Traveling at Mach 0.012

Saturday May 31

Start: Dodgeville, WI
Destination: Elkader, IA
Day total miles: 88
Journey total miles: 1360

Towns passed through:
Dodgeville, WI
Fennimore, WI
Bridgeport, WI
Prairie Du Chien, WI
McGregor, IA
Elkader, IA

Sleep at Elkader city campground

Friday May 30

Start: Watertown, WI
Destination: Dodgeville, WI
Day total miles: 96
Journey total miles: 1272

Towns passed through:
Lake Mills, WI
Deerfield, WI
Cottage Grove, WI
Madison, WI
Verona, WI
Mt Horab, WI
Blue Mound, WI
Barnveld, WI
Ridgeway, WI
Dodgeville, WI

Sleep at Gov Dodge State Park

Thursday May 29

Start: Fond du Lac, WI
Destination: Watertown, WI
Day total miles: 51
Journey total miles: 1176

Towns passed through:
Oakfield, WI
Burnett, WI
Juneau, WI
Clyman, WI
Watertown, MI

Sleep at home of Dave and Cindy

Wednesday May 28

Start: Ludington, MI
Destination: Fond du Lac, WI
Day total miles: 123 (63 on bike)
Journey total miles: 1125

Towns passed through:
Ludington, MI
Manitowoc, WI
Pipe, WI
Fond du Lac, WI

sleep at Microtel

Visited the Cheese factory and museum

Tuesday May 27

Start: Muskegon, MI
Destination: Ludington, MI
Day total miles: 60
Journey total miles: 1062

Towns passed through:
Muskegon
Whitehall
New Era
Shelby
Hart
Muskegon

Monday May 26

Rest day in Muskegon

Side trip to the National Association of Rocketry annual National Sport Launch.

Sunday May 25

Start: Hastings, MI
Destination: Muskegon, MI
Day total miles: 72
Journey total miles: 1002

Towns passed through:
Middleville, MI
Caledonia, MI
Grand Rapids, MI
Ravenna, MI
Muskegon, MI

Sleeping and resting at Holiday Inn, Muskegon.

Saturday May 24

Start: Green Lake Campground, MI
Destination: Hastings, MI
Day total miles: 84
Journey total miles: 930

Towns passed through:
Leslie, MI
Eaton Rapids, MI
Charlotte, MI
Hastings, MI
Sleeping at the Whispering Waters Campground

Note to followers:
I know i have been slow to update, the journey is going well, but hard to keep up at night with the blog. We get to the end and I am hungry, tired and not too energized to write, especially dealing with varying levels of connectivity. I keep a daily written journal, so there are lots of stories in the pipeline. I am also puzzled by the order of the posts, as are som of you. I think when i post a bunch at once, the system had to wait until i connected to upload them. They then uploaded in a random order. My new goal is to provide as close to daily updates on the basic info and then to go back an fill in the color and pictures. Hope this works and allows me to be more in the moment.

Friday May 23
Start: Toledo, OH
Destination: Green Lake Campground, MI
Day total miles: 68
Journey total miles: 846

Towns passed through:
Blissfield, MI
Tecumseh, MI
Clinton, MI
Manchester, MI
Chelsea, MI

My knowledge of US geography is expanding; did not know that MI was so close to Toledo. A short ride on a bike path in Toledo takes us out of town and onto the highway. Leaving early has the advantage to getting us out and away from traffic.

The short hop out of Ohio puts us into Michigan and another state to check off the list. Three days to cross a state has been much of the norm. The early parts of the ride were relatively flat so we put miles behind us quickly.

It is not a good post with out the breakfast report. Stopped at Becky’s Kountry Kitchen (yeah I know). Great food and when you stop, be sure to read all of the signage in the place (the signs in the bathroom made me laugh). The place keeps me at a perfect selection average for breakfasts. Most memorable were the home made jams and jellies.

Moving on to more hills and a little harder progress, but overall a good day of riding. Part of the ride was along a rather busy highway with narrow shoulders. Not too pleasant and I vote for minimal travel on these types of roads. Ended up in Chelsea; EK having secured our camping spot at the Green Lake Campground. Calls the previous day left us wondering if we would be scrambling for a spot to camp. Turns out we are enough of an oddity that we are considered ok to merge into already full camp grounds. We get a spot without any amenities to camp. It was all good, a flat spot and no rain that night. Overlooking Green Lake we are treated to a rather quiet place for the night.

The other interesting part of the day was Chelsea. Not sure what is driving the shops and restaurants, but Chelsea was home to some nice coffee shops and a great deli. Lunch was great at Mike’s Deli. Late afternoon coffee at Zou Zous coffee and then we were back to the campground for the night.

Welcome to Michigan

Room for the night.

The biggest cow. Just sitting there in a parking lot.

Thursday May 22

Start: Norwalk, OH
Destination: Toledo, OH
Day total miles: 70
Journey total miles: 778

Towns passed through:
Bellevue, OH
Clyde, OH
Fremont, OH
Toledo, OH

Mostly pleasant riding conditions, mostly through the countryside of NW Ohio. Winds picked up from the west that made riding into Toledo a challenge.

Picking a place at about 25 miles out for breakfast has become a daily ritual. Thanks to the internet – yelp, google, and yahoo there are plenty of opinions out there to help narrow the choices. Today’s pick is Gary’s Diner in Clyde. Not sure when we pulled up about this. Looked like a single counter, with a few booths kind of place. We sit at the counter and get a coffee infusion. There is a lot going on back there behind the counter – toast, cooking orders, making coffee; just lots of action. My order, standard breakfast — eggs, sausage patty, hash browns, and toast. But, do i need the whole or half order of hash browns. The waitress helps out – “you guys look like half order types.” So the half order it is. This joint gets the prize for the most food for the price on our journey. There was barely room for the eggs and slab of sausage. I don’t know how I was able to ride after such a mammoth portion. Carb loading at its finest.

Our journey was on a well managed bike trail to Fremont, OH. nice riding conditions. Shelter from the wind and a good riding surface. At Fremont, we were hit with the wind for our continued trek to Toledo. Pedaling into a substantial headwind feels like you are on a stationary bike and pedaling to nowhere. I guess all of the training I did helped my mental state; I am used to pedaling away on the trainer. The road was ok to travel, good shoulder to separate us from the traffic, smooth surface, and not too much junk to dodge. A stop at an ice cream drive in gives us some fuel, cooling, and rest to continue on.

Riding into Toledo I am struck by the continued struggles of the city. Last there in the 90s, Jeep had pulled out and the city was in a downward economic spiral. There may have been some recovery, but Toledo still looks to be suffering. Winding through town, we pass many run-down parts of town and many people who look like there were better times in their past. There are only a few transitions here from rundown to not so bleak areas of town. Finally get close to our stopping point, a Super 8 motel. Pulling in, the hotel looks deserted; there is caution tape surrounding the building and everything is taped up with protective plastic. Can’t fool me, they are painting the outside of the building. I see the car, but no EK. I just hope we will have an option to stay somewhere. Turns out, they are still open. There is a sign that can almost be read from about 10 ft. The rate is ok and the rooms surpass the bar set at Perryopolis (sorry Perry-O). Check in and hit the shower to rid of the road grime.

Dinner of a salad – chicken, fruit, fresh greens, and a side of chili-mac. My metabolism is kicking in and I am able to have a slice of pie for desert.

Welcome to Clyde OH

Part of the North Coast Rails to Trails network we were on. Easy riding.