Homeward Bound.....

With apologies to Simon and Garfunkel, Hubby and I are "Homeward Bound." Hubby even started singing the song.

We are staying at a KOA Kampground (spell check doesn't like EITHER of those) in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  I've never been to a KOA before, and I almost wish we were staying more than a single night. Maybe on another trip. It amazes me how many amenities these places offer. This particular one has the expected electricity and water (although we've been at two campgrounds this week that did NOT offer water connection - what?), cable t.v. (I'm watching my very first Olympics competitions, and who cares if it's volleyball and some swimming whose results I already know?), a little store, a playground, fishing, and a dog park where dogs can run loose. I took Gus down there and let him off the leash. I thought he MIGHT at least check out the toys and the ramps and other cool stuff. He sniffed around for just a couple of minutes and then came and jumped in my lap. What a goober.

I thought about getting my bike out and riding around the campground so I could add Kentucky to my list of states where I've ridden my bike. Then I decided that was kind of artificial and perhaps bordered on cheating, so I didn't. Besides, it was much easier NOT to get the bike out for what would probably have been a 1-2 mile ride. Do I sound like I'm rationalizing? Maybe. Pfft.

I'm tired. Ready to go home, but already looking forward to the next adventure.

SAGBRAW Day 5 Waupun to Green Lake.....

I made the two-mile ride to catch up with the actual route, and when I turned right, I faced a wall of black clouds. Uh. Oh. Might have been a good day for the jacket.

(Last night might have also been a good night to charge the blinkie light for the back of my bike, but whatever.)

It rained for about 10 miles, and there was a fierce headwind. At one point I was going downhill, pedaling hard, and losing speed. It didn't help matters that I could see on the GPS we were headed south, and our destination for the day was north. Ugh. There was a fleeting moment when I almost texted Hubby, but I knew he would offer to come get me, and I was afraid I would take him up on it. So I soldiered on.

I turned on my MP3 player (only one earbud in, the right one, so I could hear traffic), and I must have zoned out. Because at a rest stop at a high school, when someone said we had about 14 miles left to go, I said to myself, "What?" I couldn't remember anything much since the last rest stop. Maybe that's a good thing, though... It started raining again about 7 miles from the finish, but at that point I knew I could do it. At the last water stop we were warned about a "dangerous, screaming downhill" of about a mile, and because it was raining it made me a little nervous. They apparently aren't acquainted with the hills around where I live. The downhill was nice, but nothing to make me nervous, and I didn't even come close to setting a personal best for speed.

I made a tough decision last night, but I think it's the right one. I'm not going to ride the last leg back to Appleton tomorrow. It would mean four hours on the bike, perhaps five hours total, and going NORTH. Then we would face a 16-hour drive SOUTH to get home. If I don't ride, we can leave in the morning and get a 6-hour jump on that drive. I know how I feel after riding 60 miles on a bike, and how I feel is NOT like starting a two-day drive. Hubby was ecstatic when I suggested it. (You know, we ALWAYS cut our trips short by a day. Except when we go on cruises and he has no control over it.) I told him it was his gift for being so accommodating all week. It makes me feel better that we will start out fresh in the morning and I won't have to ride hard knowing he's waiting for me to finish.

The downside is that my cousin was going to come see us off, and I have just broken the news to her. I hated to disappoint her, but she said she understands. She was so kind to come see us both Saturday and Sunday, and it felt like we saw each other yesterday instead of five years ago.

These will be my last photos from Wisconsin. I hope I've done the state justice.

I thought I had taken a terribly wrong turn when I saw I had landed in Juneau. Ha ha ha ha.

It's nice when local businesses are glad we have come to their towns.

We had a rest stop at this establishment. I didn't realize it was a drive-in and couldn't understand why the girl came to me to get my order.

It may be the same in other states, but why are so many roads named with letters? There was one place where we were on County M, it dead-ended into County MM, and somewhere there was an intersection with County MMM. Maybe our state road numbers and names confuse out-of-towners too.

The sun was pretty far up when I left this morning, but I liked the way it looked peeking out from behind the clouds. If I'd known what those clouds contained, I might not have been smiling.

Sigh. Another farm.

Hubby and I were interested in these wind turbines. (Is that what they're called?) I posted on Facebook that Don Quixote would have had a field day, but my aunt corrected me and said, "Not THAT kind." No, really?

I was snapping pictures from my bike (not falling off, as the angle of the photo might suggest).

I couldn't tell on the camera screen if the turbine thingies were showing up. That has to be the explanation for why I took so many photos of them, right?

These are the directional signs that show us the way. There is usually a sign right before a turn and a confirmation sign immediately after. I also had the additional security of the pre-loaded GPS routes.

Uh oh. Those clouds don't look friendly.

These ... sculptures? ... were at our last water stop, and I couldn't believe it when I saw them. They reminded me of the book I just finished reading, The Night Circus. Review coming as soon as I get home and get settled.

They do look like they have something to do with a circus, don't they? Don't they?

A view of Green Lake from my bike. There was heavy traffic, it was raining, and the lake was choppy, so I can't be sure if it is green or not.

The whole purpose of this photo was the birds. You know, the ones you can barely see?

This part of the lake was definitely green.

The ... "lake" ... at our campground. Hubby wanted to correct the proprietor and tell him it was a pond, but he restrained himself.

I wish I had done a better job of photographing all our campsites. They were quite varied.

When we made the reservation for tonight's campsite, the nice lady on the phone said it included golf. Hubby got all excited. When he got here, he texted me that it was a "par-3 course carved out of a cow pasture." Still, he went and played several holes while I read/took a nap.

I'm very glad I came on this trip, but I'm also excited to get home. Depending on where we stop tomorrow night, I may get to add another state to my cycling stats. If I feel like unloading the bike and getting on it. Which means probably not.

Thanks for sticking with me this week.

SAGBRAW Day 4 Waupun Loop.....

The absence of pictures from today's post should not be taken as an indication that the ride was boring or difficult. I was on a mission, and I simply didn't take the time to get the camera out and snap many photos. I did get a few, mostly to document the towns I went through, and I will upload those later.

One of my missions was to beat Hubby back to the RV. He went to play golf across the street, and I made it my goal to get back before he finished. That goal turned out to be pretty easy to reach. I had already had a snack and a little bitty nap by the time he got back to the campsite.

My other mission was to ride 60 miles in under 4 hours. That's riding time, not total time. The terrain was fairly flat, so I thought it was a reasonable goal. I have both a computer and a GPS on my bike, but I have them both set where they don't show the miles traveled unless I push a button. (Otherwise I start to obsess about how much farther it is, what my average is, what percent grade I'm on, anything else I can think of to whine about.)

The GPS is more accurate, of course, and I have it showing the map. That's especially useful on a ride like this, where I have no idea of the towns I'm in and I have the comforting pink line to let me know I'm still on the right path. The bike computer is set to show my riding time, and I've started using it as a motivator or goal-setting tool. I pick a distance and a time I think is reasonable, and then I try to beat it. I also use the time to remind myself to drink. Every 15 minutes, right on the quarter hour, I make myself drink. That way I can't fool myself into thinking I've consumed more liquids than I really have. Oddly enough, I haven't had any of those post-ride headaches this week that usually indicate slight dehydration. Imagine that.

Today I was on the road back to the campground when I realized the time on the computer said something like 3:58. I rode as hard as I could, and when I stopped the bike at the RV, it read 3:59:59. Ha ha ha ha ha. (The GPS data wasn't quite as dramatic, reading 3:59:38. I had seconds to spare!)

I looked at the map for tomorrow, and it says we should enjoy some great views of Lake Michigan on the way to Green Lake. Uh.... I hope that's a typo. Since we are going WEST, and Lake Michigan is to the EAST, getting great views of it would mean we would have to pedal up Mount Everest or something. I'd rather not, thank you.

SAGBRAW Day 3 Plymouth to Waupun.....

I have been going about the business of trying to make a new route to find the regular route all wrong. I've been getting on the computer, locating the route on a map, creating a new map to an intercepting point, then uploading the new map to my GPS.

All I have to do is turn on the GPS and tell it to navigate the REGULAR route, and it will tell me which way to go to find the "pink line." Duh. (Bicycle GPS units don't have spoken commands. At least mine doesn't.)

Now that we have THAT out of the way.

It was no problem to get to the route from our campground this morning. It was about a 3-mile ride on what could have been a busy highway, but it was early. Besides, most of the roads here have nice shoulders that are plenty wide for riding a bicycle.

The downside of this town is that the nearest campground (supposedly) was 11 miles BEYOND the school where the route ended. The next one was 18 miles. I wasn't looking forward to riding 64 miles and then tacking on an additional 11, but I was resigned to having to do it.

Then Hubby called me in the middle of my ride. He said the campground sucked, and even the proprietress suggested he might want to look somewhere else. (Her "campground" is mostly for "old folks" [her words] and fishermen.) Hubby showed her the map of where we were going to be and the list of suggested campgrounds provided by the ride organizers. He showed her the one that was 18 miles away, and she said, "Oh no, you don't want to stay THERE. It's worse than THIS one."

Then she looked at the map and said there was a campground just 2 miles from the school. I was a little dubious when Hubby told me, because SURELY the ride organizers would have included one that was a mere 2 miles from the school when they were creating a list of nearby campgrounds. Wouldn't they?

Ahem.

Hubby picked me up at the school (thank all that is holy for THAT), and we did indeed find the campground. It is indeed 2 miles from the school. And we were the only campers. (Some more have since moved in.) Better yet, there is a golf course right across the road. Hubby already has a tee time for 8:30 tomorrow morning with one of the club members. How cool is that? Because tomorrow is the loop ride, we will be camping here two nights. It is a very, very nice campground.

A rather silly shadow shot of me riding along. I wonder if people think I'm nuts when I take photos while I'm riding.

There was a photo op at the top of Parnell Tower, somewhere around 11 miles on today's route. A lot of us made the trek through the woods and then climbed the 96 steps (according to a girl who was already there) to the top. It was well worth the effort. I realize the sun is interfering, but that's Lake Michigan way off in the distance.

The views from the tower were breath-taking.

Or maybe THIS one is Lake Michigan. How soon we forget.

Breath-taking. Heart-stopping. Jaw-dropping.

When I left the tower, the route took us past this little farm. Sure enough, when I turned around to look, the tower was barely visible above the tops of the trees.

I know, I know, I've seen farms before. But I can't stop taking pictures of them.

I didn't really stop here. Just paused to take the picture.

I was almost past this one before I got the shot off. I was intrigued by the "Ice Age Visitor Center."

This one was worth getting off the bike for. It's hard to see clearly, but the walls of the church are covered in ivy. Just gorgeous.

We had a rest stop in a pavilion in the small town of Campbellsport. I love that name.

I wanted to see what the quarry looked like. Or maybe I just had to go up to the fence because there was a sign warning against trespassing.

I have discovered some things about myself regarding taking photographs on bike rides. I start off the week trying to document every pedal stroke, every scenic view, every cool thing I see. Then by the end of the week everything starts to look similar and the number of photos drops off considerably. I'm also more likely to take photos early in the day. (That's also the time when I'm more likely to pass another rider and say pleasantly, "Good morning!" Not so much later in the day when it's hot and I'm tired.)

Most of the pictures I take are snapped from my bicycle while I'm riding. It's always a crap shoot whether I will actually get what I meant to take a picture of. Some are worthy of stopping my bike to get a good shot. And some are worthy of turning around and going BACK to get the shot, like the ivy-covered church above.

I'm so glad I came on this ride. I may never get back to Wisconsin, and I'm enjoying every minute. Except for some of the steep uphills maybe.

SAGBRAW Day 2 Manitowoc to Plymouth.....

The first 15-20 miles of the ride were along the shore of Lake Michigan this morning. I was surprised there wasn't more development along the shore. There were occasional houses and little farms, so it doesn't appear that building there is banned. And the houses didn't look like you had to have a bajillion dollars to build there. Just something that made me go hmmmmm....

Today was a little hillier, a little hotter, and a little farther than yesterday's route, so I was a little slower. I had to ride the additional 6 miles this morning that I cut off yesterday, plus about 3 to get to tonight's campground. That made my total mileage for today 72 miles. I had a little moment of panic when I got to the last town and started trying to navigate to where Hubby was camped. I had put it in my bike GPS, but I should have started following it sooner. I could have cut off a couple of miles, but whatever. It will be a little worse tomorrow. I have to get back to the route, then tomorrow night's campground is 11 miles beyond the stopping point. So my ride tomorrow might be closer to 80 miles. Yikes. My friend Larry has a rule that if you ride 80 miles, you have to ride 100. Good thing Larry isn't here, and he's not the boss of me anyway.

This campground is marvelous, but dang if they don't have a bunch of rules. I made a joke on FB about breaking some of them, but I'm too tired. I'm a rule follower anyway. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. They had two typed pages of rules. Here's just a small sample:

• Bikes are not to be ridden after dark. Bikes out after dark must be walked, even if they have lights.
• Walking or biking through campsites is prohibited.
• Rottweilers or Pit Bull's [sic] are not permitted in the park at any time. Proof of vaccinations must be provided upon request. No more than two dogs are allowed on a site. Excessive barking is prohibited.
• All non-seasonal golf carts must be registered in the office and will incur a $20 or $50 (plus tax) registration fee. The office must have proof of $100,000 liability insurance naming the cart on your golf cart prior to check in. [Huh?] They also must be inspected and approved by the General Manager.
• All vehicles in the park must have a valid pass at all times. Park speed limit is 10 MPH. Speeding is prohibited. Motorcycles may only be driven from the park office to your site. [How you get out of the park is your problem.]
• Visitors must leave by 9 pm unless registered as an overnight guest. Visitors arriving after 7 pm must be registered as an overnight guest. Fees will be adjusted to a day fee if departure is before 9 pm. [Huh?] All visitors four years of age and older must purchase a guest pass. 

I'm not implying that any of their rules are unreasonable - even the ones I can't understand. I just think it's funny that there are so many of them. To go with their rules, however, they have a lake, a restaurant (open on weekends only - drat), three pools, an activity center, a dance hall, an amphitheater, paved roads, cable television, and holy moly a bunch of campsites. We are number 425, and we aren't even at the end.

My Internet is very wonky tonight. Slow as molasses, and I'm having trouble with captions for the photos. So you'll just have to use your imagination.

SAGBRAW Day 1 Appleton to Manitowoc.....

I was surprised at how early it gets light here. I knew it would be slightly earlier than at home, but it was light enough to ride at 5:20. I was almost ready at that time, too. I drank a cup of coffee, had a light breakfast, checked in on Facebook, and waited for a group of cyclists to leave so I wouldn't be out there quite so all alone. I saw a few individuals leave, but I was looking for the safety net of a bigger group. I kept standing around and standing around, and finally I left alone. I suppose I'm so used to leaving super early on BRAG because we are attempting to escape the brutal heat. The heat here isn't such an issue, at least not early in the morning, so people apparently weren't in as big a hurry to leave.

It wasn't bad, though, even though I rode most of the day almost completely alone. It was also Sunday, so traffic was almost non-existent. I missed the first water stop, but the next stop was only 8 miles down the road and I still had a full bottle of water, so it didn't bother me. Except for feeling dumb because even with a cue sheet, a GPS on my bike with the route loaded, AND directional signs, I still missed the water stop.

They do things a bit differently here than we do on BRAG. There are "water stops" where you can only get water and/or Gatorade (although I did see some snacks at the last one of the day). Then there are "rest stops" where churches or civic organizations are trying to raise some money, and the goodies are for sale. I had a PBJ for $1.25 (on BRAG they are free at every rest stop), two chocolate chip cookies for $1.00 (should have had fruit, but what the heck), and a granola bar for $.75 (which I put in my jersey pocket and haven't eaten yet). I didn't mind spending cash for snacks, especially if it helps a church or other group. In fact, I started thinking maybe that's what the BRAG folks need to do. They could save some money, and I'm willing to bet there wouldn't be nearly so much food wasted.

The campground where we are staying is right on the shore of Lake Michigan. I took Gus down there, and he was perplexed at the waves. (He's never been allowed on a beach before. One more reason to love Wisconsin.) Dana and Joe came right after I got to camp. Joe and Hubby went to play golf (and consumed vast quantities of beer, but I suppose they are allowed), and Dana and I tried to catch up. We only see each other every few years, and there's never enough time to just sit and chat. Today was very nice, just to sit and talk (or walk on the beach and talk, as we also did). Then we all went out for pizza, and I was secretly very glad they didn't serve beer. The guys had had enough.

Why do I look terrified in this picture? I don't know; I'm not very photogenic. I was a little nervous, I guess, but mostly eager to ride.

Gus was excited because he thought he was going somewhere. He's sporting his new hairdo.

Hubby is trying to contain his excitement.

I tried to document every town I went through today. This is the water tower at the school where we started in Appleton.

In Rozmo's absence, I took lots of pictures of barns. There were many from which to choose.

I couldn't tell if this were an old house or a new house copied from an old design. I thought it looked cool, though.

Going through Brillion reminded me of my high school nickname, Brillo. Maybe I should have been paying more attention to the directional arrows and less to taking pictures, and I might not have missed the water stop in Brillion.

This cute little ... church? schoolhouse? ... sits on top of a (very small) hill.

About two tenths of a mile were on a gravel road. I was concentrating so hard on not falling that when I heard a very familiar voice say, "Aren't you going to say hello to me?" I didn't think he was talking to me. It was Miles, the photographer from BRAG. He's taken my picture for 21 years, and he has no idea what my name is.

Another Rozmo-worthy barn picture. I didn't get a very good shot of Mickey Mouse, and I was too stubborn to go back.

I loved that I could see for miles and miles. I never got tired of the scenery.

Long, long stretches of straight (and flat) roads. Roads in Georgia are never this straight, and I don't know why.

This pretty church deserves a better picture.

Another pass-through town, Reedsville. We have a Reidsville in Georgia, where we have a rather large prison.

I had to stop for a car (I know, right?) at this intersection, so I thought I'd take another picture to document my passage through Reedsville.

I saw three buggies of Amish folks, presumably headed to church. I felt awkward taking their picture, and I asked Dana if it were considered rude to do so. She said yes, but everybody does it. I was fascinated and waved at them. They smiled when they waved back, so maybe they forgave my faux pas.

More forever.

I texted this very same picture to Hubby saying, "Toto, we ain't in Georgia anymore." I'm pretty sure there are no signs warning of snowmobile crossing in Georgia.

My first view of Lake Michigan. I risked sand in my biking shoes to get this shot.

More Lake Michigan.

This is a "water stop" on SAGBRAW. That's the whole thing. Right there. All of it.

The view looking out of the RV with Lake Michigan in the background. I stuck my toes in, but it was too cold even for me to swim in. I can't stop looking at it, though.

I don't want to jinx myself, but today was a very easy, nice ride. I stopped about 6 miles from the school where the others are camping, so I have to tack those on to tomorrow morning's ride. Still, I got here at 11:00 AM local time today, so I shouldn't have a problem with a few extra miles.

See you tomorrow night!