Day 16 The Gee Brief: Why didn't we think of that in the first place? Also, the roads to Heaven and Hell

Day 16: July 6th

Valparaiso, IN to Oswego, IL

Why didn't we think of that...

One of  the cool parts about this journey has been experiencing the evolution of us figuring it out. J has been streamlining the load and unload and the pack of the truck. I have been streamlining the seat figuration the packs in the water bottles on the bike to make the ride goes smoothly and efficiently as possible for example it took me up till today to figure out that I don't really need four water bottles. I had images of being stranded out in the desert hundreds of miles from any support for gas stations fending for myself eating scorpions and drinking cactus water. Then I realized duh I have a support crew ! Run by the best road boss ever!

The main point is you might ask why didn't you just thinking that to begin with ? The answer is because I'm human ALL have the basis of trial and error in our blood it's what makes life fun the figuring out. Imagine how cool it would be if we can go from Portland to Portland in the blink of an eye. And at the same time imagine how sad it would be. Portland Oregon is only one of the destinations on this trip there a million little other destinations in between each one is a journey and a destination onto itself.  J figuring out how to pack the truck right in me figuring out the best place for my GPS we're both destination to be reached because of this journey. The best part is that happiness is not something we will obtain when we reach Portland Oregon we are both happy right now.  Damn this is fun!

The roads to Heaven and Hell....lie between Valparaiso and Oswego!

Rootbeer ready to roll!

Ohh my goodness! Where do I begin? The day started with me once again using Rootbeer since Jenard's seat would have taken a little too much time to readjust. The irony is that Jenard was designed specifically for the type of roads I would encounter.

Another Alien contraption in Chicago Heights

Awesome bike path, New Lenox, IL

The first city I passed through was Hobart, IN followed immediately by Merrillville, IN. The area has a TON of shopping and cool stores, however, the road itself alternated between busy and more busy. It was a high stress ride. Things got a little nicer outside of these two towns, but then again turned to inner city bumpy am I safe type stuff in Chicago Heights, IL and the beginning of Joliet, IL. Things got REALLY nice in New Lenox, IL The bike path was super wide and smooth. One of the nicest and most comfortable I've been on yet! (heaven).

Then things got rough again! Bumpy, pot holed, almost nonexistent shoulders with traffic heavy going both ways on a small two lane road. Much of the road I've been travelling from Ohio on has been the Lincoln Highway. This was the first transcontinental U.S. highway specifically built for automobiles. It travels from Times Square in NY to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. Some of it is absolutely gorgeous, and some of it looks like the pic you see on the left.

Then came this beautiful view just outside of Joliet. I posted several pics earlier on crossing this scenic bridge. It was a lovely respite from the previously hellish roads I encountered.

Finally the day ended with me standing by the orange barrel you see in this pic. I was looking at our Holiday Inn Express, but I couldn't actually GET to it by road, because of construction. So I picked my bike up and WALKED across the barricade and grass to the hotel. A fitting end to a fire and ice sort of day!