I hope they meant it when they said the first couple of days are the hardest. (Whoever "they" are.) Yesterday was a little rough.
The first half was great- we made decent time and were still feeling pretty decent at lunch time. Soon after lunch, the winds hit. I thought I had ridden into wind before. I was wrong. Straight into 25 mph winds is not easy! And Nevin has a heavy load and more wind resistance with the trailer, so he had it even worse. We stopped for a break to see if it would die down, but finally decided to just head out again and see if we turn out of it soon. Eventually the wind was at our sides more of the time than our faces, so that was a nice break!
Also, yesterday? It was hot. But that was bearable. :)
Do you have any idea how many hills there are between home and Chesterton? Me neither, but it's a lot. As the day wore on, there was more and more pushing bikes up hills. They just kept getting steeper and taller! But then, after we left La Porte, and headed to Chesterton, there was a lot of downhill, and very few uphills. That was wonderful! It felt like a huge reward for all those hills we climbed earlier!
A few more things that happened: about 5 miles in, we stopped at Honeyville Feed. As we pulled in the driveway, the wheel fell off of the trailer. It was nice that happened where there were people there to help lift it up and get the wheel back on! Also, a chain came off twice. We found shade on a sidewalk at a gas station and had lunch and laid down for a rest. We were chased off some couches outside a place where we were taking a break in La Porte, so we just laid on the sidewalk, which was actually quite comfortable. (I can't say as I blame them, really. We were pretty sweaty and foul smelling by then.)
We arrived at our hotel around 9:00 (I think.) I don't think either of us have ever been so glad to see a hotel appear! And a shower felt pretty good, too. There are a few fast food restaurants just across the parking lot, so we grabbed some supper after we were clean, and then... Sleep, blessed sleep!
This post feels a little disjointed. It's early, I'm sore, and I'm trying not to think about the 96 miles we have to travel today. And hoping its less- Nevin is currently looking for a shorter route. :)
One more thing... A conversation I had with a guy in La Porte while we were taking a break:
(After he asked what we were doing, etc.)
Me: We're headed to Chesterton tonight.
He: Chesterton?! That's far!
Me: We've come about 70 miles today... We're headed to Canada.
He: What? Canada isn't toward Chesterton. Canada is the other way!
I'm not sure just what he knows about Canada, but it seems to be quite a bit.
And now its time to go get ready for the day!
The first half was great- we made decent time and were still feeling pretty decent at lunch time. Soon after lunch, the winds hit. I thought I had ridden into wind before. I was wrong. Straight into 25 mph winds is not easy! And Nevin has a heavy load and more wind resistance with the trailer, so he had it even worse. We stopped for a break to see if it would die down, but finally decided to just head out again and see if we turn out of it soon. Eventually the wind was at our sides more of the time than our faces, so that was a nice break!
Also, yesterday? It was hot. But that was bearable. :)
Do you have any idea how many hills there are between home and Chesterton? Me neither, but it's a lot. As the day wore on, there was more and more pushing bikes up hills. They just kept getting steeper and taller! But then, after we left La Porte, and headed to Chesterton, there was a lot of downhill, and very few uphills. That was wonderful! It felt like a huge reward for all those hills we climbed earlier!
A few more things that happened: about 5 miles in, we stopped at Honeyville Feed. As we pulled in the driveway, the wheel fell off of the trailer. It was nice that happened where there were people there to help lift it up and get the wheel back on! Also, a chain came off twice. We found shade on a sidewalk at a gas station and had lunch and laid down for a rest. We were chased off some couches outside a place where we were taking a break in La Porte, so we just laid on the sidewalk, which was actually quite comfortable. (I can't say as I blame them, really. We were pretty sweaty and foul smelling by then.)
We arrived at our hotel around 9:00 (I think.) I don't think either of us have ever been so glad to see a hotel appear! And a shower felt pretty good, too. There are a few fast food restaurants just across the parking lot, so we grabbed some supper after we were clean, and then... Sleep, blessed sleep!
This post feels a little disjointed. It's early, I'm sore, and I'm trying not to think about the 96 miles we have to travel today. And hoping its less- Nevin is currently looking for a shorter route. :)
One more thing... A conversation I had with a guy in La Porte while we were taking a break:
(After he asked what we were doing, etc.)
Me: We're headed to Chesterton tonight.
He: Chesterton?! That's far!
Me: We've come about 70 miles today... We're headed to Canada.
He: What? Canada isn't toward Chesterton. Canada is the other way!
I'm not sure just what he knows about Canada, but it seems to be quite a bit.
And now its time to go get ready for the day!
Awesome post! Thank you! Just think of the skinny a$$ and great feeling of accomplishment you will have when you get here. :) Probably not much of a help right now. haha I pray for calm winds and a shorter route
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