Jack's Bicycle Tour Across America 2006

Madinson to Belvidere, IL - 84 miles

Belvidere to Coal City - 107 miles

Coal City to La Porte, IN - 104 miles

La Porte to Kendallville - 91 miles

Kendallville to Napoleon, OH - 72 miles

Napoleon to Sandusky - 94 miles

Sandusky to Burton - 92 miles



Four states in seven days! Most of the riding was rural dairyland with Amish farms, corn, more corn, lakes, more corn, heat, humidity and mosquitos. This is not an area I would ever bike through again. If you stop for anything the mosquitos find you in about 10 seconds and their buddies show up a few seconds later. The temp has been in the 90's with the heat index around 110.



I managed to get the flu again the night before the ride to Sandusky. I am writing this on our day off in Burton and I am still a little sick. I am finally able to eat today so hopefully I will regain some strength.



There is a large amusement park in Sandusky so everyone got an early start that day to leave time for the park in the afternoon. We stayed in a city park that evening and it was really noisy until 2am.



The last day we move away from Lake Erie and into the hills. We also rode through downtown Cleveland but it was Sunday so the traffic was not bad. I believe this is the biggest city that we have been through.

Madison - rest day

I believe this was our best rest day so far. The dorms are air conditioned and close to all of the stores. The lake is about 4 blocks away and a great place to hang out.

Some of the group went to the Trek factory. I opted out since I have been to a number of them. I just did my normal domestic chores and then relaxed. I did buy a new pair of shoes and had to set up the cleats on them. My right foot has spread even wider this year and my custom shoes have been bugging me.

Tomorrow we start seven days of cycling before our next rest day. This is our longest ride sequence for the trip. Well it is 7pm and time for bed.....

Viroqua to Madison - 107 miles

Today was more of the same, hills, dairy farms and horse buggies. After Richland Center, about 40 miles in, things flattened some and we cruised through some large valleys.

As we approached Madison I started seeing other local riders and found Carol to ride with for about the last 20 miles. She was interested in our trip and told me all about the local ridding. It turned out we were on part of the course used by the Wisconsin Ironman race. The race is next month so people were out training.

Tonight we are staying at the University of Wisconsin in a dorm. Tomorrow will be a much needed rest day......

Winona to Viroqua, WI - 73 miles



We crossed the Mississippi River to enter Wisconsin, state number 7. Today we had some of the steepest climbing that we have had since the beginning. This area was never affected by the glaciers so all of the bumps are still there.



About mid day we were in Amish country with all of there farms, horse buggies and road apples. I spent some time talking with one Amish, John, who was loading a silo by hand. He explained the whole process of creating feed for his cows. His wife was out mowing their front lawn in a dress, bonnet and bare feet with a push mower.



I also stopped at a creamerie today and went through their tour. It was one that processed most of the local mike produced by the Amish farms.



We camped at a fair grounds in Viroqua and a local bike shop came out around 7pm. I think he was still working on bikes at 11pm!

Owatonna to Winona - 93 miles

Today started out nice and sunny, a lot different than yesterday. A group of us chose to begin the ride on the old route and change to the new route in Rochester. The old route was on highway 14 but the early morning traffic was not bad and the shoulders were wide and smooth.

In Rochester we rode past the Mayo Clinic as we went through the middle of town. A lot of old restored buildings and we also looked at the Ronald McDonald house which is next to the clinic.

At about 70 miles into the ride I stopped at a campground for water. The owner asked if I was interested in seeing her collection. It turned out to be 11 restored horse buggies and coaches from the late 1800 hundreds. They were all original and a story to go with each.

Our overnight is at the dorms of Winona State University. It was a nice surprise to have a dorm stay in the middle of our ride week.

New Ulm to Owatonna - 95 miles

Have you ever ridden in a thunder storm so dark that it literally looked like midnight, we did.... The storm came in at about 8:30am from behind me. In about 5 minutes time it went from full light to total darkness. I was out front by myself so I found shelter in a church just before it hit. For about 2 hours we had constant lighting and hard rain and hail. At about 9am a lady showed up at the church and offered me coffee. We had a nice time watching the storm and chatting.

The rain continued on and off for the rest of the day making it fun and a little cold to ride. About 20 of the miles were on a bike path which was a nice change.

In Owatonna we stayed at the fair grounds and since it was raining they let us use the indoor beer garden to camp in. No beer but at least it was dry.

Tyler to New Ulm - 93 miles

Today was our first day using an ACA route. Up tell now we have been following maps prepared by the American Lung Association for their Big Ride. The Big Ride maps kept us on major highways that are very busy. Because of all of our complaints ACA has looked at the route and made some changes that will move us to more rural roads. It was nice today to not have all of the traffic.

More corn.... Today reminded me of the RAGBRI ride in Iowa. Corn, soybeans, peas and pigs.... One of the towns we traveled through was named Sleepy Eye. I tried to find out where the name came from but none of the locals seemed to know. They did have a great Dairy Queen which was a nice break at 75 miles.

We ended the ride at Martin Luther College where we will have a rest day tomorrow. New Ulm is a very "German" town with a lot of German restaurants and brew pubs. I am looking forward to exploring it tomorrow.

De Smet to Tyler, MN - 79 miles

Another state gone..... Today we rode into Minnesota. The landscape has changed to corn and soybean fields. I was the first out of camp today and no one caught me so I spent the day thinking about life by myself. It was kind of a nice change. The weather is still hot but the winds were gentle so I cruised along.

Today we stayed at the Danebod Folk School in Tyler. This is a Danish school and Lutheran Church that was started in 1888. The school was originally started in the Danish tradition to further educate adults. It has since become a meeting place to keep up their heritage in the US. I spent three hours with the pastor listening about the history and looking at all of the buildings. He seem to really enjoy having someone to tell the story of their heritage to. Since today was Sunday I went to their church meeting in the evening.

Miller to De Smet - 77 miles

Another day of rolling farm land. The weather is still hot, 107 degrees. I have been leaving camp just as the sun starts to lighten the eastern sky to try and beat some of the heat. It is a littler hard to see or be seen but it is worth it. The further east we go the landscape is getting greener with more crops. We passed through a lot of little towns and one larger one, Huron on the James River.

We ended the day in De Smet where Laura Ingalles Wilder, the author of the "Little House" books lived. They were having a pageant in honor of her. I walked around the town and seen where she had lived and went to school. We also had to make our pilgrimage to the Dairy Queen for a daily dose of ice cream.

It only got down to 89 degrees at night so it was hard to sleep. I am not looking forward to the nights further east where we will have heat and humidity.

Rapid City - rest day

We left the dorms at 8am for a bus ride to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. The Monument was awesome. It is hard to believe that you can carve a statue out of a mountain. Crazy Horse is still under construction. Crazy Horse will be much larger than the presidents. Only the face is completed at this time.

Back to the dorms at noon to do my domestic chores. Cleaning the bike, washing clothes and doing any needed shopping.

Our next set of rides days is 6 days long. We start out across the bad lands of South Dakota. Jorie in our group though that they were named that because the bad cowboys hid out there.... Actually they are named that because nothing grows there.

It will be early to bed and early, 4:30am, to rise to beat the heat tomorrow.

Newcastle to Rapid City, SD - 82 miles

Another state gone and we are now in South Dakota. We spent about two thirds of the day in the Black Hills. This rates right up there as one of the best days. A group of us spent some time in the town of Custer looking at the sights and drinking coffee. We rode by the turn to Mount Rushmore where we will go tomorrow via bus. The road to Mount Rushmore is very dangerous to ride and it would have added 60 miles to the day.

We had two cattleguard crossings today. Not a big thing to us in Colorado but a lot of our riders had never seen one. Most walked over them which is harder than riding...

As we rode close to Rapid City the terrain became open grass land. I believe that is what we have to look forward to for the next couple of ride days.

Tonight we are staying at the South Dakota School of Mines and we have a rest day tomorrow. With all of the construction we passed through it will take me two hours to clean up the bike tomorrow.

Gillette to Newcastle - 76 miles

Today we passed within site of Devil's Tower. The area is covered with open pit coal mines and methane wells.

We had a train track beside us most of the day with 2 mile long trains every 10 mins. There was an 8 mile long construction zone again today, uk. I belive today was the flattest day so far but we did have 20 mph head winds.

We rode through some small towns and they look like you are back in the 40's. I don't think anything has changed in this area for years including the people.

Last night Amy, one of the twins, dislocated her shoulder on the water slide. She will be off of the bike for a few days.

One more day of riding tomorrow and then a rest day in Rapid City.

Sheridan to Gillette - 113 miles

The longest day yet... Very gradual climbs and no wind made this a great day. There were deer and antelope everywhere. I had an antelope actually run along side me and smell my arm. I was not sure if he did not want to bite me at first. I am kind of gun shy after all of the dogs.

The only services we had was a bar at mile 71 called the Spotted Horse. The people there were TOTALLY local. They thought we had to be nuts to be riding a bike at all let alone riding to DC.

There was 11 miles of construction today from hard pack to loose sand. Some chose to take a car ride across it but I was not willing to get in a car.... Now the bike needs a major cleaning.

We camped at a recreation center next to a skate park. Lots of noise all night. In the morning we found that they had locked the bathrooms, just part of the adventure.

I started late so that I could see the other end of the ride. Had a lot of fun talking and passing by everyone.

I am having problems with my PDA so I can not upload pictures at this point. I will try to resolve it on our next rest day....

Hardin to Sheridan, WY - 84 miles

Today we finally left Montana. That is one big state. The first 60 miles were up hill into a head wind, what fun....

As we traveled towards Sheridan we crossed the Crow Indian Reservation. I think the conditions there are worse than some third world countries. We also found that everyone had at least two dogs that were not fenced in and seemed to be very hungry. We spent most of the morning either out running the dogs or squirting them with water bottles.

We also travel past Custer's Last Stand battlefield. This seems to have turned into a tourist trap.

We have some unique bikes as well as riders on the trip. One bike has a box fairing behind the seat that he thinks makes him go faster. He has been nicknamed "Fast ass". The level of bikes is also a big spread, from about $300 to $10,000.

Billings to Hardin - 59 miles

We had a very nice climb out of Billings through a valley. There were a few dogs this morning that gave chase. One was on our heels and Tom decided to mace it. We were moving quite slowly and he forgot to check the wind direction. The next thing I heard was coughing, he had maced himself.

Past the climb we had a lot of open space with rolling hills. We also had a nice detour to cross in loose gravel. It was about 1 mile and most walked their bikes. I found it rideable with a little mountain bike skills needed.

Our overnight was at a KOA campground which has everything. Some of us took a taxi into Hardin to check out the town. While shopping we ran into a local lady that has lived there all of her life. She had a lot of stories and her family is involved in all of the town functions. She asked if she could drive us back to the KOA and even stopped at the local store on the way back.

Long day tomorrow so I am going to bed at 7:30....

Billings - Rest Day

Spent the day doing NOTHING. Actually did the normal things like wash clothes, clean and lube the bike and stock up on food items. Cheryl, Tom and myself had a very leisurely lunch and then I took a nap. Sound exciting????

Tomorrow will be a short day, 58 miles, but there is nothing out there to look at. I tried taking a nap on the bike but it didn't work our so well. Sometimes you do kind of daze off. We have no services after leaving Billings until we reach camp so I hope our staff sets up rest stops.

As I mention earlier we have quite a spread in age. The youngest rider is 18 and the oldest is 73. Which do you think is faster, yes the 73 year old... The 18 year old is part of a mother - daughter team. They are the last out of camp, the slowest and probably having the most fun. They always seem really happy even when they don't make it to camp on their own power.

Harlowton to Billings - 93 miles

Another long mileage day but much easier. Everyone was at the dorms by 3pm. We had a lot of interesting scenery along the Musselshell River where Chief Joseph led his band of Nez Perce.

Tonight we are staying at Montana State College in the dorms. Tomorrow will be a needed rest day. We had a catered barbecue this evening.

Unfortunately there are a few issues in the group with expectations for the level of service. These issues are not being addressed very well by Adventure Cycling so they are continuing to build. It is only a small group of around 6 riders but it is starting to separate the group and causing the leaders additional grief.

We have started a duffus award for each day. It is some red, white, and blue ribbons that you must ware on your helmet. You can win this award for doing good or for doing something totally stupid. I am not sure if I want to win this but if I do I am sure it will be for something stupid.

I am looking forward to a sleep in day tomorrow...

Townsend to Harlowton - 101 miles

We spent a lot of the day on what Montana calls the High Plains. The 2,000 ft climb up to the plain was through a narrow, heavily treed canyon. Once on the plains there were a lot of long rolling hills where you could see for miles ahead. The last 40 miles was a gradual decent into Harlowton but with a strong head wind it took a lot of work to get there.

Harlow was celebrating the 4th on July 3rd with a parade and a rodeo. Around 4pm we had a major thunder storm that dumped about 6ins. of rain. The town was totally flooded but within an hour everything was dried out and the party continued.

This was a hard day for some and some got caught out in the rain. We were staying at a high school and most decided to sleep indoors incase it rained again. I slept in my tent where it was nice and quiet (and dry).

The group has separated into the fast early risers and the slow late out of camp group. Some how we need to switch these traits so that we are not stretched out for 40 miles on the route.

Avon to Townsend - 61 miles



Today was a short day in miles but a lot more climbing. We crossed the Continental Divide at MacDonald Pass. This is highest point of our trip at 6,356 feet.



We rode through Helena, the state capital of Montana. I spend some time there looking at the old buildings and churches in the area. I also had to stop at the local coffee shop. This is a required daily event.



After Helena the terrain became flat and dry. It was nice to have a shorter day to beat the heat with an early finish. After setting up camp it rained. This is the first rain we have had on the trip.



We have a group of four support people on the trip. Three of them drive the two vans and the luggage truck. The fourth gets to ride there bike with us. They switch off the ridding each day.

Missoula to Avon - 99 miles



The roads today were a lot better than our ride into Missoula. The area is very remote with very little services for the entire day.



We started out on the Clark Fork River and then road along the Blackfoot River. We went off route to Garret, a real ghost town. It has not changed since everyone left in the 20's.



Avon consists of five houses and one restaurant. The restaurant catered our dinner at our camp site. Their speciality is pie!!!



Our overnight was at a Christian camp where we had a cabin to sleep in. I shared one with Tom and Cheryl and ours was the only cabin with a bathroom. It is funny how the little things begin to mean a lot.



Today was long but one of the nicest so far.