Stage 16 Google bike directions are definitely beta [WAS-17, USA-nil]

31 August 2010 – Completed a 42 miles of the Mississippi River Trail between Dyersburg and Munford TN. The 16.5 mile stretch at the top of the trail ran on top of a levee, flat as can be. The remainder was up and down as the heat and humidity kept going up and up. By the end I was completely exhausted. I am contemplating a rest day tomorrow. After talking to Dad I think we will try to wrap up the Tour in New Orleans in 5 or 6 days. Yesterday I forgot to mention I had one of the best hamburgers of my life in a café called MeMaw’s in Hickman TN. Somehow we lost our laundry bag with two pair of socks, underware and two Tour t-shirts. Lucky I did the laundry yesterday so the bag was nearly empty. The biggest loss was bur cribbage board, which we also stored in the laundry bag. I am tired and going to bed.

Thought for the day: No board, no 19 hands.

More YouTube Video on 1 September

See it, you'll love it.

The Tour Corn to Kelloggs

The Tour Water Moments

Stage 15 -- I'm just lucky [WAS-16, USA-nil]

30 August 2010 -- As luck would have it our Quality Motel was right on the intersection of an Interstate and a local road I thought would be good for biking. It was. It was part of the Mississippi River Trail system that is complete from there to New Orleans. We are going to try and make the rest of our miles on the MRT – if I can find maps and directions. We are still skipping down the road. Much more than in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but at least equaling Illinois. By my current projections when we reach New Orleans, I will have done slightly more than 800 miles on the bike, and we will have put more than 3000 miles on the car, that’s how much scouting roads and finding suitable motels (we’re not motel snobs, but close) has cost us. All for a journey that Google says is 1440 miles long.

As I was pedaling today I was struck by how much good fortune we have had. Today was the 16th day of pedaling and we have been rained out (that only partially) once. As we came south the cool weather has seemed to envelope us, and even though some days rose into the mid 80’s, I have only ridden in truly hot conditions 3 or 4 times. Earlier starts the last three days have helped in this. Today it was overcast and windy so I was actually cold while I was riding. I soak one or two t-shirts every 10-12 miles. This is a peculiar sensation because when I stop, I start getting hot immediately. Changing shirts restores my equilibrium for a while. .At our last rendezvous before the end of the ride Dad and I were talking when Mike B rode up in his pick-up and we talked cycling. He gave me a lot of helpful information about the MRT, told me about the Tour of Corn (Mike if you read this, send me some more information via a , comment on this blog. If you leave an email address, I will get back to you.), and then we talked about AZ immigration, Obama, and taxes – I was in conversation heaven. He started to leave when he slammed on the brakes and said. OHOH! I don’t think the ferry runs on Monday and Tuesday. My jaw dropped as I pondered how we were going to get out of the cul-de-sac I had ridden us into. Mike whips out his phone calls the ferry, is quiet for a moment as he listens, and says, “You’re in luck. The ferry is running 7 days a week now.

Ferry video is coming shortly. The third best thing of the day was meeting Mike. The second best was the actual ferry ride (on which we were the sole passengers, and for which we had to press a button on a pole in the middle of nowhere to call. But the best thing was hearing my Dad say, “I am really glad you chose to come this way. Ever since you mentioned ferry, I really wanted to make the crossing.

Thought for the day: Sometimes you do exactly what you want, and the world around you is in complete synch.

Stage 14 -- Still searching for roads [WAS-15, USA-nil]

29 August 2010 -- The road out of Waterloo was perfect and a seven o’clock start meant two hours of riding in cool temperatures. About 30 miles out of Waterloo the shoulder started to deteriorate and then disappeared altogether. Picked up the bike and we drove a while. In a new highway section, the shoulder was good again so we unpacked the bike and I started riding again. It wasn’t long before the shoulder disappeared completely again. I had reservations, and Dad was completely against riding on the road there. He is my Dad. I recorded it as a 40-mile day. We kept driving. About 40 miles from Cairo, the good shoulder returned and I decided that we would get a motel in Cairo and return tomorrow to do that stretch. The only problem was there was we did not encounter a single habitable motel in Cairo (I don’t think any of the stimulus package has reached Cairo). I said we would do that stretch on the way back to Wisconsin – as it will be on our way and it is ride-able. We crossed the bridge and headed west into Missouri. We have identified a route that looks good and will take us to the ferry into Kentucky on the east side of the Mississippi. I am sitting here waiting for the local news because it has been getting increasingly overcast all day, and there have been drizzles tonight. It strikes me that the riding each day – the three and a half to four and a half hours – is the calmest part of the day. In the morning I pack the car and take Sam for a long walk. Then we go to a local place for breakfast. After, off we go to the start. At the end of the ride, its find a motel and unpack, then a long hot shower. We are always shopping for something – drinks, ice, a timer, toothpaste, snacks, gas, not to mention the laundry I wrote about earlier. During all of this I walk Sam at least twice more – long walks that Dad is not able to do – so that she will sleep through the night. It’s part of a deal I made with her. Writing the blog, udloading the video clips and making the movies average at least an hour a night. All these details fill up my day, but I am content because I have never spent this much time alone with my Dad. Despite his hearing loss, lapses in memory, and a little bit of confusion on the roads, the time is beyond valuing.

Thought for the day: Overall, I have been impressed with the road-bike worthiness of the roads of Wisconsin, but singularly unimpressed by those of Illinois.

Stage 13 -- In Corn Country [WAS-14, USA-nil]

28 August 2010. After 39 miles from Taylorville to near Mulberry Grove, big hills, a head wind, the heat/humidity and a head cold reduced me to exhaustion and I stopped after 3 and a half hours riding. Then we started hunting for a suitable road south. We finally ended up in Waterloo and will try Route 3 down to Cairo. It’s a two or three day trip on the same road – given my current level of performance. Here and there I look for signs of political anger and I have to admit I haven’t seen much. I do ask a specific question of those who are willing to answer it. “Did you vote for Obama?” and if they say yes I ask “How’s that working for you?” The best answer was from an Iowa man vacationing in Chetek Wisconsin who said “The first time.” Otherwise here on the byways of America, I mostly see farmers, truckers, waiters and waitresses, and a lot of closed business. If people are angry, they aren’t sharing it with me. Of course I see a lot of them as I speed by at 12-15 mph. Conversations then are quite short. This laptop is a great convenience. I keep up with company finances, political news (I even wrote a comment to an article by Mort Zuckerman on RealClearPolitics, signing it WStock on the Tour of Water Balloons). Speaking of the Tour, the score is now quite lopsided – I am beating the stuffing out of the country. Na Na Na Na NaNa…

Thought for the day: It could be worse, say if there weren’t elections coming in just weeks now.

Response to Pam: Thanks for the encouragement. Dad says hello, that we are making good time, and that Sam has been really well-behaved. I second that thought. As for what I write, I would use the word musing rather than diatribe – diatribe is more harsh than what I do.

Stage 12 -- Retired. [WAS 13, USA nil]

27 August 2010 – We moved 50.4 miles south on county roads of which I did 45 (minus 5 miles for skipping a gravel patch and two side to side movements). Aside from the rainout on day 4 (and discounting the 12 miles spent going in circles around Loon Lake) I have ridden and we have scouted roads every day. We have taken no breaks. Yesterday I asked Dad if he wanted to stay over in Lincoln as they were having a balloon festival. He wasn’t interested. I sense that he wants to get home as soon as possible (he worries when I am on these county roads) and all of this starting and stopping and looking for (oft missing) route and town signs is a bit disorienting. The best strategy is to send him down the road 6 minutes and pull over. That gives him time to walk the dog and read a little. I have averaged a little under 36 miles per day with the average still increasing. Today was all against a steady breeze on rough roads. I am tired. Scouting only took 5 minutes today as it is a straight shot on Nokomis Rd to Mulberry Grove. As we had time on our hands, Dad said it was time for new tires on the car. Walmart Supercenter here we come.

Thought for the day: Old girl friends whom you haven't contacted in 48 years do not stay in Taylorville.

New Video on YouTube

There are three new posts on YouTube

The Tour Balloon Moments
The Tour The Dells
The Tour Herb Moments

The last is mostly for my brother, but if you're having trouble getting out of bed, consider it applicable. It will be posted tomorrow 28 August.

Stage 11 -- No pet motels -- Where's our tolerance gone? [WAS-12, USA-nil]

26 August 2010 -- Spent the morning on country roads between Muscatine and Burlington Iowa. The choice made good sense beforehand and turned out that way. It was a straightforward ride with deer, yellow-bodied, black-winged and cardinal birds, and a donkey the highlights of the ride – oh yeah, and a large, immaculate brick church [Apostolic Christian Church] and the Iowa River -- .all put highlights on the ride through sparsely populated Southeastern Iowa. From Burlington I saw no decent routes south, so we headed straight east back into Illinois, stopping everywhere we spotted a motel to try and get a room and reconnoiter the roads. All were no pet motels (we did find an AmericInn in Monmouth IL that would suffer to take Sam for a mere $75 cleaning fee. No thanks AmericInn. I know this is not national policy because we stayed at the same chain in Wisconsin and there the fee was $25. If I have any control we won’t be trying this chain again. So here we are in Central Illinois headed for Taylorville tomorrow. Wouldn’t you know it, there’s a weekend balloon festival in this town starting tomorrow. I did my best.

Thought for the day: There’s something head lightening about balloons.

Stage 10 -- Ain't Life Grand? [WAS-11, USA-nil]

25 August 2010 – Last night during an internet session I found the 60-mile Great River Trail from Savanna IL to the Quad Cities. I found this to be a flat paved path, mostly bike trails, but some county roads and I did most of the trail, with my mood elevated most of the time. Did 40+ miles in three hours. From our stopping point we drove around the Quad Cities to the Iowa side of the river, hoping that Iowa (it is the RAGBRAI state) had state roads with adequate shoulders. No go, but I did find a combination of roads that will take us down to Burlington, so tomorrow is set. Doing so took the better part of four hours because first you have to find the roads before you check them out. Two particular things struck my fancy. First, I was riding along the top of a levee, perhaps two miles long, higher than all the surrounding terrain (it’s a levee) of swamps and rivers, short cropped grass on both sides, the sun on me so I was starting to get warm. My eyes, as usual, were mostly focused some yards ahead to avoid pitfalls but they caught sight of some graffiti painted on the path. I looked down just in time to read “Ain’t life grand?” I had to smile – it was and is the only graffiti I have seen to date. The second notable item was the Thomson prairie. Grasses and plains plants 3-4 feet tall in all directions. How did those first settlers get across such expanses?
Once my brother Rick and I walked across Oregon on the Pacific Crest Trail. We were not what one would call backpacking purists. We averaged about 9 miles a day, while others we talked to on the trail were doing 15-20, and one little guy whose name I forget was doing 40, miles per day. Observation and questioning revealed the source of the discrepancy between their distances and our own. At the end of the day we would spend about two to three hours setting up the tent, putting out our stuff, cleaning up, preparing the dinner, eating, and cleaning dishes. To get this done before dark we usually stopped about 4 pm. Others stayed on the trail and hour longer. In the morning, we often heard other backpackers bteaking camp in the dark and found them gone at first light, which in the mountains is not all that light. Such activities would rouse us and we might go out to pee, but the thought of getting out of the warm sleeping bag into the cold air of the tent which was many degrees warmer than the outside was just too much. We eventually settled on a rule of thumb if the tent was warm enough to get out of the sleeping bag without feeling cold, then it was time to get up. That was usually between 9:30 and 10 am. Of course then we had to have our bacon and eggs (freeze dried) or pancake breakfast with (powdered) OJ and real filtered coffee. And then we’d finally get back to packing, and then we’d hit the trail. Lunch, about three hours later was another 1-1.5 hour unpacking, preparing, packing diversion from walking. All told we usually managed a good 4.5 hours walking each day. That backpacking experience shares a lot of similarities with this bike trip. There are the morning and evening packing experiences – about an hour and a half all told – plus, something we didn’t do much on the well-marked Pacific Crest Trail, looking for a way forward that is deemed safe and non stressful (Trucks rushing by at 70 mph on a 55 mph highway are not distressing events, so I seek to minimize them at every opportunity).
The other unplanned for activity is laundry. At home I go through seven shirts, pairs of socks and underwear plus one pair of pants a week. My laundry was a one-load, once-a-week affair. However, when you are going through 7-8 shirts a day plus other garments and you only brought 14 shirt, laundry is an every other day affair. You don’t need much imagination to see how important it is to find motels with a washer and dryer.

Thought for the day: You have to think of packing and unpacking and doing laundry as one of life’s little pleasures, otherwise every day you’re going to be bummed out.

Reply to Geoff: Thanks for the encouragement.

Reply to Taffy: I will say hi to Dad. WRT the Tour, if you read all the blogs, starting with the first the story is more or less told there.

Stage 9 Disillinoisment [WAS-10, USA-nil]

24 August 2010 – Started the day in Mineral Point on 23, a nice road with adequate shoulders, and rode to Highway 11, then packed the bicycle and drove east to Monroe where we unpacked the bicycle and I took 69 to the border where 69 turned to IL 26. Dad and I had a mix-up about meeting – for two reasons. First, neither of us saw the state border signs, if they exist at all, and second because a town on the map (Oneco) never showed up on the road. Cell reception was terrible so I ended up going all the way to Freeport, where we are staying the night. On today’s ride I got an idea for a video for my brother Herb and will be collecting segments over the next day or two for the full-length version. All things considered, we met in Freeport early and went out scouting roads. What a depressing disaster! We could find no road with any paved shoulders, and all were narrow – not my cupa. We went shopping for cigars, got a room, showered and went to dinner. An internet session led to my signing up with Rails and Trails, and later finding a 60-mile trail along the big river. So tomorrow I will be somewhere between Clinton and the Quad cities. If all the Illinois roads are like those out of Freeport, this state will be depressing and I may have to switch over to Iowa and check their roads. I am still going to New Orleans.

Thought for the day: Some days are just days – there are no revelations. But that reminds me that I have to tell you about laundry and backpacking.

Stage 8 If this isn't cell phone heaven, it must be hill hell [WAS-9, USA-nil]

23 August 2010 -- Some miles south of the Dells an endless string of hills exists, hitherto unknown to this northern Illinois boy. The road that runs through these hills sharply rises and just as sharply falls. The road doesn’t rise that high in elevation, just gets there fast by means of the well-known principles of the inclined plane. I spent my day trudging up those planes and racing down the other side – ten, twenty, thirty miles of it. I must report that there were two hills I walked most of the way up. In one case my body just said stop pedaling and I did. In the other case == the longest hill of the day – I reached a speed that could not be faster than walking, with my muscles dull, painful and hot all at the same time, and the flies started buzzing around me and landing on my face. If I swatted them away, the bike started wobbling. I had visions of being swatted myself by a tractor trailer zipping along at 65 mph. That hill I finished on my feet. Still, Dad would stop here and there and I would pull up and rest. This was going well (except the going uphill) and we discussed the last stop during the next-to-last stop. I say “OK, stop when 23 reaches 12 and find a place to park on any of the four corners. I will find you.” “OK he says, I will stop at 12 and park.” Off he goes. Forty minutes later I reach 12 and look at all four corners. No Dad. I go a block further. No Dad. Oh am I in for it if I’ve lost my Dad. I pull my cell phone out and call him. And again. [The two-call process is standard because Dad cannot get his cell out of his pocket –(where it is kept so he feels its vibration {as his ears don’t work too well}) in time to prevent the call from going to voice mail.] “Yeah?” he says. “Where are you?” I ask. “Oh Im lost someplace, where are you?” he replies. “I am at the Kwik Trip across from MacDonalds in Dodgeville.” I muster. “OK I’ll be there in a bit. Bye.” I wait and wait and wait and now I have to go to the bathroom – It’s urgent. Another two call procedure determines he is still some ways away and so I have him park at MacDonalds, to where I scurry to finish that other business. Eventually he shows up and all is fine. Phew. Dad’s in bed early tonight because where I did forty=two miles on the bike, he did in excess of 100 on the road. Turns out he never say the 12 signs and I never told the name of the town.

Thought for the day: Simple, clear messages make for straightforward days.

Reply to Phil (and all the curious): My goal is New Orleans. I am in Mineral Point Wisconsin now. I only ride on roads that go south (East west movements are in the car). If the roads and/or weather do not support my standards for margin of safety, I move on in the car. I will not travel on highways of 4 or more lanes -- too busy and too noisy and too confusing for Dad. Using these principles have resulted in 300 miles on the bike, the rest in the car. Apologies to all bicycle purists but this trip has always been about waterballoons, the bike was just a means to an end. All in all, I am pleased with myself.

Stage 7 -Shadow of a hawk, Valley of butterflies [WAS-8, USA-nil]

22 August2010 -- I wake with severe, immobilizing, back pain (SIBP) and think, with regret, guilt, and some shame, that I may give up. I get up, pee, dress. SIPB. I load the car. SIBP. We go to breakfast. SIPB. We drive to the start point. SIBP. I finish gearing up and do a test ride. No SIBP. I start up the road. A hawk takes off and flies just over my head, turning to the same direction I am going but drifting left, and beating higher. His shadow beats along just in front, getting smaller, then it’s gone. I feel better in my mind. I keep on for a couple of miles and I see what I believe is a dark branch or pipe ahead on the shoulder. A shift of my hands veers the bike enough to the left that I will miss it. At the moment just before I pass, the stick bends in the middle, the front rears up and bends back towards the grass. It is the first and biggest garter snack I have seen in 40 years. A couple of pit stops and many miles down the road I pass through a small valley populated by thousands upon thousands of yellow and white butterflies. The road and shoulder is littered with those that interacted with man and his machines. One flies off my right shoulder for two or three pedals before being left behind. One flies right in front of me, gets caught in a swirl of wind above my heart, stays there for one or two heartbeats, then flies up and over my left shoulder. I am near to tears of joy.

Thought for the day: The life of the butterfly is short, sweet and simple. What do we have that’s so much better.

Stage 6 -- Bemused mostly [WAS-7,USA-nil]

21 August 2010 -- You can ’t see it but there is a sky hook attached to the back of my bicycle. Somehow or another it hooks the jet stream and drags it southward as I bicycle along. For two days I have started in cold and wet (not necessarily rain) conditions and reached warmer conditions by the end of the ride. On both days the evenings were also sunny, yet the morning brought a return to the cold and damp. The only explanation is that the jet stream is being pulled southward by some previously inexplicable force. I surmise (based on the butterfly in China theory of effects) that it’s me. Yes, today –despite a backache – I am bemused by life, with momentary lapses into mild outrage. For example after seeing so many persons in so many different jobs and life situations, and after talking to some of them, I am starting to be outraged by the presumption of politicians – all politicians – who think that they should tell all these multitudes how to run their (e.g., health care) lives. What gall! Stop with the taking care of everybody. Who asked you? Oops, starting to rant and that really does take the fine edge off a sense of bemusement. I am going out to collect a prime video segment tonight. Hope it works as it is a perfect companion to the one I got today. Tomorrow the Dells.

Thought for the day: Forgive me, I am only human. On the other hand give a thought to what I say.

Stage 5 Steady on [Score WAS-6, USA-nil]

20 August 2010 – A thick fog replaced the predicted thundershowers so I modified the ride for the day. I skipped the first part of the ride which was to take place on a county road with narrow shoulders, and went straight to the Old Abe Trail. It was a straight shot to the Falls on an abandoned railroad bed – paved with asphalt and quite level. Not more than two miles down the trail a deer crossed my path, and not more than five minutes later I got a business call. The ring nearly made me jump, except I was clipped to the pedals and my butt is always too sore to want to jump. If I had been riding on the highway I would never have heard it ring, but the silence of the woods was only broken by quiet bird calls and occasional insect buzzing. Off to my right was a massive flowage. Today there were no changes in stopping points as Dad could only go two places to intersect my ride. He made them okay, but we are agreed that we will discuss the next stopping point each time we meet up. There are two aspects of the Tour that I appreciate more here than when I was planning it. First, at my age and in my condition I find myself willing to compromise on what roads I will ride, what weather I will ride in, and how far I will push my body. Second, traveling with a 92-year-old father reveals his aging in many little ways. I have adjusted pretty well to his poor hearing, but have been surprised by some unexpected moments of forgetfulness. He recognizes this fact and is working with me so that the rides are not disrupted. Though I did not plan it so (as much as I planned anything about this trip) the Tour seems to be more about my Dad and I than about waterballoons.

Thought for the day: Let the mosque be built where they wish it, then build and evangelical Christian church, a Taoist/Buddhist temple right next to it on the left, and a Jewish synagogue and a Greek Orthodox church right next to it on the right.

Reply to Frank F -- Yes water everywhere and I mean everywhere. I don't know how long this Tour will last but I doubt I can help you reach the 20 pound goal, and I am looking forward to breakfasts again.

Stage 4 -- A good day [Score WAS -5, USA -nil]

19 August 2010 – The ride was very good. Cloudy, temperature (start-67, end-74), light breeze most of the time from the east, flat roads, all made for the best ride to date. I was even able to remember that yesterday we met Cliff (a better man than me) who has riden across the country twice and is currently on a trip from his hometown of Williston North Dakota to New York City – all on a reclined bicycle. When we met he was looking for a shortcut to Hayward. We couldn’t help (as our experience with County Road H taught us). A glitch in plans arose when Dad forgot to check his watch as he went up the road. Six to eight minutes usually puts him 10-12 miles ahead (my ten-mile practice loops in Tempe make me pretty sensitive to going further without a stop, but the hills here add some uncertainty. Still, at one point I was certain that I had gone well past his usual stopping distance. I called him up (yeah that works) and after a fruitless conversation I said “I’ll call you back in a couple of minutes”. I got back on the bike and proceeded around the next corner looking for a landmark for him. There he was, maybe 300 yards away from where I called from. All’s well. By my estimate it will be six more days in this state. I also met a nice couple doing a massive load of laundry. I told them about the Tour and waterballoons and they said they would check out the blog when they return to Iowa. I wish I could remember their names. I asked them if they voted for Obama and the gentleman cracked me up when he said, “the first time.”

Thought for the day: Politicians – phooey, responsible citizens – yeah.

New Tour Video at YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3CmMhMv4aM

Replies to comments

Reply to Comments
I only recently discovered that people had been commenting. I apologize for these late responses, which are given in chronological order of the comments.
1. Thanks Sandy, I will try to stay safe.
2. Mike, I am glad we are email contact too.
3. No Pamela, there are no virtual balloons, and certainly no official map.
Dad and I are going day-to-day.
4. Ryan, I am planning on a lot of miles on safe roads, none on unsafe roads.
Sorry, I missed this when you posted your comment because some practice
balloons would have been good.
5. Charlie, you’re asking a lot of a 65-year old man who has a hard time
loading and unloading the van, getting ready, sheparding a Sheba Ihnu and a
92-year-old Dad. I’ll try. I do have a few short video clips I will try to
upload to You Tube tonight.
6. Ryan if I was on southern, priest, fifth street or college it was probably
me, especially if I was in yellow.
7. DROB (Dan) I am urging a friend to do RAGBRAI next year, using my
participation as carrot (or is it stick).
8. The Chase Lineage, I don’t agree. IMO calling it death would bring it out
in the open and increase the likelihood people would have a healthier
attitude towards death. It’s a rough life, very few of us get out alive.
9. Phil, this whole uphill and downhill thing gets some getting used to. I
know one thing I hate it when I have battled up a long hill and find I have
to brake halfway down the other sid e for fear of my life. I also can’t
understand why it has to be so cold, windy and rainy here. It’s not that way
where I come from.

Stage 3 1/3 -- Rain. [Score WAS-4, USA-nil]

18 August 2010 – Rain (I will not ride in it if it is) Cold. We traveled the length of the Willard Munger Trail looking for a spot where the rain might stop. It never did so we headed for our new starting point. On the way there we found a county road that I thought would make a good segment so I got the bike together put on my gear and took off. It had stopped raining by that time. The road was so deserted that Dad rode along behind clocking me. I thought I was following along the county road signs but somehow I made it onto Loon Lake Road or Trail and made a big circle back toward, but not quite there, to where I started. I said that’s enough for me as my back was twinging when I got up this morning, and continued to do so on the ride After getting a motel we scouted out tomorrow’s run and found a motel right at the end of the run (if it does not rain). Right on a lake too. The temperature is higher now and the sun came out this evening. Tomorrow may be real good. No bad news from IL is a good thing.

Thought for the day: Some people hold a few good principles and values and spend most of their time gathering facts (I am amazed by my father).

Stage 3 -- Malaise [Score WAS-3 USA-nil]

17 August 2010 – Before starting the first portion of today’s trip we got a call from Brian, Herb’s son, and we learned that Herb was transferred from his nursing home to the hospital. Details were limited, but the doctor’s speculated that he had had another heart attack. When I heard Dad say Brian’s name I was certain it was about Herb and feared the worst. A heart attack is not good news but it’s not the worst we could have received. The news introduced a real malaise on today. The continuing cold (60 degrees F, or less) and constant strong wind only added to my malaise. The biggest up moment came when I rode by a doe and a fawn standing stock still not more than 20 feet away on top of a small bluff the bike path went around. That’s four deer for me. Dad has seen a black bear – I have mixed feelings about encountering a black bear while I am on the bicycle. On the uphill portions of the ride I am down to walking speed by the time I crest the hill. I also have found that I use all of the gears – something I told the folks at Landis I never imagined doing. Last night we put a couple of critical items next to the Sheba Ihnu’s bed so that it was the first thing out to the car this morning. Tomorrow we move away from Lake Superior as I bike inland on a long paved trail. If we hear no bad news from Illinois, it should be a pretty good day. The only thing that I have encountered so far that I held in my mind’s eye so long ago was a path between 18 to 36 inches wide. That’s pretty much the clearance I have had throughout the ride. Still there’s something pretty non serene about cars whizzing by at 55-70 mph.

Thought for the day: We soldier on.

Stage 2 -- The Sheba makes the day [Score WAS-2 USA - nil]

16 August 2010 – My apologies for not posting yesterday. We were in an area that Verizon does not serve. What can I say. The day went pretty well, except I missed a paved bike path and had an extra five and a half miles on the road. Vroooom….Vrooom… I hear the cars and trucks going by in my sleep. Thankfully the shoulders are three to five feet wide. The wind is still blowing steadily at 25-35 mph (well maybe 20 with gusts up to 35. The ambient temperature has not reached 70 once since I started and the wind comes off the lake right into my face. It is very discourageng to have to pedal downhill. We are staying in motels, and those of you that know me know that I like things a certain way. It turns out both of my traveling companions are the same way. After packing up the car this morning, I checked the room, then I checked it again, then Dad checked it, then we took off. At the end of the ride we checked into Whispering Pines, then went to scout the road for tomorrow. When we got back to the room, Sam the Sheba Ihnu asked where her bed was. There was a fair amount of conversation between Dad and I as Sam looked on with that smug look of knowing what needs to be done. Sure enough, at 1930 we headed 44 m back up the coast and picked up her bed (a call confirmed it was there). A Sheba knows where she wants to sleep. In bed by 2200, I turned on the TV and encountered Dish TV -- I like it but I prefer Cox’s channel changing process – which I could not find on the Dish controller. That might be my shortcoming, not Dish’s.

Thought for the day: If you are pedaling into a wind, you are going way further than the miles indicated by the roadside markers. I can think of an analogy to taxes...

Stage One Done. Score: Bill 1, USA Nil. Yeah!

15 August 2010 -- Took video of the border station and pointed the Flip toward a big clue on the right and toward the state welcome sign further to the right. It will be on YouTube. At 0900 I left. Four hours and twenty minutes I later I arrived at the city limits of my destination. A cold wind (estimated at 25-35 mph) blew into my face the entire time. After carefully laying out with him the places I would have liked Dad to stop, he stopped where he wanted (as I say, Do what you want, you will anyway.) Some trial bike energy foods turned out to be great, as did the warm van when I could find it. My back felt fine as I was riding -- this evening too. We’ll test it in the morning. I keep thinking of those German U-boat sailors in the movie Das Boot, whose singing echos though the U-boat, down through time, and in my mind: It’s a long way to Tipperary, It’s a long way to Tipperary, It’s a long way to go….

Management, staff and participants (me, me, me) of the Tour did not create any concrete rules for dealing with adversity, however, by consensus, they all agreed to consider the Tour a work in progress and develop a process to deal --supposedly in a rationale way -- with issues as they arise (a nod of the cap to Jerry – one of those old men who refused to ride along). Gee, I hope this process is a lot more rational than Congress dealing with the economy. Spend. Spend. Spend!

Thought for the day: I don’t think Stage 2 will be any easier, unless I get teleported to Kansas.

Dum da Dum Dum

14 August 2010 – We arrive at our staging point and ride to the starting point and back, scouting out points at which to rendezvous. I believe these are set. Tomorrow we will have a continental breakfast and get to the starting point just before 0900. In my mind’s eye I always imagined flat roads and sunny skies, but it is windy and overcast as I write this evening, and I am now Bill in the hills. Tomorrow’s ride is on a road with wonderfully wide shoulders so I will not be concerned with traffic. I will meet Dad and Sam the Sheba Ihnu about 4 times during the ride, the first just six miles after the start and also after a hill higher than anything I have climbed before. I am concerned about my back. The twinges are still coming, although not as severe as a week ago. We’ll see. I am happy I made no commitment to anyone to finish this ride, just to try -- but it could be depressing to not do much especially if it is my body that lets me down. Notable events today were: (1) we met Tyler and Andrea in a bakery-espresso store (It turns out that Tyler is a pilot who spent last year flying the exact plane that went down with Alaska Senator Ted Stevens aboard. Andrea was surprised when it turned out that my bike did not come with a motor.);and (2) further up the road we had a great French dinner at a waterside restaurant. I had French onion soup, boullibaise, a salad sprinkled with fresh blueberries, and Italian cheese cake. Yum. Finally, weather and road conditions, but especially weather has prompted Tour management (me) to discuss with Tour participants (me) some modifications and rules about the running of the Tour. Sam has had some thoughts of her own too. Turns out she hasn’t traveled in some time.

Thought for the day: Act like something is real and some day (tomorrow) it is.

Bad days better day

11-13 August 2010 -- After arriving at Rick and Dad’s I have visited my brother Herb in the nursing home. For the most part, these have not been edifying visits. The first day I saw him he did neither ate any of the special food treats that I brought him – and that he liked so much in May when I last saw him—nor talked other than to say yes or no nor even smile when I teased him about those things that had previously cracked him up. All in all he seemed very beat down. The first day visit ended when he vomited and was cold and clammy. When I called the attendants they took charge, took him off, and prepared and put him tor bed. Lying in bed he looked ashen and very tired, so I said good night. The second day I visited with him after he had finished dialysis and had had a nap. He was feeling and acting a bit better but still was neither saying much nor making an effort to do so. His unwillingness to try to talk evoked feelings of despair and helplessness – as during my May visit I had spent a great deal of time in conversation with him (you should know that his stroke affected his language capacity significantly), even though I had to do some of the shaping and guiding of what he said. Today was better. He independently spoke a few sentences. Today he also had a visitor, Suzanne, from his church and we have all reached the conclusion that it is better to have one-on-one time with him than overwhelm him with a group of people. So I told him again about the Tour, and that Dad would be back in five to six weeks, then said good bye. The rest of the day was spent driving to the Tour starting point, which is within 250 miles of where we are spending the night. It rained much of the afternoon on the drive to this point. Already I have to start thinking about what the rule will be if it is raining on a cycling day – one thing is for sure, I won’t be riding on a bicycle in the kind of rain I saw today. As I was riding around Tempe I only thought about flat roads and sunny days. Hills I will tackle, but rain is uncomfortable and dangerous in more ways than one.

Thought for the day: Make sure always that you have already said the most important things you have to say to your family…you never know.

Good and bad bets

5-10 August 2010 – Packed the car and left for Rick and Dad’s place. Long days in the car, traveling interstate highways, smoking more than my usual allotment of cigars –I have found they ensure I stay alert against the constant threat of drowsiness. Spent one night in New Mexico. Saturday I stayed with my cousins Jim and Carole. We had dinner at a local eclectic Asian restaurant. The pad Thai noodles were delicious. We spent the evening catching up on family. Their dog Riley loved me. The following day I traveled across the plains to Ames where I stayed with Phil and Rose. They had been in Denver the same day as I and arrived home just an hour before I got there. Since the Maid Rite stand was no longer there I had a cheese crisp at Taco John’s before going up to their home. We passed an enjoyable evening catching up and I met their dog Sammy who also loved me. Dogs show their love by licking you. Riley likes to lick the ears and Sammy likes to give the full facial. The following morning I traveled across Iowa and Wisconsin, via Dubuque, but somehow got off my path in southeastern Wisconsin and spent the better part of an hour traveling back roads. I could have stopped, turned on the computer and googled my way back on path, but that takes both the pain and the fun out. Driving across the country reduces life to basic needs for me – notwithstanding interesting interludes with friends and family – I need to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, shower, drive, and smoke cigars. Still I made three observations on the state of the country, and Iowa has all four of the phenomena I noticed. First, they are building wind turbine -- very big wind turbine – farms in Iowa. When I see them I wonder if they exist because of mandates and tax-based incentives, or are they there because they are a free-market solution to a heralded energy shortfall. Second, more numerous than wind turbine farms are casinos. They line the Interstates everywhere I traveled except Colorado and Nebraska. I know these exist where they do because they make significant contributions to state tax coffers. They are definitely not there to give money to the poor and needy, nor to provide productive and fulfilling jobs. I admit I like to gamble, but this seems like bad tax policy to me. Third, and most amazing to me, are the corn and soybean crops of Iowa. Not that the seemly unending fields of these crops are in Iowa -- after living in Iowa for four years (many years ago) I already knew that his was so. The amazing thing was that every stalk of corn in every field was essentially the same height as every other stalk. Unlike 40 years ago there was no individual variation among the plants. I could have concluded that this was just a corn phenomenon, but the exact same thing is true of the soybean fields. When I first noticed this I kept looking at fields as I drove along. Surely there was some variation somewhere. It never happened. Then in a flash my twisted mind saw an analogy, namely that our health-care behaviors are going to become more and more homogenized if the federal government is permitted to the sole and final arbiter of “medical standards”. This is not a rant against Obamacare. It is a warning about the ultimate effects of bureaucratic standard setting. To paraphrase something Churchill once said about democracy: As bad as a libertarian world might be (because there is none today), the world of the caring, bureaucratic state is much worse.

Thought for the day: Remember in an insurance bet (life, health, accident) we are always taking the adverse side of the bet. Only accident insurance is named correctly. To reflect our side of the bet life insurance should be death insurance and health insurance should be illness insurance.

What's coming to you ain't going from you

4 August 2010 – The bike is in perfect condition after a tune-up by Jory at Landis. Now I am working my way through long lists of things to pack and do. Don’t forget the Icy Hot and aspirin! Nor those new-fangled Gum disposable soft picks for teeth – the best thing ever invented for getting food particles out from between teeth. Way better than floss and much easier to use. It must be so, the price has gone up from 2.39 to 3.99 in the 14-16 months I have been using them. I also tested my ability to send and receive e-mail and to upload blog postings with my new laptop. It’s also performing well. The chores for tomorrow include a few business details, packing, and one last check of everything. I will try to be done by 1800 so I can sit around and think if I have forgotten anything. I am not taking bets.

Thought for the day: Would I be considered an optimist for looking forward to sunny, cool, windless days on flat well-paved roads with the bike paths clearly marked.

Maybe I need a tune-up

3 August 2010 -- Ditto 2 August so I took the bicycle to Landis for its tune-up.

Thought for the day: Pain drives out thought like bad money chases out good.

Ouch!

2 August 2010 -- My back has given me pain all day. So much so that I forego riding today and wallowed in my anxiety about the idea of the whole Tour. Is this the way it is going to be on the whole Tour? Some aspirin and Icy Hot helped. Still this is not the state I want to be in when I leave later this week to rendezvous with Dad later. Trusting things will improve, I soldier on.

Thought for the day: Owwww!

Better men than me

1 August 2010 – Today I pedaled 40 miles for the first time and had energy and daylight to spare. My state of mind and body lead me to believe I will be able to do 40 to 60 miles per day on the Tour. Sixty would be great because it would cut my time on the road by a third. Achieving a goal is always immensely satisfying for me, as the act of achievement establishes both the ability to overcome inertia and to press one’s personal capabilities to some new boundaries. At the same time, I remain realistic and keep in mind that my 65-year-old body has to be respected for what it can and cannot do. I have the greatest respect for Armstrong Schleck and Contador for their ability to go up mountains the way they do. Lance in his prime – and post cancer and post operations – will always be a hero to me, as words do not do justice to his capability. Others have affected me similarly -- mothers carrying, delivering and caring for children for one – and two-sheet, half inch plywood carriers for carpenters in the Arizona construction industry for another. All are capabilities I know I never nor ever will have. On the other hand, I now believe I can make it across the country on a bicycle. God grant those who pass me the awareness of the limitations of bicycles and the wisdom to act accordingly.

Thought for the day: It bears repeating. Many complex activities are just a long series of much simpler events.