31/07/10 Plymouth - Clearwater

Yep! We are back on the road. Bob escorted us on his bike for about 10 km. Then, all the Fallen family were waiting for us at a random corner. We felt like racing in Le Tour de France with a bunch of fans on the side of the road, encouraging us. After saying good bye, we continued our way up to Clearwater. At the grocery store, a man from Washington DC talked with me and while I was writing our website address, he put two beers on the picnic table. There are definitely great people in Minnesota. We ended up in a very nice park at the limit of the town.

distance: 85 km

25-30/07/10 Healing process at Fallen

Now, we had been at Jill and Ben's place for 5 days and Xavier's butt was still bright red and he was spending all his days naked in bed. So we needed some change of scenery. Luckyly, we had met the Witt family in Chesterton IN and they had told us they had some friend close to Minneapolis.
So we called them. And Bob, the father, came to pick us up with all our gears. And we didn't only meet Bob when we got to Plymouth, but his wife Kathy, their children Tom and Kelley, Bob's brother Mark, his wife Ladonna, thier children Connor, Carter and Chloe. Also, Bob's sister Michelle visiting from Phoenix with her two daughters Carmen and Regan. The two dogs Guiness and Murphey. That's about everyboby. The Fallen's are a great family, and combined with good wine and nice fire pits we started to really like them!!!!

Now something else that helped a lot is that Bob had been to Quebec and all these great place like Trois-Rivere and Chicoutimi, and was a huge Habs fan, or at least knew a lot about it. Also Mark is a physician it helped little scared Xavier to fell a lot better being told everyday he wouldn't die of all his wounds. Because really Xavier was still spending most of his time in bed and couldn't really walk or sit. Worst of all he was not eating.

At one point they all decied that it was enough of Xavier looking like he was just straight out of Afganistan. It was time for the hair cut.

Now things are much better and we are going to head out tomorrow. Back on the road! I can't wait it's been such a long time. But there are still a couple other things to say about this big familly. We were amazed by your simplicity and your humour. We were really happy to share with you a passion for hockey, wine and great food. For the 5 days we were at your place we really felt like home and that certainly helped Xavier to recover. Bob also made some lettering for our bags. WOW

You are all more than welcome to come couchsurfing at our place anytime! We can't promess a bed, or even a couch. But we can promess good wine, good food and good compagny.

BUTT STUCK!

Ok we`re stuck in Minneapolis, it`s been 3 days already and there are a couple more to go!
Xavier is in quarantine. What started as a butt irritation spreaded to different locations to be in the words of the doctor:  an irritation, allergy and reaction to poison ivy. Or in other words I have no clue what you have so I'll give you three different medications and you'll get over this.
Personnal interpretation : the immune system was down and the skin is reacting to anything.
So as a personnal nurse I have to say that all levels of initmacy between me and him have been broken.
We hope to be back on the road soon. As you can understand this blog won't have be very active in the following days.
Thank you to everyone who's helping us at the moment. Particularly Ben and Jill, our couchsurfer hosts, who are stuck with us and have to see Xavier running between his cold baths and his bed all day and night.

Alors si vous voulez bien écrire des petits mots d'encouragement à Xavier, parce que mon support moral commence à s'épuiser, afin qu'il surmonte avec grâce et courage (comme les mousquetaires du livre qui est son seul ami en ce moment) cette douleur fessière.

22-23-24/07/10 Minneapolis

Xavier est dans un état étrange, avec son pied d'athlete, son rhume et une sale irritation des fesses qui semble se propager. On va faire quelques achats, comme un nouveau pneu arrière pour ma bicyclette. On voyait la chambre à air au travers. En soirée on visite le Walker Art Center, c'est gratuit le jeudi soir. Le musée comme tel, par Herzog et de Meuron, est assez impressionnant, mais les pièces d'art le sont beaucoup moins. Le jardin de sculpture vaut lui aussi le détour.

Le lendemain l'irritation de Xavier a beaucoup empiré et il doit rester couché. Je vais avec Ben faire le tour de quelques bâtiments après un méga déjeuner de crêpes.

There is a lot of contemporary architecture in Minneapolis by well renowed architects. I was particularly empressed by the Guntrie Theater by Jean Nouvel, pictures don't give justice to this building, it really has to be seen.

Library by Cesar Pelli

Artefact at Guntrie Theater

Gehry again, free museum 

21/07/10 Wilson - Minneapolis

We ride all day. My cold is still bothering me. Just before Hudson I get a cramp in my leg and have to stop. Amelie is taking care of me. We drink water and eat and I am back on my bike. In St-Paul, we get lost in the downtown but finally find our way to Ben & Jill's apartment. We arrive at around 21h30, hungry and tired, but Ben is very welcoming. I am sure we will have a great time there. Today, we hit the 3000 km!
Distance: 110 km

19-20/07/10 Eau Claire - Menomonie

We leave the motel at around 11. We have to bike on a huge and ugly boulevard and then on a highway for a couple of miles. We stop at the library of Menomonie to find a coachsurfer in Minneapolis. At the grocery store, we meet Casey who invites us to her place. Xavier has a cold and feels pretty tired so we accept. We meet her husband Bob and their little daughter Natalie. This family is charming. They take care of Xavier and his cold and let us sleep until twelve. We have such a great time with them, that finally when we leave, it is already 5pm. We ride 30 km and find a spot in the woods near Wilson. Thanks very much Casey, Bob and Natalie for having us that night. We fell really lucky we met you and will be more than happy to see you again if the occasion shows.

18/07/10 Eau Claire

Aujourd'hui il me faut un break. On achète une carte d'appel et contact la famille puis on se trouve un motel bien crade. On passe la journée à s'empiffrer dans le lit en regardant la télé. Ça fait du bien!

17/07/10 Neillsville - Eau Claire

On roule toute la journée entre les collines du Wisconsin. C'est une autre journée de montagnes russes.

À Willard, on s'arrête dans un parc et on observe les Amish qui se déplacent en carriole. Cette région a été principalement peuplée par des Allemands et des Scandinaves.

On arrive tard et épuisés à Eau-Claire avec un orage sur la tête. On rencontre Dale qui nous invite chez lui. On doit cependant passer à l'épicerie d'abord. En revenant de l'épicerie, les sirènes de tornades résonnent dans la ville. On en finit plus des tornades et des orages ces temps-ci. Dale est un ancien marine blessé à l'entraînement. Lors d'un exercice de nuit, il est tombé d'une falaise, 123 pi. plus bas. Par miracle il a survécu mais le dos en bouilli. Puis à l'hôpital, en jouant en chaise roulante, il est tombé une autre fois, de deux étages cette fois. Bref, c'est un gars un peu malchanceux. Aujourd'hui, il passe ses journées debout chez lui, parce qu'il ne peut pas s'asseoir. Les quatre doses de morphine qu'il prend par jour lui donne un petit côté bizarre. Les gens du Wisconsin sont de grands chasseurs-pêcheurs et cette famille est fidèle à la tradition. Dans la maison, il y a au moins 5 têtes de cerfs accrochés aux murs. On dort en face d'une de ces bêtes, dans une chambre tapissée à l'image d'une forêt avec des photos de cerfs. Au sol, il y a des arcs et des flèches. Distance: 110 km

16/07/10 Blenker - Neillsville

Depuis Manitowoc, j'ai du pied d'athlète et malgré tout mes soins, rien n'y fait. Il faut règler ça au plus vite et ça commence par faire faire un tour dans la laveuse à mes souliers. On se rend donc à Marshfield pour trouver un Laundromat. On y fait notre lavage, notre vaisselle et commençons notre repas. On prend un peu trop de place. À ce moment-là, le propriétaire sort de son bureau avec une expression de terreur sur son visage qui veut dire quelque chose comme: " Mais Putain! Qu'avez vous fait à mon magasin!" Alors finalement on se pousse. Après avoir roulé trois heures dans les collines, on s'arrête chez les Schmidt qui nous laisse camper dans leur cours. Distance: 60 km

15/07/10 Galloway - Blenker

This morning, Amelie is not going well. Miller's High Life beer is cheap and very bad. Amelie is not able to eat at all, has an headache and feels sick. Eventually, she eats some oatmeal but it is not an easy day. We are on the road C in the Marathon County. The road is not so bad but it is going up and down like crazy. At one point, we have to stop because yesterday's rain has flooded the road. We are tired and frustrated. In the last few days, we have been stuck with bad bike trails, detours, storms, tornados and now flooding. We take a rest and later decide to go on the county highway which has less chance to be flooded. Because of the storm, woods and fields now all look like swamps and therefore, there is a lot of mosquitos. Finally, Amelie knocks at a door in Blenker and asks a men to pitch our tent on his lawn. Distance: 80 km

14/07/10 Clintonville - Galloway

The day start well, Patty and Tom make us their special receipy of oatmeals. Then, we leave and enjoy the wind that is pushing us.

Then things became more complicated when a very severe storm surprised us with strong winds and lightening everywhere. We were biking in a prairie. We took the first driveway we saw and asked the owner if we could stay at his place the time the storm pass its way. He put our bike in his shed and we went inside the house. We met his wife. Because that was a huge thunderstorm, we had plenty of time to talk with them. They were very open people. We talked about many things: eatable bad weeds, native people, petroleum monopole, etc. The man worked in a gold claim in Alaska went he was younger. It was really facinating hearing about all his stories.

Almost two hours after, we were back on our bike with a nice sun shining on us. But then, many cars stopped and told us to find a shelter because a bigger storm with tornados was coming. We biked fast, watching constantly the clouds. We arrived at Galloway less than 2 hours after leaving our hippie couple. In the sky, dark clouds were moving fast in all direction...in fact, the clouds were making a circle and it seemed that we were at the center. We made our minds and decided to find a shelter in the town. Since the only thing in the town open to public was a bar, we got in. The bar was called Jen's Tonic and we met the owner Jen. We spent the evening there. Outside, winds were terrible, uprooting trees and making rain pouring horizontally. There were lightenings every two seconds which, when looking through the windows, made me feel like if it was the day all night. People from the area where coming to the bar since there were power outages in the sector. Even in the bar, Jen had to light up candles after we lost electricity for few seconds. To pass the time, we drank pitchers of Miller beer and ate pizza while watching tv. Eventually, more than three inches of rain accumulated on the ground, which would have made our tent look more or less like a submarine. Jen offered us to sleep in her apartment just over the bar. So we put our bikes in the backstore, climbed the stairs and went to bed. Thank you Jen for your hospitality. We hope you will still have those kind of thunderstorms in the area since it looks to be good for your business. Distance: 55 km

13/07/10 Kewaunee - Clintonville

Pushed by a wind coming from the lake, we bike fast to Green Bay. We enter the Packer's home town in early afternoon. Green Bay is meaningful for us since it is our last stop before leaving definetely the Great Lakes. Biking along Lakes Ontario, Erie and Michigan has definetely been a wonderful experience. For sure we will miss the fine sand beaches and welcoming communities. But for us, leaving the Lakes also means no more salvatory breezes during hot and humid days, no more nice places to rest and relaxe when the sun is too hot or the weather to windy and no more accessible and convenient beach's facilities such as free washrooms and showers. Now we will have to find our way through the prairies, constantly facing the dominant West wind.

I realized that we never had local fish from the Lakes. So I wanted to find a good restaurant and try a typical local fish meal. Amelie was not sure about it. So we made our way through Green Bay and at the limits of the city, I saw exactly what I was looking for. From the exterior, the restaurant was all painted in blue. The name of the restaurant was written over a huge all wooden helm. Inside, there were anchors, fishing nets and all sort of fishes hanging over our heads. There were also several boat models, starfishes and paintings on the walls. My stomach was already happy. Then, we looked at the menu. Not a single fish meal on it! Just hamburgers, hot dogs and sandwiches! How can you decorate your whole restaurant like a boat and serve no fish! I was outraged. Amelie was starving so we ordered a huge nachos grande, ate it and ride as fast as we can out of this city with the promess of never going back there.

From the restaurant, we reach the Mountain-Bay trail which was supposed to bring us to Wassau. But the cycle path is so bad that our tires sink in the crushed stones so we have to go off the trail. We decide to take country roads instead and go more south then we were supposed to. Arriving in Clintonville, we meet Tom at the gas station. He is part of a cyclist club and has already made the type of trip we are now doing. He invites us at his place where we meet his wife Patty. Distance: 110 km

12/07/10 Manitowoc - Kewaunee

When we wake up, we just realize where we are. We have pitched the tent under a small shelter in a waterfront park of Manitowoc. There is a bike trail just 3 meters from the tent and a parking just beside us. I also realize that I have athlete's foot, probably due to all this rain. Oh yes, I am forgetting, my back tire has a flat. What a nice morning! We bike all the day and this is bad! The road we take goes over step hills and it is very exhausting. Like if it wasn't enough, my front rack brake and I have to fix it. We finally pitch the tent in a pine wood passed Kewaunee.

11/07/10 Oostburg - Manitowoc

Today is FIFA final's game and we don't want to miss it. So we bike hard to Sheboygan and enter in a bar called Legend Larry's. A guy pays us two beers. That's a good start. We keep ordering the best chicken wings of the whole US and drinking local beers all through the game. The bartender gives us a bottle of the Legend Larry's hot garlic sauce and then we are back on the road... more or less in shape.

We finally get to Manitowoc with a huge storm running after us. Rain is pouring and we stop under a gazebo in a park. We are all wet. Off course we are not supposed to camp there, but tonight we don't really care. It is too bad outside.  Distance 80 km

10/07/10 North Milwaukee - Oostburg

Je me lève assez tôt et fait l'entretien des vélos pendant qu'Amélie ronfle encore.

Back on the cycle path, we meet a group of six cyclists going to Port Washington. We have lunch with them and ride together to Port Washington. Great meeting with interesting people! It's also good to be biking with other people. That's something great about biking, you can meet people on the road which is almost impossible when you are driving a car.

Then, Amélie and I continue our way. We are caught in a thunderstorm and a transformer at 100 ft from me is hit by a lightening and explodes in a huge blue flash. We find a highway overpass and stay under it. During the storm, Amélie lost a tupperware full of corn salad. I bike back on the road to find it and on my way, I see two blue herons standing in the middle of the road. That's strange.

Later, we reach Oostburg and meet Phil at the supermarket who invites us in his apartment. We accept. Thank you Phil!

Phil's little bike

Distance 60 km

09/07/10 Racine - North Milwaukee

La journée est encore une fois très chaude. On arrive a Milwaukee vers 13h. On passe une bonne partie de la journée a visiter le Milwaukee Art Museum. Milwaukee me fait penser à Montréal avec son port commercial et son centre-ville.

 On quitte vers 17h. Amélie est très fatiguée et sortir de la ville est difficile.  Finalement on plante la tente sur le bord d'une piste cyclable où on se fait dévorer par les moustiques. On se croirait en Abbitibi. Distance 75 km

08/07/10 Highland Park - Racine

Another hot and humid day. We enjoy the fast and straight cycle paths of Illinois and Wisconsin. Yes, we are now in Wisconsin. This is the fifth American state we are passing by. Still two states to go! When we arrive in Kenosha, we have diner on a beach. Kenosha is a pretty big city and there is no place to camp so we decide to keep biking and finally pitch the tent at dark on the side of the bike trail just after Racine.

07/07/10 Chicago - Higland Park

Nous sommes partis à 11h pour aller déjeuner au Wiener Circle. Ok un hot dog de Chicago ça ne constitue pas vraiment un déjeuner mais c'était notre seule chance!

It is very hot and humid outside. It is our first real day of biking since the 1st of July. Xavier is dying. At Higland Park, we find a beach and pitch the tent. Actually, the security guy helps us find a spot where nobody will bother us.The water is very cold but Xavier goes for a swim in the lake only because he really needs a shower. Distance: 80 km

04-06/07/10 Chicago

It seems that we were in Chicago at the right time. On the 4th of July, we have a BBQ on the waterfront and later, we watch the fireworks. The parks and the beaches are crowded with people barbecuing. But since all good things come to an end, once the fireworks are over, that is at 9:30pm, the police just pushes everybody out of the parks. There were police helicopteres spotlighting and police officers patrolling the parks and the beaches on their noisy ATV. I felt like a bad action movie.

The next day, we do a tour of Hyde Park with Anna, Benton and Miro and later, have another bbq in the backyard. Finally, we decide to leave on the 6th. Thank you Miro, Anna, Benton, Chris, Micha and Nate for having us during these days and sharing with us all the good sides of Chicago. We will never forget it. I hope you will come in Montreal one day so we can show you our City...But please do not come all together at the same time. I guess our apartment will be smaller than yours. Haha!

For our last day in Chicago, we decide to go downtown and have a real Chicago Pizza. Well... not sure if it a pizza or a pie but yes it did fill our stomach.

Then, we went at Yevi's place, a friend of Monica from Toledo. She had a really nice apartment downtown Chicago. We cooked shrimps for her and had a great time talking and drinking wine with her. Now Xavier was partiularly happy, as she was the first engineer we were meeting on this trip! Thank you Yevi!

03/07/10 Chicago

Second day in Chicago, we decide to take the train from Hyde Park to Oak Park and visite Frank Lloyd Wright houses. On the way back we stop at the IIT and have a look to their incredible buildings. We spend the evening at the apartment cooking pasta for our hosts and drinking good beers.

building by Rem Koolhas

02/07/10 Chicago

Chicago is a pretty and kind of laid back city. We spend the first day walking in the downtown and listening to free outdoor concerts.

Later, we go on the top of the Hancock Tower and the 8$ beer is well worth the view.

01/07/10 Chesterton to Chicago

In the morning, we have breakfast with the Witt family. We leave early in the morning because there is a long way to go. We take successively three bike trails that brought us in the south suburbia of Chicago. Then, we bike three hours in the busy Chicagoan streets before finally getting to Miroslav's apartment. Miro is from Detroit but is now studying at the University of Chicago. Similarly to us, he is planning a trip from Chicago to San Francisco on his bike. He lives in a huge apartment in Hyde Park with 7 other people, all nice. Although we are tired, we decide to go on the North side of Chicago to have diner. The ride is very cool. Chicago has built a good waterfront trail that looks pretty and that offers to the cyclists a fast way for commuting to the downtown.

Distance: 95 km + 40 km