Solo Touring

**footloose** · 03-08-2010, 04:23 PM

Biketouringrook-...I only live a 1/2 hour away from Dresden and Uncle Tom's Cabin. In fact, I was the gardener for that property for several years when it was part of the St. Clair Parks Commission.
If I can be of any assistance to you for information about this area beforehand or help you in any way when you get here, please feel free to shoot me a PM!

**shootingstar** · 03-08-2010, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by footloose

Biketouringrook-...I only live a 1/2 hour away from Dresden and Uncle Tom's Cabin. In fact, I was the gardener for that property for several years when it was part of the St. Clair Parks Commission.
If I can be of any assistance to you for information about this area beforehand or help you in any way when you get here, please feel free to shoot me a PM!

Wow, what a tiny world! You might actually know my good friend. She's lived there for past few decades. I am sOOOOO curious...now.

Whatever you do footloose, please, please support more efforts on cycling infrastructure there..ie. bike paths, bike lanes. The area does have potential. I realize those agricultural vehicles pose a challenge....

And I wish I could have bought a ton of butternut squash from your area. So cheap and fresh. It's expensive in Toronto, Vancouver, etc.

**footloose** · 03-08-2010, 06:54 PM

Originally Posted by shootingstar

Wow, what a tiny world! You might actually know my good friend. She's lived there for past few decades. I am sOOOOO curious...now.

Whatever you do footloose, please, please support more efforts on cycling infrastructure there..ie. bike paths, bike lanes. The area does have potential. I realize those agricultural vehicles pose a challenge....

And I wish I could have bought a ton of butternut squash from your area. So cheap and fresh. It's expensive in Toronto, Vancouver, etc.

All my riding is done on the secondary, rural roads in this area. It mostly is pretty flat with some pretty mild hills in places. I throw my bike on the rack and drive to places that have hills just for the variety. There is not a lot in the way of "trails" or "lanes" but traffic is pretty light and I've never had any problems. It is pleasant riding with tidy farms and pastures to look at and a lot of crop land.

I'll MAIL you oodles of squash! haha It's sold by the wagonfull at the ends of farm driveways all over the county in the fall! I wish I could figure out how to post photos on this site...I have photos of the cutest farm done up with squash and pumpkin people all over the yard. And another of a "pumpkin people" zydeco band that is just hilarious!

**Biketouringrook** · 03-09-2010, 05:10 PM

Footloose, thank you very much for the offer. I'm sure as I near that time I will have many, many questions and will surely contact you.

**Biketouringrook** · 04-04-2010, 03:08 PM

Okay guys, I take off in 4 more days. Here's a picture of my new set up. I will provide details upon my return. Happy cycle touring to you all!

**shootingstar** · 04-04-2010, 05:31 PM

So it looks like little yellow duckie is going along for the adventure ride too!

I wish you a most memorable and safe journey. Remember to drop by any public library in North America to check into TE forums here about your ride.

We are here to learn, advise and cheer you on, Biketouringrook!

**Tri Girl** · 04-04-2010, 05:44 PM

I can't wait to hear ALL about your journey!!! Please update as often as you can. I'll be living vicariously through your adventure (so have a little extra adventure for me, too, please).

Safe travels, happy miles, and blessings on your trip!

**AnnieBikes** · 04-05-2010, 01:37 PM

Have a wonderful and safe trip. I look forward to hearing about your trip! Stop and smell the roses!

**Biketouringrook** · 04-14-2010, 06:25 AM

Oh God!!!!!This is so hard! The waether is very nice, but the wind and the hills are not so kind. Yesterday was my worse cycling day ever. I don't consider myself to be a weak person, but yesterday I PUSHED my bike up some of the most impossible hills. I have never seen hills so steep. The first two days were a blissful ride of 100 miles of bike trails. I had to find an emergency hotel because I went two miles out of the way to a campsite that was not a campsite. I was so tired. Today I have renewed energy and will continue on. I am told by the hoterl desk clerk to expect some of the same hills as yesterday.
Along other lines, the people that I have are so very nice and enjoyable to talk with. I have my people from all parts of life. I only have 11 more days to go. Oh boy! will write more later when I find another computer.

**tulip** · 04-14-2010, 09:14 AM

There's no shame in walking if the hills are too hard. I see you are from South Florida...no matter how strong you are, if you can't practice riding hills, they will be difficult. Put it in a low gear and enjoy the scenery as it slowly passes by.

**shootingstar** · 04-14-2010, 02:11 PM

Excellent Biketouringrook! Let us know your mileage in your next message to us --include the distance that you walked with bike up the hill. It still requires physical effort just to push the bike with weight upward.

So you will be done in 11 days? Thought you were planning to go up to the Canada-U.S. border.

Maybe you're superwoman.

Or at least, you'll feel like it soon!

**MomOnBike** · 04-15-2010, 07:39 AM

What's wrong with walking a few hills, I'd like to know? Really, you and your bike made it up and over the problem hills under your own steam - you just chose a more, um, convienent method. (At least that's what I told myself on tour)

You could also think of it as cross-training.

Keep it up, m'girl. All forward motion is good. Take pictures, and don't forget to blog.

**Tri Girl** · 04-15-2010, 02:04 PM

Glad you're having a lot of fun. There's NO shame in walking a hill- or crawling a hill- or stop and take a nap halfway up because you're so dead tired.

I'm so thrilled that you're having fun!!! Can't wait to hear from you again.

**Biketouringrook** · 04-18-2010, 02:44 PM

Thank you all so much! I was somewhat discouraged on that last message.
But now, this is it......I moving to Ohio! I love this place. I can hardly believe how nice and approachable the people are, even the teenagers. I am now on my back back. I didn't make it to Erie, PA. I stopped at Oberlin. I stayed one full day in Oberlin for picture taking, rest, and other stuff. On the morning of my leaving Oberlin to head for PA, the weather was really cold and it began raining little dropplets of ice (hail?). It kind of scared me and thought I should no head there.

Oberlin is so, so beautiful and peaceful. I love that place! no one is in a rush.
oh, oh, oh...let me tell ya....I got lost so many times. After I made my peace with the "hill gods" there was always someone around the corner to help me out. Boy, do I have some funny stories. I ran across one guy three times in my getting lost. He thought is was so funny. He gave me directions, and I still went the wrong way. So he decided to guide me through by driving ahead and parking his truck where I should turn (didn't I tell y'all these people were nice). Another guy passed me, went to his home, came back to find me and gave me some electrolite drink packages.

Now, here I am back at the hotel where I first took refuge fromi all of my discouragement from getting lost and overwhelmed by those darn hills. This time it is not my poor navigational skills that brought me here. I was actually 10 miles from my soon to be campsite, when I stopped at a dairy bar to get something to eat. While standing there a woman approached me and we talked about cycle touring and what I was doing. She said her husband is into cycle touring and is headed for the second time on some Smokey Mountain cycle tour. She then said "I hope your not planning to camp at Kokosing campground?" Of course I was...her next words were "they are no longer open." Just my luck! There were not hotels, motels, or other campgrounds close around, so I had to go back to a place that I remember (Comfort Inn) a distance of 12 miles away.

I love cycling in the cold. You may have a constant runny nose, but your water will stay cold, and you won't overheat. Last night was really cold. The RV'ers were worried about me. One guy offered me a small heater (Now where I am gonna put a heater in a tent). I put my tent up, set every thing inside, took a shower, ate something, climb into my nice 15 degree sleeping back and after about 30 minutes, I began to worry. It seemed that my feet were getting colder. I said to myself "okay rookie, this is some serious cold, this is not that Florida stuff, you don't want to freeze here and you don't have a car." I reached in my bag, pulled out my shoe covers for cold ridding and placed them on my feet. NOthing was happening. So I took my cycling tights placed my feet inside of the tights and after about 20 minutes I began to warm up. After about an hour it got kinda hot in the sleeping bag, but I remained.

Gosh, I love this stuff! If the slaves actually traveled this rounted they have every ounce of my respect. I was having a difficult time traveling 400 miles one way on bike, when they walked over 3000 miles. Those cars will spoil you.....

Well, this is it for now, I look so forward to picking up the bike trail again.

**Biketouringrook** · 04-18-2010, 02:51 PM

I forgot this part......I'm at just a little over 400 miles, 17,150 calories burned, and about 100 miles of bike pushing hills. I think today I pushed up 5 hills. I don't think my legs work anymore....Also I have some chaffing, in spite of my chamois cream use. But it does not bother me, because I seem to do more walking than ridding.

As in the movie "Too Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything!"

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