fortwayne to chicago hghts...
we have had some really good luck in road conditions for the most part, but every once in a while things go way south--which is an expression that basically means, the roads were really shitty, the salient word being really!
day 14 (80 miles)--a grand day out: setting out from fort wayne we got out into the country side fairly quickly only to be greeted by a steady head-wind. as long as we were headed west we were going to have to just keep our heads down and pedal. i don't know about jalil, but i was constantly experimenting with body position and aerodynamics. we started longing for the times we would turn north in our zig-zag trail toward chicago.
a section coming into mentone had the winds at our backs and we practically flew, drafting each other in our highest gears--a rarity on this trip so far. we celebrated with a foot-long sandwich at a subway (getting to be a regular stopping place--and this particular one played a part the next day). after a desert cookie, we pedaled off into the sun as it started its evening descent but soon stopped to watch a farmer combining his beans. when he was switching from the tractor pulling a wagon load of beans to the actual combine--with a monstrous 40 foot picking head!--he came over to talk with us. turned out he and his dad worked over 2000 acres and now that harvest has started would be very busy until after halloween. no wonder his dad wandered out into the field and wondered aloud "taking a break?"
we put in about twenty good miles west before getting to another turn north. a golf course right at the corner looked too good to pass up as a camping spot. we pulled into the club house and asked about a place to crash. the owner got all excited about us sleeping on his acre knoll he had tucked between two holes and the sprinklers he was just about to turn on. it was indeed a fantastic spot, complete with an apple and a pear tree, even though the pears were just on the edge of being ripe. (do i remember sadie telling me otavio loved pears like that...?) as we set up our tents in this perfect spot jalil announced "uh-oh, i think i left my phone and wallet back at subway..." we decided to sleep on any action given it was 20 miles back and that big signs had said "now open at 6am!" that seemed like strong advice to take care of it in the morning.
day 15 (70 miles)--a funky start and a fine finish: up at my usual 5-ish o'clock, i scared the women opening the clubhouse when i knocked on the window to see if we could call the subway. i ended up hitchhiking--and walking a fair bit--back and was jubilant when the morning crew turned the items over, even though i didn't "look like the owner of the wallet!" we have both been getting darker with all the sun, but jalil had a bit of a head start.
i ate when i got back, we packed up, and finally took off just before noon. given our late start, we were skeptical of whether we would get to chicago heights or not. heads down into the wind or backs upright to help sail when it got behind us, we put in 70 plus hot miles. this was the day that inspired this post's title--the part about roads can suck for biking...
from lacross to kouts we had the worst broken pavement and lack of shoulder combination we have had yet. it was seven miles of wondering if we would just bounce off into the ditch or if the next truck whizzing by would blow us into the corn or beans. jalil had mentioned that he just reposted this blog address on facebook "because it was full of exaggerations and lies." at least for this section death seemed relatively close to the truth.
the next ten miles from kouts to hebron seemed tame even though the entire road was line-less. save for a periodic 4-6 inch smooth-ish strip at the very edge, the surface was comparable to a gravel road, oiled and solid, but definitely rough. i never asked, but i bet jalil might even rather go through astabula oh again--maybe even at rush hour--than repeat this section.
angling north west out of hebron just before 5pm, we got onto 231 with a smooth and wide shoulder and suspected we could actually make it to saint john to stay with matt, my brother. with the wind not directly in our faces, we might even beat him there. at crown point we started winding our way through the back roads and about 7 miles later, passed matt and kathy's to get a treat from ice cream truck blasting its "summer song" just down the street. after trying to break into the wrong house one block from matt's we finally figured things out and unloaded in their garage and braved the 'vicious' dog molly when she greeted us--ten minutes before matt pulled in. it was a good reunion, complete with hot showers, plenty of great food, and a comfortable place to sleep. we could go to mum's in chicago hghts tomorrow.
day 16 (20 miles)--short is not always sweet: it was only a few miles...but i would skip the eastern end of joe orr road if i was to do it again. we left just before noon and an hour later pulled into my mum's drive--scaring a couple of the outside cats she feeds as we parked our bikes. in the last two weeks and one day, we had put in about 1000 miles, with the heat, wind, and hills, it seemed like enough. back in fort wayne we debated where jalil would pack his bike and fly out to la, and this seemed to be the appropriate place.
turns out my nephew mason manages the goodspeed bike shops close by and we visited one to get a box to start the packing process...
ciao
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