Day 34: Camden to Bar Harbor

Unless you just started following , this is it, the last day of riding. Unfortunately, Wes and Will were not greeted with great weather, as it was a bit chilly and overcast at the start of the day. After a few hours, the conditions worsened. A fog rolled in off the shore. In some areas, visibility was not far at all, even less than a mile in some places.

Once the afternoon rolled around, weather patterns improved. The sun was out, temperature mild, and the roads were still dry. I met Will and Wes in the town of Stockton Springs for a break. But it was short as they wanted to get to the final destination as quickly as possible.

I didn't hear much from them for the next few hours, assuming they were doing quick rests and self support, which would expedite their travel time. By the time I reached them at Ellsworth, they were half way done. The weather was turning again. Rain looked imminent as the cloud cover thickened, but what's a small sprinkle at this point in the trip?

After the short break I drove into Acadia to squeeze in a run. I trotted around Eagle lake for a while while observing the low hanging cloud cover. At some points, the entire lake was visible, but by the end, it was impossible to see through the clouds that had settled on the water.

The rain had picked up by the end of the run, so I dashed back and went to check on the bikers. About 10 miles back up the road, I located them, now in complete rain gear. I expected a longer break before their final ride, but they just stopped to say hi before taking off.

Bar Harbor was pretty neat. A bit touristy, but overall a pretty cool town. Large boats were docked in the harbor taking people to go wildlife watching along the coast. I stopped by a local joint for lunch and grabbed a lobster roll. It was good, but I just don't think I'm a huge lobster fan.

After a few hours of walking around, I got a call from Wes. They arrived earlier than expected and were already at the car. I scurried over and found them settled in, ready for the ride back. Will had the whole back bench to himself, loaded with a blanket, pillows and computer. I hopped in and we took off towards the Midwest.

(There will be a post in about a week with more photograph of the journey, but for now enjoy what is here. -Connor)

Day 33: Naples to Camden

Overcast, 68º and no wind. This was the weather the bikers were treated to this morning. If Will and Wes were tired, it was no longer showing as their excitement and desire to get to the end was overwhelming any other feelings they may have.

Having gotten behind on my journal entries, I zoomed on over to the nearest Dunkin Donuts. While I was typing away basically the entire police force of Naples showed up for coffee and doughnuts. If anyone was gonna drag race, the best time would be 9:30am.

Just 100 miles to the coast. That's it that's all they needed. For going so far, sometimes just 100 more miles can seem all the more easier, but in fact it was not.

In the town of Bath, I checked in with the riders for the first time. I found the bikers at Dot's ice cream (of course). Wes' water bottles were getting gross from the lack of washing. They tossed 3 bottles and replaced them with gatorade bottles and a spare clean one. After chucking some morning layers in the trunk, they set off again on route 1.

The next town of meeting was Waldoboro. I got there early and decided to get lunch at the local pub. Because I'd been in the car a long time, I had a bathroom emergency and rushed in right away. As I was leaving to get my wallet in the car, the bartender gave me a snarky "Why don't you come back for lunch sometime."  clearly a little mad I only walked in to use the bathroom. Within the next 30 seconds, the bar was chuckling, saying "Hey look, it worked!"

Will and Wes rolled up about an hour later. The riding was much more difficult than expected. With 20 miles to go, they were exhausted but determined to see the Atlantic ocean. We started talking about the ride back and how we were gonna rig the back to be like a bed for Will. After a long rest, the cyclist set off to the coast to complete their final century of the ride.

Unfortunately, I wasn't there to capture the excitement of the cyclists seeing the coastline, but I was assured they got there. It was getting late and I had to get my run in. There will be more photos in the days to come.

At dinner, there were more cheers and hand shakes than any dinner prior. The century streak has officially come to an end, with a distance of only 82 miles left to Bar Harbor, the objective was simply to complete the Northern Tier route.

Day 32: North Haverhill, NH to Naples, ME

The morning was a cool one, but thankfully there was no rain to accommodate the slightly weary bikers. After dropping them in North Haverhill, I went back to the motel to grab a small nap before hitting Wal-Mart for the last time (hopefully) of the trip.

Upon return to my vehicle, I remembered that I had forgotten my towel in the room. I glanced quickly at my phone, which I had left in the car, and saw an urgent text from Wes to meet them with dry clothing. I guess the towel was going to find a new home in Woodfeild.

As I was driving on route, I was a bit confused about the text I had received from Wes. Besides a slightly wet road, there had not been a drop of rain all day. Once I went over the first pass, it was quite apparent a storm had rolled through. Clouds were swooping low through the pass and blocked the view of the mountains on the other side.

I caught the bikers in Lincoln at the base of White Mountain national forest. The duo had grabbed a quick breakfast and dried off a tad, but still elected to swap out some clothing. The next 32 miles would not have any towns, so the duo packed in the cliff bars, gu shots and other nutritional foods. After the pit stop I stopped back in Lincoln to grab a bagel and mail a post card before heading up the pass.

About an hour after the first checkpoint, I rallied up the pass at a somewhat leisurely speed, stopping to take pictures of the cool scenery here and there. Eventually I caught the crew about 20 miles from the first stop. They grabbed some water, shed the rain gear and plowed on. I stuck behind to hit up one the state forest trails before heading out myself. I found a cool little 9 mile trail to the Rocky Gorge and back. Like the last state park I visited, my shoes got swallowed in mud, but alas I made it out alive.

As I crossed the border into Maine, I got an urgent text from Wes saying they needed to be picked up to make the 4pm closing of the post office. A package with supplies was shipped from home, medication supposedly, that had to be picked up by Wes. just 18 miles short of the destination, I grabbed the bikers and make it to the post office in the nick of time. Finally, relieved the made the drop, they got a quick lunch before heading back to the drop point.

In Naples, I found a motel on route and Wes elected to simply bike in and out to make it easy for departure the next morning. At dinner, the excitement was apparent. After 32 centuries in a row, the next would be special, because it would be the last. Tomorrow, they will ride to the Atlantic, coast to coast. Just 2 days, TWO DAYS until the riders take their final dismount on the Northern Tier trail.

Day 31: Middlebury, VT to North Haverhill, NH

I wish I could say the weather was good today, but it was far from it. It's not easy to start a ride in the pouring rain. It's also not easy to start a ride when you know today may be the most difficult century yet. But with no fear, Wes and Will started on time at 7am.

While I had been to Vermont before, I really hadn't seen the part of the state that makes it famous. After stopping at Middlebury College for a run around their cross country course and a sneak peak an their new field house, I caught an urgent text from Wes which prompted me to get on my horse and head up route.


As I headed up into the mountains, the weather changed drastically. Ran came sideways, the winds swirled around and the road was easily the steepest of the trip. After 30 minutes on the road, I arrived in Hancock at a homey cafe that reminded me much of a ski lodge. Soaked completely, but now warm, Will and Wes changed out of everything. After an hour of rest and breakfast, Wes was again eager to hit the road.

The storm had calmed and the rain subsided. The road itself was quite beautiful from then on out. Much of the route followed a stream and was surrounded on either sides by mountains. I could see why people liked to stay in these parts come winter time.

Because of the wet riding conditions, Wes determined that it would be better if there was no pause in the day for lunch, fearing that the century would be in jeopardy if the ride were to stop for too long. Therefore, I stuck close by at all times, not allowing myself more than 10 miles in front of behind them. In the town of Hartford, the route turned northward once again and crossed the Connecticut river into New Hampshire.

Much like the entrance into Montana earlier in the trip, after crossing into New Hampshire everything went very quite. The roads were quiet. The towns along the river were small farm towns with a small two lane road connecting them. I suppose it also helped that it was a Sunday. 15 miles out from North Haverhill, I connected one last time with the bikers before taking off to scout out a spot.

The main roadway I took to the hotel was called Dartmouth College highway. I followed it until the town of Woodsville, a town north of North Haverhill. I quickly booked the room and zipped back south to pick up the tired wet bikers. They hit 100 miles just as I approached them on the road.

At the motel, Wes made the realization that they were basically out of clean riding gear because of the clothing change in the middle of the day. I talked to the motel manager who directed me to the local laundry mat just a quarter mile down the road and, thankfully, still open this late. While Wes and Will cleaned up for dinner, I started what I hoped would be the last load of laundry I'd have to do on the trip. During dinner, I had to switch the clothes to the dryer before returning to by food being ready just in time. Finally, after a quick dessert, I dropped Wes and Will at the hotel before grabbing the clean and dry clothes. At that point in the day, my body could no longer physically be awake and I fell asleep while Wes and Will talked about the final days ahead.

Day 30: Inlet, NY to Middlebury, VT

The weather was a bit chilly this morning. The layers were on when I dropped off Wes and Will about 7 miles down from the motel. Upon return, I grabbed some free continental breakfast, at a MOTEL! It fantastic to get something in the system right away in the morning. When I walked back to my room, I saw what had to be the largest dog I've ever encountered. His name was Memphis and he was over 200 pounds.

Following my departure from the motel, I found Wes and Will further up the road in the town of Blue Ridge. They got a small snack and we set our plan for the rest of the day. I needed a few hours to get my workout in for the day, and the amount of trails were running out as we were nearly out of Adirondack Park. So I cruzed up ahead and found a nice trail, expecting to meet in Ticonderoga at 3. I drove up and found a nice trail. Unfortunately it was a bit muddier than I thought.

After my run I sped down to Ticonderoga. Many people might recognize the name from the #2 pencil you're forced to use throughout most of middle school. Anyways, there was something unique about the ride through Ticonderoga. At the end of the highway, instead of taking a bridge across the river, there's a ferry across. Of course, fearing that I was behind schedule, I took the ferry across before they did, receiving word as I was on the ferry that they were still behind me.

At last, the bikers were on the ferry and were bussed across Champlain Lake to the state of Vermont. The ride was nearly over for the day. I quickly went up to Middlebury to find accommodations for the night. As I got to the motel, the rain began to pour down. I zipped back up the road to retrieve them.

It was at dinner when Will and Wes made the incredible realization that they had ridden 30 centuries in 30 days. The phrase "I can't believe it" and "That's insane!" were uttered more times than I could remember. Wes stated it was a record that he would never seen broken by either of them in their lifetimes, but Will was insistent that he could do 35 centuries in a row one day. Just for the record, Wes said he'd bet $1000 dollars that he wouldn't.

Day 29: Port Ontario to Inlet

After a night of deep restful sleep, Will and Wes hit the road on another stellar morning. Meanwhile, I got to stay back and enjoy Selkik Shores state forest via foot trails.  Even though I only planned to run for 45 minutes I couldn't help but extend the run to an hour just because of the soft trails.

The first stop of the day was in Boonville. Will was really tired and didn't seem to have gotten much sleep after a night in the tent. He took a 10 minute nap in the car after lunch before setting off again.

After waiting around Boonville for a while I sped up ahead to find them once again. In the process I entered Adirondack State park. There were campsites every 4/5 miles it seemed. Campfire wood being sold at every bend and lakes practically every mile. Taken aback by the change in scenery, I missed the bikers who had taken a stop at a gas station. I ended up in Old Forge, a bustling town at the base of a large lake. Eventually they caught up to me.

Will was still tired and lacking energy. As a solution Wes offered to buy him all the candy he wanted. We walked out with two grocery bags of calorie packed goods. Will chomped down on some gummy worms while Wes downed an energy shake. Refueled they hit the road for the final stretch of the day.

Finally we reached the town of Inlet, Will and Wes took a quick rest before pounding out the last 7 miles of the century. I drove up and brought them back the the Marina Motel, an upscale establishment to the other motels we stayed at. I performed some minor maintenance on the each of the bikes front tires as Will had developed a small crack and Wes had a slow leak. After a tiring day, they decided to feel things out tomorrow morning to determine if they wanted to ride or take a day off.

Day 28: Fairport to Port Ontario

The morning, much like the previous few, had been nearly perfect weather conditions. After 14 more miles on the Erie Canal, Will and Wes took of north towards Lake Ontario and stopped in Sodus Point for breakfast.

Meanwhile, I talked to Wes and got permission to drive into Syracuse to run with my college running teammate, Patrick. We hit up the trails in Green Lake State park. It was hands down the most beautiful running spot I had found yet. I wish I had brought a GoPro or something to take a picture of two, because it was picturesque off the wah-zoo. But alas, if you want to see visit for yourself.

After a quick brunch and goodbye, I drove to Fulton to meet up with Wes and Will. Arriving early, I found the local laundry mat and did a much needed load of laundry. Following that, I met up at Wendy's and put together a plan for this evening.

Port Ontario was exactly 100 miles for the day. I scouted out the region and found a quaint camping spot/state park on Lake Ontario. It had a shower, camp store, bathrooms plus a cool view. I drove back out of the park to look for a grocery store and give Wes and Will the good news.

On my drive back, I spotted the holy grail of post biking activities: Go-Karts. Within 10 minutes, I had picked up the bikers and driven straight back to the go-kart track. I opted to sit this one out and take some sick race pictures instead. Following the half hour racetrack session, we took a quick stop at ALDI for groceries before hitting up the campsite.

For dinner, we used a butane fueled stovetop to boil macaroni, pasta, potatoes, and fry up a bean & cheese quesadilla. This time we had a challenge. A flock of seagulls also inhabited the campground. They were not shy and often flew a few feet from the food. If I went so far as the car to grab a paper towel, the food was swarmed and eaten by the birds. At one point a garbage bag with discarded macaroni disappeared. As always we had an array of salts and spices to make the otherwise bland tasting dinner somewhat tasty. Without any access to tv or internet, bedtime was 10pm, but I was out by 9:45.

Day 27: Niagara Falls, ON to Fairport, NY

The stay in Canada was fun, but short lived. Will and Wes headed out a little later that usual around 7:30 and crossed the bridge into New York State. Meanwhile, I ran down to the falls to get in some casual sightseeing. I even took a picture by Niagara to prove that I'm still alive.

After gathering my belongings, I hit the road, crossing the rainbow bridge into Niagara Falls, NY. The night before I was watching border patrol on TruTv with Wes and Will. When I pulled up the border control, I started thinking of ridiculous situations where I would be pulled over and searched. Compared to the Canadian side, which was bustling with people the New York-Niagara was very quiet. Most of the tourists were on the riverfront and not out and about the town. Overall, it was quite dilapidated.

Leaving the borderlands, I began to pass endless vineyards. The bikers soon hopped on the Erie Canal trail, which followed the canal for 356 miles across New York state. It was a flat, simple crushed gravel trail that was fairly shaded. It was easy riding, but required more work because of the loose surface. I met them along the trail in Brockport for my run and lunch.

After lunch, it was more Erie Canal for the bikers. I scouted out a place for a night, but got caught in Rochester traffic in the process. It was the worst traffic of the trip. I think it had to do with the ever popular Jazz festival that was in town. Anyways, I found a small motel in Egypt, NY. I scooted back to the small town of Fairport to pick them up. The downtown was quite cool and they proudly displayed that they were voted the best small town to live in back in 2005 and 2006.

Will and Wes pulled up. Will was particularly exhausted, perhaps mentally as well as he believed the 102 miles he rode to be harder than usual. Most likely, the softer surface was the result of that.

27 days strong, 27 centuries and counting.

Day 26: Erie, PA to Niagara Falls, ON

Getting up this morning wasn’t easy. After 130 miles of riding, Will and Wes were tired, so tired that Wes wasn’t sure if Will was going to make it the whole century today. Just in case it became too much, I waited at the hotel in Erie, where I took advantage of the workout facility.

It wasn’t until 9pm that I hit the road. I got a text from Wes on my way to Dunkirk that spirits were not high. Will was tired, and they were stopping for lunch to refuel. Wary, I hung back and found a spot to run. Evangola State park was nearby, so I decided to check it out. The entrance fee of $10 was a tad pricey for an hour to run around. Instead I parked on a road adjacent to the park in the town beside it and found a footpath entrance. There was a solid stretch of beachfront that felt good on bare feet.

After my run, I zipped on up to Buffalo. Not hearing anything from Will and Wes, I assumed they were planning to call it at day there, which was right around a century. I parked outside of town and waited for further communication. Finally word came through that they were crossing the border. A hotel had been reserved on the Canadian side in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

I have never been to Canada before. It was really different because everybody spoke Canadian and not American, so all the signs looked funny and such.      Just kidding, the only difference was all the numbers were higher, because of kilometers and Canadian dollars and such.

The hotel that was booked had a view of the mist of Niagara falls. Wes and Will came up to the room around 7:30. Their total mileage was 127.

After the riding, Will insisted that we get some go-karting in before dinner. I found a local place. Not only was it outdoors but it was a 1 kilometer long track. Will was stoked to get behind the wheel. Plus I found some coupons online, so we got some extra laps in as well. At the end of the day we probably paid for 4 laps and ended up doing 15. It was quite the time.

Finally, we got dinner. I was reminded quite quickly that the drinking age was 19 when I took a look at the drink menu. That's all I will say about that.

After dinner, Will and Wes went for a swim and went to bed later than usual, expecting to wake up closer to 8am tomorrow.

Day 25: Cleveland to Erie

The drop off point at the pier was pretty cool. At 7:30 a.m, not many people were out and about on the pier.

On the way back to pack the bags at the hotel, I passed by the world headquarters of the duct tape factory in Avon, Ohio. It sounded like a pretty big deal, so I had to put up a picture of it.

After I packed the bags, I headed up to Geneva-on-the-Lake to meet up with Wes and Will for lunch. This small lakeside town will filled with gift shops, food stands and a small adventure park. Will insisted that we went go-karting, so we did. He's pretty good, I couldn't keep up with him.

After a long lunch break, the bikers packed it up and headed north along the lakefront. I split for an hour to run, then returned to the route to check in again. After coming back from my run on some trails about a half mile inland, I noted the temperature along the lake was substantially cooler than even just a quarter mile inland. As long as the route stayed along the lake, Wes said they wouldn't have any trouble getting to Erie in Pennsylvania.


Erie is located on the small sliver if Pennsylvania that touches Lake Erie. I don't know if there's an official nickname for that part of the state, but I know it was created so it could have shipping access to the ports on the great lakes. Anyways, the hotel we stayed at was right on the water and we got a great lakefront view. Just as I unpacked the luggage, I heard rolling thunder in the air. I hustled downstairs, got in the car and doubled back to check on the bikers. Fortunately, they were a quarter mile from the hotel by the time by I pulled out of the lot. They got back to the hotel before I did.

25 Days 25 centuries

Day 24: Grand Rapids to Cleveland

Getting up this morning was rough. Fortunately we all mustered the strength to be on the road just after 7. The temperature this morning was a cool and in the 60s, quite pleasant.

I took off expecting to head to the checkpoint and read a book until they arrived, but on my way I spotted a gem of a trail along the river. There was a really cool old bridge that spanned the river with old fashioned archways. I ran into some other runners that were training for a marathon. The group was about 6 large and they looked confused as I entered the parking lot. I don't know if it was my marathon shirt, but one of them cracked a joke that they were scared the race was today.

After my run I drove down to Bowling Green State University to do some core work and exercises. Why Bowling Green State, you ask? A great middle distance runner by the name of Dave Wottle ran there in his college days. Dave won the gold medal in the 800 meters at Munich in 1972. Here's a link to the race. It's got quite the finish. Anyways, I had to stop by the track and pay tribute to his old stomping ground. After all, it was along the route.

I drove along to meet the bikers in Clyde for a post lunch refuel. Their plans had changed slightly as they now wanted to get all the way to the east side of Cleveland. I headed up another dozen miles up the road to a nice beachfront in Lorain. A blues festival was taking place at the park and I couldn't resist taking a listen before jumping into Lake Erie.

I found a nice spot on the lakefront pier. It was bustling with activity. I was taking some pictures when I overheard a conversation with a dad and his son. The dad was elderly and using a walker. The son had visited him and walked him out of his apartment to the bench directly behind where I was standing, talking about the beauty of the lake and how nice the fresh air was.

I got a call from Wes, saying they were getting tired. Because of the construction on the highway, there was no easy way for me to pick them up. So Wes and Will pushed on. About 30 minutes later, they arrived, exhausted and ready to call it a day.

On the ride back Wes totaled the mileage for the day: 134. The total mileage left was just about 1000 miles, something that could be achieved in just under 10 days.

Day 23: Huntington to Grand Rapids

At this point in the trip, it would be more surprising if Will and Wes didn't ride a century. There would be a good paragraph or two detailing why it didn't happen. I'm sure the duo would be pretty sad if the streak ended.

After I wrote my blog yesterday, I gave Will the new Higher Gear Jersey. He was thrilled and insisted he put it on for the ride today. While he now had a new jersey, he lacked a functioning bike computer. So, I busted up to Fort Wayne to locate a bike shop, got the computer and busted back to the route for lunch.

Will and Wes rolled up to the vehicle parked in front of the government building in Paulding. The cyclists seemed only a tad tired and only a tad hungry. They had eaten lunch in a town prior to Paulding and were looking for a light snack. As usual, Will had his double stuff Oreos and cosmic brownies to keep him going. The air was quite humid as Wes filled up his water bottles again.

Most of the state parks in Ohio are along a river of some sort. The large rainstorms of the previous week have caused large flooding of rivers and consequently the closure of many state parks. However, at Independence Dam State park, the flood waters had receded enough to go for a quick run. I was excited to breakout my new shoes. The water over the dam was really high and still covered some part of the park. The mud and parts where the water receded had the stench of rotting plant and animal matter. By the end of the run I had gotten used to the smell, but my shoes had a brown coat of mud on them.

Leaving the state park, I followed the river north. I passed the Campbell's soup plant on the way. Finally, I located the team in Grand Rapids. From there, we picked up and drove back to the hotel a few miles down the road.

Day 22: Rensselaer, IN to Huntington

Park closed due to floods

It was refreshing this morning to wake up in my own bed, even if it happened to be 5:15am. Wes picked me up a quarter till 6 and we hit the interstate hoping to miss the morning rush. The drop point today was Rensselaer, Indiana. It was decided that having the extra bike was not worth it as it was only used a few times on the western portion. Once we arrived in Rennselaer, Wes found the spot where they had finished the midwest portion of their ride almost a month ago. At 8pm the bikes hit the road hoping to knock out century #22.

Few days prior, a series of large rainstorms had ravaged much of he midwest, resulting in a number of massive floods. In many of the small towns I passed through, large puddles formed on the roadway, parks were underwater and highway bridges closed. There was just so much water!!!

Now, because of the large amount of rain in the past few days, one might think that there would not be more rain for a while, right? Well, it was silly of me to think such a think. At the first checkpoint in Buffalo, the rain was coming down, Will and Wes got their heavier rain gear from the truck before pushing onward.

The roads the bikers were taking in Indiana were narrow, and numbered that varied by county. Some may consider them highways, others paved roads for farm access. Either way, they are quite narrow and surrounded seemingly exclusively by farmland. Indiana route 16 was a major state highway that was built much like the county roads, narrow and mostly through farmland. The highway had short steep hills that gave you the feeling like you were on a roller coaster when you got to the top and started to descend.

Road closure on Route 5

I stopped in Denver, Indiana expecting to meet Wes and Will for lunch. With about an hour or so to kill, I decided to get my run out of the way. I found a rails-to-trails pathway that was paved, but had cinders on the side. It also happened to be the route the bikers would be taking. I changed in the car and took off towards the trail, into the rain. At the halfway point, I turned around expecting to see them, but I could see no fluorescent vest for miles. Upon my return, I found them relaxing at the car. Apparently, I had run past the road they turned on and missed them completely.


It was still raining as the duo took off. I grabbed lunch at the only restaurant in town, while taking some time to read the local papers and a book. I looked at my watch to check the time. Our meeting time was around 6pm just south of Huntington.  My watch read 4:25, but I remembered that we had passed into the Eastern Time Zone. Frantically, I put away my book and zipped up to Huntington.

I arrived at the town center around 5:50. A large fairgrounds had closed down main street. By the time I found my way around, it was 6pm. I got a call from Wes with an update on his position. Seeing that I was a tad late, he decided to move the pickup point down the road at the Indiana Route 5 intersection. 5 minutes later, I ran into a roadblock at route 5, the bridge was closed due to floods. Again I called Wes and we found a final spot another mile down the road that had to work.
At 6:15, I arrived at the corner of 200S and 200E, next to a local power station. I could see two fluorescent jackets down the road peddling slowly towards me.

Day 21: Red Wing to La Crescent

I don't know if I expected to feel good waking up at 4:15, but it definitely didn't feel all that great. Surprisingly, Will got up easier than most mornings. Wes, as usual, was up and at em, putting his and Will's extra clothes into their luggage. By 4:25, we hit the road. At 5am precisely, the duo rolled out for their final day West of the Mississippi.

So why 5am? Why this absurdly early time? Will had cousins visiting him from San Diego. After the ride to La Crescent, we were set to drive back to Chicagoland to meet them. This had been the plan since day 1. But in addition now, Will had an orthodontist appointment scheduled for 5pm. Not wanting to ruin the 20 day century streak, 5am was a must do to keep the streak alive.

Back to the hotel I returned to load up. I laid down for a few minutes to catch up on some sleep, but that turned into a full blown rest stop. I awoke at 8am, car still not packed, and the bikers even further away. Quickly, I loaded everything in the car, and drove to meet them in Winona.

I figured now was going to be the only time to go for a run. I found a nice loop around the city lake. A solid 3.5 mile loop. I ran past a few fishing derbies, a leather back turtle as well as plenty of ducks and geese, which seemed unfazed by the closeness to the human activity.

I returned to the car to a text from Wes that they didn't see me in Winona. The old mill town of Pickwick was the final stop at this point to refuel. I zipped up and located them at the top of a small climb, but besides a water refill and a granola bar, the stop was quick. Wes urged me to get to the end location, load up the fuel tank and clear out the back of the car for the ride back to Chicago.

The duo arrived in La Crescent at 12:24pm. The century had taken them 7 hours 24 minutes with rest stops and all. Not wanting to miss the doctors appointment, we hopped in the car and sped towards Chicago.

Three weeks to the day it's been since the biking madness has begun. The bikers have covered 2774 miles. Earlier the summer, Will and Wes completed a portion of the ride from La Crescent, MN to Rensselaer, IN. Tonight, I'd get to return to Wilmette to spend the evening with my family and relax. 

I had one errand to run before I departed for Rensselaer, and that was to pickup break cables. I zipped on over to Higher Gear, where they were having the pre party for their annual fundraiser, the Grand Fondo Hundo. I said hi to the crew and talked about the trip so far. Brandon gave me the new Higher Gear jersey for Will to wear on the ride. After a few final handshakes, I took headed out the door, back home and to a nice home cooked meal before heading to bed. 

Day 20: Sunrise to Red Wing

As it has been so far, the early bird get the worm. 7am and minimal traffic on the Minnesota highways. I dropped Tom, Will and Wes at Sunrise before heading back to get the rest of the gear from the motel. Tom opted once again to leave his gear in the car.

A majority of the morning route for today was on a bike path down the Mississippi, in Wisconsin. I stayed in Minnesota for the morning however, as the path crossed over back into Minnesota just in time for lunch.

As I was leaving the town of Sunrise, I stopped at a metal sculpture park. It was quite the park, stretching at least a quarter mile in all directions. It's cool to think that scrap metal can be reused as art.

Before lunch, however, I hung out in Stillwater, Minnesota. Of the towns we have stopped in along the route, Stillwater may have been the hippest and most happening of them all. On a Wednesday afternoon, joggers, cyclists and many other active people were out on the town. I stopped in at the local bookstore cafe to work on my blog and chill for a bit.

I met the bikers in Afton for lunch. Wes had a conveniently timed meeting with a client, as we were joined by Keith, who happened to live in Afton. The lunch was good, but from what I could tell, not much business was discussed, just small talk. Keith has a lake cabin up on Lake Pokegema, the same lake where Camp Mishawaka (a camp I attended as a child) is located. 

After lunch, I zoomed up 20 miles to a small cafe called Oasis on the Wisconsin side of the river. The owners are avid cyclists and started the cafe specifically for bicycle riders who pass through. The cafe is located at the top of a large hill, so cyclists from either direction have a nice "oasis" to stop at. Anyways, it was a nice spot for some hill training. I knocked out 7 repeats and finished up in the local tree farm. The shade was quite refreshing and the small groups of trees all had their own unique scent. 

The bikers regrouped at Oasis. Tom decided to call it a day in Red Wing, as 2 centuries in a row was a stretch. Will and Wes were determined to shoot for 20 in a row. Once again, I found a motel, and chased after Will and Wes as they cleaned up their 100 for the day. They parked themselves at the intersections of two quiet highways. 

At dinner we discussed plans for the next day. Will and Wes decided they were gonna wake up super early to get in a century, then book it back to Chicago. Tom politely declined. After two days of riding, he was gonna take his own pace again, luggage and all. We bid Tom safe travels before heading to bed. Will wanted to wake up at 5am. Wes agreed, but I fell asleep before I heard anymore. 

Day 19: Holdingford to Sunrise

Tom

I woke up with my fellow campers at 7am, eager to get out of town to where the tap water was clear. Much like yesterday, a majority of the ride was set to be self supported. Surprisingly, Tom had elected to keep his paniers on his bike and not leave them with me in the support vehicle. I offered to take them today, but he declined.

The morning was set to be much like yesterday, mostly self support. I went and scoped out a place to run at Charles Lindberg State Park. The trails were refreshingly soft, a mix of dirt, stone and some unruly and uncharted sections. A large creek passed through the park. I used a long tree trunk to cross the creek. It was pretty cool.










After the run, I located the bikers on their route for lunch. We ate a local pizza place in Milaca. We kindly asked the waitress to fill our bottles, as we did not want to risk drinking the water from Holdingford.

I had one checkpoint after lunch. I decided to catch up on some postcards and chill by an old baseball field off the highway. After an hour or so they arrived. Tom was feeling it, I could tell. He immediately came over to me, handed me his bags and said, "I'm not gonna make it with these on board." I chuckled and gladly loaded them into the car. Once they determined the final destination for the day, I zipped over to City Center, a small town south of Sunrise, to book a motel.

Once I booked the motel, I received a call from Wes; Will's derailleur cable had snapped and they stopped by a local bike shop to pick up the part, however, Will would have to finish the ride in his lowest gear. I stored the extra bike in the room and popped up to Sunrise.

At last, we met up in Sunrise, a bit battered, but not broken. Will and Wes completed their 19th century in a row. Tom was exhausted, it was only his second century of the trip. After a warm shower and nice dinner, I set up my mini bike shop in the motel room.

Usually, a derailleur cable replacement is pretty routine, especially because I had already done so this trip. Much like the problem with Wes' bike, it snapped in the shifter at the beaded end. Unlike Wes' bike, this bike had internal routing. A carbon frame is hollow, but strong. The best cyclists in the world use carbon bikes because they are super light. For whatever reason, they decided it would be cool to route the shifter cables inside the frame. Overall, it looks better, less of a mess and doesn't get caught when you handle the bike. But for replacements, its a different story. I worked for an hour, got ideas from Will and Wes, but was unsuccessful. The wire had to be threaded through the frame and out a small hole in the bottom. Will would have to ride in 2 gears until Chicago, and the terrain was far from flat. Wes penned an email to Brandon at Higher Gear, hoping to get a look at it when we passed through Chicago. Before he pressed send, something that can only be described as a miracle occurred.

Long story short, it took 2 hours to change the cable, but it I went to bed relieved, albeit a bit exhausted.

Day 18: Fergus Falls to Holdingford

Wes and Will departed around 7am along with Tom. I got to sleep in a little bit. The route today was a bit different than previous days. The entire time, the bikers would stay on a bike trail. The trail was asphalt and while it passed through some towns, for the most part it was removed from the roadways. Therefore, Wes decided that it would be fine to go the entire day self supported. 

While at first I objected, I did think it would be nice to have a day to relax a little bit. I drove around town for a bit shopping for groceries and even stopped at a thrift store. I scored a sweet deal on a vinyl record of the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack. I can't wait to play in on the turntable. I also got a cool running hat. 

I was headed to lunch with the bikers when all of a sudden I saw something beautiful. An animal sanctuary with a grassy trail. Now, this trail was the epitome of a cross country course. It had a few inch tall grass, hills, some gravel, and windy conditions. On top of that there was a visitor center with air conditioning. I quickly pulled a U turn and headed to the entrance. 

It was everything I had dreamt it would be. Soft ground, challenging terrain, and nice conditions. It was so nice that I decided to do a ladder tempo on it. After the 3rd rep, I didn't like the hills as much and the wind was really getting annoying. Nevertheless, I finished my workout strong and headed to the visitor center to stretch and cool off. When I arrived the woman working there recognized the New Trier running singlet I was wearing and said she was from Glen Elyn. I didn't know how to respond so I just said "nice" and left. My people skills seemed to take a vacation on this trip.

By the time I grabbed lunch, the bikers had picked out a stopping point down the trail about 10 miles away. I was still over an hour from their location and quickly zipped over to Holdingford. 

The campground was situated right outside of town next to a skate park and baseball diamond. A creek was behind the camp sight and across the creek was a cow pasture. When I went to fill up my water bottle, the water coming from the faucets had a strong yellow tint. I didn't want to chance it, so I fed the flowers with it. 

At around 9pm, I decided to hit the sack. Tom, Will and Wes followed shortly after. In the middle of the night I was awoken by the sound of a nearby factory. I checked my watch: 1am. The pounding didn't stop until 2. 

Day 17: Kindred, ND to Fergus Falls, MN

Waking up at 6:15 wasn't easy for Will or me. Especially after our luxurious stay at the Element in Fargo. Getting off the elevator, we were greeted by a surprising number of folks up for breakfast. A swarm of kids were staring us as we exited the elevator with our bikes horizontal on the rear wheel.





After dropping the bikers at the Kindred cemetery, I headed back to the hotel to take advantage of the workout facility. It was state of the art, free weights, upright bicycles, treadmills, a Bose stereo system. The whole sha-bang. Once I had exhausted myself for a good hour, I stepped outside to get a breather and was greeted by pouring rain. On par with the rain in Sandpoint, this rain was also horizontal. However, I knew Wes and Will had rain-gear, and were prepared for this.









I returned to the room, did laundry, ate breakfast, then packed the car. It was still raining hard as I pulled out of the parking lot. I found a nice church to go to mass at 10:30. After communion, around 11:15, I got an urgent text from Wes. Along with the torrential downpour, he had flatted in the front. To make matters worse, the temperature had also dropped. I zipped over to their location, but got word they had repaired the flat and were continuing to ride. I located them 3 miles down the road, slowly making progress.

The rain was really coming down as we all sat in the car for a solid half hour, waiting for a break in the storm. The bikers busted out the shower towels and extra rain gear, to get into more comfortable apparel. After a good ten minutes more, the storm began to pass. All suited up, the duo braved the weather and pushed on, behind schedule but determined.

The delay in schedule called for supper at 4pm in Cormorant. We grabbed some grub at the local pub. The surrounding area started to remind me of the midwest again, especially southwest Michigan. The rolling hills of farmland sprinkled with a lake here or there was much like the drive to Three Rivers.

Around 8pm, the krew rolled up to the Jewel Motel in Kettle Falls. The town was a fairly well off community with a decent town center and a large population. The streets were like the suburban streets of the north shore back home. Before we headed off to dinner, we met a fellow biker staying at the same motel. Tom Swanson hails from Port Angeles, WA. He is doing the bike trip from his hometown to Cleveland as part of a charity ride. As we were leaving, the bikers decided to stick together tomorrow, to keep each other company.