August 23
Hard to say goodbye to our friends today, but we got up early to do so before Scott left for work at 6:30! We did manage to visit with Andrea longer, while eating more of her amazing quiche and almond tart before getting back on our bikes after 8:30! We knew we only had 58 miles, but we were also concerned about the temps and humidity. Turns out we didn’t need to worry. More than 50 miles on the nicest, paved trails we have seen yet, and much of them were frequently shaded. We sailed right a long and managed to get to our destination (London, OH, right outside Columbus) by 1 PM. Zoom!
Tomorrow we continue on the Ohio to Eerie trail in our quest to get to Lake Erie, then Niagara Falls, and then the Eerie Canal Trail. We are shocked that we are at 3,051 miles so far in our trip. That’s 71% of our total goal, probably more as we are thinking of shortening the miles between New York and Boston by taking the Provincetown ferry. We are frequently floored by how our dream trip has come to fruition, very close to what I originally planned. We are so happy we chose the route we did (especially that we went west to east and the mountain ranges and rural Montana and North Dakota are behind us!). And we still have the best parts to look forward to – seeing Jolie and Kayla!
August 22
Managed to sleep in later this morning. Breakfast and chores (I made more reservations, changed a few routes, and talked to Kayla about modifying the end of our trip – more on that later). Then we headed to the National Museum of U.S. Air Force, a giant complex that we spent less than two hours at but you could easily spend days. Craig was quite intrigued by the various types of aircraft, of course, and both Scott and Andrea know a lot about the history and specifics of everything there. Fascinating for sure! But we limited our time to get to a local bar for a free blues concert. Turns out the venue was smaller than we expected and the deck was already packed, so after having drinks and snacks in the adjacent bar, we went to the next door building and sat outside where we could hear and see quite well!
We went home to make naan pizzas and visit with their son Kellen and his girlfriend, Emma. Then we stayed up playing a game called Compatibility before calling it a night. Can’t emphasize enough what an amazing family unit they are (dogs included ;). Their love and respect for each other is evident and it shows in every thoughtful aspect of their home, from the U.S. and British flags donning the front porch to the basement for jam sessions to the organized containers of art and craft supplies to the pictures on every wall. We felt so much at home there and plan to return next time for a longer stay, for sure!
August 21
Excellent day off. Lots of relaxing and visiting after breakfast (will start poaching eggs when I get home). Felt so comfortable at Scott and Andrea’s home, and got our dog fix with Tilly and Jaeger – such well-behaved sweethearts! We ventured out to go paddleboarding in the humid 80’s then went back and barbecued salmon. Andrea went all out and made a quiche for me – yum! Stayed up late visiting and doing some fun paint crafts.
August 20
Another great day! Insufficient breakfast at B&B so after 30 miles we stopped in Brookville and ate at a Waffle House, but other than a short stretch at the beginning on a busier highway, we were on nice (paved) country roads and then a few great trails into Dayton, only 51 miles total. Hot and humid, but we rode right to Scott and Andrea’s house, a visit overdue by a few decades! We are so thrilled to be here for TWO zero days. 🙂 Lasagna for dinner – yum!
August 19
Knew we had an easy day today, so we slept in! Breakfast at the hotel (meh) then short route back to our Cardinal Greenway Trail which we were on all day except a few miles after it ends in Richmond (still Indiana). The trail is completely paved, partially shaded, and mostly flat. We listened to music most of the day and took it easy. Into Richmond before 2, stopped for a beer and a snack, and then checked into our B&B just as the first fat drops of rain began to fall.
In case you are wondering, we do realize how incredibly fortunate we are, and I’m not talking about just missing the rain! Today was one of those days when you just realize the abundance of your good fortune and are happy to be on the planet.
Excited to reach Ohio tomorrow and spend TWO zero days with our friends in Dayton!
August 18
Nice easy day. 51 miles from Kokomo to Muncie. Less headwind, no gravel, and temps in the 70’s until we got to our destination. Of course, we got to our hotel so early that our room wasn’t ready, so we ended up adding another 6 miles biking to lunch and back! Still, a lovely day overall. We rode 10 miles on the Cardinal Greenway Trail and will do all our miles tomorrow on that – another easy day.
One funny note. As Craig was packing up this morning, we found the pump we thought we’d left behind the day before. Doh! So now we have two pumps…
Lyrics that come up often on our trip (all I can think of at the moment, but there are others):
- “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…”
- “Straight on through to the other side…”
- “(Sunflower, Soybean, Corn, etc.) fields forever…”
- “Here comes the sun…”
- “Has anyone seen the confounded bridge…”
- “Breaking the law, breaking the law…”
August 17
Breakfast was lovely at our B&B. If only we could go back in time to shortly after when we left our bike pump in their yard… That dictated that last hour of our ride in Kokomo, IN, when we went in search of a bike store to buy a new pump!
The real highlight of the day was visiting Tara, my AP Calc student for the last two years, who is just embarking on her college life at Purdue. It was a minor detour for us and so great to see her smiling face as well as the beautiful campus. Lots of sculptures and lots of nods to Neil Armstrong!
The rest of the ride was eastward bound as we inch towards Dayton. We couldn’t avoid several miles of gravel, which wasn’t too bad except for the cars speeding by and dusting us. We also couldn’t avoid a minor but annoying but headwind but still managed to get in pretty early since we only went 55 miles. Nice to have several short days this week!
Forgot to mention that as we went south into Indiana, we quickly noticed a changed in drivers’ attitudes towards bicycles. While Wisconsin drivers sped past without glancing at us waiting, even at a crosswalk, Indiana drivers seem intent on stopping and waiting for us even if we are half a mile away! Refreshing change 🙂
August 16
Breakfast at the hotel (waffles are definitely a criteria of a good chain hotel and Comfort Inn delivered), then on the road shortly after 7. I was impressed by that since Craig stayed up to watch the Sounders/Timbers game (YAY, Sounders!) while I zonked early. Our path was basically short east, long south, rinse and repeat, except that we changed the turns a few times to stay on paved roads. We crossed over or under I-65 many times, and that helped keep the big rigs off our backs. Lots of relaxing cornfields, cotton cloud skies, and mesmerizing wind turbines. A little tailwind on the south sections kept us moving right along and we actually got to our B&B by 1:00! Except that it was actually 2:00 due to another time zone change. Officially in Kayla and Jolie’s time zone now!
Great dinner tonight here at the hotel. Short days the rest of this week as we added a day into the mix to get rid of an 80-mile ride. We also decided to add a second rest day in Dayton since we are detouring 300+ miles to see our friends there — seems logical to spend more than one full day with them! Rather than change the home page weeks, I am just saying “plus two” so I can keep things simple.
August 15
We started the day 10+ pounds lighter! (Sara is going to ship our sleeping bags and a few other things home for us and then donate our tent :). Woke to a gorgeous sunrise then worked on shifting our remaining gear around to create lighter but even loads in our panniers. Yay!
After another delicious breakfast (including avocado on Mark’s famous, homemade sourdough bread), we all four descended with bikes upon the streets of Chicago for our farewell ride. Stopped at the Bean for obligatory pictures, then along the Lakefront Trail. We went beyond the planetarium, which is as far south as we ever got on previous trips, all the way to South Shore Cultural Center where Barack and Michelle had their wedding reception!
Can’t say enough about Sara and Mark. They are some of the most generous and kindest people we have ever met, and their marriage of 31 years is an inspiration. Chicago and Dallas are both lucky to have them! It was sad to say goodbye but I know we will see them again!
Once we parted ways, we maneuvered a few miles of south Chicago streets, then found a series of paved, trails that included Illiana Marina Trail, the Wolf Creek Boardwalk, and our new favorite, the Erie Lackawanna Trail. That took us to within 15 miles of our hotel in Dinwiddie, IN. Back to country roads (but paved) bordered by corn and picturesque farms. This is the beginning our detour to Ohio, probably not on a lot of people’s cross-country treks if they are following the Northern Tier, but we are excited to get to Dayton on Friday and see more friends – a very long overdue visit!!
Breit Bikes 