8/7 We began our day bright and early leaving camp by 6:30. We crossed the
border to Michigan and did a group photo with the sign - then we crossed the
road to the Welcome to Illinois sign to snag a shot since we'd been cheated a
welcome sign on the way in. We ate breakfast in the small coastal town of New
Buffalo where we discovered our first flat of the day, sadly as we were just
about to hit the road. We made it halfway to Niles, our lunch spot, before we
encountered our second flat of the day. Pushing onward we got to Niles and had a
speedy lunch of deli sandwiches, strawberries and oranges. On our way out of
Niles we had to walk our bikes across some train tracks and Tyler's rack snapped
off his bike. John and Tyler went back into town to seek help from a bike shop
while the rest of the group went ahead to Kalamazoo. Katie, Lydia and Branton
made incredible time to Kalamazoo while John and Tyler reluctantly
bought train tickets to catch up. For the trio, some accidental detours brought
the day to an impressive 95 miles. The whole group reconvened in Kalamazoo by 9:00 for a warm welcome by the Nelson family. We ate chicken wings and delicious
donuts from the Sweetwater Mill. Before bed we hopped into the hot tub to relax
our muscles and then climbed into our tents.
8/7 We began our day bright and early leaving camp by 6:30. We crossed the
border to Michigan and did a group photo with the sign - then we crossed the
road to the Welcome to Illinois sign to snag a shot since we'd been cheated a
welcome sign on the way in. We ate breakfast in the small coastal town of New
Buffalo where we discovered our first flat of the day, sadly as we were just
about to hit the road. We made it halfway to Niles, our lunch spot, before we
encountered our second flat of the day. Pushing onward we got to Niles and had a
speedy lunch of deli sandwiches, strawberries and oranges. On our way out of
Niles we had to walk our bikes across some train tracks and Tyler's rack snapped
off his bike. John and Tyler went back into town to seek help from a bike shop
while the rest of the group went ahead to Kalamazoo. Katie, Lydia and Branton
made incredible time to Kalamazoo while John and Tyler reluctantly
bought train tickets to catch up. For the trio, some accidental detours brought
the day to an impressive 95 miles. The whole group reconvened in Kalamazoo by 9:00 for a warm welcome by the Nelson family. We ate chicken wings and delicious
donuts from the Sweetwater Mill. Before bed we hopped into the hot tub to relax
our muscles and then climbed into our tents.
