Katie MacDonald - Bike the US for MS
Day 27 - June 23 - Odell, IL to Oxford Junction, IA - 92.4miHad an amazing sleep last night on one of the couches in the TV room. Woke up at 5am again, for our now regular departure time of 6am. Because we left so early, we missed the first rest stop, but stopped at a gas station to have some breakfast. Shortly before rest stop two in Muscatine, we stopped to get the long awaited picture with the Illinois state sign. We then crossed the mighty Mississippi River, and took pictures with the Iowa sign. Rest stop 2 was at a Walmart, so I stocked up on Clif bars and Powerade - basically what I am living off of these days. Iowa, it turns out, is very hilly. At about mile 68, I bonked hard. Vikki did too, so we stopped for a snack (Clif bar) while Frank and Catherine continued on. A little while later, Vikki got a text from Catherine warning about some dogs, and recommending that we walk past the house so as not to scare/aggravate them. We misjudged how far away the house was, and walked for a little bit more than we should have, before flagging down a pickup truck. The driver assured us that the dogs in question were behind a invisible fence, so we would be safe biking past. We made it to the next rest stop, and relaxed for a bit before taking on the final 11mi. Alison, who rode in the morning, but jumped in the van because her knee was hurting, decided to join for the last bit, so off we went. We got another text from Catherine warning about two tiny dogs, but made it into camp with just a small chase from one of them. The fire department graciously let us shower in their building, which was probably the coolest shower I have ever taken. They actually built us a shower, with tarps and a hose, right in the garage, surrounded by fire trucks. After the shower, I grabbed a burger for dinner at a local restaurant. Chandler started talking with a gentleman sitting at the bar, and the guy ended up buying us dinner! I know I've said this before, but the generosity we are seeing from people on this trip is just outstanding. After dinner, we took a picture with the fire department, and grabber ice cream. Another long day tomorrow, so I'm getting to bed early. Day 28 - June 24 - Oxford Junction, IA to Elkader, IA - 92.5miI actually had to go into google Maps to look up where we are right now. I literally had no idea what the name of the town is. Early start this morning. Stopped for breakfast with basically the entire team at rest stop one. Very hilly again today. I could have sworn that once we hit Ohio it was flat all the way to the Rockies. Apparently not. After breakfast, we got onto a road that was under construction, and all gravel. We thought it would last only about a mile or two, but we ended up riding on gravel for at least 10mi. I loved it, because that's the kind of riding I'm used to, but not everyone had as much fun as I did. After the gravel, we had to replace Catherine's back tire, and then it was off to the Field of Dreams movie set, that happened to be on route. If there is one thing this trip has done for me, it has given me an unhealthy fear of animals that I would not normally be afraid of. Several times today I got dive-bombed by these red-winged blackbirds. One even hit my helmet! I spent the rest of the day paranoid every time I saw a bird fly overhead. The last 20mi were pretty tough, but Catherine and Alison stuck around with me to keep me company. There were also a couple pretty great downhills that made the uphills worth it. Staying in a church again tonight, and they made us dinner and provided a ton of snacks. We are really getting spoiled by all of the free food on this trip. After eating, I was able to take a shower and do some laundry. The laundromat was a bit far, so I bungee corded my laundry bag to my bike rack and rode the 1.5-2 miles to get there. Day 29 - June 25 - Elkader, IA to Brownsville, MN - 81.9miWhat a day. We left bright and early, and were immediately greeted by some climbs. We got separated from Jen and Sharon, so I rode with Frank, Catherine, and Alison. The first rest stop was only 14mi in, so we got there way before the van and kept going. We stopped at a gas station in Monona for some food, and then somehow got mixed up and made a wrong turn. We didn't realize this until about 18mi later though, when we went into another gas station in Waukon, which we learned is very different from Waukon Junction. We didn't just go off course, we were completely off the map. Luckily, the cashier at the gas station was able to give us a route that would get us back on track to the third rest stop. This actually turned out to be a fortunate mistake, as our detour shortened the ride by 3mi, and eliminated most of the hills. We finally connected with the van at R3, and got some more food, then headed on. It was absolutely boiling hot out, so it was a tough afternoon, but we were able to make it to New Albin, and stopped at a meat market that a local had recommended. This place had the best beef jerky I've ever had in my life. Shortly after that, we stopped to take pictures at the Minnesota border. The last 14mi were long and hot, but we made it to Barb and Dan's house. Walking into an air conditioned house was the best thing ever at the end of the day. They made us a lovely dinner, and we were able to go out and see the cows on their beef farm.
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katie macdonald
Summer 2016, I biked 4,295 miles, coast to coast across the USA to raise money and awareness for MS. March 2017, I biked self-contained from San Francisco to San Diego with my friend Carissa. August 2017 I connected the dots and biked from Seattle to San Francisco. Summer 2018 I am heading to the UK! Follow my journey here! Miles biked for MS:
6,800.13
Updated August 27, 2018 Archives
January 2019
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