Monon, IN

Hi Folks

The issue with the laptop computer is over. It looks like the battery was somehow drained. After calling Everex the technician suggested plugging it into another power socket and it worked!

I'm going to publish what I typed into the computer before the problem with the battery. At least you'll see photos with the text this time....

Wednesday September 12th

Day off in Minot

Thursday September 13th

A cold and windy day. I put on the new tire I purchased from the bike store. The rear wheel rim began to buckle out when I pumped up the tube. This would make it impossible to use the rear brakes. I deflated and removed the tire, straightened the rim, put on the tire and inflated the tire to 65 psi. The rim did not buckle at this pressure. I completed packing the bike and rode to the bike store to see if I could get a new rim. The bike mechanic was really busy and would not have enough time to put on a new rim. He suggested purchasing a new wheel. I really wanted to get to Towner that evening so I bought the new wheel and asked the mechanic to swap over the rear cassette. It would take a few hours to have this done. I took all the stuff I needed to send back home and to a post office further ahead.

I also took the laptop computer with me to the post office to work out where I'd be in a few weeks time. I selected Winona. While I was there I met Steve. We had a great conversation. Steve offered to take me to lunch and to drop me off at the bike shop afterwards.

We returned to the bike shop, I paid for the wheel, put the wheel on the bike and I was off heading towards Towner. Steve led the way to route 2. The wind was gusting from 10-25 mph and it was a tail wind! I zoomed all the way to Towner. Because it was so cold I needed frequent bathroom breaks! The road shoulder between Minot and Granville varies from 12 inches to none and I was alongside cars traveling 70mph! Scary stuff....After Granville the shoulder widened to 2 feet then a few miles from Towner there was new seal with a 5-6 foot shoulder. Luxury...

At the end of the ride I saw this sign. It made my day!

A photo of where I stayed the night. Note placement of tent behind building to get out of the westerly wind.

Friday September 14th

I heard from a local resident that the temperature during the night dropped to 29F. Brrr... There was frost on the ground when I woke up.

I departed around 11:30am. Around 12:15pm I met Matt Purdy who was riding the Northern Tier from East to West. I stopped in Rugby (geographical center of the US) to visit the library to check email and for lunch. While I was at the park for lunch I picked up an MP3 player. I wasn't sure who owned it so I kept it until I could place an ad in a local newspaper in the lost and found section.

I arrived in Minnewaukan at 10:30pm. I really enjoyed riding in the dark with no front light. There was no traffic and there was enough light from the moon to light my way. I did leave on my tail light for traffic behind me. After asking twice for directions to the city park, I eventually found it. No toilets but it did have water and picnic tables. I had a nice meal and a peaceful sleep.

Saturday September 15th

I bought a few groceries at the local store. Some guys there were interested in the bike and we talked for a while. I had a mixture of side and tail winds. There were plenty of fields with sunflowers and corn. I passed though Fort Totten which is an Indian reservation. I bought some more groceries at two supermarkets. Near a resort I picked up 6 soda bottle tops off the side of the road for a project. The road sides were full of trash. I also noticed some roads were closed due to flooding. On route 20 around 5:30pm I stopped for a late lunch alongside a lake. A couple of weekend army guys stopped for a chat. One of the guys, James, had a Volae high racer. He invited me to stay at his house in Fargo.

I arrived in Pekin around 9:30pm and got directions to the city park from a guy at the local pub.

Sunday September 16th

I was aiming to reach Hope today but due to 26 miles of headwind heading towards route 200 I only made it to Cooperstown. The city park had showers and nice water for $7 a night. The mosquitos were hungry too!

Monday September 17th

Today was going to be a long one to Fargo. 91 miles. I departed at 5:48am for breakfast at Hope.
I took some sunrise photos on the way. When I arrived there around 8:30am I saw Ken and Sue in the local diner. We ate breakfast together then departed for Fargo. We had lunch at Arthur and reached Fargo at 5pm. I followed Ken and Sue to the bike store and then waited while they registered at a hotel. We had a meal together at Juano's restaurant. We parted after the meal not knowing when we would meet again. I found my way to James's house where I had a shower, did some laundry, and slept in my tent in their back yard.

Tuesday September 18th

I departed after catching up on some emails. I needed to get a prescription filled from a pharmacy before I departed. I have another tooth abscess near where I had some recent surgery done on a tooth. I departed at 12pm and crossed a toll bridge (free to bicyclists) into Moorehead, Minnesota (no welcome sign to Minnesota.)

Around 2:15pm the road I was following had a sign saying it was closed 5 miles ahead. So I followed the detour signs and had to ride an extra 20 miles! I stopped at the city park in Hitterdal for the night. Rain was forecast so I erected the tent inside the covered pavilion.

Wednesday September 19th

Today I was going to ride 81 miles to Lake Itasca. I departed at 10am. About 30 minutes later I wondered why the rear brake was rubbing. I discovered a broken spoke on my new rear wheel! I tightened the 2 spokes on either side of the broken one and was able to get the wheel straightened. I had lunch outside the Richwood country store, and rode through the Tamarac Wildlife Refuge. There were lots of deciduous trees in their fall colors. Route 143 had new seal - a very nice smooth ride.

I arrived at Lake Itasca State Park around 8pm. While I was cooking my dinner a raccoon visited me and attempted to take off with my burrito wraps. I intercepted it and it raced up a tree and stared at me. I talked to it about 1 yard away face to face and said that there will be no food in my tent tonight. It would be in the mens bathroom. I was not disturbed during the night.

Thursday September 20th

It was going to be a wet day today. I rode the bicycle path down to the Itasca Lake boat tour wharf then up to the bicycle store. Sam measured, cut, and rethreaded a new spoke for $2. He asked me if I had the cassette removal tools as I would need them to insert the new spoke. I replied that I didn't have them. Sam then offered to insert the new spoke for me. We talked as he worked on the wheel. He had been in Australia after he left the military. He bought the bicycle and boat rental from his dad a number of years ago. After the new spoke was inserted and Sam trued up the wheel, I offered to pay the extra charge. Sam declined and said that I had picked the right day to visit him. I told him that he had made my day.

I had a late breakfast, packed up the bike and wet tent, and rode to the Mississippi headwaters for a photo.

I ended up staying in a RV Park at Bemidji. It rained during the night.

Friday September 21st

I left at midday after drying the tent and doing my laundry.

On the way out of town I stopped at a health food store for some lunch food and a wool shop for some socks. The woollen clothing store owner was keen to get my photo and for me to sign the visitor's book.

When I got to route 12 there was another detour sign saying local traffic only - no through traffic. Since the detour was on a gravel road I decided to keep going on route 12. The road had transformed overnight into an ankle deep mud bath. I pushed the bike through the mud and after a few miles the mud was firmer to ride on. I spent an hour cleaning the mud off the bike - maybe I should have taken the detour?

I was going to buy something from the Becida Bar and Grill but the cigarette smoke and country music drove me out of the place - yuck!

I reached Bena at dusk. I really wanted to keep going so I did some maintenance on the tail light and when it was working to my satisfaction I continued.

I found a perfect tent site next to a bridge over the Mississippi River. Some deer were not happy with me being there as I heard some hissing and stomping of their hooves. I had a nice uninterrupted sleep.

Saturday September 22nd

I had to get to Grand Rapids Post Office for a pickup before noon so I departed at 8am, filled my camelback bladder at a store in Ball Club, and arrived in Grand Rapids at 11:20am.

I felt the pressure was off so I had a relaxed ride to the County Fairgrounds Campground. I spread everything in the panniers out on the ground to dry.

I was going to take one full day off from Saturday noon to Sunday noon.

Some time later I put up the tent, put everything inside the tent, and rode to the supermarket for food. I also was looking for a new notebook which I found at a drug store. I walked through a beautiful scandinavian store in the local mall. To me it was the kind of store you go to once you have everything you ever needed. Everything seemed to be made of top quality materials. I'd go back if I had the chance (and the money!)

On the way back to the tent I was stopped by a local guy called Scott who talked with me about bikes, my ride, and what was going on with our lives. He invited me to his parents house which was nearby. I arrived there around 8pm and gave a slide show of photos from my trip.

Sunday September 23rd

After a nice sleep in I had breakfast then typed up the blog notes and got some photos ready as well.

Scott returned when I was about to start packing up. He was amazed how everything fit into the bags.

I departed just before 2pm. It was another beautiful day with a westerly tail wind.

Just before dusk as I was taking some photos of the Mississippi River, I was stopped by a guy in a truck offering me to stay in his vacation home beside a lake only 1 mile from where we were.
He had ridden the Adventure Cycling route across the rockies with a friend and he said it was the most challenging thing he had done in his life. I declined the offer and continued riding.

My destination was Pallisade and I arrived there at 8:30pm in time to buy a chocolate milk from the local gas station before they closed. I got directions to the city park. There was a RV at the park but it felt like I had the park to myself.

Monday September 24th

Since there was an electrical outlet near my tent I worked on the blog again for a few hours then departed at 1:40pm. Just before 5pm I felt a few drops of rain and the sky darkened. Before I had time to put on my wet weather gear the sky opened up and I was drenched in no time at all. There was lightning all around me and I thought "okay, if I'm meant to go then I'm ready..." I survived the storm okay and rode into Aitkin for a snack. I rode through Glen and Malmo just before dusk and arrived at the Public Water Access area just on dark. There was a boat launch area and an enormous gravel car park with a few islands of grass. I put the tent on one of the islands and cooked dinner. Someone in a car stopped for a while then drove off. After I went to sleep around 11pm another car stopped, the driver got out and asked if anyone was in the tent. I said yes and thanked him for waking me up. He departed.

Tuesday September 25th

By the time I packed up and departed it was just after 11am. I stopped in Isle at a supermarket for groceries. A few people talked to me about my trip. It was a cooler day today. I searched for my warm helmet liner and it was missing. I was able to fold up my polypropylene balaclava into a hat to keep my head warm.

The lunch stop was at Ann Lake around 2:35pm. I decided I wanted to check my emails so I veered off the suggested route, visited the Cambridge library, and stayed at the Cambridge Fairgrounds Campground.

Wednesday September 26th

Before departing I did some more work on the blog text and photos. I was going to upload them at the Cambridge library before leaving town. Something happened when the laptop was plugged into the power outlet in the mens bathroom. I thought the laptop had died as I couldn't get it to start. What actually happened was that the battery somehow got completely discharged. I wasn't going to touch the computer again until I called Everex at Winona. I was prepared to send the laptop to them.

I went to the library and updated the blog with what I remembered typing in over the past few days.

I received an email from Lea saying that she was dating again. For some reason I held on to the idea that everything was on hold until we got back together again. This time I was open to the idea that the relationship was not going anywhere. That was one of my issues resolved. Now I have to think and contemplate what I'm going to be doing for the next few years.

Around 2:30pm I departed and within a few miles out of town saw another detour sign for route 10 which I was going to travel on. This detour added 10 miles to my trip. I rode through Stark, Harris, and Sunrise. At sunset I decided to take route 14 to Hillcrest RV Park. I only had $7 cash with me. The lady at the park normally charged $15 for a tent site but she accepted my $7 because it was the end of the season. They were going to close within a week.

I had time to put up the tent before it rained. I cooked dinner in my wet weather gear and ate the meal in the tent. I felt it was safe to do this as I was no longer in bear country.

Thursday September 27th

Today I departed at 9am, crossed over the St Croix river, and arrived in Stillwater just before 3pm. Wisconsin had a welcome sign for me! I found the library which had just been renovated. It was very nice. I checked my emails. I had booked to stay with a lady on the WarmShowers list in St Paul but I didn't have time to ride the extra 30 miles each way so I let her know I wouldn't be coming. I also had arranged to stay with a WarmShowers guy in Wabasha. He was going to be away and had organized someone at his workplace to host me. I emailed him to say I'd be a day late.

In the afternoon the clouds got darker and I felt a few drops of rain. I quickly got into my wet weather gear and continued riding. I could see the rain coming down ahead of me and I was ready to get wet. I kept riding. No rain. As I crossed the interstate highway I noticed the road was wet. It looked like the rain was going to bypass me!

I arrived at Afton State Park at dusk and spent some time finding my way down to the hiker/biker tent sites by the St Croix river. I cooked my meal once I discovered the water pump was located at the day picnic site. I placed my food pannier into the men's bathroom as I did not know what wildlife was present in the park, then rode to the nearby tent site to sleep. I had the place all to myself.

Friday September 28th

I returned to the picnic site to cook breakfast. The park ranger arrived and we had a nice discussion about my trip and the park wildlife. Apparently there was a black bear in the park this summer but it was more interested in the berries than the food at the tent site. There were also raccoons in the park but I didn't see any. I noticed that a sailboat had pulled up during the night next to the picnic site.

Tonight I was going to stay at Phil Schwend's place. I was looking forward to having a shower and to having laundered clothes again. The route chosen by Adventure Cycling took me through the driftless area. This means hills! The last glacier in this area didn't carve out deep valleys like in other areas I had visited. So there were plenty of short steep hills to climb. I rode through Diamond Bluff and crossed the Mississippi River just before Red Wing. I had lunch at a boat launch area and dried the tent.

From Red Wing I detoured away from the Adventure Cycling maps and I was riding along route 61 which is quite a busy road. I decided that I had enough of the hills for one day. The road was pretty flat rolling beside the Mississippi River. I passed through Frontenac Station and Lake City (birthplace of waterskiing) and arrived in Wabasha just before 7pm.

Phil was out with his children so he left the house unlocked for me. I had my shower, cooked dinner, did my laundry, and checked my email on his computer. Phil and family arrived home around 10pm and we had a nice chat about my trip before I went to sleep.

Saturday September 29th

I departed at 8:30am. Rain was predicted. It didn't take long for the prediction to become true. Parts of the Mississippi River were open for duck shooting and I heard lots of guns popping around me.

I was hoping to get to the post office in Winona to pick up my ayurvedic herbs I had sent there but I didn't make it in time so I'd have to come back after visiting Lea.

In Winona I stopped at a supermarket for some lunch then continued on to Homer where I was going to meet Lea. We met as I was climbing up a hill on route 15. Lea took my panniers, tent, sleeping bag, and mattress in her car. I continued on route 15 then route 17 through Witoka until Lea met me on her bike close to where she lives. We arrived there about 3pm. I finally got to see her house which is nearly completed. Lea has to put some trim around the inside windows and put up some shelving and it will be complete inside. The greenhouse will not be installed until Lea finds some land to lease.

The house seemed very roomy to me even though it is on a 12x20 trailer. The wood stove kept the house nice and cosy.

As the house has no plumbing, I went to the bathroom out in the woods. I peed on the ground
amongst the trees and sat on a 5 gallon bucket in true humanure style for number 2's. Lea has a bucket of sawdust handy to cover what I deposited in the bucket.

Sunday September 30th

I had a day off today. Lea and I walked up to Bob & Larisa's homestead for a visit. I had an enjoyable visit there and I saw photos of the July floods that caused lots of damage in the neighbourhood. Lea departed for a house warming party in town. Bob showed me his electrified Catrike tricycle. Bob and I walked with Cosmo the dog back to Lea's house to look at my bike. After Bob departed, I ate a light dinner and read UK Permaculture magazines until Lea returned later in the evening.

Monday October 1st

I departed at 8:40am and arrived in downtown Winona at 11am. I retrieved my package of herbs from the post office then rode to Bluff County Natural Foods where I bought some supplies and put some herbs into capsules. Some of the staff there came and talked to me. Once I had enough capsules I called Everex to find out what I need to do to get my laptop fixed. The technician suggested plugging the power supply in to another outlet. It worked! I then rode to the library to check my email and after that I departed Winona crossing the Mississippi River into Wisconsin. I rode part of the Nature Trail and ended up at Perrot State Park for the evening. I saw plenty of birds on the Nature Trail. I had my first shower in 3 days! Such simple pleasures are truly treasured once you go without them for a while.

Tuesday October 2nd

After paying for the tent site I rode to Trempeauleau and ate lunch watching a tug and barge go through the lock. Later in the afternoon it rained continuously. I stopped at a supermarket in Holmen to get some food then continued. Riding through La Crosse during rush hour was a busy job keeping away from the endless stream of vehicles. I was told to look out for drunken people participating in the Oktoberfest celebration but I didn't see any inebriated people around. Maybe the rain kept them indoors! At 5pm in Stoddard I stopped for a meal at a diner. I was soaking wet! At least I wasn't cold. I found a river overlook at 7:30pm. It was a steep piece of road and I had to push the bike up the hill. There were a number of walks at the top. I chose the short path to a covered picnic table. There was enough flat grass for my tent. After I put up the tent the rain stopped but the strong SW wind continued blowing. Another simple pleasure is getting out of wet gear, drying off and putting on clean dry clothes. Ah....

Wednesday October 3rd

I spent the morning drying out all the stuff that was wet. Remarkably nobody came up the hill to the picnic spot. I noticed that most of the people drove up in their cars to the top, got out for the view, got into their cars and drove off.

After lunch I departed a 1:39pm and reached Genoa in a few miles. There is a lock and dam here too.

The old puncture that I fixed in Williston decided to leak and deflate the tire. I put in a new patch and found that I also had a pinch flat in the tube which I also patched. As I was connecting the pump to the tube the top of the presta valve broke off. At least the tire stayed inflated so I didn't replace the tube. That took me an hour to fix. I crossed the river from Wisconsin into Iowa at Lansing. The bridge was very steep. I passed several coal fired power stations that day.
Just after dark I arrived at Harper's Ferry. I stopped at the general store for some milk and asked if the campground was still open. The lady said to use the city park instead and gave me directions. There was a covered pavilion and plenty of room to assemble my tent under the roof. Many of the city parks have a power outlet and this one did too. I charged up the camera battery and the cell phone. Then I made some some adjustments to my trip spreadsheet.

Thursday October 4th

I was aiming to get to Luxemburg and visit the Effigy Mounds National Monument today. I departed at 9am and arrived at the Effigy Mounds at 10:20am. I hiked 3 miles in nice woods past the mounds to a lookout over the Mississippi River. Then I hiked 3 miles back. It was hot and I didn't take any water with me. I survived okay and drank a lot of water when I returned.
I departed from the Adventure Cycling maps once I got to Marquette, following route 18 then route 52 to Gutenberg. I stopped for a drink at a gas station. A guy called Dennis stopped to talk. He has a Tour Easy and had ridden the 1900 mile Adventure Cycling Underground Railway route from Florida to Canada. I arrived in Luxemburg after dark. The town was dead. No stores or gas stations were open. Luckily I spotted a lady and I asked her for directions to the city park. I found the park at 8:30pm.

Friday October 5th

Today I thought I was going to get to the Quad Cities area on the Mississippi but it was not to be. I departed at 9am, rode though New Vienna, Worthington, Dyersville, and stopped at the Cascade city park for lunch. It was a hot day! I asked a lady at a bank in Onslow to fill my camelbak bladder with water and she was happy to do this for me. In Wyoming I stopped for some groceries and at 7:40pm I arrived in Lowden. Some young people gave me directions to the city park. There were lots of trains passing during the night. Each train had to toot 21 times at crossings! All the bathrooms were locked!

Saturday October 6th

In the morning the park attendant came to mow the lawns and opened a bathroom for me. I departed at 10:49am to De Witt and arrived there at 12:45pm. I was hoping to ride along the old route 61 to the Quad Cities but due to resurfacing of the road a bridge was not crossable 5 miles down the road. So I rode along the busy route 61 for 10 miles then I was able to ride on the quieter road. I saw many day trip cyclists on this road. I lost count of the number of times I bought cold drinks that day as it was very hot. I crossed over the Mississippi for the last time in Davenport and arrived in Rock Island, IL. I stopped at the Quad Cities airport for dinner at the Runway Cafe. Shortly later I found route 150 and followed it to Orion (pronounced or-ee-on). I arrived at the city park at 9pm. Next door to the park was the police station. I went in and asked if it was safe to stay in the park. The officer suggested going to another park which would be more secluded as it was homecoming night.
Later that evening I heard some young people at the park. They kept me awake for a while until they departed.

Sunday October 7th

Again I used the laptop plugged into a power outlet. I picked up someone's wifi router and I was able to surf the internet for a while. I caught up on my personal email, checked email at my workplace, and ordered some gear from Nashbar and Campmor to be delivered to Huron, OH. I'm starting to realize that I don't have enough cold weather gear with me so hopefully it won't get too cold until later in the month.

The rear tube presta valve finally popped out and the tube deflated for the final time. I replaced the tube and departed at 2:41pm. Man, that doesn't give me much time to get some miles behind me, does it? I arrived at Kewanee at 6:45pm and decided to stay at Baker Park on the golf course. There were no facilities at all to use so I didn't cook dinner - I just ate a second lunch in the dark (guerilla camping - you don't get caught if you can do everything without a flashlight.) The only apprehension about camping on a golf course is that the grass is treated with a lot of chemicals and I didn't want any contact with them. I just hoped that the chemicals had been washed away in the rain. I put the tent up after dark.

As you can see from the photos below, the camera is starting to put a line at the top of each photo. I don't know why it is doing it as I have reset the settings many times.

Monday October 8th (Columbus Day)
Today I had to get up before sunrise to pull down the tent before I was spotted. I was all packed by 7:21am and departed for the Red Apple restaurant for breakfast consisting of three malted pancakes and 2 slices of toasted rye bread with syrup and jam. Mmmm.....washed down with 2 cups of tea. Now I'm ready to roll!

I found a deviation on the Adventure Cycling map and I found a way of getting around the non-existent road! I rode through Osceola and Bradford. I've never seen so many wind generators in one place before. Amazing!

I had 4 miles to go along Western Rd to get to Henry. I rode down a hill and around a bend at 20mph to see a harvester coming toward me taking most of the road. I moved the bike as far to the right as I could and when I passed the harvester the front wheel caught in the gravel and down I went. I lay on the road for a few seconds before I realized I was bleeding from a cut on my head. I put my hand over the wound to stop it bleeding. Then Rusty stopped his semi truck and came to me with his first aid kit. He couldn't believe that the harvester guy didn't stop to help me. I washed the blood off the wound with water from the camelback bladder and Rusty said the cut was deep. I applied some anti-biotic cream to some gauze and stuck it over the wound. I also had some serious road rash on my right hand and arm. My ribs hurt a bit as well.

After a few minutes the adrenaline eased off and I stopped shaking. Rusty left when I said I was going to be okay riding into Henry. I straightened the handlebars, reattached the fairing, picked up everything that had fallen off the bike, and rode slowly into Henry. One of the first places I saw was Doc's Pharmacy. I went in and asked for some doctors addresses. Once I got these I filled up the camelbak bladder with water and rode to the doctors office. The first doctor was not in the office so I rode to the other one. I had to wait for about 20 minutes then the nurse cleaned up the rashes and cut. The doctor had to use 7 stitches to close the wound. Phew! I decided I was going to treat myself to a bed in a motel that evening so I bought some groceries from the supermarket and found the motel.

Not one of my better days of riding but I'm lucky I didn't damage my legs. That could have ended my trip there and then.

I had a nice soak in the bath and slept intermittently as I tossed and turned until I found a comfortable sleeping position that didn't involve lying on my sore ribs, head, or arm.

Tuesday October 9th

Check out time was 11am and I stayed in the room until the last minute before departing. I rode to a laundrette and started to wash my clothes. Then I rode back to the pharmacy with a prescription for more antibiotics. I also stocked up on gauze pads and tape to hold them in place while I rode.

I decided to take another day off today until the swelling in my right hand diminished a bit more. I did some sewing repairs to the clothes that got ripped in the accident, had lunch at the Waterworks Park I was going to stay at that evening, and updated the blog text. There was a power outlet in the pavilion here too. Several tugs pushing barges floated by on the Illinois River.

I called the local police and got the okay to stay in the park that night.

I rode around town until I found the library and the post office. I'll visit both of these in the morning.

Wednesday October 10th

I had another restless sleep tossing and turning.

It got cold during the night and I slept warm with the fleece blanket. After I meditated I got up and put on lots of layers of clothes to keep warm in the cold wind.

I departed at 11:19am after visiting the library and saw that it was open from 1-5pm that day and the post office for the pickup of energy bars that got sent from Williston after I missed picking them up there.

The day was cold, windy (from NW), and grey. I had a side/tail wind all day. I passed through the outskirts of Wenona and had lunch next to the railway line in Ancona. Thank you BNSF railway for providing a signal box I could lean on out of the wind! Parts of the route involved riding north which was into a head wind. Luckily these sections were short (otherwise I'd break away from the Adventure Cycling route).

When a semi truck passed on the opposite side of the road it would stir up the side wind and send a belt of wind my way. I got used to bracing the bike when they passed.

I stopped in Cornell at 4:30pm to check ot their city park. It was pretty basic and there were dogs barking all the time so I continued to Odell.

I arrived there at 5:45pm and asked people at the supermarket for directions to the park. One guy showed me the way in his car and I followed. I called the local sherrif and he said to wait until he got approval by the mayor.

I walked to the local BP gas station as the park bathrooms were locked. I stocked up on water for cooking and drinking.

I cooked and ate my meal. Still no call. At 8:30pm I put up the tent away from the wind, turned off the cell phone and went to sleep.

Thursday October 11th

Sleeping seems to be less restless as I get used to the aches and pains as I turn in my sleep. I woke at 7am, cooked breakfast, and departed at 9:19am.

Again it was a cold, windy (from NW), and grey day. Most of my riding today was to the east so I had a side/tail wind most of the day. There were a few miles where I had to go south and enjoyed a tail wind on those sections.

I arrived in Iroquois at 5:42pm and discovered they had a nice city park. I asked the lady at the general store if someone could unlock one of the bathrooms. She gave me the mayor's phone number. When I called the mayor he said he'd send someone down immediately. It was the mayor himself that came. He motioned me to the building next to the bathrooms and said I could use this facility to stay in for the night. The mayor's office room was heated and toasty warm. Off the garage was a bathroom with a shower! I haven't had one of those for a few nights now. Thank you Jack for your kind offer!

I had a yearning for brussels sprouts today so I bought a frozen packet of them in Ashkum along with a few other grociery items.

Soon I'll go and eat my dinner, have a shower, and have a nice sleep. Tomorrow I'll be leaving Illinois and entering Indiana.

67 miles ridden today.