We have made it to Pennsylvania and crossed into eastern time zone! It's so weird to think that 55 days ago we were at the coast of Oregon, having no idea what we were getting ourselves into, and now we're already here! This week we have had many pleasant rides going through Indiana and Ohio. After our rest in Chicago, which was so much fun by the way, we biked about 70 miles to the Indiana Sand Dunes and camped there for the night. We walked to the lake shore for sunset and could see Chicago in the distance, right below the sunset and it was so beautiful! Lake Michigan is so large and magnificent!
The following day, we rode Elkhart IN. I got a flat tire in the morning and didn't have anymore spare tubes with me but all of the shops were closed because it was still early in the morning 😬 Thankfully, a kind man with a truck saw us and brought us to his workshop where he was able to patch it all up himself. To get to Elkhart we rode along the 20 but it wasn't a nice road at all. There were so many trucks and so much tire scraps and sharp objects on the shoulder where we were riding. We got help yet again that day to get us onto a better and safer road. Nevertheless we eventually arrived in Elkhart and rested in a great Amish cafe, followed by some fun play time with these little girls that were hanging out in the back yard of our Warmshowers hosts home. After a very pleasant evening with great company, delicious food and a beautiful scenery, we woke up early the next morning to start riding at 5am and bike 140 miles to Toledo Ohio! That was our longest ride we've ever done (and will most likely be the longest ride we'll ever do...at least on this trip that is). The beginning of our day was a bit challenging for me because I was riding on a flat tire. Something punctured a tiny hole in my back tire again and air was slowly deflating as I was biking. Since there were no shops opened at that hour, I continuously pumped it up with our little hand pump whenever the tire would get to be too flat to ride on, but that hand pump definitely would not have done the job to take me 140 miles. At around 7:00 we were biking on the Pumpkinvine Trail in Goshen where another biker saw us and started chatting with us. It turns out he worked at a bike shop nearby called Lincoln Avenue Cycling, and though it was still too early for the shop to be opened, he made a phone call and let us go to the shop so that I could fix my flat and buy a new tire. He really saved the day! The remainder of our day consisted of biking through a lot of Amish country which was so beautiful! We saw so many people, young and old, biking on the road, riding on their horse and buggies, hanging up laundry outside, and plowing the fields. It gave off such a peaceful feeling ☺️ And everybody that passed us always waved! It made us feel very welcome :)
At around 7:30, we finally made it to Toledo and felt a mix of accomplishment and exhaustion. It honestly wasn't as bad as we had expected it to be, but I can gladly say that I am very much okay with not having to bike that much again 😛 It did however make riding 80 and 90 miles feel like a breeze the next couple days though! Everything is relative ;) On August 3rd we biked from Toledo to Huron where Lance let us stay at his lake house. He took us out to dinner and made a delicious chocolate pudding pie 😍 He biked Route 66 a couple of years ago. We had such a fun time exchanging stories and talking about how life-changing bike touring can be. He sent us off the next morning with homemade pancakes and smiles on our faces. Just shortly after we started biking, a storm came in and it started pouring rain on us! It was actually kind of fun riding in it! We ended our day in Stow Ohio where we first met up with a college friend, Ian Ferguson, and then stayed with Don, Deborah, Mark and David Pitrone, my brother-in-laws family. It is always so refreshing to see familiar faces and catch up. Debrah had made us SO much incredible food all centered around beats, hummus, and celery which is what we love! She is an incredible cook! I stayed up late chatting with them, and while it did make me a bit tired the following day, it was totally worth it 😛 On the 5th, we biked 95 miles to get to Aliquippa PA. The minute we crossed into Pennsylvania, we were immediately welcomed with big hills that'll probably only get more difficult as we get deeper into the state. 😳Now we are taking a mini vacation and visiting some friends in the area and will begin biking again on august 11th. It feels so weird not biking but it is certainly very relaxing!
These last few weeks have been both the best and the worst. It is interesting to reflect on all of the emotional changes I've gone through from feeling liberated, small, excited, angry, thankful, alone, and the list just goes on and on. There were days these past few weeks where I found myself catching flies in my mouth because I was smiling too much and other days where I felt so angry that I couldn't help but scream at the top of my lungs. We've had some extremely windy and difficult days that just pushed every nerve I had. There were moments, especially in North Dakota, (so long ago, I know) where I was so angry and upset with everyone and everything. There was once where I even found myself cursing out loud! And I normally never swear! 😳 😜 There'd be times where I felt so tired and alone and angry at G-d for making us have to bike through such awful winds and hills. Why would He do this to me, I kept asking, what have I done to deserve such a miserable day? I was so frustrated! But as I was drowning in my anger, I also realized that there will never be an event in life that doesn't have positive and negative consequences. I was the one that signed up for this. G-ds not gonna flatten America because Christina and I are coming through. That'd be awfully selfish of me to expect 😝 I know that's obvious, but those struggling moments just reminded me that life's not about finding the easiest path, but rather about finding the strength, courage and support to get past the difficult ones. I am quite nervous about biking through Pennsylvania because it will be another state full of steep rolling hills and mountains that we'll have to climb, but I hope that we'll be able to find the strength we need to move past it and see the beauty between every struggle. As always, we are so grateful for this amazing journey that we're having, the amazing people we constantly come across, the breathtaking views, and the endless support from all of you.
-Ajelet
