On da Lake and Into New Yawk

Publish Post







Leah, Chuck and Matt crossed into Pennsylvainia  yesterday  after a nice stay in Hudson Ohio. They rode along lake Erie for a day and camped on the beach at Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio where they met Tom and Carly Kalish (picture attached), then after crossing the PA border they peddled another 50 lake view miles  or so, and hit the outskirts of Erie PA  and once again camped on the beach. The Eastern ambience is quite obvious at this point as shown by the white clapboard houses and covered bridges. Matt decided to forge on ahead and so he did, but when Leah and Chuck arrived at the campsite near Erie who did they run into but Matt who had to take a detour into Erie to buy some tires (he got a couple of flats) so Matts back with the crew today. Leah said that they also ran into a young man who had the same problem and Chuck stayed up late helping him patch a tire so he could go into Erie and buy a couple of new ones. 

In no time they  they slipped across the New York border, still on the lake, and in  in grape country. Apparently they stopped and chatted with a guy who was harvesting grapes on a huge grape harvesting machine, and they spent over an hour riding around on the machine and stuffing themselves with fresh fruit.   That slowed em down a little as they only put in 45 miles today. Leah said they'll continue along the lake a while longer until they get to Canada and they'll cross into Canada for a short stint then back across the border into the interior of the Empire State. 

It's a great time to be touring the east what with the changing leaves and the cool days. Leah says they might check out Niagra falls. Perhaps go over in a barrel if the opportunity allows. No... enough adventure for one day!

Stevie Roman

Rest Stop in Hudson

Chuck read the blog and called me and said that I had left out  some info in the Hi ho Ohio post, so it's been added. Apparently the people of Ohio have been really fab to the Traveleers and they wanted me to acknowledge it and express their gratitude to all of the wonderful friends they have made.

Yesterday they rode from New Fairfield to Hudson, Ohio, 71 miles. They met a fellow biker who recommended that they take Granger Road which turned out to be quite a nightmare, no shoulders and a lot of traffic, and a fierce east wind. In fact they dubbed it the Road of Death. Well they made it through with out a scratch, (grazie Jesus, Maria e' tutti gli apostoli) and found there way to the Coyahoga River that  had a wonderful trail. They stayed with Sue and Ron Stroble, Kathy's cousins, (picture attached) where they are loafing for a day as I write this. 

Their hosts have taken good care of the three Travelleers with fab-u-lous meals, and  nice soft beds.

This afternoon, Chuck and Matt helped Ron with some business on the roof, while Leah wrote post cards to the folks she had met on the road, and this evening they all watched the debate. Leah observed that the Dems and Repubs are not that much different in their world view. I  beg to differ, (that's something I might have said when I was 24. ) I think my illustrious daughter has very radical ideas and I applaud her for that.

Tomorrow they head east again along Lake Erie and on to Pennsylvania (about 100 miles or so). 

Stevie Roman

Hi ho Ohio

The Traveleers left Iroquois, Illinois and peddled to Monon, Indiana, roughly 60 miles. They had dinner and then put in another 5 miles to an RV park called Trasher Woods campground. Monon must be a real party town because when they arrived at the campground,  there was a huge party happening, hosted by the owners, a wonderful couple who invited them to the festivities. Leah said they had a blast. And were well taken care of by their new friends. It is indeed extraordinary that people have been so open and hospitable through out the trip. 

Next day they put in another 70 miles, but Leah wasn't clear about where they stayed. Somewhere between Monon and Monroeville. Could be Royal Center, or perhaps Denver or any of a dozen places. In Monroeville they hooked up with Matt who had ridden West from Cleveland to meet them, so now the team consists of three. In Monroeville, they stayed at a free shelter especially for bikers doing the Trans America route. 

They are happy to have Matt on the team. Leah says he's enthusiastic and fast. In fact today they put in another 60 plus miles clear to McComb Ohio, chalking up their 9th state. They are camping at the city park at a beautiful lake tonight. When they hit these small towns, they get permission from the local police to sleep at the park. The cops were really nice about it and gave em a tour of the town and unlocked the restrooms for them. In fact. the mayor took em to the local VFW (picture attached) where they fed em dinner and then breakfast the next AM. The people of these small towns are quite wonderful and have been really hospitable to Leah and Chuck. When you've been on the road and enter a town as a stranger it is truly delightful to be made to feel welcome, and these folks have put out the welcome mat and  a fine feed bag to boot and the Traveleers really appreciate it. 

UPDATE: Road Kill Report

Bikers have a unique opportunity to witness firsthand and close-up road kill that many drivers miss and therefore bikers can make informed observations. Leah says that the road kill in the central states is quite different than that of the Western states. In Idaho and Montana the road kill consisted mainly of deer and coyotes and has a very high stink quotient possibly 7.5-8.6. Whereas in Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana, the road kill is mainly raccoons and opossum. While the smaller roadkill is far more abundant,  it has a much lower stink quotient, possibly 3 - 7.2 depending on the length of time on the road.

Leah added that road kill is really unpleasant but by far the most horrible smell of all are chicken farms topping the stink quotient scale. In fact, she passed by a chicken farm the other day and swore off eggs for life. That is, until breakfast the next morning.

Stevie Roman

Corn corn everywhere but not a niblette to nibble

Yesterday, Friday, the Traveleers put in 60 plus miles and landed in Iroquois,  Illinois lookin for a hot meal. Apparently there is not a lot of food in these parts as both Chuck and Leah complained bitterly about the lack of good eats. Small towns in the midwest; population 1000 or less, have difficulty supporting a grocery store or a decent restaurant. Hey, they ain't askin for Whole Foods or Chez Pannise (although that would be lovely) no,we're talkin just a good hardy feed of something other than  burgers and fries. Something with a little seasoning already. Chuck says he's getting scurvy from the lack of fresh fruit, and Leah laments the absence of excellent pie.  

CR also was incredulous at the fact that they are in the middle of the so called "bread basket" of America and there are no fresh fruits or vegetables and the only restaurants are franchises like Burger King and Pizza hut and the only grocery store is Cacy's, a kind of convenience store that specializes in processed hydrocarbons that vaguely resemble food. Ironically, thousands of square miles of Illinois is devoted to growing inedible corn and soybeans for ethanol (pictures attached) so we should perhaps be calling this America's "fuel pump" instead of "bread basket". Another irony is that they are only 70 miles from Chicago, where at Walinskys they could eat one of the best damn Porterhouse steaks on the continent. Perhaps they should consider a detour. 

Stevie Roman

Meatball Blues

Last night, (Wednesday), Leah and Chuck rolled into Winona Illonois. They'd heard about the spaghetti and meatball special for $5.95 at the local Italian restaurant. By the time they got there however the place had run out of meatballs. Drat! they exclaimed expressing their disappointment to the management. So they settled on some unspecified dish. When you're peddling for seven hours at a stretch eating becomes really critical Leah said. 

Anyway this AM they headed out but three and a half miles down the road they found they were heading in the wrong direction. Drat again they exclaimed as they swung their bikes around adding a total of 7 extra miles. They finally got back on track and rode another forty miles east to Odell Illinois, population, a little over 1000. They ran into Jim, Connie, and Craig Ribholz. Jim practically runs the town, and Connie works at the high school. Craig their son is going to the local community college studying agriculture. The Ribholz's were kind enough to offer our traveleers their shower when the one at the campground was closed. They all went out to dinner together at another local Italian joint although she didn't specify weather they finally got meatballs and spaghetti, Leah reports that they had a swell time. 

The roads are good and the weather has been fine. They are going to meet Matt, Chuck's nephew-in-law somewhere between the Indiana border and and Cleavland, Ohio because  he's heading west. When they hook up, he'll point his bike in East and finish the trip with them. Kathy is going to hook up with the team in Vermont. They should be crossing into Indiana if they put in a longish day tomorrow. 

The Photos of Leah, and Chuck from a birds eye view were taken in Illinois. The one of the city hall was taken in Wyoming.

Stevie Roman

Hospitality in Illinois

 It was a short ride yesterday due to the late start and Leah and Chuck crossed the mighty Mississippi into Illinois and made it as far as Reynolds. After a meal at a local bar and grill, the establishment invited our two traveleers to sleep on the floor. A fine meal, shelter and a delicious pie (what more can you ask for?) as they celebrated Chucks 63 years of  walking (or riding) on the earth. Today they put in a little more distance; 60-some miles clear to Kawanee where their luck held out and they were=again invited to stay in the home of John (picture enclosed) the triathlete guy they met. Cozy and warm in John's pad, Leah sounded pretty bushed when she called a couple of hours ago. The people in the midwest have been amazingly hospitable to our two road rats and it seems that they are open to making new friends. Enclosed are a couple of pix Leah sent and two  Google Earth maps of where they they have stayed since they left Denver and where they are now in Illinois.  The little yellow markers indicate the communities where they have spent a night. 

Stevie Roman

Happy B-Day Chuck

As I write this Leah and Chuck are in Muscatine Iowa.  They rode 76 miles from Fairfield partially because of detours and washed out bridges. Fairfield is an alternative university town (Maharishiville) with a lot of  hippies walking around in tie-died shirts. They stayed in the old hotel there, the Landmark Inn. Leah said that road conditions were very bad and it has been raining much of the time due to resididuals from hurricane Ivan. In Muscatine, they camped in the back yard of the bike shop because the next campsite was a ways from town, and had dinner at Happy Joe's restaurant where they met a nice guy there with whom they talked politics. Chuck is having a spoke replaced and Leah has a problem with her chain. The bike mechanic had just arrived at 1 pm today when I spoke to them. His name is Charlie Harper (picture enclosed). It looks like they might not put in many miles today because they are getting a late start. 

Anyway It's Chuck's birthday today (Happy B-day Chuck!) and it looks like the wheather is about to improve, an apt birthday present from God or Momma Earth, or the cosmos or whoever.  They celebrated at the Good Earth this AM and I'm sure the festivities will continue throughout the day. 

Chuck announced that he is increasing his dose of Terazaciene (reduces frequency of peeing). This may appear like too much information on this blog but I'm sure crawling out of a warm sleeping bag on a cold, damp night ain't no picnic, and therefore quite relevant to the conversation. At 63 years old one may not be over the hill but ones bladder is considering its retirement options.

Chuck and Leah are driving on with 1600 miles to go in mas o menos 32 days on their fabulous adventure. Chuck said he is elated by the serendipitous nature of the trip. All one can do is adapt to the current circumstance whether it means taking a detour around a washed out bridge or holeing up in a hotel during a fierce rain. Well, Chuck and Leah, enjoy this beautiful day as the sun breaks through the clouds, as you turn 63 years old. You're close to the Mississippi river, only a few miles from the Illinois border and the road looks sunny ahead.

BTW, check out my my political blog, Stevie Roman Rants for insights and babble about the election and other stuff.

SR

Hospitality and Lost Horizons

The rolling hills of Iowa present paradoxes. Up, down, up, down, up, down, up down, ad infinitum. Each slow climb is equaled by a speedy descent downward to another steep climb and so on. Yesterday, September 10th, our traveleers encountered this vigorous terrain. They got a late start and had some setbacks, closed roads, washed out bridges and the lack of information hindered their journey and they put in a mere 37 miles by 7PM. It was getting dark with no place to rest. As they rode through Ellston, Iowa, an angel who was tending her garden saw them rolling past and inquired “hey, where ya going?” to which Leah replied, “Maine!” The lady retorted “No, I mean where you going tonight?” To which they revealed their plans to put in another fifteen miles in the dark to a possible campground up the road. “Why don’t you stay with us?” She querried. Pretty much spent and overjoyed at the prospect of a shower, a warm bed, and good company, they agreed without hesitation.

Donna, Kevin and Grandma (who is 95 years old) Greenland (picture enclosed) are kind, generous and hospitable folks and Obama supporters to boot. Leah and Chuck had a splendid time, chatting it up with the Greenlands. Donna (who is a surgical Nurse) and quite energetic prepared superb fillet minions from cattle they had raised on their farm and set out a fabulous spread. In the morning she served a fine breakfast too and Leah picked the most delicious pears from the orchard. C and L had a wonderful time and were completely overwhelmed by the openheartedness of these wonderful people.

So today, energized by their new friend's hospitality they put in another 65 miles to Rathbun Lake and were planning to hit the local steakhouse for dinner (picture enclosed as I just received it as I'm writing this). No setbacks today except a spoke on Chuck’s bike broke. (mmm sounds poetic doesn’t it? – spoke, bike, Chuck, broke). Anyway he did a temporary repair and will get it fixed in Muscatine Iowa a few days up the road.

Chuck also said that they rode through a the middle of fabulous anachronism called Greenfield Iowa, which has wide streets and giant 19th century houses with lawns the size of a golf courses.  

Chuck had an epiphany about this phase of the trip which he shared with me so here it is: A powerful underlying logic is what dictates the length of travel on a particular day. Iowa has dozens of small towns dispersed at unknown distances throughout the hill country. The roads are an unknown of which few in any given town have knowledge nor do they know what lies more than a few miles up ahead in any direction. Is there food? Are there campsites? Is there another town? Is there roadwork going on? Are the bridges washed out from last years flood? Although they have the physical capability of putting in many additional miles, it is the lack information that limits these possibilities and apparently in rural Iowa gathering information at the local pub, the restaurant or wherever requires a bit of probing in that these little villages are usually pretty isolated. As farmers, the people here live their lives in contact with the earth and are open hearted and generous and perhaps what lies up the road really isn’t of much interest. When you live in Shangra La why should it be?

People, Crickets and Road Kill

Leah and Chuck spent their first night in Iowa in a state park after a long slog in the rain. Next morning they headed East but to their consternation discovered that the Iowa highway system is not particularly welcoming to bicyclists as the roads have unridable gravel shoulders forcing them into the narrow two-lane thoroughfare  with trucks speeding by at 90 MPH. "Drat!" they exclaimed (plus other expletives I'm sure) and made the decision to take unmarked country back roads. Chuck said these roads are wonderful, nobody on em except the very occasional farmer driving a tractor at 10 MPH. Only problem is that no one seems to know how to find these roads so they ask several folks directions, and everyone has a different opinion. But sooner or later they find themselves on the right track and every thing be cool.

It was raining when they hit Coin, Iowa and they were greeted at the gates of this fair berg by Rick, general caretaker and cool dude who practically runs the town (picture enclosed).

Rick directed them to the local campsite and the Coin Bar and Grill where the folks are friendly and the beer is cold. Mike the bar tender and the other patrons took a keen interest in their adventure and they spent the evening in the company of kindred spirits. 

Next AM they awoke to Rick's strong coffee and cinnamon rolls. Wow! what service! Rick's a real mensch! He's got three kids and lives in this peaceful little town of 250 and does a lot to keep the town ship-shape. 

They got a late start because they had to dry their tents and gear but made it 55 miles to Lenox-population a thousand or so. Leah said all the folks in Iowa are quite tall and Iowa is home to several billion crickets whose sound is a constant - day and night. Also she said a surprising number of  a raccoons and possum has been converted to road-kill, Iowa's second biggest export (my comment) .  The country-side is green and the rolling hills are beautiful if not challenging.

Chuck said that they are winging it right now and their route is an invention until they reach Eastern Iowa when they are back on the great northern Trans-American route again.  Leah says that every day is exciting and different and she never knows what to expect.

-Stevie Roman

Crossing Into Iowa

Leah and Chuck were headed for Aurora, Nebraska on Friday night and they made the 60 miles in a driving rain which luckily cleared by the time they arrived and they were able to set up camp in relative dryness. Then, yesterday they pulled a 70 mile day, clear to Lincoln where they were wined and dined by Leah's cousins Jim and Anneta. They are a wonderful couple who live in Scribner, a bit north east of Lincoln.  Actually Leah and Chuck stayed at Jim's friends Mary and Jerry and they had a splendid time with a fine dinner being served and great conversation (mostly politics I suppose as that, of course is the general topic of discussion these days)  and comfy warm beds being graciously provided.  In the AM Jim and Anetta picked em up and took em to breakfast at the local IHOP. Leah said that the whole time spent with these fine folks was fabulous! So today (Sunday) they pulled another 60 and made it to a State Park about 12 miles into Iowa. Our traveleers rack up yet another state. That makes seven which everybody knows is a lucky number.

The days are getting shorter and cooler and they are rolling out of bed and getting on the road a bit earlier. In Iowa, the corn is as high as an elephant's eye as, I'm sure are Leah and Chuck. 

Stevie Roman 

Things are Copacetic

Leah called a little while ago and it looks as though our wishes were answered.  I asked that today they have an easier time then yesterday which was a @#$%^&* day with flats, broken racks, bent handle bars and head winds. Leah said it was smooth sailing all the way to Karney a clean 65 miles- blue sky, and no wind. They are staying with Leah's cousin, Doug and things are copacetic. They had a delicious spaghetti dinner and nice digs and it looks like they'll have a great nights sleep for a change. She saw John McCains uninspired acceptance speech and commented on how lackluster it was. Not much more to report in that our conversation was brief. More on this tomorrow. Here's a pic they sent of a covered wagon that some pioneers no doubt abandoned when they got confused and couldn't figure out which direction they were traveling. 

A @#$%^&*!!! day.

Chuck and Leah were staying at a park in North Platte Nebraska sacking out after putting in 55 miles on the road. At 2AM, the sprinklers came on and squirted through the open windows of Chucks tent. "#@$%^&*!!!!  and a fusillade of other obscenities, we can hear him shouting into the night as the sprinkler makes another pass. He managed to close the window but he's a bit damp anyway and the sprinkler's sound kept them both awake for a while, so they ended up oversleeping and didn't rise until 9AM. Drowsy eyed from fitful sleep, Leah looked at her bike and realized that she had yet another flat caused by a ^&% $%#@ thistle so it wasn't until 10:30 that they changed the tube, oiled their chains and got on the road. They stopped at a local dive for breakfast which consumed another @#$^%& hour and a half. 

10 miles down Route 30, pedaling furiously Chuck takes a $%^(*@ spill. Fortunately he walks away uninjured if not a little humiliated and covered with #$%^&**& thistles. Apparently the front fender broke loose and jammed his wheel. A few makeshift repairs with bubble gum and rubber bands and they're back in business. 25 miles down the road in a heavy head-wind they take a break at a roadside cafe. They notice that Chuck's rack has lost a bolt and needs to be reattached. More % @$%^& time wasted. In another few miles Chuck spills again *(&^%&$#@!!!!!!!  This time his handle bars were too loose and dropped. Will this #$^&%$@ day ever end?   Well it does actually, in Gothenberg Nebraska 40, miles from the starting point. Chuck pitches his tent and realizes that he's lost a X*&%())&% tent peg. He manages to replace it somehow and they head to the Rundazzle Cafe to drown their frustrations in pie. Leah surmised when we spoke tonight that they got through this $%^&$@ day by laughing throughout it all. Tomorrow they're heading on a 6% downhill 100 mile run to Karney, Nebraska with blue skys, a tail wind and two solid bikes, - in our dreams -SR

Carbo Orgy

Leah and Chuck spent the first night of September in Oglala Nebraska. They had put in a 65 mile day and set up their tents in a campground and put a few articles of clothing around the campsite to air out. Then they  headed for the all-you-can-eat pasta joint to load up on linguine, rigatoni, spaghetti and lasagna et al.. After le gran repas  carbo orgy, they headed out to the street to ride their bikes back to the campground, about a half mile down the road when they were overwhelmed by a le gran downpour. Naturally they got drenched, especially Leah as she neglected to bring her rain gear to the restaurant. Well, they made it back to camp and everything was a bit soggy but they managed to climb into the tents and hit the hay. Next morning they awoke to a cloudless blue sky. Leah said this was the first experience they had with rain since July 15th when they began their trip except for a few minor drizzles in Montana- rather remarkable, methinks and hopefully the whether will hold all the way to Maine. 

Tonight, as the candidate running for fuhrer of the United States, John McCain and his running mate, soon-to-be unwed grandmother, book burner, creationism theorist and gun-toting beauty queen, Sarah Palin exchange platitudes with their delusional fellow Republicans  in Minneapolis, Leah and Chuck are in Cody Park in North Platte Nebraska, no doubt a Republican stronghold. Leah said the people here are very interested in their adventure, also very conservative and very nice. Imagine that!

-Stevie Roman 

I got this picture today. I think its a picture of the Nebraska state line but it's so tiny because it was taken with a cell phone that it is difficult to decipher.

-SR