BIG RIDE July 18 - July 24 Summary

Day        Destination                         Arrival                   Depart                  Mile

                                                              

33           Garden Prairie, IL             18-July                 19-July                  94

This is starting to become a blur.  Ride , shower, eat, fall asleep and repeat.  Good Ride.  Cross into Illinois.  Our 8^th state.

Madison WI at dawn before our ride

 

34           Coal City, IL                         19-July                 20-July                  106

Strong century.  Long flat roads  Great picnic at the co operative fairgrounds.  Very Nice weather.

Two weeks to go.

 

35           Valparaiso IN                     20-July                 21-July                  84

Tough 84 miles.  Very bumpy roads. Crossed into Indiana. Lots of traffic.  Staying at Valparasio University.  Crossed into Indiana our 9^th state.  The roads are more patched holes than any that we have seen.  A very pleasant meeting with Ben and Chris at the university.  We all went out to dinner and had a good meal with fun conversation.  They are on their way  back from RAGBRAI and the expo.



Kenny and his Indiana crossing Jersey

Long horns

 

36           Kendallville IN                   21-July                  22-July                  109

Longest ride of the tour.  113 miles with a 4 mile detour that included tar and chips.  Went well with a few extra tough miles to catch the group at the 42 mile marker before lunch.  Rode with the group in the afternoon and went smooth.  Tonight we are in Bixler lake park and the parks and recreation dept cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for cook out and salad Gatorade , watermelon and ice cream.  The mayor said a few words and was really nice to everyone.  For 113 miles , I feel pretty good.

Why we ride

 

37           Napoleon OH                     22-July                 23-July                  70

Another beautiful day.  The weather has been fantastic.  Today was a high of 91 but modest winds and blue sky’s.  Crossed into OHIO , our 10^th stated.  Toured the farmlands of  and saw single lane roads that went on for miles.  Arrived in camp a little after noon and staying in the local fair grounds.  Showered and went down town for a cold one and found brick and brew and had our pre dinner of pizza beer pita chips and dip salad and water.  Dinner was catered in camp of chicken green beans, potatoes, and strawberry shortcake.  We are so lucky to have it all set up.  Karolina joined us and will do the tour next year.  Tomorrow is Sandusky and a rest day.  Longest week of the tour with 553 miles.

 

OHIO - 10th state

 

38           Sandusky OH                     23-July                 25-July                  90

A long day began in the rain with left over showers from the night before that included lightning and thunder most of the evening.  It was a on again off again showers day with lunch in the sunshine but then a steady rain through out the afternoon.  Traffic increased as we neared Sandusky and it was good to get to the KOA.  It was a pleasant surprise to find cabins for everyone with a short walk to Jacks across the street for a great rib eye steak sandwich.  We had a party in camp with beer, whiskey and pizza and one of the few nights we all got pretty drunk.  Kenny and Anita started with a beer drinking contest and we all had a fun time.

 

Our cabin for two nights

 

39*         Sandusky OH                                    

Rest day and a beautiful weather with a constant breeze and temps in the 70’s.  We biked to breakfast and ate eggs, homefries, rye toast, coffee and pecan pancakes.  Wonderful relax day.  Bike wash and maintencance, adjustments and sort out the stuff.  Laundry and prep for the next ride day with some time for a swim and blog updates.

Kevin going lectric