Life On A B-I7

Route

• Erie Canalway Trail (ECT)

Metrics

• Miles: 77
• Travel Time: All Day

Note

• Anyone who deals in certainty is using a form of manipulation. Most people will accept and follow a person who deals in certainty, no matter how absurd, because for them, that is better than facing an uncertain reality.

Thought For The Day

• Remember that your Creator listens.

After stumbling onto a live concert last night and listening to it from the trail, I found a nice stealth camping spot. This morning I was all packed up and on the trail before sunrise. Today will be a long day, but I’m looking forward to it.

Speaking of your Creator listening, or luck, or perhaps living in tune with the universe…

This morning I was at a crosswalk waiting for the walk signal. When I got the walk signal I had difficulty getting clipped-in, the bike started to tip over and I had to straighten it back up. Just as I was about to push-off into the crosswalk, an Uber driver blew through the crosswalk making a right hand turn on a solid red light without even slowing down. If I hadn’t had trouble getting clipped in, it might have been a very serious situation. There’s an argument for clips if ever there was one. (I may have made this sound a bit too dramatic. I always look before entering a crosswalk.)

As expected, the day was long. I really wanted to pull off a Century, but the trail was just too rough and there were too many detours.

Late this afternoon, a fellow on a fat tire electric bike pulled up alongside me and started chatting me up. He said he was from around there and knew a shortcut that would avoid a hill. I was currently in the middle of a detour that took me off the trail and onto paved roads. I said “great, let’s do it.” He led me down a mile long, single-track that was broken-up and difficult to navigate on a touring bike. He was about 20 yards ahead of me when all of a sudden I heard him say, “oh no.” His shortcut was a dead end. He looked at me and said, “I thought this went through.” What was I to say? I nodded and replied, “I guess we have to turn around.” Which we did. After we got back on the road, we covered about 2 miles and then he said I’m gonna turn left here. My way was straight ahead. I think he felt bad. We shook hands and parted. He was a nice guy. I don’t think he has a lot of friends to cycle with.

About an hour later, I was passing through the town of Montezuma when some little kids yelled at me, “do you want to buy a keychain?” I thought about it for a second and then I yelled back, “sure.” I turned the bike around and headed over to the little table they had set up. They told me I could have two keychains for a dollar. I gave them a dollar and picked out one. They had a tip jar, so I put $.25 in the jar. I love these little unexpected encounters. I have another precious souvenir from my journey.

I finished the day at a craft brewery in Weedsport. They specialize in German style beers. They only sell beer that they brew in-house. They had more than a dozen on tap… for the record, I only had two. I met some cool people and had a great evening.

It looks like I have two more days on the ECT and then I head north to Ticonderoga.

Reflection on the canal.

The top sign is not a problem. The bottom sign perplexed me just a bit. I stopped into the city courthouse to get a permit to pedal through town, they just stared at me.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Amherst to Erie Canalway Trail (ECT)

Metrics

• Amherst to Lockport, Lock 69
• Miles: 16
• Average Speed: 11.5 mph
• Travel Time: 1 hours 23 minutes

Metrics

• ECT
• Miles: 56
• Travel Time: All Day

Note

• Philosophy is about the nature of reality and how we should live. If we are living with our eyes open, we are a philosopher.

Thought For The Day

• Change cannot be avoided. The stress that comes from change can be avoided. To do so, spend time reflecting on those things that are higher than you.

Today is the beginning of my journey to check the Erie Canalway Trail (ECT) off my bucket list. Prior to yesterday I didn’t even know it was on my bucket list. There’s something to be said for remaining flexible when you’re on a journey. I’ll be on the ECT for the next 305 miles of the 362 mile trail.

The ECT runs East/West from Albany to Buffalo. The Hudson Valley and Champlain Valley Trails Run South/North from New York City to the Canadian Border. When I reach Albany I’ll be taking the Champlain Valley Trail north as far as Ticonderoga.

My day began with a 16 mile ride out of Amherst to get to Lockport. I rode through the.SUNY Buffalo campus on my way out of town. The roads all the way to Lockport had wide shoulders and smooth surface. It was a pleasure.

Once I reached Lockport, my tour on the ECT began. This is the only place on the Erie Canal where you can see modern locks and the original locks side-by-side.

From there I followed the Canal Trail east. I saw everything today from boats and stern wheelers on the canal to horizontal drawbridges in operation, to car shows. The scenery along the Erie Canal is second to none. I am really glad I altered my plans to take in this route. Not only was the scenery spectacular but the weather was perfect for cycling.

I was stunned when I pedaled along the canal and saw a river running under the canal 45 feet below the canal. I saw a lot of people fishing in the canal. I stopped and asked one fellow what he was catching, he said “nothing.” I’m not sure what that means, but I’ll take him at his word.

I passed my first eastbound cyclist today. This is the first Eastbounder I’ve seen since I left Anacortes on June 1. It was a woman solo rider. I pulled up alongside and struck up a conversation. After a few minutes, she asked me how old I was, I said 72. She said, “Oh, you have me beat by one year.” What makes the story really interesting is the route she chose to ride. She flew into Redmond Oregon and started from there! She lives in New Hampshire, so she’ll be home before I get to Bar Harbor. She asked me if I did the Rockies, and I said yes. She said, “Good for you. I rented a U-Haul and drove across the Rockies." I said, “Good for you!”

It’s been a marvelous day. It’s getting late. The sun is low. And I’m still on the trail. I have my eyes out for a stealth camping spot along the canal.

A nice start to the morning from my Barista in Amherst.

The Locks at Lockport.

A Durham boat. This is the same type of boat that George Washington used to ferry his army across the Delaware River. Each boat was capable of carrying 2 tons of cargo.

I couldn’t resist the urge to give a lecture to a receptive group of locals at Lockport.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Amherst, Rest Day

Metrics

• No need for metrics today.

Notes

• Today is “Planning” day.

Thought For The Day

• Your past does not determine your future.

Today is a great day to be off the road and planning the remainder of my ride. There is rain coming down in buckets this morning. if I were riding today, at the very least it would mean a late start. If the weatherman can be trusted, tomorrow and the next day will be good riding days. After that, anybody’s guess.

This is day 80. I’ve been told a young man can do this ride in 80 days or less. (Not around the world, just across the country… This trip is not based on the classic Jules Verne novel, just to be clear.) it looks like I’ll be doing it in about 100 days. I consider that a win.

I’ve already started casually thinking about the next adventure. This sort of thing gets in your blood and it’s difficult to dismiss. I’m looking forward to winter. I’ll be in great shape for the ski season, hopefully the snow will come back this winter.

What is it that makes a person enjoy riding a bicycle across the country? Of course, the answer to that question is different for everyone. For me (I hope without being too cliché) it’s about the open road. It’s also about the accomplishment. And yes, it’s about the work. But to do this day in and day out requires a bit more than just enjoying the freedom and the work. You also have to have a special love for process.

I spent almost 40 years as an IT guy. (That was when humans actually instructed computers what to do…) I guess you could say there was a bit of process involved in that line of work. But I also think it’s built-in to my nature. If it weren’t, I never would have chosen that career path. Like that career path, there is a lot of process involved in cycling across the country. You arrive at your destination, you unpack, you sort, you set up, you eat and then you sleep. In the morning, you do it all over again in reverse. That is essentially your life for 100 days. Is it a good life? Yes.

I have been generally following the ACA route called the “Northern Tier.” From Buffalo, the Northern Tier route goes north to Niagara Falls and then generally northeast along lake Ontario to Ticonderoga, New York. What that route misses is the fact that there is a cycleway, mostly paved, that goes from just north of Amherst, where I am currently, all the way to Albany. There is another cycleway in Albany, that goes north to Ticonderoga. That means the next 400 miles I can do almost entirely on paved cycleway! I’m choosing the cycleway route. I suspect the ACA route was established prior to the advent of New York’s cycleways and hasn’t been updated to reflect that development. Tomorrow I will be starting the next and final stretch of my tour on the Erie Canal Cycleway.

An interesting sidebar to this route change is the fact that I didn’t know about the cycleway from Albany to Ticonderoga until I was told about it by an employee at REI today. I didn’t even know there was an REI in Amherst until last night! I’m glad I went in today!

I laughed when I rode by this car a couple weeks ago. I did a double-take when it passed me on the road a few minutes later!

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Dunkirk to Buffalo

Metrics

• To Bike Shop
• Miles: 47
• Average Speed: 10.9 mph
• Moving Time: 2 hours 55 minutes

Metrics

• To Motel
• Miles: 9
• Average Speed: 10.5 mph
• Travel Time: 0 hours 49 minutes

Notes

• I love the perfect combination of grade, gear and grind (the three G’s) that make me feel like I’m flying, especially when I’m climbing.

Thought For The Day

• Be committed to those you’ve committed yourself to.

Today’s ride was spectacular. Perfect riding weather. It feels like I’ve turned the corner and the weather is going to start working in my favor. That should probably be classified as wishful thinking.

After riding into Buffalo and negotiating my way through downtown (not an easy feat). I went straight to a bike shop in East Buffalo that was recommended to me by Marc who runs a bike tour company in town. The shop took great care of me. They replaced the rear tire which was becoming worn and they put on a new chain. After the work was done I had a nice chat with a fellow who was riding by the shop. He ended up hanging out with me and chatting while I got the bike ready to roll.

After I left the bike shop, I headed northeast for 9 miles and ended up in Amherst. I checked into a motel there. (I wasn’t willing to pay $400 a night for a room in downtown Buffalo.) I’m going to spend tomorrow planning the remainder of my tour. I took a quick look at my maps and I got excited when I saw the next few days I will be traveling along the Erie Canal towpath through northeastern New York.

It isn’t easy writing every day. Especially because at the end of each day. I’m tired and all I really want to focus on is dinner, preparation for the next day and sleep. Speaking of sleep, two nights ago in Erie was probably my favorite night. That’s crazy I know. It was so cool having lightning and thunder breaking all around and being dry and warm at the same time. Nature putting on a show just for me. I opened this paragraph by saying that writing is not easy. That’s only partly true. I enjoy doing it and for me it’s a really big part of the whole experience.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about baseball. Fly balls don’t win baseball games. Line drives and grounders are the way to move base runners around. That’s not as glamorous as a home run, but when you string them together, they are effective. Getting to your day’s destination isn’t a question of when, It just comes down to doing it. Frequently when I’m riding, I think of my day as a process of stringing together base hits.

Campus Wheel Works in Buffalo. Time for another new rear tire. I’m putting on a 35 mm this time. I’m hoping it will do a better job of carrying the weight. (I’ve been running 32’s.) It’s time for a new chain too. The guys at the bike shop were funny. They said the bike looked too clean to have traveled across the country. I told them rain helps. Everyone that works on my bike is impressed. It’s custom-made specifically for touring and it’s built to my body’s dimensions. It has the best components that you can put into a build. That’s probably why it’s held together for three trips across the country. It’s a racehorse, even when it’s fully loaded. There’s really not much you can do about tires though.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Erie, PA to Dunkirk, NY

Metrics

• Miles: 53
• Average Speed: 12.4 mph
• Moving Time: 3 hours 57 minutes

Notes

• A bridge out detour added 7 miles to today’s ride.

Thought For The Day

• Happiness is temporary, joy is permanent. Build on those things that will bring you joy.

It’s hard for me to believe that after last night’s storm I had a day of riding that was free of rain and mostly sunny. I’ll take that.

I’m now in New York. This is something of a milestone for me. I have enjoyed some fairly flat terrain for the last 600 miles. Today I noticed a difference. The terrain is becoming slightly more rolling. I think this is a sign of what’s ahead. I was surprised to discover I’m now in wine country. Everywhere is vineyards and signs for wine tours. Driving back, a wine tour might be in order.

That’s it for tonight. Tomorrow I’ll be in Buffalo. I plan to take a day of rest there and spend some time enjoying the city. With my free time I plan to build a detailed itinerary of the remaining portion of my tour from Buffalo, New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. On the way back from Maine, I’m planning a stop-over in Buffalo for a bicycle tour of the city and a side trip to Niagara Falls.

Usually in these photos, the bike wants to be photographed alone. Today the bike was kind enough to let me be included.

This is the type of sight you never see from the window of a car.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Painesville, OH to Erie, PA

Metrics

• Miles: 73
• Average Speed: 11.6 mph
• Moving Time: 6 hours 14 minutes

Note

• Two flat tires today. The first ones on the trip!

Thought For The Day

• Spend time each day to think of things higher than yourself.

Like the note says, I had two flat tires today. Those are the first flat tires of the entire trip. They didn’t occur until after I had gone over 3,000 miles. Well, I should say there was really one flat today. The second flat occurred when I put a new tube in the first time, I pinched the tube between the tire and the rim of the wheel. It lasted about 10 miles. That 10 miles was extremely rough road which just accelerated the pinch. The first flat was caused by a wiring staple. I showed it to my navigator and he agreed that was the reason. The second flat I knew even before I tested the tube what the cause was. Sure enough, there was a puncture right at the valve stem where it had been pinched. I showed puncture to my navigator, and he didn’t say a word. He just looked at me. He didn’t even smile. That made me feel more guilty than if he had actually said something. I was very careful replacing the second tube.

I reached the campground late in the afternoon. It’s a campground right on the bay in the town of Erie, Pennsylvania. This looks to be a major shipping point on the lake. It’s a nice campground. I got all set up and had some Ramen and then crawled into my tent. About 2 AM I noticed some lightning and thunder so I jumped out of the tent and grabbed my power bank that was charging at the charging station next to my campsite. (It was in a plastic bag to protect it, but I didn’t want to leave it out there anyway.) By the time I reached the door of the tent and was crawling back in the rain had arrived. It arrived, there was no mistaking it. That was by far the worst storm I have experienced on this trip. In fact, it’s might be the worst storm I’ve experienced, period. It lasted about two hours. I was actually able to sleep through part of it. At first, I was concerned that the tent wasn’t up to the task, but it was. I was impressed by its performance and needless to say, very grateful.

I’m getting a late start today. It’s 9 AM and I’m not done packing up, but that’s OK. I only have 50 miles to go today. Yes, it looks like there’s going to be some rain today and yes, I will probably get wet, but I’m not complaining. I’ve experienced so little rain on this tour that it would be ungrateful of me to complain.

I plan to stop at a bike shop and pick up a couple spare tubes. I don’t like spending time on the road patching old tubes and putting them back into service. Call me lazy.

My Navigator confirming the cause of the first flat.

Making repairs alongside the road. It was a beautiful day. It was supposed to rain but it was sunny instead. The rain came later with a vengeance. That’s another story.

By the time I reached the campground for the night, I had traveled the entire stretch of Northwest Pennsylvania less 15 miles.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Cleveland to Painesville

Metrics

• Miles: 40
• Average Speed: 11.0 mph
• Moving Time: 3 hours 37 minutes

Notes

• Today is get out of Cleveland Day. I say that with the utmost gratitude for Cleveland. i’ve enjoyed my stay here very much.

Thought For The Day

• Protect your heart from things that would lead it astray.

In last night’s game it looked like the Guardians would pull off a win with an early lead. The Padres prevailed in later innings with key home runs and patience at the plate. There’s a big difference between looking down on a baseball game and looking out at a baseball game. Last night I found myself looking down on the game. It didn’t occur to me that eyeglasses to help with distance vision would have been an asset in that situation… Nevertheless, I enjoyed the experience. I’ve never seen Cleveland take on the Mariners in Seattle, now I have that to look forward to.

I leave Cleveland under mostly sunny and rain-free skies. I’ll be leaving downtown and winding my way to the waterfront where I’ll pick up U.S. Bike Route 30 and head east along the lakeshore. I think today’s ride should be a pleasant one. I’ve picked a point about 40 miles east of Cleveland in the town of Painesville as my destination for the day. I think tomorrow is going to be a different story, but there’s no point in going into that right now when I have what should be a pleasant ride just in front of me.

On my way to the waterfront, I passed by the Cleveland Browns Stadium and the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Contrary to signage, I did not see Elvis in (or outside) the house. I also passed the USS Cod on the way out of town. She is a WW II submarine on display. I would have loved to stick around for a tour but once on the road it’s difficult to change plans. It looks like she sank 21 enemy vessels during World War II.

There is still significant rain (0.5”) in the forecast for tomorrow. I’m planning on an 80 mile day tomorrow. That could mean I arrive wet. I’ll make the best of it.

Cleveland Guardians!

If I had gone more than 40 miles today, I could’ve finished it.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Cleveland

Metrics

• No Metrics today

Notes

• Today is MLB Day!

Thought For The Day

• Be gentle. It is the strong that are gentle.
• A few days ago, as I was coming out of a coffee shop, a lady asked me if she could say a prayer for me. I said yes. She said some beautiful words. I was surprised and humbled when she said I had a gentle soul. She was a perfect strange… Coincidentally, I work every day on that.

Last night I visited Masthead Brewing and the Noble Beast Brewery. Both breweries had a West Coast style IPA on their tap list. Both offerings were good, but the Noble Beast IPA was the clear winner. It was brewed with New Zealand hops. I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve had an IPA that wasn’t brewed with hops from the Pacific Northwest. If you come to Cleveland, give the Noble Beast a try.

As I was wandering back from my brewery tour, I dropped into an Irish Pub. Before I knew it, I was engaged in interesting conversation with a nice group of folks visiting Cleveland from California. We exchanged some great stories. They were very curious about my journey so I shared this website with them. By the way, thank you very much for the Manhattan.

Yesterday’s clear winner.

I combined my brewery tour with a tour of murals.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Cleveland

Metrics

• No Metrics Today

Note

• Art speaks to all of us. All we need to do is listen.

Thought For The Day

• Do everything you do to the best of your ability. 

On the agenda today is a visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art. After that, I plan to visit one of the city’s local breweries. There are 42 breweries in and around the city of Cleveland. It will not be an easy decision.

The Cleveland Museum of Art is overwhelming. You can’t possibly take in all it has to offer in one day. I did the best I could. Shown below are a couple of paintings that I found captivating. There were many others in addition to these.

This painting depicts the common bond that we all share, as well as the separation that exists within our society.

This painting from 1863 inspired Abraham Lincoln to set aside Yosemite as a national preservation trust. It was later designated a National Park.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Huron to Cleveland (Downtown)

Metrics

• Miles: 52
• Average Speed: 10.6 mph
• Moving Time: 4 hours 47 minutes

Notes

• The best vitamin for cyclists is B1.

Thought For The Day

• When you are about to make a decision, are you doing so with the intention to follow a higher will, or are you doing so only with the intention to benefit yourself?

I stopped in the Village of Vermilion for coffee. This is a very cool little town, lots going on. The coffee shop I stopped in roasts their own beans in-house. The Coffee was top notch.

The 52 mile ride into Cleveland was a pleasure. I had a bike lane for most of the route. When I stoped for lunch I had a nice conversation with a fellow cyclist. He picked up my tab. Thank you my friend.

For dinner, I went to the Cleveland Hofbrauhaus. All their beers are brewed in-house except for their Octoberfest. I had a couple of beers and a Schnitzel. The bartender comped me a beer, a desert and an after dinner drink. It seems I continue to live a charmed life.

I believe everything we experience happens for a reason. The key to living a full life is living with our eyes and our mind open. No one has all the answers. Sometimes the answers to our questions comes from unexpected experiences, experiences that we had no way of anticipating. I believe the journey I am on has a purpose. A purpose that is revealed almost daily and will continue to be revealed even after the journey has ended.

One of the things I have been working on while riding is examining what I am thinking about. If I’m thinking about how difficult the terrain is, it will be difficult. If I dismiss that thought and replace it with something else, the terrain has less impact on my mind. That is the key that allows us to achieve more than we would otherwise have thought possible.

The obligatory self-portrait, magically retouched. (The photo used to create this image is from Day 64.)

You can’t live on the road without it.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Fremont to Huron, U.S. Bicycle Route 30

Metrics

• Miles: 48
• Average Speed: 10.4 mph
• Moving Time: 4 hours 7 minutes
• Road: 23.6
• Cycleway: 17.6
• Other: 3.3
• More Info: U.S. Bicycle Route Network

Notes

• Some paved cycleway to begin the day. Start delayed due to severe weather.

Thought For The Day

• Work on your character every day. Character is like muscle, it gets soft if it is not exercised.

The plan for today is to take the “North Coast, Inland Trail” from Fremont to Bellevue and then turn north and finish today riding into Huron.

That’s exactly how it went. Light rain fell for about the first 10 miles, then I had to take the raincoat off.

I decided to get a room for the night again Just as I was pulling up to the front door, it started to rain. I have been very fortunate when it comes to getting wet, that is to say, I really haven’t gotten wet. The evenings here are another matter entirely. Lightning, thunder and rain, lots of it. The middle of the day is not too bad. I stopped along the way and chatted with a man who was working in his front yard. The entire front yard was flooded. I asked him if the water had been accumulating over the last few days. He said it was all from last night. They received 3-1/2 inches of rain overnight. This was about 15 miles South of Huron.

Tomorrow it’s on to Cleveland.

I’m calling this “Eastbound Train.” Inspiration for the name came from the first Dire Straits recording made at the Hope & Anchor Public House in London, 1978, titled “Woman on an Eastbound Train.”

The paint is a bit faded. It’s been there for awhile.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Bowling Green to Fremont

Metrics

• Miles: Maybe 34.6
• Average Speed: 12.7 mph
• Moving Time: 2 hours 43 minutes

Notes

• The clouds are low and moving fast. I’ve never seen anything quite like this. I’m going to get wet today.

Thought For The Day

• When you feel stress coming on, take time to relax. Focus on higher things than yourself.

I’m 130 miles outside Cleveland, Ohio. I have four days to cover a distance that would normally be a two day ride. I don’t want to arrive any sooner because if I do, I’ll get there before the Guardians do. you might be thinking, “what?” Let me explain. I’m not going to ride my bike all the way across the country without seeing at least one Major League Baseball game. As I was telling one Cyclist on the Canal Trail yesterday, “I’m going to have to drag my heels for the next four days.”

Yesterday I decided to get a room for the night. I’m glad I did. A Tornado Alert came in just as I was about to fall asleep. First time I’ve ever gotten one of those…

At the same time the alert came in, the weather app was reporting 7” of rain in the last 24 hours. Fortunately I was not caught in that yesterday.

It’s now 7 AM and I’m sitting at the local laundromat waiting for my laundry to finish. It has stopped raining, at least for now. Last night while I was waiting to get swept up to the Land of Oz, I bought a ticket to the Guardians game at 7:10 PM on Friday. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get there!

A big shout-out to the guys at CycleWerks in Bowling Green. I dropped in on them when they opened this morning for a new tube and tire and they had me back on the road in under an hour. I enjoyed talking to them about routes, trails and road cycling. They even gave me a cup of coffee while I was waiting and recommended a great spot for second breakfast.

I’ve decided to make a break for it. There is a motel 20 miles’s east of here if things don’t go well.

The sky cleared and I made it all the way to Fremont without getting a drop of rain on me!

The Maumee River at Big Bend outside Waterville, Ohio

Top: Field of Sunflowers. Bottom: There’s an app for that.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Grand Rapids to Bowling Green

Metrics

• Miles: 21
• Average Speed: 9.9 mph
• Travel Time: 4 hours 32 minutes

Notes

• As I was rolling out of the campground this morning, a fellow looked up from his campfire and said “I admire what you’re doing young man.“ While I appreciate the sentiment, I think the gentleman could use a pair of glasses.
• What are my two favorite foods? Coffee and a doughnut.

Thought For The Day

• Use your gifts and your time to help others, not just help yourself.

I spent an hour this morning, looking at the only restored section of the Miami and Erie Canal with a working lock. Also, in the interpretative park is a restored Canal Boat. Excursions are offered daily. The boat goes through the lock which raises it about 10 feet to the next level of Canal. I had a nice conversation with the Park Ranger as he was preparing the lock for the first transit of the day. The lock gates are so well balanced that one person can manually open and close the doors with ease. The doors are built from heavy timber and weigh 2 tons each.

Water from the canal was also used to power Flour and Lumber Mills along the route. The canal played a major role in the settlement and industrialization of Western Ohio. Finished in 1849, the canal was only in service for 20 years before being replaced by railroads. Construction of the canal almost bankrupted the State of Ohio. At one point there was no money to pay workers so at the end of the day they were given a glass of whiskey as the day’s wage.

I found a marvelous used bookstore in Grand Rapids. This artifact, presumably a reproduction, caught my attention. It is a perfect example of compassion, and graciousness by one of our most brilliant and selfless founders.

This is a letter to Lydia Bixby in 1864. The letter reads as follows:

Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln

Top: The Miami and Erie Canal in Grand Rapids, Ohio. Middle: Restored Canal Boat. Bottom: Restored Canal Lock.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Napoleon to Grand Rapids
• Mary Jane Thurston State Park

Metrics

• Miles: 14.4
• Average Speed: 12.0 mph
• Travel Time: 1 hour 13 minutes

Notes

• My shortest day of the tour (so far).

Thought For The Day

• Anger can’t always be avoided. The best way to make anger go away is to first recognize it, then tell yourself to set it aside.

I arrived at Mary Jane Thurston State Park Campground and set up camp at 11:00 am. That’s a bit earlier than allowed. What are you to do when you only go 14.4 miles to reach your next destination? Since I was early, I decided to take a nap. Strange, I seem to sleep better during the day than at night. I needed today’s nap. it was almost two hours long. The body doesn’t recover as quickly as it did 40 years ago.

Grand Rapids is a cool town. You can still view significant remnants of the Miami and Erie Canal here. I am fascinated by that kind of history. There is a used bookstore in town. Of course I went in. I found a pamphlet about the canal (more on that to come). I’m now enjoying a locally brewed IPA. I don’t want my friends in Oregon to get upset, but it’s a pretty damn good IPA. In fact, the food here is top drawer. I had a Balsamic Bruschetta that was the best. I think I’ll try their Cheese and Truffle Board next…

I’m going to have a campfire tonight in my campsite. I’m looking forward to that. It will be my first campfire since my SAG abandoned me… (I say that with the utmost love and gratitude, believe me.)

I was going to do some laundry today, but then I realized, what’s the point? You launder your riding clothes and then 30 minutes after you get on the road they’re soaked. Humidity, sweat, heat. It makes laundering a futile exercise.

Living On The Road

Living on the road is living apart from normal life. It’s difficult, no, impossible to describe what this experience is like. I’m trying. to give you a flavor of it, but my words can’t adequately do the experience justice. If I were a writer (which sadly I am not) describing this would be a challenge. I hope what I offer gives you the smallest-of-small ideas what it’s like.

Yes. There are times when I get lonely. Especially for my family and the loved ones back home. That said, there is nothing better than an experience like this to make you appreciate all of them more than you would if you were home, sleeping in everyday, and spending your days preoccupied with (in comparison) trivial pursuits.

You can’t do something epic every day. When you are given the chance, grab it, embrace the opportunity.

I’m not sure where i’ll be at the end of the day tomorrow, frankly, that’s not a real concern.

Stealth camping requires you to be up and gone before sunrise.

The river that I can’t pronounce. (Maumee River.)

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Monroeville, IN to Napoleon, OH

Metrics

• Miles: 60
• Average Speed: 12.0 mph
• Travel Time: 7 hours 58 minutes

Notes

• Dense fog this morning delayed my start. The destination today is a campground 4 miles east of Defiance.

Thought For The Day

• If you make a mistake, no matter how small, gracefully acknowledge it. Don’t forget to apologize if that is possible.
• Every day that you reach your destination is a victory.

I can’t say enough nice things about the community of Monroeville, Indiana. So many people went out of their way to greet me and make me feel at home. My stay there was one of the best of my tour. The Hubie Ashcraft Band last night blew my mind. I’ve never heard country and country rock played like that before. Of course this is my first time through Indiana, still, I wasn’t alone in that opinion. Every member of the band was superb and I enjoyed the concert thoroughly. They played for four hours with no breaks. They were amazing.

My destination, campground just outside Defiance was closed to camping due to preparations for a local celebration this weekend. As a result I had to continue on. I ended up in Napoleon where there is no campground, so tonight I’m stealth camping. I think it’s going to be a good spot. I can’t tell you where it is otherwise it wouldn’t be stealth, would it?

I will say it’s just off the towpath of the Miami and Erie Canal…

I rode along the old towpath for about 7 miles today. Not to be confused with the Erie Canal in New York. This canal ran from Toledo, Ohio at the base of Lake Erie to Cincinnati, Ohio, 274 miles. The canal and locks connected Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Railroads put the canal and locks out of business in the late 19th century. The canal was officially abandoned in 1915. A great place to visit is the town of Lockington, Ohio. This is where a series of locks lifted the canal to its highest point. The remains can still be viewed today.

A group of Northern Tier Riders from 1986.

Welcome to Ohio.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Monroeville, Rest Day

Metrics

• Miles: 0
• Average Speed: NA mph
• Travel Time: NA

Notes

Thought For The Day

• Ambition is good but ensure it serves mankind in some way.

I’m taking a rest day in Monroeville to enjoy the opening of the Monroeville Harvest Festival. There will be food and live music in the park this evening.

While I’m waiting for the festivities to begin, I thought I would look at the cyclist guest books in the Community Center. Here are the visitor numbers for the last 38 years.

That’s a total of 1,829 riders that have been hosted here in Monroeville.

Note: These numbers count fundraising groups (like Ride for MS) as one visit. The number of fundraising groups riding the Northern Tier is a small percentage.

Monroeville is famous for hosting Northern Tier Cyclists. With that in mind, these numbers are probably representative of the total number of cyclists riding the Northern Tier in the years shown above.

A significant decrease in numbers of people riding the Northern Tier begins somewhere around 2018 and gets progressively smaller after that. Prior to that the numbers are fairly consistent. The big winner is 1997. Explaining these numbers is not an easy matter. COVID certainly would play into the 2020 numbers, but there’s a bump in 2021 that is hard to explain. After 2021 ridership starts to decrease significantly. It’s my personal opinion that among younger people, mountain biking and gravel riding has been more attractive to cyclists than road cycling has. There’s a new thing now called “Bike Packing.” That is basically bicycle touring offroad instead of on road.

The guest books also track the age of Northern Tier riders. Here is a count of the cyclists age 70 and over.

Cyclists 70 years of age or over represent 1.6% of the Northern Tier Riders! Obviously, I’ll need to ride the Northern Tier again in 2032 to become the record holder — assuming no one older than 77 comes along before then…

A Note on My Itinerary

I’m ahead of schedule even though my daily average miles is under 55. That’s due to the fact that I have taken fewer rest days than I originally planned on taking. If I ride 50 miles a day and don’t take any rest days, I’ll arrive in Bar Harbor on September 1st. My itinerary planned a September 20th arrival. I’ll be taking rest days. I would like to arrive on the 10th. That feels like a good plan and I won’t have to do more than 50 miles a day to make that date.

Murals really are quite charming.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Salomonie River State Park to Monroeville

Metrics

• Miles: 52
• Average Speed: 12.1 mph
• Travel Time: 6 hours 2 minutes

Notes

• I have good metrics today because I used the Komoot app for navigation. I really like this app.

Thought For The Day

• Be courageous and work on developing determination. 

Today’s post might be a bit geeky for some. If you find it boring, skip ahead to the fifth paragraph.

My average miles per hour on today’s segment of the tour was 12.1. That is my best average mph so far on this tour. That is largely a result of the Komoot app having chosen an excellent route for me. The road surface was good and the traffic was light. I have not hit an average of 12 mph on any of the previous ACA daily routes I have ridden.

When you purchase the ACA Digital Route Maps, they come as a set of 11 Segments. Each segment is approximately 400 miles in length. It takes about a week to traverse each segment. It’s up to you to decide how to split up each segment into daily rides. The app used by the ACA maps does not track metrics on a daily basis, it only tracks metrics for the segment as a whole. This makes tracking daily metrics nearly impossible. The Komoot app does allow splitting segments into multiple daily rides. That makes the Komoot app a superior tool, at least in my mind.

Back to miles per hour. The Komoot app chose a very different route for today’s ride than the ACA route would have put me on. That speaks volumes about the ACA routing. I’m not going to say anything more about that. Whenever possible, I will be choosing daily destinations and allowing Komoot to select the route.

I’m being hosted in grand fashion by the Community of Monroeville. They have been hosting cross-country cyclists at their Community Center since 1990. That’s how far back the guest register goes, but I have a feeling they were hosting cyclists even prior to that since this year is the 50th Anniversary of the Northern Tier Route.

I had dinner at the Whippy Dip. After that, I went down to the MoonTower Bar and Grill for a nightcap. I had a great time there talking to some really nice folks and getting a bit of the town’s history.

I’m going to take a day of rest tomorrow because tomorrow is the first day of the Monroeville Fair. There’s gonna be live music in the park right here where I’m staying. I don’t want to miss that. I’m gonna go back to the MoonTower tomorrow afternoon for an Indiana Coney Dog. Breakfast will be at the Blueberry Pancake House at 6 AM.

Always a good idea.

The Community Center in Monroeville where I’m staying.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Fletcher Lake to Salomonie River State Park

Metrics

• Miles: 53
• Average Speed: 10+ mph
• Travel Time: 6 hours 45 minutes

Note

• Human life is a sequence of special moments that cannot be relived. Enjoy them as much as possible while you are living them.

Thought For The Day

• Every choice you make has consequences. Making good choices is a sign of wisdom. Making choices by relying on what other people think is the opposite of wisdom.

Today’s note literally came to me out of the blue while I was peddling. This is one of the beautiful things about taking time out from your normal life to experience something unusual and special, like this journey.

Today I was on the road before dawn. When you’re cycling in the dark with just a headlight to light your way, you can’t see the elevation changes coming toward you. You have to trust your legs to tell you when you’re going up and when you’re going down. Shifting becomes a physical experience. Pre-dawn riding is not something I normally do. I wouldn’t think of doing it unless the road I was taking was remote and less traveled.

Another interesting aspect to pre-dawn riding is temperature. Sometimes descending as little as 10 feet over a distance of maybe 50 yards, the temperature might decrease noticeably. Sometimes you’ll experience pockets of warm air that don’t seem to rely on the terrain around you, but are simply just there. Once the sun comes up, these differences disappear.

Early morning riding is also the best time to see wildlife. I saw seven deer this morning. That’s more than I’ve seen during the day over the course of the last 300 miles.

I stopped for breakfast about 25 miles down the road. I was in the town of Denver (Indiana). You know the food is going to be good when the restaurant is full of locals. I had just seated myself at a table and was looking at the menu when a gentleman walked up and started talking to me. We chatted about the trip, the usual stuff. I also found myself telling him what was special about it and what it meant to me. I could see his interest. He patted me on the shoulder and told me good luck, paid his bill and left. Shortly after that a nice couple sitting at the table next to mine came over and joined me. They had a lot of questions and it was a fun conversation. I gave them my card with a link to this blog so they could follow along. After enjoying a terrific breakfast just like I had suspected I would, I went up to the cash register to pay my ticket. The lady working the restaurant told me it had been taken care of already. I don’t know if it was the nice man or the couple, but whoever it was, thank you.

I’m camping tonight at Salamonie River State Park. I’ll be getting up early tomorrow, probably not pre-dawn. By the end of the day tomorrow I should be in Ohio. As I was telling the gentleman this morning at breakfast, one of the things I think about is what will I do with myself once I return home? Even though my days are almost entirely free of worry and concern, they are also extremely structured. I’m not sure what I’ll do to replace that structure once I’m home. I hope the memory of this trip will help me find ways to bring a healthy structure into my daily life that will make me more productive.

Pre-dawn riding is an entirely different experience.

Four miles of beautiful cycle-way today.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Rensselaer to Fletcher Lake

Metrics

• Miles: 52
• Average Speed: 9 mph
• Travel Time: 7 hours 30 minutes

Notes

Thought For The Day

• Periodically evaluate your values. Make sure they are in alignment with your purpose in life.

I know people back home that think my sense of humor is as dry as a bone. Out here in Indiana I am a stand-up comic genius. Either that or people are very polite…

This morning I went into a coffee shop and there was a large group of friends all enjoying coffee together. One said, “where’d you come from?” I said, “I came from Washington, I just left yesterday!” That got a good laugh. After I got my coffee and was heading outside, another person asked, “where you headed?” I said, “I’ll be in Maine tomorrow afternoon!” That got another good laugh… The folks back home would say that it was a polite crowd. Of course, I would disagree.

About one o’clock this afternoon I had a serious need for a nap. I got off the bike at a nice shady spot. I got my folding chair out and made myself comfortable. When I woke up 45 minutes later, I didn’t realize my right foot and ankle had fallen asleep. As soon as I stood up I fell over. The first thought that came to mind was OMG, I’ve broken my ankle! Here I am 20 miles from the nearest town. What am I going to do? Within a few seconds feeling started returning to my ankle and I realized it wasn’t broken after all. I was extremely grateful. It turned out to be just a simple matter of waiting a few minutes for everything to be fine, then I was able to get back on the bike.

It seems I need a new front tire. The left side of the tire is worn more than the right side of the tire. This is likely due to all of the crowned road surfaces I’ve been riding. Instead of a new tire, I could fix this by riding on the other side of the road… Just kidding. I know what you’re thinking, just take the tire off turn it 180° and put it back on. I know that makes a lot of sense, but there’s three problems with that. The first one is, I hate changing tires and tubes on the road. The second one is I’d probably pinch the tube and then I would have to spend an hour or two patching it. The third one is I’m lazy and I prefer to have professionals handling that for me. I’ll hit a bicycle shop before too long. I’m pretty sure it’ll hold till then. If it doesn’t, I’ll take door number one and hope I don’t end up taking door number two also.

This is what bicycle touring is all about.

That’s not a ghost stepping out of the corn, just me.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Iroquois, IL to Rensselaer, IN

Metrics

• Miles: 38
• Average Speed: 9 mph
• Travel Time: 4 hours

Notes

• It didn’t rain after all.

Thought For The Day

• Remember to thank your Creator every day.

I guessed wrong. Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. All indications were for rain today so I used Komoot to build a route that would take me to a motel for the evening. That means that tomorrow It will take me about 10 miles to get back onto the ACA route. The only problem is, it didn’t rain today. Oh well, it’s an opportunity to do laundry.

So what is it about long-distance cycling that I find so attractive? In a word, freedom. Throw in a little trepidation for good measure, plus a fair amount of physical exercise, and you have a combination that opens doors. It allows you to tap into a heightened awareness of everything around you. That in-turn helps reveal to yourself who you are, also who you would like to be.

Long distance cycling is also exercise for the mind. Exercise helps the brain become more resilient and robust and helps you to recall memories once given up to time. It helps to awaken perception. This awakening helps in living a more robust and inspired life, a life where the vision of service to others becomes a key factor in our becoming more fulfilled. We are not alone.

I snuck into Indiana on a quiet Sunday morning.

I have now started looking for murals.

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Iroquois, Unplanned Rest Day

Metrics

• Miles: 0
• Average Speed: NA mph
• Travel Time: None

Notes

• Taking shelter today from a day of rain.

Today

• When tempted, look temptation in the eye and then walk away. Laughing at temptation helps you to overcome it.

I’ve arrived in the town of Iroquois, Illinois. I’m 3 miles west of the Indiana border. The town is famous for hosting Cross-Country Cyclists.

It had been raining most of the day, so the first thing I did was duck into the Iroquois Café for a bite to eat. I was greeted warmly by my server. The owner and chef, John, came out of the kitchen to greet me. They host Cyclists in the City Park across the street. It’s not exactly what you might imagine, it’s even better. John called the Mayor and the Mayor came and opened up his office to me. There’s a shower, a bathroom and a cot to sleep on. Out of the rain, I might add.

There is a bit of mystery surrounding my visit to the Village of Iroquois. The sign at the entrance to the town says, “Village of Iroquois.” “Welcome to Bunkum.” I’m going to have to do some research to see what that means.

Today is an unplanned rest day for two reasons. The first, is because it is supposed to rain all day, which indeed it has. The second, is because there are going to be three live bands tonight on Main Street celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Iroquois Café. The owner John is hosting the event. There is no way I could miss that.

In the Mayor’s office, there are two bound volumes of handwritten notes from Cyclists that have been hosted here. There was also a sign that read:

“All we ask for is a thank you note…” Here is how I replied.

To Mayor Joe and the wonderful people of Iroquois, Illinois. What a pleasure it is to meet you all! I am humbled and grateful for your haspitality and your, kindness. I am riding across America for my personal gratification and experience, but l am also raising money through pledges for the Homeless Shelter and Food Kitchen in my home town of Redmond, OR. You can be assured that your kindness to me Is indirectly helping to feed and shelter persons you will never meet. That is the beauty of kindness. It flows out in different directions we can’t see. Thank you.

Update: The town of Iroquois, Illinois was originally named Bunkum because that was a common name in use at the time. Also, it represented a lively Fourth of July festival that the Township was known for. The name was later changed to Iroquois to better reflect the Indian heritage and the river that runs through the town.

The Iroquois Callaboose. You need to behave yourself in Iroquois so you don’t end up here. Constructed in 1881, this two cell jail was built to protect the town from “wicked people” who came from other places to “disturb the peace.”

Itinerary Maps

Route

• Odell to Iroquois

Metrics

• Miles: 64
• Average Speed: 9 mph
• Travel Time: 9 hours 15 minutes

Notes

• Illinois is called the Land of Lincoln because this is where Abraham Lincoln grew up. He was raised and worked in the town of New Salem where he was a shopkeeper and also taught himself Law.

Thought #25

• Success is not what you own or how rich you are. Success is who you are. In other words, what you represent and how you treat people.

You don’t undertake an adventure like this without assuming some risk. I suppose that’s true of all adventures. Yesterday as I was coming into Odell, just outside the city limits, a car was passing in the oncoming lane. The driver was going way too fast. It was a two lane road, and I could see that the three of us would be side-by-side at the point where the passing car was in my lane. Not my lane, exactly, but there was no shoulder on the road. I did the only reasonable thing you could do. I rode off the road over the shoulder and into the brush. This is precisely why you stay alert while you’re riding. You can’t control what you can’t see. But you have to be alert for what you can see.

As I’m writing this, I’m standing outside a BP having a coffee and charging my battery banks. (They are for my iPhone, not my bike. I just had to clarify that.) I haven’t been able to find electricity for two days and I won’t make it through today if I don’t get them charged up. (I depend on my iPhone for navigation.) There’s a car in front of me. The windows are tinted so I can’t see in. A fellow walks out of the BP and says “has he been watching you?" I say “I can’t see in because the windows are tinted. Is there a dog in there?” The fellow calls the dog over to the window and I walk over to the car. It’s a Pitbull, possibly the sweetest Pitbull I’ve ever met. We chat for a minute and I tell him, “have a good day.” As he’s getting in his car, he says “take what God gives you.” I say, “Amen to that brother…”

Side note: You have to take what you’re given, but you help yourself a lot by staying alert.

Let me take a moment to share another secret weapon with you. Get a Starbucks Frappuccino coffee drink, available at almost any convenience store. Add a packet of Starbucks instant coffee to it. That will get the pedals turning and help keep you alert.

I ended the day in the town of Iroquois, Illinois just short of the Indiana border. It was marked on my map as having camping available. When I got to the center of town, I saw a beautiful city park and across the street a very nice looking bar and restaurant. I’ll have a lot more to say about this in tomorrow’s post.

Sunrise on my bedroom. I slept in Right Field last night. (A literal field of dreams…)

Books, Coffee, Adventure, my kind of place. I bought a copy of NEXUS Magazine from September ‘25.

Itinerary / Maps

Route

• Bradford to Odell

Metrics

• Miles: 77
• Average Speed: Under 10 mph
• Ride Time: All Day

Notes

Thought #24

• Use the gifts you’ve been given to the best of your ability.

Thought #24 and a half

• The Buddha taught his disciples: When they are shot with an arrow (an arrow being misfortune) they should not compound that by shooting themselves with a second arrow. In other words, it does no good to worry and dwell on your misfortune. The best response you can adopt is to be positive and look for the good in what has been handed to you.

Last night I arrived in Bradford and went to the City Park. There was a covered picnic area and a gazebo in the park. The park closed at Sunset, that means they don’t want overnight campers. Given that, I decided that sleeping in the gazebo would be the best option. Before I got bike and gear organized for the night in the gazebo, I decided to fix dinner in the picnic area.

I was joined by a golden blonde kitty. She was young and shy, but very inquisitive. For dinner I was having fried sweet corn and Spam. The kitty was very intrigued by that. Once I finished cooking my concoction I gave it a go. The sweet corn was good, but I decided Spam is not my deal. I gave a little taste of the Spam to the kitty and she was delighted. I gave her the rest of the Spam and made a friend for life.

I ended today by riding a mile long stretch of Historic Route 66. At the end of that stretch was a completely restored Standard Oil Gas Station from 1938. Route 66, from San Diego, California to Chicago. Illinois was the first American highway to be fully paved. All the roads I traveled today were fully paved. However, of the 77 miles I traveled, there was only a 4 mile stretch of road that had a paved shoulder. You need to be very defensive when riding in these conditions. I’ll leave it at that.

I’m more than halfway through the trip and i’m still figuring out the best way to pack all my gear each morning. I’m a little surprised by that. I keep coming up with new more efficient ways to pack everything. I might have it all figured out by the time I reach Bar Harbor, with any luck.

Historic Route 66 outside Odell Illinois. this is the only stretch of Route 66. I will see on this tour.

Fill-er-up!

Itinerary / Maps

Route

• Muscatine IA to Bradford IL

Metrics

• Miles: 97
• Average Speed: Under 10 mph
• Ride Time: All Day

Notes

• Koshien is the Japanese version of “Field of Dreams.”

Thought #23

• Remember to serve others.

So close to a Century…. and yet so far.

Today, rather than try and write anything cohesive, I’m just going to splatter you with random thoughts. CAUTION: You’re about to find out how my mind truly works.

There could be something wrong with me. Each morning I’m excited to get on the road.

Nice paved 4 mile long cycle way to start the morning!

The ACA and I are going our separate ways. I’m renaming this route the GREATUS: Great Ride East Across The U.S.

I should write a letter to the Netherlands Department of Immigration to see if they’ll let me immigrate. We all deserve to live in a country that has good affordable healthcare and takes care of its Seniors.

There’s still something to be said for direct experience, but iPhones are handy for posting.

The corn is much more sophisticated in Illinois, it’s not sweating like the corn in Iowa.

Traffic is light, it’s very quiet and peaceful. I can hear the birds and the sound of my tires on the roadway.

I’m in the land of Lincoln so I won’t tell you any lies, at least until I get to Indiana or Washington DC, whichever one comes last.

Dairy farms don’t smell very nice.

Occasionally, you’ll see a huge round boulder in a farmer’s front yard. These are called glacial erratics.

Old towns often paint signs and murals on the side of old buildings.

For you. (Whomever you are…)

Painted signs and murals are the best.

Itinerary / Maps

Route

• Muscatine, Rest Day

Metrics

• Miles: 0
• Average Speed: NA mph
• Ride Time: NA hours NA minutes

Notes

• Laundry day. (Sorely needed.)

Thought #22

• If you lose patience, remember that obtaining patience is a lifelong endeavor. Take a step back, take a deep breath, then you will be able to move forward.

Looking ahead to the ride through Illinois and Indiana, it appears that I’ll be following a very rural route through these two states. That will entail fairly long distances between campgrounds. Hopefully the heat will subside a little bit, making the miles easier to pull off.

After doing laundry and drying out my camping gear, as much as I could, I decided to take a short ride out to the Mark Twain Overlook. The overlook is named after Mark Twain, presumably because of these words he wrote about the town…

“And I remember Muscatine still more pleasantly from its summer sunsets. I have never seen any other on either side of the ocean that equaled them. All the upper Mississippi has these extraordinary sunsets as a familiar spectacle. It is the true Sunset Land. I am sure no other country can show so good a right to the name.”

—Mark Twain, from Life on the Mississippi.

Samuel Clemens spent a few months, living and working in Muscatine for his brother’s newspaper the Journal. That paper is still in print today. Clemens is considered to be one of Muscatine’s most famous citizens.

Looking Back

I’ve been asked twice in the last week, “what is your favorite state?” That’s a tricky question. If you’re in Iowa (I was) and someone from Iowa asks you that question, it’s tempting to tell them something about Iowa because you don’t want to disappoint them. More importantly, it’s an honest question that deserves an honest answer. The answer I gave both times was North Dakota. The reason I said that is because the views in North Dakota are so expansive, and frankly inspiring. (I suspect Samuel Clemens would disagree.) The point I’m laboring to make here is that I should be periodically recapping those things that have made a large impression on me.

And so, as I leave Iowa, here are the thoughts that come to mind: Everywhere you look is a cornfield. It’s difficult to see the horizon because of the rolling hills. In fact, there really is no horizon unless there’s a corn tassel involved. The roads are a challenge and so are the hills. That said, the drivers are all extremely courteous and kind when passing you. I have enjoyed wonderful conversations with all the locals I’ve met. Whether it be watching a parade go by, sitting in a C-Store to cool off, or just running into someone on the street of a small town, like I did in Oxford Junction. Of course, we mustn’t forget The Field of Dreams and the Corn Sweat!

The view from the Mark Twain Overlook. Tomorrow I cross the bridge into Illinois.

Itinerary / Maps