Two Wheeling West

Adventures in Minneapolis

Posted by Andrew on July 5th, 2009 - No Comments;  

The train from Chicago to Minneapolis was uneventful, and only about 30 minutes late. I spent the 8.5 hour ride napping, eating, watching WI and MN pass by from the lounge car, dodging old people wandering around the sleeper car in their PJs, and trying to block the 4 unruly kids seated behind me. Note to Amtrak: seat loud kids together, preferably in the baggage car, and leave the sleeper cars in the back of the train - those old folks are tough to get around when one has to walk through the sleeper cars to get to the lounge.

Traveling with my bike was fairly easy. Amtrak has enormous bike boxes for sale ($15 + $5 handling fee) at stations with checked baggage service. I read that most bikes fit into the box with the handlebars turned sideways, but that didn’t seem to work with my drop bars. I removed the handlebars and taped them to the bike, removed the pedals, then rolled the whole thing into the box. Wandering around Union Station with 4 bags, my handlebar bag, and a helmet (on my head of course) got a few odd looks.

Amtrak dragged my bike out shortly after we arrived in Minneapolis, and I set to work putting things back together and digging out my bike lights: small, very underpowered headlight, blinking taillight, glowing ankle reflector, and my random red blinker. I hit the road at 11:30 headed toward the airport via Adventure Cycling’s directions. The first few turns were all local roads, and I arrived at a bike path in about 20 minutes.

Way to go Minneapolis! The bike paths are great, in pretty good shape, and they appear to be useful for actually getting places. I’ve seen several bike lanes or bike paths so far that are clearly an afterthought - they aren’t actually useful for getting to a downtown area, to transit, or to some thing interesting. I thought, “wow, this is great, I’ll get to the hotel quickly, then I just have to convince them to let me check in early.”

So… I got completely lost on the bike paths. I ended up riding around for about 3 hours, down all sorts of bike paths, random suburban neighborhoods, in and around Fort Snelling State Park, and finally to the airport. After 1 flat tire, 1 chat with a police officer, who probably wondered why I was riding a loaded bike around the runway approach lights, several snacks, getting rejected at the McDonalds drive through, and a slightly frightening ride through a very dark state park (remember, underpowered headlight), I arrived at the Hilton. I don’t know what I looked like at 3:30 AM, but Dennis at the front desk figured 3:30 AM would be a good early check-in time. Thanks Dennis.

Fortunately it was a beautiful night for a ride. I found Minneapolis to be very rideable, but then again, my arrival ride was between the hours of 12 and 3 AM. I’ll ride around again today on my way back to the train station.  And this time I know where I’m going!

Amy and I had a great time in Minneapolis (pictures coming!). The Mall of America is scary, huge, and oddly amazing all at the same time.  Mall, art museum, baseball game, wandered around aimlessly, visited the Mill Museum (very cool), and watched the fireworks from no less than a dozen different towns from the hotel - we did plenty of exploring.

So, I’m headed back to the train station today after a series of errands this afternoon: food, having an overpriced local shop true my wheels, food, Internet, email, food, new bungee cords for my sleeping bag (I left them on your trunk Sarah, sorry), and locating some snacks for the train ride.  I’ll board at 11:15 PM, and wake up in Minot, ND at 8:30 AM, if Amtrak is on time.  I overheard someone on this route mention that Amtrak is often 1-2 hours late by the time they get to Seattle.

I’m still working on my route, and I’d love some input if anyone is familiar with North Dakota, Montana, Glacier NP, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.  So far, I know I’ll ride from Minot to Glacier National Park to head up the Going-to-the-Sun road, after that, who knows!

NY/Canada, PA, OH Photos

Posted by Andrew on July 5th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Rain. Not sure what else stands out for me from NY, PA, and OH other than the rain, which is disappointing. Riding farm country in NY wasn’t bad, but I’ve seen farms in the northeast, so nothing new there. The best part of NY was not actually in NY at all - it was crossing into Canada, then back into NY later that day. Crossing the border on a bike amused me:

Border Policeman: where are you coming from?
Me: Um, New York? (huh? Bridge starts in NY and ends in Canada…)
BP: Where did your trip start?
Me: Maine
BP: Where are you going?
Me: Uhh, Canada?
BP: Where will your trip end?
Me: Hopefully in Oregon
BP: OK, go ahead.

The vineyards out in NY/PA were interesting too, but I blasted through most of it due to the rain. OH was my first experience riding in a truly flat area. We have little stretches of flat roads in VT, but nothing like this. Completely flat for as far as I could see in every direction.  More on the midwest later…

View NY photos on flickr…

View PA photos on flickr…

View OH photos on flickr…

At Niagara Falls, Canada
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Welcome to Pennsylvania
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Sunset over Lake Erie in OH
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Status = taking a few more days off…

Posted by Andrew on July 1st, 2009 - No Comments;  

Sorry for the vague status messages last weekend - I was busy trying to figure out where to go, and what to do!  From the beginning…

On the 26th I had good weather, very little wind, and a perfect opportunity for a long day; I rode 120 miles to Cornell, IL and camped just south of town at the Bayou Bluffs Campground.  I had planned on 110 miles, which put me at the Manville Nazarene Campground, but they were closed.  Suggestion for campgrounds: if you’re closed, then please specify that on your answering machine message.  If you leave an alternate cell number, please make sure the person that answers knows something about the facility.  At 110 miles for the day, I had to backtrack then ride south to get to the campground.  It was a nice evening for a ride, or I would have been really grumpy…  

120 miles felt surprisingly good: my feet, knees, hands, neck, and back all felt fine.  My ass was sore from sitting down for 8.5 hours, but that’s understandable.  When I left NJ to start this trip 3 weeks ago, my longest ride was 63 miles.  Turns out the quick increase in saddle time didn’t go as well as I had hoped…

The next day I planned on another 100+ miles to take me well into Iowa, and my legs seemed to think that was a good idea, but my butt sure didn’t.  I took a few long breaks in town to write some email, eat, and eat again.  Overall, I felt great, but I just couldn’t find a comfortable spot on the saddle, so I spent 50 miles fidgeting around, standing, and coasting.  Coasting is hard in IL, no hills to use for a break!

I settled on an 85 mile day into Kewanee, IL.  About 10 miles outside of town the sky started to turn gray - no thunder clouds, no wind, just gray.  I had no idea what to expect, but when the lightning started, it was pretty clear I was in for a fun storm.  30 seconds later I hauled up a hill and straight into someone’s driveway - no way I was going to ride anywhere near this one!  With all the corn and soybeans fields, my steel bike and I were often the tallest thing around for 4 square miles.  Nobody was home, so I waited it out on the front porch standing in the corner to try and avoid the rain blowing in sideways.  At the storm’s height, I saw lightning every 1-2 seconds and the porch shook from the thunder.  I waited over 2 hours before I felt it was safe to ride (standing up mostly) into Kewanee and find a hotel for the night.

I took it easy in the morning, then biked to the hospital at the edge of town to talk to a Doctor for a few minutes.  He confirmed what I expected - I needed a few days off to rest my butt, then I’d be all set.  I feel great, I’m only uncomfortable spending long hours in the saddle. Fortunately, after a few days I’ll be perfectly fine, and after some time off, I’ll be even more comfortable in the saddle for long days.  This is the price I pay for my training regimen before I left: sleeping, eating, and relaxing.  I didn’t spend very much time in the saddle before I started this trip, and I thought I was in the clear, since I was getting used to long days very quickly.  Had a taken a few random short days, or just one day off in the last 2 weeks, I probably would have been fine.  

So… I took a train from Kewanee, IL to Chicago to hang out with Sarah and Adam for a few days (thanks guys!).  From Chicago, I’ll take a train on July 1 to Minneapolis to meet Amy for a few days - meaning I have skipped the section from Kenwanee, IL to Minneapolis, MN.  Here’s where my route changes — a lot:  I’m going to hop on a train from Minneapolis (or somewhere close) and skip the rest of MN and North Dakota, and end up somewhere in Montana.  I decided about a week ago that I really didn’t need to keep riding through farm country, and I really want to get back to the mountains!

Yep, that means I’m definitely not riding cross country any more - that ended when I got on a train in Kewanee.  I’ll end up skipping a BIG chunk of the midwest by the time I start to ride again.  I’ve got a lot of reasons for skipping around, they basically boil down to this: there are a lot of things I want to see in the US; one of them was corn, but now I’ve seen plenty of corn, and it’s time to check a few other things off the list.

I’m not 100% sure what my route is going to be for the next month.  I know it’s going to include Glacier National Park and I know I’ll ultimately end up in Portland, OR (hopefully by way of Bend, OR).  Some things I’m thinking about: western Idaho and Boise, Seattle, Olympic National Park, The Cascades, and the coast between Seattle and Portland.  Any thoughts?  Things I shouldn’t miss?

Thank you all for the emails, calls, and messages!

Photos from Graduation at Union College

Posted by Andrew on June 30th, 2009 - 3 Comments...  

I took about 2 days off to attend graduation at Union College on June 13, 14.  I rode from Ticonderoga, NY to Brant Lake, NY, then straight down route 9 to Schenectady.  Great ride down route 9 then route 50 - there are designated bike lanes for almost all of it, and wide shoulders for the rest.

Congrats to Kara!  We’ve all made a lot of trips up to Union during the last 10 years - for me, then Gillian, and finally Kara.  3 graduation ceremonies, all great days, all great experiences.

View more photos from graduation on flickr…

Bike at Union
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Smile!
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Almost 1500 Miles: Things I’ve Learned

Posted by Andrew on June 27th, 2009 - 3 Comments...  

1. Bugs in the midwest appear to be tougher than east-coast bugs.  On a fairly regular basis, they manage to land on me and wander around while I’m riding.  Doing my part to get rid of a few - I must have inhaled about a dozen yesterday.
2. Don’t clip one foot into the pedals and push yourself on a wet street.  Your foot will slip on a manhole cover, and you will be sorry.
3. I am in John Deere country.  The signs, t-shirts, shorts, hats, flags, and bumperstickers tell me so every day.  I rode by a house with a Craftsman lawnmower (ride-on, of course), and a Case tractor outside - I would be willing to bet that he has no friends.
4. Don’t steer off the road when waving to tractors, old people, little kids, or critters on the side of the road.  I waved to a family of beavers back in OH; I had been waving to tractors all day long, and it seemed like a logical thing to do.  One of them hissed at me - I hope someone makes a hat out of him.
5. We grow an absolutely absurd amount of corn in this country.  The tallest I’ve seen is only only about 5 feet, so I can see that the fields go on forever.  First it was wheat, corn, and soybeans, then just corn and soybeans, now it’s almost all corn

Cruising on through Illinois today, and I’ll enter Iowa tomorrow.  As soon as I enter Iowa, I’ll turn north and head up to Minnesota.  I have some route changes in the works, which I’ll write more about tomorrow.  Does anyone have anything good to say about North Dakota?

Breakfast!

Posted by Andrew on June 27th, 2009 - 2 Comments...  

I’m really enjoying breakfast lately…  I stopped at “The Donut Shop” in Huron, OH for my 2nd breakfast and chatted with 6 older guys for a while.  Small shop, no tables, just one long looping counter with stools, half of which were occupied.  The questions started about 2 seconds after I sat down and came simultaneously from all directions.  I managed to hold conversations about saddles, bike frames, camping, and someone’s son-in-law from Cornell that rides a fancy Italian bike - and eat my large muffin at the same time.  While all of this was going on, I was promptly announced to anyone that walked in the door, “Hey Joe, this guy’s riding out to Oregon!” which, of course, kept the conversation moving along pretty well.  I left when the conversation switched to fenceposts - someone’s wife is very particular about the height of the fenceposts, apparently to within the half-inch.

Topped by breakfast a few days later in Monroeville, IN at the Pour House…  I met up with 2 other cross-country bikers, Jerry and Kris, also headed west, and we “camped” out at the pavillion in town.  Monroeville has a fantastic air-conditioned community builing with a shower, washer, dryer, and ample fridge space.  Great place to clean up, wash some clothes, and relax for an evening - thank you Monroeville!  On our way back from dinner, we asked everyone we passed for a breakfast recommendation.  The votes were split between the 3 restaurants in town (Kickin’ Chicken, Pour House, and White Dove), so we went back to the Pour House - dinner was good, so it was worth a try for breakfast. 

I arrived a few minutes late, just as Dan, the cook, brought out a plate of poached eggs for Jerry.  “I hope these are OK, I’ve never made poached eggs before, so I ran down the street to my Grandma’s house to ask her what to do.  She sent me back with her egg-poaching pan.”  Now that’s service!  Grandma stopped by a few minutes later to check on the eggs - I’ve got a picture of myself, Jerry, Kris, Dan, and Grandma, will post it next week sometime.  The pancakes were enormous (Dan made me an extra one because I looked hungry), and my side order of sausage turned out to be two quater-pound patties.  No real maple syrup around - the fake stuff has corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, and I think it had plain old sugar too.

Heat, headwinds, bike’s holding up well!

Posted by Andrew on June 25th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Wow, it’s hot outside - I can feel the heat radiating off of the road.  The breeze helps, but it would help more if it wasn’t blowing straight at me.  I really can’t complain though, it’s the first steady headwind I’ve had so far, and it’s not horrible.  Takes my 16-17 mph cruising speed down to 11-12, and I’m certainly eating and drinking more.  It’s still flat, and I often ride 10+ miles in a straight line, so it’s easy to settle into a constant rhythm.

Notes about the bike: So far, so good.  Still on my first set of tires, only 1 flat, and no odd creaks, rattles, or parts falling off.  I cleaned my chain really well in Schenectady, NY, and I just wipe it off with a paper towel once a day, and oil it every few days to keep it nice and quiet.  I swapped saddles just before I left - I’m riding a Selle SMP Glider, and I love it, although it is very hard.  Still getting used to it, but I’m glad I chose it overall.  I’d rather deal with  sore tailbones than any other problems.

I’ve got plenty to write, but libraries are few and far between right now!  Will write more soon!

1,000 Miles, Rain, Suburbs, Glass

Posted by Andrew on June 22nd, 2009 - 2 Comments...  

1000 miles!  Finally out of the  suburbs of Cleveland, the weather is good, and the roads are excellent.

I was not having fun at all for a few days - it seemed like nothing went well.  After I left the Erie Canalway (very nice ride) the weather got nasty and just wouldn’t let up.  I missed seeing the Canadian side of Niagara falls because of the rain and fog and the Cycling Museum in Orchard Park was closed when I got there (slow going in the rain).  Oh yeah, first flat in the rain too, that was fun.  It let up for 15 mins while I took things apart, then promptly started to pour again.  Outside of Buffalo I got into wine country for a bit, which was nice, but then the suburbs started.  I had a feeling I wouldn’t like riding through the suburbs  and Cleveland itself.  I was right.  I stopped on the corner of 3rd and West Superior in Cleveland and thought, “why the hell am I riding my bike through Cleveland!@#%?  Of all of the places I could ride in this country, why am I here?”

I remember standing in front of the train station in Buffalo for a bit thinking about packing up and going somewhere else because of the weather.  Not home, just somewhere else.  In retrospect, I should have taken the train right through Cleveland to the other side and started again.  I’ve got more to stay about the start of the trip, but I’ll save that for later.  In short, things got off to a slow start because I am so familiar with the northeast.  I’m glad it’s out of the way.

So, goodbye Cleveland.  Excellent parks along the lake (most with ice cream), well done on that front.  Really awful roads around the city, but thumbs up to Avon Lake and Sheffield Lake for the outstanding bike path.

Side note: what’s the deal with the broken bottles on the side of the road?  To the asshole that launches bottles out of the car, uhh, you’re an asshole.  Topped only by whoever is dropping dirty diapers on the side of the road.  Come on.

Headed to Bowling Green, OH, about 70 miles for the day.  I’m excited to ride this part of the country - I don’t know where I am, I’m looking forward to rolling through little towns along the way, and the sun’s out!

NYS Bike Route 5

Posted by Andrew on June 16th, 2009 - 1 Comment...  

You might have noticed that I’ve been well off my mapped route for a few days; I turned south at Ticonderoga, NY to get to my sisters graduation at Union College on Sunday.  It was a great time, a great break, and wonderful to see my family and Amy for the weekend.  After leaving Schenectady, I’ve been using the NYS DOT Bike Route 5 to get back to the mapped route in Rochester.  Almost there as of right now, I should pick it up in about 30 miles.

1. Outstanding signage for the bike route: occasional route signs, just like highways, and there are always signs at intersections.

2. Roads are in excellent shape, great shoulders, and fairly free of debris (aside from roadkill - I had no idea so many dead critters litter the road until you get up close and personal with the side of the road)

3. Can it be routed around larger highways?  Route 365 was interesting…  It’s not an interstate, and it’s posted at 55 mph, but it looks a lot like an interstate, so people treat it that way.  Big shoulder, but trucks blasting by at 70+ mph isn’t very much fun.

4. Great maps, time for an update though - the trail has been moved to route 69, which I only discovered after bailing on route 45 because of the speed/interstate-like traffic.

A friend told me that he spent almost an hour a day trying to figure out where to spend the night.  I thought, “nah, it can’t take that long.”  I still don’t know if it will, but I do know that I need to spend a little more time looking for somewhere to crash at the end of the day.  I assumed, incorrectly, that there would be a campground along the south shore of Oneida Lake.  Nope.  My 80 mile day turned into a 99.5  mile day.  I thought about riding that last .5, but the thought of a shower and soft bed squashed that idea quickly.

I spent last night in a brand new hotel in Cicero, NY.  I was the 2nd person to stay in the place, and they only opened on Sunday.  It’s a little creepy being in an empty hotel.  When I rolled my bike out of the room this morning, I had this odd urge to clean up, since everything is so new!

Port Byron, NY right now, headed to Rochester to stay with a friend from college tonight.  Lockport/Niagara Falls tomorrow, somewhere south of Buffalo on Thursday.

Regarding Day 1

Posted by Amy on June 14th, 2009 - 1 Comment...  

This is Amy, Andrew’s girl-pal. This post is actually a bit of a backtrack and includes pictures from the launch out of Portland, ME on June 7th. Andrew and I traveled up to Portland that Saturday morning and enjoyed some fabulous food and drink courtesy of Kev, Jess and Jer to kick off his departure. The next morning a group of us saw him off down at the marina, where he dipped his wheels in the Atlantic before officially beginning the long haul. Many thanks to Kev, Jess, Jer, Jevan and Becky for their support!

A few photos - view more on flickr…

this is it
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Amy & Andrew
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go.
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