Day 20 – Neenah, WI to Wisconsin Rapids, WI

To avoid biking in the heat like yesterday, we got up early. This morning was hillier than Michigan was, but the cool(ish) breeze helped. And Aidan has decided to set a new goal this trip – to gain weight.  And that, apparently, is no easy task. Now, food is present at every moment that our bikes are still, as well as many times when we’re moving. 

I was pleasantly surprised to discover an email today, notifying me of a new blog post by my not-so-little-anymore cousin, Willie! He’s 11, and has been keeping a blog of their family adventures – I highly recommend following his blog: fifteeneast.wordpress.com. 

A woman stopped on the side of the road to ask about our trip, and we had a great conversation with her. She took our photo and gave us money for ice cream! Thank you!! 

I guess we are quite a sight…

Lunch was a bad experience. We decided to try these “just add water!” meals that we’d bought, and now know that they need lessons from Grandma Nancy. I actually felt sick for a few hours after eating 1/3 of my bowl that was filled with glue-like rice and veggie soup. To be fair, the package did say to simmer the mixture in 8 cups of water, and we used less than 2… Aidan’s beef stew was apparently no better than my soup, but he did manage somehow to eat it all! It tasted like it was mostly salt, and I’m shuddering just remembering it, so that’s as much of a description as I’ll give. 

We took naps in the shade of some trees, then filled our water bottles from a spring in the town park. We had been told where to look, and it was easy to find as there was actually a spigot to aid us in filling our empty bottles.

Since we returned to our schedule of early riding, a long mid-day break, then evening riding, we biked nearly 100 miles today! I think my odometer was at 96 miles when opportunity knocked. 

It turned out that this location was significantly less enjoyable that we’d expected, due to the millions of mosquitos that instantly swarmed us. So we hurriedly set up the tent, cooked pasta, and ate with our headlamps turned off, pacing back and forth to keep one step ahead of some of the bugs. The tent is now free of all living mosquitos, and the stars are suddenly much more beautiful.