Tour de Nebraska 2023

The Tour de Nebraska is a five-day SAG-supported ride. This year's ride is in southeast Nebraska with 350 riders and includes Columbus, Albion, and Norfolk as host towns.

Columbus Arrival

Day 0: Travel day. Camping check-in was any time after 3 p.m. I arrived around 3:15, found a space in the shade and got set up. Then I went over to the hotel to check into the ride. We got a t-shirt, bandanna, and a small pack of road goodies.

Dinner was a cheeseburger and a bowl of mixed fruit. They had a live band that seemed pretty good, but no beer, so few people stayed to listen.

After dinner I walked over to the river. Water levels are very low this year. They could use some rain, but there's currently nothing in the forecast before Saturday.

Temperatures are warm. It was 90 degrees this afternoon and is still near 80 in the evening, with a low in the upper 60s. We're somewhat near the train tracks. It apparently requires eight whistles to go through town. It might be a long night.

Columbus to Albion

Day 1: 51 miles, 900 feet of elevation gain. It was a long night. Between the six or more overnight trains and people driving through the park with loud music, there wasn't much sleep to be had. That made being up early easier. We were essentially all awake at 5 a.m. and packed up. We had breakfast at the hotel and hit the road right around sunrise. The weather forecast was for a chance of rain early and then a high around 90.

Most of the day's ride was very well marked with signs and arrows painted on the street. I don't remember getting lost at all and no GPS issues. My cell phone battery is only holding a partial charge, so I can't use the phone during the ride if I want to save it for emergencies.

The first half of the ride was what I typically think of for Nebraska, quite flat and mile after mile of corn fields. But in early summer with the corn knee high, even that is very pretty. The second half of the ride was much more rolling hills, streams, and a variety of agricultural land uses.

It looked for awhile like we were going to get rain, but the storm moved north faster than we did and it missed us. Speaking of missing things, there were SAG stops in two small towns along the way, but I never saw anything. So I just kept going.

We got to the lunch town about 45 minutes early. I say we. I picked up a riding partner. Travis and I have similar gravel bikes and a similar pace. He rode this ride before and knew where lunch was, or we would have missed that stop, too. It turns out we and another rider were the first three in town. They welcomed us in and we had a nice lunch. They were sponsoring a trip to the east coast for a small group of high schoolers, and most of those planning to go were there helping, somewhat unenthusiastically, to make lunches. We suggested some of them go out in the street to wave passing bikers in and they got more riders coming in after that.

The rest of the ride was rolling hills on a fairly busy highway. There was a good shoulder, and most drivers moved over when they could. The exciting part was when two hog transport trucks were coming in opposite directions. But we survived without any close calls.

Camp is on the county fairgrounds. I found a nice place next to the show barn to set up my tent. It should be much quieter this evening. It rained briefly as I was getting everything set up, but no issues otherwise. Once the rain cleared I went to get a shower. They had a RAGBRAI shower truck, eight stalls, pull the cord for a light stream of lukewarm water. It had stayed cloudy all day. Good for riding, but not as good for a brisk shower. So it was a brief shower.

Then we took a short trolley ride into town for a welcome reception at the local bar followed by food trucks and music. The beer was good, the food was okay, and the lines were slow. Then we headed back to camp and almost everyone turned in early.

Albion Loop

Day 2: 61 miles, 2,350 feet of elevation gain. It's nice not having to pack up this morning. There were some late arrivals to camp last night with cars driving in but otherwise a good night's sleep. I got dressed and headed into town for breakfast. After breakfast, I started trying to follow the GPS. Nothing was marked and there were riders going in all four directions. I followed the GPS track and it brought me back to camp. So I asked at the registration tent which way to go. With a firm grasp of the obvious he told me that I had crossed the trail and I had to get out on the right direction first before GPS directions would work. Then they looked at it and sent me out on the trail - in the exact wrong direction. As I started to head out of town I checked the map again and realized the error and then used Google to find a waypoint in the right direction. Past the camp one more time and I was on my way.

Lots of rolling hills today. Lots of them. The first leg of the journey is 14 miles down a fairly busy road with only a slight shoulder. Most drivers were safe but there was one idiot in a pickup who decided to pass a car while the car was passing riders. The pickup went off the left shoulder and kicked up dust and gravel everywhere. I passed another biker who said if she was their mom, they'd be grounded for life. Fortunately, all survived without injury.

After 14 miles we were able to turn onto quieter roads. It was a very pleasant ride with rolling hills and nice views. Several towns welcomed us along the way. In the lunch town I stopped twice. Once for a homemade breakfast burrito, or at least a Nebraska version of one, and also for a potato bar that I took to go for a second lunch later.

It stayed partly cloudy for most of the morning. It didn't get hot until the last 12 miles or so. Those were on another busy road with lots of hills. At one point I saw ten cars and trucks lined up behind four bikers trying to get up a hill. I just pulled off and waited for the traffic to pass. But at least everyone was patient and there were no more incidents.

I got back to camp relatively early. This time I went to the local community water park for a shower. That was nice. Warm water and good pressure. After checking email I headed into town for a beer. I ended up meeting new friends from the previous night and we had dinner and listened to music. The food options were better this evening. I got a double slice of apple pie from a high school group planning a trip to Spain.

We met a local family there and got to know them. Very nice family, the daughter is going to be a high school senior this year. A very typical and very pleasant small town experience all the way around. 

We headed back to camp and arrived just before a small thunderstorm went through. It blew the host tent over but everything else was good. After that, we turned in.

Albion to Norfolk

Day 3: 61 miles, 2,000 feet of elevation gain. I signed up for the gravel ride today. Weather was questionable last night but seemed okay this morning. So we headed north out of Albion and turned onto a dirt road. Then we turned down what would best be described as a farm path. Washed out, washboard ruts, etc. There were several miles of this, ending with a hike-a-bike around a 100 yard mud pit as a result of irrigation the day before.

Shortly after the mud pit, another rider had his chain slip and bend between the two front cogs. I got out my Leatherman pliers and he was able to fix it enough to at least ride up the remaining hills and limp into town.

We got into town and stopped at a cafe with good pie. They had at least 10 kinds of pie. I had cherry. While we were there a local metrologist who was on the ride said not to leave because of an incoming storm. So we waited out the storm for about an hour. It was nasty on the radar, but mostly dissipated by the time it got to us.

Anyway, the wait put us well behind the rest of the riders. The SAG stops were gone, packing up, and/or essentially out of food for the rest of the ride. The sun came out and it got hot (mid 80s). I passed a rider who was out of water. Fortunately, I was carrying an extra bottle and was able to share. After lunch there were still 20 miles to go. It was hot with wind in our faces most of the way.

We did get to ride the Cowboy Trail into Norfolk. It's a very well maintained gravel path, and continues on as a concrete bike path in Norfolk. At the last rest stop I realized I left my cooling towel behind somewhere. And then I left my extra water bottle behind at the rest stop. Tired, hungry, and probably a bit dehydrated. I'll have to do a better job keeping track of everything on future rides.

I went to Subway for dinner, got a Mike's Harder Lemonade at the local convenience mart and then sat with new friends until sunset. Then we turned in to try and get some sleep before storms were expected to roll in overnight.

Norfolk Option Day

Day 4: 31 miles, 400 feet of elevation gain.

The police woke us up at 3 a.m. to move us into the field house with severe thunderstorms on the way. We waited until after 6 for the storms to pass, had breakfast, and went back to our tents for more sleep. Fortunately, the tent was dry and I was able to get back to sleep for awhile.

There were planned options for a 42-mile ride and a 101-mile ride today. Unfortunately, I was exhausted and just not up to it. Instead, I decided to ride back to where I left my spare water bottle, and then continue down the Cowboy Trail. The water bottle was gone, but I rode the Cowboy Trail for 8 miles. The distance choice was simply to make it a total of 200 miles over four days. And to enjoy the farm views along the trail.

After returning to town, I stopped at Domino's Pizza and had a Pasta Primavera Bread Bowl. Heavy on the carbs was just what I needed, and I started to have more energy after that. One of the other options for the day was a kayak ride down the Elkhorn River. So I put my swimsuit on and boarded the van to the river.

The water level was quite low. The previous day it was very low. But with the heavy rain overnight, water levels were deceivingly higher. The problem was, once I was on the river, I couldn't see where the channel was. A good bit of the river ride included either dragging the kayak over sand bars, or doing knuckle drag / sitting push ups to move the kayak along the sand. Water temperatures were good, and there were no beasties hiding in the sand, so it was fine, just more work than a typical kayak river ride.

The river was very pretty and very quiet. And there were clear remnants of the awesome power of the river during the spring melt and in wetter seasons.

The end of the fourth day includes a dinner celebration with food trucks, music, and several awards and recognitions. There was also a marriage proposal. She said "Yes!" Then we returned to our tents and had beer and good conversation with new friends. We turned in well after dark and were probably a bit of a nuisance to those around us, but no one said anything.

Norfolk to Columbus

Day 5: 61 miles, 2,100 feet of elevation gain. Wind started to pick up as we went to sleep. We had 25mph winds with gusts well into the 30s overnight and the temperature dropped into the low 60s. I woke up and put on my merino wool and went back to sleep. It was the best night of sleep I've had in a week, despite the constant wind blowing and tent flapping.

I slept a bit later than planned and got on the road around 6:30. We had 25 mph sustained winds with gusts to 45 mph. Fortunately, that was tailwinds to start the day. It was amazing. At one point I ran out of gears and looked down to see I was hitting 26.5 mph. Not downhill. Just flat out riding the wind.

As much fun as that was, it wasn't to last. We then turned across the wind and the gusts became more concerning. For some reason, the wind catches my front wheel and pushes it to the side. So I had to hold on tight whenever the gusts came up. Just before lunch we turned into the wind. That lasted for two miles before lunch and more than six miles after lunch. It was so windy there were white caps on the lakes.

Fortunately, we then turned south again and were able to ride with the wind the rest of the way into Columbus. There was also a nice pie stop half way down. I had apple. Then we finished the ride back to Columbus, packed up, and got showers at the local water park.

Since we were in by noon, I thought I'd be able to make it back to Illinois by evening. It turned out I was much more exhausted than I realized. I made it about three hours down the road, stopping at multiple rest stops along the way. Then I got a hotel room in Iowa, picked up a turkey wrap and a beer, and slept for 10 hours.

Epilogue

265 miles over five days and 667 miles over the last 15 days. That's a lot of miles.

This was a really interesting contrast between the self-supported Illinois ride the week before, the Le Tour de Shore ride last weekend, and Tour de Nebraska this week. I found out I do a much better job of knowing my ride when I do the planning. When someone else plans the ride, I trust my GPS too much.

I prefer the Le Tour de Shore approach of including food at the SAG stops. The Tour de Nebraska was much more hit-or-miss. Some of the stops were wonderful. Interestingly, the stops that provided food for free and just asked for a goodwill donation were exceptionally good. The stops that had a fixed price for food were mostly overpriced and the quality was usually lacking. For example, I got to pay $10 for a plate of spaghetti and another $10 for a baked potato and a few toppings. But most of the other stops were better.

What was also surprising again on this ride was, even when riding with 350 other people, how most of the riding is alone. Few people ride at the same pace, and for any who do, if you set out at different times, you never see each other. So you do have times early in the ride where others pass you or you pass others. But after that, you're pretty much alone until lunch. Then again, a few miles after the lunch stop and you won't see many people until the next SAG stop.

So I had lots of time to think about family, friends, life, etc. One thing I realized was how much these rural rides remind me of my grandmother's community in southern Pennsylvania. Almost every town gave me that "I've been here before" feeling. It just happened to have been in a different state.

For the most part, the Tour de Nebraska is well-organized. The town of Albion was amazing, well-planned, and very welcoming. Columbus was noisy. Norfolk has good potential, but we were too far away to enjoy the town itself. I'll consider riding this tour again in the future, particularly if any of my new friends want to go again next year.

Dubuque to New Buffalo

The Adventure Begins

This is my first bikepacking trip. The plan is for a seven-day adventure from Dubuque, IA to New Buffalo, MI. The first five days are self-supported. The last two days I will be joining up with Le Tour de Shore, a 100-mile ride from downtown Chicago to New Buffalo, MI.

I first rode in Le Tour de Shore in 2021. One of my daughters lived in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago near the Lakefront Trail. I rode to her house the day before, and then rode to Indiana Dunes and New Buffalo with the tour for a three day, three state ride.

In 2022, I decided to start in Genoa City, Wisconsin and make it a four day, four state ride. It was only a quarter-mile into Wisconsin, and we only go a few miles into Michigan, but it sounds (and feels) more impressive as four states over four days.

I don't consider either of the first two tours to be true bikepacking trips. I stayed in homes or hotels each night and only hauled what I needed for the days' rides and a change of clothes in a Topeak MTX TrunkBag.

This year, I decided to start in Dubuque and make it a seven-day, five state ride. Three nights will be in homes and three nights are self-supported camping. The route essentially follows the northern segments of the Grand Illinois Trail, except that I deferred to Ride with GPS to hopefully provide the safest route.

I now have four Ortlieb panniers, two Fork-Packs up front and two Sport-Roller Plus in the back. My sleep system (tent, quilt, pad, etc.) fits in a 31L Rack Pack that clips in on top of the rear panniers. These are collectively very small panniers. The approach was intentional to keep weight down and force me to not bring things I don't really need. We'll see if I chose wisely.

Dubuque to Galena Territory

Day 1: 33 miles, 2,600 feet of elevation gain. I averaged a little over 10 MPH, which seems good for the elevation included. Weather was challenging. It was very cool (mid to upper 50s, cloudy) and a strong northeast wind (20+). Most of the ride wasn't into the wind, but there were moments.

An observation: As a flatlander, I didn't know how to judge the hills in terms of effort. My guideline now is, assume each 1,000 feet of elevation is equivalent to an extra 5 miles of distance if it was flat terrain. Calorie-wise, it's a pretty fair assessment. Effort-wise, it may be underestimating, but it certainly helps, Meaning today felt more like 45-50 miles rather than 33.

Important notes: Layering works. You need a base layer, you need another layer, you need a windbreaker layer. Thank God for merino wool. It gets wet, but it doesn't get cold, and it wicks quickly. It's expensive, but worth it. The only thing that got cold today was my ears.

There weren't any special stops along the way today. It was short enough that I just rode from start to finish with stops for snacks I was carrying along the way.

Things to watch out for:

It's not obvious how to get onto Route 20 in Dubuque. Best suggestion is to look for the Burger King just south of the Route 20 bridge. That puts you on the right side of the road.

The hills are challenging. Practically speaking, I walked anything over 5% grade (three hills). Anything below that I was able to pedal up. I ultimately found a good rhythm for the hills. No sprints, no hurry, just ride like you're going to be at it all day and get it done.

My GPS lied to me. It sent me down a road that came to a No Trespassing sign. Three-mile detour to get back to where I needed to be and an extra 500+ feet of elevation to go with it. I need to always compare Google and RideWithGPS / Garmin to make sure they all agree on the best path to take.

The route was mostly very light traffic. The least friendly part was Stagecoach Trail. The "shoulder" is deep loose gravel, and there were several occasions where there were cars coming in both directions and I had to move onto the shoulder to feel safe.

Otherwise, several of the views are breathtaking, with many miles of farms and rolling hills. A nice ride!

Galena Territory to Seward Bluffs

Day 2: 71 miles, 3,600 feet of elevation gain. I averaged almost 12 MPH, which was really good considering the elevation gain. Weather was sunny with a high in the upper 60s and a strong wind over my left shoulder.

The climb out of Galena territory was brutal. I walked three hills that were over 6% grade and rode the rest.

My favorite part of the ride was the Jane Addams Trail south into Freeport. It's a nice dirt and gravel two track for most of the part I was on, and it's an old rail trail, so nice and flat.

My least favorite parts were the climb, the distance, and the lack of water or anything else before Freeport. I stopped at a BP gas station and got a cheeseburger in Freeport. That was about it. It was a surprisingly good cheeseburger, or I was just really hungry.

I camped in Seward Bluffs Forest Preserve. It was very quiet. maybe five to ten families in the whole campground. Not much in the way of amenities. An outhouse and some water spigots here and there. But it was good for a night and close to where I needed a stop.

The rain held off until I was able to finish making dinner. We had rain for the rest of the evening and some overnight.

Seward Bluffs to Genoa City

Day 3: 75 miles, 2,000 feet of elevation gain. It looked like it was going to rain when I got up, but it held off and cleared for a while. But it started coming down by 11:30 and rained for the rest of the day. The theme for the day was "Embrace the suck!" Wind from the northwest and totally soaked by the end of the ride.

They say there's no bad weather, only bad clothing. I'll disagree. There is bad weather, but good clothing makes it tolerable. While I was soaked, I wasn't cold at all. The biggest challenge was having to remove my visor to see the GPS.

There were really nice parts of the ride today. The Pecatonica Trail is a nice gravel path. The river trails in Rockford aren't contiguous, but are very pretty when they are there. The trail from Rockford to Rock Cut State Park is gorgeous. The Long Prairie Trail is nice. The Hebron Trail needs work along the train tracks, but the rest is okay.

The parts between the trails were fairly light traffic-wise, so from that perspective it's a good route. But I'm kind of done with long straight country roads for awhile. I'm glad tomorrow is all trails.

I want to highly recommend the Broken Spoke in Genoa City. Food was excellent, Spotted Cow on tap, good music and excellent service. Stop in if you are in the area.

The only things to watch out for are to fill up (food and water) in Rockford. There really wasn't anything after that until Hebron. And Rock Cut State Park's south road was under construction. Harlem Road was a good alternative.

Genoa City to Palatine

Day 4: 51 miles, 1,100 feet of elevation gain. Weather was cool to start, but warmed up enough for a long sleeve jersey and shorts by the time I departed. It was a slow start today. I didn't get on the road until almost 9 a.m. It was also a slow day in general. I had a real energy deficit going.

I pretty much ate all day long. Breakfast before I started. Snack 10 miles in. Multiple snacks (basically grazing) 20 miles in. Stopped for a big lunch 30 miles in. Got to the end and had dinner, twice. And I just finished with a late-night snack. If you're going to do long rides over multiple days, plan your food and count your calories. I wasn't really hungry until today, but I should have been eating more all along.

This is one of my favorite rides. The first 8 miles are gravel, but quite pretty. Last year I saw a coyote cross my path. This year it was a deer. Once you get to McHenry, the path is paved all the way to Elgin, and then on to Palatine. There are several rest stops along the way north of Crystal Lake. From Crystal Lake to Elgin, there are water stops as well. Then a quick 16 miles or so east to Palatine.

While I was riding today, I was struck by how much more we are capable of than what we typically expect of ourselves. As I rode past farm after farm, I was reminded of the Europeans who settled in Northern Illinois. They came by sailing ship, and then horseback and covered wagon. Some of them walked. They endured hardships, worked the land, and built their farms. They worked harder than many of us ever do, but most of us are still capable of that effort if we set our minds to it.

Riding 230 miles in four days makes you think about what you can accomplish if you want to.

Things to watch for:

Depending on the time of year and water level, the views of the Fox River can be very nice from Algonquin to Elgin. South End Park in West Dundee is one of my favorites. There's also a bridge under I 90 with a park to the west, and several nice parks on the east side along the river.

D.C. Cobbs in East Dundee has good food. I've stopped there several times and never been disappointed.

Things to watch out for:

There are serious hills just north of Crystal Lake. I walked all three of them today. Between my low energy level and the extra weight of the overnight packs, pedaling wasn't an option. I also walked up the hill from the river in Elgin. Sometimes, you have to focus on getting to the end rather than how you get to the end.

Make sure you go through the neighborhood in Hoffman Estates (just east of Elgin) rather than going down Shoe Factory Road. Shoe Factory is busy, there's no shoulder, and the drivers typically aren't bike-friendly.

There is no water on trail from Elgin to Palatine. But there is a hotel about half way, between the two forest preserves. I've stopped there for water when necessary. There is also the Assembly Bar and Cafe on Barrington Road, which is a convenient bike stop if you're hungry or thirsty.

Palatine to Winnetka

Day 5: 30 miles, 350 feet of elevation gain. This was an easy day / rest day. I left in late afternoon and arrived just after sunset. Weather was cool/cold with a strong northeast wind off the lake. I dressed for the temperature, but underestimated the wind chill and had to stop and add an extra layer before turning north.

There are several ways to head east from Palatine. The one I've found I like the best is to go over to Rolling Meadows High School and then down White Oak and Lincoln and then zig zag south and east until you get to Algonquin Rd. Then there are bike lanes that will take you to the Des Plaines River Trail.

If you head south on the Des Plaines River Trail and then take Sibley and Howard Street, you can follow bike lanes to the North Branch Trail and go north to Winnetka (and beyond) or south and east to Chicago and the lakefront. The North Branch Trail is amazing, and one of my two favorite trails in the Chicago area. The other would be in the Oak Brook area on the way to Brookfield Zoo.

Things to watch for:

Wildlife. I had never been on this trail in the evening. I saw at least two dozen deer, some within just a few feet of the bike trail.

Things to watch out for:

Traffic between the two forest preserves. This ride wasn't too bad, but in the past I almost got run over on Howard at Milwaukee and Harlem by someone turning left across the bike lane.

Winnetka to Indiana Dunes

Day 6: 81 miles. 950 feet of elevation gain. The longest day of the trip, but also the flattest. We stayed essentially along the lakefront for the entire journey. Weather was cool with a strong northeast wind. The lake was angry, with 8-10 foot waves crashing against the breakwater.

I got started around 6:15 and made it downtown by 8 a.m. The Green Bay Trail is good, but you have to pay attention to your GPS, as there are frequent side street detours to stay on trail. South of Golf Road, you pick up the North Shore Channel Trail. The trail seems like it would be good under normal circumstances, but most of it was under construction with several detours to the east or west part of the trail, depending on which side they chose to dig up.

I decided to take Lawrence Avenue all the way to the Lakefront Trail. I didn't know Lawrence was under construction, so the first mile was dealing with traffic and no bike lane. I had to pull off at least once, but it was manageable. When it's not under construction, this has been a good way to go.

The Lakefront Trail goes all the way to Indiana. Despite the waves and cold temperatures, there were actually people swimming in the lake this morning! This seemed like a, "Just because you can doesn't mean you should", but there they were.

I joined up with other Le Tour de Shore riders as I passed Millennium Park. Typically we end up in groups of 20 or so as different street crossings and lights bring us together. We had breakfast at Whiting Lakefront Park, with pancakes, sausage, and fruit.

Then we turned south and headed to Hammond before turning east on the Oak Savanna Trail. The Hammond part is a bit industrial, but otherwise fine. The Oak Savanna Trail is very pretty, and a typical midwest rail trail, fortunately with trees to block some of the wind. I had good clothing, but there were several riders underdressed for the cold temperatures and wind chill.

We had PB&J sandwiches for lunch in Griffith and stopped for a smoothie at Trailblazers Bike Barn in Hobart. The extra calories were enough to get me to the Village Tavern in Porter, where I think most of the tour riders stopped for a beer and snacks or a sandwich of some kind. Food was good and prices were cheap, at least by Chicago standards.

That left another almost five miles to the campground. I got in after 4 p.m. and set up the tent. We had wood-fired pizza, salad, and cookies for dinner, and then sat around a campfire. I turned in just as the last light of the day was fading. It was very quiet, but also extremely cool. Overnight temperatures were in the upper 40s. I changed or added layers three times overnight as the temperature dropped. 

Things to watch for:

The artwork / sculptures in the Skokie part of the North Shore Channel Trail are very interesting.

The lakefront views are stunning. I always stop and take pictures of the lake and the city as I'm coming in.

Definitely stop in at Trailblazers Bike Barn for a smoothie and stop at the Village Tavern in Porter for refreshments.

Things to watch out for:

The bike lanes and pedestrian lanes on the Lakefront Trail keep crossing. Sometimes they are separate, sometimes they are together. Somehow, I always end up on the wrong one somewhere along the way. Fortunately, this was early in the morning and I didn't get run over or yelled at this time. :-)

Some of the railroad crossings caused challenges for tour riders. People bunched up and stopped, and I saw at least one biker fall over because he couldn't get unclipped. I strongly recommend Magped magnetic clipless pedals. In a panic stop, your feet just automatically come off the pedals, no falling down.

Keep eating on long ride days. 4,000 calories is a lot of calories. Force yourself to eat more than than you think you need. You need it.

Indiana Dunes to New Buffalo

Day 7: 43 miles, 800 feet of elevation gain. Weather was still cool, but sunny today. We started out with French toast and fruit for breakfast and then hit the road.

Just east of Indiana Dunes State Park, I saw a sign for the Calumet Trail. I had read about them planning to pave the Calumet Trail and thought, why not? It's a gravel trail and I have a gravel bike. Let's go for it.

The first mile and a half were good. Course gravel, but manageable. I even got some trail magic. There were three turkey hens on the trail just ahead of me, with six small chicks. The hens went into the tall grass, and then after awhile three of the chicks did as well. The other three thought they would outrun me. After a little of this I decided to speed up so they wouldn't get too far away from momma. I learned that turkey chicks can fly! They took off and circled back toward the hens and I continued down the trail.

Shortly after the turkeys, I came to a few puddles in the trail. Not deep, but manageable. Now I'm probably two miles in, no way to go anywhere else, and the puddles get deep. At the deepest point, probably a foot deep, and puddle after puddle went on for quite awhile. I was impressed that the bike handled it extremely well. No slipping, no falling over or falling in, and no real problems other than wet feet and some sandy mud splashes here and there. My feet squished for another hour or so, but otherwise all was well.

We stopped for donuts and fruit / yogurt in Michigan City, then continued on to almost New Buffalo before turning east and heading to Three Oaks. The Three Oaks loop makes the tour just over 100 miles. Then we headed back to New Buffalo and had Redamak's burgers on the beach. A great way to end the ride!

Things to watch for:

Stunning views of the lake along the Indiana and Michigan shores.

Things to watch out for:

Don't take the Calumet Trail if there's been any rain in the last week. Don't take the Calumet Trail at all unless you have a real gravel or mountain bike and 42mm or wider tires.

The first day of Le Tour de Shore is mostly a trail day. The second day is mostly a road day. You'll feel more comfortable if you have a tail light for traffic. Also, don't try to stay on the side of the road and hope traffic passes you. You're actually safer in the lane than on the side. With a tail light, cars will see you. And you're in their way, so they have to navigate around you rather than passing you without trying to avoid you.

Epilogue

The seven-day adventure was 384 miles! I rode an extra 18 miles today to make it 402 miles in eight days. That's a record that will last six weeks, until RAGBRAI at the end of July.

The hills in the Galena area are still impressive. I should not have used up so much energy early in the trip trying to climb them so hard. When you are doing long distances, go for no pain. No pain is all gain. Otherwise, you end up with no power to climb hills later in the trip.

I really enjoyed the trail parts of the adventure. I saw deer and/or wild turkeys almost every day of the trip. I didn't enjoy the road parts as much. Even when the views are good, you can't relax and look at them without constantly checking your mirror.

I survived riding in the rain. I survived gravel riding through extended foot-deep water. I survived sleeping in a tent for three nights out of seven, with two of them cold and/or wet nights. I didn't eat enough. And I overestimated how far I can go when there's a lot of elevation gain.

I'm glad I did this trip. I learned a lot more of what I am capable of and what my limits are. I don't think I would do this trip again. Not that it wasn't good, because it was good. But it wasn't good enough to repeat, at least not the first half. I'll probably do Le Tour de Shore again. It's a nice ride, very pretty, and supports a good cause.

External Links

• Ride with GPS: Dubuque to New Buffalo
• Grand Illinois Trail
• North Branch Conservation Area
• Le Tour de Shore
• Indiana Dunes