Week 4: Rain, Rain, Rain, and Thunder

Week 4

Day 22

Milwaukee, WI-Sheboygan, WI

We woke up to pouring rain in Milwaukee and the resounding sound of thunder. 4K policy is that we are not allowed to ride during a thunderstorm and have to wait to restart until half an hour after the last clap. Luckily, it was a short mile day and we hunkered down in the church for a couple of hours until the storm passed.

 In order to choose our three riding teams that day, we used a traffic cone as a Harry Potter Sorting Hat and an app on Ben’s phone to sort us into either Slytherin, Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw (we excluded Hufflepuff because it is the lame house). I was naturally in Slytherin because of my cold, cold heart. Our team thought we were creative when we found branches that we used as wands and yelled “Stupify” at the rest of our team. However, we were outdone when team Gryffindor rolled into the water stop with brooms, mops, and a plunger taped onto their bikes. Subhash had apparently been decorated as the snitch, but had lost all of gold streamers during the ride. I will not be outdone on the next Harry Potter Sorting day.

While we were riding, we caught up with another biker named Todd who was loaded down with paniers and was headed to Fargo, South Dakota. He just got back from touring Europe on his bike, and it was fun hear his stories since I grew up listening to the wild stories of my mom’s Europe bike trip. He also was a cancer survivor, and thanked us for what we were doing with a donated to the Ulman Cancer Fund.

The day started out rainy and gray, but ended in blistering heat. As a reward for making it to the host, we jumped into Lake Michigan one last time before we headed inland. This part of the lake was not as crystal blue as the other beaches we had visited, and I had a great time chasing around and terrorizing Aaron with a dead fish I found in the water.

Day 23

Sheboygan, WI-Fond du Lac, WI

Another super short ride day, 48 miles, so we slowed the pace a bit and had time to mess around. Rachel had colored blue sunscreen that she got in a care package, and we pretty much immediately drew crazy blue mustaches on ourselves (we were a group of 4 girls and 1 guy). We were team Mustachio which then turned into team “fashion helmet” when we started stuffing flowers and plants onto our heads as we biked past fields of wildflowers. We also got a taste of topography when we hit the moraines of Wisconsin. I gave a geology/glacial lesson to my team, one that John, mom, and dad would be proud of, and enjoyed the feeling of summiting and coasting down hills. The flat for 4 states had been starting to mess with me mentally. We were greeted with a community dinner and a promise of pancakes, eggs, and COFFEE in the morning.

Day 24

Fond du Lac, WI-Madison, WI

We all woke up excited to make it to Madison, because we heard so many awesome accounts of the city. It was a 90-mile day and we did get a sandy forested bike path in the middle, but the rest was hot and flat. We had a quiet day, and most of my group retreated into our own thoughts as we watch corn fields go by. During our time in Wisconsin we have been sponsored by Applebee’s and actually get to go into the restaurant every night and order whatever we want from the menu. As a vegetarian, the options are nearly nonexistent, but I made it work by ordering many sides and dumping them all into a Chicken Cesaer Salad without the chicken. So far my favorite creation has been a cesear salad with rice and a baked potatoe mixed in. We always have a great time getting to side down together. Thank you Applebee’s!

Day 25

Madison, WI

Rest day:

We awarded another scholarship, but this time it was to a girl named Veronica whose brother, Caleb had been diagnosed with cancer. His sickness affected her and her family in a major way, and this scholarship with aid her in paying for college. The scholarship ceremony was held at a Gilda’s Club, which is a free support center for people affected by cancer. My survivors and those fighting cancer came to the scholarship ceremony, and we got to ask them about their experience with cancer. Syd, a fisheries biologist and cancer survivor couldn’t emphasize enough the importance of support groups because cancer can’t be fought alone. It is a community endeavor. I am grateful to be part of the Ulman Cancer Fund that provides the support programs to cancer patients and increase the chance of success.

Day 26

Madison, WI-Elroy, WI

Riding for John Moffitt

Getting out of Madison was a mess, to say the least. However, all the crazy turns ended up spitting us out right in front of the capital building where we had a great photo shoot session and I found a community garden box in a sidewalk. I snagged some swiss chard to snack on as we processed to wind our way out of the city. From Ohio to Madison, WI, the terrain has been flat farm land. Today, we finally hit mountains again and it was a relief on my back my back and shoulders, but my legs forgot how to pedal up hills. I tackled the hills today for John Moffitt, the brother of my mentor and fisheries professor, Christine Moffitt.

Free Kohlrabi 

We stopped for lunch in a tiny park and enjoyed hot pasta provided by Applebee’s. However, as vegetarians sometimes do, the three of us where pining away over the through of donated vegetables when we noticed a fruit stand at the other end of the park. We walked over and talked to John who was manning the booth, and told him about our journey. He was so impressed that he gave us some radishes, a tomato, a cucumber, and two kohlrabies for free! Wish granted! I am really excited to eat the kohlrabi for lunch tomorrow in place of the wilted iceberg salad that I have been eating for 4 days.

Racing the thunderstorm

When we were only about 15 miles away from the host, we were caught in a thunder and lightning storm. We pulled our bikes off the trail we were on and hunkered in the bushes. It started to pour and many of us didn’t have raincoats with us, and crouching on the side of the trail really wasn’t the best cover. Fortunately, near us was a strange concrete bunker on a very high foundation with a perfect amount room for 10 people to crawl under and escape the rain and evade the lightning. Chris, a self-admitted arachnophobewas jumping out of his skin at everything he saw move, which always turned out to be a piece of fluff or rock. To pass the time we played Harry Potter Puppet Pals (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4) it turned out to be a memorable and fun day under the concrete shack.

Day 27

Elroy, WI-La Crosse, WI

Van day. Rachael and I had the easiest chalking day by far, because the team was on a bike trail the entire day. Definitely a high of the day was having a water stop in Sparta, WI, the bike capital of America. They were awarded this because they have the first rail to trail in the US.

As a huge treat, the Pastor of the church we were staying at in La Cross invited us to stay at a friend’s house on the river for a bbq and pool party. The veggie burgers were delicious and I had my first swim in the Mississippi River.

 

Day 28

La Crosse, WI-Rochester, MN

The bike trail extravaganza continued as we crossed into Minnesota. Most of the trails were packed sand, and we had some near spills when we hit loose sand pits. That morning we counted off into random groups of three and where assigned an accent for the day. Group one was British, group two was Irish, and group three was Southern. It was a struggle to stay in British persona while yelling “car back” or “gravel left”, and I found myself speaking in a western accent more than once.

In regards to scenery of our ride, the Wisconsin/Minnesota border is very diverse. We started next to the Mississippi, and rode through thick forest, past swamps, through the Whitewater State Park, and finished the ride with 30 miles of corn fields. Our host was not presents, so although it was a beautiful ride, we didn’t get to meet or connect with strangers along the way. Bike trails definitely have their pros and cons.