42-Dalbo-Morrill: Half Way!

42.6 miles/+729.9 ft/ Total miles 2004.2

Today I passed 2,000 miles, so I have completed half of the projected 4,000 miles from Boston to Seattle. That feels like an accomplishment.

I have figured out the routines that work for me on this trip. Sometimes it is still challenging to get enough to eat during the day, at reasonable intervals, so that I will have enough energy to ride. It’s a challenge to ride on unfamiliar roads day after day, but I’m used to it now. I need to keep a high level of concentration on what I’m doing, especially if there is a lot of traffic and not much shoulder. I often pull off the road onto the gravel shoulder when there are vehicles in both directions, or sight distance is lacking so the vehicle overtaking me can’t easily pull out around me. At this point, all of this is routine but still requires vigilance to make sure my mind doesn’t wander (not to mention my bike doesn’t wander).

I had thought that I would begin to ease up on planning out the day’s stops in advance, 2-4 days ahead, but I’ve continued to figure out the likely stopping points ahead of time. That way, I can contact potential Warmshowers hosts about 2-5 days in advance and plan according to the responses I get. Even though I am camping “in theory” the actual number of camping nights is still kind of low. 

Today’s weather was a repeat of yesterday’s. The 25% chance of showers found me on the road only once, for a 10 minute shower, and I ducked under a tree to let it pass. The temperature was cool for this time of year – 50s and low 60s. As always, the farmers are complaining. Cut the hay and now it’s gotten rained on 3 or 4 times. Not good. 

I saw sandhill cranes next to the road:

And more farms as the route gradually gained elevation toward the Mississippi River (I will cross it tomorrow).

Tonight I am staying at Alice’s Attic, another biker-only camp and bunkhouse. I called a couple of days ago to say I would be here on Saturday, and Alice left the barn unlocked for me. She has an antique shop here in the barn and also works as a nurse. I expect that I will be the only cyclist here tonight.

Last night, there were two west-to-east riders at the Dalbo bunkhouse:

John (in white jersey) is from Washington state, and is keeping a journal on the bike touring website Crazyguyonabike. I know that quite a few of my readers think that I am crazy for wanting to ride a bike across the U.S., but believe me there are plenty of other bikers out there doing much crazier things than me. You can see a list of current journals on the home page. 

Here are some statistics for the first half of the trip:

Turtles rescued from the road:  0

Dogs that chased me – but never got close enough to do damage: 3

Flat tires: 3

Nights with no shower at the end of the day: 4 

Headwind: 5 days

Tailwind: 7 days

Rain while riding, enough to get wet: 4.5 days

Hot days (over 85): 4.5

Amish horse and buggy sighting while I’m riding: 1

Overall, I think I’ve been lucky with the weather. There has been lots of rain when I am off the bike, and not much when I’ve been riding. The riders I met last night had not seen any rain at all until the squalls yesterday, so it’s possible that I will be seeing a lot less rain as I get further west. There is still the possibility of thunderstorms, and I expect that I will have hot weather in North Dakota and points further west. But by then I will be away from the humidity, so it should be easier to deal with. 

Here’s hoping for a second half that goes as well as the first half!