All is well. I need a little break from the blog. It was a long ride today. I'm beat and tomorrow it's another long ride into Detroit. Michigan is cool. I want to come back to explore more.
The day of departure approacheth. I'm riding the green line. I've already done the orange. I am finding it harder and harder to concentrate. Unlike all my previous trips I have no anxiety. Just excitement. All my jitters are excited anticipation. Maybe that'll hit later. I dunno. The trip starts just east of the magical 98th meridian (yellow line above). Roughly 80% of the US population lives east of this line. Interestingly, the ecological divide between the West and East was at the 100th meridian based on annual precipitation, but thanks to climate change it's been moving east and is now also the 98th meridian. Will that mean people will find life increasingly hard in the new west? I dunno. What is clear is that I'll be headed into more densely populated areas. And flatter areas. Some friends wonder what's the point. If you can have the Rockies, why bike the Loess Hills? Well, why not? I love the West, but I love the small towns, rivers, and lush landscapes ...
Static map: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/411321695?privacy_code=yiKqVvrfi7tHxLpJFCWI7Y08Uoe5r5x1 Animated map: https://www.relive.com/view/vmqXGXAxgo6 Finally, a campsite with water I could jump in! The Indiana Dunes. When I got there after a long and varied day of riding I just wanted to run down to the water’s edge and plunge in, but I restrained myself and got changed into my swimming suit first. (Sunrise as I say goodbye to Chicago) The day began with an early start at 6:00, first light. Today was the day I was saying goodbye to Chicago after a four day stay. I was leaving early because I had a pleasant surprise. Due to a fortuitous Facebook post, another old friend from Knox learned I was it town. She had been living in New York City, but has recently moved back to her hometown of Chicago. We arranged to meet at a bakery in The Loop. I wanted to be there by 8:30 so we would have plenty of time to chat. It’s 22 miles from Asif’s house to The Godd...
Static map: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/408092553?privacy_code=elUatNo0YFsLlv2udhqSM99fPvyc9xWj Animated Map: https://www.relive.com/view/veqzzGeeg7q I woke to gray skies after a somewhat sticky, but restful night. I don't know how much of the stick was me and how much was the humidity. The campground didn't have a shower so I was (am) a bit grungy. I could take the morning slow because today is a piece of cake, 40 miles of flat railtrail with temps in the low 80s. I leisurely broke camp without eating breakfast. The campground, while feeling out in nature, is just minutes from Panora’s main street. (Folks in Crafty's) I biked up to Crafty’s Coffee and Gifts for coffee and a breakfast of pastries. They didn't disappoint. I read an article in the Des Moines Register about the decline in religion in rural Iowa. It's tied to declining populations in small towns, but exceeds even that drop. The towns I have seen seem to be doing better than m...
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