The last few days have been so great! Thank you to my Franklin Heights Book Club friends for coming down to support me on the Capitol when I rolled in- Andrea, Carol, Cathy and Kathy. So good to see you and hang out on the picnic blanket. My son Max and a few of his friends greeted me with a Wisco flag on arrival too. And miss Lily, so nice to meet you. I was also happy to see friends Colette and Matt and my brother Hans and sister-in-law Denine. Of course Honza- took great care of me and did my laundry too! En route to Milwaukee I got to ride with my coach Tom Murray- what a treat! And also had a fan club of my sister Maggie, brother and Denine and my dad as we passed on the bike trail in Wales.
I am humbled and grateful for the support, well wishes and energy that I receive from so many people. I can’t believe it myself that I actually rode from the ocean to Lake Michigan! Wild. It doesn’t seem real until each day, event, hotel, vista, mountain, wind, extreme heat, sing-along and conversation flashes in my mind. The other day Joe, who is the trek travel contact who books riders and who I first spoke to in February 2023, he said that it will take a while for all of this to download- weeks to months or years even.
Madison was a much needed rest day with a massage, food and friends and family. Our ride to Milwaukee on Sunday would take us through my home turf of Oconomowoc where I grew up. Most of the non-Wisco folks had to practice pronunciation- agreed it is tricky. Wau-kee-Shaw, Mow-Wau-key. Yea, ya betcha
This morning I woke to thunder and was prepared to sag, get a ride, to lunch if it was thunder-booming at departure time. It was rather last minute as the rain continued and the rough stuff passed on. So we had a wet day. Many things happened- a bridge was out and we got to traverse the mud bank to cross it, deep standing water, downed electrical wires, marching bands and the rain. Oh and I ran over a big stick and my back derailer went kaput-zo. It want I to ‘crash mode’ but our fantastic rockstar Rae fixed it. I did t have to ride in the last 30 miles in a fixed gear. It was a wet day and we all made it to the Iron Horse hotel intact. Although one rider, Larry got turned around in Madison and was almost to the Illinois border before he made his way in the right direction. We might need a buddy system. Or gps tracking chips.
Tomorrow we get to ride the fast ferry to state #9 And eastern time! Here we come Michigan!!
