Day 3 G.A.P trail

 32 miles. Final riding day of this 2nd phase of the epic tour. Time off to await the start of the Anchor house ride. A little R and R here in cumberland Maryland. 

Monument 

1/2 mile long tunnel. Good thing I brought my headlight. 

Historic plaque. 

Day 2 G.A.P. trail

 60 miles from Connelsville to Meyersdale Pa. Suprised by the cooler temperatures this morning as I set out for day 2 on the gap trail. Met a couple of interesting fellow riders along the way. The trail south ward has a slight upgrade to it for nearly the entire way. But it is so very slight it is hardly noticeable. 

Trail town. 

View from viaduct.

Long way down 

Another viaduct.

Day 1 G.A.P. trail

 70 miles today. 60 of which were on the Great Allegheny Passage. This 150 mile previous rail way begins in Pittsburgh and ends in Cumberland Maryland. It is mostly covered with shade and has a crushed stone base. Two more days on the trail, 5 days of rest then a meet up with the Anchor House riders for the trip back to New Jersey 

Start of trail.

Plenty of shade 

3 rivers point of confluence 

Passage railway sign. 

Day 37 Cadiz Ohio to Pittsburgh Pa.

 70 miles and 3 states covered today.  Started in Ohio, crossed through West Virginia, entered into Pennsylvania. Felt a need to minimize the hills today by bicycling on US INTERSTATE 22, only to realize that no bicycles were allowed. Disregarding that warning i choose to use it anyway. No one seemed to mind,  not even the start trooper that I passed as he was sitting in his cruiser in the median. 

A barricaded bridge i lifted gear and bike to cross. 

Finally 

Short trip through west Virginia. 

Day 36 Berlin to Cadiz Ohio.

 A much better 64 mile ride today. I relied on Google bicycling maps today and choose the route with less hills but more miles. This option can sometimes be hit or miss. Today it was both.  An 11 mile bike path, almost completely canopied, greeted me late morning. Only to be followed by a rutted, rock strewn mess. Like I said , hit or miss. One day to the steel city, then no need for maps as th GAP trail will be my home for the next 3 days. 

World's largest cuckoo clock 

One of 3 Covered bridges on the bike path. 

Day 35 Bucyrus to Berlin Ohio

 So things took a little turn today. I am finished with the adventure cycling maps. Using my own intuition i choose a route that turned out to be much hillier than i could have predicted. The rising temperature and humidity didn't help much either. Tonights destination is in the middle of Amish country. Upon entering the town, crowds of tourists clogged the streets. When i finally stepped out for dinner, all but one coffee shop was still open. The town was nearly deserted due to the Amish and Mennonite influence. 

Good route to start, not good to finish. 

Finally got my opportunity to cycle the original old lincoln highway. 

Day 34 Lima to Bucyrus Ohio

 Much more of the same. I am certain that everyone following is just a little tired of pictures of corn fields and wheat fields and cattle munching on grass,  but hey, only 3 more days and I will be under the shaded canopy of the great Allegheny passage. Hopefully the shade will bring some relief from the heat. 

Day 33 Decatur Indiana to Lima Ohio.

 What a difference 2 fully inflated tires and 10 hours of sleep can make for a 54 mile ride into Ohio.  The absence of wind mills can hopefully decrease the chances of head winds.  Today proved that correctly. 4 days traveling eastward into Pennsylvania and a 3 day blitz on the great Allegheny passage will drop me in Cumberland Maryland to rest up for the Anchor House Foundation Ride. 

Day 32 Peru to Decatur Indiana.

 Another 75 miles of mild but steady head winds. I sure do miss North Dakota and Montana. The tube that I replaced yesterday sprung a slow leak of which I chose to just refill every 10 miles instead of changing. This also added to the fun. Shorter days to follow and hopefully less winds. 

Long horns 

View from motel 

Lumber drying. 

Day 31 Watseka Illinois to Peru Indiana.

Welcome sign.
 92 miles of humidity, a steady rain shower and headwind. Don't let me forget a flat tire. I was not expecting such a challenging day of riding. The big difference behind the dismal day had to be the head winds. 

Day 30 Streator to Watseka Illinois

 85 miles of a near identical ride as yesterday.  Nothing much different to see or report on. Straight, flat country roads lined with corn fields, wheat fields, barley and soy. Tomorrow is Indiana and eastern time zone. 

Another dilapidated barn.

Welcome to Watseka 

Day 29 Kawanee to Streator Illinois

 Shorter day of 70 miles as I enter the last 10 days of cycling before meeting up with my fellow Anchor House riders. Prior to the Anchor House ride I will have a 5 day rest up period with Linda joining me in Cumberland Maryland. The route today was not only flat but straight as well. A little up and down would be welcomed. 

Windmills were turning today 

Amber waves of grain 

Day 28 Muscatine Iowa to Kewanee Illinois

 Quick stop in Iowa, crossing the Mississippi one last time as I begin to head east. First state is Illinois. Not a big difference from Iowa.  Corn fields and flat, flat, flat. Darn near boring flat as the woman at the convenience store proclaimed. And no more long days as the temperatures rise and the winds subside. 

Morning clouds 

No wind. 

Heading east and the final push. 

Day 27 Dyersville to Muscatine Iowa

 99.75 miles of manageable rolling country roads. First stop, Field of Dreams movie set. I arrived even before it officially opened to snap a couple of photos. Met a father and son who were cycling around the country visiting 30 major league games to raise money for St. Jude hospital. 

Day 26 Prairie Du Chien Wisconsin to Dyersville

 A semi rest day of 55 miles. I needed to race ahead of an impending rainfall that was to carry on throughout the day. As I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel the rain drops began to fall as predicted. 

Iowa corn fields as far as the eyes could see.

Day 25 Winona MN to Prairie Du Chien Wisconsin

 A 94 mile ,3 state adventure. Beginning in Minnesota, crossing state line into Iowa, crossing the Mississippi River into Wisconsin. Went off route to save still another River crossing to stumble on a paved cycling path. All in all another stunning day of cycling as I turn more eastward through Illinois. 

Asphalt bike path 

History lesson 

Day 24 Prescott to Winona Minnesota

 Strataling the upper Mississippi River today for a 90 mileblast.

Crossing the Mississippi river again 

Unusual use for old skis.

Bridge leaving Prescott 

Early morning mist

Signpost for river road. 
. Another early start to beat the prediction of a thunderstorm at 3pm which didn't happen until 8PM . Biked on the Great River Road, as it is known. It's positioned on the Wisconsin side of the river and covers 250 miles.  Very similar to our river road along the Delaware 

Day 23 Cambridge to Prescott Wi.

 On the road again. Woke to an angry dark cloud filled sky. Concern soon gave way to clear skies and the st. Croix scenic byway  under my tires. A little disappointed that this route didn't hug the river as closely as I had hoped. 87 miles total today. 

River side house along the St. Croix

Byways signage.

St. Croix meeting the Mississippi. Minnesota meeting Wisconsin. 

Rest and recharge day

 Heavy showers night and day. Seems to me a good day to take a break and get a feel for the final 2 week push into Winchester where I pick up the start of the anchor house ride. I have completed 1837 miles in 21 days.

Day 21 Albany to Cambridge Mn.

 Another absolutely perfect weather day. Cool morning, tail and cross breeze, bright sunshine. Final 18 miles on the lake wobegon rail trail before being redirected to rural country roads. 95 miles in all today. Total mileage for the full first 3 weeks of riding 1827.

Mississippi River crossing. 

River flow to the south. 

Eastern terminus of wobegon trail.

Christmas tree farming. 

Day 20 Fergus Falls to Albany MN

 90 miles of all rail to trails. Some areas were a little bumpy, but nothing out of control.  The weather and winds were holding up. This states motto is the land of 10000 lakes and I can definitely see why.

Lake Wobegon trail marker. 

This guy.

That dirty shell 

Lake 

Lake

Swans in Lake.