Curtis, Michigan

Today we reached the end of the road for this adventure.   Just after noon, we arrived at our destination of Bob and Keri's cabin on the shore of Lake Manistique.   It concluded after 2169 miles and 41 days on the road.

Three guys very happy to have arrived 

Bob and Keri are friends of Derald (and now us), who live in Flagstaff, but have a second home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  This was established as our destination as a result of Deralds promise to see their lake home.

         Bob, Derald and Keri

It was a long journey and a lot of fun.  We all arrived safe, feeling good and glad to be done.  We ended the evening's celebration talking about future trip ideas, which is a good sign of a successful expedition. 

Manistique, Michigan

Today was wind payback day as we cycled from Escanaba to Manistique.  It was not a long or difficult ride, but a headwind is pesky after you get used to a strong tailwind. Nevertheless, we were in by 1230 and enjoying a cheeseburger at Clyde's Driveinn.

Derald found an interesting historical marker along the way.  I missed it, probably with my head down fighting the wind.

The view of the bay's of Lake Michigan were pretty magnificent.   We could not get anyone to bite on the prospect of taking a dip in the lake.

Escanaba, Michigan

Today we entered our seventh and final state of this expedition.   We rode over the bridge from Marinette to Menomonie  

We saw a few of the sites in the twin cities before heading up the coast of Green Bay to Escanaba. 

Pink Courthouse in Menomonie 

Freedom class littoral combat ship, made in Marinette. 

The ride was very nice.  The breeze off the water kept us comfortable. 

At the end the ride, we met Keri and Rob, our hosts at the end of the ride.   The impressed us with their hospitality by offering us cold beer  🍺 

Marinette, Wisconsin

We had an outstanding day cycling today.   It was hot, but flat and the winds were perfect.   For the first time, we hit an average daily speed of 15 mph.

We had plenty of views of trees and the bay today as we cycled.   The historical highlight was visiting Peshtigo, the sight of the most tragic loss of life in a wildlife in US history.  Over 1200 people perished.

Tomorrow we will enter Michigan, our 7th and final state on this adventure. 

Green Bay, Wisconsin

We had a nice Sunday ride today.   We rode from Sheboygan to Manitowoc, enjoying the lakeside views, then headed inland on a bike trail.  

The winds were out of the Southwest and we were going Northeast, so we had either a tailwind or wicked crosswind.   It was in the 90's, so we made sure that we stayed hydrated and rested in the shade.

It was too early for ice cream, so we had to settle for a picture of the giant cow at the Cedar Crest ice cream shop. 

This is the picture of the Cobia at the Manitowoc Maritime Museum.   I remember a boy scout sleepover in this when I was a child.   Deralds uncle served on a similar submarine out of Perth, Australia during WWII. 

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

We are back on the road after two wonderful days of rest.  We joined our Scenic Shore 150 team for part of their training ride from Mequon to Port Washington.  It was nice to have company on the road. 

We had an ideal day for cycling.   We had heavy winds out of the Southwest.  The group had to turn around into the wind, but we continued northeast to our destination. 

On the way, we treated ourselves to a perch sandwich and even a beer for lunch.  Derald had a spotted cow beer.  You can't go any more Wisconsin than that.

Another stop on the way was the Oostburg bakery.  We were served by a couple of young ladies, that Derald coaxed outside for a  picture. 

Our stop for the night is a charming lakeside town.  We had what is considered the best pizza in the state at Il Ritrivo restaurant.   We were joined by Julie, Beth and our friend Patty for the early dinner. 

On the way back from dinner, we passed the local children's museum.   I loved the boat built into the building. 

It was a fun and very social day.  

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin - Hartland, Wisconsin

Sorry for the delay in posting.   It has been a busy couple of days and my routine has been happily disrupted.

First of all, we made it back to the Badger state on Tuesday.   We crossed the boarder south of Lake Geneva after a nice ride through Northern Illinois.   We never guessed that sneaking between Rockford and Chicago that we would encounter such beautiful low traffic roads.

No welcome to Wisconsin sign, but you get the idea.

          Beautiful Lake Geneva 

We were joined for dinner by Beth Knoelke, Rob's wife, which was a lot of fun. 

Early the next day, we headed north for home for Rob and me.   Anxious to see Julie, I was ready to go at 6:30 AM.   We had a great ride on beautiful roads and got home by 12:30.

We have two rest days at home, before heading to the top of Lake Michigan.   When asked what we have planned, my standard response is "anything but cycling."

DeKalb, Illinois

We had a nice day touring the Central Illinois countryside today.  Everything fell into place; our fitness, weather, wind and roads and we were able to complete our 68 mile ride at better than 14 mph.

We had a few riding challenges.   I had a spoke problem and noise in my back wheel that took a little group problem solving. 

Rob experienced a minor equipment failure that resulted in a low speed crash on a very soft road shoulder.   He took the opportunity for some roadside yoga.

We were surrounded by corn, soybean and wind farms for much of the day.

Here are the numbers and route for the day.

Here is what our month of riding has accomplished.  We're cycled everyday except one since May 3rd for 1705 miles. 

Princeton, Illinois

We spent the day cycling across Central Illinois with the Sunday drivers and motorcyclists enjoying a sunny day.  The traffic was light as we spent most of the day on the Walter Payton Highway.   As you would expect, it is US 34.

With relatively light winds and just a few nagging rolling hills, we were able to average 13.1 mph, which is not bad on a fully loaded bike.

The highway honored another well known American, born and raised in this area.

Besides that, it was a quiet day with lots of farmers fields.

Macomb, Illinois

Today was a challenging day.  We rode 70 miles, most of it into a 20 mph headwind,  a lot of it in misting rain and all of it in less than 50 degrees. It was the kind of day that if you had a choice, you probably would not chose to ride.  In a way, this is how self contained touring is different than cycling at home or supported touring, you have to go.  It is rewarding, when you are done.  That warm shower at the end of the day feels so good on your chilled body. 

Besides that, this morning was tire day on the tour.  For flats, Derald is first (or last), with 4 flats, Rob has had one and I have had one.  Derald rotated his tires today to even the wear.  Rob replaced his extremely worn rear tire.

For sites today, there was not much to see.  Things flattened out a bit in the afternoon.   I  was not inclined to stop and take pictures in the mist.

I  did get a shot of the courthouse in Macomb at the end of the ride. 

For those interested in trivia, Macomb is the home of the inventor of Monopoly, Lizzie Magie.

Quincy, Illinois

Today we finished our ride across Missouri and entered the 5th state of this adventure, Illinois. 

We got an early start in an attempt to beat the rain, but we were unsuccessful.   Severe storms (wind, rain and thunderstorms) were forecasted.   We were very lucky that all we had to endure was 30 minutes of heavy rain.

This is a picture of the Shelby Missouri courthouse, before the heavy rain.

As a result of the early start and nowhere to stop, we got to Quincy pretty early.  The ride over the Mississippi was a little scarey, but it was a good feeling (for Rob and me) to be on our home side of the river. 

One advantage of finishing early was that we got to enjoy the historic sites around Quincy. 

Quincy was the site of one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858.

This home, owned by Richard Eell has been verified as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

This bank was one of many historic buildings in downtown Quincy.