Prologue

Thursday, June 27th, 2002

I boarded a Greyhound bus in Bismarck at 8:00 PM. Rode all night, but slept very little. What is that slimy substance on the window, just inches from my face? Whatever it is, I am not touching it. And what IS that smell, and why is that guy staring at me?

Friday, June 28th, 2002

My bike was somewhat damaged by baggage handlers in Minneapolis. I watched as they violently tossed my bike box onto a cart and wheeled it off to an unknown place. My bike was on a different bus than I was. This made my four hour layover in the dusty, remote Eau Claire bus depot (sans bicycle) all the more unpleasant and worrisome.

I arrived in Wausau at 3:00 PM, seventeen hours after I got on the bus in Bismarck. My buddy Justin, who lives in Wausau and will be riding the tour with me, met me at the bus stop.

I finished off my day enjoying a meal at a great restaurant, Hereford & Hops. It was extremely nice to be showered and relaxed, and the ride has not even begun.

I assembled my bike, assessed the damage, did some last-minute tuning, and got to bed early. Tomorrow Justin and I will drive to Prairie du Chien. From there, charter buses will take us to the starting point at Eagle River, which is near the northern border of Wisconsin. Then we will spend the week riding back to Prairie du Chien.

Saturday, June 29th, 2002

At 6:00 am, Justin woke me. After the sleepless bus ride the night before, I slept hard. By 11:00, we were at Prairie du Chien. The two of us registered, loaded our bikes into trailers, and hopped onto yet another bus.

The driver of this bus was quite skilled. For some reason, we took the "scenic" route - roads never designed for a charter bus. The hairpin turns and constant, steep climbs and descents had us all wishing for a dose of Dramamine. The route was very scenic indeed.

During the less nauseating portions of the ride, I paged through my registration packet and found some interesting statistics. Apparently, the average rider age is 48 years old. Two-thirds of the riders are male (bummer there). And, most importantly, there is only one North Dakotan on the ride: me.

Finally we arrived in Eagle River. Justin and I set up camp and relaxed: .