Category: Across America – 90 days in Summer 2022

“Do you want a quarter or half?” Nicole asked. Steve just said, “I want a lot of potatoes” (see photo). I imagine Nicole has to put up with a lot of indecision ar 7am at Town & Country cafe in … Read the rest

The first clap of thunder happened during our cup of coffee so we hastily packed our bikes and high-tailed it to the nearby trail shelter. It was a bonus because it also had a bathroom and electricity to charge with. … Read the rest

Marla served us a delicious breakfast at the Sunshine Cafe in Eldora. Since some raccoons chewed a hole in my water bag, I bought a 2 liter water bottle at a Casey’s (a popular gas station store here in the … Read the rest

Mary made us a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes and sent us on our way. Thanks again Mary. We rode thru a few small towns and stopped at Landmark Bistro in Grundy Center for a tasty brisket sandwich.… Read the rest

I don’t mean summer rain, I mean the organization that arranges hosts and bike touring riders. More on that later.

Daryl, one of the owners of Lazy Acres and I chatted about cars and stuff (he has a 1970s Chevy … Read the rest

How could we not stop at a place called “Good Vibes Cafe” in Solon?Krystal, one of the owners, greeted us with a smile and some delicious breakfast burritos. We had a nice chat and her sign decorations were entertaining (see … Read the rest

The Big Cat himself served us breakfast at his cafe in downtown Muscatine. Locals Bob and Chuck were also caffeinating themselves before their ride. Bob was recovering from a crash he had last year when he had heart trouble during … Read the rest

Dara and I talked while Steve finished packing. Sounds like she’s doing a good job helping to raise her grandson. We took a great scenic ride along the river to the trendy Millhouse coffee shop. They had all the “B” … Read the rest

That’s slang for the Mississippi River apparently. It must be true, I read it on the interweb.

The egg sandwich at Subway tasted way better than it looked; or maybe we were just hungry after 25 miles. The Hennepin canal … Read the rest

Goodbye Marseilles. We rode to Utica for our second breakfast. There are several Uticas in the world but the first was an ancient city in North Africa built by the Phonecians. Utica, Illinois seems to have tailored itself for tourists … Read the rest

Since it was raining this morning we hid in our tents for a few hours until I couldn’t stand it. We took a slight break in the rain and rode across the river to Marseilles Family restaurant for breakfast, Tina … Read the rest

Janae and Conrad rode to our campground with another one of their club members, Goldie, to join us on our “escorted” ride west on the I&M canal path (Illinois & Michigan canal). We rode to the town of Morris and … Read the rest

We left the worst Motel 6 ever and rode into the train station to get there before 6am. The light traffic and cool temperature was nice. After hearing that the last stop before Chicago was Dyer, Indiana we decided to … Read the rest

We woke up early trying to beat the heat and get to the hardware store by noon. The route through Indianapolis was long and confusing. At one point , google maps routed us to the Nickel Plate trail which seemingly … Read the rest

We decided to go visit some of my relatives at the Suding Hardware Store in Indianapolis so I called the store to make arrangements. My dad’s uncle Henry started the store I think in the 1930s. My dad even worked … Read the rest