Day 10

The God day. Well, all of them were God days, of course. but this one? It was pretty cool how everything and everyone was obviously put at the right place at the right time for this exact day.
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After our resting day, we started out feeling SO much better about getting on the bikes and heading north again. The sunburns had healed some, our sore muscles, brains, and everything else had had time to recover, my face wasn't swelled up anymore... We were headed to Saginaw.
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And then about 10 miles into the journey, Nevin's back tire went flat. Well, this wasn't in the plans. Okay! He set about patching the tube while I searched on my phone for a bike shop nearby. He got everything back together, blew up the tire... And it immediately deflated again. He needed a whole new tire and everything. Now what do we do? We're miles from town, not a bike shop in sight.
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After breakfast with our new friend, Weldon, on day 9, he had told us to let him know if we need any help between there and Duluth. So I texted him to see if he knows of any bike shops closer than the ones I had found online. Soon he called and talked to Nevin to see what we needed, and not long after that, he showed up! Our options for bike shops were to back track about 35 miles, or go on ahead to Duluth. It made the most sense to just go on ahead to Duluth, so we loaded everything up and headed out! He took us to a bike shop to get the new tires, and then offered to take us to the top of the big hill in town yet. We weren't going to turn down an offer like that!
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All told, I think we jumped ahead nearly 50 miles. And it didn't even feel like cheating since we couldn't help the tire situation. :) And it sure felt good to just ride in a vehicle for a bit! It was so amazing how everything worked out perfectly to put us in touch with Weldon the day before, and then not to have any bike trouble until the exact day when he was nearby to help us.
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Once we were dropped off, Nevin changed the tire while I sat in the shade, ate chips and taquitos, and made helpful comments from a distance. At that point it felt like the best day ever. Nevin had lunch, we climbed around on a train that was sitting there on display, and then got ready to head out.
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At this point, we were so far ahead that we decided to just go on past Saginaw and head to Virginia, MN. That was about 60ish miles from where we started in Duluth. It was going to make a long afternoon, but we knew we could make it!
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17 miles away from our destination, we stopped at a rest area for a little break. When we went to leave there, Nevin's back tire was flat. The new one. The new tire. Was flat. He took it off and tried to find the hole in the tube, but it was too small and he couldn't locate it. So he tried the old, patched tube to see if that would work. He only had enough air left to fill that one tube, so we were hoping and praying it would work! And it did!
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But then, when he went to put the tire back on, a piece had fallen off that was needed to keep the trailer on. And we couldn't find it. We searched through the grass for a good 10 minutes... praying to find it, asking Sharon to pray we find it, searching, searching, and suddenly there it was! Nevin got everything assembled once again and we headed for the next city as fast as we could.
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Surely we can make it there without any other trouble, right? Right?
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Nope.
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About 10 miles later, I started to feel like something was up with my bike. I kept riding for a little bit, then finally stopped to see what was up. The back tire was pretty low, so I texted Nevin & told him I would be coming a lot more slowly. A mile or three later, it was feeling worse, so I checked again and sure enough, completely flat! I guess I'll be walking!
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I walked along, listening to music, and trying to think of ways to enjoy the moment. Or at least to not let it get the best of me. Oh look- the sky is so pretty tonight! I can watch the sunset while I walk! Nevin hadn't noticed that I was not close behind him until he was out ahead pretty far, so he let me know where he was waiting, as his phone was nearly dead and we wouldn't have a way of getting hold of each other once that was gone. And on I walked. Gazing longingly at all the cars that went by. Chewing a few of them out for not stopping to help. Ha. And then I saw someone walking up the street toward me. Is it true? Has help really arrived? He asked if I was having trouble, and said that he was... Wait for it... A bike mechanic! And he lived nearby and had an extra tube at his house! I told him where Nevin was waiting, he loaded the bike into his car, we hopped in, and I said, "I'm Sarah."
"Spencer, nice to meet you."
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So Spencer took me to McDonald's where Nevin was, and asked if Nevin wanted help fixing the flat. We didn't have any more extra tubes along, so we said yes! He only lived a few blocks away, so he ran home to get a tube. Soon he came riding back on his own bike... And had the tire fixed and filled with air in no time!
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Who would have thought that out of all the many people flying past me, there would be a bike mechanic from Superior that was going to school in Virginia, and he would have what we needed to fix the bike and get us back on the road in short order? Once again, God knew all about it, and had everything planned out just right!
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And neither of our helpers would allow us to pay them for gas, time, parts, anything.
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What an amazing day. We were so very blessed!

Day 9

Yesterday morning, we got up bright and early to meet a friend of my cousin for breakfast, across the street from our hotel in Minong, WI. He bought our delicious breakfast, (Thanks, Weldon!) and we left there fully intending to hit the road and reach Saginaw, MN by last evening.
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But.
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We were exhausted, sore, sunburned, and just plain not feeling well. Biking was pretty much the last thing we wanted to do at that point! After a bit, we decided to see if we could have our hotel room for another night, and it was a yes! We slept, slept, did important things on our phones, slept, and slept. And then I was famished, so I walked to the store for some food, came back, ate, and slept again. It was amazing! We woke up this morning feeling like whole other people. So, so much better. And feeling like we could bike all day long...
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But.
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God had other ideas, apparently. I'll tell you about them in a little while...

Day 8

Yesterday it was pretty difficult to get moving in the morning! Hello, sore muscles. We rode 78.76 miles from Bloomer to Minong, WI... And hit our beds as soon as possible!
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There were some hills, but not nearly as many or as steep as the day before! The travelling was a little slow due to stomach pain for me, and shoulder pain for Nevin. I made some bad eating choices earlier and it affected me for a couple of days. (It's a little difficult to eat properly with food allergies when on the road like this. I'll be much more careful from here on out!)
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Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day. :)

Day 7

We did it! We rode 106.54 miles in the hills of Wisconsin! It was a long day, but SUCH a good feeling to have made it all the way here.
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Yesterday the guard dogs along the way were feeling extra guardish. There were two that came out and chased us... The first one only tried to bite Nevin, the second one was yapping and trying to get at both our ankles. I'm sure they just wanted to take friendly little tastes. Nevin gave the first one a "friendly little push" away from him, but the second dog's owners were outside to call it off.
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We had a bit of a delay in the one tiny town we passed through, as there was a parade in our way. It was definitely a small town parade, and pretty entertaining. :)
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We had quite a few miles of dirt roads yesterday, which slowed us down a lot. That, in addition to the many large hills made the day quite a bit longer than it would have been otherwise. Nevin is pulling a good 60-70 pounds on the trailer, so he really felt those hills! It was quite the workout.
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Turns out on a century ride (well, for me) you're eventually just concentrating on survival and getting there. Not on hygiene or anything else. By 95 miles I was wiping my nose on my gloves, and if a bug flew in my mouth and I spit on my arm trying to get rid of it? Well, that'll just have to dry on its own, now, won't it? I'll shower later. By 102 miles, I didn't even try to spit the bugs out anymore. Just bike. Keep the wheels turning.
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Now if we can just get our sore muscles to move, we'll get on the road to the next destination. Thankfully today is a little shorter- around 77 miles, I think.
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Day... 6?

Yesterday went well! We travelled to Wausau, WI. Our route ended up a little longer than intended because of a few detours- we came up to a section of trail that was fenced off and overgrown with weeds! Not exactly bikeable. :)
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We had some rain after lunch, but we kept going! It wasn't raining too hard, and we wanted to stay on schedule. Also, it's very green in this part of the country! A refreshing change from very dry Indiana.
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Here is the difference between our break styles yesterday... (We have a problem.) :)

Day 5

For a day that started with both of us feeling sick, yesterday was great! We got a later start than we had intended because we were both feeling like we had a stomach bug of some sort. We ended up leaving the hotel a little after 7:30, and pedaled on! Soon the stomachs were much better, and we made decent time the rest of the day... Especially after I had that 5 Hour Energy around noon. I think Nevin was quite amazed at my abilities at that point. :) We did have about a 15-17 mile section of trail that was really rough, and that slowed us down quite a bit, but otherwise the day went great!
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The temp was perfect all day! It was b-e-a-utiful. In the afternoon, we saw/heard a thunderstorm up ahead, so we packed all the electronics in ziploc bags, and rode like the wind toward the storm! :) We ended up needing to turn shortly before arriving at the storm, and only caught a few drops of rain at the very edge of it.
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I continue to be amazed at people we talk to who don't seem to have seen a map of North America. We had stopped along the trail to read a poster about a 1933 local bank robbery, and a man rode up to us and wondered where we're headed.
N: Canada.
He: Where did you start from?
N: LaGrange, Indiana
He: So are you going up around Lake Superior or over and up through through Michigan?
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Um... can someone explain to me how it would make sense to ride from Indiana to the middle of Wisconsin, then go through Michigan from there to get to Ontario? Am I the one who needs to look at a map? I guess we could technically still go through Michigan from here to get to Ontario, but I'm still not sure why we would have come through Wisconsin first if we were going to do that. :)
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And now I need to get moving and ready to leave!
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Enjoy the pics...

Day 4

Today went so much better than previous days! We got started a little bit earlier than the past 2 days, and the weather this forenoon was perfect!! It was cloudy, breezy, almost chilly when standing still... Just right for biking. There were a few rain sprinkles now & then. Did I mention it was perfect weather for biking?
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This afternoon the sun came out and it got warmer, but it wasn't so unbearably hot like yesterday.
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We travelled through Milwaukee today- that was fun! It's been so much fun seeing all kinds of new places and scenery. I'm definitely loving that part of the trip! Tonight we're in West Bend, WI, and tomorrow's plan is to arrive in New London, WI.
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Day 3

Yesterday was about 58 miles. We decided to turn what should've been yesterday into two shorter days, so now it looks like we'll be arriving a day later than we had planned at first. It was so nice to have an earlier evening, and a little more time to rest!
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That heat yesterday was intense! Every day I think tomorrow can't possibly be any hotter. And every day I am so wrong. But today looks a little better- there is rain in the forecast pretty soon here, so that should help cool it/us down a bit!
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So far we haven't had any mishaps that required first aid. My bike fell yesterday, but I hopped free and stayed on my feet. My self-preservation instincts must be getting stronger. :) At least for yesterday they were.
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I only took 1 picture yesterday... Of a river I wanted to jump into so. badly. :)

Day 2

Don't have time for much of a post this morning. Need to be quick so we can get on the road soon!
Yesterday we didn't make it to our scheduled destination. With the later than intended start added to the heat, I just couldn't make it any farther. So we stopped at a hotel about 15 miles before the scheduled one. Now hopefully we can make up those miles either today or over the next 2 days.
Gotta go get ready to ride!
(The Gary airport looked tempting. Surely no one would have noticed if we hopped on a plane to the next town?)

Day 1.

I hope they meant it when they said the first couple of days are the hardest. (Whoever "they" are.) Yesterday was a little rough.
The first half was great- we made decent time and were still feeling pretty decent at lunch time. Soon after lunch, the winds hit. I thought I had ridden into wind before. I was wrong. Straight into 25 mph winds is not easy! And Nevin has a heavy load and more wind resistance with the trailer, so he had it even worse. We stopped for a break to see if it would die down, but finally decided to just head out again and see if we turn out of it soon. Eventually the wind was at our sides more of the time than our faces, so that was a nice break!
Also, yesterday? It was hot. But that was bearable. :)
Do you have any idea how many hills there are between home and Chesterton? Me neither, but it's a lot. As the day wore on, there was more and more pushing bikes up hills. They just kept getting steeper and taller! But then, after we left La Porte, and headed to Chesterton, there was a lot of downhill, and very few uphills. That was wonderful! It felt like a huge reward for all those hills we climbed earlier!
A few more things that happened: about 5 miles in, we stopped at Honeyville Feed. As we pulled in the driveway, the wheel fell off of the trailer. It was nice that happened where there were people there to help lift it up and get the wheel back on! Also, a chain came off twice. We found shade on a sidewalk at a gas station and had lunch and laid down for a rest. We were chased off some couches outside a place where we were taking a break in La Porte, so we just laid on the sidewalk, which was actually quite comfortable. (I can't say as I blame them, really. We were pretty sweaty and foul smelling by then.)
We arrived at our hotel around 9:00 (I think.) I don't think either of us have ever been so glad to see a hotel appear! And a shower felt pretty good, too. There are a few fast food restaurants just across the parking lot, so we grabbed some supper after we were clean, and then... Sleep, blessed sleep!
This post feels a little disjointed. It's early, I'm sore, and I'm trying not to think about the 96 miles we have to travel today. And hoping its less- Nevin is currently looking for a shorter route. :)
One more thing... A conversation I had with a guy in La Porte while we were taking a break:
(After he asked what we were doing, etc.)
Me: We're headed to Chesterton tonight.
He: Chesterton?! That's far!
Me: We've come about 70 miles today... We're headed to Canada.
He: What? Canada isn't toward Chesterton. Canada is the other way!
I'm not sure just what he knows about Canada, but it seems to be quite a bit.
And now its time to go get ready for the day!

Heading out!

The sending off committee... And us! Here we go!

Packing Time

And this isn't all of it. I have a feeling this will be like trying to fit an elephant into a refrigerator.

Almost There!

We leave in less than a week! I was all fine and relaxed about it until Monday at about 6:00 a.m.

I woke up and immediately freaked. out. I only have a week to get everything done at home and at work, arrange the rest of our lodging, buy last minute trip things, and pack, and go biking, and and and... It's not long enough!

But. It will have to be long enough. And lists are being made, supplies are being bought, things are getting done.

And you know what else? I'm excited!!!

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