The storm that came in through the night was pretty strong, as it downed some smaller limbs. I was again grateful for the bicycle bunkhouse.
So, I know Poptarts are nutritional nightmares. We don't buy them anymore because I loved eating them too much. Well... the bunkhouse had brown sugar cinnamon Poptarts....and a toaster....and milk.....and I could not resist. Mmmmm. As good as they were, they did me no good on the ride. About an hour in, I was already hungry because I basically had a sugar breakfast. Not smart. (But they did taste good).
I take a bit longer in the morning to relax in my accommodations, but as usual, I am eager to get on the road. I am also slightly concerned I may be put to work on the farm. It surprises me somewhat that after 4 weeks I still have an eagerness to start the day on the bike. I do enjoy it, especially the fresh early mornings.
The ride was uneventful for the most part. Quiet back roads and byways with smaller farms. Much of the ride went through undeveloped and over-grown land where more deer were spotted and polecats were present. In several of the farms and fields there are tall wooden structures about 15 or 20 feet in the air, mostly at the edge of the fields. I take these to be hunting stands and blinds. I can imagine that the local owners have a relative easy time with gathering venison in the fall as these blinds look out over the recently harvested corn fields. I am sure it is harder than I imagine, but it does look like prime country.
In the early morning on the country roads, I especially enjoy the "quiet" sounds. I have often mentioned my
enjoyment of the fowl of the air on this ride. In the mornings, they seem to be in fuller voice with their variety of chitters, tweets, tidadees, shrieks, and cheers. I wish I had the knowledge of how to identify the calls of the smaller birds. I'm slowly working on identifying them by sight. I am nearly clueless on the bird calls.
Crickets have been a constant daily background sound for the past week. It seems contradictory that the chirps of the crickets are internationally considered the sound of silence. As in, "Cue the crickets". When really they are often a discordance of sound and certainly not quiet. Their racket is really more the sound of solitude, not silence. I have a lot of that on this ride....solitude.
Speaking of sounds, I have learned to love the screams of Chewbacca. Yes, the Chewbacca from Star Wars. Is there another? Listen to that guttural screech in your head. It is the same sound that large truck tires make when rolling over the rumble strips, at speed. With many of the State roads and highways in the recent states having center lane rumble strips, it is the sound I listen for when vehicles approach. When I hear Chewy howl, I know they are giving me plenty of room. It is oddly relaxing.
Finally, since I am on a "sound" theme today, let me address the missing Pandora song mix. For those of you who noticed, I have stopped adding that to the blog for a week or two. Fact of the matter, I have not listened to one note since the first pedal stroke I took four weeks ago in Astoria, Oregon Don't get me wrong, I "heard" the songs I listed played in my head, several times. However, I have just not put on the headphones like I thought I would. Several reasons; 1. Part of trip is to experience all elements of the road, sights, smells, and sounds. If I am going through this much effort, I want the full service. 2. I want to hear the traffic as it is approaching and to deploy evasive maneuvers as necessary. 3. It takes up too much valuable battery. 4. I have usually been out of cell service much of the ride. So with all of that, no Pandora. Now you know.
Oh, by the way. I am in Wisconsin today. Another milestone. St Croix Falls. Beautiful area that I will explore more tomorrow. I cycled past some falls that I will get a closer look at in the morning. They better be impressive as the ending climb was 9% grade to get to my lodging tonight.
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