Landing in Ontario, our dear friend Gary Dittmar picks us up. It’s so good to see him and lots of chatter fly’s during our trip home.
It’s nearly 1:30 am before we’re able to settle for the night.
What just happened? Did we really just cross the US on bikes? It all seems so surreal.
As the evening came to a close, we returned to our hotel to prepared for our flight home on Friday. A storm was expected and we are hopeful we don’t have delays.
As sleep crept in, thoughts and memories danced in our heads. We had just traveled across the United States, over 4,000 miles on bicycles. The thought is overwhelming at times. 💕💕
We check in at the KOA and head for downtown Bar Harbor. What fun! As with most tourist destinations, there are lots of shops fill with souvenirs. We have fun reading the towels and shirts with clever sayings and the people watching is over the top!!
We catch dinner at the Dog and Pony where Gail, a local, shares lots of insight into the area. And yes. I had fish and chips again!! Drew’s lobster Mac and cheese had huge chunks of lobster meat. It was a meal fit for a king!
We’ll come back tomorrow morning to do a little more exploring and have breakfast at Jordan’s.
Throughout the tour, a recurring theme is the unusual weather patterns. Excessive rain has caused lots of mosquitoes. Everyone comments how different and bizarre the weather has been. Constantly weighing and measuring risks versus rewards…do we travel north or south? Getting to Bar Harbor is important but safety is the top priority. After much discussion, we come up with Plan B.
Back on the road, we passed an apple tree loaded with little green apples. It was so whimsical and fun to look at. We got to Rochester in a few more hours. While we logged over 60 miles, we climbed less than 400 feet. A really chilled day!! The skies remained clear throughout the day making it an absolutely perfect day on the bike!
A short ride this morning under beautiful, clear skies and temps between 60-70 degrees and we were in Niagara Falls State Park.
The falls are breathtaking!
The crisp, fresh air is so invigorating. The sky is painted with clouds.
The day begins with nice tailwinds but as we turn towards the lake, side gusts nearly blow us over. The pace slows as we weave our way towards Niagara. The side winds turn to headwinds. Easier to stay upright but our travel is slow.
Past vineyards, watching ravens fly, partly cloudy skies and a lighthouse 200 years old. Mile after mile after another. The New York countryside is thick with trees, blossoming plants and lush grounds. I am thankful for being on a bike…to be able to experience this beautiful place.
Recount of the day coming soon.. Seems we might have missed posting to Facebook this day, could have been all the excitement of my brother …
Once again, we’ve escaped the rain! It pored last night and now the morning sky is just beautiful!, soon We traveled through the home town of our friend Bill Green. Such a beautiful place!
And before we knew it, we were at Lake Erie! It is so huge! It looks like the ocean!
The morning is cool…around 65 degrees. We think of our friends in other areas and how they are battling the heat. We are grateful for our riding conditions. Rain is expected today. We’ll see how bad it gets and adjust accordingly. We haven’t melted yet!!
The forecast for today is good and we ride several rail trails. Our plan is to get as many miles in a possible as storms are predicted tomorrow and later in the week.
We were able to get out of Columbus before the town woke up.
While early August, it is staying dark until 7 AM and getting dark early. Our planning will have to take this into consideration so we travel when it’s light and we’re more visible.
Coffee at the Starbucks on base began the morning. There we met Joshua who lived in Loma Linda at one time! It’s a small world. He had lots of questions about long distance cycling. He is an ultra marathon runner!!
The museum was spectacular!!
Four huge hangers housed planes beginning when first invented to missiles, spacecraft and experimental aircraft. We walked for hours and it was certainly worth it
We are back in the corn/soybean fields and welcome it. The traffic is sparse and it’s relaxing to ride amongst the corps.
We find ‘second coffee’ in Lapel, Indiana where we meet Donna and Angela. Fabulous cups of vanilla latte and we are ready to forage forward.
Winding our way, we crossed a train track just before the train arrived. We’ve learned there still is a lot that is transported by rail.
Next, the Cardinal Greenway Trail. Oh so beautiful!! The trail is very well maintained. We are now traveling on a great surface amongst trees. So nice!
So, what will we see today?
After traveling over a beautiful old bridge, we went past a house where two cattle dogs came rushing towards us. Using the small marine horns stopped them. They are so loud and I think it left the dogs stunned.
3 vultures were ahead cleaning up a dead raccoon.
With a fog advisory, we headed to Love’s truck stop for coffee and breakfast. Miles and miles of crops and flat terrain had us feeling like we were in an endless corn maze. Everything was beginning to look the same.
Road closed ahead. Detour. One after the other. Finally, at one I suggested we go to see why it was closed. Thankfully, it was a bridge, closed to cars but passable by bicycle.
A standing joke at RAGBRAI is that Iowa is flat, which it is not! But the parts of Illinois we are traveling through is!!
Corn and soybeans.
Soybeans and corn.
Corn and soybeans.
Soybeans and corn.
Corn and soybeans.
Soybeans and corn!
You get the picture.
After breakfast in the hotel, we went into town.
Pontiac is a neat old town. We had lunch at Delongs, enjoyed the museum and then headed over to the Pontiac Transportation Museum where we met Tim & Penny Dye. Tim gave us an insiders tour filled with interesting facts. We even got to go in the basement which housed even more memorabilia.
Our first stop was Tiskilwa where we found coffee at the gas station. The town was pristine…almost like a movie stage. We met Cecille Gerber who was raised there. She spent her years as a teacher in Chicago and now retired, has returned to Tiskilwa.
She shared amazing history of the town.
