Day 3

Yesterday was about 58 miles. We decided to turn what should've been yesterday into two shorter days, so now it looks like we'll be arriving a day later than we had planned at first. It was so nice to have an earlier evening, and a little more time to rest!
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That heat yesterday was intense! Every day I think tomorrow can't possibly be any hotter. And every day I am so wrong. But today looks a little better- there is rain in the forecast pretty soon here, so that should help cool it/us down a bit!
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So far we haven't had any mishaps that required first aid. My bike fell yesterday, but I hopped free and stayed on my feet. My self-preservation instincts must be getting stronger. :) At least for yesterday they were.
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I only took 1 picture yesterday... Of a river I wanted to jump into so. badly. :)

Day 2

Don't have time for much of a post this morning. Need to be quick so we can get on the road soon!
Yesterday we didn't make it to our scheduled destination. With the later than intended start added to the heat, I just couldn't make it any farther. So we stopped at a hotel about 15 miles before the scheduled one. Now hopefully we can make up those miles either today or over the next 2 days.
Gotta go get ready to ride!
(The Gary airport looked tempting. Surely no one would have noticed if we hopped on a plane to the next town?)

Day 1.

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!

Heading out!

The sending off committee... And us! Here we go!

Packing Time

And this isn't all of it. I have a feeling this will be like trying to fit an elephant into a refrigerator.

Almost There!

We leave in less than a week! I was all fine and relaxed about it until Monday at about 6:00 a.m.

I woke up and immediately freaked. out. I only have a week to get everything done at home and at work, arrange the rest of our lodging, buy last minute trip things, and pack, and go biking, and and and... It's not long enough!

But. It will have to be long enough. And lists are being made, supplies are being bought, things are getting done.

And you know what else? I'm excited!!!

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Squirrels and Skinned Knees

So Saturday. That was something.

We rode 50 miles! I was pretty proud of that accomplishment. We started out in Shipshewana, rode trails & roads to Ox Bow Park in Goshen, then turned around and came back the same way. And the coolest part? I wasn't even sore the next day! Well, except for the battle scars from my run-in with the pavement. I'll get to that later.

The day was pretty warm, but it was still an awesome day to ride! I'm still loving the Pumpkinvine Trail. It's just so pretty, and perfect to bike on. Nice smooth pavement and no cars to worry about.

But there are squirrels. Nevin ran over this one.

It was sitting on the trail, and we were going to pass on either side of it since it wasn't moving. But just as we got there, it took off running- right in front of Nevin. He ran over it, while I cringed and yelled... and cracked up. When we went back to see what happened with it, the poor thing was part way up the tree, and just sitting there panting. And bleeding out the mouth. I tried to get closer for a picture, but he was feeling self conscious and went farther up the tree so I couldn't get a photo of its face. Oh well.

The trail passes through Oakridge Cemetery in Goshen, which has all kinds of history. I'm sure there are a ton of interesting stories behind those gravestones, and I would love to hear some of them. There are veterans of every major US war buried there, and graves dating back to 1832. There is a green octagonal building in the center of the cemetery where they used to put the coffins in the winter time until the ground thawed enough to bury them. We know all this, because Nevin had plenty of time to read the signs while I was recovering from my attack on the trail...

A little under 20 miles in, just as we got to Oakridge Cemetery, I up and dropped off the side of the trail. After that, I can't be sure exactly how everything went down. Nevin could probably give a more accurate rendition of what happened, because for me it was all kind of a blur. There was panicking, over-correcting, diving for the cement, bleeding, checking for bones jutting out anywhere, white light, "Moses? Abraham, is that you? I'm coming home!" ...wait. That's just Nevin, asking if I'm okay. Hi Nevin. Let me check. Yep, I seem to still be alive. Then I laid in the grass and started laughing. And I couldn't stop. I think I saw Nevin wiping tears at one point, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't crying... In true Miller family fashion, once he knew I still had a pulse, the laughing and mocking began. Once I was able to stand again, and felt like I could maybe remember how to ride a bike, I got back in the saddle and we headed out to finish up the 50 mile ride. I need to take Maurice (my bike) to the shop to see if they can fix the bent handlebars, and let my knee and other bruises heal up a little, then I'll be ready to go again!



Added to the trip supply list: First Aid kit.

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