Boy do we stink at updating this thing...

Joel posing as Ben Bikin' at the Elroy-Sparta trailhead; Allison is tired.


Our friend Mark enjoys his ice cream at Beernsten's; the view from the ferry across Lake Michigan


Michigan!

Thursday, July 19th: After back to back centuries, we were looking forward to a short day of only 89 miles. But it wasn't meant to be. At the first sag stop, we were informed that a bridge was out, and we would have to detour 8 miles, bringing our mileage total up to 96. In essence, a third consecutive century. The detour was actually pretty, with long rollers and, at some points, a tail wind. The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, but we enjoyed a nice 10 miles stint on a smooth bike path, and a stop and an oasis of a coffee shop with delicious blended mochas and hot-out-of-the-oven scones. Towards the end of the ride, we crossed over the Mississippi and into Wisconsin. We stayed at a Best Western with an indoor water park, and had a blast riding its water slide over and over and over again. Joel got ridiculed for his speedo. Heehee

Friday, July 20th: Today we rode 92 miles to the Wisconsin Dells, 30 of which were on the Elroy-Sparta trail, a rails-to-trails crushed limestone path. It took us through tunnels under three mountains, where we had to get off our bikes and use flashlights to find our way through. The tunnels dripped on our heads, but as far as we know, nobody got attacked by the bats living inside. Along the trails, we stopped at Gina's Pies Are Square, and had hot cherry pie and coffee. Once in the dells, we met and old friend of Joel's, George Reisner, and his cousin, for an Italian dinner. Dessert was at DQ, where Joel dropped his ice cream cone on the ground and cried like a baby. Just kidding. Thankfully, Allison convinced the manager to give him a fresh one. Today also marked our first ride in a car in five weeks. The ride took place in George's new used Lexus, with girly-man wheels, for which we endlessly ridiculed him.

Saturday, July 21st: Another 90+ day. 93 miles to be exact, into Fond du Lac, WI. The trip was uneventful, except, in our approach to town, Allison turned on the jets, in anticipation of Marianne and Nonny's arrival, and pulled some of our travelers for the last 10 miles. We actually beat them into town by an hour, and spent the time wandering through a street fair. The four of us toured lake Winnebago and relaxed at M and N's bed and breakfast. We thought about eating dinner with the group, but when we saw the pathetic buffet, we made a beeline for a nearby restaurant, where we had a lovely dinner. For dessert, we enjoyed the delicious brownies that aunt Robin baked and sent along. Mmmm. We shared them with the group at that night's t-shirt swap, and they disappeared almost instantaneously and with rave reviews. Allison made out like a bandit at the swap, securing a brand new t-shirt from Mt. Rushmore, whereas others got stuck with used shirts that smelled like old man.

Sunday, July 22nd: We said goodbye to Marianne and Nonny after breakfasting at their coach house, and we also said goodbye to the five back-to-back almost centuries. We headed to Manitowoc, 57 miles away, and to Beernsten's, rated one of the top 10 old-fashioned soda fountains in the country by Epicurious.com. The lunch and ice cream was delicious, we spent the evening at a laundromat watching ants crawl all over the laundry folding table and trying not to touch anything. One of the other riders, Jeanette, gave us a lesson in folding short-sleeved shirts, which was actually pretty cool. If you want to learn how, ask us. Tomorrow, we cross the lake into Michigan.

Monday, July 23rd: This was our off day. We loaded at 8:30 am, and many of us went to the wedding between two of our guides, Geoff and Sondra. Before boarding the ferry, we stopped off at Fatzo's, where Joel picked up an 18 inch sub in case he got hungry on the boat. The thing was HUGE. Wonder where the sub shop got its name.. The boat didn't sink, so that was good, and we made it to Ludington, Michigan. After dinner at a brew pub, we had great ice cream at the House of Flavors - the best on this trip by far.

Tuesday, July 24th: We're headed off to Mt. Pleasant, MI - our last century of the trip (115 miles). The day started off propitiously, with Allison's derailleur malfunctioning. The weather was cool and it threatened to rain, but didn't, and aside from Allison's bike issues, it was an easy ride with helping winds.

Wendesday, July 25th: It was a relatively short 75 miler to Birch Run, with not much to see along the way. Allison set a blistering pace early in the day, and by mile 65 or so, we were pooped. The highlight of the day was at dinner. After being served humongous portions of food, our good friend Earnst (aka the Governator), treated entire table to the biggest banana split you have ever seen. 16 1/2 scoops of ice cream with the works.