Trip Report: Key West - Savannah - Arkansas - Milwaukee

Ron Wallenfang's Bike Trip
April 21 through May 6, 2006
Key West - Savannah - Arkansas - Milwaukee
2218 Miles

Bike is a TREK 520 touring bike

-saddlebag on rear carrier, with a bag on each side, and one over the rack

-back pack for lighter items

Baggage-all packed in gallon size freezer bags

-2 extra printed t-shirts

-2 extra undershorts

-2 extra pair of socks

-sweatshirt

-shower shoes

-extra handkerchief

-extra pair of bermudas

-sleeping shorts -can wear outside if needed



-3 extra tubes

-tube repair kit

-5 CO2 Cartridges

-4 tire levers

-set of Allyn wrenches



-helmet

-gloves

-lock

-state highway maps

-log book

-pens

-prayer book

-Swedish mystery novel

-camera

-cell phone and charger

-toiletries-usual

-Swiss army knife

-Super 8 Motel Directory

-water bottle

Sent the bike ahead of time via UPS to a shop in Key West.





Friday, April 21, 2006
Day One

Key West isn't easy to get to from Milwaukee. I took a 7:40 a.m. flight to
Fort Meyers-then had a two hour layover and then a short flight to Key West
arriving at 2:30 p.m.

The flight from Milwaukee was half an hour late but uneventful.
Unfortunately, I had to check my black saddlebag as baggage, because I carry
a Swiss-army knife, which is prohibited as a carry-on. What a weapon!!!!!!
It barely cuts bread!



The little plane from Fort Meyers to Key West held nine passengers,
including the person (me) who was put in the co-pilot's seat. (I know
nothing about how to fly a plane.) The plane was painted with a shark image
in front, with a big picture of Ernest Hemingway on the side and the words
"Key West Express" on the tail. People and baggage were put on in a way
calculated to balance the load. Every nook and cranny was filled with
someone or something. It was hot inside, but the pilot assured us that when
we got to our 7000 foot cruising altitude, the plane would cool off, and it
did. Not a bad flight actually.





Arriving in Key West at 2:30, I took a taxi to the bike shop, which had my
bike ready to go. After getting my saddlebag and headlight attached and
putting on my sun block (much needed by a northerner in April even though I
spend a lot of time outdoors) and visiting with the staff a while about my
proposed trip.



I took a picture of one of them. Then, I biked down to the "southern-most"
point monument, and had my picture taken.







And then I was off to the North on U.S. Hwy 1, beginning about 3:15 p.m.
Traffic was a problem the first 5 miles or so, then the going was pretty
good. In some areas, there were bike paths; almost everywhere else, the
road had a few feet of paved shoulder. Temperatures were in the low to mid
80's with a mostly sunny sky. Winds were more east than south-almost
completely east at times, giving me a bothersome headwind, especially on
bridges. I made it to Marathon, about 50 miles from Key West, where an
unpleasant surprise awaited me. There was an organized run over the 7 Mile
Bridge tomorrow, which meant that almost every hotel room in town was taken.
After 10 miles of riding around, I found one for $250.00!! A beautiful
suite, but hardly what I was looking for. I count myself as too old to sleep
on the beach, but it was a close call.

The forecast for tomorrow is for a low of 77 degrees, rising to the mid 80's
with Southeast winds.

I had supper at a nearby restaurant featuring some of the local conch, which
is good. Then I called my wife, who is in North Carolina at a gathering of
the "Schmidt family women".

Then it was time to end this log & get organized for tomorrow.

Mileage for the Day: 60 Net headwind

Saturday, April 22, 2006
Day Two

I left at first light around 6:30 a.m. (sun-up 6:58 a.m.) and rode 50 miles
to Key Largo. There was a bike path part of the way; the rest had a few feet
of paved shoulder. Stopped for breakfast in Key Largo at 10:00 a.m.

Sky mainly clear, with some low clouds blocking the a.m. sun a little.
Temperature around 80 degrees and humid. There is no morning "cool".

Putting on sun-block at Key Largo. Mostly a head wind again, but hopefully
that will change as the road veers to the north, as it already has to a
degree. Hundreds of fisherman out, one was posing for pictures with a nice
fish.

Five or six miles from Key Largo, US 1 turned north-even a little east of
north and continued that way for over 20 miles. I picked up a nice tailwind
and made good time. Less gratifying, there was a lot of traffic and only a
few feet of paved shoulder and that little bit had raised reflectors buried
in it that I had to dodge. The landscape quickly changed from keys and
water to Everglades. It was a lonely road with swamp on both sides. There
were two long breaks in the heavy traffic. When a bridge (at the south end
of this stretch) went up to let boats through, it completely cut off
northbound traffic because there were no cross roads in the Everglades to
contribute any other northbound traffic.

Thirty-one (31) miles after Key Largo and coming into Homestead, I had a
flat rear tire; a wire punctured the tube. A few miles later, I went past a
bike shop and had more air added than my hand pump and CO2 cartridge had
managed. I also bought a replacement tube. At 92 miles for the day I
stopped for a dessert and lots of soda.

The ride into Miami on US 1 was a penance. The traffic uses the right hand
lane more aggressively than in most cities. As a result I frequently rode
the sidewalk, which is a rarity for me. "Take the lane" advocates would be
ashamed of me!

In downtown Miami, I briefly lost the route, but at 3:25 blundered past a
Church (Gesu) with a 4:00 Mass, so I had a short lunch and then went to that
Mass, with 110 miles for the day to that point.

After that I went North on US1 to 79th Street then east over the
intracoastal to Miami Beach and Rte. A1A. Once I got there, riding was much
better. Going straight North, I picked up a tailwind again. And A1A has
less cross traffic and better riding conditions.

I hit Broward County at 128 miles for the day and rode another 12 miles,
stopping south of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Tomorrow A.M., I can cut back
over to A1A again.

Mileage for the day: 140
Mileage for the trip 200
High Temperatu about 87 degrees with high humidity
Winds - headwinds and tailwinds about cancelled each other out;
call it neutral
Wind was basically SE

Sunday, April 23, 2003
Day 3

Left at 6:10 a.m. (sunup at 6:49) and took A1A to Palm Beach, then crossed
the intracoastal and biked north, on local streets and then on US1. Stopped
for breakfast at 10:00 a.m. at Riviera Beach with 52 miles for the day.

Earlier stopped for 7:30 Mass at St. Lucy's in Highland Beach, though I was
late. Temperatures are rising through the 70's-practically no wind.

This area (Palm Beach and south) is not called the gold coast for nothing.
The surroundings practically breathe wealth.

The A1A route from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach can also be an "ego
crusher" for many bike riders. There were hundreds of bike riders out,
singly and in groups of up to 15. Most of them were really getting a work
out. I was plodding along at 15 mph and was passed routinely. At age 62,
slightly overweight, with 700x35 tires and 20 lbs of baggage, I couldn't
have kept up if I wanted to. The important thing was not to try. I tried
pushing myself too hard at the National 24 Hour Challenge last June and
ended up losing 2 hours to leg cramps. I am much better off maintaining a
pace I can hold all day.

At the Riviera Beach stop, I laid my still damp laundry-which I washed in
the sink last night-out to dry on my bike.

As with yesterday, this is the time of day to put on the sunscreen, although
conditions are mixed sun and clouds.

Shortly afterward, there was a brief shower, but with no lighting, I biked
through it.

I made several short stops during the day, mainly to stay hydrated. At one,
I went to a Publix and got a fruit cup plus two liters of orange juice, half
of which I used in my water bottle.

The wind was light until about 2:00, after which a nice tailwind came up, so
I kept going until a little after 8:00, where I stopped in Cocoa after
sundown, but before it was dark. There was a 24 hour IHOP next door, so I
ate there after cleaning up, and rinsing out today's clothes. I'll need to
find a place with laundry facilities one of these nights to get my things
clean and not just un-smelly.

I had considered stopping in Melbourne after 151 miles but with a tailwind,
which I hate to give up, I kept on going until Cocoa.

Mileage for day: 176
Mileage for trip: 376
Net tailwind today

Monday, April 24, 2006
Day 4

Left at 6:15 and rode 63 miles, stopping at 10:30 just coming into Daytona
Beach.

Temperature starting out was 69 degrees - first time under 70 on this trip.
I suppose I'll miss the warmth further north! But 69 degrees felt very
good. It's probably up to 80 degrees by now though. Like yesterday, I hung
my damp clothes out to dry on the bike. There was a little light fog early
but it quickly dissipated when the sun came up.

North of Titusville was the first sustained rural area I've seen-mostly
grazing fields with few animals in sight. Also I saw a few orchards.




Besides the usual road kill along the side, I saw a dead wild pig. That's a
first!

The road (US1) consistently had a few feet of paved shoulder.
There was a construction zone of 5 miles or so with the shoulder area rough.
But the "closed" traffic lane was mostly in good shape so I rode there.

After passing through the New Smyrna-Daytona-Ormond Beach area,
with the usual commercial roadsides, Flagler County was an empty surprise.
"They" are "fixing" (as the southerner's would say) to develop the east side
of US #1. There are signs announcing the city limits of Palm Coast (which is
not very near the coast, as US#1 is actually west of I-95 in this area), and
there are the beginnings of a few roads, but no people. West of US#1 is just
wild scrub. I assumed there'd be stores, etc. and passed up stopping in
Bunnell, which was a mistake. There were no stores for another 14 miles -
until the I-95 junction. I was a bit dehydrated by then-43 miles from the
previous stop-106 for the day. The temperature rose to the upper 80s.

At mile 123 for the day, I reached St. Augustine, and in an
unusual move for me (my usual style is to just pound out more miles), went
into town to look at the historic area.





Then it was on to Jacksonville, which I reached in time to make
my way to the north side, to limit city riding tomorrow. I got lost once
trying to get on US 17, having said "good-bye" to the US1/A1A combination
that I have used ever since Key West.

I assumed wrongly I'd find a motel at the I-195/17 intersection.
A clerk at a convenience store there sent me in reverse 3 miles, where I did
find motels. But I'm still pretty well on the north side of Jacksonville.

As happened yesterday, the wind was light and variable in the
a.m., but became a tailwind in the p.m.

Mileage for day: 174
Mileage for trip: 550
Net tailwind for day

P.S. I'm eating at Applebee's which brought me a pitcher of ice
water to help me "rehydrate". Trouble is, when I drink the quantity of real
cold water I need, I get chilled-in this hot weather! But they readily
brought me a substitute pitcher with no ice.

It should be remarked that Jacksonville was quite an easy town
to bike through, by comparison with Miami and some others on other trips.
US#1 from the south has consistent extra width and also handles
intersections well. Sometimes there are bike lanes striped in, but with or
without that, the width is what makes it safer.

US 17 north was also pretty good riding. Again, it was roadway
width that is the key.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Day 5

I left the motel around 6:15 a.m.-sun-up 6:48. Temperature
around 70°--maybe a little cooler. Route 17 north is an O.K. bike route-not
nearly as heavily traveled as US#1 coming up from the south. And there was
usually a few feet of paved shoulder. Julee, about 15 miles ahead and a
place I might have reached yesterday, had two motels available had I
known-well, so it goes.

At about 8:00 a.m., with 24 miles for the day, I hit the GA
line-so I biked 574 miles in FL.

US17 in GA is a designated bike route (95). The road is slightly
narrower than in FL but traffic is very light. Outside the towns, there's
not much to see. Part of the land is swamp; most of the rest is wooded-no
farms, few homes. There are lumber trucks around, so obviously the wood is
being harvested-mostly pine-few palm trees, though they too grow here.

I biked 59 miles and stopped at the 17/95 junction near
Brunswick, at about 10:30 until 11:30.

Then I backtracked a mile and took 303 to the north side of
Brunswick where it rejoined 17. I kept going until mile 104, another
junction of 17 and I-95 this time near Midway. The temperature is 88 or 91
according to two clocks I passed.

The towns are a little more frequent than in the southernmost
county, but still pretty thinly populated, with woods, swamps and a few
fields-one with beef cattle. One little stretch had a dozen oak trees with
hanging moss overhanging the road. If only that could continue for miles! It's
beautiful.

After the mile 104 stop, I rode pretty much non-stop to downtown
Savannah, which I reached at about 5:30. US17 turned onto a freeway, so I
just headed generally north on surface streets and did get to the historic
area, where I looked around and took a few pictures. The tour buses (many of
them) were just finishing their days' work. There is no special "must-see"
attraction here, but a lot of history going back to colonial times.



Then I rode generally west until I hit US 80, which I took until
about 9 miles west of downtown, where there were a cluster of motels and
other facilities.

The rear tire was a bit soft today. I considered changing the
tube, but since there seemed to be no air lost during the day, I left it
alone. We'll see how that works out.

I'm in a Travelodge in a smoking suite, since that's all that
was available. And it's a big room indeed! I ate in the room, since there's
a grocery next door, where I got wine, Swiss cheese, hard salami, a citrus
fruit combo and a 2-litre soda.

I quit a bit on the early side-around 7:00 p.m., with sundown at
8:00, but hotel prospects to the west are dubious.

Mileage for day: 157, 133 in GA
Mileage for trip: 707
Winds not as favorable as the last 2 days (more west than south
until late) but more favorable than not.
Call it a net tailwind.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Day 6

I thought the better of what to do about my soft rear tire, and
changed the tube before leaving this morning.

I left at 6:05 (sun-up 6:43), went 1/10 mile and realized I
forgot my water bottle. So I went back to get it and left again at 6:15,
riding 42 miles to Statesboro, where I stopped at 9:30. Temperature around
70°. There's a big front with lots of thundershowers covering the length of
Mississippi and headed this way, so I may well get wet today.

Winds are westerly, meaning a headwind, though not a strong one
so far.

After 3 miles I reached the point where my route hit last year's
route, so I've officially gone from the top to the bottom of the eastern
U.S.-710 miles thus far this trip; the relevant part of my 2004 trip was 865
miles from Matawaska, ME, to Philadelphia and the relevant part of my 2005
trip was 960 miles from Philadelphia to Savannah for a total 2535 miles.

The first 10 miles today were difficult. There was a continuous
stream of eastbound commuter traffic on 80 - less going my way (west), but
the road wasn't wide enough for comfort. After those first miles though,
traffic on 80 lightened greatly.

After Statesboro, I next stopped at 1:30 p.m., 83 miles for the
day just west of Swainsboro. The Weather Channel is on, and there are big
thunderstorms not far north and not far south of here. There is more
scattered stuff at the latitude I'm at. So time will tell.

There is a marked topography change west of Statesboro. To the
east, it's mostly flat, west of there is low rolling hills-nothing long or
steep, but continuous small hills.

The wind is still in my face and still mostly light. Not
bothersome but it does curb my speed.

One of the lenses on my glasses was loose and I happened by an
eye care center in Swainsboro and they took care of it right away.

It started raining about 8 miles from Dublin. Since there was no
lightning, I didn't seek shelter. Since there could be lightning later and
there's no good-stopping places for many miles after Dublin, I decided to
stop there, even though it was only 5:00 p.m. I sought out a motel with
laundry facilities-an Econolodge, as it happens - so I could wash and dry
all my stuff, except my sleeping shorts and sweat shirt, which I'm wearing.
Plus I can perhaps use a little more downtime one night.

Mileage for day: 121
Mileage for trip: 828 (254 in GA)
Got wet
Net headwind
Temperatures reached the mid 80's then dropped into the 70's.

Thursday, April 27, 2006
Day 7

Left at 6:15 a.m. (sun-up at 6:48) and rode 50 miles before
stopping at 10:25 past Bonaire-25 miles on US80 to past Danville, then 25
miles were on 358 and 96, passing south of Macon.

The rain has ended, but parts of the road are still damp-there
were some real thunderstorms during the night. There is a definite headwind
today. Winds from the NW and moderate. Temperatures in the low 60s, rising
to 67° as of now. Mostly cloudy early but the sun's coming out. I'll put on
sun screen.

Topography is still rolling hills-none very big. Mixed farms and
woods with continued logging trucks around.

My next stop wasn't until 4:10 with 114 miles for the day-and
rather close to Columbus where I'll probably stay tonight. I didn't plan to
go that long between stops (64 miles). I was going to stop at Butler (mile
86) but the town was wholly off the road with no indication what was
there-same thing at Junction City and Geneva. For mile after mile, there
were no businesses on the highway. (The same thing happened to me in Indiana
last year). Anyway, I finally found a gas station with a table to sit at, at
a township called Boxspring.

Though I've been on the bike lots of hours, my mileage is
unimpressive, as there's been an all-day headwind. Some of the hills also
got longer and higher. I reached 35 mph coasting down one of them. Except
for a 5 mile stretch where construction is underway and except for the
absence of restaurants, etc., 96 is a good road. Most of the stretch west of
Fort Valley is divided highway, with a full paved shoulder. The name changes
back to 80 at Geneva where 80 comes in from Macon. I had taken 96 to avoid
that "jog" that 80 takes to the north. Around Fort Valley, there are a lot
of peach orchards and pecan groves, and plowed farm fields that are growing
(cotton?). It's mostly not visible yet. There were some corn fields
yesterday (knee-high by the 26th of April?) and the logging activities
continue. A few fields have irrigation equipment.

I stopped for the evening in Columbus at about 6:30. I had two
more hours of daylight, but needed 3 hours to get to a town (Tuskegee) where
I could be reasonably confident of finding a hotel. So between that and the
headwind, I didn't get the mileage I'd have liked. Worse, the same thing
could happen tomorrow. Absent a problem, I should get to Selma but don't
have much chance of getting to Demopolis-well, we'll see how this
speculation looks tomorrow. My daughter, Margaret, did a computer search
for me and didn't see any motels in between Selma and Demopolis except way
off route.

Mileage for day: 137 (391 in GA)
Mileage for trip: 965
Net headwind: all day headwind, in fact

Friday, April 28, 2006
Day 8

Left at 6:30 EDT and rode 48 miles, stopping at Tuskegee, AL at
9:15 CDT (there was a time zone change in between).

The temperature starting out was a bracing 49°, probably cooler
at the bottom of hills, but it's warming nicely as the morning wears on.
Clear skies.

The topography is continued low to medium rolling hills. One 5
mile or so flat stretch had mostly farms; otherwise the countryside is
mostly wooded, with still plenty of lumber trucks. US 80 doesn't have a
paved shoulder except newly constructed areas around half a dozen or so
bridge crossings. Hopefully that's a precursor to a general rebuilding of
the road. Traffic was heavy enough coming out of Phenix City to make things
uncomfortable. After that, it's been light.

At the McDonald's I visited at Tuskegee, I was the only, er.
European American in the place.

After starting out again, I noted a slight tailwind had come up
and was pushing the pace to see if I might possibly make Demopolis today.
But why?

I was also feeling a bit fatigued and a little shady area looked
very inviting, with the temperature, I would guess, being a perfect 70°. So
I took a half hour's nap, read the readings specified for today's Mass, and
noticed some wild blackberries of which I ate a couple dozen. I also took a
picture of the scene-pleasant enough-but non-descript to anyone but me. Then
with this note written and feeling refreshed, it's off again at about 11:40,
with 64 miles for the day so far.



Stopped again at 1:30 p.m. after working my way through most of
Montgomery, which had the usual heavy commercial traffic on highway 80. I
suppose if I knew these towns well, there'd be a way to miss some of it.

I thought I was clear of Montgomery's traffic problems by then,
but wasn't, as the traffic signs routed 80 onto a limited access x-way. I
had about figured out another route-not a huge task-when a passing driver
offered the same advice.

Once clear of Montgomery, it was a good ride to Selma, which I
reached at 6:00 p.m. There was a slight tailwind and the hills were fewer,
though there were two that I coasted down at 31-34 mph, respectively. There
was a lot of pastureland with beef cattle, and distinctly less woodlands.
The road was all 4-lane, much of it with paved shoulder as well, some not.
Traffic was heavy for about 10 miles out of Montgomery, then light. All in
all, good riding. The skies clouded up slightly and the temperature dropped
from a high around 80 to the mid-70's.

Mileage for day: 142 Georgia 5 (396 total) - AL 137
Mileage for trip: 1107; FLA 574, GA 396, AL 137
Net tailwind for day

Saturday, April 29, 2006
Day 9

Left at 5:30 a.m. (sun-up 6:00) and rode 50 miles to Demopolis,
stopping there for breakfast at 8:55.

Temperature about 60°, rising to 67°--mostly cloudy. Wind light
at start, but a definite SE breeze is building, more of a tailwind than a
headwind.

The road to here was double lane except for about 5 miles; some
hills but fewer than in eastern AL or western GA.

No logging trucks for a change.

A lot of pastureland with beef cattle, plus I went by a big
catfish farm-first time I've seen one of these. I also went by a field of
last year's cotton, and other fields where it's not clear what's growing.

After breakfast I rode almost non-stop to Meridian, arriving a
little before 1:30 with 103 miles. I hit the MS line about noon with 86
miles for the day, I planned to make this an easy day, with time to relax in
both the afternoon and evening, sandwiched around 5:00 Mass at a Meridian
Church Margaret had identified for me on the internet. Catholic churches are
not so common in these parts, so planning is necessary. Plus I could use the
downtime.

Well, I did get to Mass but the day was not so relaxing. For
openers, my front tire kept getting softer and softer, so that had to be
addressed. With a new tube and CO2 cartridge used, I was down to one tube
and 2 cartridges, going into an area with few services available. Plus I
didn't get real good air pressure with the CO2 cartridge I used. I found the
leak and patched the tube-it was of unclear origin. But it still seemed I
should go to a shop and resupply.

Next Meridian is not so easy to navigate. The town and the
motels are separated by a big railway yard, but there is also an x-way with
one way frontage roads on either side. By the time I had found the Church,
found the bike shop, gotten some snacks (I had had no lunch) and made my way
back to the motel, it was already 4:30-just enough time to change into my
only clean shorts and T-shirt and go back to Church.

Further, the weather has gone to hell. It's raining in Meridian
and there are big storms coming up from western MS and LA. So that has to be
monitored in relation to tomorrow's plans. Throw in a few phone calls, doing
the laundry and looking in on the NFL draft on TV (as an avid Packer's fan,
I don't want to be uninformed about that!), and it's 10:00 p.m. with no
relaxation done! And here I thought I was going to spend a few hours lazily
napping and reading my Swedish mystery novel!

With biking around Meridian of 18 miles, my daily total is 121
miles, 86 in AL and 35 in MS.

Total for trip is 1228; 574 FLA, 396 GA, 223 AL, 35 MS

Net tailwind today.

The topography east of Demopolis was quite swampy. The Tombigbee
River had several widely separated channels besides the main one. So the
Alabama roads were close to flat and not many buildings. The ground got a
bit higher in Mississippi.

Sunday, April 30, 2006
Day 10

Left at about 5:55 a.m. (sun-up 6:10) and rode 54 miles before
stopping at Forest at 10:00. The story of the day is rain, which has been
falling the last 40 miles and intermittently before that. No lightning or
thunder so far.

The temp is in the low 60s, which is mild enough that I haven't
bothered with my rain coat. Anyway, in a word, I'm drenched, and it's still
raining as I look out the window at a fast-food restaurant.

The route to Forest was 80, to which route I'm saying a final
goodbye as I turn north on 35. After going west from Savannah to here, the
rest of the trip is mainly to the north.

The topography so far is mixed fields and woodlands, with a lot
of beef cattle.

After breakfast I rode 50 miles to Kosciusko, stopping there
about 2:10 p.m., with 104 miles for the day. The rain continued for another
7 miles, then was on and off for another 10 or so. It's now partly cloudy
and perhaps upper 60s. I'm part wet, part dry.

I passed over the Natchez Trace Parkway a couple miles before
stopping. It looked like an attractive route if what I could see was
representative.

The topography is hillier than before; still mostly wooded, with
some cattle in the fields. The road the last 6 miles into Kosciusko was
quite annoying. It had 2-3 feet of paved shoulder to the right of the white
line but cut deep grooves into the pavement centered on the white line. It's
not easy to ride comfortably to the right of the grooves without hitting
them, and going to the left-which I mostly did, takes away the benefit of
the extra width.

From Kosciusko, I rode mostly non-stop to Greenwood, when I
stopped for the night around 7:00 p.m. The skies were clear and I'm a bit
sunburned, as I didn't put on sunblock. Winds were slightly favorable early
in the day and largely absent later. The hills continued and grew until the
last half dozen or so miles before Greenwood when it abruptly got very flat.

I took 35 to 82 and then 89 into Greenwood, where it has joined
49. In the a.m., I'll take 49.

82 was obviously built in 2 stages. The eastbound lanes were
newer, with much deeper cuts and fills that leveled off the hills quite a
bit. The westbound lanes I was riding had cuts and fills, but not nearly as
much, so it was more work.

The flat land near Greenwood looks to be heavily farmed-the
woods have quit.

Mileage for day: 161 (MS 196)
Total for trip: 1389
Net tailwind

Monday, May 1, 2006
Day 11

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:11) and rode almost non-stop to
Arkansas, hitting that side of the Mississippi River bridge at 10:45, with
82 miles for the day.

It's been a "productive" morning in terms of mileage for two
reasons: flat roads and a tailwind.

These were the flattest roads of the whole trip, Florida not
excepted. It is lush farm country-as good-looking (to this non-farmer) as
anything in the mid-west. Cotton (I think), corn and soybeans were all over,
and there was even one long pecan grove.

Once across the bridge, things got slower. I stopped to take a
picture of the bridge, and to check the map on whether to take 49 or 49B,
then stopped at the visitors center to find out where the fast foods are in
the area. I'm at one now in West Helena, with 88 miles for the day.

Temp was 62° and cloudy and stayed cloudy and cool for several
hours. But the sun has been out since 11:00 or so and it's supposed to be
getting into the 80s. I'm putting on sunblock.

From W. Helena, I rode 56 miles in 3 hours, 6 minutes for an
average of fully 18 mph-no way I can come close to that without a nice
tailwind, which I have. Anyway, I'm stopped in Wynne a little after 3:00
with 144 miles for the day. Sky clear-temp 77-brisk south wind. The Arkansas
side of the big river is similar to the Mississippi side, lots of nice
farms-but a few more small hills and quite a few more little towns along the
route.



At Wynne, I got to talking with half a dozen people about the
trip, and while I was ordering, they called the local newspaper, whose
reporter came right over to interview me and take pictures. Very nice. And I
was still away after a 45-minute stop.





The winds remained favorable and so I rode on to Jonesboro,
arriving at a motel there before 6:30 with 187 miles. I could have gone
another hour or more if there was a town there. What a benefit a tailwind
provides!! I rode a little bit more in connection with supper.

Mileage for day: 189 82 - MS (278 total), 107 AR
Mileage for trip: 1578
Definite net tailwind-the best of the trip
Temperature peaked around 81°

This is my first time biking in Arkansas, making it the 46th
state in which I've biked (I still need Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota and
Wyoming). One of my little "projects" is to try and bike in all 50 states.
That's the reason my route on the present trip swung so far west-to pick up
Arkansas!





Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Day 12

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:08) and rode 54 miles to Piggott,
AR, stopping about 9:25. I saw some tornado carnage (presumably a tornado)
in Marmaduke (a town of 1100) on the way through and stopped to take a
picture. I'll try to remember to investigate later when the tornado had hit.
It's sure a mess now.

Temperature starting out was 65, rising only a bit so far. Skies
are threatening rain.

A "Little Debbie" delivery man at the place I'm stopped in
Piggott had seen me riding through Paragould 30-some miles ago. We chatted a
bit and he gave me 9 chocolate chip granola bars to take along.

There were rolling hills the 20 plus miles from Jonesboro to
Paragould. Since then, it's been mostly flat farm country again. You can
tell I'm getting farther north-the corn especially is not as far along as in
MS or GA.

I stopped again at 2:00 p.m. in Bloomfield, MO, with 100 miles
for the day. I hit the MO line around 10:45 with 62 miles. About that time a
north wind came up. I had picked up 62 at Piggott and that road switched
directions a few times so it was hard to tell about the wind, other than
that yesterday's tail winds were not in the picture. Anyway, when I turned
north on Route 25 with 73 miles for the day, the picture became clear: I had
a moderate to brisk headwind, which has continued to now. From Dexter on, I've
also encountered a hilly area. It looks like I may be lucky to make Cape
Girardeau. Anna, IL looks out of the question. My speed is much too modest.

The wind did moderate later in the afternoon, but it was still a
headwind.

Much of the road (Route 25) has paved shoulder in marginal
condition, made worse by the long grooves meant to awaken dozing motorists.
Why can't very short grooves serve as well? What they have is very difficult
to bike in.

Drivers here are also quite aggressive about passing in the face
of an oncoming bicycle. I gave them a "thumbs down", FWIW. (My disapproving
gesture of choice.)

I got a room at the Super 8, which turned out to be isolated
from the motel-restaurant district. With the distance and the hills, I opted
to stay in and order pizza and a 2 liter soda.

I have also done all of my laundry.

Mileage for day: 145: 62 ARK (169 total), 83 MO
Mileage for trip: 1723
Net headwind

Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Day 13

Left around 5:25 a.m. (sun-up 6:00) and rode 57 miles to and
through Carbondale to De Soto, IL, where I stopped for breakfast around
9:35.

Reached the IL line on the Mississippi River bridge after 6
miles. Temperature starting out was 53°. It's 67° now with clear skies.

Route is Ill 146 to 51 and then 51 North. The first 15 miles of
IL were flat, then it was hilly for the next 30; then mostly flat again. One
hill in Anna was the steepest of the trip so far. I had to gear down to 2-2.

Road was good to Carbondale. Since then, it's a little on the
narrow side.

Before leaving DeSoto, I put on sunblock. Not too long after, I
wondered why, because it had clouded up. I was making good time with a
modest tailwind when I noticed the sky to the NW getting darker and darker.
I hoped to get to Centralia, where I could take cover and was about out of
time with about 6 miles still to go, when a pick-up truck stopped to give me
a ride. The driver, John Wood, had been in the storm, which was ugly, saw me
on the road, and turned around to offer his assistance. How blessed we can
sometimes be by the kindness of strangers!

Anyway, I am waiting the storm out at a fast food place in
Centralia. I even found cover for the bike!

I left again at 2:30 and rode to Vandalia, but not non-stop. The
exertions of the trip are catching up to me and I stopped and took a half
hour or so roadside nap. Then after a short stop at Vandalia, I rode on to
Pana, arriving about 7:30 with 171 miles for the day.

Some slight tailwinds early in the day, practically no wind
later. Roads were fair; traffic was light on 51.

Mileage for day: 171: 6 MO (89 total), 165 IL
Mileage for trip: 1894
Net tailwind

Thursday, May 4, 2006
Day 14

I left at a rather late 6:00 a.m., a few minutes after
sunrise-the first time I haven't been out before sunrise.

The skies are clear, but the weatherman "delivered" on his
"promise" of headwinds for today. I have averaged barely 12 mph for the
first three hours of riding.

Anyway, I rode 36 miles to the north side of Decatur where I
stopped for breakfast at a Bob Evans, having also stopped briefly to get
some cash at an ATM and bought some prunes.

Central IL farm country offers no cover from the wind. It was
good to take business route 51 through Decatur, where there are buildings
and trees to cut the wind somewhat.

Beginning about 10 miles north of Pana, 51 is an excellent
road-a divided highway with a full paved shoulder, and, on the new parts,
grooves only about a foot wide at the left part of the paved shoulder.
Business 51 through Decatur is mandatory for bikes, as the bypass is
restricted access. No problem-I wanted to go through town anyway, plus it's
a bit shorter.

After breakfast, I rode 41 miles, stopping for lunch and a rest
on the south side of Bloomington, with 77 miles for the day. The headwinds
are continuing unabated. I left 51 and biked through Maroa, Clinton and
Heyworth, to take advantage of the towns cutting the wind a little. At least
the sky is clear. Temperatures are rather cool, at least by the standards of
this trip. It was about 55 starting out, was 60 in Decatur and I doubt that
it has hit 70(67 was the warmest I saw all day).

I realized yesterday that it's been a couple days since I've
seen any dead armadillos, and of course I wasn't to see any more of them
further north. They're the predominant road kill in the south.

Today, I saw a flowering crab tree in Clinton and realized I
hadn't seen any previously on this trip. They are ubiquitous in Milwaukee
and also were in the NE cities I've biked through in the past. After
knee-high corn in Georgia and Mississippi, it got steadily shorter as I move
north-some of it was just coming up in Pana yesterday. Now it's not out of
the ground and in many fields, nothings been planted. (That's surely the
case at home!)

After lunch, the wind shifted a little more westerly and picked
up. My speed if anything was slowed. I had trouble maintaining 12 mph. It
was a real problem.

I rode until 7:15, when I reached a motel in Streator, after 133
miles of riding.

Route from Bloomington: Business 55, then County Road 31, County
Road 12, County Road 29 and then 16-finally ending on State 16 and 23. It
was mostly country riding with very little cover.

Mileage for day: 133 (IL- 298 total)
Mileage for trip: 2027
Net headwind and little else-the worst of the trip

Friday, May 5, 2006
Day 15

Because of another day of predicted headwinds, I had no serious
chance of getting home, at least not without quite a bit of riding after
dark.

So I reserved a motel room in Elkhorn, WI, about 60 miles from
home. The advance reservation seemed in order, because weekends have been
the time when it's most difficult to find a room, not least on this trip.
(See my day 1 experience; also the following Saturday, I was early and got a
room in Meridian, but the place did sell out.)

I left the motel in Streator at a little before 6:00, about the
time of sunrise. The temperature was 44, coolest of the trip so far. So I
wore my sweatshirt riding for the first time.

After 15 miles, I passed a church in Ottawa that had a 7:00 a.m.
Mass, which I attended.

Then I rode 46 miles more to the north side of DeKalb, where I
stopped for lunch around 11:40. Soon into the stretch, the wind came up
noticeably, and like yesterday, it was in my face, with little cover
available to shelter me from it. Along the way, I took about a 10-minute
break to have a granola bar and get out of the wind. Also like yesterday, it
made it difficult to average even 12 mph. My route to the Wis. line is IL
23, which varies in quality. Much of it has a full paved shoulder; other
parts (e.g. south of Waterman) have only 2 lanes with no paved shoulder at
all.

The temperatures dropped in the afternoon and it was down to 48
by the time I reached Harvard.

Route 23 in Northern DeKalb and all of McHenry County is perhaps
the least safe stretch in the whole trip-at any rate it vies with the south
approaches to Miami. Anyway, Rt. 23 in that area is a narrow 2 lane road
with no shoulder, paved or otherwise and dozens of semis and cement trucks
(Illinois, you can do better!)

It was very comforting to reach the WI line a little after 5:00
with 103 miles for the day and see the road widen.

Back in WI, I encountered perhaps the two largest climbs of a
not very hilly trip, one coming out of Fontana, the other out of Williams
Bay.

I also stopped in this area at an assisted living facility en
route to visit a patient there.

I reached Elkhorn and checked into my reserved room around 7:00
p.m. with 117 miles for the day, and added 5 more getting provisions to eat.

Mileage for day: 122: IL 103 (401 total), WI 19

Mileage for trip: 2149
Net headwind: real problem again

Saturday, May 6, 2006
Day 16

Left the motel at 6:15, a good 20 minutes after sun-up, but with
only a short trip home to finish, this should be no problem.

The skies were clear and the wind has diminished to near calm,
but it was cold. The Weather Channel had the local temperature at 36, but
there was frost on the cars in the parking lot and frosty areas in some
yards. So, call it 32 F, which brackets the temperature extremes for this
trip at 32 and 91.

I took Rt. 67 from Elkhorn to Oconomowoc, for 33 miles, passing
through southern part of the Kettle Moraine (i.e. it was hilly). The
landscape was brightened by flowering crabs in all their glory. There were
also a lot of lilacs in color, especially in the countryside, and a bit of
red bud. (This was also the case in No. IL yesterday).

From Oconomowoc, I took a number of local roads that wound their
way through lake country, eventually arriving at Rte. 83 at the north end of
Waukesha County. I took a picture of an interesting tree, decorated to look
like a roadrunner.

I went out of my way to go north an extra 4 miles beyond where I
live to stop at Holy Hill. This is the highest point at SE Wis. (a modest
1300 feet above sea level, and 700 some feet above Lake Michigan). The hill
is topped by a shrine and monastery and is one of my favorite bicycling
destinations; I've biked there over 400 times. Among other things, they have
outdoor stations of the cross which I prayed in thanksgiving for a trip
safely completed (well, almost completed at that point).

This left me with 16 miles to home, ironically riding toward the
southeast on a trip that started far to the southeast. It was "coming on in"
time, the exhilaration that accompanies the last miles home at the end of a
long trip. And so I lightly traversed the familiar, albeit hilly roads of
Washington County-Holy Hill Road into my hometown of Germantown, then Fond
du Lac Ave. into the urban section, and several local streets home. There
was one more stop to make, at the local supermarket, to pick up roses for
milady, which protruded from my backpack, which actually had quite a bit of
empty space (most of my baggage was jammed into the side bags of my rear
carrier).

I arrived home just after 12:00 noon, with 69 miles for the day.

Mileage for day: 69, all in WI (88 total)
Mileage for trip: 2218
Winds: Light and variable today, call it neutral

Mileage summary: FLA 574, GA 396, AL 223, MS 278, AR 169, MO 89, IL 401, WI
88

Total: 2218

Net tailwinds: 4/23, 4/24. 4/25, 4/28, 4/29, 4/30, 5/1, 5/3 (8)
Net headwinds: 4/21. 4/26, 4/27, 5/2, 5/4, 5/5 (6)
Neutral winds: 4/22. 5/16 (2)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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Thanks Roy for another interesting report.
"Ron Wallenfang" wrote in message
...
Ron Wallenfang's Bike Trip
April 21 through May 6, 2006
Key West - Savannah - Arkansas - Milwaukee
2218 Miles

Bike is a TREK 520 touring bike

-saddlebag on rear carrier, with a bag on each side, and one over the rack

-back pack for lighter items

Baggage-all packed in gallon size freezer bags

-2 extra printed t-shirts

-2 extra undershorts

-2 extra pair of socks

-sweatshirt

-shower shoes

-extra handkerchief

-extra pair of bermudas

-sleeping shorts -can wear outside if needed



-3 extra tubes

-tube repair kit

-5 CO2 Cartridges

-4 tire levers

-set of Allyn wrenches



-helmet

-gloves

-lock

-state highway maps

-log book

-pens

-prayer book

-Swedish mystery novel

-camera

-cell phone and charger

-toiletries-usual

-Swiss army knife

-Super 8 Motel Directory

-water bottle

Sent the bike ahead of time via UPS to a shop in Key West.





Friday, April 21, 2006 Day One

Key West isn't easy to get to from Milwaukee. I took a 7:40 a.m. flight to
Fort Meyers-then had a two hour layover and then a short flight to Key
West arriving at 2:30 p.m.

The flight from Milwaukee was half an hour late but uneventful.
Unfortunately, I had to check my black saddlebag as baggage, because I
carry a Swiss-army knife, which is prohibited as a carry-on. What a
weapon!!!!!! It barely cuts bread!



The little plane from Fort Meyers to Key West held nine passengers,
including the person (me) who was put in the co-pilot's seat. (I know
nothing about how to fly a plane.) The plane was painted with a shark
image in front, with a big picture of Ernest Hemingway on the side and the
words "Key West Express" on the tail. People and baggage were put on in a
way calculated to balance the load. Every nook and cranny was filled with
someone or something. It was hot inside, but the pilot assured us that
when we got to our 7000 foot cruising altitude, the plane would cool off,
and it did. Not a bad flight actually.





Arriving in Key West at 2:30, I took a taxi to the bike shop, which had my
bike ready to go. After getting my saddlebag and headlight attached and
putting on my sun block (much needed by a northerner in April even though
I spend a lot of time outdoors) and visiting with the staff a while about
my proposed trip.



I took a picture of one of them. Then, I biked down to the
"southern-most" point monument, and had my picture taken.







And then I was off to the North on U.S. Hwy 1, beginning about 3:15 p.m.
Traffic was a problem the first 5 miles or so, then the going was pretty
good. In some areas, there were bike paths; almost everywhere else, the
road had a few feet of paved shoulder. Temperatures were in the low to
mid 80's with a mostly sunny sky. Winds were more east than south-almost
completely east at times, giving me a bothersome headwind, especially on
bridges. I made it to Marathon, about 50 miles from Key West, where an
unpleasant surprise awaited me. There was an organized run over the 7
Mile Bridge tomorrow, which meant that almost every hotel room in town was
taken. After 10 miles of riding around, I found one for $250.00!! A
beautiful suite, but hardly what I was looking for. I count myself as too
old to sleep on the beach, but it was a close call.

The forecast for tomorrow is for a low of 77 degrees, rising to the mid
80's with Southeast winds.

I had supper at a nearby restaurant featuring some of the local conch,
which is good. Then I called my wife, who is in North Carolina at a
gathering of the "Schmidt family women".

Then it was time to end this log & get organized for tomorrow.

Mileage for the Day: 60 Net headwind

Saturday, April 22, 2006 Day Two

I left at first light around 6:30 a.m. (sun-up 6:58 a.m.) and rode 50
miles to Key Largo. There was a bike path part of the way; the rest had a
few feet of paved shoulder. Stopped for breakfast in Key Largo at 10:00
a.m.

Sky mainly clear, with some low clouds blocking the a.m. sun a little.
Temperature around 80 degrees and humid. There is no morning "cool".

Putting on sun-block at Key Largo. Mostly a head wind again, but
hopefully that will change as the road veers to the north, as it already
has to a degree. Hundreds of fisherman out, one was posing for pictures
with a nice fish.

Five or six miles from Key Largo, US 1 turned north-even a little east of
north and continued that way for over 20 miles. I picked up a nice
tailwind and made good time. Less gratifying, there was a lot of traffic
and only a few feet of paved shoulder and that little bit had raised
reflectors buried in it that I had to dodge. The landscape quickly
changed from keys and water to Everglades. It was a lonely road with
swamp on both sides. There were two long breaks in the heavy traffic.
When a bridge (at the south end of this stretch) went up to let boats
through, it completely cut off northbound traffic because there were no
cross roads in the Everglades to contribute any other northbound traffic.

Thirty-one (31) miles after Key Largo and coming into Homestead, I had a
flat rear tire; a wire punctured the tube. A few miles later, I went past
a bike shop and had more air added than my hand pump and CO2 cartridge had
managed. I also bought a replacement tube. At 92 miles for the day I
stopped for a dessert and lots of soda.

The ride into Miami on US 1 was a penance. The traffic uses the right
hand lane more aggressively than in most cities. As a result I frequently
rode the sidewalk, which is a rarity for me. "Take the lane" advocates
would be ashamed of me!

In downtown Miami, I briefly lost the route, but at 3:25 blundered past a
Church (Gesu) with a 4:00 Mass, so I had a short lunch and then went to
that Mass, with 110 miles for the day to that point.

After that I went North on US1 to 79th Street then east over the
intracoastal to Miami Beach and Rte. A1A. Once I got there, riding was
much better. Going straight North, I picked up a tailwind again. And A1A
has less cross traffic and better riding conditions.

I hit Broward County at 128 miles for the day and rode another 12 miles,
stopping south of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Tomorrow A.M., I can cut back
over to A1A again.

Mileage for the day: 140
Mileage for the trip 200
High Temperatu about 87 degrees with high humidity
Winds - headwinds and tailwinds about cancelled each other out;
call it neutral
Wind was basically SE

Sunday, April 23, 2003 Day 3

Left at 6:10 a.m. (sunup at 6:49) and took A1A to Palm Beach, then crossed
the intracoastal and biked north, on local streets and then on US1.
Stopped for breakfast at 10:00 a.m. at Riviera Beach with 52 miles for the
day.

Earlier stopped for 7:30 Mass at St. Lucy's in Highland Beach, though I
was late. Temperatures are rising through the 70's-practically no wind.

This area (Palm Beach and south) is not called the gold coast for nothing.
The surroundings practically breathe wealth.

The A1A route from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach can also be an "ego
crusher" for many bike riders. There were hundreds of bike riders out,
singly and in groups of up to 15. Most of them were really getting a
work out. I was plodding along at 15 mph and was passed routinely. At
age 62, slightly overweight, with 700x35 tires and 20 lbs of baggage, I
couldn't have kept up if I wanted to. The important thing was not to try.
I tried pushing myself too hard at the National 24 Hour Challenge last
June and ended up losing 2 hours to leg cramps. I am much better off
maintaining a pace I can hold all day.

At the Riviera Beach stop, I laid my still damp laundry-which I washed in
the sink last night-out to dry on my bike.

As with yesterday, this is the time of day to put on the sunscreen,
although conditions are mixed sun and clouds.

Shortly afterward, there was a brief shower, but with no lighting, I biked
through it.

I made several short stops during the day, mainly to stay hydrated. At
one, I went to a Publix and got a fruit cup plus two liters of orange
juice, half of which I used in my water bottle.

The wind was light until about 2:00, after which a nice tailwind came up,
so I kept going until a little after 8:00, where I stopped in Cocoa after
sundown, but before it was dark. There was a 24 hour IHOP next door, so I
ate there after cleaning up, and rinsing out today's clothes. I'll need
to find a place with laundry facilities one of these nights to get my
things clean and not just un-smelly.

I had considered stopping in Melbourne after 151 miles but with a
tailwind, which I hate to give up, I kept on going until Cocoa.

Mileage for day: 176
Mileage for trip: 376
Net tailwind today

Monday, April 24, 2006 Day 4

Left at 6:15 and rode 63 miles, stopping at 10:30 just coming into Daytona
Beach.

Temperature starting out was 69 degrees - first time under 70 on this
trip. I suppose I'll miss the warmth further north! But 69 degrees felt
very good. It's probably up to 80 degrees by now though. Like yesterday,
I hung my damp clothes out to dry on the bike. There was a little light
fog early but it quickly dissipated when the sun came up.

North of Titusville was the first sustained rural area I've seen-mostly
grazing fields with few animals in sight. Also I saw a few orchards.




Besides the usual road kill along the side, I saw a dead wild pig. That's
a first!

The road (US1) consistently had a few feet of paved shoulder.
There was a construction zone of 5 miles or so with the shoulder area
rough. But the "closed" traffic lane was mostly in good shape so I rode
there.

After passing through the New Smyrna-Daytona-Ormond Beach area,
with the usual commercial roadsides, Flagler County was an empty surprise.
"They" are "fixing" (as the southerner's would say) to develop the east
side of US #1. There are signs announcing the city limits of Palm Coast
(which is not very near the coast, as US#1 is actually west of I-95 in
this area), and there are the beginnings of a few roads, but no people.
West of US#1 is just wild scrub. I assumed there'd be stores, etc. and
passed up stopping in Bunnell, which was a mistake. There were no stores
for another 14 miles - until the I-95 junction. I was a bit dehydrated by
then-43 miles from the previous stop-106 for the day. The temperature rose
to the upper 80s.

At mile 123 for the day, I reached St. Augustine, and in an
unusual move for me (my usual style is to just pound out more miles), went
into town to look at the historic area.





Then it was on to Jacksonville, which I reached in time to make
my way to the north side, to limit city riding tomorrow. I got lost once
trying to get on US 17, having said "good-bye" to the US1/A1A combination
that I have used ever since Key West.

I assumed wrongly I'd find a motel at the I-195/17
intersection. A clerk at a convenience store there sent me in reverse 3
miles, where I did find motels. But I'm still pretty well on the north
side of Jacksonville.

As happened yesterday, the wind was light and variable in the
a.m., but became a tailwind in the p.m.

Mileage for day: 174
Mileage for trip: 550
Net tailwind for day

P.S. I'm eating at Applebee's which brought me a pitcher of ice
water to help me "rehydrate". Trouble is, when I drink the quantity of
real cold water I need, I get chilled-in this hot weather! But they
readily brought me a substitute pitcher with no ice.

It should be remarked that Jacksonville was quite an easy town
to bike through, by comparison with Miami and some others on other trips.
US#1 from the south has consistent extra width and also handles
intersections well. Sometimes there are bike lanes striped in, but with or
without that, the width is what makes it safer.

US 17 north was also pretty good riding. Again, it was roadway
width that is the key.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006 Day 5

I left the motel around 6:15 a.m.-sun-up 6:48. Temperature
around 70°--maybe a little cooler. Route 17 north is an O.K. bike
route-not nearly as heavily traveled as US#1 coming up from the south. And
there was usually a few feet of paved shoulder. Julee, about 15 miles
ahead and a place I might have reached yesterday, had two motels available
had I known-well, so it goes.

At about 8:00 a.m., with 24 miles for the day, I hit the GA
line-so I biked 574 miles in FL.

US17 in GA is a designated bike route (95). The road is
slightly narrower than in FL but traffic is very light. Outside the towns,
there's not much to see. Part of the land is swamp; most of the rest is
wooded-no farms, few homes. There are lumber trucks around, so obviously
the wood is being harvested-mostly pine-few palm trees, though they too
grow here.

I biked 59 miles and stopped at the 17/95 junction near
Brunswick, at about 10:30 until 11:30.

Then I backtracked a mile and took 303 to the north side of
Brunswick where it rejoined 17. I kept going until mile 104, another
junction of 17 and I-95 this time near Midway. The temperature is 88 or 91
according to two clocks I passed.

The towns are a little more frequent than in the southernmost
county, but still pretty thinly populated, with woods, swamps and a few
fields-one with beef cattle. One little stretch had a dozen oak trees with
hanging moss overhanging the road. If only that could continue for miles!
It's beautiful.

After the mile 104 stop, I rode pretty much non-stop to
downtown Savannah, which I reached at about 5:30. US17 turned onto a
freeway, so I just headed generally north on surface streets and did get
to the historic area, where I looked around and took a few pictures. The
tour buses (many of them) were just finishing their days' work. There is
no special "must-see" attraction here, but a lot of history going back to
colonial times.



Then I rode generally west until I hit US 80, which I took
until about 9 miles west of downtown, where there were a cluster of motels
and other facilities.

The rear tire was a bit soft today. I considered changing the
tube, but since there seemed to be no air lost during the day, I left it
alone. We'll see how that works out.

I'm in a Travelodge in a smoking suite, since that's all that
was available. And it's a big room indeed! I ate in the room, since
there's a grocery next door, where I got wine, Swiss cheese, hard salami,
a citrus fruit combo and a 2-litre soda.

I quit a bit on the early side-around 7:00 p.m., with sundown
at 8:00, but hotel prospects to the west are dubious.

Mileage for day: 157, 133 in GA
Mileage for trip: 707
Winds not as favorable as the last 2 days (more west than south
until late) but more favorable than not.
Call it a net tailwind.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 Day 6

I thought the better of what to do about my soft rear tire, and
changed the tube before leaving this morning.

I left at 6:05 (sun-up 6:43), went 1/10 mile and realized I
forgot my water bottle. So I went back to get it and left again at 6:15,
riding 42 miles to Statesboro, where I stopped at 9:30. Temperature around
70°. There's a big front with lots of thundershowers covering the length
of Mississippi and headed this way, so I may well get wet today.

Winds are westerly, meaning a headwind, though not a strong one
so far.

After 3 miles I reached the point where my route hit last
year's route, so I've officially gone from the top to the bottom of the
eastern U.S.-710 miles thus far this trip; the relevant part of my 2004
trip was 865 miles from Matawaska, ME, to Philadelphia and the relevant
part of my 2005 trip was 960 miles from Philadelphia to Savannah for a
total 2535 miles.

The first 10 miles today were difficult. There was a continuous
stream of eastbound commuter traffic on 80 - less going my way (west), but
the road wasn't wide enough for comfort. After those first miles though,
traffic on 80 lightened greatly.

After Statesboro, I next stopped at 1:30 p.m., 83 miles for the
day just west of Swainsboro. The Weather Channel is on, and there are big
thunderstorms not far north and not far south of here. There is more
scattered stuff at the latitude I'm at. So time will tell.

There is a marked topography change west of Statesboro. To the
east, it's mostly flat, west of there is low rolling hills-nothing long or
steep, but continuous small hills.

The wind is still in my face and still mostly light. Not
bothersome but it does curb my speed.

One of the lenses on my glasses was loose and I happened by an
eye care center in Swainsboro and they took care of it right away.

It started raining about 8 miles from Dublin. Since there was
no lightning, I didn't seek shelter. Since there could be lightning later
and there's no good-stopping places for many miles after Dublin, I decided
to stop there, even though it was only 5:00 p.m. I sought out a motel with
laundry facilities-an Econolodge, as it happens - so I could wash and dry
all my stuff, except my sleeping shorts and sweat shirt, which I'm
wearing. Plus I can perhaps use a little more downtime one night.

Mileage for day: 121
Mileage for trip: 828 (254 in GA)
Got wet
Net headwind
Temperatures reached the mid 80's then dropped into the 70's.

Thursday, April 27, 2006 Day 7

Left at 6:15 a.m. (sun-up at 6:48) and rode 50 miles before
stopping at 10:25 past Bonaire-25 miles on US80 to past Danville, then 25
miles were on 358 and 96, passing south of Macon.

The rain has ended, but parts of the road are still damp-there
were some real thunderstorms during the night. There is a definite
headwind today. Winds from the NW and moderate. Temperatures in the low
60s, rising to 67° as of now. Mostly cloudy early but the sun's coming
out. I'll put on sun screen.

Topography is still rolling hills-none very big. Mixed farms
and woods with continued logging trucks around.

My next stop wasn't until 4:10 with 114 miles for the day-and
rather close to Columbus where I'll probably stay tonight. I didn't plan
to go that long between stops (64 miles). I was going to stop at Butler
(mile 86) but the town was wholly off the road with no indication what was
there-same thing at Junction City and Geneva. For mile after mile, there
were no businesses on the highway. (The same thing happened to me in
Indiana last year). Anyway, I finally found a gas station with a table to
sit at, at a township called Boxspring.

Though I've been on the bike lots of hours, my mileage is
unimpressive, as there's been an all-day headwind. Some of the hills also
got longer and higher. I reached 35 mph coasting down one of them. Except
for a 5 mile stretch where construction is underway and except for the
absence of restaurants, etc., 96 is a good road. Most of the stretch west
of Fort Valley is divided highway, with a full paved shoulder. The name
changes back to 80 at Geneva where 80 comes in from Macon. I had taken 96
to avoid that "jog" that 80 takes to the north. Around Fort Valley, there
are a lot of peach orchards and pecan groves, and plowed farm fields that
are growing (cotton?). It's mostly not visible yet. There were some corn
fields yesterday (knee-high by the 26th of April?) and the logging
activities continue. A few fields have irrigation equipment.

I stopped for the evening in Columbus at about 6:30. I had two
more hours of daylight, but needed 3 hours to get to a town (Tuskegee)
where I could be reasonably confident of finding a hotel. So between that
and the headwind, I didn't get the mileage I'd have liked. Worse, the same
thing could happen tomorrow. Absent a problem, I should get to Selma but
don't have much chance of getting to Demopolis-well, we'll see how this
speculation looks tomorrow. My daughter, Margaret, did a computer search
for me and didn't see any motels in between Selma and Demopolis except way
off route.

Mileage for day: 137 (391 in GA)
Mileage for trip: 965
Net headwind: all day headwind, in fact

Friday, April 28, 2006 Day 8

Left at 6:30 EDT and rode 48 miles, stopping at Tuskegee, AL at
9:15 CDT (there was a time zone change in between).

The temperature starting out was a bracing 49°, probably cooler
at the bottom of hills, but it's warming nicely as the morning wears on.
Clear skies.

The topography is continued low to medium rolling hills. One 5
mile or so flat stretch had mostly farms; otherwise the countryside is
mostly wooded, with still plenty of lumber trucks. US 80 doesn't have a
paved shoulder except newly constructed areas around half a dozen or so
bridge crossings. Hopefully that's a precursor to a general rebuilding of
the road. Traffic was heavy enough coming out of Phenix City to make
things uncomfortable. After that, it's been light.

At the McDonald's I visited at Tuskegee, I was the only, er.
European American in the place.

After starting out again, I noted a slight tailwind had come up
and was pushing the pace to see if I might possibly make Demopolis today.
But why?

I was also feeling a bit fatigued and a little shady area
looked very inviting, with the temperature, I would guess, being a perfect
70°. So I took a half hour's nap, read the readings specified for today's
Mass, and noticed some wild blackberries of which I ate a couple dozen. I
also took a picture of the scene-pleasant enough-but non-descript to
anyone but me. Then with this note written and feeling refreshed, it's off
again at about 11:40, with 64 miles for the day so far.



Stopped again at 1:30 p.m. after working my way through most of
Montgomery, which had the usual heavy commercial traffic on highway 80. I
suppose if I knew these towns well, there'd be a way to miss some of it.

I thought I was clear of Montgomery's traffic problems by then,
but wasn't, as the traffic signs routed 80 onto a limited access x-way. I
had about figured out another route-not a huge task-when a passing driver
offered the same advice.

Once clear of Montgomery, it was a good ride to Selma, which I
reached at 6:00 p.m. There was a slight tailwind and the hills were fewer,
though there were two that I coasted down at 31-34 mph, respectively.
There was a lot of pastureland with beef cattle, and distinctly less
woodlands. The road was all 4-lane, much of it with paved shoulder as
well, some not. Traffic was heavy for about 10 miles out of Montgomery,
then light. All in all, good riding. The skies clouded up slightly and the
temperature dropped from a high around 80 to the mid-70's.

Mileage for day: 142 Georgia 5 (396 total) - AL 137
Mileage for trip: 1107; FLA 574, GA 396, AL 137
Net tailwind for day

Saturday, April 29, 2006 Day 9

Left at 5:30 a.m. (sun-up 6:00) and rode 50 miles to Demopolis,
stopping there for breakfast at 8:55.

Temperature about 60°, rising to 67°--mostly cloudy. Wind light
at start, but a definite SE breeze is building, more of a tailwind than a
headwind.

The road to here was double lane except for about 5 miles; some
hills but fewer than in eastern AL or western GA.

No logging trucks for a change.

A lot of pastureland with beef cattle, plus I went by a big
catfish farm-first time I've seen one of these. I also went by a field of
last year's cotton, and other fields where it's not clear what's growing.

After breakfast I rode almost non-stop to Meridian, arriving a
little before 1:30 with 103 miles. I hit the MS line about noon with 86
miles for the day, I planned to make this an easy day, with time to relax
in both the afternoon and evening, sandwiched around 5:00 Mass at a
Meridian Church Margaret had identified for me on the internet. Catholic
churches are not so common in these parts, so planning is necessary. Plus
I could use the downtime.

Well, I did get to Mass but the day was not so relaxing. For
openers, my front tire kept getting softer and softer, so that had to be
addressed. With a new tube and CO2 cartridge used, I was down to one tube
and 2 cartridges, going into an area with few services available. Plus I
didn't get real good air pressure with the CO2 cartridge I used. I found
the leak and patched the tube-it was of unclear origin. But it still
seemed I should go to a shop and resupply.

Next Meridian is not so easy to navigate. The town and the
motels are separated by a big railway yard, but there is also an x-way
with one way frontage roads on either side. By the time I had found the
Church, found the bike shop, gotten some snacks (I had had no lunch) and
made my way back to the motel, it was already 4:30-just enough time to
change into my only clean shorts and T-shirt and go back to Church.

Further, the weather has gone to hell. It's raining in Meridian
and there are big storms coming up from western MS and LA. So that has to
be monitored in relation to tomorrow's plans. Throw in a few phone calls,
doing the laundry and looking in on the NFL draft on TV (as an avid
Packer's fan, I don't want to be uninformed about that!), and it's 10:00
p.m. with no relaxation done! And here I thought I was going to spend a
few hours lazily napping and reading my Swedish mystery novel!

With biking around Meridian of 18 miles, my daily total is 121
miles, 86 in AL and 35 in MS.

Total for trip is 1228; 574 FLA, 396 GA, 223 AL, 35 MS

Net tailwind today.

The topography east of Demopolis was quite swampy. The
Tombigbee River had several widely separated channels besides the main
one. So the Alabama roads were close to flat and not many buildings. The
ground got a bit higher in Mississippi.

Sunday, April 30, 2006 Day 10

Left at about 5:55 a.m. (sun-up 6:10) and rode 54 miles before
stopping at Forest at 10:00. The story of the day is rain, which has been
falling the last 40 miles and intermittently before that. No lightning or
thunder so far.

The temp is in the low 60s, which is mild enough that I haven't
bothered with my rain coat. Anyway, in a word, I'm drenched, and it's
still raining as I look out the window at a fast-food restaurant.

The route to Forest was 80, to which route I'm saying a final
goodbye as I turn north on 35. After going west from Savannah to here, the
rest of the trip is mainly to the north.

The topography so far is mixed fields and woodlands, with a lot
of beef cattle.

After breakfast I rode 50 miles to Kosciusko, stopping there
about 2:10 p.m., with 104 miles for the day. The rain continued for
another 7 miles, then was on and off for another 10 or so. It's now partly
cloudy and perhaps upper 60s. I'm part wet, part dry.

I passed over the Natchez Trace Parkway a couple miles before
stopping. It looked like an attractive route if what I could see was
representative.

The topography is hillier than before; still mostly wooded,
with some cattle in the fields. The road the last 6 miles into Kosciusko
was quite annoying. It had 2-3 feet of paved shoulder to the right of the
white line but cut deep grooves into the pavement centered on the white
line. It's not easy to ride comfortably to the right of the grooves
without hitting them, and going to the left-which I mostly did, takes away
the benefit of the extra width.

From Kosciusko, I rode mostly non-stop to Greenwood, when I
stopped for the night around 7:00 p.m. The skies were clear and I'm a bit
sunburned, as I didn't put on sunblock. Winds were slightly favorable
early in the day and largely absent later. The hills continued and grew
until the last half dozen or so miles before Greenwood when it abruptly
got very flat.

I took 35 to 82 and then 89 into Greenwood, where it has joined
49. In the a.m., I'll take 49.

82 was obviously built in 2 stages. The eastbound lanes were
newer, with much deeper cuts and fills that leveled off the hills quite a
bit. The westbound lanes I was riding had cuts and fills, but not nearly
as much, so it was more work.

The flat land near Greenwood looks to be heavily farmed-the
woods have quit.

Mileage for day: 161 (MS 196)
Total for trip: 1389
Net tailwind

Monday, May 1, 2006 Day 11

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:11) and rode almost non-stop to
Arkansas, hitting that side of the Mississippi River bridge at 10:45, with
82 miles for the day.

It's been a "productive" morning in terms of mileage for two
reasons: flat roads and a tailwind.

These were the flattest roads of the whole trip, Florida not
excepted. It is lush farm country-as good-looking (to this non-farmer) as
anything in the mid-west. Cotton (I think), corn and soybeans were all
over, and there was even one long pecan grove.

Once across the bridge, things got slower. I stopped to take a
picture of the bridge, and to check the map on whether to take 49 or 49B,
then stopped at the visitors center to find out where the fast foods are
in the area. I'm at one now in West Helena, with 88 miles for the day.

Temp was 62° and cloudy and stayed cloudy and cool for several
hours. But the sun has been out since 11:00 or so and it's supposed to be
getting into the 80s. I'm putting on sunblock.

From W. Helena, I rode 56 miles in 3 hours, 6 minutes for an
average of fully 18 mph-no way I can come close to that without a nice
tailwind, which I have. Anyway, I'm stopped in Wynne a little after 3:00
with 144 miles for the day. Sky clear-temp 77-brisk south wind. The
Arkansas side of the big river is similar to the Mississippi side, lots of
nice farms-but a few more small hills and quite a few more little towns
along the route.



At Wynne, I got to talking with half a dozen people about the
trip, and while I was ordering, they called the local newspaper, whose
reporter came right over to interview me and take pictures. Very nice. And
I was still away after a 45-minute stop.





The winds remained favorable and so I rode on to Jonesboro,
arriving at a motel there before 6:30 with 187 miles. I could have gone
another hour or more if there was a town there. What a benefit a tailwind
provides!! I rode a little bit more in connection with supper.

Mileage for day: 189 82 - MS (278 total), 107 AR
Mileage for trip: 1578
Definite net tailwind-the best of the trip
Temperature peaked around 81°

This is my first time biking in Arkansas, making it the 46th
state in which I've biked (I still need Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota and
Wyoming). One of my little "projects" is to try and bike in all 50 states.
That's the reason my route on the present trip swung so far west-to pick
up Arkansas!





Tuesday, May 2, 2006 Day 12

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:08) and rode 54 miles to Piggott,
AR, stopping about 9:25. I saw some tornado carnage (presumably a tornado)
in Marmaduke (a town of 1100) on the way through and stopped to take a
picture. I'll try to remember to investigate later when the tornado had
hit. It's sure a mess now.

Temperature starting out was 65, rising only a bit so far.
Skies are threatening rain.

A "Little Debbie" delivery man at the place I'm stopped in
Piggott had seen me riding through Paragould 30-some miles ago. We chatted
a bit and he gave me 9 chocolate chip granola bars to take along.

There were rolling hills the 20 plus miles from Jonesboro to
Paragould. Since then, it's been mostly flat farm country again. You can
tell I'm getting farther north-the corn especially is not as far along as
in MS or GA.

I stopped again at 2:00 p.m. in Bloomfield, MO, with 100 miles
for the day. I hit the MO line around 10:45 with 62 miles. About that time
a north wind came up. I had picked up 62 at Piggott and that road switched
directions a few times so it was hard to tell about the wind, other than
that yesterday's tail winds were not in the picture. Anyway, when I turned
north on Route 25 with 73 miles for the day, the picture became clear: I
had a moderate to brisk headwind, which has continued to now. From Dexter
on, I've also encountered a hilly area. It looks like I may be lucky to
make Cape Girardeau. Anna, IL looks out of the question. My speed is much
too modest.

The wind did moderate later in the afternoon, but it was still
a headwind.

Much of the road (Route 25) has paved shoulder in marginal
condition, made worse by the long grooves meant to awaken dozing
motorists. Why can't very short grooves serve as well? What they have is
very difficult to bike in.

Drivers here are also quite aggressive about passing in the
face of an oncoming bicycle. I gave them a "thumbs down", FWIW. (My
disapproving gesture of choice.)

I got a room at the Super 8, which turned out to be isolated
from the motel-restaurant district. With the distance and the hills, I
opted to stay in and order pizza and a 2 liter soda.

I have also done all of my laundry.

Mileage for day: 145: 62 ARK (169 total), 83 MO
Mileage for trip: 1723
Net headwind

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 Day 13

Left around 5:25 a.m. (sun-up 6:00) and rode 57 miles to and
through Carbondale to De Soto, IL, where I stopped for breakfast around
9:35.

Reached the IL line on the Mississippi River bridge after 6
miles. Temperature starting out was 53°. It's 67° now with clear skies.

Route is Ill 146 to 51 and then 51 North. The first 15 miles of
IL were flat, then it was hilly for the next 30; then mostly flat again.
One hill in Anna was the steepest of the trip so far. I had to gear down
to 2-2.

Road was good to Carbondale. Since then, it's a little on the
narrow side.

Before leaving DeSoto, I put on sunblock. Not too long after, I
wondered why, because it had clouded up. I was making good time with a
modest tailwind when I noticed the sky to the NW getting darker and
darker. I hoped to get to Centralia, where I could take cover and was
about out of time with about 6 miles still to go, when a pick-up truck
stopped to give me a ride. The driver, John Wood, had been in the storm,
which was ugly, saw me on the road, and turned around to offer his
assistance. How blessed we can sometimes be by the kindness of strangers!

Anyway, I am waiting the storm out at a fast food place in
Centralia. I even found cover for the bike!

I left again at 2:30 and rode to Vandalia, but not non-stop.
The exertions of the trip are catching up to me and I stopped and took a
half hour or so roadside nap. Then after a short stop at Vandalia, I rode
on to Pana, arriving about 7:30 with 171 miles for the day.

Some slight tailwinds early in the day, practically no wind
later. Roads were fair; traffic was light on 51.

Mileage for day: 171: 6 MO (89 total), 165 IL
Mileage for trip: 1894
Net tailwind

Thursday, May 4, 2006 Day 14

I left at a rather late 6:00 a.m., a few minutes after
sunrise-the first time I haven't been out before sunrise.

The skies are clear, but the weatherman "delivered" on his
"promise" of headwinds for today. I have averaged barely 12 mph for the
first three hours of riding.

Anyway, I rode 36 miles to the north side of Decatur where I
stopped for breakfast at a Bob Evans, having also stopped briefly to get
some cash at an ATM and bought some prunes.

Central IL farm country offers no cover from the wind. It was
good to take business route 51 through Decatur, where there are buildings
and trees to cut the wind somewhat.

Beginning about 10 miles north of Pana, 51 is an excellent
road-a divided highway with a full paved shoulder, and, on the new parts,
grooves only about a foot wide at the left part of the paved shoulder.
Business 51 through Decatur is mandatory for bikes, as the bypass is
restricted access. No problem-I wanted to go through town anyway, plus
it's a bit shorter.

After breakfast, I rode 41 miles, stopping for lunch and a rest
on the south side of Bloomington, with 77 miles for the day. The headwinds
are continuing unabated. I left 51 and biked through Maroa, Clinton and
Heyworth, to take advantage of the towns cutting the wind a little. At
least the sky is clear. Temperatures are rather cool, at least by the
standards of this trip. It was about 55 starting out, was 60 in Decatur
and I doubt that it has hit 70(67 was the warmest I saw all day).

I realized yesterday that it's been a couple days since I've
seen any dead armadillos, and of course I wasn't to see any more of them
further north. They're the predominant road kill in the south.

Today, I saw a flowering crab tree in Clinton and realized I
hadn't seen any previously on this trip. They are ubiquitous in Milwaukee
and also were in the NE cities I've biked through in the past. After
knee-high corn in Georgia and Mississippi, it got steadily shorter as I
move north-some of it was just coming up in Pana yesterday. Now it's not
out of the ground and in many fields, nothings been planted. (That's
surely the case at home!)

After lunch, the wind shifted a little more westerly and picked
up. My speed if anything was slowed. I had trouble maintaining 12 mph. It
was a real problem.

I rode until 7:15, when I reached a motel in Streator, after
133 miles of riding.

Route from Bloomington: Business 55, then County Road 31,
County Road 12, County Road 29 and then 16-finally ending on State 16 and
23. It was mostly country riding with very little cover.

Mileage for day: 133 (IL- 298 total)
Mileage for trip: 2027
Net headwind and little else-the worst of the trip

Friday, May 5, 2006 Day 15

Because of another day of predicted headwinds, I had no serious
chance of getting home, at least not without quite a bit of riding after
dark.

So I reserved a motel room in Elkhorn, WI, about 60 miles from
home. The advance reservation seemed in order, because weekends have been
the time when it's most difficult to find a room, not least on this trip.
(See my day 1 experience; also the following Saturday, I was early and got
a room in Meridian, but the place did sell out.)

I left the motel in Streator at a little before 6:00, about the
time of sunrise. The temperature was 44, coolest of the trip so far. So I
wore my sweatshirt riding for the first time.

After 15 miles, I passed a church in Ottawa that had a 7:00
a.m. Mass, which I attended.

Then I rode 46 miles more to the north side of DeKalb, where I
stopped for lunch around 11:40. Soon into the stretch, the wind came up
noticeably, and like yesterday, it was in my face, with little cover
available to shelter me from it. Along the way, I took about a 10-minute
break to have a granola bar and get out of the wind. Also like yesterday,
it made it difficult to average even 12 mph. My route to the Wis. line is
IL 23, which varies in quality. Much of it has a full paved shoulder;
other parts (e.g. south of Waterman) have only 2 lanes with no paved
shoulder at all.

The temperatures dropped in the afternoon and it was down to 48
by the time I reached Harvard.

Route 23 in Northern DeKalb and all of McHenry County is
perhaps the least safe stretch in the whole trip-at any rate it vies with
the south approaches to Miami. Anyway, Rt. 23 in that area is a narrow 2
lane road with no shoulder, paved or otherwise and dozens of semis and
cement trucks (Illinois, you can do better!)

It was very comforting to reach the WI line a little after 5:00
with 103 miles for the day and see the road widen.

Back in WI, I encountered perhaps the two largest climbs of a
not very hilly trip, one coming out of Fontana, the other out of Williams
Bay.

I also stopped in this area at an assisted living facility en
route to visit a patient there.

I reached Elkhorn and checked into my reserved room around 7:00
p.m. with 117 miles for the day, and added 5 more getting provisions to
eat.

Mileage for day: 122: IL 103 (401 total), WI 19

Mileage for trip: 2149
Net headwind: real problem again

Saturday, May 6, 2006 Day 16

Left the motel at 6:15, a good 20 minutes after sun-up, but
with only a short trip home to finish, this should be no problem.

The skies were clear and the wind has diminished to near calm,
but it was cold. The Weather Channel had the local temperature at 36, but
there was frost on the cars in the parking lot and frosty areas in some
yards. So, call it 32 F, which brackets the temperature extremes for this
trip at 32 and 91.

I took Rt. 67 from Elkhorn to Oconomowoc, for 33 miles, passing
through southern part of the Kettle Moraine (i.e. it was hilly). The
landscape was brightened by flowering crabs in all their glory. There were
also a lot of lilacs in color, especially in the countryside, and a bit of
red bud. (This was also the case in No. IL yesterday).

From Oconomowoc, I took a number of local roads that wound
their way through lake country, eventually arriving at Rte. 83 at the
north end of Waukesha County. I took a picture of an interesting tree,
decorated to look like a roadrunner.

I went out of my way to go north an extra 4 miles beyond where
I live to stop at Holy Hill. This is the highest point at SE Wis. (a
modest 1300 feet above sea level, and 700 some feet above Lake Michigan).
The hill is topped by a shrine and monastery and is one of my favorite
bicycling destinations; I've biked there over 400 times. Among other
things, they have outdoor stations of the cross which I prayed in
thanksgiving for a trip safely completed (well, almost completed at that
point).

This left me with 16 miles to home, ironically riding toward
the southeast on a trip that started far to the southeast. It was "coming
on in" time, the exhilaration that accompanies the last miles home at the
end of a long trip. And so I lightly traversed the familiar, albeit hilly
roads of Washington County-Holy Hill Road into my hometown of Germantown,
then Fond du Lac Ave. into the urban section, and several local streets
home. There was one more stop to make, at the local supermarket, to pick
up roses for milady, which protruded from my backpack, which actually had
quite a bit of empty space (most of my baggage was jammed into the side
bags of my rear carrier).

I arrived home just after 12:00 noon, with 69 miles for the
day.

Mileage for day: 69, all in WI (88 total)
Mileage for trip: 2218
Winds: Light and variable today, call it neutral

Mileage summary: FLA 574, GA 396, AL 223, MS 278, AR 169, MO 89, IL 401,
WI 88

Total: 2218

Net tailwinds: 4/23, 4/24. 4/25, 4/28, 4/29, 4/30, 5/1, 5/3 (8)
Net headwinds: 4/21. 4/26, 4/27, 5/2, 5/4, 5/5 (6)
Neutral winds: 4/22. 5/16 (2)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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Too many miles per day for my thinking ... were you in a big hurry? Seems
like just riding with no fun..

==========




"Ron Wallenfang" wrote in message
...
Ron Wallenfang's Bike Trip
April 21 through May 6, 2006
Key West - Savannah - Arkansas - Milwaukee
2218 Miles

Bike is a TREK 520 touring bike

-saddlebag on rear carrier, with a bag on each side, and one over the rack

-back pack for lighter items

Baggage-all packed in gallon size freezer bags

-2 extra printed t-shirts

-2 extra undershorts

-2 extra pair of socks

-sweatshirt

-shower shoes

-extra handkerchief

-extra pair of bermudas

-sleeping shorts -can wear outside if needed



-3 extra tubes

-tube repair kit

-5 CO2 Cartridges

-4 tire levers

-set of Allyn wrenches



-helmet

-gloves

-lock

-state highway maps

-log book

-pens

-prayer book

-Swedish mystery novel

-camera

-cell phone and charger

-toiletries-usual

-Swiss army knife

-Super 8 Motel Directory

-water bottle

Sent the bike ahead of time via UPS to a shop in Key West.





Friday, April 21, 2006 Day One

Key West isn't easy to get to from Milwaukee. I took a 7:40 a.m. flight to
Fort Meyers-then had a two hour layover and then a short flight to Key
West arriving at 2:30 p.m.

The flight from Milwaukee was half an hour late but uneventful.
Unfortunately, I had to check my black saddlebag as baggage, because I
carry a Swiss-army knife, which is prohibited as a carry-on. What a
weapon!!!!!! It barely cuts bread!



The little plane from Fort Meyers to Key West held nine passengers,
including the person (me) who was put in the co-pilot's seat. (I know
nothing about how to fly a plane.) The plane was painted with a shark
image in front, with a big picture of Ernest Hemingway on the side and the
words "Key West Express" on the tail. People and baggage were put on in a
way calculated to balance the load. Every nook and cranny was filled with
someone or something. It was hot inside, but the pilot assured us that
when we got to our 7000 foot cruising altitude, the plane would cool off,
and it did. Not a bad flight actually.





Arriving in Key West at 2:30, I took a taxi to the bike shop, which had my
bike ready to go. After getting my saddlebag and headlight attached and
putting on my sun block (much needed by a northerner in April even though
I spend a lot of time outdoors) and visiting with the staff a while about
my proposed trip.



I took a picture of one of them. Then, I biked down to the
"southern-most" point monument, and had my picture taken.







And then I was off to the North on U.S. Hwy 1, beginning about 3:15 p.m.
Traffic was a problem the first 5 miles or so, then the going was pretty
good. In some areas, there were bike paths; almost everywhere else, the
road had a few feet of paved shoulder. Temperatures were in the low to
mid 80's with a mostly sunny sky. Winds were more east than south-almost
completely east at times, giving me a bothersome headwind, especially on
bridges. I made it to Marathon, about 50 miles from Key West, where an
unpleasant surprise awaited me. There was an organized run over the 7
Mile Bridge tomorrow, which meant that almost every hotel room in town was
taken. After 10 miles of riding around, I found one for $250.00!! A
beautiful suite, but hardly what I was looking for. I count myself as too
old to sleep on the beach, but it was a close call.

The forecast for tomorrow is for a low of 77 degrees, rising to the mid
80's with Southeast winds.

I had supper at a nearby restaurant featuring some of the local conch,
which is good. Then I called my wife, who is in North Carolina at a
gathering of the "Schmidt family women".

Then it was time to end this log & get organized for tomorrow.

Mileage for the Day: 60 Net headwind

Saturday, April 22, 2006 Day Two

I left at first light around 6:30 a.m. (sun-up 6:58 a.m.) and rode 50
miles to Key Largo. There was a bike path part of the way; the rest had a
few feet of paved shoulder. Stopped for breakfast in Key Largo at 10:00
a.m.

Sky mainly clear, with some low clouds blocking the a.m. sun a little.
Temperature around 80 degrees and humid. There is no morning "cool".

Putting on sun-block at Key Largo. Mostly a head wind again, but
hopefully that will change as the road veers to the north, as it already
has to a degree. Hundreds of fisherman out, one was posing for pictures
with a nice fish.

Five or six miles from Key Largo, US 1 turned north-even a little east of
north and continued that way for over 20 miles. I picked up a nice
tailwind and made good time. Less gratifying, there was a lot of traffic
and only a few feet of paved shoulder and that little bit had raised
reflectors buried in it that I had to dodge. The landscape quickly
changed from keys and water to Everglades. It was a lonely road with
swamp on both sides. There were two long breaks in the heavy traffic.
When a bridge (at the south end of this stretch) went up to let boats
through, it completely cut off northbound traffic because there were no
cross roads in the Everglades to contribute any other northbound traffic.

Thirty-one (31) miles after Key Largo and coming into Homestead, I had a
flat rear tire; a wire punctured the tube. A few miles later, I went past
a bike shop and had more air added than my hand pump and CO2 cartridge had
managed. I also bought a replacement tube. At 92 miles for the day I
stopped for a dessert and lots of soda.

The ride into Miami on US 1 was a penance. The traffic uses the right
hand lane more aggressively than in most cities. As a result I frequently
rode the sidewalk, which is a rarity for me. "Take the lane" advocates
would be ashamed of me!

In downtown Miami, I briefly lost the route, but at 3:25 blundered past a
Church (Gesu) with a 4:00 Mass, so I had a short lunch and then went to
that Mass, with 110 miles for the day to that point.

After that I went North on US1 to 79th Street then east over the
intracoastal to Miami Beach and Rte. A1A. Once I got there, riding was
much better. Going straight North, I picked up a tailwind again. And A1A
has less cross traffic and better riding conditions.

I hit Broward County at 128 miles for the day and rode another 12 miles,
stopping south of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Tomorrow A.M., I can cut back
over to A1A again.

Mileage for the day: 140
Mileage for the trip 200
High Temperatu about 87 degrees with high humidity
Winds - headwinds and tailwinds about cancelled each other out;
call it neutral
Wind was basically SE

Sunday, April 23, 2003 Day 3

Left at 6:10 a.m. (sunup at 6:49) and took A1A to Palm Beach, then crossed
the intracoastal and biked north, on local streets and then on US1.
Stopped for breakfast at 10:00 a.m. at Riviera Beach with 52 miles for the
day.

Earlier stopped for 7:30 Mass at St. Lucy's in Highland Beach, though I
was late. Temperatures are rising through the 70's-practically no wind.

This area (Palm Beach and south) is not called the gold coast for nothing.
The surroundings practically breathe wealth.

The A1A route from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach can also be an "ego
crusher" for many bike riders. There were hundreds of bike riders out,
singly and in groups of up to 15. Most of them were really getting a
work out. I was plodding along at 15 mph and was passed routinely. At
age 62, slightly overweight, with 700x35 tires and 20 lbs of baggage, I
couldn't have kept up if I wanted to. The important thing was not to try.
I tried pushing myself too hard at the National 24 Hour Challenge last
June and ended up losing 2 hours to leg cramps. I am much better off
maintaining a pace I can hold all day.

At the Riviera Beach stop, I laid my still damp laundry-which I washed in
the sink last night-out to dry on my bike.

As with yesterday, this is the time of day to put on the sunscreen,
although conditions are mixed sun and clouds.

Shortly afterward, there was a brief shower, but with no lighting, I biked
through it.

I made several short stops during the day, mainly to stay hydrated. At
one, I went to a Publix and got a fruit cup plus two liters of orange
juice, half of which I used in my water bottle.

The wind was light until about 2:00, after which a nice tailwind came up,
so I kept going until a little after 8:00, where I stopped in Cocoa after
sundown, but before it was dark. There was a 24 hour IHOP next door, so I
ate there after cleaning up, and rinsing out today's clothes. I'll need
to find a place with laundry facilities one of these nights to get my
things clean and not just un-smelly.

I had considered stopping in Melbourne after 151 miles but with a
tailwind, which I hate to give up, I kept on going until Cocoa.

Mileage for day: 176
Mileage for trip: 376
Net tailwind today

Monday, April 24, 2006 Day 4

Left at 6:15 and rode 63 miles, stopping at 10:30 just coming into Daytona
Beach.

Temperature starting out was 69 degrees - first time under 70 on this
trip. I suppose I'll miss the warmth further north! But 69 degrees felt
very good. It's probably up to 80 degrees by now though. Like yesterday,
I hung my damp clothes out to dry on the bike. There was a little light
fog early but it quickly dissipated when the sun came up.

North of Titusville was the first sustained rural area I've seen-mostly
grazing fields with few animals in sight. Also I saw a few orchards.




Besides the usual road kill along the side, I saw a dead wild pig. That's
a first!

The road (US1) consistently had a few feet of paved shoulder.
There was a construction zone of 5 miles or so with the shoulder area
rough. But the "closed" traffic lane was mostly in good shape so I rode
there.

After passing through the New Smyrna-Daytona-Ormond Beach area,
with the usual commercial roadsides, Flagler County was an empty surprise.
"They" are "fixing" (as the southerner's would say) to develop the east
side of US #1. There are signs announcing the city limits of Palm Coast
(which is not very near the coast, as US#1 is actually west of I-95 in
this area), and there are the beginnings of a few roads, but no people.
West of US#1 is just wild scrub. I assumed there'd be stores, etc. and
passed up stopping in Bunnell, which was a mistake. There were no stores
for another 14 miles - until the I-95 junction. I was a bit dehydrated by
then-43 miles from the previous stop-106 for the day. The temperature rose
to the upper 80s.

At mile 123 for the day, I reached St. Augustine, and in an
unusual move for me (my usual style is to just pound out more miles), went
into town to look at the historic area.





Then it was on to Jacksonville, which I reached in time to make
my way to the north side, to limit city riding tomorrow. I got lost once
trying to get on US 17, having said "good-bye" to the US1/A1A combination
that I have used ever since Key West.

I assumed wrongly I'd find a motel at the I-195/17
intersection. A clerk at a convenience store there sent me in reverse 3
miles, where I did find motels. But I'm still pretty well on the north
side of Jacksonville.

As happened yesterday, the wind was light and variable in the
a.m., but became a tailwind in the p.m.

Mileage for day: 174
Mileage for trip: 550
Net tailwind for day

P.S. I'm eating at Applebee's which brought me a pitcher of ice
water to help me "rehydrate". Trouble is, when I drink the quantity of
real cold water I need, I get chilled-in this hot weather! But they
readily brought me a substitute pitcher with no ice.

It should be remarked that Jacksonville was quite an easy town
to bike through, by comparison with Miami and some others on other trips.
US#1 from the south has consistent extra width and also handles
intersections well. Sometimes there are bike lanes striped in, but with or
without that, the width is what makes it safer.

US 17 north was also pretty good riding. Again, it was roadway
width that is the key.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006 Day 5

I left the motel around 6:15 a.m.-sun-up 6:48. Temperature
around 70°--maybe a little cooler. Route 17 north is an O.K. bike
route-not nearly as heavily traveled as US#1 coming up from the south. And
there was usually a few feet of paved shoulder. Julee, about 15 miles
ahead and a place I might have reached yesterday, had two motels available
had I known-well, so it goes.

At about 8:00 a.m., with 24 miles for the day, I hit the GA
line-so I biked 574 miles in FL.

US17 in GA is a designated bike route (95). The road is
slightly narrower than in FL but traffic is very light. Outside the towns,
there's not much to see. Part of the land is swamp; most of the rest is
wooded-no farms, few homes. There are lumber trucks around, so obviously
the wood is being harvested-mostly pine-few palm trees, though they too
grow here.

I biked 59 miles and stopped at the 17/95 junction near
Brunswick, at about 10:30 until 11:30.

Then I backtracked a mile and took 303 to the north side of
Brunswick where it rejoined 17. I kept going until mile 104, another
junction of 17 and I-95 this time near Midway. The temperature is 88 or 91
according to two clocks I passed.

The towns are a little more frequent than in the southernmost
county, but still pretty thinly populated, with woods, swamps and a few
fields-one with beef cattle. One little stretch had a dozen oak trees with
hanging moss overhanging the road. If only that could continue for miles!
It's beautiful.

After the mile 104 stop, I rode pretty much non-stop to
downtown Savannah, which I reached at about 5:30. US17 turned onto a
freeway, so I just headed generally north on surface streets and did get
to the historic area, where I looked around and took a few pictures. The
tour buses (many of them) were just finishing their days' work. There is
no special "must-see" attraction here, but a lot of history going back to
colonial times.



Then I rode generally west until I hit US 80, which I took
until about 9 miles west of downtown, where there were a cluster of motels
and other facilities.

The rear tire was a bit soft today. I considered changing the
tube, but since there seemed to be no air lost during the day, I left it
alone. We'll see how that works out.

I'm in a Travelodge in a smoking suite, since that's all that
was available. And it's a big room indeed! I ate in the room, since
there's a grocery next door, where I got wine, Swiss cheese, hard salami,
a citrus fruit combo and a 2-litre soda.

I quit a bit on the early side-around 7:00 p.m., with sundown
at 8:00, but hotel prospects to the west are dubious.

Mileage for day: 157, 133 in GA
Mileage for trip: 707
Winds not as favorable as the last 2 days (more west than south
until late) but more favorable than not.
Call it a net tailwind.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 Day 6

I thought the better of what to do about my soft rear tire, and
changed the tube before leaving this morning.

I left at 6:05 (sun-up 6:43), went 1/10 mile and realized I
forgot my water bottle. So I went back to get it and left again at 6:15,
riding 42 miles to Statesboro, where I stopped at 9:30. Temperature around
70°. There's a big front with lots of thundershowers covering the length
of Mississippi and headed this way, so I may well get wet today.

Winds are westerly, meaning a headwind, though not a strong one
so far.

After 3 miles I reached the point where my route hit last
year's route, so I've officially gone from the top to the bottom of the
eastern U.S.-710 miles thus far this trip; the relevant part of my 2004
trip was 865 miles from Matawaska, ME, to Philadelphia and the relevant
part of my 2005 trip was 960 miles from Philadelphia to Savannah for a
total 2535 miles.

The first 10 miles today were difficult. There was a continuous
stream of eastbound commuter traffic on 80 - less going my way (west), but
the road wasn't wide enough for comfort. After those first miles though,
traffic on 80 lightened greatly.

After Statesboro, I next stopped at 1:30 p.m., 83 miles for the
day just west of Swainsboro. The Weather Channel is on, and there are big
thunderstorms not far north and not far south of here. There is more
scattered stuff at the latitude I'm at. So time will tell.

There is a marked topography change west of Statesboro. To the
east, it's mostly flat, west of there is low rolling hills-nothing long or
steep, but continuous small hills.

The wind is still in my face and still mostly light. Not
bothersome but it does curb my speed.

One of the lenses on my glasses was loose and I happened by an
eye care center in Swainsboro and they took care of it right away.

It started raining about 8 miles from Dublin. Since there was
no lightning, I didn't seek shelter. Since there could be lightning later
and there's no good-stopping places for many miles after Dublin, I decided
to stop there, even though it was only 5:00 p.m. I sought out a motel with
laundry facilities-an Econolodge, as it happens - so I could wash and dry
all my stuff, except my sleeping shorts and sweat shirt, which I'm
wearing. Plus I can perhaps use a little more downtime one night.

Mileage for day: 121
Mileage for trip: 828 (254 in GA)
Got wet
Net headwind
Temperatures reached the mid 80's then dropped into the 70's.

Thursday, April 27, 2006 Day 7

Left at 6:15 a.m. (sun-up at 6:48) and rode 50 miles before
stopping at 10:25 past Bonaire-25 miles on US80 to past Danville, then 25
miles were on 358 and 96, passing south of Macon.

The rain has ended, but parts of the road are still damp-there
were some real thunderstorms during the night. There is a definite
headwind today. Winds from the NW and moderate. Temperatures in the low
60s, rising to 67° as of now. Mostly cloudy early but the sun's coming
out. I'll put on sun screen.

Topography is still rolling hills-none very big. Mixed farms
and woods with continued logging trucks around.

My next stop wasn't until 4:10 with 114 miles for the day-and
rather close to Columbus where I'll probably stay tonight. I didn't plan
to go that long between stops (64 miles). I was going to stop at Butler
(mile 86) but the town was wholly off the road with no indication what was
there-same thing at Junction City and Geneva. For mile after mile, there
were no businesses on the highway. (The same thing happened to me in
Indiana last year). Anyway, I finally found a gas station with a table to
sit at, at a township called Boxspring.

Though I've been on the bike lots of hours, my mileage is
unimpressive, as there's been an all-day headwind. Some of the hills also
got longer and higher. I reached 35 mph coasting down one of them. Except
for a 5 mile stretch where construction is underway and except for the
absence of restaurants, etc., 96 is a good road. Most of the stretch west
of Fort Valley is divided highway, with a full paved shoulder. The name
changes back to 80 at Geneva where 80 comes in from Macon. I had taken 96
to avoid that "jog" that 80 takes to the north. Around Fort Valley, there
are a lot of peach orchards and pecan groves, and plowed farm fields that
are growing (cotton?). It's mostly not visible yet. There were some corn
fields yesterday (knee-high by the 26th of April?) and the logging
activities continue. A few fields have irrigation equipment.

I stopped for the evening in Columbus at about 6:30. I had two
more hours of daylight, but needed 3 hours to get to a town (Tuskegee)
where I could be reasonably confident of finding a hotel. So between that
and the headwind, I didn't get the mileage I'd have liked. Worse, the same
thing could happen tomorrow. Absent a problem, I should get to Selma but
don't have much chance of getting to Demopolis-well, we'll see how this
speculation looks tomorrow. My daughter, Margaret, did a computer search
for me and didn't see any motels in between Selma and Demopolis except way
off route.

Mileage for day: 137 (391 in GA)
Mileage for trip: 965
Net headwind: all day headwind, in fact

Friday, April 28, 2006 Day 8

Left at 6:30 EDT and rode 48 miles, stopping at Tuskegee, AL at
9:15 CDT (there was a time zone change in between).

The temperature starting out was a bracing 49°, probably cooler
at the bottom of hills, but it's warming nicely as the morning wears on.
Clear skies.

The topography is continued low to medium rolling hills. One 5
mile or so flat stretch had mostly farms; otherwise the countryside is
mostly wooded, with still plenty of lumber trucks. US 80 doesn't have a
paved shoulder except newly constructed areas around half a dozen or so
bridge crossings. Hopefully that's a precursor to a general rebuilding of
the road. Traffic was heavy enough coming out of Phenix City to make
things uncomfortable. After that, it's been light.

At the McDonald's I visited at Tuskegee, I was the only, er.
European American in the place.

After starting out again, I noted a slight tailwind had come up
and was pushing the pace to see if I might possibly make Demopolis today.
But why?

I was also feeling a bit fatigued and a little shady area
looked very inviting, with the temperature, I would guess, being a perfect
70°. So I took a half hour's nap, read the readings specified for today's
Mass, and noticed some wild blackberries of which I ate a couple dozen. I
also took a picture of the scene-pleasant enough-but non-descript to
anyone but me. Then with this note written and feeling refreshed, it's off
again at about 11:40, with 64 miles for the day so far.



Stopped again at 1:30 p.m. after working my way through most of
Montgomery, which had the usual heavy commercial traffic on highway 80. I
suppose if I knew these towns well, there'd be a way to miss some of it.

I thought I was clear of Montgomery's traffic problems by then,
but wasn't, as the traffic signs routed 80 onto a limited access x-way. I
had about figured out another route-not a huge task-when a passing driver
offered the same advice.

Once clear of Montgomery, it was a good ride to Selma, which I
reached at 6:00 p.m. There was a slight tailwind and the hills were fewer,
though there were two that I coasted down at 31-34 mph, respectively.
There was a lot of pastureland with beef cattle, and distinctly less
woodlands. The road was all 4-lane, much of it with paved shoulder as
well, some not. Traffic was heavy for about 10 miles out of Montgomery,
then light. All in all, good riding. The skies clouded up slightly and the
temperature dropped from a high around 80 to the mid-70's.

Mileage for day: 142 Georgia 5 (396 total) - AL 137
Mileage for trip: 1107; FLA 574, GA 396, AL 137
Net tailwind for day

Saturday, April 29, 2006 Day 9

Left at 5:30 a.m. (sun-up 6:00) and rode 50 miles to Demopolis,
stopping there for breakfast at 8:55.

Temperature about 60°, rising to 67°--mostly cloudy. Wind light
at start, but a definite SE breeze is building, more of a tailwind than a
headwind.

The road to here was double lane except for about 5 miles; some
hills but fewer than in eastern AL or western GA.

No logging trucks for a change.

A lot of pastureland with beef cattle, plus I went by a big
catfish farm-first time I've seen one of these. I also went by a field of
last year's cotton, and other fields where it's not clear what's growing.

After breakfast I rode almost non-stop to Meridian, arriving a
little before 1:30 with 103 miles. I hit the MS line about noon with 86
miles for the day, I planned to make this an easy day, with time to relax
in both the afternoon and evening, sandwiched around 5:00 Mass at a
Meridian Church Margaret had identified for me on the internet. Catholic
churches are not so common in these parts, so planning is necessary. Plus
I could use the downtime.

Well, I did get to Mass but the day was not so relaxing. For
openers, my front tire kept getting softer and softer, so that had to be
addressed. With a new tube and CO2 cartridge used, I was down to one tube
and 2 cartridges, going into an area with few services available. Plus I
didn't get real good air pressure with the CO2 cartridge I used. I found
the leak and patched the tube-it was of unclear origin. But it still
seemed I should go to a shop and resupply.

Next Meridian is not so easy to navigate. The town and the
motels are separated by a big railway yard, but there is also an x-way
with one way frontage roads on either side. By the time I had found the
Church, found the bike shop, gotten some snacks (I had had no lunch) and
made my way back to the motel, it was already 4:30-just enough time to
change into my only clean shorts and T-shirt and go back to Church.

Further, the weather has gone to hell. It's raining in Meridian
and there are big storms coming up from western MS and LA. So that has to
be monitored in relation to tomorrow's plans. Throw in a few phone calls,
doing the laundry and looking in on the NFL draft on TV (as an avid
Packer's fan, I don't want to be uninformed about that!), and it's 10:00
p.m. with no relaxation done! And here I thought I was going to spend a
few hours lazily napping and reading my Swedish mystery novel!

With biking around Meridian of 18 miles, my daily total is 121
miles, 86 in AL and 35 in MS.

Total for trip is 1228; 574 FLA, 396 GA, 223 AL, 35 MS

Net tailwind today.

The topography east of Demopolis was quite swampy. The
Tombigbee River had several widely separated channels besides the main
one. So the Alabama roads were close to flat and not many buildings. The
ground got a bit higher in Mississippi.

Sunday, April 30, 2006 Day 10

Left at about 5:55 a.m. (sun-up 6:10) and rode 54 miles before
stopping at Forest at 10:00. The story of the day is rain, which has been
falling the last 40 miles and intermittently before that. No lightning or
thunder so far.

The temp is in the low 60s, which is mild enough that I haven't
bothered with my rain coat. Anyway, in a word, I'm drenched, and it's
still raining as I look out the window at a fast-food restaurant.

The route to Forest was 80, to which route I'm saying a final
goodbye as I turn north on 35. After going west from Savannah to here, the
rest of the trip is mainly to the north.

The topography so far is mixed fields and woodlands, with a lot
of beef cattle.

After breakfast I rode 50 miles to Kosciusko, stopping there
about 2:10 p.m., with 104 miles for the day. The rain continued for
another 7 miles, then was on and off for another 10 or so. It's now partly
cloudy and perhaps upper 60s. I'm part wet, part dry.

I passed over the Natchez Trace Parkway a couple miles before
stopping. It looked like an attractive route if what I could see was
representative.

The topography is hillier than before; still mostly wooded,
with some cattle in the fields. The road the last 6 miles into Kosciusko
was quite annoying. It had 2-3 feet of paved shoulder to the right of the
white line but cut deep grooves into the pavement centered on the white
line. It's not easy to ride comfortably to the right of the grooves
without hitting them, and going to the left-which I mostly did, takes away
the benefit of the extra width.

From Kosciusko, I rode mostly non-stop to Greenwood, when I
stopped for the night around 7:00 p.m. The skies were clear and I'm a bit
sunburned, as I didn't put on sunblock. Winds were slightly favorable
early in the day and largely absent later. The hills continued and grew
until the last half dozen or so miles before Greenwood when it abruptly
got very flat.

I took 35 to 82 and then 89 into Greenwood, where it has joined
49. In the a.m., I'll take 49.

82 was obviously built in 2 stages. The eastbound lanes were
newer, with much deeper cuts and fills that leveled off the hills quite a
bit. The westbound lanes I was riding had cuts and fills, but not nearly
as much, so it was more work.

The flat land near Greenwood looks to be heavily farmed-the
woods have quit.

Mileage for day: 161 (MS 196)
Total for trip: 1389
Net tailwind

Monday, May 1, 2006 Day 11

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:11) and rode almost non-stop to
Arkansas, hitting that side of the Mississippi River bridge at 10:45, with
82 miles for the day.

It's been a "productive" morning in terms of mileage for two
reasons: flat roads and a tailwind.

These were the flattest roads of the whole trip, Florida not
excepted. It is lush farm country-as good-looking (to this non-farmer) as
anything in the mid-west. Cotton (I think), corn and soybeans were all
over, and there was even one long pecan grove.

Once across the bridge, things got slower. I stopped to take a
picture of the bridge, and to check the map on whether to take 49 or 49B,
then stopped at the visitors center to find out where the fast foods are
in the area. I'm at one now in West Helena, with 88 miles for the day.

Temp was 62° and cloudy and stayed cloudy and cool for several
hours. But the sun has been out since 11:00 or so and it's supposed to be
getting into the 80s. I'm putting on sunblock.

From W. Helena, I rode 56 miles in 3 hours, 6 minutes for an
average of fully 18 mph-no way I can come close to that without a nice
tailwind, which I have. Anyway, I'm stopped in Wynne a little after 3:00
with 144 miles for the day. Sky clear-temp 77-brisk south wind. The
Arkansas side of the big river is similar to the Mississippi side, lots of
nice farms-but a few more small hills and quite a few more little towns
along the route.



At Wynne, I got to talking with half a dozen people about the
trip, and while I was ordering, they called the local newspaper, whose
reporter came right over to interview me and take pictures. Very nice. And
I was still away after a 45-minute stop.





The winds remained favorable and so I rode on to Jonesboro,
arriving at a motel there before 6:30 with 187 miles. I could have gone
another hour or more if there was a town there. What a benefit a tailwind
provides!! I rode a little bit more in connection with supper.

Mileage for day: 189 82 - MS (278 total), 107 AR
Mileage for trip: 1578
Definite net tailwind-the best of the trip
Temperature peaked around 81°

This is my first time biking in Arkansas, making it the 46th
state in which I've biked (I still need Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota and
Wyoming). One of my little "projects" is to try and bike in all 50 states.
That's the reason my route on the present trip swung so far west-to pick
up Arkansas!





Tuesday, May 2, 2006 Day 12

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:08) and rode 54 miles to Piggott,
AR, stopping about 9:25. I saw some tornado carnage (presumably a tornado)
in Marmaduke (a town of 1100) on the way through and stopped to take a
picture. I'll try to remember to investigate later when the tornado had
hit. It's sure a mess now.

Temperature starting out was 65, rising only a bit so far.
Skies are threatening rain.

A "Little Debbie" delivery man at the place I'm stopped in
Piggott had seen me riding through Paragould 30-some miles ago. We chatted
a bit and he gave me 9 chocolate chip granola bars to take along.

There were rolling hills the 20 plus miles from Jonesboro to
Paragould. Since then, it's been mostly flat farm country again. You can
tell I'm getting farther north-the corn especially is not as far along as
in MS or GA.

I stopped again at 2:00 p.m. in Bloomfield, MO, with 100 miles
for the day. I hit the MO line around 10:45 with 62 miles. About that time
a north wind came up. I had picked up 62 at Piggott and that road switched
directions a few times so it was hard to tell about the wind, other than
that yesterday's tail winds were not in the picture. Anyway, when I turned
north on Route 25 with 73 miles for the day, the picture became clear: I
had a moderate to brisk headwind, which has continued to now. From Dexter
on, I've also encountered a hilly area. It looks like I may be lucky to
make Cape Girardeau. Anna, IL looks out of the question. My speed is much
too modest.

The wind did moderate later in the afternoon, but it was still
a headwind.

Much of the road (Route 25) has paved shoulder in marginal
condition, made worse by the long grooves meant to awaken dozing
motorists. Why can't very short grooves serve as well? What they have is
very difficult to bike in.

Drivers here are also quite aggressive about passing in the
face of an oncoming bicycle. I gave them a "thumbs down", FWIW. (My
disapproving gesture of choice.)

I got a room at the Super 8, which turned out to be isolated
from the motel-restaurant district. With the distance and the hills, I
opted to stay in and order pizza and a 2 liter soda.

I have also done all of my laundry.

Mileage for day: 145: 62 ARK (169 total), 83 MO
Mileage for trip: 1723
Net headwind

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 Day 13

Left around 5:25 a.m. (sun-up 6:00) and rode 57 miles to and
through Carbondale to De Soto, IL, where I stopped for breakfast around
9:35.

Reached the IL line on the Mississippi River bridge after 6
miles. Temperature starting out was 53°. It's 67° now with clear skies.

Route is Ill 146 to 51 and then 51 North. The first 15 miles of
IL were flat, then it was hilly for the next 30; then mostly flat again.
One hill in Anna was the steepest of the trip so far. I had to gear down
to 2-2.

Road was good to Carbondale. Since then, it's a little on the
narrow side.

Before leaving DeSoto, I put on sunblock. Not too long after, I
wondered why, because it had clouded up. I was making good time with a
modest tailwind when I noticed the sky to the NW getting darker and
darker. I hoped to get to Centralia, where I could take cover and was
about out of time with about 6 miles still to go, when a pick-up truck
stopped to give me a ride. The driver, John Wood, had been in the storm,
which was ugly, saw me on the road, and turned around to offer his
assistance. How blessed we can sometimes be by the kindness of strangers!

Anyway, I am waiting the storm out at a fast food place in
Centralia. I even found cover for the bike!

I left again at 2:30 and rode to Vandalia, but not non-stop.
The exertions of the trip are catching up to me and I stopped and took a
half hour or so roadside nap. Then after a short stop at Vandalia, I rode
on to Pana, arriving about 7:30 with 171 miles for the day.

Some slight tailwinds early in the day, practically no wind
later. Roads were fair; traffic was light on 51.

Mileage for day: 171: 6 MO (89 total), 165 IL
Mileage for trip: 1894
Net tailwind

Thursday, May 4, 2006 Day 14

I left at a rather late 6:00 a.m., a few minutes after
sunrise-the first time I haven't been out before sunrise.

The skies are clear, but the weatherman "delivered" on his
"promise" of headwinds for today. I have averaged barely 12 mph for the
first three hours of riding.

Anyway, I rode 36 miles to the north side of Decatur where I
stopped for breakfast at a Bob Evans, having also stopped briefly to get
some cash at an ATM and bought some prunes.

Central IL farm country offers no cover from the wind. It was
good to take business route 51 through Decatur, where there are buildings
and trees to cut the wind somewhat.

Beginning about 10 miles north of Pana, 51 is an excellent
road-a divided highway with a full paved shoulder, and, on the new parts,
grooves only about a foot wide at the left part of the paved shoulder.
Business 51 through Decatur is mandatory for bikes, as the bypass is
restricted access. No problem-I wanted to go through town anyway, plus
it's a bit shorter.

After breakfast, I rode 41 miles, stopping for lunch and a rest
on the south side of Bloomington, with 77 miles for the day. The headwinds
are continuing unabated. I left 51 and biked through Maroa, Clinton and
Heyworth, to take advantage of the towns cutting the wind a little. At
least the sky is clear. Temperatures are rather cool, at least by the
standards of this trip. It was about 55 starting out, was 60 in Decatur
and I doubt that it has hit 70(67 was the warmest I saw all day).

I realized yesterday that it's been a couple days since I've
seen any dead armadillos, and of course I wasn't to see any more of them
further north. They're the predominant road kill in the south.

Today, I saw a flowering crab tree in Clinton and realized I
hadn't seen any previously on this trip. They are ubiquitous in Milwaukee
and also were in the NE cities I've biked through in the past. After
knee-high corn in Georgia and Mississippi, it got steadily shorter as I
move north-some of it was just coming up in Pana yesterday. Now it's not
out of the ground and in many fields, nothings been planted. (That's
surely the case at home!)

After lunch, the wind shifted a little more westerly and picked
up. My speed if anything was slowed. I had trouble maintaining 12 mph. It
was a real problem.

I rode until 7:15, when I reached a motel in Streator, after
133 miles of riding.

Route from Bloomington: Business 55, then County Road 31,
County Road 12, County Road 29 and then 16-finally ending on State 16 and
23. It was mostly country riding with very little cover.

Mileage for day: 133 (IL- 298 total)
Mileage for trip: 2027
Net headwind and little else-the worst of the trip

Friday, May 5, 2006 Day 15

Because of another day of predicted headwinds, I had no serious
chance of getting home, at least not without quite a bit of riding after
dark.

So I reserved a motel room in Elkhorn, WI, about 60 miles from
home. The advance reservation seemed in order, because weekends have been
the time when it's most difficult to find a room, not least on this trip.
(See my day 1 experience; also the following Saturday, I was early and got
a room in Meridian, but the place did sell out.)

I left the motel in Streator at a little before 6:00, about the
time of sunrise. The temperature was 44, coolest of the trip so far. So I
wore my sweatshirt riding for the first time.

After 15 miles, I passed a church in Ottawa that had a 7:00
a.m. Mass, which I attended.

Then I rode 46 miles more to the north side of DeKalb, where I
stopped for lunch around 11:40. Soon into the stretch, the wind came up
noticeably, and like yesterday, it was in my face, with little cover
available to shelter me from it. Along the way, I took about a 10-minute
break to have a granola bar and get out of the wind. Also like yesterday,
it made it difficult to average even 12 mph. My route to the Wis. line is
IL 23, which varies in quality. Much of it has a full paved shoulder;
other parts (e.g. south of Waterman) have only 2 lanes with no paved
shoulder at all.

The temperatures dropped in the afternoon and it was down to 48
by the time I reached Harvard.

Route 23 in Northern DeKalb and all of McHenry County is
perhaps the least safe stretch in the whole trip-at any rate it vies with
the south approaches to Miami. Anyway, Rt. 23 in that area is a narrow 2
lane road with no shoulder, paved or otherwise and dozens of semis and
cement trucks (Illinois, you can do better!)

It was very comforting to reach the WI line a little after 5:00
with 103 miles for the day and see the road widen.

Back in WI, I encountered perhaps the two largest climbs of a
not very hilly trip, one coming out of Fontana, the other out of Williams
Bay.

I also stopped in this area at an assisted living facility en
route to visit a patient there.

I reached Elkhorn and checked into my reserved room around 7:00
p.m. with 117 miles for the day, and added 5 more getting provisions to
eat.

Mileage for day: 122: IL 103 (401 total), WI 19

Mileage for trip: 2149
Net headwind: real problem again

Saturday, May 6, 2006 Day 16

Left the motel at 6:15, a good 20 minutes after sun-up, but
with only a short trip home to finish, this should be no problem.

The skies were clear and the wind has diminished to near calm,
but it was cold. The Weather Channel had the local temperature at 36, but
there was frost on the cars in the parking lot and frosty areas in some
yards. So, call it 32 F, which brackets the temperature extremes for this
trip at 32 and 91.

I took Rt. 67 from Elkhorn to Oconomowoc, for 33 miles, passing
through southern part of the Kettle Moraine (i.e. it was hilly). The
landscape was brightened by flowering crabs in all their glory. There were
also a lot of lilacs in color, especially in the countryside, and a bit of
red bud. (This was also the case in No. IL yesterday).

From Oconomowoc, I took a number of local roads that wound
their way through lake country, eventually arriving at Rte. 83 at the
north end of Waukesha County. I took a picture of an interesting tree,
decorated to look like a roadrunner.

I went out of my way to go north an extra 4 miles beyond where
I live to stop at Holy Hill. This is the highest point at SE Wis. (a
modest 1300 feet above sea level, and 700 some feet above Lake Michigan).
The hill is topped by a shrine and monastery and is one of my favorite
bicycling destinations; I've biked there over 400 times. Among other
things, they have outdoor stations of the cross which I prayed in
thanksgiving for a trip safely completed (well, almost completed at that
point).

This left me with 16 miles to home, ironically riding toward
the southeast on a trip that started far to the southeast. It was "coming
on in" time, the exhilaration that accompanies the last miles home at the
end of a long trip. And so I lightly traversed the familiar, albeit hilly
roads of Washington County-Holy Hill Road into my hometown of Germantown,
then Fond du Lac Ave. into the urban section, and several local streets
home. There was one more stop to make, at the local supermarket, to pick
up roses for milady, which protruded from my backpack, which actually had
quite a bit of empty space (most of my baggage was jammed into the side
bags of my rear carrier).

I arrived home just after 12:00 noon, with 69 miles for the
day.

Mileage for day: 69, all in WI (88 total)
Mileage for trip: 2218
Winds: Light and variable today, call it neutral

Mileage summary: FLA 574, GA 396, AL 223, MS 278, AR 169, MO 89, IL 401,
WI 88

Total: 2218

Net tailwinds: 4/23, 4/24. 4/25, 4/28, 4/29, 4/30, 5/1, 5/3 (8)
Net headwinds: 4/21. 4/26, 4/27, 5/2, 5/4, 5/5 (6)
Neutral winds: 4/22. 5/16 (2)



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"Ron Wallenfang" wrote:

Ron Wallenfang's Bike Trip
April 21 through May 6, 2006
Key West - Savannah - Arkansas - Milwaukee
2218 Miles

What's it like riding those long bridges in the Keys?
Scary?

Also any pics to share?

Opps sorry Ron.
"Bill Cotton" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks Roy for another interesting report.
"Ron Wallenfang" wrote in message
...
Ron Wallenfang's Bike Trip
April 21 through May 6, 2006
Key West - Savannah - Arkansas - Milwaukee
2218 Miles

Bike is a TREK 520 touring bike

-saddlebag on rear carrier, with a bag on each side, and one over the
rack

-back pack for lighter items

Baggage-all packed in gallon size freezer bags

-2 extra printed t-shirts

-2 extra undershorts

-2 extra pair of socks

-sweatshirt

-shower shoes

-extra handkerchief

-extra pair of bermudas

-sleeping shorts -can wear outside if needed



-3 extra tubes

-tube repair kit

-5 CO2 Cartridges

-4 tire levers

-set of Allyn wrenches



-helmet

-gloves

-lock

-state highway maps

-log book

-pens

-prayer book

-Swedish mystery novel

-camera

-cell phone and charger

-toiletries-usual

-Swiss army knife

-Super 8 Motel Directory

-water bottle

Sent the bike ahead of time via UPS to a shop in Key West.





Friday, April 21, 2006 Day One

Key West isn't easy to get to from Milwaukee. I took a 7:40 a.m. flight
to Fort Meyers-then had a two hour layover and then a short flight to Key
West arriving at 2:30 p.m.

The flight from Milwaukee was half an hour late but uneventful.
Unfortunately, I had to check my black saddlebag as baggage, because I
carry a Swiss-army knife, which is prohibited as a carry-on. What a
weapon!!!!!! It barely cuts bread!



The little plane from Fort Meyers to Key West held nine passengers,
including the person (me) who was put in the co-pilot's seat. (I know
nothing about how to fly a plane.) The plane was painted with a shark
image in front, with a big picture of Ernest Hemingway on the side and
the words "Key West Express" on the tail. People and baggage were put on
in a way calculated to balance the load. Every nook and cranny was
filled with someone or something. It was hot inside, but the pilot
assured us that when we got to our 7000 foot cruising altitude, the plane
would cool off, and it did. Not a bad flight actually.





Arriving in Key West at 2:30, I took a taxi to the bike shop, which had
my bike ready to go. After getting my saddlebag and headlight attached
and putting on my sun block (much needed by a northerner in April even
though I spend a lot of time outdoors) and visiting with the staff a
while about my proposed trip.



I took a picture of one of them. Then, I biked down to the
"southern-most" point monument, and had my picture taken.







And then I was off to the North on U.S. Hwy 1, beginning about 3:15 p.m.
Traffic was a problem the first 5 miles or so, then the going was pretty
good. In some areas, there were bike paths; almost everywhere else, the
road had a few feet of paved shoulder. Temperatures were in the low to
mid 80's with a mostly sunny sky. Winds were more east than south-almost
completely east at times, giving me a bothersome headwind, especially on
bridges. I made it to Marathon, about 50 miles from Key West, where an
unpleasant surprise awaited me. There was an organized run over the 7
Mile Bridge tomorrow, which meant that almost every hotel room in town
was taken. After 10 miles of riding around, I found one for $250.00!! A
beautiful suite, but hardly what I was looking for. I count myself as too
old to sleep on the beach, but it was a close call.

The forecast for tomorrow is for a low of 77 degrees, rising to the mid
80's with Southeast winds.

I had supper at a nearby restaurant featuring some of the local conch,
which is good. Then I called my wife, who is in North Carolina at a
gathering of the "Schmidt family women".

Then it was time to end this log & get organized for tomorrow.

Mileage for the Day: 60 Net headwind

Saturday, April 22, 2006 Day Two

I left at first light around 6:30 a.m. (sun-up 6:58 a.m.) and rode 50
miles to Key Largo. There was a bike path part of the way; the rest had a
few feet of paved shoulder. Stopped for breakfast in Key Largo at 10:00
a.m.

Sky mainly clear, with some low clouds blocking the a.m. sun a little.
Temperature around 80 degrees and humid. There is no morning "cool".

Putting on sun-block at Key Largo. Mostly a head wind again, but
hopefully that will change as the road veers to the north, as it already
has to a degree. Hundreds of fisherman out, one was posing for pictures
with a nice fish.

Five or six miles from Key Largo, US 1 turned north-even a little east of
north and continued that way for over 20 miles. I picked up a nice
tailwind and made good time. Less gratifying, there was a lot of traffic
and only a few feet of paved shoulder and that little bit had raised
reflectors buried in it that I had to dodge. The landscape quickly
changed from keys and water to Everglades. It was a lonely road with
swamp on both sides. There were two long breaks in the heavy traffic.
When a bridge (at the south end of this stretch) went up to let boats
through, it completely cut off northbound traffic because there were no
cross roads in the Everglades to contribute any other northbound traffic.

Thirty-one (31) miles after Key Largo and coming into Homestead, I had a
flat rear tire; a wire punctured the tube. A few miles later, I went
past a bike shop and had more air added than my hand pump and CO2
cartridge had managed. I also bought a replacement tube. At 92 miles
for the day I stopped for a dessert and lots of soda.

The ride into Miami on US 1 was a penance. The traffic uses the right
hand lane more aggressively than in most cities. As a result I
frequently rode the sidewalk, which is a rarity for me. "Take the lane"
advocates would be ashamed of me!

In downtown Miami, I briefly lost the route, but at 3:25 blundered past a
Church (Gesu) with a 4:00 Mass, so I had a short lunch and then went to
that Mass, with 110 miles for the day to that point.

After that I went North on US1 to 79th Street then east over the
intracoastal to Miami Beach and Rte. A1A. Once I got there, riding was
much better. Going straight North, I picked up a tailwind again. And
A1A has less cross traffic and better riding conditions.

I hit Broward County at 128 miles for the day and rode another 12 miles,
stopping south of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Tomorrow A.M., I can cut
back over to A1A again.

Mileage for the day: 140
Mileage for the trip 200
High Temperatu about 87 degrees with high humidity
Winds - headwinds and tailwinds about cancelled each other
out; call it neutral
Wind was basically SE

Sunday, April 23, 2003 Day 3

Left at 6:10 a.m. (sunup at 6:49) and took A1A to Palm Beach, then
crossed the intracoastal and biked north, on local streets and then on
US1. Stopped for breakfast at 10:00 a.m. at Riviera Beach with 52 miles
for the day.

Earlier stopped for 7:30 Mass at St. Lucy's in Highland Beach, though I
was late. Temperatures are rising through the 70's-practically no wind.

This area (Palm Beach and south) is not called the gold coast for
nothing. The surroundings practically breathe wealth.

The A1A route from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach can also be an "ego
crusher" for many bike riders. There were hundreds of bike riders out,
singly and in groups of up to 15. Most of them were really getting a
work out. I was plodding along at 15 mph and was passed routinely. At
age 62, slightly overweight, with 700x35 tires and 20 lbs of baggage, I
couldn't have kept up if I wanted to. The important thing was not to
try. I tried pushing myself too hard at the National 24 Hour Challenge
last June and ended up losing 2 hours to leg cramps. I am much better
off maintaining a pace I can hold all day.

At the Riviera Beach stop, I laid my still damp laundry-which I washed in
the sink last night-out to dry on my bike.

As with yesterday, this is the time of day to put on the sunscreen,
although conditions are mixed sun and clouds.

Shortly afterward, there was a brief shower, but with no lighting, I
biked through it.

I made several short stops during the day, mainly to stay hydrated. At
one, I went to a Publix and got a fruit cup plus two liters of orange
juice, half of which I used in my water bottle.

The wind was light until about 2:00, after which a nice tailwind came up,
so I kept going until a little after 8:00, where I stopped in Cocoa after
sundown, but before it was dark. There was a 24 hour IHOP next door, so
I ate there after cleaning up, and rinsing out today's clothes. I'll
need to find a place with laundry facilities one of these nights to get
my things clean and not just un-smelly.

I had considered stopping in Melbourne after 151 miles but with a
tailwind, which I hate to give up, I kept on going until Cocoa.

Mileage for day: 176
Mileage for trip: 376
Net tailwind today

Monday, April 24, 2006 Day 4

Left at 6:15 and rode 63 miles, stopping at 10:30 just coming into
Daytona Beach.

Temperature starting out was 69 degrees - first time under 70 on this
trip. I suppose I'll miss the warmth further north! But 69 degrees felt
very good. It's probably up to 80 degrees by now though. Like
yesterday, I hung my damp clothes out to dry on the bike. There was a
little light fog early but it quickly dissipated when the sun came up.

North of Titusville was the first sustained rural area I've seen-mostly
grazing fields with few animals in sight. Also I saw a few orchards.




Besides the usual road kill along the side, I saw a dead wild pig.
That's a first!

The road (US1) consistently had a few feet of paved shoulder.
There was a construction zone of 5 miles or so with the shoulder area
rough. But the "closed" traffic lane was mostly in good shape so I rode
there.

After passing through the New Smyrna-Daytona-Ormond Beach
area, with the usual commercial roadsides, Flagler County was an empty
surprise. "They" are "fixing" (as the southerner's would say) to develop
the east side of US #1. There are signs announcing the city limits of
Palm Coast (which is not very near the coast, as US#1 is actually west of
I-95 in this area), and there are the beginnings of a few roads, but no
people. West of US#1 is just wild scrub. I assumed there'd be stores,
etc. and passed up stopping in Bunnell, which was a mistake. There were
no stores for another 14 miles - until the I-95 junction. I was a bit
dehydrated by then-43 miles from the previous stop-106 for the day. The
temperature rose to the upper 80s.

At mile 123 for the day, I reached St. Augustine, and in an
unusual move for me (my usual style is to just pound out more miles),
went into town to look at the historic area.





Then it was on to Jacksonville, which I reached in time to
make my way to the north side, to limit city riding tomorrow. I got lost
once trying to get on US 17, having said "good-bye" to the US1/A1A
combination that I have used ever since Key West.

I assumed wrongly I'd find a motel at the I-195/17
intersection. A clerk at a convenience store there sent me in reverse 3
miles, where I did find motels. But I'm still pretty well on the north
side of Jacksonville.

As happened yesterday, the wind was light and variable in the
a.m., but became a tailwind in the p.m.

Mileage for day: 174
Mileage for trip: 550
Net tailwind for day

P.S. I'm eating at Applebee's which brought me a pitcher of
ice water to help me "rehydrate". Trouble is, when I drink the quantity
of real cold water I need, I get chilled-in this hot weather! But they
readily brought me a substitute pitcher with no ice.

It should be remarked that Jacksonville was quite an easy town
to bike through, by comparison with Miami and some others on other trips.
US#1 from the south has consistent extra width and also handles
intersections well. Sometimes there are bike lanes striped in, but with
or without that, the width is what makes it safer.

US 17 north was also pretty good riding. Again, it was roadway
width that is the key.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006 Day 5

I left the motel around 6:15 a.m.-sun-up 6:48. Temperature
around 70°--maybe a little cooler. Route 17 north is an O.K. bike
route-not nearly as heavily traveled as US#1 coming up from the south.
And there was usually a few feet of paved shoulder. Julee, about 15 miles
ahead and a place I might have reached yesterday, had two motels
available had I known-well, so it goes.

At about 8:00 a.m., with 24 miles for the day, I hit the GA
line-so I biked 574 miles in FL.

US17 in GA is a designated bike route (95). The road is
slightly narrower than in FL but traffic is very light. Outside the
towns, there's not much to see. Part of the land is swamp; most of the
rest is wooded-no farms, few homes. There are lumber trucks around, so
obviously the wood is being harvested-mostly pine-few palm trees, though
they too grow here.

I biked 59 miles and stopped at the 17/95 junction near
Brunswick, at about 10:30 until 11:30.

Then I backtracked a mile and took 303 to the north side of
Brunswick where it rejoined 17. I kept going until mile 104, another
junction of 17 and I-95 this time near Midway. The temperature is 88 or
91 according to two clocks I passed.

The towns are a little more frequent than in the southernmost
county, but still pretty thinly populated, with woods, swamps and a few
fields-one with beef cattle. One little stretch had a dozen oak trees
with hanging moss overhanging the road. If only that could continue for
miles! It's beautiful.

After the mile 104 stop, I rode pretty much non-stop to
downtown Savannah, which I reached at about 5:30. US17 turned onto a
freeway, so I just headed generally north on surface streets and did get
to the historic area, where I looked around and took a few pictures. The
tour buses (many of them) were just finishing their days' work. There is
no special "must-see" attraction here, but a lot of history going back to
colonial times.



Then I rode generally west until I hit US 80, which I took
until about 9 miles west of downtown, where there were a cluster of
motels and other facilities.

The rear tire was a bit soft today. I considered changing the
tube, but since there seemed to be no air lost during the day, I left it
alone. We'll see how that works out.

I'm in a Travelodge in a smoking suite, since that's all that
was available. And it's a big room indeed! I ate in the room, since
there's a grocery next door, where I got wine, Swiss cheese, hard salami,
a citrus fruit combo and a 2-litre soda.

I quit a bit on the early side-around 7:00 p.m., with sundown
at 8:00, but hotel prospects to the west are dubious.

Mileage for day: 157, 133 in GA
Mileage for trip: 707
Winds not as favorable as the last 2 days (more west than
south until late) but more favorable than not.
Call it a net tailwind.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 Day 6

I thought the better of what to do about my soft rear tire,
and changed the tube before leaving this morning.

I left at 6:05 (sun-up 6:43), went 1/10 mile and realized I
forgot my water bottle. So I went back to get it and left again at 6:15,
riding 42 miles to Statesboro, where I stopped at 9:30. Temperature
around 70°. There's a big front with lots of thundershowers covering the
length of Mississippi and headed this way, so I may well get wet today.

Winds are westerly, meaning a headwind, though not a strong
one so far.

After 3 miles I reached the point where my route hit last
year's route, so I've officially gone from the top to the bottom of the
eastern U.S.-710 miles thus far this trip; the relevant part of my 2004
trip was 865 miles from Matawaska, ME, to Philadelphia and the relevant
part of my 2005 trip was 960 miles from Philadelphia to Savannah for a
total 2535 miles.

The first 10 miles today were difficult. There was a
continuous stream of eastbound commuter traffic on 80 - less going my way
(west), but the road wasn't wide enough for comfort. After those first
miles though, traffic on 80 lightened greatly.

After Statesboro, I next stopped at 1:30 p.m., 83 miles for
the day just west of Swainsboro. The Weather Channel is on, and there are
big thunderstorms not far north and not far south of here. There is more
scattered stuff at the latitude I'm at. So time will tell.

There is a marked topography change west of Statesboro. To the
east, it's mostly flat, west of there is low rolling hills-nothing long
or steep, but continuous small hills.

The wind is still in my face and still mostly light. Not
bothersome but it does curb my speed.

One of the lenses on my glasses was loose and I happened by an
eye care center in Swainsboro and they took care of it right away.

It started raining about 8 miles from Dublin. Since there was
no lightning, I didn't seek shelter. Since there could be lightning later
and there's no good-stopping places for many miles after Dublin, I
decided to stop there, even though it was only 5:00 p.m. I sought out a
motel with laundry facilities-an Econolodge, as it happens - so I could
wash and dry all my stuff, except my sleeping shorts and sweat shirt,
which I'm wearing. Plus I can perhaps use a little more downtime one
night.

Mileage for day: 121
Mileage for trip: 828 (254 in GA)
Got wet
Net headwind
Temperatures reached the mid 80's then dropped into the 70's.

Thursday, April 27, 2006 Day 7

Left at 6:15 a.m. (sun-up at 6:48) and rode 50 miles before
stopping at 10:25 past Bonaire-25 miles on US80 to past Danville, then 25
miles were on 358 and 96, passing south of Macon.

The rain has ended, but parts of the road are still damp-there
were some real thunderstorms during the night. There is a definite
headwind today. Winds from the NW and moderate. Temperatures in the low
60s, rising to 67° as of now. Mostly cloudy early but the sun's coming
out. I'll put on sun screen.

Topography is still rolling hills-none very big. Mixed farms
and woods with continued logging trucks around.

My next stop wasn't until 4:10 with 114 miles for the day-and
rather close to Columbus where I'll probably stay tonight. I didn't plan
to go that long between stops (64 miles). I was going to stop at Butler
(mile 86) but the town was wholly off the road with no indication what
was there-same thing at Junction City and Geneva. For mile after mile,
there were no businesses on the highway. (The same thing happened to me
in Indiana last year). Anyway, I finally found a gas station with a table
to sit at, at a township called Boxspring.

Though I've been on the bike lots of hours, my mileage is
unimpressive, as there's been an all-day headwind. Some of the hills also
got longer and higher. I reached 35 mph coasting down one of them. Except
for a 5 mile stretch where construction is underway and except for the
absence of restaurants, etc., 96 is a good road. Most of the stretch west
of Fort Valley is divided highway, with a full paved shoulder. The name
changes back to 80 at Geneva where 80 comes in from Macon. I had taken 96
to avoid that "jog" that 80 takes to the north. Around Fort Valley, there
are a lot of peach orchards and pecan groves, and plowed farm fields that
are growing (cotton?). It's mostly not visible yet. There were some corn
fields yesterday (knee-high by the 26th of April?) and the logging
activities continue. A few fields have irrigation equipment.

I stopped for the evening in Columbus at about 6:30. I had two
more hours of daylight, but needed 3 hours to get to a town (Tuskegee)
where I could be reasonably confident of finding a hotel. So between that
and the headwind, I didn't get the mileage I'd have liked. Worse, the
same thing could happen tomorrow. Absent a problem, I should get to Selma
but don't have much chance of getting to Demopolis-well, we'll see how
this speculation looks tomorrow. My daughter, Margaret, did a computer
search for me and didn't see any motels in between Selma and Demopolis
except way off route.

Mileage for day: 137 (391 in GA)
Mileage for trip: 965
Net headwind: all day headwind, in fact

Friday, April 28, 2006 Day 8

Left at 6:30 EDT and rode 48 miles, stopping at Tuskegee, AL
at 9:15 CDT (there was a time zone change in between).

The temperature starting out was a bracing 49°, probably
cooler at the bottom of hills, but it's warming nicely as the morning
wears on. Clear skies.

The topography is continued low to medium rolling hills. One 5
mile or so flat stretch had mostly farms; otherwise the countryside is
mostly wooded, with still plenty of lumber trucks. US 80 doesn't have a
paved shoulder except newly constructed areas around half a dozen or so
bridge crossings. Hopefully that's a precursor to a general rebuilding of
the road. Traffic was heavy enough coming out of Phenix City to make
things uncomfortable. After that, it's been light.

At the McDonald's I visited at Tuskegee, I was the only, er.
European American in the place.

After starting out again, I noted a slight tailwind had come
up and was pushing the pace to see if I might possibly make Demopolis
today. But why?

I was also feeling a bit fatigued and a little shady area
looked very inviting, with the temperature, I would guess, being a
perfect 70°. So I took a half hour's nap, read the readings specified for
today's Mass, and noticed some wild blackberries of which I ate a couple
dozen. I also took a picture of the scene-pleasant enough-but
non-descript to anyone but me. Then with this note written and feeling
refreshed, it's off again at about 11:40, with 64 miles for the day so
far.



Stopped again at 1:30 p.m. after working my way through most
of Montgomery, which had the usual heavy commercial traffic on highway
80. I suppose if I knew these towns well, there'd be a way to miss some
of it.

I thought I was clear of Montgomery's traffic problems by
then, but wasn't, as the traffic signs routed 80 onto a limited access
x-way. I had about figured out another route-not a huge task-when a
passing driver offered the same advice.

Once clear of Montgomery, it was a good ride to Selma, which I
reached at 6:00 p.m. There was a slight tailwind and the hills were
fewer, though there were two that I coasted down at 31-34 mph,
respectively. There was a lot of pastureland with beef cattle, and
distinctly less woodlands. The road was all 4-lane, much of it with paved
shoulder as well, some not. Traffic was heavy for about 10 miles out of
Montgomery, then light. All in all, good riding. The skies clouded up
slightly and the temperature dropped from a high around 80 to the
mid-70's.

Mileage for day: 142 Georgia 5 (396 total) - AL 137
Mileage for trip: 1107; FLA 574, GA 396, AL 137
Net tailwind for day

Saturday, April 29, 2006 Day 9

Left at 5:30 a.m. (sun-up 6:00) and rode 50 miles to
Demopolis, stopping there for breakfast at 8:55.

Temperature about 60°, rising to 67°--mostly cloudy. Wind
light at start, but a definite SE breeze is building, more of a tailwind
than a headwind.

The road to here was double lane except for about 5 miles;
some hills but fewer than in eastern AL or western GA.

No logging trucks for a change.

A lot of pastureland with beef cattle, plus I went by a big
catfish farm-first time I've seen one of these. I also went by a field of
last year's cotton, and other fields where it's not clear what's growing.

After breakfast I rode almost non-stop to Meridian, arriving a
little before 1:30 with 103 miles. I hit the MS line about noon with 86
miles for the day, I planned to make this an easy day, with time to relax
in both the afternoon and evening, sandwiched around 5:00 Mass at a
Meridian Church Margaret had identified for me on the internet. Catholic
churches are not so common in these parts, so planning is necessary. Plus
I could use the downtime.

Well, I did get to Mass but the day was not so relaxing. For
openers, my front tire kept getting softer and softer, so that had to be
addressed. With a new tube and CO2 cartridge used, I was down to one tube
and 2 cartridges, going into an area with few services available. Plus I
didn't get real good air pressure with the CO2 cartridge I used. I found
the leak and patched the tube-it was of unclear origin. But it still
seemed I should go to a shop and resupply.

Next Meridian is not so easy to navigate. The town and the
motels are separated by a big railway yard, but there is also an x-way
with one way frontage roads on either side. By the time I had found the
Church, found the bike shop, gotten some snacks (I had had no lunch) and
made my way back to the motel, it was already 4:30-just enough time to
change into my only clean shorts and T-shirt and go back to Church.

Further, the weather has gone to hell. It's raining in
Meridian and there are big storms coming up from western MS and LA. So
that has to be monitored in relation to tomorrow's plans. Throw in a few
phone calls, doing the laundry and looking in on the NFL draft on TV (as
an avid Packer's fan, I don't want to be uninformed about that!), and
it's 10:00 p.m. with no relaxation done! And here I thought I was going
to spend a few hours lazily napping and reading my Swedish mystery novel!

With biking around Meridian of 18 miles, my daily total is 121
miles, 86 in AL and 35 in MS.

Total for trip is 1228; 574 FLA, 396 GA, 223 AL, 35 MS

Net tailwind today.

The topography east of Demopolis was quite swampy. The
Tombigbee River had several widely separated channels besides the main
one. So the Alabama roads were close to flat and not many buildings. The
ground got a bit higher in Mississippi.

Sunday, April 30, 2006 Day 10

Left at about 5:55 a.m. (sun-up 6:10) and rode 54 miles before
stopping at Forest at 10:00. The story of the day is rain, which has been
falling the last 40 miles and intermittently before that. No lightning or
thunder so far.

The temp is in the low 60s, which is mild enough that I
haven't bothered with my rain coat. Anyway, in a word, I'm drenched, and
it's still raining as I look out the window at a fast-food restaurant.

The route to Forest was 80, to which route I'm saying a final
goodbye as I turn north on 35. After going west from Savannah to here,
the rest of the trip is mainly to the north.

The topography so far is mixed fields and woodlands, with a
lot of beef cattle.

After breakfast I rode 50 miles to Kosciusko, stopping there
about 2:10 p.m., with 104 miles for the day. The rain continued for
another 7 miles, then was on and off for another 10 or so. It's now
partly cloudy and perhaps upper 60s. I'm part wet, part dry.

I passed over the Natchez Trace Parkway a couple miles before
stopping. It looked like an attractive route if what I could see was
representative.

The topography is hillier than before; still mostly wooded,
with some cattle in the fields. The road the last 6 miles into Kosciusko
was quite annoying. It had 2-3 feet of paved shoulder to the right of the
white line but cut deep grooves into the pavement centered on the white
line. It's not easy to ride comfortably to the right of the grooves
without hitting them, and going to the left-which I mostly did, takes
away the benefit of the extra width.

From Kosciusko, I rode mostly non-stop to Greenwood, when I
stopped for the night around 7:00 p.m. The skies were clear and I'm a bit
sunburned, as I didn't put on sunblock. Winds were slightly favorable
early in the day and largely absent later. The hills continued and grew
until the last half dozen or so miles before Greenwood when it abruptly
got very flat.

I took 35 to 82 and then 89 into Greenwood, where it has
joined 49. In the a.m., I'll take 49.

82 was obviously built in 2 stages. The eastbound lanes were
newer, with much deeper cuts and fills that leveled off the hills quite a
bit. The westbound lanes I was riding had cuts and fills, but not nearly
as much, so it was more work.

The flat land near Greenwood looks to be heavily farmed-the
woods have quit.

Mileage for day: 161 (MS 196)
Total for trip: 1389
Net tailwind

Monday, May 1, 2006 Day 11

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:11) and rode almost non-stop to
Arkansas, hitting that side of the Mississippi River bridge at 10:45,
with 82 miles for the day.

It's been a "productive" morning in terms of mileage for two
reasons: flat roads and a tailwind.

These were the flattest roads of the whole trip, Florida not
excepted. It is lush farm country-as good-looking (to this non-farmer) as
anything in the mid-west. Cotton (I think), corn and soybeans were all
over, and there was even one long pecan grove.

Once across the bridge, things got slower. I stopped to take a
picture of the bridge, and to check the map on whether to take 49 or 49B,
then stopped at the visitors center to find out where the fast foods are
in the area. I'm at one now in West Helena, with 88 miles for the day.

Temp was 62° and cloudy and stayed cloudy and cool for several
hours. But the sun has been out since 11:00 or so and it's supposed to be
getting into the 80s. I'm putting on sunblock.

From W. Helena, I rode 56 miles in 3 hours, 6 minutes for an
average of fully 18 mph-no way I can come close to that without a nice
tailwind, which I have. Anyway, I'm stopped in Wynne a little after 3:00
with 144 miles for the day. Sky clear-temp 77-brisk south wind. The
Arkansas side of the big river is similar to the Mississippi side, lots
of nice farms-but a few more small hills and quite a few more little
towns along the route.



At Wynne, I got to talking with half a dozen people about the
trip, and while I was ordering, they called the local newspaper, whose
reporter came right over to interview me and take pictures. Very nice.
And I was still away after a 45-minute stop.





The winds remained favorable and so I rode on to Jonesboro,
arriving at a motel there before 6:30 with 187 miles. I could have gone
another hour or more if there was a town there. What a benefit a tailwind
provides!! I rode a little bit more in connection with supper.

Mileage for day: 189 82 - MS (278 total), 107 AR
Mileage for trip: 1578
Definite net tailwind-the best of the trip
Temperature peaked around 81°

This is my first time biking in Arkansas, making it the 46th
state in which I've biked (I still need Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota and
Wyoming). One of my little "projects" is to try and bike in all 50
states. That's the reason my route on the present trip swung so far
west-to pick up Arkansas!





Tuesday, May 2, 2006 Day 12

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:08) and rode 54 miles to Piggott,
AR, stopping about 9:25. I saw some tornado carnage (presumably a
tornado) in Marmaduke (a town of 1100) on the way through and stopped to
take a picture. I'll try to remember to investigate later when the
tornado had hit. It's sure a mess now.

Temperature starting out was 65, rising only a bit so far.
Skies are threatening rain.

A "Little Debbie" delivery man at the place I'm stopped in
Piggott had seen me riding through Paragould 30-some miles ago. We
chatted a bit and he gave me 9 chocolate chip granola bars to take along.

There were rolling hills the 20 plus miles from Jonesboro to
Paragould. Since then, it's been mostly flat farm country again. You can
tell I'm getting farther north-the corn especially is not as far along as
in MS or GA.

I stopped again at 2:00 p.m. in Bloomfield, MO, with 100 miles
for the day. I hit the MO line around 10:45 with 62 miles. About that
time a north wind came up. I had picked up 62 at Piggott and that road
switched directions a few times so it was hard to tell about the wind,
other than that yesterday's tail winds were not in the picture. Anyway,
when I turned north on Route 25 with 73 miles for the day, the picture
became clear: I had a moderate to brisk headwind, which has continued to
now. From Dexter on, I've also encountered a hilly area. It looks like I
may be lucky to make Cape Girardeau. Anna, IL looks out of the question.
My speed is much too modest.

The wind did moderate later in the afternoon, but it was still
a headwind.

Much of the road (Route 25) has paved shoulder in marginal
condition, made worse by the long grooves meant to awaken dozing
motorists. Why can't very short grooves serve as well? What they have is
very difficult to bike in.

Drivers here are also quite aggressive about passing in the
face of an oncoming bicycle. I gave them a "thumbs down", FWIW. (My
disapproving gesture of choice.)

I got a room at the Super 8, which turned out to be isolated
from the motel-restaurant district. With the distance and the hills, I
opted to stay in and order pizza and a 2 liter soda.

I have also done all of my laundry.

Mileage for day: 145: 62 ARK (169 total), 83 MO
Mileage for trip: 1723
Net headwind

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 Day 13

Left around 5:25 a.m. (sun-up 6:00) and rode 57 miles to and
through Carbondale to De Soto, IL, where I stopped for breakfast around
9:35.

Reached the IL line on the Mississippi River bridge after 6
miles. Temperature starting out was 53°. It's 67° now with clear skies.

Route is Ill 146 to 51 and then 51 North. The first 15 miles
of IL were flat, then it was hilly for the next 30; then mostly flat
again. One hill in Anna was the steepest of the trip so far. I had to
gear down to 2-2.

Road was good to Carbondale. Since then, it's a little on the
narrow side.

Before leaving DeSoto, I put on sunblock. Not too long after,
I wondered why, because it had clouded up. I was making good time with a
modest tailwind when I noticed the sky to the NW getting darker and
darker. I hoped to get to Centralia, where I could take cover and was
about out of time with about 6 miles still to go, when a pick-up truck
stopped to give me a ride. The driver, John Wood, had been in the storm,
which was ugly, saw me on the road, and turned around to offer his
assistance. How blessed we can sometimes be by the kindness of strangers!

Anyway, I am waiting the storm out at a fast food place in
Centralia. I even found cover for the bike!

I left again at 2:30 and rode to Vandalia, but not non-stop.
The exertions of the trip are catching up to me and I stopped and took a
half hour or so roadside nap. Then after a short stop at Vandalia, I rode
on to Pana, arriving about 7:30 with 171 miles for the day.

Some slight tailwinds early in the day, practically no wind
later. Roads were fair; traffic was light on 51.

Mileage for day: 171: 6 MO (89 total), 165 IL
Mileage for trip: 1894
Net tailwind

Thursday, May 4, 2006 Day 14

I left at a rather late 6:00 a.m., a few minutes after
sunrise-the first time I haven't been out before sunrise.

The skies are clear, but the weatherman "delivered" on his
"promise" of headwinds for today. I have averaged barely 12 mph for the
first three hours of riding.

Anyway, I rode 36 miles to the north side of Decatur where I
stopped for breakfast at a Bob Evans, having also stopped briefly to get
some cash at an ATM and bought some prunes.

Central IL farm country offers no cover from the wind. It was
good to take business route 51 through Decatur, where there are buildings
and trees to cut the wind somewhat.

Beginning about 10 miles north of Pana, 51 is an excellent
road-a divided highway with a full paved shoulder, and, on the new parts,
grooves only about a foot wide at the left part of the paved shoulder.
Business 51 through Decatur is mandatory for bikes, as the bypass is
restricted access. No problem-I wanted to go through town anyway, plus
it's a bit shorter.

After breakfast, I rode 41 miles, stopping for lunch and a
rest on the south side of Bloomington, with 77 miles for the day. The
headwinds are continuing unabated. I left 51 and biked through Maroa,
Clinton and Heyworth, to take advantage of the towns cutting the wind a
little. At least the sky is clear. Temperatures are rather cool, at least
by the standards of this trip. It was about 55 starting out, was 60 in
Decatur and I doubt that it has hit 70(67 was the warmest I saw all day).

I realized yesterday that it's been a couple days since I've
seen any dead armadillos, and of course I wasn't to see any more of them
further north. They're the predominant road kill in the south.

Today, I saw a flowering crab tree in Clinton and realized I
hadn't seen any previously on this trip. They are ubiquitous in Milwaukee
and also were in the NE cities I've biked through in the past. After
knee-high corn in Georgia and Mississippi, it got steadily shorter as I
move north-some of it was just coming up in Pana yesterday. Now it's not
out of the ground and in many fields, nothings been planted. (That's
surely the case at home!)

After lunch, the wind shifted a little more westerly and
picked up. My speed if anything was slowed. I had trouble maintaining 12
mph. It was a real problem.

I rode until 7:15, when I reached a motel in Streator, after
133 miles of riding.

Route from Bloomington: Business 55, then County Road 31,
County Road 12, County Road 29 and then 16-finally ending on State 16 and
23. It was mostly country riding with very little cover.

Mileage for day: 133 (IL- 298 total)
Mileage for trip: 2027
Net headwind and little else-the worst of the trip

Friday, May 5, 2006 Day 15

Because of another day of predicted headwinds, I had no
serious chance of getting home, at least not without quite a bit of
riding after dark.

So I reserved a motel room in Elkhorn, WI, about 60 miles from
home. The advance reservation seemed in order, because weekends have been
the time when it's most difficult to find a room, not least on this trip.
(See my day 1 experience; also the following Saturday, I was early and
got a room in Meridian, but the place did sell out.)

I left the motel in Streator at a little before 6:00, about
the time of sunrise. The temperature was 44, coolest of the trip so far.
So I wore my sweatshirt riding for the first time.

After 15 miles, I passed a church in Ottawa that had a 7:00
a.m. Mass, which I attended.

Then I rode 46 miles more to the north side of DeKalb, where I
stopped for lunch around 11:40. Soon into the stretch, the wind came up
noticeably, and like yesterday, it was in my face, with little cover
available to shelter me from it. Along the way, I took about a 10-minute
break to have a granola bar and get out of the wind. Also like yesterday,
it made it difficult to average even 12 mph. My route to the Wis. line
is IL 23, which varies in quality. Much of it has a full paved shoulder;
other parts (e.g. south of Waterman) have only 2 lanes with no paved
shoulder at all.

The temperatures dropped in the afternoon and it was down to
48 by the time I reached Harvard.

Route 23 in Northern DeKalb and all of McHenry County is
perhaps the least safe stretch in the whole trip-at any rate it vies with
the south approaches to Miami. Anyway, Rt. 23 in that area is a narrow 2
lane road with no shoulder, paved or otherwise and dozens of semis and
cement trucks (Illinois, you can do better!)

It was very comforting to reach the WI line a little after
5:00 with 103 miles for the day and see the road widen.

Back in WI, I encountered perhaps the two largest climbs of a
not very hilly trip, one coming out of Fontana, the other out of Williams
Bay.

I also stopped in this area at an assisted living facility en
route to visit a patient there.

I reached Elkhorn and checked into my reserved room around
7:00 p.m. with 117 miles for the day, and added 5 more getting provisions
to eat.

Mileage for day: 122: IL 103 (401 total), WI 19

Mileage for trip: 2149
Net headwind: real problem again

Saturday, May 6, 2006 Day 16

Left the motel at 6:15, a good 20 minutes after sun-up, but
with only a short trip home to finish, this should be no problem.

The skies were clear and the wind has diminished to near calm,
but it was cold. The Weather Channel had the local temperature at 36, but
there was frost on the cars in the parking lot and frosty areas in some
yards. So, call it 32 F, which brackets the temperature extremes for this
trip at 32 and 91.

I took Rt. 67 from Elkhorn to Oconomowoc, for 33 miles,
passing through southern part of the Kettle Moraine (i.e. it was hilly).
The landscape was brightened by flowering crabs in all their glory. There
were also a lot of lilacs in color, especially in the countryside, and a
bit of red bud. (This was also the case in No. IL yesterday).

From Oconomowoc, I took a number of local roads that wound
their way through lake country, eventually arriving at Rte. 83 at the
north end of Waukesha County. I took a picture of an interesting tree,
decorated to look like a roadrunner.

I went out of my way to go north an extra 4 miles beyond where
I live to stop at Holy Hill. This is the highest point at SE Wis. (a
modest 1300 feet above sea level, and 700 some feet above Lake Michigan).
The hill is topped by a shrine and monastery and is one of my favorite
bicycling destinations; I've biked there over 400 times. Among other
things, they have outdoor stations of the cross which I prayed in
thanksgiving for a trip safely completed (well, almost completed at that
point).

This left me with 16 miles to home, ironically riding toward
the southeast on a trip that started far to the southeast. It was "coming
on in" time, the exhilaration that accompanies the last miles home at the
end of a long trip. And so I lightly traversed the familiar, albeit hilly
roads of Washington County-Holy Hill Road into my hometown of Germantown,
then Fond du Lac Ave. into the urban section, and several local streets
home. There was one more stop to make, at the local supermarket, to pick
up roses for milady, which protruded from my backpack, which actually had
quite a bit of empty space (most of my baggage was jammed into the side
bags of my rear carrier).

I arrived home just after 12:00 noon, with 69 miles for the
day.

Mileage for day: 69, all in WI (88 total)
Mileage for trip: 2218
Winds: Light and variable today, call it neutral

Mileage summary: FLA 574, GA 396, AL 223, MS 278, AR 169, MO 89, IL 401,
WI 88

Total: 2218

Net tailwinds: 4/23, 4/24. 4/25, 4/28, 4/29, 4/30, 5/1, 5/3 (8)
Net headwinds: 4/21. 4/26, 4/27, 5/2, 5/4, 5/5 (6)
Neutral winds: 4/22. 5/16 (2)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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wrote in message
...
"Ron Wallenfang" wrote:

Ron Wallenfang's Bike Trip
April 21 through May 6, 2006
Key West - Savannah - Arkansas - Milwaukee
2218 Miles

What's it like riding those long bridges in the Keys?
Scary?

The bridges between the keys were no problem. Plenty of width on the
roadways, and not a lot of traffic. The "scariest" parts of the trip were
coming into Miami from the south on US 1 because drivers aggresively used
the curb lane, and in northern IL on Route 23, where there was a narrow 2
lane road and heavy traffic, including cement trucks and semis.

Also any pics to share?

I tried to include them but they were stripped out in the transmission. I'm
consulting family members on how to send them successfully.

Fair comment. An odd idea of fun, perhaps, but that's my temperament!


"Thomas Wentworth" wrote in message
news:PXEGg.771$Bu2.660@trndny02...
Too many miles per day for my thinking ... were you in a big hurry?
Seems like just riding with no fun..

==========




"Ron Wallenfang" wrote in message
...
Ron Wallenfang's Bike Trip
April 21 through May 6, 2006
Key West - Savannah - Arkansas - Milwaukee
2218 Miles

Bike is a TREK 520 touring bike

-saddlebag on rear carrier, with a bag on each side, and one over the
rack

-back pack for lighter items

Baggage-all packed in gallon size freezer bags

-2 extra printed t-shirts

-2 extra undershorts

-2 extra pair of socks

-sweatshirt

-shower shoes

-extra handkerchief

-extra pair of bermudas

-sleeping shorts -can wear outside if needed



-3 extra tubes

-tube repair kit

-5 CO2 Cartridges

-4 tire levers

-set of Allyn wrenches



-helmet

-gloves

-lock

-state highway maps

-log book

-pens

-prayer book

-Swedish mystery novel

-camera

-cell phone and charger

-toiletries-usual

-Swiss army knife

-Super 8 Motel Directory

-water bottle

Sent the bike ahead of time via UPS to a shop in Key West.





Friday, April 21, 2006 Day One

Key West isn't easy to get to from Milwaukee. I took a 7:40 a.m. flight
to Fort Meyers-then had a two hour layover and then a short flight to Key
West arriving at 2:30 p.m.

The flight from Milwaukee was half an hour late but uneventful.
Unfortunately, I had to check my black saddlebag as baggage, because I
carry a Swiss-army knife, which is prohibited as a carry-on. What a
weapon!!!!!! It barely cuts bread!



The little plane from Fort Meyers to Key West held nine passengers,
including the person (me) who was put in the co-pilot's seat. (I know
nothing about how to fly a plane.) The plane was painted with a shark
image in front, with a big picture of Ernest Hemingway on the side and
the words "Key West Express" on the tail. People and baggage were put on
in a way calculated to balance the load. Every nook and cranny was
filled with someone or something. It was hot inside, but the pilot
assured us that when we got to our 7000 foot cruising altitude, the plane
would cool off, and it did. Not a bad flight actually.





Arriving in Key West at 2:30, I took a taxi to the bike shop, which had
my bike ready to go. After getting my saddlebag and headlight attached
and putting on my sun block (much needed by a northerner in April even
though I spend a lot of time outdoors) and visiting with the staff a
while about my proposed trip.



I took a picture of one of them. Then, I biked down to the
"southern-most" point monument, and had my picture taken.







And then I was off to the North on U.S. Hwy 1, beginning about 3:15 p.m.
Traffic was a problem the first 5 miles or so, then the going was pretty
good. In some areas, there were bike paths; almost everywhere else, the
road had a few feet of paved shoulder. Temperatures were in the low to
mid 80's with a mostly sunny sky. Winds were more east than south-almost
completely east at times, giving me a bothersome headwind, especially on
bridges. I made it to Marathon, about 50 miles from Key West, where an
unpleasant surprise awaited me. There was an organized run over the 7
Mile Bridge tomorrow, which meant that almost every hotel room in town
was taken. After 10 miles of riding around, I found one for $250.00!! A
beautiful suite, but hardly what I was looking for. I count myself as too
old to sleep on the beach, but it was a close call.

The forecast for tomorrow is for a low of 77 degrees, rising to the mid
80's with Southeast winds.

I had supper at a nearby restaurant featuring some of the local conch,
which is good. Then I called my wife, who is in North Carolina at a
gathering of the "Schmidt family women".

Then it was time to end this log & get organized for tomorrow.

Mileage for the Day: 60 Net headwind

Saturday, April 22, 2006 Day Two

I left at first light around 6:30 a.m. (sun-up 6:58 a.m.) and rode 50
miles to Key Largo. There was a bike path part of the way; the rest had a
few feet of paved shoulder. Stopped for breakfast in Key Largo at 10:00
a.m.

Sky mainly clear, with some low clouds blocking the a.m. sun a little.
Temperature around 80 degrees and humid. There is no morning "cool".

Putting on sun-block at Key Largo. Mostly a head wind again, but
hopefully that will change as the road veers to the north, as it already
has to a degree. Hundreds of fisherman out, one was posing for pictures
with a nice fish.

Five or six miles from Key Largo, US 1 turned north-even a little east of
north and continued that way for over 20 miles. I picked up a nice
tailwind and made good time. Less gratifying, there was a lot of traffic
and only a few feet of paved shoulder and that little bit had raised
reflectors buried in it that I had to dodge. The landscape quickly
changed from keys and water to Everglades. It was a lonely road with
swamp on both sides. There were two long breaks in the heavy traffic.
When a bridge (at the south end of this stretch) went up to let boats
through, it completely cut off northbound traffic because there were no
cross roads in the Everglades to contribute any other northbound traffic.

Thirty-one (31) miles after Key Largo and coming into Homestead, I had a
flat rear tire; a wire punctured the tube. A few miles later, I went
past a bike shop and had more air added than my hand pump and CO2
cartridge had managed. I also bought a replacement tube. At 92 miles
for the day I stopped for a dessert and lots of soda.

The ride into Miami on US 1 was a penance. The traffic uses the right
hand lane more aggressively than in most cities. As a result I
frequently rode the sidewalk, which is a rarity for me. "Take the lane"
advocates would be ashamed of me!

In downtown Miami, I briefly lost the route, but at 3:25 blundered past a
Church (Gesu) with a 4:00 Mass, so I had a short lunch and then went to
that Mass, with 110 miles for the day to that point.

After that I went North on US1 to 79th Street then east over the
intracoastal to Miami Beach and Rte. A1A. Once I got there, riding was
much better. Going straight North, I picked up a tailwind again. And
A1A has less cross traffic and better riding conditions.

I hit Broward County at 128 miles for the day and rode another 12 miles,
stopping south of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Tomorrow A.M., I can cut
back over to A1A again.

Mileage for the day: 140
Mileage for the trip 200
High Temperatu about 87 degrees with high humidity
Winds - headwinds and tailwinds about cancelled each other
out; call it neutral
Wind was basically SE

Sunday, April 23, 2003 Day 3

Left at 6:10 a.m. (sunup at 6:49) and took A1A to Palm Beach, then
crossed the intracoastal and biked north, on local streets and then on
US1. Stopped for breakfast at 10:00 a.m. at Riviera Beach with 52 miles
for the day.

Earlier stopped for 7:30 Mass at St. Lucy's in Highland Beach, though I
was late. Temperatures are rising through the 70's-practically no wind.

This area (Palm Beach and south) is not called the gold coast for
nothing. The surroundings practically breathe wealth.

The A1A route from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach can also be an "ego
crusher" for many bike riders. There were hundreds of bike riders out,
singly and in groups of up to 15. Most of them were really getting a
work out. I was plodding along at 15 mph and was passed routinely. At
age 62, slightly overweight, with 700x35 tires and 20 lbs of baggage, I
couldn't have kept up if I wanted to. The important thing was not to
try. I tried pushing myself too hard at the National 24 Hour Challenge
last June and ended up losing 2 hours to leg cramps. I am much better
off maintaining a pace I can hold all day.

At the Riviera Beach stop, I laid my still damp laundry-which I washed in
the sink last night-out to dry on my bike.

As with yesterday, this is the time of day to put on the sunscreen,
although conditions are mixed sun and clouds.

Shortly afterward, there was a brief shower, but with no lighting, I
biked through it.

I made several short stops during the day, mainly to stay hydrated. At
one, I went to a Publix and got a fruit cup plus two liters of orange
juice, half of which I used in my water bottle.

The wind was light until about 2:00, after which a nice tailwind came up,
so I kept going until a little after 8:00, where I stopped in Cocoa after
sundown, but before it was dark. There was a 24 hour IHOP next door, so
I ate there after cleaning up, and rinsing out today's clothes. I'll
need to find a place with laundry facilities one of these nights to get
my things clean and not just un-smelly.

I had considered stopping in Melbourne after 151 miles but with a
tailwind, which I hate to give up, I kept on going until Cocoa.

Mileage for day: 176
Mileage for trip: 376
Net tailwind today

Monday, April 24, 2006 Day 4

Left at 6:15 and rode 63 miles, stopping at 10:30 just coming into
Daytona Beach.

Temperature starting out was 69 degrees - first time under 70 on this
trip. I suppose I'll miss the warmth further north! But 69 degrees felt
very good. It's probably up to 80 degrees by now though. Like
yesterday, I hung my damp clothes out to dry on the bike. There was a
little light fog early but it quickly dissipated when the sun came up.

North of Titusville was the first sustained rural area I've seen-mostly
grazing fields with few animals in sight. Also I saw a few orchards.




Besides the usual road kill along the side, I saw a dead wild pig.
That's a first!

The road (US1) consistently had a few feet of paved shoulder.
There was a construction zone of 5 miles or so with the shoulder area
rough. But the "closed" traffic lane was mostly in good shape so I rode
there.

After passing through the New Smyrna-Daytona-Ormond Beach
area, with the usual commercial roadsides, Flagler County was an empty
surprise. "They" are "fixing" (as the southerner's would say) to develop
the east side of US #1. There are signs announcing the city limits of
Palm Coast (which is not very near the coast, as US#1 is actually west of
I-95 in this area), and there are the beginnings of a few roads, but no
people. West of US#1 is just wild scrub. I assumed there'd be stores,
etc. and passed up stopping in Bunnell, which was a mistake. There were
no stores for another 14 miles - until the I-95 junction. I was a bit
dehydrated by then-43 miles from the previous stop-106 for the day. The
temperature rose to the upper 80s.

At mile 123 for the day, I reached St. Augustine, and in an
unusual move for me (my usual style is to just pound out more miles),
went into town to look at the historic area.





Then it was on to Jacksonville, which I reached in time to
make my way to the north side, to limit city riding tomorrow. I got lost
once trying to get on US 17, having said "good-bye" to the US1/A1A
combination that I have used ever since Key West.

I assumed wrongly I'd find a motel at the I-195/17
intersection. A clerk at a convenience store there sent me in reverse 3
miles, where I did find motels. But I'm still pretty well on the north
side of Jacksonville.

As happened yesterday, the wind was light and variable in the
a.m., but became a tailwind in the p.m.

Mileage for day: 174
Mileage for trip: 550
Net tailwind for day

P.S. I'm eating at Applebee's which brought me a pitcher of
ice water to help me "rehydrate". Trouble is, when I drink the quantity
of real cold water I need, I get chilled-in this hot weather! But they
readily brought me a substitute pitcher with no ice.

It should be remarked that Jacksonville was quite an easy town
to bike through, by comparison with Miami and some others on other trips.
US#1 from the south has consistent extra width and also handles
intersections well. Sometimes there are bike lanes striped in, but with
or without that, the width is what makes it safer.

US 17 north was also pretty good riding. Again, it was roadway
width that is the key.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006 Day 5

I left the motel around 6:15 a.m.-sun-up 6:48. Temperature
around 70°--maybe a little cooler. Route 17 north is an O.K. bike
route-not nearly as heavily traveled as US#1 coming up from the south.
And there was usually a few feet of paved shoulder. Julee, about 15 miles
ahead and a place I might have reached yesterday, had two motels
available had I known-well, so it goes.

At about 8:00 a.m., with 24 miles for the day, I hit the GA
line-so I biked 574 miles in FL.

US17 in GA is a designated bike route (95). The road is
slightly narrower than in FL but traffic is very light. Outside the
towns, there's not much to see. Part of the land is swamp; most of the
rest is wooded-no farms, few homes. There are lumber trucks around, so
obviously the wood is being harvested-mostly pine-few palm trees, though
they too grow here.

I biked 59 miles and stopped at the 17/95 junction near
Brunswick, at about 10:30 until 11:30.

Then I backtracked a mile and took 303 to the north side of
Brunswick where it rejoined 17. I kept going until mile 104, another
junction of 17 and I-95 this time near Midway. The temperature is 88 or
91 according to two clocks I passed.

The towns are a little more frequent than in the southernmost
county, but still pretty thinly populated, with woods, swamps and a few
fields-one with beef cattle. One little stretch had a dozen oak trees
with hanging moss overhanging the road. If only that could continue for
miles! It's beautiful.

After the mile 104 stop, I rode pretty much non-stop to
downtown Savannah, which I reached at about 5:30. US17 turned onto a
freeway, so I just headed generally north on surface streets and did get
to the historic area, where I looked around and took a few pictures. The
tour buses (many of them) were just finishing their days' work. There is
no special "must-see" attraction here, but a lot of history going back to
colonial times.



Then I rode generally west until I hit US 80, which I took
until about 9 miles west of downtown, where there were a cluster of
motels and other facilities.

The rear tire was a bit soft today. I considered changing the
tube, but since there seemed to be no air lost during the day, I left it
alone. We'll see how that works out.

I'm in a Travelodge in a smoking suite, since that's all that
was available. And it's a big room indeed! I ate in the room, since
there's a grocery next door, where I got wine, Swiss cheese, hard salami,
a citrus fruit combo and a 2-litre soda.

I quit a bit on the early side-around 7:00 p.m., with sundown
at 8:00, but hotel prospects to the west are dubious.

Mileage for day: 157, 133 in GA
Mileage for trip: 707
Winds not as favorable as the last 2 days (more west than
south until late) but more favorable than not.
Call it a net tailwind.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 Day 6

I thought the better of what to do about my soft rear tire,
and changed the tube before leaving this morning.

I left at 6:05 (sun-up 6:43), went 1/10 mile and realized I
forgot my water bottle. So I went back to get it and left again at 6:15,
riding 42 miles to Statesboro, where I stopped at 9:30. Temperature
around 70°. There's a big front with lots of thundershowers covering the
length of Mississippi and headed this way, so I may well get wet today.

Winds are westerly, meaning a headwind, though not a strong
one so far.

After 3 miles I reached the point where my route hit last
year's route, so I've officially gone from the top to the bottom of the
eastern U.S.-710 miles thus far this trip; the relevant part of my 2004
trip was 865 miles from Matawaska, ME, to Philadelphia and the relevant
part of my 2005 trip was 960 miles from Philadelphia to Savannah for a
total 2535 miles.

The first 10 miles today were difficult. There was a
continuous stream of eastbound commuter traffic on 80 - less going my way
(west), but the road wasn't wide enough for comfort. After those first
miles though, traffic on 80 lightened greatly.

After Statesboro, I next stopped at 1:30 p.m., 83 miles for
the day just west of Swainsboro. The Weather Channel is on, and there are
big thunderstorms not far north and not far south of here. There is more
scattered stuff at the latitude I'm at. So time will tell.

There is a marked topography change west of Statesboro. To the
east, it's mostly flat, west of there is low rolling hills-nothing long
or steep, but continuous small hills.

The wind is still in my face and still mostly light. Not
bothersome but it does curb my speed.

One of the lenses on my glasses was loose and I happened by an
eye care center in Swainsboro and they took care of it right away.

It started raining about 8 miles from Dublin. Since there was
no lightning, I didn't seek shelter. Since there could be lightning later
and there's no good-stopping places for many miles after Dublin, I
decided to stop there, even though it was only 5:00 p.m. I sought out a
motel with laundry facilities-an Econolodge, as it happens - so I could
wash and dry all my stuff, except my sleeping shorts and sweat shirt,
which I'm wearing. Plus I can perhaps use a little more downtime one
night.

Mileage for day: 121
Mileage for trip: 828 (254 in GA)
Got wet
Net headwind
Temperatures reached the mid 80's then dropped into the 70's.

Thursday, April 27, 2006 Day 7

Left at 6:15 a.m. (sun-up at 6:48) and rode 50 miles before
stopping at 10:25 past Bonaire-25 miles on US80 to past Danville, then 25
miles were on 358 and 96, passing south of Macon.

The rain has ended, but parts of the road are still damp-there
were some real thunderstorms during the night. There is a definite
headwind today. Winds from the NW and moderate. Temperatures in the low
60s, rising to 67° as of now. Mostly cloudy early but the sun's coming
out. I'll put on sun screen.

Topography is still rolling hills-none very big. Mixed farms
and woods with continued logging trucks around.

My next stop wasn't until 4:10 with 114 miles for the day-and
rather close to Columbus where I'll probably stay tonight. I didn't plan
to go that long between stops (64 miles). I was going to stop at Butler
(mile 86) but the town was wholly off the road with no indication what
was there-same thing at Junction City and Geneva. For mile after mile,
there were no businesses on the highway. (The same thing happened to me
in Indiana last year). Anyway, I finally found a gas station with a table
to sit at, at a township called Boxspring.

Though I've been on the bike lots of hours, my mileage is
unimpressive, as there's been an all-day headwind. Some of the hills also
got longer and higher. I reached 35 mph coasting down one of them. Except
for a 5 mile stretch where construction is underway and except for the
absence of restaurants, etc., 96 is a good road. Most of the stretch west
of Fort Valley is divided highway, with a full paved shoulder. The name
changes back to 80 at Geneva where 80 comes in from Macon. I had taken 96
to avoid that "jog" that 80 takes to the north. Around Fort Valley, there
are a lot of peach orchards and pecan groves, and plowed farm fields that
are growing (cotton?). It's mostly not visible yet. There were some corn
fields yesterday (knee-high by the 26th of April?) and the logging
activities continue. A few fields have irrigation equipment.

I stopped for the evening in Columbus at about 6:30. I had two
more hours of daylight, but needed 3 hours to get to a town (Tuskegee)
where I could be reasonably confident of finding a hotel. So between that
and the headwind, I didn't get the mileage I'd have liked. Worse, the
same thing could happen tomorrow. Absent a problem, I should get to Selma
but don't have much chance of getting to Demopolis-well, we'll see how
this speculation looks tomorrow. My daughter, Margaret, did a computer
search for me and didn't see any motels in between Selma and Demopolis
except way off route.

Mileage for day: 137 (391 in GA)
Mileage for trip: 965
Net headwind: all day headwind, in fact

Friday, April 28, 2006 Day 8

Left at 6:30 EDT and rode 48 miles, stopping at Tuskegee, AL
at 9:15 CDT (there was a time zone change in between).

The temperature starting out was a bracing 49°, probably
cooler at the bottom of hills, but it's warming nicely as the morning
wears on. Clear skies.

The topography is continued low to medium rolling hills. One 5
mile or so flat stretch had mostly farms; otherwise the countryside is
mostly wooded, with still plenty of lumber trucks. US 80 doesn't have a
paved shoulder except newly constructed areas around half a dozen or so
bridge crossings. Hopefully that's a precursor to a general rebuilding of
the road. Traffic was heavy enough coming out of Phenix City to make
things uncomfortable. After that, it's been light.

At the McDonald's I visited at Tuskegee, I was the only, er.
European American in the place.

After starting out again, I noted a slight tailwind had come
up and was pushing the pace to see if I might possibly make Demopolis
today. But why?

I was also feeling a bit fatigued and a little shady area
looked very inviting, with the temperature, I would guess, being a
perfect 70°. So I took a half hour's nap, read the readings specified for
today's Mass, and noticed some wild blackberries of which I ate a couple
dozen. I also took a picture of the scene-pleasant enough-but
non-descript to anyone but me. Then with this note written and feeling
refreshed, it's off again at about 11:40, with 64 miles for the day so
far.



Stopped again at 1:30 p.m. after working my way through most
of Montgomery, which had the usual heavy commercial traffic on highway
80. I suppose if I knew these towns well, there'd be a way to miss some
of it.

I thought I was clear of Montgomery's traffic problems by
then, but wasn't, as the traffic signs routed 80 onto a limited access
x-way. I had about figured out another route-not a huge task-when a
passing driver offered the same advice.

Once clear of Montgomery, it was a good ride to Selma, which I
reached at 6:00 p.m. There was a slight tailwind and the hills were
fewer, though there were two that I coasted down at 31-34 mph,
respectively. There was a lot of pastureland with beef cattle, and
distinctly less woodlands. The road was all 4-lane, much of it with paved
shoulder as well, some not. Traffic was heavy for about 10 miles out of
Montgomery, then light. All in all, good riding. The skies clouded up
slightly and the temperature dropped from a high around 80 to the
mid-70's.

Mileage for day: 142 Georgia 5 (396 total) - AL 137
Mileage for trip: 1107; FLA 574, GA 396, AL 137
Net tailwind for day

Saturday, April 29, 2006 Day 9

Left at 5:30 a.m. (sun-up 6:00) and rode 50 miles to
Demopolis, stopping there for breakfast at 8:55.

Temperature about 60°, rising to 67°--mostly cloudy. Wind
light at start, but a definite SE breeze is building, more of a tailwind
than a headwind.

The road to here was double lane except for about 5 miles;
some hills but fewer than in eastern AL or western GA.

No logging trucks for a change.

A lot of pastureland with beef cattle, plus I went by a big
catfish farm-first time I've seen one of these. I also went by a field of
last year's cotton, and other fields where it's not clear what's growing.

After breakfast I rode almost non-stop to Meridian, arriving a
little before 1:30 with 103 miles. I hit the MS line about noon with 86
miles for the day, I planned to make this an easy day, with time to relax
in both the afternoon and evening, sandwiched around 5:00 Mass at a
Meridian Church Margaret had identified for me on the internet. Catholic
churches are not so common in these parts, so planning is necessary. Plus
I could use the downtime.

Well, I did get to Mass but the day was not so relaxing. For
openers, my front tire kept getting softer and softer, so that had to be
addressed. With a new tube and CO2 cartridge used, I was down to one tube
and 2 cartridges, going into an area with few services available. Plus I
didn't get real good air pressure with the CO2 cartridge I used. I found
the leak and patched the tube-it was of unclear origin. But it still
seemed I should go to a shop and resupply.

Next Meridian is not so easy to navigate. The town and the
motels are separated by a big railway yard, but there is also an x-way
with one way frontage roads on either side. By the time I had found the
Church, found the bike shop, gotten some snacks (I had had no lunch) and
made my way back to the motel, it was already 4:30-just enough time to
change into my only clean shorts and T-shirt and go back to Church.

Further, the weather has gone to hell. It's raining in
Meridian and there are big storms coming up from western MS and LA. So
that has to be monitored in relation to tomorrow's plans. Throw in a few
phone calls, doing the laundry and looking in on the NFL draft on TV (as
an avid Packer's fan, I don't want to be uninformed about that!), and
it's 10:00 p.m. with no relaxation done! And here I thought I was going
to spend a few hours lazily napping and reading my Swedish mystery novel!

With biking around Meridian of 18 miles, my daily total is 121
miles, 86 in AL and 35 in MS.

Total for trip is 1228; 574 FLA, 396 GA, 223 AL, 35 MS

Net tailwind today.

The topography east of Demopolis was quite swampy. The
Tombigbee River had several widely separated channels besides the main
one. So the Alabama roads were close to flat and not many buildings. The
ground got a bit higher in Mississippi.

Sunday, April 30, 2006 Day 10

Left at about 5:55 a.m. (sun-up 6:10) and rode 54 miles before
stopping at Forest at 10:00. The story of the day is rain, which has been
falling the last 40 miles and intermittently before that. No lightning or
thunder so far.

The temp is in the low 60s, which is mild enough that I
haven't bothered with my rain coat. Anyway, in a word, I'm drenched, and
it's still raining as I look out the window at a fast-food restaurant.

The route to Forest was 80, to which route I'm saying a final
goodbye as I turn north on 35. After going west from Savannah to here,
the rest of the trip is mainly to the north.

The topography so far is mixed fields and woodlands, with a
lot of beef cattle.

After breakfast I rode 50 miles to Kosciusko, stopping there
about 2:10 p.m., with 104 miles for the day. The rain continued for
another 7 miles, then was on and off for another 10 or so. It's now
partly cloudy and perhaps upper 60s. I'm part wet, part dry.

I passed over the Natchez Trace Parkway a couple miles before
stopping. It looked like an attractive route if what I could see was
representative.

The topography is hillier than before; still mostly wooded,
with some cattle in the fields. The road the last 6 miles into Kosciusko
was quite annoying. It had 2-3 feet of paved shoulder to the right of the
white line but cut deep grooves into the pavement centered on the white
line. It's not easy to ride comfortably to the right of the grooves
without hitting them, and going to the left-which I mostly did, takes
away the benefit of the extra width.

From Kosciusko, I rode mostly non-stop to Greenwood, when I
stopped for the night around 7:00 p.m. The skies were clear and I'm a bit
sunburned, as I didn't put on sunblock. Winds were slightly favorable
early in the day and largely absent later. The hills continued and grew
until the last half dozen or so miles before Greenwood when it abruptly
got very flat.

I took 35 to 82 and then 89 into Greenwood, where it has
joined 49. In the a.m., I'll take 49.

82 was obviously built in 2 stages. The eastbound lanes were
newer, with much deeper cuts and fills that leveled off the hills quite a
bit. The westbound lanes I was riding had cuts and fills, but not nearly
as much, so it was more work.

The flat land near Greenwood looks to be heavily farmed-the
woods have quit.

Mileage for day: 161 (MS 196)
Total for trip: 1389
Net tailwind

Monday, May 1, 2006 Day 11

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:11) and rode almost non-stop to
Arkansas, hitting that side of the Mississippi River bridge at 10:45,
with 82 miles for the day.

It's been a "productive" morning in terms of mileage for two
reasons: flat roads and a tailwind.

These were the flattest roads of the whole trip, Florida not
excepted. It is lush farm country-as good-looking (to this non-farmer) as
anything in the mid-west. Cotton (I think), corn and soybeans were all
over, and there was even one long pecan grove.

Once across the bridge, things got slower. I stopped to take a
picture of the bridge, and to check the map on whether to take 49 or 49B,
then stopped at the visitors center to find out where the fast foods are
in the area. I'm at one now in West Helena, with 88 miles for the day.

Temp was 62° and cloudy and stayed cloudy and cool for several
hours. But the sun has been out since 11:00 or so and it's supposed to be
getting into the 80s. I'm putting on sunblock.

From W. Helena, I rode 56 miles in 3 hours, 6 minutes for an
average of fully 18 mph-no way I can come close to that without a nice
tailwind, which I have. Anyway, I'm stopped in Wynne a little after 3:00
with 144 miles for the day. Sky clear-temp 77-brisk south wind. The
Arkansas side of the big river is similar to the Mississippi side, lots
of nice farms-but a few more small hills and quite a few more little
towns along the route.



At Wynne, I got to talking with half a dozen people about the
trip, and while I was ordering, they called the local newspaper, whose
reporter came right over to interview me and take pictures. Very nice.
And I was still away after a 45-minute stop.





The winds remained favorable and so I rode on to Jonesboro,
arriving at a motel there before 6:30 with 187 miles. I could have gone
another hour or more if there was a town there. What a benefit a tailwind
provides!! I rode a little bit more in connection with supper.

Mileage for day: 189 82 - MS (278 total), 107 AR
Mileage for trip: 1578
Definite net tailwind-the best of the trip
Temperature peaked around 81°

This is my first time biking in Arkansas, making it the 46th
state in which I've biked (I still need Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota and
Wyoming). One of my little "projects" is to try and bike in all 50
states. That's the reason my route on the present trip swung so far
west-to pick up Arkansas!





Tuesday, May 2, 2006 Day 12

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:08) and rode 54 miles to Piggott,
AR, stopping about 9:25. I saw some tornado carnage (presumably a
tornado) in Marmaduke (a town of 1100) on the way through and stopped to
take a picture. I'll try to remember to investigate later when the
tornado had hit. It's sure a mess now.

Temperature starting out was 65, rising only a bit so far.
Skies are threatening rain.

A "Little Debbie" delivery man at the place I'm stopped in
Piggott had seen me riding through Paragould 30-some miles ago. We
chatted a bit and he gave me 9 chocolate chip granola bars to take along.

There were rolling hills the 20 plus miles from Jonesboro to
Paragould. Since then, it's been mostly flat farm country again. You can
tell I'm getting farther north-the corn especially is not as far along as
in MS or GA.

I stopped again at 2:00 p.m. in Bloomfield, MO, with 100 miles
for the day. I hit the MO line around 10:45 with 62 miles. About that
time a north wind came up. I had picked up 62 at Piggott and that road
switched directions a few times so it was hard to tell about the wind,
other than that yesterday's tail winds were not in the picture. Anyway,
when I turned north on Route 25 with 73 miles for the day, the picture
became clear: I had a moderate to brisk headwind, which has continued to
now. From Dexter on, I've also encountered a hilly area. It looks like I
may be lucky to make Cape Girardeau. Anna, IL looks out of the question.
My speed is much too modest.

The wind did moderate later in the afternoon, but it was still
a headwind.

Much of the road (Route 25) has paved shoulder in marginal
condition, made worse by the long grooves meant to awaken dozing
motorists. Why can't very short grooves serve as well? What they have is
very difficult to bike in.

Drivers here are also quite aggressive about passing in the
face of an oncoming bicycle. I gave them a "thumbs down", FWIW. (My
disapproving gesture of choice.)

I got a room at the Super 8, which turned out to be isolated
from the motel-restaurant district. With the distance and the hills, I
opted to stay in and order pizza and a 2 liter soda.

I have also done all of my laundry.

Mileage for day: 145: 62 ARK (169 total), 83 MO
Mileage for trip: 1723
Net headwind

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 Day 13

Left around 5:25 a.m. (sun-up 6:00) and rode 57 miles to and
through Carbondale to De Soto, IL, where I stopped for breakfast around
9:35.

Reached the IL line on the Mississippi River bridge after 6
miles. Temperature starting out was 53°. It's 67° now with clear skies.

Route is Ill 146 to 51 and then 51 North. The first 15 miles
of IL were flat, then it was hilly for the next 30; then mostly flat
again. One hill in Anna was the steepest of the trip so far. I had to
gear down to 2-2.

Road was good to Carbondale. Since then, it's a little on the
narrow side.

Before leaving DeSoto, I put on sunblock. Not too long after,
I wondered why, because it had clouded up. I was making good time with a
modest tailwind when I noticed the sky to the NW getting darker and
darker. I hoped to get to Centralia, where I could take cover and was
about out of time with about 6 miles still to go, when a pick-up truck
stopped to give me a ride. The driver, John Wood, had been in the storm,
which was ugly, saw me on the road, and turned around to offer his
assistance. How blessed we can sometimes be by the kindness of strangers!

Anyway, I am waiting the storm out at a fast food place in
Centralia. I even found cover for the bike!

I left again at 2:30 and rode to Vandalia, but not non-stop.
The exertions of the trip are catching up to me and I stopped and took a
half hour or so roadside nap. Then after a short stop at Vandalia, I rode
on to Pana, arriving about 7:30 with 171 miles for the day.

Some slight tailwinds early in the day, practically no wind
later. Roads were fair; traffic was light on 51.

Mileage for day: 171: 6 MO (89 total), 165 IL
Mileage for trip: 1894
Net tailwind

Thursday, May 4, 2006 Day 14

I left at a rather late 6:00 a.m., a few minutes after
sunrise-the first time I haven't been out before sunrise.

The skies are clear, but the weatherman "delivered" on his
"promise" of headwinds for today. I have averaged barely 12 mph for the
first three hours of riding.

Anyway, I rode 36 miles to the north side of Decatur where I
stopped for breakfast at a Bob Evans, having also stopped briefly to get
some cash at an ATM and bought some prunes.

Central IL farm country offers no cover from the wind. It was
good to take business route 51 through Decatur, where there are buildings
and trees to cut the wind somewhat.

Beginning about 10 miles north of Pana, 51 is an excellent
road-a divided highway with a full paved shoulder, and, on the new parts,
grooves only about a foot wide at the left part of the paved shoulder.
Business 51 through Decatur is mandatory for bikes, as the bypass is
restricted access. No problem-I wanted to go through town anyway, plus
it's a bit shorter.

After breakfast, I rode 41 miles, stopping for lunch and a
rest on the south side of Bloomington, with 77 miles for the day. The
headwinds are continuing unabated. I left 51 and biked through Maroa,
Clinton and Heyworth, to take advantage of the towns cutting the wind a
little. At least the sky is clear. Temperatures are rather cool, at least
by the standards of this trip. It was about 55 starting out, was 60 in
Decatur and I doubt that it has hit 70(67 was the warmest I saw all day).

I realized yesterday that it's been a couple days since I've
seen any dead armadillos, and of course I wasn't to see any more of them
further north. They're the predominant road kill in the south.

Today, I saw a flowering crab tree in Clinton and realized I
hadn't seen any previously on this trip. They are ubiquitous in Milwaukee
and also were in the NE cities I've biked through in the past. After
knee-high corn in Georgia and Mississippi, it got steadily shorter as I
move north-some of it was just coming up in Pana yesterday. Now it's not
out of the ground and in many fields, nothings been planted. (That's
surely the case at home!)

After lunch, the wind shifted a little more westerly and
picked up. My speed if anything was slowed. I had trouble maintaining 12
mph. It was a real problem.

I rode until 7:15, when I reached a motel in Streator, after
133 miles of riding.

Route from Bloomington: Business 55, then County Road 31,
County Road 12, County Road 29 and then 16-finally ending on State 16 and
23. It was mostly country riding with very little cover.

Mileage for day: 133 (IL- 298 total)
Mileage for trip: 2027
Net headwind and little else-the worst of the trip

Friday, May 5, 2006 Day 15

Because of another day of predicted headwinds, I had no
serious chance of getting home, at least not without quite a bit of
riding after dark.

So I reserved a motel room in Elkhorn, WI, about 60 miles from
home. The advance reservation seemed in order, because weekends have been
the time when it's most difficult to find a room, not least on this trip.
(See my day 1 experience; also the following Saturday, I was early and
got a room in Meridian, but the place did sell out.)

I left the motel in Streator at a little before 6:00, about
the time of sunrise. The temperature was 44, coolest of the trip so far.
So I wore my sweatshirt riding for the first time.

After 15 miles, I passed a church in Ottawa that had a 7:00
a.m. Mass, which I attended.

Then I rode 46 miles more to the north side of DeKalb, where I
stopped for lunch around 11:40. Soon into the stretch, the wind came up
noticeably, and like yesterday, it was in my face, with little cover
available to shelter me from it. Along the way, I took about a 10-minute
break to have a granola bar and get out of the wind. Also like yesterday,
it made it difficult to average even 12 mph. My route to the Wis. line
is IL 23, which varies in quality. Much of it has a full paved shoulder;
other parts (e.g. south of Waterman) have only 2 lanes with no paved
shoulder at all.

The temperatures dropped in the afternoon and it was down to
48 by the time I reached Harvard.

Route 23 in Northern DeKalb and all of McHenry County is
perhaps the least safe stretch in the whole trip-at any rate it vies with
the south approaches to Miami. Anyway, Rt. 23 in that area is a narrow 2
lane road with no shoulder, paved or otherwise and dozens of semis and
cement trucks (Illinois, you can do better!)

It was very comforting to reach the WI line a little after
5:00 with 103 miles for the day and see the road widen.

Back in WI, I encountered perhaps the two largest climbs of a
not very hilly trip, one coming out of Fontana, the other out of Williams
Bay.

I also stopped in this area at an assisted living facility en
route to visit a patient there.

I reached Elkhorn and checked into my reserved room around
7:00 p.m. with 117 miles for the day, and added 5 more getting provisions
to eat.

Mileage for day: 122: IL 103 (401 total), WI 19

Mileage for trip: 2149
Net headwind: real problem again

Saturday, May 6, 2006 Day 16

Left the motel at 6:15, a good 20 minutes after sun-up, but
with only a short trip home to finish, this should be no problem.

The skies were clear and the wind has diminished to near calm,
but it was cold. The Weather Channel had the local temperature at 36, but
there was frost on the cars in the parking lot and frosty areas in some
yards. So, call it 32 F, which brackets the temperature extremes for this
trip at 32 and 91.

I took Rt. 67 from Elkhorn to Oconomowoc, for 33 miles,
passing through southern part of the Kettle Moraine (i.e. it was hilly).
The landscape was brightened by flowering crabs in all their glory. There
were also a lot of lilacs in color, especially in the countryside, and a
bit of red bud. (This was also the case in No. IL yesterday).

From Oconomowoc, I took a number of local roads that wound
their way through lake country, eventually arriving at Rte. 83 at the
north end of Waukesha County. I took a picture of an interesting tree,
decorated to look like a roadrunner.

I went out of my way to go north an extra 4 miles beyond where
I live to stop at Holy Hill. This is the highest point at SE Wis. (a
modest 1300 feet above sea level, and 700 some feet above Lake Michigan).
The hill is topped by a shrine and monastery and is one of my favorite
bicycling destinations; I've biked there over 400 times. Among other
things, they have outdoor stations of the cross which I prayed in
thanksgiving for a trip safely completed (well, almost completed at that
point).

This left me with 16 miles to home, ironically riding toward
the southeast on a trip that started far to the southeast. It was "coming
on in" time, the exhilaration that accompanies the last miles home at the
end of a long trip. And so I lightly traversed the familiar, albeit hilly
roads of Washington County-Holy Hill Road into my hometown of Germantown,
then Fond du Lac Ave. into the urban section, and several local streets
home. There was one more stop to make, at the local supermarket, to pick
up roses for milady, which protruded from my backpack, which actually had
quite a bit of empty space (most of my baggage was jammed into the side
bags of my rear carrier).

I arrived home just after 12:00 noon, with 69 miles for the
day.

Mileage for day: 69, all in WI (88 total)
Mileage for trip: 2218
Winds: Light and variable today, call it neutral

Mileage summary: FLA 574, GA 396, AL 223, MS 278, AR 169, MO 89, IL 401,
WI 88

Total: 2218

Net tailwinds: 4/23, 4/24. 4/25, 4/28, 4/29, 4/30, 5/1, 5/3 (8)
Net headwinds: 4/21. 4/26, 4/27, 5/2, 5/4, 5/5 (6)
Neutral winds: 4/22. 5/16 (2)



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Ron Wallenfang wrote:
Ron Wallenfang's Bike Trip
April 21 through May 6, 2006
Key West - Savannah - Arkansas - Milwaukee
2218 Miles
deleted
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Day 12

Left at 5:40 a.m. (sun-up 6:08) and rode 54 miles to Piggott,
AR, stopping about 9:25. I saw some tornado carnage (presumably a tornado)
in Marmaduke (a town of 1100) on the way through and stopped to take a
picture. I'll try to remember to investigate later when the tornado had hit.
It's sure a mess now.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=5320433 Apr 3 2006
broadcast.
http://www.earthdata.com/newsarticle.php?id=34 80% destroyed on Apr 2,
2006.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/Jef...&tstamp=200604
weather repots
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...&btnG =Search
search

deleted

Mileage for day: 145: 62 ARK (169 total), 83 MO
Mileage for trip: 1723
Net headwind

deleted

Have you considered posting these travelouges on
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com ?

In article ,
says...

The "scariest" parts of the trip were
coming into Miami from the south on US 1 because drivers aggresively used
the curb lane, and in northern IL on Route 23, where there was a narrow 2
lane road and heavy traffic, including cement trucks and semis.

Welcome to Illinois.

Seriously, all of the rural state roads in this part of the state are like
that. You're often better off on county roads, though the quality can vary
significantly by county. Next time you're heading through, give a shout; I have
a pretty good collection of bike maps that can plot you a better route (or at
least, one with fewer trucks).

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Thanks for posting. I recognized a number of the places in cycling
through but they were different trips for me (e.g. A1A, Natchez Trace,
Helena AR, Dekalb were all different rides).

Your riding style is similar to what I did in college, long hours and
riding most of the time between dawn and dusk. Though it was camping
then. Since then I've mellowed and enjoy getting into towns early
afternoon and looking around. So that is some impressive mileages and
looks like fortunate as far as mechanical issues go.

If you find yourself close to this area as you add Wyoming to your list,
let me know...

--mev, Mike Vermeulen