Upon request, I'd like to inform you of our arrivals in Urbana and Chicago which are coming up!
We will arrive in Urbana and June 10 and leave the next morning.
We'll arrive in Chicago on Friday, June 13 around noon at Millennium Park.  This would be a great time to come see us as we should have plenty of  time to hang around the park.  We'll leave Sunday morning, June 15 and anyone is welcome to bike out of Chicago with us!  You should join!  It should be a nice ride, mostly on bike paths.  I would really love to see as many friends and family as possible on this trip, so please stop by the park, join the ride out of Chicago, or call or email me another time!

We have reached our long-awaited rest day at Andrew's house in Dublin, OH, near Columbus.  This day is exciting not only because it is our first rest day since D.C., but also because it marks the end of hills and the beginning of flat land!  This has come gradually as we've seen less and less hills during the past few days.  However, flat doesn't necessarily mean easy riding.  Yesterday was our introduction to strong wind, which is sure to get stronger and rarely favor the direction we travel.  We also biked on some narrow roads without a shoulder and with heavy traffic.  While I hope to find some peaceful rides through the Midwest, there will most likely be many rides on dense roads which require constant alertness, and fighting the wind.

Our ride yesterday was long and the weather was very hot, however I didn't mind the heat at all after 2 days of rain.  Two days ago we rode through rain for most of the day, including a thunderstorm.  We also rode on a very bumpy rode for most of the morning.  It was wonderful to reach a warm church and cuddle up in my sleeping bag on a couch at the end of that ride.

Despite the wind and narrow dense roads yesterday, we also spent some time on bike trails through forest.  The first bike trail had some funny obstacles, such as a tree that grew almost parallel to the ground around hip level.  We also saw a building or something that looked like a giant wicker bread basket.  I wish I could post pictures on this blog...

It was absolutely wonderful to reach Andrew's house yesterday.  His parents have been amazingly generous, supplying us with lots of delicious food, spacious sleeping arrangements, showers, internet access, a cute dog to play with, laundry, and relaxation.  Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Erikson!  This is a perfect place for a much-needed rest day.  Especially before our first 100+ mile day tomorrow.  Wish me luck!