Day forty-six. Chicago to Lake Village, IN

Crossed into a other state today. We are on a roll. Still the same time zone. Probably tomorrow we'll lose another hour and be on Eastern time. Only 62 miles today and really flat so we all got in by 2:00. Too bad the camp ground we're staying at has nothing but a place to set up our tents and a place to shower. This would have been a good time to stay at a nicer campground. Some of them have pools,  it no such luck at this one.
I had bought a couple bottles of wine maybe two weeks ago and decided today was a good day to open one. As I was looking for the wine in the truck I found four cantaloupe that were ripe and needed to be cut up. So I set up a table, found the meat knife a d meat cutter board and cut up the four cantaloupe. I also found my wine. It didn't take long for the cantaloupe to be finished. With 18 hu ver people anything that gets put out goes pretty quickly.
Dinner crew is now busy making dinner. They do a really good job. I am enjoying my cot in my tent. Kim's partner, Vicky ride with us for ten days and flew home yesterday. Kim asked if I wanted to use  the fold up cot until the end of the trip. Yes, of course. I used it for the first time last night and slept very well. I think I could take a nap right now.

The que sheets are getting a bit more complicated esp right out of urban areas. The past few days the que sheets were not quite accurate, but fortunately people  were able to figure it out and get us on the path. I've been biking with Kim and with GPS we seem to be able to figure it out even without the group.

A couple of new people have joined our group - Howard who did the ride last year and Judy, who is riding for about a week. I enjoy having the three teens with us. The add some nice energy. Ilan made a wonderful fire which is still burning strong.

Everyone is very busy at the moment. The clean up team is cleaning up, others are covering up the bikes because it is suppose to rain tonight, which reminds me to find my stakes and put the in.

And now I will just enjoy the fire.

Day forty-five Chicago

Went to sleep at 9:00; slept until 8:15. In a comfortable bed on a Monday night. This may not seem like a big deal to most people reading this blog, but it is. And I still felt like taking a nap this afternoon.
Jill and I took a leisurely walk to a book store this morning so I could buy "The Enneagram Made Easy". I thought it would be fun for each of the riders ( if they wanted to) figure out what number on the Enneagram  personality type they are. Kim is also familiar with Enneagrams and so we try to figure out who is what number.  We'll see if anyone will actually do it.
After our walk we went to breakfast, ate outside, got the usual breakfast food, but so pleasant being with Jill. She had a 3:00 flight to we went downtown together and from there she took the subway to the airport, while I did a little exploring in Chicago. I found the Cultural Center building which use to be the library and explored that. I realize that I like buildings more than museums, or at least that's how I felt today. They also had a very cool exhibit on Happiness.
I'm back at Bonnie's place waiting for the Hazon group to get bacuk from the organic farm they were visiting today. I called Danielle to find out when they'd be back and she said that they had just left the farm and it would take about 1 1/2 hours to drive back. I am sooo glad that I opted out of going.  Three hours of driving to visit another organic farm!!!!
  I need to wait until they get back because the synagogue is locked, but I'm very comfortable here. Some of the group is going to a Cubs game tonight, but others will be back, getting to bed early, ready to start another day of riding.
We are definitely in the home stretch now.  Only two weeks and two days left. Not sure about the others, but I am counting the days. Nine weeks of biking is a long time.

Day forty-four Glencoe to Chicago

We (the group) are staying at Kam  Isaiah Israel in Hyde Park, right across the street from Obama's house. There are two security guards 24/7 when no one is there. We were suppose to walk around to the back of the building to get in, but they let us through near the front "just this one time". Jill and I aren't even staying there, but needed to pick up some clothes. We are staying with Jill's friend Bonnie, who is house sitting for a house in Hyde Park. And I have a real bed.
It's great to be with Jill. She met me on the Lake Side Bike Trail around noon, walked my bike to Bonnie's place, walked to the synagogue for my stuff and by that time we were both hungry. We found a great restaurant  where we spent the next two hours eating and catching up.
I am now showered and relaxing on my bed. A bed in the middle of the week.
I think this evening we'll pick up some food and a bottle of wine and have a relaxing dinner in, but we'll definitely go out for breakfast tomorrow morning. I love breakfast out.
Last night we slept in this very fancy smancy synagogue in Glencoe, IL. We still had to sleep on the floor and make our own coffee in the morning,  and be driven five miles away to take showers, but they did provide dinner.
I didn't realize, but Garth told us in the morning that the police came last night around midnight because they saw a van they didn't recognize parked in the back.  Glencoe is a very ritzy area - but it was very nice to bike around.
This morning's ride was wonderful. Mostly along Lake Michigan. And the weather has been made to order. And yet, I'm very glad to have a day off from riding tomorrow.
Rest time is over. Going downstairs to be with Jill and Bonnie.

Day forty-three

Sunday is always a long day and today was no exception. We did 82 miles but it was relatively flat and very cool which makes it nice for biking, esp. for me. We got in around 6:00, needed to be driven to showers which were 5 miles away, came back to the synagogue where we are sleeping, ate dinner, spent time after dinner in meetings, emptied the coolers into the refrigerator and now I am ready to go to sleep.
We have a really easy day tomorrow, just 32 miles and than we have off  on Tuesday. Jill is meeting me tomorrow around noon and we'll spend Monday noon until Tuesday noon together. I'm very excited to see her.
That's it for today. Too tired to write anymore.

Day forty-two Shabbat Milwaukee

A completely relaxing day. I got up at 11:15 and felt very well rested. The house was empty except for their two shnoodle dogs. Coffee was made and waiting for me.  I spent the next hour or so checking e-mails, even responding to a few. Beth came home around 1:00 and we chatted a bit, faced time with Eytan who showed me how he likes to roll the marbles down the marble thing ( which we've had since our kids were his age) and went across the street to visit with Suzy and Butch Conen.
What a small world.
Came back to host family and went downstairs to reorganize my stuff. It had gotten rearranged last weekend when I needed to take everything out of one of my panniers to put clothes into it for the weekend in St. Paul since I could easily attach it to my bike. It's usually packed with stuff I might need or will never need but mistakenly took and it just gets left on the truck.
Soon we'll leave to have dinner with the Hazon group. I think it's at the synagogue but it might be at a pond. Adrienne will know, but at the moment she's asleep.
For a change I didn't have much to eat. Actually it was a very nice change. Looking forward to dinner.

Day forty-one. Mukwonago to Milwaukee

Breakfast thank god was not with those adorable little campers because we need to eat at 5:30 to be out and ready to leave by 6:30. I make better coffee, but it was OK. Our ride today was great. Friday is always a fairly short day and this one was only 44 miles of nice rolling hills for the first half and mostly flat the rest of the way. Plus it was overcast most of the day. At mile 35 we stopped for a tour of Growing Power, a place were they farm fish and use the high nitrogen fish water to grow vegetables
It's a very cool concept.
It started pouring almost as soon as our tour began, and continued to rain at the end of the tour, so with only six miles to go I saw no reason to get soaked, esp since we would need to sit in wet clothing until our hosts picked us up around 4:00 and we would get to the synagogue by 1:00; so I put my bike on the can for the last six miles. I must say though that I felt really strong even going up his today. I think my calf muscles are finally getting the hang of using clips. I know we just finished our sixth week of biking, and I've been using the clips,  but it's taken me a while to fully develop my calf muscles to be able to use them affectively.  So I think today was that day. It's kind of too bad it took so long because the next two weeks will be mostly flat, but our last week will be back to climbing.
Tonight and tomorrow night we are staying with host families. I lucked out with a great family plus great arrangement. We ( Adrienne and I) have the whole finished basement, with our own bathroom, use of the washer/dryer, T V, and I have a very comfortable bed which I already used to take a nap.

So I was talking to Beth, our hostess, and mentioned that I knew one family in Milwaukee, whose brother lives next door to us in Hull - Butch and Suzy Conen. So Beth says "they live directly across the street".  We'll go say hello tomorrow.

I think I'll watch a little TV and hopefully sleep late tomorrow morning. On second thought I think I'll just go to sleep and hopefully sleep late tomorrow morning.


 G

Day forty Madison to Mukwonago

Tonight we get to stay at Bnei Brith Beber Camp. The nice part is that they are preparing dinner and breakfast for us, but we still sleep on the floor. Also the room we are sleeping in is going to be used tonight for the camp talent show so not only can we not go to sleep until after it's over, but we can't even set up our sleeping area. It will be a late night.

How wrong I was about dinner. We ate with 4000  noisy campers. Well maybe it was only 400 but it seemed like 4000. It was the most unrelaxing dinner  we've had so far. Can't wait til breakfast.

Also the showers were far from the entrance plus it was up 20 stairs and than down 72 steps. At least I found a way around most of the steps.

I did find a couch outside the dinner area. I wonder if I can sleep here. Maybe I should just lie down on it and see if anyone says anything.

Biking went well. I was the sweep today and I biked with Kim. We learned that we both like the TV show "the Big Bang Theory" and also she's pretty into Enneagrams. We also talked about a lot of other things since it takes awhile to bike 70 miles, but those were the highlights.

I wish I could go to bed right now.

Day thirty-nine. Reedsburg to Madison

A bit different scene today. Sitting outside at the Expresso Royale enjoying a  Cappochino in Madison, Wisconson in the heart of the University. We showered at the Hillel, but we'll cook at the Beth Israel Center, than bike over to the Capitol for a potluck dinner with the congregation and a concert. One of our staff use to work in Madison so she is very excited about being able to have us go to the concert.
I think I'll go back now. I could get in a short nap.
Now I am at the Capital Square. There are many, many people here. Kind of like a crowded Espanade  concert. So I did manage to take a short rest which was very nice. It's a really beautiful evening. No bugs so far.
Bike at the synagogue lying on my self inflating mattress. It's q cool enough to use my open sleeping bag for a cover. I usually only use a sheet. Alarm set for 4:45.
Plenty of rolling hills today, but all in all a good day. A great day as far as the weather. Hope it stays this way for a while.

Day thirty-eight. LaCross to Reedsburg

Sitting at a laundromat waiting to put my laundry in the dryer. This is the first time in five weeks that I've been to a laundromat. Usually I just wash out my biking clothes in the sink, or a couple times others did mine along with theirs. So now the clothes are in the dryer. Amazingly the laundromat is right next door to a liquor store, so I couldn't resist buying a bottle of wine. So we also got all the leftovers from last night's dinner which included very delicious brownies, which I plan to have this evening for dessert. They put them out at rest stop, but I put one away for later. Wine and a brownie - doesn't get much better than that. 

Biking today was good. We were on a bike trail the whole day, which was not paved , but well maintained. But the really great part was that in every town we went through it had wonderful facilities - nice clean bathrooms and shaded picnic areas.  We seem to be in real civilization.

We are camping out tonight, so I hope it's not too buggy. 

Time to check if the laundry is dry. 

Day thirty-seven. Pepin to LaCross

Another day on the road. Well half of the ride was on the road, the other half was on a trail. It was a very pleasant trail with shade at least 1/3 of the time but it was hard packed dirt which wasn't bad to ride on but it is a much slower surface so it did take us longer to get in. Tonight we are staying at the LaCross synagogue and were transported to shower at the U of Minnesota in LaCross by membersof the  congregation. The congregation is also very busy in the kitchen cooking dinner for us. The have tables set with tablecloths and flowers. It all looks very welcoming. They are also providing breakfast for us tomorrow  morning, which lets me sleep a half hour later. They are very excited about our coming which is really nice.  
Got to go and be socialable.  Some of the congregation actually wants to here about our ride.
 

Day thirty-six St. Paul to Pepin, Wisconsin

We are actually in Stockholm, WI, but we are suppose to be in Pepin, WI and if anyone is actually following the schedule I didn't want to confuse them. That being said I have NO idea why we changed are plans or who OK'd this very stupid decision. We are at someone's organic strawberry farm that has no running water, no showers, one outhouse, and it was 10 miles put of the way mostly uphill. By the time we had gone 5 miles out of our way at the end of a 72 mile day that had a lot of up hills, some very long and other short but steep, I had had enough; so when we rode by a winery that had an open sign we stopped. At least we could use the bathroom and I could take a sponge bath in the bathroom using wet paper towels. I also refused to go any further, so Eli picked us up. I had been riding with Kim and her partner Vicky. We all were very happy to pile into the truck with our bikes. I missed out at the wine tasting because the truck came too soon, but I wasn't going to loose my ride, even for a wine tasting.
So I still need to set up my tent, which I should do now. Not sure when we'll be able to shower.

Dinner last evening was really nice. My meal was delicious and when I told our waitress that I was biking cross country she said that dessert was on the house. So I ordered the chocolate mouse which was outstanding.

No it's really time to set up my tent - the bugs are getting hungry.

Day thirty-five. St. Paul Crowne Plaza Hotel

I'm feeling very luxuriated. Butch and I w spent a wonderful day exploring St. Paul. Our hotel room overlooks the Mississippi River and is in the heart of downtown.  We got up late and walked to the Farmer's Market in Lowertown part of St. Paul. It was very impressive as we sampled our way around the city block area of mostly vegetable stands intermixed with cheeses, breads, flavored dips, various flavored hummus, jelly and jam, honey, and maple syrup. They also had great coffee, cooked corn on the cob and fresh spring rolls that we purchased. A very interesting breakfast. Besides great looking food they had beautiful bouquets of fresh flowers which many people were buying.
From there we walked across the bridge to an area called Rivertown, which is a restored area of tree-lined parks, large areas of open green space. We than crossed back over to the downtown side of the river and walked to Mickey's Diner for a real breakfast (even though it was lunch time). Not exactly a  vegetarian menu I was happy to try it as a St. Paul landmark. And serving breakfast all day is a real plus.
From there we went to the Museum of Science and saw an Omni film on the Mayans and than went through their special exhibit on the Mayans. Got back to the hotel for a rest at 4:00, but before that got to do FaceTime with Eytan.
Now it's time to pack up before going out for dinner.  I'll be going to sleep shortly after dinner. The plan is to get up by 5:00, to leave here by 5:30 and bike to join Hazon at their starting point at Beth Jacobs Synagogue in the suburbs.

Day thirty-four. Minneapolis to St. Paul

Nice day. We slept late - 6:00. Had a local biker meet us to take us through the Twin Cities. Minneapolis has been voted number one city, ousting Portland, Oregon, for biking. It was pretty amazing biking around. So many beautiful bike trails. They even have a bridge the looks similar to the Zakam Bridge that they recently built just for bikers. They even light it up with blue lights at night. It's very impressive. I stayed with the group for most of the morning and than left them to bike into downtown St. Paul to meet Butch at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on the riverfront.  I'm sure not many people bike into the Crowne Plaza. I got there around 12:30, took a nice shower and went on foot to explore St. Paul.  It didn't take too long to decide to come back to the hotel and take a afternoon nap. Nice luxury.

Last night we slept at the Minneapolis JCC. We also increased our numbers by 7.  Three male high schooler from D.C. area and a 29 year old male who will act as their chaperon. Mercedes, who is the 15 year old granddaughter of Terry and Freddie. Her mother also came, but I think is not planning on staying, and also Vicky, who is Kim's partner. I've meet everyone but Vicky who I'll meet Sunday morning, when I rejoin the group.  Very early Sunday morning, but I won't think about that now.

Plans for this evening are to go out to dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant.

It was still fairly hot today, but sounds like the heat wave here will break tomorrow and biking next week will hopefully be much more comfortable. Let's hope.

Day thirty-three Hutchinson to Minneapolis

The best of days the worst of days. I think I may have something like that before. Anyway today felt just like that. We had a day rider with us from Minneapolis, Jim, which was wonderful because he knew the area and the best route. Hazon was going to have us take a unpaved bike trail, he recommended we take the road for the first 20 miles, and than take a beautifully paved rail to trail bike path which was also at least half the time in the shade. It was almost 30 miles of riding pleasure. Totally smooth asphalt, tree shaded, light breeze. Who could ask for more. At the end of the bike trail we come to a pleasant little town and have ice cream at Ben and Jerry's.
From here it's only about 12 miles to our destination - the JCC in Minneapolis also mostly on a bike trail. The trail is hard packed dirt with many little stones. Hopefully it's not going to be like this the whole way. About two miles into the path I hear a pop and realize I have a flat in my front tire. I do not have a spare tube with me, mainly because I know if I get a flat I'll call Eli and he would have to come anyway to help and he could bring the needed tube. So luckily Jim had an extra tube that fit my tire and also Jim fixes the flat. But by now everyone was ahead and Jim wanted to try to catch up with them to show them the way.  It probably was packed dirt for another mile and Jim got a pretty good lead on the dirt. But it finally turned to asphalt and so I tried to catch up, which I did, but it was not easy. Also it was a very hot day and now the trail was mostly in the sun.  It was a very confusing route so it was important to stay together. At some point my front brake began rubbing against my front tire and I probably rode that way for a couple of miles. Finally I asked Danielle to stop and help me, which she did, but I think by this time I was pretty exhausted. I rode for another 5 miles but than as I turned a corner it felt like I have no brakes and at that point I decided to call it a day. We were only two miles from our destination but there was no way I was going to be riding.  Kim stayed with me and we waited for the van to pick us up. We bad been waiting for a reasonable time when a very nice person stopped and asked if he could help. He had a bike rack on the back of his car, so we of course said yes. He brought us to the JCC which was so nice. Actually it took us a while to find it because Garman was being less than co-operative. We finally got in around 4:00. I barely could keep my eyes open during dinner. I am now the only one in this very pleasant room. Not sure where everyone else will sleep tonight, but I know as soon as I finish this it's lights out for me.

Day thirty-two Montevideo to Hutchinson

Sitting in the Hutchinson Middle School library where we will be spending the night. Hutchinson is actually a good size city of about 15,000 as compared with many very small towns that we ride through with population of 141 or 457. One town posted a population of 6. They have one family living there.  So this is a very nice school and we get to sleep in a carpeted floor. Actually they also have hard couches in the library, so I might claim one of them.
Good idea - done
Yesterday (or the day before) I got an e-mail from Serene ( she lives in Newton and did the Hazon ride last year) asking if I was having fun. So I thought about that today. Well, there have been moments of fun. Biking downhill for many miles is fun, but that only occurred after many miles of uphill. The water slide in Bowman, N.D. was fun. Meeting and spending time with Elizebeth was fun and going to the Dairy Queen with Dena, Eli, and Élan was fun. I'm sure there were other fun moments, but when I think  about the past 4 1/2 weeks fun is not what comes up.  Challenging, rewarding, learning much from interesting people, making new friends, appreciating a bed when we get to sleep in one, appreciating a cool breeze and a good shower.
Even though we are half way through our trip and a little more than have way through our mileage I'm still somewhat amazed at myself for doing this. I know I can bike 100 miles in a day and bike 70 miles the following day. I know that I am getting stronger every day and that it certainly looks like I will make it through the ride until D.C. , even though I may sag on some very hot days.  I think I will look back at this trip and I don't think I will say it was a fun time, but I do think I will be proud of myself for taking it on and hopefully finishing it.

Day thirty-one Hotel in Montevideo

Just finished complimentary breakfast.  Even had the waffles and a poppy seed muffin. The best part was just being able to seat and slowly drink my coffee and than enjoy a second cup afterward.  Freddy and I are up, but the four others who we shared the room with are still asleep. I think they will probably sleep until noon. Catching up on sleep in big.
Not sure what I'll do the rest of the day. There's a pool and hot tub here. The pool is heated to 84 degrees. Town is about 2 miles away. I may take a walk later and treat myself to dinner. Not sure if I get together with the rest of the group who stayed at the camp grounds. It was unclear exactly what was happening today or maybe I just didn't pay attention.

Time - 1:30
I am now sitting in a Mexican restaurant. I just ordered a margarita and canaries a la diabla. The restaurant has no windows and so it feels like it could be evening. From here I'll walk to the hotel and  join the group in listening to "the little war on the prairie" which is an American Experience production. It's about how the people in Minnesota  slaughtered the Dakota Native Americans here. Today being Tish a Bahav we are suppose to be sad so we are only seeing sad things. We all voted on a movie to see today and Sophie's Choice won, but Netflix doesn't have it, so I think we are going to see Forks over  Knives. Not sure how sad Forks over Knives is but it at least has to do about food and not eating meat.
Back on the bike tomorrow. Hoping for clouds and a tailwind.

Day thirty Watertown, S.D. to Montevideo, Minnesota

Today as I rode 72 miles and passed from South Dakota to Minnesota I thought about what I will remember about South Dakota.
Cornfield
Soy bean fields
No trees by the side of the road. OK there was one tree about 1/2 miles from the MN border that provided shade from the road. Really one tree the whole time we were riding across the state. And I was on the lookout for them. I would see a bunch of trees in the distance and think maybe they'll be close enough to the edge to provide a little shade. But once I got near enough i realized that they were  set far from the edge of the road.
White pelicans
Corn fields
Aberdeen

So far Minnesota looks a lot like South Dakota. Corn field, soybean fields and more corn fields. We haven't seen any of the ten thousand lakes yet, but hopefully we will pretty soon.

Tonight I am sleeping in a bed. Six of us decided to rent a hotel room for two nights instead of camping out.  Tomorrow is a Jewish fasting day in memory of the destruction of the first and second temples in Jerusalem, so we are not riding tomorrow. Most of the group will be fasting and participating in services. I really did not want to spend all day tomorrow in the heat and being bothered by bugs. So we have a room with two queen size beds. Terry and Freddie with share one. I'll share the other bed with Dena and Élan and Eli will sleep on the floor. We could change that for tomorrow night.  So we have an air conditioned room, indoor swimming pool and comfortable beds.
A real vacation day for me.

Day twenty-nine. Aberdeen to Watertown, S.D.

We just came in from a picture taking event. We all completed the century ride today.  It felt good to have completed it, but there have been harder days. The weather definitely played a huge part in me being able to do the ride. Almost perfect weather except for the rain around mile 65. But the biggest factor was that the sun never came out. Not that it was a breeze. Up until mile 65 it was a pretty easy ride. Than for about 5 - 10 miles it poured, but once your wet it really doesn't matter that much. The hardest thing about the rain is it's hard to see with glasses. Than from mile 70 to mile 80 the road was under construction to for ten miles the road was very rough and really not pleasant to ride on. And the last 20 miles the wind had picked up and we had a consistent headwind, but we all made it and completed the ride. It really was nice.

I've been reading your wonderful encouraging notes to me. I usually take them out on Sunday evening, after I'm all packed up and getting ready to go to bed. It is so nice to connect with so many friends and family. Thank you for your encouragement and well wishes.

We enter Minnesota tomorrow. We are now half way through in miles.  This is very hard for me to believe. Also I'm feeling that this is pretty amazing. Hope it stays cloudy.

Day twenty-eight Shabbat in Aberdeen

Looks like it's clouding up which I like. Might go see Storyland (voted the 2 best family fun park in the USA I don't know by who) or the Prairie Museum or maybe even both. I had a very relaxing morning while most of the others were at services. Aberdeen only has about ten Jewish families. It one couple keeps the synagogue going.  I did go to services last night (although I slept through most of  it) because dinner was being provided by the congregation and also a couple who own an organic wheat farm here were going to be our guest speakers.

The Dacotah Prairie Museum won out and I was very glad that I went. It not only told the story of how South Dakota get settled but also the story of the various native Americans that were in this area. Also they had two local artists exhibiting their art. I was sorry others did not join me.
On the way back I did ride by Storyland but didn't go in. I'm sure if I had some children with me it would have been a fun place to visit.

I think we have one more full day in South Dakota and than we enter MN on Monday. Really it's none too soon . There may be other parts of S.D. That are nice but the northern part that we biked through is miles and miles of green which is nice for a little while but ad in the wind and it's time to leave. There are literally no trees close to the road. Any trees that are here have been planted and they are on people's property which makes it hard to stop for a drink or whatever in the shade. Actually it makes it impossible. This is prairie country.

The staff that did it last year did say the first three weeks are the prettiest and it's all downhill from here. Well I hoping it gets a little better as we ride east.
Bambi asked me to talk about my impression of the "big sky" out here.  I'm not the person to do it because living in Hull, seeing the sunsets on the bay and the rainbows and sunrises on the ocean I am spoiled by the beauty I have right at home.  I must say Montana was beautiful and majestic and I'll let you know when I get that feeling again. But I do enjoy meeting various people along they way.  That has been very interesting.

The day really does go by quickly. Just time to call home before dinner.
Still not sure what to do about tomorrow.

Day twenty-seven Ipswitch to Aberdeen

Only 1:30 Friday afternoon and already showered and settled in. It's so nice. We are staying at the Presentation college suites. One could almost call it luxurious. We each have our own rooms with a bathroom next door that you share with one other person. The dorm is nicely air conditioned with very nice kitchens. A group of us stopped for lunch at the Red Rooster before coming to the college, which was in downtown Aberdeen. Aberdeen looks like really nice place to live if you had to live in South Dakota, esp when you compare it to Lemmon, Mobridge or Ipswitch. It even has a natural Food Co-op. I'll probably explore a bit more tomorrow. Garth suggested we all take a nap Sat afternoon because Sunday is a century ride, but I'll have to wait and see how the winds are blowing before deciding on my course of action. I now know what Serene was talking about when she talked about the cross winds in South Dakota. Today was only 30 miles but it is really windy here.  Today the winds were even stronger than yesterday, but luckily we had no headwinds today, but still side winds blowing at 15 - 20 miles/hour with gusts of 25 still makes it hard to bike. So if the wind is coming from the west and literally pushing us along fine. Otherwise I'll have to see.
Last night we had another couple sleep at the church that we were staying at and the were also biking, but changed there travel plans to go a different way when the heard the wind direction. You do not want to be going straight into that wind.
Last night's meeting went well. I was in charge if it, but I did not make the agenda accept for reorganization of task teams.  The first thing on the agenda is always opening circle. It usually is some non controversial question like what is your first Jewish memory. So I started by asking what the group is doing well and what the group could improve upon. And each of us got to answer. Than we discussed tasks and who should do what. Up until now we've been rotating but Kim and I did used a better way and so I had Kim present it. So now the faster riders who also want to make dinner are on the dinner crew, the people who want to do clean up are on the clean up crew and so on. I'm on the breakfast crew because I don't mi d getting up early, I make good coffee and I'm very good at  packing up the coolers. I could have also been on clean-up
I'm back. I took a few hour break to empty the big cooler, to help with clean-up, to dry out my tent from two nights ago, to have some wine and to talk to Jill.
Must almost be time for our meeting which I know is scheduled for 5:00 but I'm not sure what it's about.
Sleeping in a bed tonight and tomorrow night. So nice

Day twenty-six Mobridge to Ipswich

Today was 78 miles with a strong southerly wind, which meant we were biking into a headwind for about 10 miles and the rest of the time having a strong cross wind. The morning went fine because it was a cool breeze which for me was a pleasant change. The afternoon was harder because by that time the breeze was more like a warm wind. A nice highlight of the day was stopping in a bakery in Rosco, with a population of  707.  We came in to be greeted by Dennis the owner who offered us a cold wet towel and bottled water. We lingered there for over an hour each of us ordering some sort of pastry.  He was originally from Portland, OR and did not have anything good to say about Rosco, S.D. He moved there because his parents retired there. It was not what one expected to find in a town of 700.
I did manage to complete today's ride, but needed a nap when we fun ally got in. We are about to have dinner and after dinner I am running the meeting. It should be interesting. I'm hoping that we can change the way our jobs are assigned.
Tomorrow is only 30 miles which will be very nice. It would be even better if it was cloudy or cool but I have a feeling that is asking for too much.

Day twenty five. Lemmon to Mobridge

Another day in South Dakota. I thought it would be flat because we were told that the Dakotas are flat. Not true. It was a fairly rolling hills day, not bad but not what I expected. I biked most of it but by 3:00 it was definitely too hot for me to continue. Others do not seem to even notice the heat. At rest stops to am known as the Shade Queen. Sometimes I get to the rest stop and the coolers are not even in the shade. I'm not sure what people actually notice.
I did manage to bring iced coffee for the rest stops. This was very exciting. On Saturday when we stayed at the church we made iced coffee which I froze in an empty mayo jar. So now I pack the frozen iced coffee in the day cooler and there is enough defrosted for me to have a cup at around noon.  It's been quite nice.
Also we have a new member who joined us last night. His name is Gilad and he's 30 years old. He seems to fit into the group very well.
I'm not sure what to do about this heat. We lost another hour today so tomorrow morning when we get up at 4:30 it will feel like 3:30, so since I'm on breakfast duty I should get the coffee ready.
Tomorrow I'm in charge of the group meeting and my agenda is to reorganize how things are done.
Kim, who is very calm will be my co chair.

Day twenty-four Bowman, N.D to Lemmon, S. D.

I am sitting in the community center in Lemmon, South Dakota. I forgot to mention yesterday that we left Montana and that Bowman was in North Dakata, we we were only in North Dakata for one day. I was a out to say there really isn't much difference between North and south Dakata, but that is not true. North Dakota had mostly some areas with nicely paved large breakdown areas, but so far in South Dakota there is no shoulder at all and the road is not that wide. Luckily there is not much traffic, but what traffic there is is mostly these huge trucks. We are now on the same road, Highway 12 for a very long time. I think all the way through South Dakota.
Today was the easiest day so far or at least one of the easiest. It was 67 miles but we had a tailwind the whole way and it was also mostly cloudy. It did shower off and on in the morning but that did not do much to interfere with the ride. I rode with Kim for most of the day, from the first rest stop at mile 24 until we got to Lemmon. We stopped around mile 42 for breakfast at a local diner. The food was just OK but it was a nice change.
The dinner crew is busy preparing dinner. I'm thinking I might go across the street for happy hour at the local bar. I guess it depends if anyone else wants to go.
Tomorrow is 97 miles, but also supposedly a headwind. I'll have to remember to take something along to do in case I want to take the van at mile 50 or 60. I guess it all depends on how strong the wind is.
Right now I have to find a new place to set up my air mattress. I am near some sort of refrigeration unit that goes on every so often which is driving me crazy. I'm sure most people wouldn't even notice it.
I love getti g everyone's e-mail. If you are adding a comment to my blog sadly I am not getting them.
But I love knowing that people are following me on my travels.

Day twenty- three Plevna to Bowman

This was a really good day.  We left on time this morning. The wind was only about 5 miles/hour so it actually felt good. The route was mostly rolling hills. And it stayed cloudy most of the day. We got to our destination by about 2:00 in the afternoon , which is at the only jewish family's house who lives in Bowman. There is a community pool three blocks away where we all swam and showered. I even swam because there was a great water slide there. Than we came back to our host's house to start cooking dinner. I am on breakfast crew so I can just sit and relax in the shade with a wonderful breeze blowing. Hannah and Freddie along with Garth are making black bean burgers and red cabbage cole slaw. So today was a really wonderful day. Sitting here actually feels like I am on vacation. Not how I usually feel after a day of biking.
I was thinking about all the different road situations we encounter on this trip. So my favorite type of road is one with a smooth wide breakdown lane or a frontage road which is a road that parells the highway but has very little traffic. Next is one with a wide breakdown lane with a rumble path ( that's  to wake up cars if the they go over it). Next is a road with no breakdown lane and everyone just knows they have to move over so as not to hit us. My least favorite is a medium breakdown lane with a rumble strip because you still have to ride on the road, but it looks like we should be riding in the breakdown lane but reay can't.
Tomorrow they are predicting a strong tail wind. Yay

Day twenty-two. Miles City to Plevna

Today was the first time we had a strong head wind for the whole ride and it was not fun. I rode the first 40 miles and pretty much just wanted to sleep from lunch stop on.  Not sure why I'm still feeling so tired. I got into the van and never left until we got to the community center here in Plevna. We had dinner with the person in charge of the community center. The town has a population of 150 people, but you wouldn't know it from where we're staying. It's this great air conditioned building with a great kitchen, a weight room, and showers.
We checked the weather for tomorrow and they are still predicting a head wind but only 5 - 10 miles/hour instead of 15- 20 with higher gusts. I'm hoping at some point the wind direction decides to change and co operates and becomes a tail wind.
The good thing is that we made iced coffee over the weekend and they will have it in the cooler for lunch stop. I put it in the freezer so if it's warm by the time I have it it should be just right.
Time to go get the coffee ready for tomorrow morning. Than we can just turn it on. The mornings are always very busy and we are always running on the late side.

Day twenty-one. Shabbat in Miles City

Today is Shabbat. A day of rest. I just got back from a walk into downtown Miles City with Dena Kim for ice cream it was a huge scoop of chocolate with huge chocolate chunks. It was very good but I'm stuffed. They do not do small Ice cream scoops here. One scoop is really like three.  But I ate the whole thing anyway. Everyone was napping when we got back.
I slept til 8:00 this morning and took a walk with Ilan at 9:00 to the Farmer's Market. It was OK , but on the way back I stopped at the library to look at the local paper to see where the yard sales where. They were pretty spread out so I choose one to walk to.  Along the way I passed an historical section
Of town which was interesting. The yard sale was just OK. By the time I got back it was lunch time. I got to talk to Corinne , Butch, Jill and FaceTime with Eytan which is always fun even though he really does 't talk on the phone.
Now I remember how I was going to start this blog - we are 1/3 done with our ride and we are still in Montana. It's a very big state.
Also there is one person who I did not describe last week who was very special to the whole group. She only rode with us for one week - from Seattle to Spokane but she made an impression that was lasting. She is rabbi Elizabeth. It would have been wonderful if she could have ridden the whole way but I am very happy that at least we got to ride the one week together.
Our group seems to have settled into a routine, with each of us playing our role. It will be interesting to see if there are any changes as new people enter in which will happen soon.

Day twenty Forsyth to Miles City

It's Friday. Yah. Friday is always a shorter biking day because we have to get in early so we can start getting ready for Shabbat. Two meals have to be cooked. One for tonight and one for tomorrow, so today we only rode 46 miles and it was cloudy at least half  the time. It was pretty hilly - a lot of long ruling hills, but we all made it in by 1:00. We're staying at the Parrish house of the Catholic Church. Air conditioned, great kitchen, good showers. Those are the key things. Electric coffee pot is also a very nice feature. We make coffee on the stove with these old fashioned stove top coffee makers and it's really hard to make a good cup of coffee. It's either too weak or tastes burnt. I just put up a pot for ice coffee.
Last night's fire work's were a show . Not sure which was more of a show - the town's fire works or the people watching them. Forsyth has 2000 people so it is definitely small town America. Also fireworks are legal in Montana so there were fireworks going off in all directions. Also it looked like the age of some setting them off was 8. Also many kids sotting on the top of their cars. The actual official fireworks were just OK.
Our dinner last night was wonderful. The potato salad went over great and Dena did an excellent job
Bar-b-queuing chicken. Also grilling corn. And Garth made cole slaw and bought beer. Plus we also had hot dogs and veggie dogs but since the chicken was from a humanely raised organic farm I had the chicken.
I just got up from a two hour nap. I knew I was tired so I'm not surprised I slept the whole afternoon. We've been going to bed around 10:00 and getting up at 5:00, but I'm more likely to get 8:00 of sleep when I'm home.
A whole day to do nothing tomorrow .

Day nineteen Hardin to Forsyth

Happy July 4th. I know you don't get this until tomorrow which will be July 5, as I write this it is July 4th and I decided to take the day off from riding. It was an 80 mile day and I probably would have done 50 before it got too hot for me to bike and than I would get into the van and have to wait at the rest stops until all the bikers finished the third rest stop which takes a lot more patience than I wanted to show today, so I decided not to bike and take the truck with Garth and come right to the school where we a spending the night and help Garth with unpacking the truck and making potato salad for tonight's bar-b-que. the potatoes are cooked and cooling.
I was a little concerned this morning while we drove here because the sky was pretty cloudy, and it would have been a shame to waste a day of not riding if it was cloudy, but sure enough the sun is out and hot as usual.
Hoping there's good fireworks in Forsyth. I'll let you know.

Day eighteen Billings to Hardin

Last evening was very pleasant. We had dinner with the Billing's Jewish community and learned a bit of what it is like to be Jewish in Montana. The radius of the congregation is about a 3 hour drive Billings, although the rabbi did say that one family comes for the. High Holidays who lives 6 hours away and stays with relatives. They were very nice and we had wonderful food.
This morning we were treated to crepes for breakfast because Ilan and Danielle made the batter last night and got up early to cook them. I had mine with yogurt and marmalade which was delicious. I am eating breakfast before we ride and I am still hunger at whenever the first rest stop is which is usually about 20 miles into the ride.
We only had 55 miles today and the hardest hill was pretty early in the ride. Also there was this wonderful cloud covering, so I was feeling like this was going to be a nearly perfect day.  So around mile 20 I was planning what I would say about today's ride and how this was turning into the best ride yet when I started being attacked by giant green flies. I had brought my own insect repellant with me so I stopped to look for it in my pannier. Not there. I remember cleaning out my pannier at Carroll College and kind of remember taking it out because I didn't need it during the day and they had bug spray on the van if we were camping. Not to worry, only 2 more miles to the rest stop. Got to the rest stop but the van was gone to help Arye who had his fourth flat tire in three days. Complaining about the butting flies .but waiting patiently for the van to
Come back. There is no bug spray on the van. I am not happy. I spend the next fifteen miles being very annoyed by biting flies. I finally figure out that I can wear my long sleeve sheet and not be bothered. I am much happier.
I make it into Hardin around 12:30 and stop at a coffee shop for ice coffee. It is perfect. Others stop in and we sit around for an hour. We bike the 2 miles to our KOA camp in the heat but there is a nice cool breeze in the shade. Some people are going to the general Custer monument. I think they are crazy to spend more time in the sun. I spend a very pleasant leisurely afternoon here. My first in a long time.

Day seventeen Big Timber to Billings

I am not liking the heat. It was already too hot at 9:30 this morning. Luckily we had a fairly easy day bike wise. Nothing very challenging except for the heat. It is so draining, I did bike the whole 75 miles. It helped that I biked with Dena today. Her usual partner, Ilan, fell on the gravel coming into the camp site yesterday and even though he still biked he stayed with Kim and Hannah, who was sweep today. I may not have continued if I wasn't with Dena. It was like riding in a sauna. I was so happy when we got to our destination, which is a synagogue. And it was wonderfully air conditioned.  The synagogue does not have showers so we took the van to a local bike store that has three showers in the store, which they let us use. The Billing's Jewish community is joining us for a pot luck dinner. I think it's always a surprise how much we eat.
I always think of so much I want to write about while I'm biking, but now that I'm actually writing my mind is a blank.
I do want to thank everyone who remembered my birthday. I will certainly remember this one.
Time for dinner. And than it will be time for bed. I've had no trouble sleeping.

Day sixteen Bozeman - Big Timber

Another hot day in Montana. I really thought this was going to be a great biking day. The first 15 miles were mostly uphill, but after that it looked like either downhill or minor up hills mixed in. I even managed to do the first fifteen miles of mostly uphill with some effort,but I could do it. So I was
unpleasantly surprised when the remainder of the day turned out to be rather difficult, mainly because
of the wind , which according to most people the prevailing wind is west to east. Well not today. There was a rather strong head wind which is similar to biking uphill. Than combined with the heat it was enough for me to bike until the 3rd rest stop and take the van back. It's almost 6:00 now and it's still unbearably hot. I am sitting in the shade,yet still I can early move. I was so glad to get to camp.
We will be celebrating my birthday with wine and salmon dinner and chocolate chip cookies. It's our first time having fish and I love salmon.
Well I should go put up my tent before dinner. I think I have just enough energy for that.