by Greg | Jun 30, 2019 | Training
Well now you know who flew for hours via Alaska Air, drove for two more hours in a rain storm and met me in Winona, MN! Words escape me when I try to describe my emotions when Anita got out of the car! It was like the joy and elation one feels on New Year’s Eve, Christmas, and a special birthday all celebrated on the same day! 😘😍😘😍😘😍
After visiting for a few hours, we got ready for bed. (Anita had been in St Louis visiting her cousins and also visiting our good friend from the North Slope, Steve Culbertson.) As I walked by the bathroom mirror I noticed my left eyelid was beginning to swell up. We went to bed not knowing the reason for my “monkey like” eyelids. When I got up to shower on Friday the area above and below my eye was REALLY swollen! We debated about heading to an Urgent Care, but after searching the internet for a possible cause and treatment, we decided to just try warm compresses. The swelling decreased a bit so we loaded my bike and gear into the car and headed west to Rochester where there was a Mayo Clinic Urgent Care. The swelling didn’t get any worse during the drive, so we headed to Red Wing, MN fifty miles north and located beside the Mississippi River. (Truly unexplainable as to why Anita arrived on the exact same day that I couldn’t ride due to a swollen eye!)
What a super special day we had just walking around Red Wing, watching the Mississippi River flow by our park bench, learning about the origin of the town’s name, eating delicious ice cream at the Red Wing Confectionery Company, and marveled at the beauty of a gorgeous sunset. Saturday morning my eye was less swollen, but we felt it prudent to keep driving towards Minneapolis. We think my swollen eye was the result of an encounter wit a tiny flying insect, but I could not find a mark near my eye. Who knows? (I felt a bit guilty driving instead of biking, but spending two days with the Love of my life takes away the guilt. This Journey is about Faith, Family and Friends, so time with family should never bring on feelings of guilt!)
Anita mentioned that visiting the Mall of America was on her bucket list, so we asked Ms. Google Maps to lead us to the MOA. The first photo on this post was taken in the LEGO store with Anita standing beside some full sized LEGO robot. Watching kids of all ages walking in “dreamland” brought thoughts of our OMJSN and how much they would have thrilled to be in the LEGO store. MOA is just another super gigantic mall with hundreds of stores, but also a Disneyland like experience for visitors from all over the world. We saw families enjoying roller coasters, carousels, stomach churning Tilt-A-Whirl type rides and Magic Mountain log rides. Wow, what an experience and a fun way to get our 10,000 steps in for the day.
As I looked through photos on my iPhone I found the above photo. I found the above photo of a mural and two girls painting it while pedaling through the tiny town of Norwalk, Wisconsin. I rode over and introduced myself to the girls, thinking they probably had been told thousands of times, “Don’t talk to strangers!” To my relief, both girls were thrilled to talk about their art work. Both are in high school and OFF for the summer, but they chose to spend their free time painting the mural, a high school art class summer project. Both said they wanted visitors driving through Norwalk to experience something out of the ordinary and memorable. I asked how long it would take them to finish painting and one of them said, “I’m not really sure because even though this is a high school art class project, everyone in town has been helping with the painting. We have our town elders, elementary students, Mom’s with babies on their back and even strangers who just want to help!” Creating a beautiful, cheerful mural instead of graffiti is one way the students and citizens of Norwalk are showing the world that Norwalk is a warm, friendly and cheerful place to live and visit. Way to go Norwalk and thanks for making my brief visit one I will long remember.
I want to share one more reflection on an earlier post. I talked about how grateful I was that I had met Jeanette Hasse. Jeanette took in a stranger and gave me shelter from a rain storm in her son’s Missouri Tavern just outside Madison, MN. As it turns out my good friend and former colleague at HAP, Sheri McIntire, know Jeanette very well! Travis, the owner of The Missouri Tavern and son of Jeanette, is the best friend of Sheri’s brother. Sheri grew up in the area, rode the Elroy/Sparta trail while in high school 10 years ago 😍, and both her parents, Almarie and Rich, work seasonally for HAP in the summer. Our world is an extremely small place and it is hard for me to explain how such unusual encounters occur over and over on this Journey of ours.
Today was just like when my son Jeremy and I said goodbye two weeks ago. Anita and I enjoyed a super breakfast at the Cornerstone Cafe in Monticello, mounted my panniers onto my bicycle, filled water bottles and then we hugged each other for what seemed like hours. She drove off in the rental car towards Minneapolis and I pedaled west towards North Dakota. Anita loves the below quote, but it took ten miles of riding for my tears to dry! Anita is the love of my life, and the bright light at the end of every “tunnel” I have encountered. Her brief visit will live forever as one of my fondest memories of this journey. Thank you my love!
As always, thank you all for your kind thoughts and continual moral support!
Greg
by Greg | Jun 26, 2019 | Training
For some reason, I have never liked rain. It doesn’t matter if I am in Hawaii, Anchorage, Tucson, or anywhere else in the world! Maybe it is the result of the ten summers I worked in “Wettier,” I mean Whittier. Anyway, as I rode north out of Madison, Wisconsin, Mother Nature decided I needed another refreshing rain storm. Just as the big rain drops started falling, I spotted The Missouri Tavern maybe 200 yards ahead of me. The tavern was closed, but as I rolled into the parking lot a lady was exiting the rear door. I asked her if I could take shelter under the covered deck! She said, “Why of course, no problem at all.” After the rain let up I knocked on the back door so I could thank her for the use of the deck shelter. Jeanette invited me, a perfect stranger, into the bar to visit. She offered me a glass of water, use of the restroom and we talked about our families and life in southern Wisconsin. I learned the history of The Missouri Tavern, her son’s distillery operation, his Apple Pie whiskey and her life in the area. Eventually the rain stopped completely and we said our goodbyes. Jeanette is yet another Giver I have encountered on this journey. Yes, there really are special people in this country.
Even though I detest rain, wild flowers, corn and alfalfa love a gentle rain. Flowers constantly remind me of the love of my life, Anita, so as I pedal along I always have her on my mind.
Wisconsin may be known for the Green Bay Packers and cheese curds, but the bicycle trails are fabulously! Back in 1873, the above trail and bridge were constructed by the Chicago and North Western railway. This particular trail, The Elroy-Sparta Trail, is 32miles long and most of the time I was totally alone.
Am I back in Whittier? No this is a 1,625 foot long former train tunnel that the Elroy trail now passes through! Top photo is the start and bottom photo is looking back at the entrance! Look closely and you can just make out the entrance, the tiny white dot. (The red is my blinking tail light.) Water dripping down from ceiling, absolute total darkness, iPhone flashlight just to see one foot in front of my wheel, had to walk due to slippery wet trail, water on both sides of trail, and a temperature drop from 85 to 55! I am not claustrophobic, but entering the tunnel after reading the BAT advisory, I was a bit apprehensive! “I am on a journey to discover new and interesting things,” I kept telling myself! At the same time I was thinking back on my years as a teacher. “Man, this would be the ultimate school field trip!” Just imagine the creepy, scary, unimaginable tales I could tell the kids as we walked through the historic train tunnel! Critters lurking in the dark ahead and behind, slimy things in the water beside the trail, flying “things” above our heads watching our every move, what was making the trail so squishy, and bears LOVE deep dark caves! Oh come on now, do you really think this kind hearted man would ever do such things? I was kind of glad, but sad as well, to come to the end of the tunnel. Walking through the tunnel gives new meaning to the phrase, “Light at the end of the tunnel!
I know this is a long post, but I have good WiFi tonight, so just a few more reflections. There wasn’t cafe in Wilton, Wisconsin this morning, so I drank Motel coffee, ate a few Newtons and hit the road. At 9:00am I arrived in Norwalk only to find the cafe I had found on Google was out of business. As I was about to enter the trail I was to follow today, I noticed a sign for Bailey’s Diner! The diner didn’t open until 10:00, but the kind lady inside motioned for me to come on in. Talk about a surprise, but the tiny Bailey Diner was a small Mexican food diner. The waitress, daughter of the owner, spoke great English and gave me the paper menu which was written in Spanish! Oh how I wish my good friend Pedro had been with me instead of working on the dock in Whittier! I recognized frijoles and burrito and as most of you know I LOVE bean burritos! Maria brought out the HOT green chili sauce and said, “Most people think this is too hot, but maybe you want to try it?” Almost as good as the Hatch green chili from Paco and Ma’s in Tucson! Maria even wrapped up a few extra handmade tortillas for my snack later in the day. I finished my ice cold bottle of Jarritos – Mango flavor, and using my limited Spanish said, “Adios and muchas gracias!” What a totally unexpected and welcome find in South Central Wisconsin!
“Can’t go over it, can’t go around it, gotta go under it!” I was able to push the front part of my bike through, climb over and then pull my bike the rest of the way! Oh the challenges of bicycle touring!
Back in the late 90’s as a driver/guide for Princess Tours, we were cautioned about “dash trash” by Kathy Pierce, Anchorage Transportation Manager. Well fast forward to 2019 and I have my own “dash trash.” The Fig Newtons fit perfectly on my handle bars and since I graze all day long, “dash trash” is allowed on this vehicle! (Also, if I stopped to munch, the tiny gnats/mosquitoes would attack both my Newtons and me. If I ride above 5 mph, the critters stay always!)
“Mississississ… oops, too many crooked letters! Snowstorm and I have crossed the mighty Mississippi River and are in La Cresent, Minnesota! My next post will hopefully include photos of a very special person in my life’s! Stay tuned for!
As always, thanks for your comments, support and motivation! I am doing the pedaling, but all of you are giving me the mental strength to keep on pedaling!
PS. (I even ate cheese curds last night and they were like eating crusty melted cheese!)
Greg
by Greg | Jun 22, 2019 | Training
I stated in my last post that I would describe the most fantastic day of my Journey so far in this edition. Well, my unbelievable son Jeremy, gave up family time and vacation days, so he could fly to Detroit, drive to Port Huron and meet me for three days of bicycle touring. Words cannot begin to describe my emotions when we started pedaling west from Port Huron last Tuesday morning. We last cycled together back in 1994, he was only 14 at the time, when we rode our bicycles from Seattle, Washington to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I will never forget the look of joy on his face when we pulled onto Doe Lane and saw Nano, my Mom, waiting for us in front of her house. Anyway, as with all parents, Anita and I dreamed that our kids, Michelle and Jeremy, would grow and mature into loving, caring, successful and thoughtful parents themselves. Michelle and Jeremy, have exceeded our hopes and dreams. Oh how blessed Anita and I are that our dreams have come true.
Jeremy and I were able to ride together from Port Huron to Grand Rapids, Michigan. We pedaled along with Jeremy in the lead and me tucked in behind him. (Drafting really does make a huge difference.) We shared memories of our last tour, dodged all kinds of “road kills,” waved at the ever present grandpa’s on their riding lawnmowers, scanned the road ahead for broken glass, looked sadly at flooded fields planted with corn that should be at least “knee high by the 4th of July,” and created new memories on our new journey! The first two days were filled with sunshine, awesome trails, magnificent scenery and Ms. Catherine’s St. John’s Motel!
Ms. Catherine’s establishment is a throw back to the Route 66 motels of the 50’s and 60’s. Every square inch of space in each room was filled with snowmen, heart shaped shelves, Christmas decorations, flower print pillows galore, stuffed “animals,” placards with biblical quotes, and a gorgeous red Christmas sweater. Jeremy would have loved to have brought home the sweater for an “Ugly sweater Christmas party,” but no room in his panniers. I think Ms. Catherine collected her treasures over a life time of estate and garage sales. With all her “finds” she quickly ran out of room in her own home, so she bought a 12 room motel in order to display her treasures. At one point, Jeremy who is 5’ 11” attempted to walk into the extremely tiny bathroom. Luckily he ducked his head at the last moment or he would have had a sore forehead. Low ceilings, creaking floors, air conditioners that sounded like jet engines, and shower stalls that brought back memories of The Bates’ Motel and Norman! When I manually filled out the registration book, Ms. Catherine asked if we could pay cash since her credit card machine had not worked for some time. “No problem, and if we don’t have enough cash between us right now, we’ll find an ATM,” I said. “Oh, just stop by before you leave and settle up your bill,” she cheerfully replied. I asked about room keys, but she said, “Oh, we don’t lock the rooms, but the keys are in the room somewhere.” I never found a key in my room. She gave us the WiFi password, but it was so slow I could not open my Gmail page, LOL. I am sure Ms. Catherine is the owner, manager, housekeeper, maintenance person and interior designer of the motel, even though there was a Mister on a handwritten note of phone numbers taped to the front door. She told me she was battling cancer and the subsequent side effects, but she was not going to let cancer prevent her holding on to her dream of owning and operating her beloved St. John’s Motel. Jeremy and I will both long remember our night at Ms. Catherine’s St. John’s Motel.
Our last day of riding proved to be a memorable, wet and soggy experience. Rain, rain and more rain stayed with us for the first five hours. A generous grocery store clerk gave us plastic bags for our feet which turned out useless, but was a thoughtful gesture. I placed quart size Ziplock bags over my gloves, we both donned our rain jackets, smiled at each other and started pedaling west. As you can see from the above photo, the State of Michigan provided us with a fabulous, hard packed gravel bicycle trail which was many years ago a railway. We tried to avoid the puddles for awhile, but eventually just enjoyed splashing each other by hitting the bigger puddles. At the end of our last day we both agreed that our rainy day just added one more fabulous memory to our shared bicycle journey. On Friday Jeremy loaded his bicycle and gear into a rental car, I loaded up my bicycle for another day of riding, and then we hugged each other for what seemed like forever. I have to admit that as I watched him drive away back to Detroit, tears of joy and pride filled my eyes. At one point as we pedaled along I tried to express to Jeremy how thankful I was that he would give up so much just to spend time with me. He replied, “I know a man who has done the same thing many times.” Never have I been so proud to be a Dad! One last comment about Jeremy’s visit and then I will stop babbling. I can’t tell Brittany, Jeremy’s wife, how much I love her and appreciate the sacrifices she lovingly accepted so that Jeremy could spend time with me. We are so blessed that Brittany entered our lives as the loving life partner of Jeremy and mother of Jack, Sadie Lynn and Nathan. (She even agreed to add a new puppy to her already over flowing household.)
Goodbye Michigan and Hello Wisconsin. I cheated today and racked up 86 miles traveling across Lake Michigan via the high speed Lake Express ferry. Cheers and I will never get tired of reading your comments to my posts. Thank you and Happy June Solstice!
Greg
by Greg | Jun 17, 2019 | Training
As I rode into Cayuga, Ontario, I noticed a small, bakery/coffee shop establishment and was drawn to it by the aroma of fresh coffee. As I was looking for a way to prop up my bike, I watched a young man and his smiling little girl enter the cafe for a father daughter breakfast. The owner/cook/server greeted me with a warm smile and began asking questions about where I was headed. Jordan and the other young man Adam, were good friends and avid Toronto Raptor basketball fans. (Both Jordan and Adam we’re headed to Toronto on Monday to watch the parade celebrating the Raptor’s NBA championship.) All three of us chatted about Alaska, the Cayuga area, the NBA and traveling by bicycle. Both young men had grown up in the area, moved away and were now back for good. I asked, “Why did you chose to settle in this tiny town of 1,700 people, and in the middle of Ontario?” Adam smiled while looking at his daughter eat her chocolate zucchini mini muffin and said, “My wife and I have aways dreamed of owning an art gallery, wanted to start a family, and live in an area with lots of outdoor recreation. So living in Cayuga is a life style choice.” Note the word dreamed! Jordan quickly added, “My wife and I came back to work the family farm, but have always dreamed of opening a restaurant with produce and meat from our farm. The Carolinian Cafe will be celebrating it’s one year anniversary this summer!” Note the word dreamed again. Anyone, regardless of age, physical limitations, or employment status is capable of “Dreaming and Doing!” Thanks Jordan and Adam for the time you gave me, the insights on life in Cayuga and for believing in yourselves and your talents to make your dreams come true.
“Gold is just a windy Kansas wheat field…” John Denver (My all time favorite singer.) The above is not Kansas, but a wheat field outside Tillsonburg, Ontario. A single photo cannot capture the enormity and beauty of this wheat field. On the other side of the roadway was a field of corn just as vast and gorgeous! Oh, the beauty of the Ontario farmland is breathtaking!
“Back in the US, back in the US, back in the USS … Oops, terrific Beatles song, but wrong country! I am back in the United States in the town of Port Huron, Michigan, and once again my ever present Guardian Angels were looking out for me. My plan was to cross the border via the Sombra ferry, but I neglected to do my research on ferry travel into Michigan. The Sombra ferry suspended operations last year, which meant I had to pedal to Sarnia, Ontario to cross back into the States. The Bluewater Bridge which connects Canada to the US is a car/truck only bridge, and according to the internet, crossing over via bicycle is problematic, at best. Enter Mike and his Bluewater Bridge Authority truck. Outside the town of Sarnia I had stopped riding and called a few numbers I had found on the internet. Within minutes Mike returned my call and said, “Once you get to the Ontario Travel Information office, call me back and I’ll meet you there.” Mike met me, helped load my bicycle onto his truck, called the US Custom’s office, and drove me over the bridge to Port Huron, Michigan! Instead of waiting in a long line of vehicles, Mike pulled into an empty “Bus Only” lane where a friendly US agent looked at my passport and said, “Welcome back to the US.” I thanked Mike for his kindness, shook his hand, took the above photo and watched him drive back to Sarnia, probably to assist someone else! Thank you so much Mike, you saved the day! Thanks also to all the warm, friendly and helpful Canadians I met as I pedaled through magnificent Ontario! I will long remember the sights, sounds and warmth of the people of Canada!
The next post I write will describe in detail the absolute best day of my Journey so far! How’s that for a teaser?
As always, Greg
by Greg | Jun 14, 2019 | Training
Niagara Falls from the Canadian side! Yes, I made it to Canada and as you can see from my map, I changed my route! The main reason for changing is for the scenic beauty of Canada versus the traffic congestion around Cleveland! So, westward I go.
No Guardian Angel stories this go around because it was mostly Snowstorm and myself on the quiet, serene Erie Canal Heritage trail. I did encounter the following people and would like to share a bit on each.
Brockport Police officer Elliott: Trail construction presented numerous detours and at one point I found myself approaching one of Brockport’s finest. I have never had a lot of contact with police officers, but Elliot’s “look” and mannerisms reminded me of my good friend Ken Hopkins. Ken and I worked together for years in Whittier and through him I learned first hand about the life of a police officer. Under the gruff police officer exterior lies a humble, caring, highly intelligent and gentle individual. After officer Elliott heard my story, he was ready to do anything to assist. He even said he would get his best buddy out of bed to open his bicycle shop if I needed any bike help. As with 99.9% of all police officers, Elliott probably just wants to assist, serve and make their community feel safe! Thanks to Ken Hopkins, I see police officers in a totally different light.
Debbie: I was standing in the same parking lot drinking my new “Go to” beverage, chocolate milk, when a lady approached me. She had seen my photo of OMJSN on my bicycle and asked about my Journey. I briefly told her about my journey and about my little Guardian Angels. After listening to my story, for the next twenty minutes Debbie told me she was moving to Tennessee, leaving her Mom for the first time ever and was worried about her decision. I just drank my chocolate milk and listened as she talked about the pros and cons of moving. After the twenty minutes Debbie looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, “I think I was suppose to meet you today. For some reason I now know I am making the right decision. Thank you for listening to a perfect stranger!” She gave me a hug, got into her car, waved and drove off to tell her Mom of her decision! The power of just listening is awesome.
Canadian Custom’s office Bradley: The Lewiston-Queenston Bridge is one of the busiest border crossing areas in Ontario. Bicyclists are expected to ride across the bridge with semi trucks, cars and motor homes. The day I crossed there were at least ten inspections stations with 5-10 vehicles per station. When I got to the booth, Bradley asked the usual questions, scanned my passport and then noticed I was on a bicycle. His “Inspector personality” did a complete reversal. Even with ten cars behind me he took time to ask about my Journey, made sure I knew how to change currency, inquired about my bicycle equipment and then left his booth to show me the right way to get to Niagara Highway and Niagara River trail. Bradley made sure I would enjoy the Canadian part of my journey. My thanks to officer Bradley and his willingness to make my journey successful.
Thanks again to all for commenting and sharing on this blog. The above photo was on my ride today, The Friendship Trail, between Fort Erie and Danville, Ontario. Flowers, farmland and absolutely not another human or animal for 28 miles. Gorgeous!
Greg
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