Ride Bikes Save Earth

Yesterday we woke up in Ohio, rode through Pennsylvania, and went to bed in New York - not bad for a day on the bike!  We spent the whole day riding along Lake Erie on Route 5, riding through the Grape Belt with the sweet smell of concord grapes enticing us along.  The grapes are used for wineries, but also a lot seem to go towards Welch’s grape juice.  The area really is beautiful even with the dark clouds over us.  We’ve been wet and cold now for the last three days with threatens of storms, but we’ve been spoiling ourselves with cheap motels - which we are now very tired of - looking forward to getting back into our tent, or rather, back to farms.  Our route has changed from our original plans in the hopes that we can make it to Vermont before it gets much colder!!  But we know we are nearing the end and the rides are getting harder with the intermixing feelings of excitement to finish, sadness to be done, and unease for what comes next.  We thank everyone who’s been following along and sending us thoughts & messages along the way - these carry us through the day and especially now as the bikes feel heavy and our toes are cold.

Had to end the day yesterday due to a storm in Chicago. Were expecting to do a 90 mile day but settled for 64, making today a little longer, so we get in a bit later than we expected for Johnsons Produce who have some activities planed for us. We’re sitting right now refueling with some begals and will be on our way. BUT this morning is the first time in three weeks we have wind helping us along, a light one, but we’ll take it as a gift!

We are in Dixon Illinois learning about Icelandic Sheep. A beautiful hobby farm that has around 60 sheep, 1 Lama, 2 collies, a great perinese, a chicken coop and ducks that are taking over, but as the winter comes in the ducks will fill the freezer, family and friends. Some of the sheep get sold and the wool gets spun. Speaking of spinning, Becky is getting her first lesson in the art of textiles.
What a unique piece of property tucked in and amongst the towering surrounding corn.

So far our Iowa visit has been filled with adventure, education, and chance meetings with incredible people!  Today is no different as we sit in Reid’s Beans Coffee Shoppe in West Branch, IA, the birthplace of Herbert Hoover.  Today’s ride was supposed to take us to Fulton, IL to visit Honey Girl Honey.  We were starting to get a little nervous as today was one of those days starting a little slow - first, we woke up most comfortably and clean in the house of Bedstemor’s dear friend, Dody, who was incredibly kind to offer us a place to stay when we diverted our route south a little to visit ZJ Farms, a small, family run ,very diversified farm with a huge CSA, at the Iowa City Farmer’s Market.  We had a hearty breakfast with Dody and got on our way, but stopped shortly to make some phone calls and work further on our route.  We rode on again, with a few stops here and there, trying to pin down our directions on the back country roads.  And now we find our selves in Reid’s Beans, talking with Laura (”the coolest grandma” in West Branch, IA - Iowa is full of very cool grandmas!!), who has set us up to visit Scattergood Friends School, a college prep school, rooted in Quakerism and running a full organic farm.  And so, the route changes slightly today, as we make our way to the school, excited to visit with the students, sharing our tale and seeing their hard work.  Honey Girl Honey and our following farms will be pushed back one day - we hope we don’t interfere with everyone’s schedules too much.  For those farms in the coming two weeks - we’ll be giving you a call or email to clarify our visit before we get there and we apologize for any inconvenience we may make with our visit!  We may be able to make up some time, but that is the one thing we are starting to dread - the quick time of change as we are seeing the colors change on the leaves of the trees.  Winter is chasing us and we still have so many farms to visit!

Another big day in the wind!
But we were lucky and thankful to Becky’s Grandmother Bedstemor, who picked us up, let us clean up, rest and
refuel. Thank you, thank you! But we are on the road again to discovery!

On Saturday we went to the Des Moines Farmer’s Market - probably, by far, the largest farmer’s market we’ve been to on this trip - I’m talking blocks and blocks of booths.  There are a few vendors who sell non-food items, such as clothing or jewelry, but the majority of booths sell local food including, but not limited to, produce, meats, home-made root beer, breads, grains, honeys, flowers, herbs, oils, and cheeses!  You could do all your shopping here!  We are happy to see this market here in the middle of the Food Belt, because it demonstrates that there are people growing a much more diverse variety of foods (in ways that are friendly to the environment) than the miles and miles of corn, soybeans, and cattle we have been cycling through for the last 8 days.    So, the next time you’re in Des Moines, IA, enjoy your Saturday morning at the Farmer’s Market on Court Avenue, from 7am to noon; buy your veggies for the week, enjoy the numerous venues of live music, converse with your local farmers, and eat a Dutch letter for breakfast.

tHREE DAYS  OUT OF BOULDER, IN A PLACE CALLED OGALLALA, NABRASKA. WE HAVE SOME MILES TO GO BEFORE WINTER. TODaY WAS A BIG REALIZATION AS TO HOW MUCH EARLIER THE SUN IS SETTING! YESTERDAY WAS A BIG DAY WITH 84 MILES AND TODAY WAS ANOTHER BIG ONE WITH 94 MILES. THESE NEXT FEW WEEKS WE WIILL TRY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SORT OF FLAT ROADS. AND WE HAVE YET TO ENCOUNTER THE WESTERLY WINDS. IN FACT THE WIND HAS BEEN STRAIGHT FROM THE EAST.  BUT WE ARE HOPING TOMORROW THE WINDS WILL BE AT OUR BACK. EITHER WAY WE WILL KEEP GOING EAST!