Appleton, WI

So, I left South Milwaukee Thursday morning, as planned. I hadn't really been training... I think I hadn't recently biked more than 15 miles in one day, if that. So, I was a little nervous. However, I made it about 50 miles that first day, and camped at a State Park along Lake Michigan. It was really cold along the lake, and I was exhausted, so I went to bed with the sun. I woke up a bit in the night, but otherwise, slept well enough, and woke up to the sun rising over Lake Michigan.

Friday, I biked about 45 miles to Manitowoc. I arrived there around 3:15p.m., and hung out in town while I waited for Johnie and Julie to return from Appleton. I got a new bike seat at the local bike shop (what I haven't yet mentioned was that the major pain in my ass from the first two days of biking was my not-so-awesome seat). I went to the local libarary and started reading The Red Tent by Anita Diamont, and when that closed, hung out at a coffeeshop for an hour or so, journaling and playing solitaire.

When Julie and Johnie returned, I got to have a bath(!) and eat a delicious meal, and have good converstion, and generally feel more human again. For those of you who don't know, Johnie and Julie were my photography professors and mentors in college, and remain two of my favorite people. You can check out their work here. I crashed on an air mattress in their studio, and for the second day in a row, woke up before 7:00a.m. After a lovely breakfast, I left the studio, and headed west. I stopped a few places along the way out of town in search of banannas, and left Manitowoc proper around 9:00a.m. I was a little concerned with the soreness in my knees, and resolved to attempt to give them as much of a break as possible. However, this was difficult, because I was battling a sometimes fierce westerly wind. Around 11:00a.m., I somehow lost my route. Around 11:30a.m., I realized that I might have lost my route, and called J&J to consult their more detailed map. I headed off, pleased that the wind seemed to have changed direction, and rode on steadily for about 10-12 miles, zooming down hills with the wind at my back...
I'm sure you can see where this is going, and I suppose it's a good thing that I stopped when I did--to consult my map to see how much progress I had just made, after a slow morning of battling wind, whether going uphill or downhill. Of course, this is where I realized how much progress I had made in the wrong direction, having made the dangerous assumption that I knew which direction I was facing. Shadows at noon are subtle... maybe I should get a compass.
So, I looked with dread at the huge hill I had just happily sped down for about 30 seconds... and began the long trek back in the right direction.

So, between fierce wind and getting lost, what should have been my easiest day, milewise, turned into my longest, most exhausting day. I am glad though, that I had a better bike seat. :-)

I spent last night at the new co-op house, my precious old Hulbert house having been demolished this year to make room for a huge new student union... I'm glad I did my final photography project my senior year on the co-op. That house had so much character, and so many memories. But now I'm getting all nostalgic on you. It's hard though, to not have nostalgia for a place where you spent so many important years of your life.

It's lovely to be back for a visit, to not have to worry about papers that I need to write, or finals I need to study for. I intend to stay today and tomorrow, and leave Tuesday morning, though I'm not sure where I'll be heading. I'd rather not go back the way I came--the route was lovely, don't get me wrong, and I love biking along Lake Michigan--I just would rather make a loop that retrace my path. So, perhaps on to Madison. We shall see.