5/29 After re-reading the past few entries, I decided I didn't like them. One of my favorite things about our last tour was thinking about what I was going to write as we rode. I could attribute this difference to a number of factors, but I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that my life is so much different now than it was three years ago.

Five months prior to our last tour, I moved back to my parents' house to work some part-time jobs, save money, and plan the trip. In the three years before the tour, I had moved from Madison to Iowa City to Philadelphia to Martinsville, IN, with a summer in Alaska and a lot of other travels in between. My life was very much temporary and focused on what the next adventure would be. As we rode from Portland to Milwaukee, my mind was filled with thoughts about what I wanted to do with my life. I decided to stay in Milwaukee after the trip, and though my life has taken different forms in that time, it is much more permanent than it was three years ago. While the end of grad school is going to bring about another new chapter in my life, now it's more about what I "need" to do rather than what I "want" to do, as I'm facing a small mountain of student loan debt. In my past few years in Milwaukee, I've built friendships and other ties that I value, but which make it harder for my mind to break away from the responsibilities I have at home. I'm not sure how, or if, I can shake this feeling, but I plan on trying to be more in the moment in the coming days. Today we had strong tailwinds and flat roads, making our 65-mile journey to Napoleon, OH easy and fast, but not necessarily helping in my quest to free my mind, since it tended to focus more on the miles ticking away on the odometer and less on the more simple pleasures of the day. 

5/26 Claire and I happened upon Bike the Drive as we left Chicago this morning. Bike the Drive closes down Lakeshore Drive to only non-motorized vehicles, so we rode with other cyclists along the wide, smooth roads normally reserved only for cars past the giants that occupy the downtown. After about an hour the ride was over, so we hopped back on the Lakeshore path and continued south out of town.

Chicago is even longer than Milwaukee, and after a few hours and some turns through what looked like a small riverside town, I commented that we must be out of it, but CTA bus stops and other signs proved me wrong. When we did finally leave the city by way of a road that wound through tall marsh grasses, we ended up in Indiana, though there were no state signs to greet us.

While at Michael's apartment, I re-checked our directions to Indiana Dunes State Park and was given a 50-mile route by Google maps. The directions we had printed gave us a 60-mile route, probably because it inexplicably took us further south than necessary. We followed these, but we only have the directions printed out and not maps, so due to a few unclear directions (and perhaps some operator error), we ended up ending the day at about 70 miles.

We've still been in some highly populated areas and have been on a lot of bike paths, so I've been feeling like I haven't yet left behind the normal urban life I live. Tonight we're camping, so I do think we're starting to shed some of it. Tomorrow's route is mainly on roads, so I can only hope that the shedding continues.

5/28 Yesterday Claire and I awoke to the sounds of rain and wind. We slept in and debated whether or not to stay where we were for another night, but we decided to continue riding, though making it a shorter day than originally planned.

We ditched the Google maps directions after stopping at a gas station and purchasing a more detailed road map. We've been riding on small rural roads, re-routing when we run into gravel roads, fighting headwinds, soaring down hills, and enjoying the experiences you only have when you leave the main roads and slow your speeds. A few highlights: the sound of electricity rushing through wires and the way it sounds like a waterfall in the rain, a farm with zebras and goats (really!), perfectly spaced rows of bright green crops against the rain-soaked black earth, and an abandoned school where I thought I list Claire.

Tomorrow we'll cross the border to Ohio - already our fourth state!

Claire and I awoke to a thermometer that read 45 degrees - probably the chilliest morning we've ridden. We ate a quick breakfast and hit the road early since we had a 90 mile ride ahead of us. 

I've ridden to and from the Chicago area four times, and the first time I did it I was struck at how big the city of Milwaukee is. Claire and I left our parent's house in Whitefish Bay a little after 7:00, and it was at least an hour before we had crossed the border into Oak Creek.

The majority of our ride today was on bike paths, which was nice because we were off the road, but, as Claire and I discovered when we spent about 100 miles on one in Minnesota, they're boring and the constant flat terrain means you're pedaling all the time. The path occasionally ended, and sometimes it was clear where to head, but not all the time. I don't know that I've ever made it through Highland Park without feeling confused, and today was no exception. Luckily a nice couple on bikes led us back in the right direction. I was a bit concerned about when the path completely ends in Evanston and we had to rely on Google maps directions, but we made it without incident, even though the route led us through a golf course that spit us out into an alley.

Tonight we're staying with my friend Michael in Chicago (thanks for the pizza!). I think it was the combination of the boring bike path and the fact that we were passing through so many  cities with more dense population, but I almost feel as though I didn't enjoy the 90 mile trip here. Tomorrow we hope to make it to Indiana and to camp, and I'm actually looking forward to heading into more rural areas. 

On the eve of our departure

Tomorrow Claire and I will awake early to begin the second half of our cross country bike journey. We began the voyage three years ago, traveling from Portland, OR to our hometown of Milwaukee, WI. Our final destination, which we hope to reach in three weeks, is Portland, ME.

The 45 days we spent on our bikes three years ago was easily one of the best times of my life, and I have been looking forward to completing the cross-country trek. It's interesting, though, to think about how different this trip will likely be from our last. Claire and I are both at very different points in our lives, and our previous route traversed through the sparsely populated west, while the roads ahead of us will be connected by more towns with fewer miles in between.

What I loved most about our previous bike tour was the freedom; for the most part, we didn't have a great need to rush home. This time, I have to be back by mid-June to return to work. While we mapped out potential stopping points and we should easily be able to make it to Portland in order to catch our June 15th flight, the fact that we do have a pre-determined departure date makes me feel more like this tour is just a brief departure from my normal life, not a beginning to a whole new chapter like the last time.

But, as I reminded myself at several points on our tour three years ago, my focus should be on the journey ahead, and not the life to which I'll be returning. I look forward to the adventures we're about to encounter.