Ride 9, 7/7/95
Bethany, Missouri
Ride elevation 900 to 1180 feet.
Sunny and warm all day. Hi Mid 80s. 10 mile per hour southeast wind. Went south on US 69 for 1 mile. The road was broken concrete with no shoulder. The traffic is moderate. Turned north on road W. It is narrow 2 lane tar and gravel. Terrain is very hilly. All the lettered roads are poorly graded with steep little hills and one lane bridges. There are lots of abandoned houses. Lots of little trees and wildlife. First chance to use my 19 inch gear. Turned west on road F. Turned south on road EE. Arrived at New Hampton, about 20 miles. Turned east on US 136 for a mile and then south on ZZ. Arrived at Mcfail. Turned west on road T. The tar was oozing out of the road in the heat. Turn south on road A. A short stretch of plant mix asphalt. Turned east on Z and South on D. Turn east on Missouri 6. The road is wide with a 3 foot shoulder, but the shoulder is so soft from the heat that I can't use it. 53 miles. Turned south on Y. Arrived at Winston. Turned west on US69. Turned North on I-35. Rode 30 miles to Bethany exit. Back with only 97 miles so I went out to the airport and back. Climbing 3870 feet.
Ride 10, 7/9/95
Mason City, Iowa
Ride elevation 970 to 1220 feet.
Sunny and warm all day. Hi Mid 80s. 10 mile per hour northwest wind. Started east on B35. Concrete road, tarred over in most areas, badly broken in some areas, no shoulder, light traffic. Turned south on S56. Terrain is rolling through corn fields and pig farms. What a smell when downwind from one. Turned east on B43. Turned south on S70. Turned east on B47. Arrived at Rockford, 17 miles. Turned south on T16. Turned east on B60. Sign says "Bridge out at Marble Rock". This blows my whole plan. While working on a new plan, 2 cyclists arrive and help with some suggestions. First other cyclists I have seen on the whole trip. I met 5 during the ride. These two know some of the people I met at Twin Falls. Continued south on T16. Turned west on B65. Arrived at Dougherty, 30 miles. Turned south on S66. Turned west on C13. Arrived at Sheffield, 40 miles. First town big enough to have a store. Continued west on C13. Turned north on Iowa 107, 54 miles. Arrived at Meservey. Turned west on B63. Turned north on R68. Turned east on B55. Turned north on S14, 71 miles. Turned east on B43. Cross US65, 89 miles. Turn North on S56. Turn east on B35. Return to Mason City 100.6 miles - closest yet to 100.0. Climbing 1140 feet.
Ride 11, 7/11/95
Ride elevation 900 to 1100 feet.
Sunny and hot all day. Hi about 93. 10 to 15 mile per hour south wind. I started east on US 14. It's a wide road with 8 foot shoulders and moderate traffic. Arrive at Dodge center, 19 miles. Turn South on Minnesota 56, a wide road with no shoulder and light traffic. Turn west on Minnesota 30 at 30 miles. Road is the same. Terrain is gently rolling with lots of pig farms. Arrive at Blooming Prairie, 41 miles. Continuing on 30 I crossed I-35 and 30 grew a 3 foot shoulder. Arrived at Ellendale, mile 55, and filled up on water at the park. I continued on 30 to New Richland, 65 miles and filled up on water again at the park. Turned northwest on county 12. Turned northeast on county 4 at 75 miles. Getting pretty hot. Arrive at Waseca, 86 miles and filled up on water again at the park. Turned east on US 14 and returned to Owatonna at 103 miles. Climbing 880 feet.
Ride 12, 7/13/95
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
Ride elevation 700 to 900 feet.
Sunny and hot all day. Hi about 100. 10 mile per hour south wind. Wisconsin sent me a set of bicycling maps. Two large maps with a quarter of the state on a side. Almost all roads outside of towns are shown. Recommended routes all over the state are marked with shoulder indicators. also marked are roads to avoid and banned roads. I picked a route using about 100 miles of recommended routes, mostly on county trunk roads. These maps are the best I have seen yet. I started west on Wisconsin 33, for a mile then north on W. Road is wide 2 lane with no shoulder and light traffic. Terrain is flat with alternating pig farms and cow farms with lotsa corn fields. After about 18 miles I took turns on AW, AS and ended up headed west on S. All roads about the same. Turned south on A then west on X. Terrain is hilly here. I turned south on Wisconsin 43. It has shoulder some of the time. Rest in the Evergreen cemetery at 38 miles. Wisconsin 43 goes west and I continued south on SS. At about 55 miles the heat was getting bad enough to slow me down. Arrived at Rio at 58 miles. I bought a bag of Ice And filled all my containers. I also filled my pockets. Continued south on C. The heat got so bad that I had to stop and lie in the shade every 5 to 7 miles to cool off. I put ice in my shirt and melted it on my head. At about 68 miles I turned east on Bradley road and continued on K. The hills are flatter in this area. At 80 miles I Arrived at Columbus. The Bank said 105 degrees. All my ice was melted so I got another bag and continued on Wisconsin 73 and turned northeast on T. Then I turned north on G and returned to Beaver Dam. I was exhausted, from 11 and a half hours in the heat. I stood in the cold shower for 10 minutes. Climbing 1990 feet.
7/15/95 The temperature was still upper 90's with heat index of 110, so I decided not to ride.
Ride 13, 7/16/95
Urbana, Illinois
Ride elevation 580 to 750 feet.
Sunny and hot all day. Hi 96. 15 to 20 mile per hour southwest wind. I started north on US 45. The road is dual strips of busted concrete with no shoulders and almost no traffic on Sunday morning. I turned east on county 20. It is not quite as busted concrete road. After eight miles I came to a road closed sign.This part of IL has a grid of back roads on 1 mile centers, so I detoured around the blockage by going a mile north and back on the next grid. I came back to 20 to find another road closed sign. So I detoured a mile south this time. The terrain is very flat with only occasional ditches, some with streams in them, to cross. The fields are covered with corn and soy beans and no pig farms. I arrived at Royal, 19 miles. I continued on 20 to Illinois 49, where 20 is closed again. I turned north on 49. It is a nice wide asphalt road with no shoulders and little traffic. I turned east on a back road and after a couple of zigs arrived at Collision. Royal and Collision are both 1 horse towns. I turned north on Illinois 10, a fairly good 2 lane road. I arrived at Potomac, a little bigger town that has a cafe, 30 miles. I turned east on US136, a good quality wide 2 lane road with no shoulders and light traffic. 136 turns south and I continued east on Illinois 119 to Arvin, 46 miles. I followed 119 as it turned south and continued south on a county road as 119 turned east. At Bismark, I turned west on county 15, to county 28. I headed south on 28, but the broken concrete is so bad that I started to get sick from the bouncing. There is only one other road for miles that goes through because of a wildlife preserve. So I turned east on it. After 4 miles I arrived at another road closed sign. This time there is no way around except for belly ache road so I went down to the work area. They were replacing a bridge, but so far had only dug a ditch across the road. So I carried over the ditch and around the equipment and got through. I headed south on County 11. Arrived at the I-74 interchange, 67 miles. I filled up on Ice and water. I continued south through Oakwood to Catlin-Homer road and headed west. This road has a bit more traffic, but it is wide and has good surface. I arrived at Homer, the biggest town yet, 81 miles. I turn north on Illinois 49. After about 5 miles I arrived at Ogden and turned west on US 150. It is mildly bumpy wide concrete road with no shoulders and not much more traffic than the county roads. Arrived in Urbana in time to catch the finish of the NASCAR race on TV. Climbing 720 feet.
Ride 14, 7/18/95
Warren Indiana
Ride elevation 580 to 800 feet.
Sunny and warm all day. Hi 85. 10 to 15 mile per hour west wind. I started north on Indiana 5. The back roads I wanted to take were gravel so I searched for alternates by riding up and down Indiana 124 until I turned north on road 200 W. The state highways are usually wide 2 lane with good surface and moderate traffic. The other roads are numbered from the center of the county at 100 to the mile. They are varying quality of tar and gravel surface, except for some gravel roads. The terrain is flat to slightly rolling. The land is covered with corn, soy and hay fields with occasional cattle or pig farms and some woodland. I went north to Division road and turned west. After a long ride on Division, I turned north on Indiana 524, and arrived at Lagro, 25 miles. I turned west on US24, a wide 2 lane road with a 1 foot shoulder and lots of trucks. After about 3 miles I turned north on road 100 E. After a few miles I turned west on road 500 N, and arrived at Urbana,. Continuing east on 500 N, I was joined by a large white dog with a black face and curly tail. He ran along side in the ditch, in the road, and in the field. Sometimes on the right, and sometimes on the left. He ran with me for over 5 miles, before I finally lost him. He didn't bark once, just ran till his tongue hang out. I turned south on 600 W. At mile 43.5 I noticed that the rear tire was going soft. I stopped and replaced the tube. The leak was caused by some tape the mechanic had put on the Mr. Tuffys. The glue on the tape reacted with the tube and ate a hole in it. I also notices that the threads are showing on Michelin rear tire. Time to replace it. It lasted 1400 miles. I turned west on Division, but just past the Miami county line, it turned to gravel. So I went south to US 24, and headed west on it. It is a 4 lane divided hi way with 12 foot paved shoulders. I followed 24 to Indiana 19 and turned south into Peru, a real town with stop lites and stores, 56 miles. I followed 19 to business route US 31 and followed it out of town to 200 W and headed south. At 500 S, I turned east. At about 0 the county road turned into a wide 2 lane hi way with 3 foot shoulders. At 550 E, I turned north, for a couple of miles and then turned northeast and went across the Missisinewa dam, 72 miles. I turned east on 700 S. At 600 E, 700 S ended, so I shifted south to 800 S. At Indiana 9, 800S turned to gravel, so I shifted south to 900 S. I turned north on Indiana 5, and returned to Warren. I really gotta get me one of those black and white cement pigs for my yard. Climbing 700 feet.
Ride 15, 7/20/95
Imlay City, Michigan
Ride elevation 620 to 850 feet.
Light rain until about 10 AM and cloudy after that. Hi about 80. West wind at 15 mph. I headed north on M-53 (Michigan state highways are designated by M- ), Bad city street. Turned east on Imlay City road, wide smooth pavement with 2 food shoulders. After about 5 miles I turned north on County 4, A wide road rough in spots and moderate traffic. Turned east on Yale road, over paved broken concrete, light traffic. Arrived at Melvin, 23 miles. I continued east on road now called Galbraith Line. It is broken and cratered in spots. Terrain is flat but gently sloping east to lake Huron, with mixture of corn, hay and woodlands. Turned north on M-25 along lake shore. The road is broken and cratered with a 3 foot shoulder that is falling apart in places. Traffic was fast and heavy. Arrived at Lexington, 45 miles. I rode down to the waterfront and out on the jetty on the walkway, 47 miles. Headed west on M-90, a broken and cratered concrete road with no shoulders. There is a bicycle path parallel to the road. I usually avoid these things, but in this case, it's a lot better than the road. The path ends in 5 miles at Croswell, but the road turned wide and smooth with 2 foot shoulders and moderate traffic. The terrain turned somewhat hilly. Arrived at Peck, 61 miles. M-90 headed south into a construction zone, so I continued west on county 36. It is a wide 2 lane road with no shoulders and rough and cratered spots. I turned south on M-53 at 74 miles. It is a fairly smooth 2 lane with small shoulders. I turned west on M-90 after a couple of miles. It is a bumpy road with no shoulders. After 5 miles I turned south on county 11. It is a rough cratered and deteriorating road. The pavement is turning back to gravel in places. Some sections were so bad that I rode in the gravel shoulder because it was better than what used to be the road. There are long sections of patches on top of patches. This is the worst road I have seen in recent memory. (was there a war in michigan that I missed?) There are also short sections that have been recently paved. After 10 miles of this mess the road surface improved, but traffic picked up also. At about 95 miles I turned east on Imlay City road. I arrived back at the motel with a new record for hitting 100 with 99.7. Climbing 770 feet.
Ride 16, 7/22/95
Norwalk, Ohio
Ride elevation 730 to 980 feet.
It was foggy, visibility about a half mile for the first 2 hours, and mostly sunny after that. Hi was in the upper 80's with south wind at 15. I tried to find my way out of town on Washington road, but failed, so I found US20, which is a 4 lane divided highway with 4 to 8 foot shoulders. It has heavy traffic, but not so bad on Saturday. At 4 miles I turned south on Halfway road, good two lane road with no shoulders and light traffic. Halfway ended on Johnson which took me to Peru Center and I continued south. Scads of rabbits out enjoying the fog. The terrain is somewhat hilly. I was on the border between the flat part of Ohio in the northwest, and the hilly part in the rest. It is much flatter in the western part of the ride. There are scattered farms and woods, and lots of houses and towns everywhere. I am in the east now. I turned west on Townline road to dodge the city of Willard. I turned south on Section Line road, 17 miles. Couple of groundhogs out enjoying the fog. Section Line road turned to a brand new coat of tar and gravel with lots of loose gravel that the cars haven't beat off yet, so I went back to Coder road and headed west. Coder is a township road. It is one swath of plant mix asphalt, just rite for 1 car. To pass cars both have to get 2 wheels off the road. I rode on several of these. Some are tar and gravel. Almost all roads are paved here. They use asphalt, not concrete. This is the first civilization since Oregon. Almost all the US and state roads have a 2 to 4 foot shoulder. Most are busy. I turned south on County Line road, and then south on Boundary, and west on Crawford/ Senica Line road at 31 miles. I stayed on this road which got bigger and smaller several times to CR 10 (45 miles). I headed north on 10 and then found my way through a maze of roads west to Bettsville(70 miles) and back to head east on Limerick which changed names several times and slid by just south of the city of Clyde and back to US20. I went through Bellview Monroeville and took the Norwalk exit. On the way into town is a sign "This is TRUCKIN Country". They didn't get me. I made it back with 107 miles, a bit long, but I just hated to quit riding all those good roads. Climbing 990 feet.
Maps: Since Missouri I have needed maps that have county roads on them to navigate away from heavily traveled US and state roads. MO, IA, and WS all sent me maps that did so. Since Illinois I have been purchasing maps. But they are hard to find and I make many stops trying to find them. But it's worth it. Traffic is heavy here in civilization.
Bicycle: It's been working pretty good so far. It has an occasional clunk from something not seating rite in the drivetrain. The handle bar tape slid all to one side. I replaced it. The guy at the bike shop said it was wrapped the wrong way. So I wrapped it the other way. Holding so far.