Mid-west cats

It's difficult to make myself sit down and write about what's going on sometimes. Some days we just bike all day till the sun starts to sink, and camp. Other days are so eventful, that i wouldn't want to stop and write for fear of missing out. 

I'll start with the now. We've biked over 1200 miles, and counting, in three and a half weeks. We're two days into Minnesota, staying in a cyclists-only bunkhouse. Our next short term goal is Fargo, North Dakota. 

My legs are kicking into high gear, and pedaling all day is feeling less like a chore. The hills are getting easier to zip up, my aches are subsiding. You'd be surprised that what's hurt the most are my hands and wrists. 

The roads are calmer and less traveled in northern Wisconsin and into Minnesota, compared to the lower part of Michigan. We've encountered a few bike paths on our route as well as a couple by suggestions of other cyclists, and one that wasn't complete or on the map, but was ridable for at least five miles. I'm excited about a trail we'll reach in the next few days that's well over 100 miles of bike path, called Paul Bunyan State Trail. It's in Minnesota, before we get to Fargo. 

We've started to encounter more locals after crossing into Wisconsin. Either people in Wisconsin are more hospitable than folks in Michigan, or maybe we seem more approachable as seasoned touring cyclists (pat on the back), but we are no longer surprised when a car pulls over to say hi and ask where we're going. Don't worry, i still remember the stranger talk, or "stranger-danger", but there are nice people in the world too. There's the good old reliable "did you need directions?" person, as well as the "is everything ok?" But the best one so far was more along the lines of, "Hi, I'm Jeff Soandso, and I'd like to offer you to go with my wife and I to our cabin on the lake. We'll make you supper, you can swim, and you can tell me about your travels." Nate and I both liked the idea, and Jeff seemed genuine, so we went with it. We had a wonderful time with Jeff and Terri. Both are well traveled biologists, and everyone seemed to be getting along fine. Nate and I swam, we had a meal of grilled venison, wild rice (actually wild, harvested from the area), and asparagus. We sweat for days in the sauna, and had a nice rest.

The following day we biked 75 miles, a good day for us. 

Week 1 GCM

Here are some photos of our first week of travel. We're mostly biking along country roads, fields, lakes, and small towns. We passed through several amish towns, but since they don't want their picture taken, I got a picture of the watch for horse n' buggy sign.

Among the many farms, we noticed a few veal farms. They're kinda sad, because they keep the calves in little dog-houses to keep them from moving much.

Our first couple days were tiring and painful but we're working through it. We're making decent time, and are steadily approaching Mackinaw City. We've biked over 300 miles and have about 180 miles to get there. Small goals first. After we get there we start heading west!  

The Great Cat Migration

So as everyone keeps saying, yes, we ARE crazy. Nate Franks and myself, Andres Burgos, are embarking on a bicycle trip that most people consider crazy. We call it epic. Our journey began by flying with our bikes and gear to Michigan to visit Nate's family and hometown of Sturgis. After some time of preparing and saying our good-byes, we took off. With our two bikes, two bike trailers, and maps from Adventure Cycling Association, we biked from Sturgis to La Grange, Indiana where we caught the bike route. That's where we begin what we're calling the Great Cat Migration. We'll give it another name later.