Day 15: Davenport to Cedar Rapids

Eric and Anna cooked eggs and cinnamon rolls for breakfast and we had a look at my route out of town (to check I wasn't going over any interstate bridges again!). They suggested I head north a couple of miles to a bike trail that would keep me off the highway for a bit, so I set out on that. It was a very beautiful trail and took me the first 7 miles of the day before I joined onto my planned route.

After a short 2 mile blast back on the US 6, I turned off onto some smaller country roads that cut across to the 130 West a very quiet bit of road across the farmland in Iowa. Sometimes you'd not see another car go by for 20 minutes!

It was on this road that I had my first cycling inury. My right Achilles started to hurt when I put pressure on it, probably from overextending the tendon yesterday whilst cycling in flip flops to the taco place. I stopped a few times to lower my saddle and take some painkillers, and tried to not put too much force down with that leg on the ride. A good bit of rest is what's needed!

The rest of the afternoon went slowly and painfully as my poor left leg had to work extra hard to get up the hills. Eventually I reached Cedar Rapids where I joined another nice bike trail that runs alongside the river up to the city. Not far from the trail I found my next hosts (Susan's) house just before 5 and just before she was heading out to her yoga class.

Susan cooked a vegetarian dinner of lightly fried nuts and seats in a Patty, with rice and vegetables. She takes in shelter dogs quite regularly so afterwards we walked (I hobbled!) Miles and Becca a few blocks to try to get them used to walking with new people. Despite being a small city, this area of Cedar Rapids has quite a lot of wildlife and I had to stop Becca from trying to chase a wild rabbit that was hopping around somebody's lawn.

When we got back we had some fresh peaches and blueberries with yogurt for dessert and chatted more about music and our bike tours. I then retired to my room to raise ankle and keep an ice pack on it for the rest of the evening. Fingers crossed for the morning!

Beautiful bike trails to start and end the day, with a lot of pain in between. My next 10 nights are motel stays, so I have the choice of when and where I want my next rest day, but it may be sooner rather than later if this ankle continues to be a pain!

Miles today: 83.3
Total miles: 1192.5

Day 14: Princeton to Davenport

A shorter day today, only 65 miles, so I set off later after having make-your-own waffles at the motel breakfast. The weather was forecast a sunny 80°F (27°C) and the light wind made it lovely cycling weather again. Before I left the motel I managed to sort out my warmshowers host for the evening; my previously organised host had had to drop out, but gave me the name of a friend of his who could possibly host. I got a reply from Eric, my new host, just before I set off and we organised a meeting point, then set off on my ride along the route 6.

At 1:30 I reached some roadworks on the highway. One workman said I could get through but after getting past some of the bumpy bits of torn up road another workman told me the bridge was out up ahead and that I'd need to go around. A slight detour, but I was ahead of schedule so this was no problem.

Back on the US 6 and a little way up the road I had my first angry heckling from a slack drawl yocal at a gas station: "why don't you use some hand signals before you get your ass smashed". Now, I can't think of any 'hand signals' that would be necessary when cycling down the hard shoulder of a perfectly straight piece of road, though I can think of a few that would be appropriate to show him!

As I got into Davenport I was presented with the challenge of crossing the Mississippi river. There was a big busy bridge, or about an 8 mile longer route around the city to cross at another smaller bridge. I opted for the big busy bridge and made it across safely. Once I'd made it to my hosts house I found out that its actually interstate and I wasn't supposed to cycle on it, woops! The police traveling by the other way didn't bat an eyelid though!

Tonights entertainment was a 20 mile steady paced round trip to a taco bar with a few beer stops on the way! It was a great ride along the river and I met some wonderful new people along the way. The tacos were delicious (I had 4!) and at a great price. Then on the ride back we were treated to a fantastic sunset over the Mississippi, a lovely end to a lovely day, putting me a third of the way through my travels of America.

Miles today: 64.9 (+20 for tacos)
Total miles: 1109.2

 

Day 13: Chicago to Princeton

Left at Suzane and Phils at 8 ish after they cooked me a homemade 'Egg McMuffin', slightly healthier than the McDonalds version.

After a little while on the road I joined the US 34 which would take me all the way to Princeton. A lot of straight line roads, and the shoulder appeared and disappeared at random points along the way. I stopped for lunch, a sandwich, at Sandwich, IL! (I thought it was appropriate)

About halfway through the day I met Margaret. Margaret was an elderly diabetic lady who had dozed off at the wheel and drifted into the opposite lane before nearly hitting a truck, then swerving and braking so that she ended up crossing a ditch and ending up in a corn field. Silly Margaret! She had tried to reverse again but got stuck in the ditch. I stayed with her for about 20 mins whilst the local sheriff arrived, but as it was so far along the road 'local' certainly isn't the word! She was fine, just a little shaken, and her car still ran fine so it just needed a tow. Yet another encounter with American police for me!

From then on the road was pretty much dead straight, with a few wide S-bends thrown in every so often. The cracked asphalt and high cornfields were very 'Bruckheimer'. Avoiding the potholes was easier too as the road was fairly quiet.

I found the Days Inn motel in Princeton easily as its right near the interstate. Its a shame that the pool is closed today as I could do with a good swim! I'd spotted an Italian restaurant sign on the way in but when I went to find it they had closed down. This left only a small family restaurant or fast food up this end of town, so I went for the family one and had a big American style burger ('when in Rome...').

There was a 24 hour Walmart across the street from the restaurant and motel so I went to stock up on some supplies.... peanut butter and jelly mainly!

Miles today: 95.5
Total miles: 1024.3

Day 12: Exploring Chicago

I had to leave early ish from Cassie's as they were off to work, so my first stop in the city was breakfast. A top recommendation from Cassie was 'Lou Mitchell's', a diner style restaurant in the shadow of the Willis building (Sears tower). I had a stack of blueberry pancakes with bacon and maple syrup and a freshly squeezed orange juice. I followed this up with a small pot of ice cream, apparently a thing at Lou's! Very yummy and filling so I'm glad I'm not cycling too far today!
The next stop was the Navy Pier where I had to walk my bike. Some great views of the city and lake but very very windy! They don't call it the windy city for nothing!

I followed the lakeshore bike route further north for a short while and stopped at the Oak street beach for a paddle in the lake and to relax on the sand. Chicago seems to have it all!

From there I found the Hancock tower, which is free to go up to the 'Signature Lounge' on the 96th floor as long as you buy an overpriced drink. Still cheaper than the $30 Sears tower trip and almost as high. The views up there were incredible, looking over the city and part of the lake. I spent a good hour up there sipping my 'Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald' dark beer and admiring where I'd cycled from yesterday across the lake.

Another recommendation I'd been given from a friend of the family was 'Lou Malnati's' pizza pie. So before I left Chicago I had to try it! I found the place relatively easily and took a seat at the bar. There I ordered a 'Chicago Malnati Classic' which took a while to come, but when it did it was possibly the best pizza I think I've ever had, a top recommendation!

Afterwards, I swapped my flip flops for my cycling shoes for the 17 mile ride out of the city to my next warmshowers host. A few dodgy looking areas passed by with no problems, and the weather was cool with a light breeze which made cycling very nice. My hosts, Suzanne and Phil, made me spaghetti and we chatted about engineering amongst other things as two of their sons also work in various engineering disciplines.

Tomorrow its back on the road down to Princeton. No more big cities til I get to Salt Lake City now!

Miles today: 17.6
Total miles: 928.8

Day 11: Michigan City to Chicago

Kevin's wife made me scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast and we joked about how much the British eat for.breakfast (baked beans for breakfast is considered weird here!). Not too long after I set off for my 'short' day of riding. I headed out in the complete opposite direction to Chicago at first as I wanted to step into Michigan state. About 4 miles down the highway I found the state sign and got my picture, then crossed the highway to get a photo with the Indiana state sign (I missed it on the way in via Amish country).

Back up the highway and passing through Michigan city again, I was joined by another cyclist called John who was out on a 2 hour jolly. I told him the usual details about my ride and he took me on a nice detour to Lakefront Drive where, after cresting a small hill, the view was incredible! It was a little misty out on the lake this morning, but John told me you can usually see Chicago. He left me at a small picnic area and told me the way back to the highway. He also said to watch out for the 1933 Chicago world's fair homes and not long down the road I found an incredibly pink house, the 'Florida Tropical' house!

The US 12 sways in and out from the coast most of the way to Chicago and not long after joining it a people-carrier pulled up next to me and a woman shouted "Go Sam!" out the window at me. I didn't see the male drivers face, but I assumed it was John.

Part of the highway had a bridge being built and so a section of road was completely closed off, not that the signs stopped any traffic (or me) riding all the way down there. I ended up having to cross a railway track off-piste to get to a useable bit of road because there was no way I was cycling 5 odd miles back up to the next junction!

Further up the highway I had my second drive-by questioning, this time from a dilapidated looking school bus. It pulled along side me on the road and the driver opened the door so that he and a teacher could talk to me, all still whilst heading down the highway. After a couple of the usual questions they wished me good luck and the bus full of children drove away waving. Crazy!

After passing through Gary, a rough neighborhood south of Chicago, as quickly as I could with all the head and cross winds, I stopped for some lunch at a petrol station, where a friendly police officer was getting coffee. On his way out he startes asking me about my trip when his radio started blaring "a firearm was not seen on the suspect", at which point he recommended I kept an eye out in this sort of area!

Once I got only a mile or two up the road the cycling became a lot nicer. Wide bike lanes opened up at the sides of the roads and the parks along the lakeshore were designed for cyclists and runners, with distance markers and water fountains along the way. Hard to think there was gang-land just the other side of the highway! Though apparently Chicago is quite like that, with rough areas and fancy areas pretty much side by side.

I eventually found my hosts, Cassie, Jarrett and Brown Cow's (their cat!) apartment after initially finding the wrong street of the same name! I showered and some of her old college friends came over for a barbeque on the roof which was very nice with the views of the city. Her friends brought homemade cupcakes too which were delicious!
Tomorrow I'm up early for my rest day exploring the city as my hosts have to get to work, but I've got a long list of places to see and eat at, whilst trying not to tire myself out too much!

Miles today: 71.1
Total miles: 911.2