— Saturday we biked 60 wet miles from Burton, Ohio to New Waterford, Ohio. There was thunder and lightning throughout the night and we set out at 6 am in a steady drizzle. It was mostly rolling hills and farmland interspersed with small, hard-scrabble towns and a fast-moving, urban traffic. We passed through several AmishContinue reading “Big Ride Update: Days 41 & 42”
Monthly Archives: July 2012
Big Ride update: Day 40
Today we biked 92 miles from Sandusky, Ohio to Burton, Ohio. We rode along Lake Erie to downtown Cleveland and got caught in a torrential downpour for about 20 minutes. One of the Big Riders, Liz, lives in Cleveland so her mother cooked us delicious food for lunch and brought it to our checkpoint. LizContinue reading “Big Ride update: Day 40”
Big Ride Update: Days 38 & 39
–Wednesday we biked 88 miles from Napoleon, Ohio to Sandusky, Ohio. It was a flat route along gentle farmland that showed Ohio’s agricultural and rural side–the Buckeye State is part of the Grain Belt as well as the Rust Belt. We stopped at a bike shop in Bowling Green that opened early especially for usContinue reading “Big Ride Update: Days 38 & 39”
Big Ride Update: Days 35, 36 & 37
–Sunday we rode 86 miles from Coal City, Illinois to Valparaiso, Indiana, entering our ninth state and enjoying an easy ride except for construction detours and reroutes as well as some rough roads and rough motorists. We saw the suburban side of the Hoosier state with many homes, both grand and modest, decked with theContinue reading “Big Ride Update: Days 35, 36 & 37”
Big Ride Update: Day 34
Today we rode 106 miles from Garden Prairie to Coal City, Illinois. It was a long but fairly straightforward ride with many small towns and flat, open fields of corn, wheat and soy bean interspersed with horse farms and wind farms. We had two riders join us for the day. We are staying in CoalContinue reading “Big Ride Update: Day 34”
Immortal Bird interview and Big Ride update: Day 33
Immortal Bird interview and Big Ride update: Day 33.
Immortal Bird interview and Big Ride update: Day 33
–For readers and would-be readers of Immortal Bird, a half hour interview I taped with Richard Heffner, the fabled host of Open Mind, will start its on-air broadcast career at 12 noon tomorrow Saturday, July 21st, 2011 on WNET/Channel 13. It will be re-broadcast on CUNY-TV, Channel 75 on Sunday, August 12th at 9:30 a.m.Continue reading “Immortal Bird interview and Big Ride update: Day 33”
Big Ride Update: Days 30 &31
Tuesday we rode 67 steep miles from Winona, Minnesota to Viroqua, Wisconsin, crossing the Mississippi to our seventh state–“America’s Dairy”–and riding along the river valley before we climbed arduously into Amish country in 100+heat, then roller-coasted through more hills into Viroqua. We pitched our tents at the Vernon County Fairgrounds until some people learned theyContinue reading “Big Ride Update: Days 30 &31”
Big Ride Update: Day 29
Today we rode 89 miles from Owatonna to Winona, Minnesota and officially passed the 2000-mile mark in our 3300-mile bike ride. It was a hot day with temperatures breaking 100 degrees–one rider registered 104 degrees–but otherwise the ride was fairly smooth with some minor construction and a long stretch of rolling hills dotted with lovelyContinue reading “Big Ride Update: Day 29”
Big Ride Update: Day 27 & 28
Saturday we had a rest day in New Ulm, that German-founded “town of charm and tradition” in southern Minnesota; and Sunday we rode 72 miles through farm country and various towns to Owatonna or “O-town” a city in Steele County with significant manufacturing, insurance and historical buildings that include the Minnesota State School for DependentContinue reading “Big Ride Update: Day 27 & 28”
Immortal Bird Postscript 