. 

Total time ridden: 1 hour: 44 min. 

Calories burned: 987.  

Fat burned: 96.4 g.

Total for Week:

Total distance ridden: 46.2 miles. 

Total time ridden: 3 hours: 51 min.

July 11, 2010

      Again Nan and I got up early and had everything stowed for an early leave.  We are on the road before 8:00 and I am at my start spot on the north side of Greenville, MS shortly thereafter.  I mount the bike but only make it 1 minute, 25 seconds before I had to stop and repair a tire.  After the tire is back on the bike I am off on my journey. 

      From last week’s blog, you might remember that I was feeling ‘kinda puny’ and this morning I can tell that my sinuses are bothering me as I have some aching teeth on both my upper and lower jaw.  But, hey, I can feel bad in the car as well as on the bike so I pursue my course and keep biking.  After traveling about 4 or 5 miles I can feel the back tire going down on me so I stop and do another repair.  I luckily find a spot to stop that is next to a mailbox so I simply set the bike on the box and use that as my rack.  If this patch doesn’t work I will have to quit for the day as I am out of CO2 cartridges to fill the tires

      Again I am on my way, traveling MS Highway 1 north towards our next stop in Rosedale.  This route is another beautiful ride and, while the shoulder is narrow, it is easily wide enough to ride on.  There is not too much traffic but some of the pick-up trucks must think they are driving at Darlington!  All along the road are fields of cotton which is doing my sinuses no good at all.  As I ride, I feel worse and I soon signal Nan that I need to rest.  I mount the bike on the car and ride along but since we only have about 15 minutes of driving left, I opt against any more riding for the day.

      After we have out tent set up it is approaching 5:00 so we head into Rosedale to see if we can find any sort of store that would have some good sinus medicine.  We travel the small town but find nothing so we head back to the campsite for dinner.  My sinuses are feeling worse and my teeth are beginning to hurt.  I take some of this pain killer and later take some of that pain killer – yup! The pain is sure a killer. 

      This campsite is very close to the Mississippi River and was recently flooded.  The mosquitoes are absolutely horrible.  Neither Nan nor I can step out of the tent without being bitten many times and the bugs follow right back into the tent so we spend 10 minutes trying to kill the latest batch of mosquitoes.  I awake several times during the night to take more pain killers.

Total distance ridden: 17.5 miles. 

Total time ridden: 1 hour: 26 min. 

Calories burned: 968. 

Fat burned: 109.9 g.

July 12, 2010

      When I awake, Nan is still slapping at mosquitoes.  She tells me that when she moved the bags for the chairs, out came about 10 more of those little devilish fiends.  She has much of the camping gear already loaded into the car so I head off to the bathhouse.  When Nan saw my face, she had told me that it is swollen but when I look at myself in the mirror in the bathhouse, I hardly recognize the face in the mirror; my left cheek and upper lip are that puffed out.  The pain is still to the point that I have tears running out of my eyes.

      I return to the car and help finish getting the camping gear.  Nan has already found directions to a doctor.  The people she talked to told here that the Doctor in Rosedale is a ‘horse doctor’ and they recommend a trip to Cleveland; 20 miles to the east.

We arrive in Cleveland and find the medical park located around the hospital.  I first try one office (at this point, we figure that one doctor is as good as another) but am told that they are Pediatricians.  That most likely is the reason I hear kids crying and Playskool toys.  We go across the block to another clinic and have more luck here.  For people without appointments, we are into see the doctor in a very short order.  He does a good check of my and of Nan (she is coming with the same symptoms as I have).  My condition seems to be worse so the doctor has the nurse give me a shot – IN THE BUTT! – My pride is gone.

      Biking today is out of the question and we head north and cross into Arkansas at Helena.  At the Welcome Center we find that there are campgrounds close to here but they are all ‘unimproved’ and we at least need some water and restrooms.  We head north again and find a very nice campground just outside Marianna.

We set camp and are ecstatic that we are nearly without mosquitoes.  We get dinner fixed just in time to hear thunder on its way towards us.  After a great fish dinner with coleslaw, the rain begins to sprinkle so we make a car run to the bathrooms.  We stop to talk with some other campers and they flower us with some freshly picked peaches.  These will be a great desert.

Total distance ridden: 0 miles. 

Total time ridden: 0 hour: 0 min. 

Calories burned: 0. 

Fat burned: 0 g.

July 13, 2010

      Today is a ‘recoup’ day.  I am still suffering from my allergies, taking medicine, and wearing a face mask.  When I unloaded the bike from the car yesterday I found that I had another flat tire so today is tire fixing day.  I take the tube out of the tire and blow it up looking for the leak but find none.  I have a spare tube that has also been giving me trouble so I take both of them to the restroom, along with the air pump, and proceed to try and find the leaks.  After blowing the tubes up, I immerse them in the sink of water to look for air bubbles.  I try this several times but cannot find any leaks so it is back to square one.  I put the tube back into the tire, blow it up, and hope for the best.

      The day also includes a trip into town to use the Internet and several hours cleaning the inside and the trunk of the car.  After 6 weeks on the road, everything seems to have gotten messed up so that we cannot find what we are looking for.  After the sorting, we seem to have a lot more room in the car.  Nan and I watch a movie for this evening’s entertainment but we get half way through the film and it shuts off.  I need CD-2 but don’t have it.  Maddening!!!! 

July 14, 2010

      Today is supposed to be a very hot day with a heat index exceeding 105 degrees; too hot to ride.  We plan on spending the day at the park, viewing some of the exhibits in the park, and generally trying to regain our whereabouts.  We will view one or two videos the Park has on the area and the history and try to improve our minds.  Even the little improvements in this department seem to make a big difference!

The park is built on Crowley’s Ridge, a narrow ridge which runs north / south for about 26 miles.  It was formed in the early Ice Age when the (what are now) Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers ran parallel to each other and several miles apart.  The Ice Age drew a lot of moisture from the land and strong dust storms resulted in a build-up of dirt about 200 feet high.  This build-up of soil results in a loose soil called ‘Loess’.  We have encountered this sediment before in these trips such as along the Natchez-Tress Parkway.

July 15, 2010

      We are up early and have everything put away before 7:30.  We need to stop at the office to get ice for the cooler so while Nan drives the 2 miles, I ride.  I am ahead of her by a short bit but it is just enough that am able to see 2 doe and a fawn wandering near the side of the road.  I motion for her to stop and we watch as this trio wags their tails and tries to decide if we are friend or foe.

      After getting ice and filling my water bottle, we leave the park and head towards Memphis.  The road is a nice ride; not as flat as those I have traveled in the past few days but very smooth with a wide shoulder.  I ride about 45 minutes until the road switches over to a main highway that is too busy for my liking, then I get into the car with Nan.

      In Memphis we stop at the Tourist Information Center and get our map.  I am low on patched for the inner tubes so we head to a bike shop to pick some up.  I ask about thicker tubes or something else that might reduce the number of flats I am having.  The fellow suggests that I am not putting enough air in the tires and they are flexing enough to allow the tube to be ruptured.  I explain about using CO2 cartridges to fill the tires and he says that they do not put enough air in the tubes.  A customer is standing there and he mentions that by using CO2, the tires will be flat in the morning.  It seems that the molecules of CO2 are smaller than molecules of air and will escape through the tube over a period of time.  This explains why I have been having flat tires and can never find any holes in the tubes.  NOW they tell me!

      Since we are in Memphis, how can we not at least stop by Graceland and see the King?  We put the address into our GPS and find that we are just a few miles from the mansion so we decide to drive by, maybe take a picture, maybe even see Elvis!  When we get there we find that the whole thing is like a tourist park.  We can see his airplane, gates, people milling around, but no Graceland.  From the road there is no way to see any of the mansion and I am not a person who would spend money to see a singer’s house.  Off we go towards today’s destination; Meeman-Shelby State Park north of Memphis.

      I have had enough of a rest and the roads are safe enough that I have Nan pull over so I can ride some more.  I have a nice ride until we reach the park and the road begins to have some STEEP hills.  Going down the hills I have trouble stopping and going up is impossible for me – I have to walk the bike.  Three hills like this and I am spent.  Nan sees me huffing and puffing and feels sorry for me so she picks me up – about a ¼ mile from the Park Office.  All in all, it was a good day.

Total distance ridden: 19.7 miles. 

Total time ridden:  1 hour: 40 min. 

Calories burned: 1137. 

Fat burned: 115.1 g.

July 16, 2010

      Nan and I leave the park fairly early and head a few miles down the highway to find a good riding spot.  I mount up and off I go along some very pretty country roads.  The houses along the road are mostly newer and many of them are beautifully landscaped so the ride is great.  I travel down one road and around the corner to the next country road and find that I have a flat tire.  Nan is close so she brings the car so that I am able to use the bike rack for holding the bike while I repair the flat.

      As I ride the trails, I see one pine tree along the country road that has a root system larger than any I have ever seen.  While the tree is only about 3 or 4 feet in diameter, the roots stretch out for at least 14 feet.  This tree has been at this roadside for a long time.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

      After about 10 minutes I am back peddling towards my next destination.  I ride north on US 51 until the road becomes narrow and the shoulder disappears.  For me, that is enough to put me back in the car and we head to Fort Pillow State Park.  Fort Pillow was developed by the Confederates as a stronghold to protect the Mississippi River from those darn Unionists.  The fort sat high on a bluff and from that vantage point the South could be protected from being surrounded by the Yanks.  There is lots of memorabilia at the museum and many trails to tour; however, we only spent the time to see the museum.

Total distance ridden: 12.2 miles. 

Total time ridden: 0 hour: 45 min. 

Calories burned: 725. 

Fat burned: 78.3 g.

July 17, 2010

      This morning we slept later but that’s OK as we needed our rest (Ha, Ha).  The trail for today is heading towards Reelfoot Lake in the northwest porting of Tennessee.  I have a flat tire when I start in the morning so, because of the torment of the mosquitoes, we drive several miles into town to, you guessed it, WalMart.  There we procure food for the next few nights and I bought a REAL tire pump.  I repair the tire and put the bike onto the back of the car so we can head north and get off the main road for safer riding. 

      When we get to the Mississippi River Trail, we stop and have a light lunch and watch the world go by before I begin my bicycling.  This River road here is un-crowded, long, and flat.  I begin my ride and before too long have started to rack up some miles.  I get a funny feeling and look down to see that I have a flat tire so I stop and begin my repair.  I get a patch on the puncture and put everything back together but before I can get on the bike the tire is again flat.  By this time Nan has discovered that I am taking too long to reach her so she has come back to find me.  I am able to patch the tire on the back of the car which makes the whole process much easier.

      Soon I am again peddling my way north; and making good time, I might add.  At one point I look at my computer and find that I have just completed 4 miles and my time so fare is 16 minutes.  This is my best average speed to date.  As I am congratulating myself, I remember back to about 1952 (yes, my memory IS that long) and realize that I have been riding my bike at the same speed Roger Bannister ran for 4 minutes – 15 miles per hour.  For those who are too young to remember, Roger was the first person to run a 4 minute mile.

      I begin to feel bad; I am huffing and puffing to ride at the same speed a person RAN!  But I don’t feel bad for long; I begin to feel that strange feeling again and find that I do, indeed, have another flat.  Four flats in one day is enough – I call Nan and tell her that my biking is over for another day.  When I check my computer, the temperature is over 100 degrees.

      We continue our trip north by driving and pass through several small towns including Tiptonville, the boyhood home of Carl Perkins. We continue on to head north to the campsite at Reelfoot Lake.  For those unfamiliar with Reelfoot, it was created in 1812 by the largest earthquake in recorded history of North America.  The quake was felt as far away as Washington DC and the drop in land caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards for several days.  Quite the shaker.

Total distance ridden: 5.3 miles. 

Total time ridden:0 hour: 23 min. 

Calories burned: 329. 

Fat burned:  39.4g.

Total for the Week:

Total distance ridden: 54.7 miles. 

Total time ridden: 4 hour: 14 min.

July 18, 2010

Last night as we were setting up camp, another older couple (but younger than we are) arrived in camp and began setting up camp.  Joe and Barb are from Florida and were on an extended motorcycle vacation.  They have been traveling through several states and are simply ‘wandering’.  After dinner we sat in the screen tent and talked for several hours while they expounded upon their biking adventures.  Last year they toured from Florida up to Alaska and throughout the western states.  They ride a Honda Goldwing, a 2004 or 2006 model with 125,000 miles on it.  That is what I would call ‘extended touring’.

      Today we spend the day at Reelfoot Lake.  After breakfast and a tire repair, we headed to the Tennessee Park and toured their museum which has some very interesting historical facts and artifacts.  We then took a 1 ½ hour pontoon boat tour of the groves and what is really a 5 foot deep swamp.  The edges are filled with Cyprus Trees that are over 200 years old and growing right out of the water.  All along our tour we viewed water foul and many species of turtles.  Since Reelfoot Lake is a filled Cyprus swamp, there are literally 1,000’s of stumps that cannot be seen from the boat.  Along our trip we must have hit 15 or 20 stumps and I was amazed that the motor was able to stay on the boat.  In all, this was a great tour; Nan and I were both very glad we had taken it.

July 19, 2010

      Last night, while I tried again to repair my inner tube, Nan packed the car with all of the miscellaneous stuff so we can get an early start in the morning.  With most of the things packed, we went to bed early – the sun was just setting.  I read for a short while but easily fell to sleep while Nan read somewhat longer.  I awoke during the night and Nan was awake because of lightening and thunder.  The storm was still fairly far away because there was no discernable thunder connected with the lightening.  We watched and waited as the storm neared and soon the storm front hit blowing the trees and making a horrendous racket.  The rain still hadn’t hit but we could tell that is was close.  Because we were in a tent with tall trees all around us, we decided to head for the car and wait there; I would rather have a large branch hit us in the car than in the tent.  The car clock told me that it was 1:30 AM.

      We drove over near the shoreline and watched as the storm crossed Reelfoot Lake.  After the wind calmed down, the rain still hadn’t started so we headed back to the tent and returned to bed.  I soon fell fast asleep but woke later to the sound of torrential rain. 

      When we woke for the morning we put the tent and mattress away and were ready to leave.  I rode out of the park and headed north, feeling that I would be able to make some good mileage with such an early start.  When I met with Nan a mile down the road, she told me it was 10:30; I had missed my early start.  I continued to ride and made good headway.  On the north side of Reelfoot, we turn down a minor road and head towards Kentucky.  Nan is driving ahead of me and as I crest a hill I see her along the road waving me down.  I stop and wait for her explanation.

      �
JUST A WORD OF WARNING!!!!!! The 1999 Buick Century Limited was not build for off road driving. Also, when pulling off to the side of the road to wait for your spouse, make sure that the shaded area is paved and is not muddy.

      After we get back on the road we return to the Park headquarters where we view the displays and see some absolutely great drawings done by 11 to 16 year olds for the Duck Stamp competition.  These drawings look to me to be as good as many professional artists can produce and some of them are done be 11 and 12 year olds.

      As we leave the headquarters, we take a drive tour through the swampland of the lake.  This is an area covered with moss, green water, lily pads, and Cyprus; a very mysterious looking place.�

After we return to where the car had had its troubles, I began to ride again.  I seem to be making good time but after about 6 miles and entering Kentucky, I begin to get a headache. 

Kentucky

The temperature is over 100 degrees so I decide that the 2:00 sun is beating my brain and that I should stop.  We take a ferry across the Mississippi (Oops! $14.00 for this one!) and drive to Charleston, MO where we camp for the night.  As I lock the bike, I check the rear tire and find that it is FLAT!!!!!  But on this day my average speed is just over 13 MPH so my speed is increasing.

      In Charleston we camp at a place called ‘Boomland’.  It is a fireworks store that is larger, by far, than anything like it I have ever seen.  The fireworks sales store is about 30,000 square feet.  The business started in the late 1950’s in an 8’ X 10’ shed and slowly they added snacks, a filling station, restaurant, and gifts.  The whole complex is now at least 100,000 square feet and they are adding space plus have built a similar store a few miles up the Interstate.  As another addition, they have a camp ground where we pitched our tent.  While the campsite isn’t the nicest one we have ever seen, at $7.00 a night it’s hard to go wrong.

      As we wandered through the complex, Nan got a real yearn for pizza.  When we went up to the pizza counter we were told that they were closed for the evening.  Nan said that she really wanted pizza so the girl behind the counter told us that there was a Pizza Hut across the highway.  We wandered back to the car and drove over to have pizza.  As we talked to Faith, the waitress, and told here where we were headed, she said that her uncle lives in Wisconsin and runs a Ski-Doo dealership.  We asked where and she told us Minocqua, exactly where we are headed so we will need to stop at the dealership and pass the ‘It’s a small world’ story.  We also got talking to the Assistant Manager, Heather Essary, and explained what we are doing; biking and camping every night.  She was soo impressed that she said the meal was on her.  We thank the Charleston Pizza Hut profoundly.

Total distance ridden: 18.0 miles. 

Total time ridden: 1 hour: 22 min. 

Calories burned: 1043. 

Fat burned: 118.1g.

July 20, 2010

      I am up fairly early, take my shower, and begin putting things away.  Soon Nan is up and we get everything loaded and are on our way.  By 8:30 we have filled the car with gas, gotten our senior coffees, and I was changing into my riding costume.  While Nan stops at our Insurance provider to get a state map, I begin my ride through Charleston and out into the country.  The road continues to be flat and the riding is easy until, would you ever guess it (?), I have a flat tire.  As I am almost finished with the tire Nan comes to my rescue – again – and I finish the repair on the trunk of the car.  I try 1 patch and before I can get the bike going again, the tire is flat.  I discard that tube and install another tube which has fewer patches on it but I again stopped by the tire going flat.  I am out of tubes, out of patches, and certainly out of patience.  I load the bike on the back of the car and we head to Cape Girardeau where there is a real bicycle shop.  When we stop I take my rear wheel in with me and ask for HELP!  The mechanic who waited on me took me in the back and showed me the proper way to tackle all of this.  First of all, he found that the ‘rim tape’ that protects the tube from the spokes was not wide enough to fully cover the holes and when I hit a bump, the tube would force its way into the slight exposed hole.  This was enough to rupture the tube.

      After fixing my problems with the tire, he pumped up the tire with their foot pump and it was soo much easier than what I have experienced, even with my new Wal-Mart pump, that I purchased this better pump and promptly took the other pump back to Wal-Mart.  As Nan and I got ready to leave Wal-Mart, I told her that I wanted to ride the remainder of the way to ‘Trail of Tears State Park but our luck held out again; as we exited the store the rain was beginning to come down.  Within a few minutes we had a hum dinger downpour so I again got no more biking for the day.

Total distance ridden: 4.1 miles. 

Total time ridden: 0 hour: 18 min. 

Calories burned: 250. 

Fat burned:  29.6g.

July 21, 2010

      Today we got up early even though wee had a wet tent (What, rain again???).  We got everything packed away and headed out.  When we reached the park entrance, I remembered that we hadn’t gotten any fresh water so Nan went back for a fresh fill while I started riding.  What looked like a fairly flat area soon turned into a rather hilly terrain and I was soon pooped.  By the time Nan had caught up with me, I was totally out of breath and my muscles were spent so I stopped for the day.  And check out the stats for the day; NOTHING!!!

From Drop Box

      We drove up the road a few miles and crossed into Illinois then farther north to the 1st State Capital, Kaskaskia.  Here is a park that overlooks the Mississippi from a 300 foot bluff.  The Kaskaskia River used to flow at the base of the bluff with the town on the west side of the river.  A flood in 1881 of the Mississippi overtook the Kaskaskia River and, over the next few years, flooded the entire town.  The entire town now lies at the bottom of the Mighty Mississippi.  Also in the town at that time was Mr. Pierre Menard, one of the town’s richest men.  His house is still standing and is in the hands of the State of Illinois.  We toured the mansion and the grounds and spent some time roaming the general area.  Tonight we have had a delicious meal and await in the tent for the rain to start.  Surprisingly enough, we had some rain but only a few sprinkles, quite a change from what we have been experiencing over the past few weeks.

      One thing Nan and I have noticed is the lack of people camping.  In almost every park we have visited, there are very few campers, either RV or tent.  Almost no families are out.  Last night the park had only the Guest Hosts (the guest host was not home) and us; tonight we are in a park with one RV and us.  We have thoroughly enjoyed the solitude but still wonder where everyone is.

Total distance ridden: 1.8 miles. 

Total time ridden: 0 hour: 12 min. 

Calories burned: 105. 

Fat burned: 6.7 g.

July 22, 2010

      Today we are still in some hilly country and I have found that this old body simply is not yet in shape.  Since I was not going to do any biking today, I drove the car and let Nan sit back and watch the scenery go by.  We travel through some great places in Missouri as we head towards St. Louis.  On the south side of S.L., I spy a White Castle hamburger place; something I have never tried.  We decide to stop and get one to pay tribute to Nan’s dad and brother-in-law, both of who loved White Castle.  I can now say that I have tried a White Castle but I was not impressed.�

      We crossed over into Illinois and headed north along The River Road.  The country is much flatter but it is late and the temperature hovers above 100 degrees so we continue on to Pere Marquette State Park for the night.  This park was established in the late 1930’s by the CCC and the Corps built a great lodge with a Great Room that overlooks the Illinois River.  This Great Room is 100 feet long by 60 feet wide.  The posts holding the rafters are 3 foot diameter pine logs and everything looks as if it is out of the north woods.

July 23, 2010

      Today I decided to get up early and ride the River Road south.  This road has a separate bike path which is, for the most part, separate from the road.  I will ride and when I have had enough, I will call Nan and have her come get me if I am not up to making the return trip. 

      I exit the park and continue south for about a mile where I reach a slight hill.  As I begin to put heavy pressure on the pedals, the rear derailleur (the shifter for the rear wheel) totally disintegrates.  With a quick ‘quack and wham’, I am left with a bike that will not motivate as a bike.  I try to call Nan but get no answer so I turn around and walk the bike back to the park.  In all, I have been out less than ½ hour.  After talking to a camping neighbor for a while, Nan and I head back south to a bike shop in Alton and get the bike repaired.  This was also a great day to wash our clothes as we were about of things to wear. 

      Alton is an old river town that has many old buildings that are in disrepair.  However, the town has a nice bike shop that was able to get me back together.  When I took the bike for a test, it seemed to ride and shift better than ever.  I am set for another ride.  We will spend another day at this park and continue to head north tomorrow.  With luck, I will be able to put in some good riding.

      We spend the afternoon at the Great Hall working on the computers and Nan says that she has so much to do she will never finish.  Finally at about 9:00 we discover that we have not had dinner and it is now too late to start anything.  We decide to spend another day here at the park and so head back to the tent for some chips for our evening meal.

July 24, 2010

      After a good breakfast of grapefruit, I am for my ride.  I head south along a great bike path that is off the main road.  As I through the trees, head up a rather long hill; I hear some strange noise but cannot discern its source.  Within several hundred feet the chain breaks and I am stopped again.  Fortunately, I have in my satchel a spare chain.  I replace the chain with very little difficulty and am on my way again.  As I follow this bike trail I come to a low area with water across the path but this is a recently paved path and the water is fairly clear so I can see the painted lines on the path.  I forge ahead but within 15 feet the water is high enough that my shoes go underwater as I peddle.  Will I never learn? 

      I return to dry pavement and continue to head south.  Once I pass through a little town, the path leads to the road but I have a 6 foot shoulder that is very well marked so I feel perfectly safe.  I ride along at 17 to 19 MPH and can feel the breeze on my face but I soon also feel the sun glairing down upon my bare arms, legs, and face.  As I approach the next town, I feel that it is time to begin to head north so I cross the road and ride north.  As I was heading south, I didn’t realize that there was a strong wind from the north and I am now heading straight into it.  I struggle to maintain 13 or 14 MPH.

      I finally make it to the small town I had passed through earlier and turn towards the water and follow the bike path.  There is a large old warehouse that now houses a restaurant on the river side so I stop and get a drink, give Nan a call for pick-up, and wait.

      Nan picks me up and we head towards the park but decide to take a free ferry across the Illinois River and make a big loop back.  As we travel towards historic Brussels, IL, we the road a very low and we have to travel over some roads with water running across.  We are able to watch the cars ahead of us and tell that the water is never more than 4 inches deep so we continue.  When we get into Brussels, a town of 141 residents (2000 census), began to see hundreds of motorcycles congregating around one restaurant.  We later found that this was what is called a ‘poker run’ and the bikers meet at a certain tavern or restaurant most weekends.

      We had been told that this is peach season and the local area grows some of the best around so as we drove up the Calhoun County area we began to see many, many farmer’s stands.  We stopped at one and looked at the items the fellow had for sale; peaches (white and yellow), tomatoes (about 7 different varieties including ‘black’ tomatoes and one that was as large as a head of lettuce), watermelon, some other type melon, eggplant, 4 different bell peppers, and fresh corn.  Our mouths watered but with no space in the car, we were relegated to only 5 peaches and 2 tomatoes.  We continued our loop and returned to the park for a warm afternoon and a nice pork roast dinner. 

      We head over to the Great Room to do some computer work and check on campsites for the next 3 days.  As we sit overlooking the river, we can see lightening off to the west.  Before long the wind is up and the sprinkles have begun and Nan heads back to the campsite to put things away while I finish this blog.  I write a few more things then check some internet and pack things up to head back.  When I reach the door, the rain and wind are soo strong that I come back to the chair, sit down, and finish the blog.  Nan soon shows up and is as wet as a drenched rat.

Total distance ridden: 24.1 miles. 

Total time ridden: 2 hour: 06 min. 

Calories burned: 1384. 

Fat burned: 143.4 g.

Total for Week:

Total distance ridden: 48.0 miles. 

Total time ridden: 3 hour: 58 min.