Worst Campground Award

48 miles

Left Barkcamp before 7 am. Stopped at a park in New Athens to make buckwheat pancakes with peanut butter and apple butter. Yummy. Mac is an expert at using the backpacking stove.

Hard day. We couldn’t find the country back roads. Probably they’re not signed. Hilly, hot, no shoulder, and traffic. Not so fun to be the captain on a day like this. The stoker was trying to pedal as hard as she could.

The campground at the Leesville Lake Marina won the award for worst campground. Hopefully we won’t find one to beat it. We paid $18 for a camp site with no showers, no place to swim, and questionable water from the facet. We paid $8 per gallon for drinking water at the marina.

What Makes a Good Road?

28 miles

“Good Road” is a phrase that is tossed about lightly but means different things to different people. SR 7, the Ohio River Scenic Byway was nice down south where there was little traffic. The roads generally are much worse inside the limits of the small incorporated townships we have gone through. "Good Road" to us is flat and either has nice clean wide shoulders, or no traffic.

Today we cut across SR 149 into the mountains (hills) to get back on the route on our bike maps. The road has no shoulders and is very hilly, but has almost no traffic. People generally give us plenty of room when they pass (if they can). I have a rear view mirror, so I can see when big trucks are coming or when cars are coming in both directions. Between watching traffic and watching right in front of the front wheel for glass and 20 feet ahead for potholes and dead animals, and watching the map and counting miles, I am kept busy.

We rode 28 miles today to Barkcamp State Park Campground. We are very close to where my study site for my master’s thesis will be. We went to the general store in Belmont this afternoon and bought a tomato, some onions, and an ice cream bar. I spent 45 minutes in Kroger’s this morning reading labels on bread, yogurt, and found that same Dole Salad mix with dill and parsley in it. I have a Kroger Card now, so I get coupons with my receipt- custom tailored to my buying habits. They already have us pegged as health food nuts. They think we would be interested in saving money on low carb granola bars. I threw them for a loop this morning by buying Krispy Kremes and chocolate milk along with our plain yogurt and “health nut” bread.

Most of the state park campgrounds are set up primarily for RVs. Even our tent site has two 50 amp 220v outlets and a 20 amp 110v. Time to recharge the cellphone. We didn’t bring an air conditioner, microwave oven, or satellite TV.
Often when we stop, someone, (usually an older man) comes to chat about where we are from, where we are going, and offer advice on the best roads to take. Some people seem envious and others think we are crazy. Kids seem to like our bike.

People in the nicely kept small towns here still have front porches where they sit. Lots of people have small gardens: tomatoes, sunflowers, cucumbers, pole beans, sweet corn, onions, broccoli, and marigolds. Lots of people inter-plant marigolds with their broccoli. I’m really impressed (amazed?) by the huge lawns and the work people put into maintaining them. At least no one has to water anything.

There was a brief spell of heavy rain yesterday afternoon, but so far we have done very well at staying dry. I am sure our luck will run out soon enough on that one.

Bellaire, Ohio

60 miles

Route 7 is flat and has a good shoulder, so we decided to stay on it. Stopped for Amish cheese, turkey jerky, and raspberry ice cream from the Dairy Bar. The scenic river turned more industrial. Aluminium plant, nuclear power plants, and who knows what else. Took a nap during the heat of the afternoon at a park in Powhatan Point.

Every house on Main Street has a front porch set up with chairs. No place to sleep, so on to Bellaire. The only place here is the 7 Inn. Looked sketchy from the outside but it’s a decent room. It was getting dark and rainy so I’m glad we found a place to sleep.

Route 7 has turned into divided four lanes and no longer allows bicycles, so we are going back to the mapped route tomorrow. We will have plenty of camping and motel choices for the rest of Ohio and it should be getting flat soon.

Campfire Pies in Wayne National Forest

22 miles

Breakfast at the Layfayette Hotel. Loaded omelet and french toast “to die for”. The french toast was topped with pecans and syrup. We purchased some special bicycling maps of Ohio. Their route to Marietta was the hilliest, but least amount of traffic. Some motorcyclists we met recommended that we go a different way out of Marietta because the mapped route has been recently chip sealed. So we took off on State Route 7 along the Ohio River. Sore and tired from yesterday.

Stopped at Wayne National Forest Recreation Area for a popcorn break. Only rode 22 miles, but the campground looked too inviting. We are the only tent campers. Everyone seems to know each other. Several people came over to check us out and give us advice on what route we should take.

Large barges go by in the river. A local told us, “I’ve lived here my whole live and I never get tired of watching to the river. Sometimes you’ll see two barges of coal passing each other. One going one way and the other going the other way.”

We joined a family campfire for the evening. They’re from West Virginia and have been RV camping for a week. Great-grandparent, grandparents, and grandchildren, with others coming to visit. The grandfather is a principal at an elementary school. He commuted to work from the campground during the week. Camping here seems to be more of a social event. Hot dogs, sloppy joes, s’mores, soda, watermelon and campfire pies.

I experienced my first campfire pie. There’s a special holder, kind of like a small waffle iron. You put one piece of buttered bread on each side, put cherry filling on one side, close the sides together, take the extra crust off the sides, and stick it in the fire.

A neighbor camper showed us some meteor rocks he found. He said one of them is from Mars. In the fall, he uses a leaf blower and a metal detector in the woods to find them. Some other discussion topics: how is freon destroying the ozone when it is heavier than air, operation of large chicken farms, driving to Yellowstone before there was air conditioning in cars.

For the first time, someone asked why we were riding to Maine. I don’t know how to answer that. I don’t know the answer myself. I think I’m looking for a rhythm. Eat Ride Sleep Eat Ride Sleep… But at the same time it's an escape from the everyday. Desire to become physically strong and emotionally independent. Or maybe Mac and I will become dependent on each other. I can already see how we are finding our own yin-yang niches. Desire to see how other people live and what we all have in common.

I didn’t realize how approachable you are when you are riding a bike. Its an easy ice breaker. A tandem makes it even easier to start a conversation. Although in one small town gas/grocery store, we ate lunch and watched people come and go and not one person even made eye contact.

Why am I doing it? To experience the journey. I don’t know what I’m looking for or what I will find.

Blue Tandem is on the Road

60 miles

Our first full day out on the road on the blue tandem. We had some pre-dawn excitement when some raccoons took our bathroom bag at the campsite near Athens. We fought them off and saved our stuff, but the toothpaste, Dr. Bronner’s soap and sunscreen containers were all broken.

We pulled over to stretch this morning when a couple on a purple Santana tandem pulling a BOB trailer passed us. They are riding the same route to Maine as we are, so maybe we’ll see them again. They are from Nelsonville, Ohio. What a coincidence that we started our trips on the same day.

The state highways we are riding on are pretty good. The shoulders come and go, but there is very little traffic. We made it 60 miles to Marietta today. That is our longest one day ride on the tandem yet. It is much hillier here than either of us expected. We are tired and a bit sore.

We are staying in a restored Victorian Era hotel with antique furniture. The hallways stink of cigarette smoke and the ventilation is bad. The bathtub is nice. Marietta was the first settlement in the NW Territory, founded in 1788, right on the Ohio River.

Blue Tandem is Loaded

I wrote and mailed an application letter for a position at the Voinovich Center. It’s going to be interesting if I have a telephone interview while on our trip. We did a final run to the storage unit and left the Previa in its storage place.

We rode through town with the fully loaded tandem. Mac was avoiding eye-contact and I was looking around smiling at everyone, wondering what they were thinking about us. We got some yelling cheers from a large group of construction workers.

We’re staying at Stroud’s Run, just outside town. We camped here a few nights earlier in the week, so it still seems familiar. Maybe it will seem more real tomorrow. We plan to leave early tomorrow so we can take a break in the heat of the afternoon. We’re aiming for Marietta, which is 55 miles away. A long ride for our first loaded day. But there’s a B&B and a brewery waiting for us . . .

Lake Hope State Park

Wednesday June 23

Jenny miraculously found a digital version of her resume and made some minor edits. We met with the director of the Environmental Studies Department and discussed the program and Jenny’s job prospects. Then we moved to Lake Hope.

Thursday June 24

We stayed at the Lake Hope State Park all day today. We attempted to take the tandem on a mountain bike trail, but it was too rough. We did find some nice dirt roads and swam in the lake. We biked/hiked 12 miles. They have an impressive Nature Center with live snakes, turtles, and fish.

First Trip to Dysart Woods

Monday June 21

We’re slowly transitioning from car camping to bike camping as we sort through stuff and put extras into the storage unit.

The Farmacy is a small health food store in Athens. Mac said it has all the best things from the Arcata Co-op.

Tuesday June 22

Trip to Dysart Woods with Mac’s professor. We learned how to identify White Oak, Tulip Poplar, Black Walnut, Black Cherry, American Beech, Sugar Maple and Buckeye. Actually, I only learned a couple of them. I could identify the ferns though. Sword Fern, Ladyfinger, and another one I can’t recall. And lots of Poison Ivy and huge grapevines. We learned about coal mining, mineral rights, subsidence and hydrology changes. Mac’s thesis title: Response of late successional quercus alba to seasonal changes in available soil moisture.

Were you born in a barn?

We signed a lease for a converted barn. There’s a basement/garage for Mac to keep his tools in. Unfortunately, the Previa is too tall to fit through the door. The first floor has a living room open to the dining room with short carpet. The kitchen has a gas stove and a pantry. The bathroom has a cast-iron, claw foot bathtub. There’s a hardwood floor bedroom on the first floor that will probably be our laundry/utility room. Upstairs, there’s two more rooms with hardwood floors that will be a bedroom and a study. There’s a front and back yard with no fence. There’s a good spot for a garden in the back yard.

The house is close to the bus line and about one or two miles from downtown/university, depending on where you’re going. The barn was built with hand hewn timbers and the basement has bricks stamped with “Athens” from when there was a local brick industry. Our landlord is a great-grandmother and lived in the house when she had children. I think its going to feel empty with our small amount of furniture.

We moved to Burr Oak Campground. Real showers!

Athens Farmer's Market

On the tandem again. It started to sprinkle so we stopped to put on rain gear. Rain jacket but no pants, just shorts. Mac is experimenting with riding in Chaco sandals, and I put my rain booties on. The sprinkle didn’t turn into a downpour and we soon became too hot. We also stopped to help a turtle across the road. I directed Mac on a wild goose chase, looking for a particular house for rent.

Farmer’s market! Currently located in a mall parking lot in a T-shape. Smaller than the Arcata market, but more diverse.
- cabbage, chard, carrots, new potatoes, snow peas, green beans, herbs, peaches, black raspberries, corn, squash, tomatoes, cherries, broccoli, apples
- baked goods such as bread, pastries and pies
- processed foods such as pesto, salsa, jams, apple sauce
- beef, buffalo, lamb, chicken, eggs, pork

More rentals to look at. Its great that there’s so many choices, but its also overwhelming. I think we’ve seen a wide range of what's available: west side, east side, uptown, downtown, out of town, hardwood floors, carpet, windows, uninsulated, uneven floors, extreme conservative neighbors. We haven’t seen any of the notorious dank basements. I think they all have some sort of gas heating. Gas bills can be up to $200 in the winter. Graduate student and married seem to be the magic words. It may even lower your rent. I’m not sure what the landlords think about us rolling up on our tandem. Hopefully we will get something secured in the next few days. “Top of a hill behind Wendy’s or bottom of the hill next to awesome pizza?”

We stopped at an outdoor store and bought some miscellaneous gear for our bicycle trip. Are we ready? Total mileage for today is 30, which equals sore butts! We haven’t done much riding in the last few weeks.

We cooked dinner in camp. Its actually cool this evening. Maybe I’ll bring that warmer jacket after all . . .

Best Pizza in the U.S.A.

I figured out how to take a “shower” with the water pump. Mac put the tandem together and we rode down the hill to town. We tried the bicycle/pedestrian trail and it's great. We also found the community gardens. The house hunting has gone like this: I call the numbers on the cell phone and find out more information or leave a message. Sometimes the landlord says to come over right now to see it and we jump on the tandem and ride there with me navigating.

The house of the day is a duplex with a small yard, hardwood floors, and lots of windows. Its right behind the laundromat, and near the city library and bicycle trail. We refer to it as the red brick house. Another bonus of the red brick house is that it is near Avalanche Pizza, where we had dinner. In some sort of pizza competition, they won “Best Pizza in the U.S.A.” and we could agree on that.
We made it back up the hill to the State Park about dusk. Yes there are hills here, some almost as steep as California Street in Arcata. The state park is about 7 miles from town and we rode a total of 25 miles today.

The weather seemed better, or maybe we’re getting used to it. Its a strange sensation to always be in minimal clothing and not get cold. It feels like a jungle here with all of the bird noises. The fireflies are fun to watch. Mac is teaching himself the trees in our camp.

Local Dinner

Found one 10×10 storage unit open in The Plains, a few miles from Athens. Turned in the U-haul. Went in circles about 3 times before finding Strauds Run State Park. Sat around trying to become acclimated to the oppressive heat and humidity.

Dinner with one of Mac’s soon to be professors in plant biology. Buckwheat noodles mixed with lentils, homegrown chard and feta cheese. Green salad with fresh dill and homemade dressing and PBR’s to drink. Mac couldn’t be happier. A neighbor also joined us for dinner. We got the ins and outs about the local housing market, including a city map with skull and cross-bones hand drawn in the party areas of town.

Arrived in Athens, Ohio

As we came closer to Athens, it became hilly and undeveloped. The forest looks overgrown. The area was probably most heavily logged in the early 1800’s, which would make the second growth a hundred years old. We don’t know anything about the native ecosystem here yet.

We arrived in Athens early evening. First impressions: old architecture, narrow streets, brick streets in downtown, people walking around, college students moving out, college housing slums.

We ate at the Pita Pit, ok food, loud music. Went to sleep at the Motel 8, a little unsure about being in a strange place. We’re here, what do we do next? My Dad says the noisy insects are cicadas. This is their 17 year peak or something like that.

Missouri Storm

Today has been a little stressful. Last night we were trying to decide if we should get a hotel, camp, or drive through the night. The weather forcast predicted thunderstorms with 3 inch hail and flash flooding. The weather channel warned, “Do not drive through flowing water, even if its only 6 inches deep. In case of flash flooding, leave your vehicle and find higher ground.” We decided to drive a couple more hours to the next campground and re-evaluate.

We pulled into Wallace State Park (near Cameron, Missouri) at about 10 pm. There were several RVs, including a camp host, and other campers. The sky was clear with stars. The local forcast now predicted 50% chance of rain. Very different climate, warm and humid. Different vegetation, insects and night noises. Firefly’s!

The bulletin board warns about ticks and poison ivy. We can handle that. We see lightening in the distance and decide we should put the rain fly on. Maybe I had slept for awhile or maybe was still falling asleep when we started hearing thunder and it started raining. Mac has mostly only lived in California and Nevada and was still coming to terms with the fact that it rains in the summer in some regions. Although its been 8 years since I’ve lived in Texas, I grew up with thunderstorms.

I tried to be reassuring to Mac, but the thunder seemed louder than I remembered. It must be the acoustics of the area, I reasoned to myself. When a bolt of lightening sounded like it hit a tree in our vicinity, I told Mac we should get in the car. I remembered that vehicles are insulated to the ground because of their rubber tires, and the car would provide more protection from falling trees than a tent. The weather channel said tornadoes had been spotted in the area. The lightening went away and we went back to bed in the tent.

We woke up in the morning to another thunderstorm.

“Mac, do you hear that sound? It sounds like a train.”

“That's what a tornado is supposed to sound like, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I don’t think there's anything we can do.”

Mac decided it really was a train.

We waited for it to stop raining so hard and threw everything into the car. The camp host agreed that it would be a scary storm in a tent, but didn’t indicate that the storm had been more severe than usual. The small bridge we had to cross was clear. Water was starting to flood one section of road, but we were able to get around it. Except for a few sprinkles, the weather was clear the rest of the day.

We crossed the Mississippi river and are now in Illinois. I took the exit in Springfield for gas and to change drivers. I got on the wrong road and just pulled over to let Mac navigate the busy city. Mac followed a sign for “Historic 66” and ended up in the ghetto. He accidentally cut off someone with a low rider van, pumping, with $1000 rims. Mac was seriously concerned about being in this area with an “expensive hood ornament” (our bikes) and all of our possessions. We safely made it back to the freeway. They don’t show the ghetto in the Simpson’s.

Now we are at the Kickapoo State Park near Danville, Illinois. Mac was concerned about the loud unidentifiable insect noise. I told him to pretend they are crickets. Time for dinner. Mac made something really yummy. We should be in Athens, Ohio tomorrow.

Nebraska Football

Jenny ate 3 pieces of bacon and 3/4 sausage patty for breakfast at the B&B.

As you get closer to Lincoln, it becomes hillier and more green. Except for small personal gardens, we didn’t see any vegetable farms. West Nebraska receives very little rain and the crops are all irrigated. According to the couple at the B&B, if they don’t get enough rain this year, there will not be enough water in the reservoirs for another year of crops. Coupled with the rising cost of fuel, it may not be profitable to farm there any more. (Fuel is needed to pump ground water.)

The B&B hosts seemed open to the possibility of turning the fields back to native grasslands. They are protective of their small towns and farming economy, but its already being lost. The small towns are extremely well kept, but appear to have little disposable income. The populations are primarily retirement age.

We spent the afternoon in Lincoln, population ~ 230,000. The woman at the visitor’s center said the university is great, but maybe there won’t be a football team next season. She went on about so and so coach being fired and another coach being hired. We looked at her kind of blankly. “Other states have mountains, lakes and trees…Nebraska has football.” The university has a tractor testing track and other agricultural labs. Mac thinks he’s going to convince me to move there for his PhD.

Utah to Nebraska

Friday June 11

Crossed Utah border. Bonneville Salt Flats speedway. Salt Lake State Marina. Only brine fish & some kind of fly live in lake. Colorful birds. Salt plants. Temple Square. Wild Oats health food store. Spent $10 on organic dark chocolate chips! Cross dressers & teenage head bangers on trolley. Ogden. Mac thinks we’ve landed on Mars. Great Aunt & Uncle’s house. Hospitality & family stories.

Sat June 12

Back on the road. Beautiful valley. Will we make it to Cheyenne tonight? Long drive. . . . . Windy. Jenny got 20 mpg with tail wind. Camping. Medicine Bow National Forest. Pretty trees. RVs. Tacos for dinner.

Sun June 13

Mac’s birthday! State Route 30 along Platt River in Nebraska. Hills turn to fields & feed lots. Swam in Sutherland Reservoir. Irrigated corn fields. Loomis. Tandem ride. Bed & Breakfast. Slept in Nebraska room. Nice folks.

Leaving Arcata, California

Time finally stopped for a little while. We started packing on Monday, picked up the trailer on Tues and spent Tues & Wed figuring out how to get everything in the trailer & van, giving away stuff that wasn’t going to make it, and making last minute trip preparations.

Friends & family helped us by giving us food, taking away furniture & trash, and cleaning. We decided to go ahead and start driving Wed evening because we needed to get on the road. Jeremy S.’s parents graciously let us show up at their house in the middle of the night to sleep.

We’ve been alternating drivers, or at least taking a break, every two hours. I can comfortably drive the van with the trailer. It’s very stable & has been going up hills no problem. I get a little stressed in traffic or towns. I won’t be disappointed if I never have to back it up. Fortunately Mac is an experienced trailer driver.

We took 101 to 20 to 5 and spent the night in Sacramento. This morning we started on 80 and we will probably stay on it until Nebraska.

We are camping at Mill Creek, a BLM campground with vault toilets, picnic tables, & grills. We are the only ones here. There are some large insects (~2 inches) that are reddish brown with long legs & they jump. The creek is gurgling & I think I hear an owl. Mac made a gourmet Thai dinner and then played his guitar for me.

We are near Battle Mtn. Nevada. Their billboard has a picture of the Statue of Liberty and says, “Voted the armpit of America; We didn’t think anyone was looking.”

Yawn! time for sleep.