It Will Be Okay Again (Pandemic) Tour

[vajrabond]

Using my time at a Chicago Hostel to upload more stuff, to live extra vicariously I uploaded my Relive videos to YouTube and put them in a playlist:

It's missing a few short mileage days or ones with GPS errors, but I'd say I rode 21/30 days this last month.

 

[vajrabond]

Hello, taking some time off after a few big mile days in Wisconsin.

Cool sticker a bike friend gave me in Chicago.

Most of the way from Chicago to Milwaukee is on bike paths.

Sometimes the paved bits were real nice.

One of the first and best views of Lake Michigan.

Forget the name of this place, but a very futuristic spot in Milwaukee.

Lake Michigan from a pier.

Pier view #2

Roadside morning Lake Michigan.

RANDOM TARDIS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

Last couple trailheads on the InterUrban Trail reminded me a lot of the Katy.

Getting on the Devil River State Trail.

Trailside view.

Choo choo banner flag.

Trailhead in Denmark, Wisconsin. Remember thinking the no loitering sign was silly, because that is literally all there is to do at a Trailhead.

WarmShowers host yard campground covid19 spectacular.

The bike surfing cat.

Fox River Trail into Green Bay.

Lunch view in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The hole in the tire finally came and I was glad to be in a hotel to change them out. First time riding "skinny" road tires on my 26 inch steel mountain bike. Curious to see how it rolls as I head into the Wisconsin national forest of the north.

 

[Dmac]

Cool! Thanks for posting, I watched your videos on YouTube also. Good stuff.

 

[vajrabond]

Thank ya. One of these days I'll get around to making real videos on there or something. But at least there is some content.

Cool! Thanks for posting, I watched your videos on YouTube also. Good stuff.

 

[Crazy Hobo Johnny]

Hello, taking some time off after a few big mile days in Wisconsin.
View attachment 56898 Cool sticker a bike friend gave me in Chicago.
View attachment 56899 Most of the way from Chicago to Milwaukee is on bike paths.
View attachment 56900 Sometimes the paved bits were real nice.
View attachment 56901 One of the first and best views of Lake Michigan.
View attachment 56902 Forget the name of this place, but a very futuristic spot in Milwaukee.
View attachment 56903 Lake Michigan from a pier.
View attachment 56904 Pier view #2
View attachment 56905 Roadside morning Lake Michigan.
View attachment 56906 RANDOM TARDIS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
View attachment 56907 Last couple trailheads on the InterUrban Trail reminded me a lot of the Katy.
View attachment 56908 Getting on the Devil River State Trail.
View attachment 56909 Trailside view.
View attachment 56910 Choo choo banner flag.
View attachment 56911 Trailhead in Denmark, Wisconsin. Remember thinking the no loitering sign was silly, because that is literally all there is to do at a Trailhead.
View attachment 56912 WarmShowers host yard campground covid19 spectacular.
View attachment 56913 The bike surfing cat.
View attachment 56914 Fox River Trail into Green Bay.
View attachment 56915 Good advice from a crackhead.
View attachment 56916 Lunch view in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
View attachment 56917 The hole in the tire finally came and I was glad to be in a hotel to change them out. First time riding "skinny" road tires on my 26 inch steel mountain bike. Curious to see how it rolls as I head into the Wisconsin national forest of the north.

Looks like you came through my home town Milwaukee! That white building is the Art Center!

 

[vajrabond]

Looks like you came through my home town Milwaukee! That white building is the Art Center!

Yeah, spent the night there. That coastal Oak leaf Trail reminded me of the west coast a lot.

 

[Crazy Hobo Johnny]

Yeah, spent the night there. That coastal Oak leaf Trail reminded me of the west coast a lot.

I live near the Oak Leaf Trail! I wished I knew ahead of time you were coming this way, we could of met! Maybe next time! You're probably way up north by now! I'll be in La Crosse, Wisconsin next week.

 

[vajrabond]

I live near the Oak Leaf Trail! I wished I knew ahead of time you were coming this way, we could of met! Maybe next time! You're probably way up north by now! I'll be in La Crosse, Wisconsin next week.

Dang, yeah. I rode that whole trail. Just got into Clam Lake tonight.

 

[vajrabond]

Northern Wisconsin has been both beautiful with flickers of ruggedness to keep me on my toes.

New open carry look for predator country.

One of the first and only bears so far.

Overcast and 70 degrees most days.

With so many lakes, even little breaks get great views.

Another bear sighting.

Turtle crossing.

Near the end of one of the best forest rides I've ever done.

Star Lake Campground

All the roads are pretty in Wisconsin.

When the Google shortcut becomes dragging your bike through three feet of mud and miles of puddles.

Only 140 miles remain on this ACA route.

 

[vajrabond]

Finished up the North Lakes Route out of upper Wisconsin. Now in Minneapolis, trying to figure stuff out for bike repairs.

Spent three nights in an above garage apartment on Clam Lake recently.

I noticed a strange clanking out of my bike wheel while touching it up in my host's garage. They encouraged me to take it to their mechanic, who discovered I had cracked my freehub. Which he described as a hand grenade waiting to happen. I was kind of devastated by the price tag of all the things I needed replaced, but to my surprise my WarmShowers host covered the $250 bill including extras like fenders, bar tape, and new pedals.

Host had a paddle boat I played around on for a few hours my last evening.

Another view of Clam Lake.

Snacking is serious business.

Screw Machine.

Another day, another road.

Turns out it is the week of breakages for me, nailed my front rack on a curb and snapped both sides. Going to be tough to find another one, but 6500 miles on a $10 aluminum rack I found at a co-op ain't bad. Had it duct taped and zip-tied to get down the road another 70 miles to Minneapolis.

Random road art.

"The birds work for the bourgeoisie"

The search for a new front rack in Minneapolis begins before the Northern Tier.

 

[Gypsybones]

shit dude, I think you got more rolling miles than me now. I really need to get back to it

 

[vajrabond]

shit dude, I think you got more rolling miles than me now. I really need to get back to it

I'm somewhere between 6.5-7k now. =]

Planning to cross most of the northern tier and do more of the west coast now.

 

[vajrabond]

Happy to announce the Minneapolis search worked out, finding a rack and getting my basket rigged to work. Lodging was free through WarmShowers and a host gave me $150, so I broke even on the week and repairs.

New rack system survived the grocery overload.

After six days of oogling it up at WarmShowers spots and fixing my bike, I finally left Minneapolis for the Northern Tier.

The Mississippi.

Interesting roadside humor in Minnesota.

Made it to the legendary Adventure Bicyclist Bunkhouse on my first night.

Spot was like a mirage at the end of a long day.

The backstory.

Most unique picture of a visitor on the wall. If you go through next year, I'll be on the wall.

Ran into a 77 year old cyclist going the other way, still pedaling covid and all.

One mile into my next rail Trail, I got an okay deal on a private community center campsite with power/ a bathroom.

Same place, first trail head shot.

Best part about this rail Trail is it is PAVED. Who would have thought? 160 miles of bicycle traffic across Minnesota.

Holdingford was the next stop.

Caught a freight train to nowhere.

The famous sheltered bridge.

Seems kind of funny they built a train route over the rail trail.

Only got like 140 miles left of Minnesota, with 100 of that being this paved trail.

 

[vajrabond]

Finished Minnesota and pulled into a WarmShowers spot in Fargo, North Dakota tonight.

Osakis snack area with a view.

Under bridge graffiti

There were at least 3-4 railway bridges overhead.

Freshly paved.

Something about these old buildings feels like riding through a dead America.

There was a cicada in my boot.

Choo choo on the way from Fergus Falls to Fargo.

One side is Moorhead, Minnesota and the other is Fargo, North Dakota.

Good to be sleeping in a bed and getting my stuff cleaned up. Decided on a major route change this week. Rumor has it Glacier Park/ Yellowstone aren't fun places to bike right now because there are more RVs than usual with so many closures. And well, North Dakota isn't considered a jewel or anything. I'll be arriving in SEATTLE Sunday morning. Hoping to do some coastal touring, possibly the Olympic Peninsula and San Juan Islands. I hear I might run into problems with hiker/biker campsites, but my experience last year was stealth camping was quite easy and safer on the coast than many routes I've taken.

 

[Crazy Hobo Johnny]

Nice pics!
Those old buildings look like something out of the TV show, The Walking Dead!
Thank you for sharing and updating the bike trip!

 

[vajrabond]

Survived the 33 hour Amtrak ride to Seattle. Even still got some train sights:

1500+ train miles later: I'm in Seattle.

First night in I decided to stay at a hostel, because no hosts got hold of me.

Splurged on private room at the Green Totoise Hostel, because people were coughing and sneezing up in there and I wasn't about to pay to get the Rona.

Odd time to meet a city for the first time, but I'm glad to head south in the morning and not look back.

The next day I ride a Google route from Seattle to Tacoma, which kind of sucks for the first 20 miles or so because it has me on bike paths in a very industrial area. This was one of my first respites in a greener area.

Getting some serious side eye from Rocky.

Sweet Bowser graffiti along an InterUrban Trail.

My free AirBNB in Tacoma through WarmShowers. Tomorrow I plan to visit the bike co-op that helped me build my bike, maybe get a tune-up. Waiting to hear from another bike traveler who might ride the San Juan Islands and Olympic Peninsula with me.

 

[Gypsybones]

I'm somewhere between 6.5-7k now. =]

Planning to cross most of the northern tier and do more of the west coast now.

almost, I’ve done 8,800k so far. That’s in rolling miles, I don’t count in town.
but looks like you’ll be passing me soon

 

[vajrabond]

Got lucky in Olympia when a host turned out to be a custom bike builder that happened to have the smallest chain ring I finally needed replaced. Stuck around the city for a few nights getting stuff at the expense of gracious WarmShowers hosts.

The 101 makes up the majority of the Peninsula loop.

Hiker/ biker campsites are open at Washington State Parks.

Beautiful coastal trail into Port Townsend.

Camped with a ship in a backyard.

Pretty path on tribal land going through Sequim.

Bike bridge on the Olympic Discovery Trail to Port Angeles.

Cool CouchSurfing host just gave me a Brooks C17 saddle for free, which is worth more than I paid for my bike.

Sleeping on a stage at this little hippie bike Trail host spot in East Port Angeles. Kinda weird story: a person doing a WorkAway stay died here two nights ago. Found dead in the bathroom.

Not even halfway through and the sights/ amenities of the Peninsula yet.

 

[Deleted member 28930]

looks like a amazing trip so far! best of luck

 

[Crazy Hobo Johnny]

Awesome Pics! Keep them coming! Damn I wish I was traveling with you!!! Maybe next time!!! That's nice about the saddle, can't beat that at all!!! Thank you for sharing as always!!!