No Jobs, No Home, No Worries. A Shared Journey by Bike and Support SUV Across the U.S.

Day 32 miles: 85

Total miles: 2,014 <— Broke 2,000 miles!!

By bike:

I know this trip has been a lot of farmland but it was really enjoyable riding through some of this Wisconsin territory. Great farmhouses and trails was how I wanted this trip to be. It was so quiet, probably because it was the weekend.

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Due to the recent storm I passed through many downed trees on the trail, but it did not take away any of the great scenery. I think I counted 8 trees.

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However, once I got near Milwaukee my solitude quickly changed to A LOT of people being on bike paths, especially by the time I got to the Hank Aaron Trail.

When I went to Waukesha I had 20 miles to the ferry and for the first time experienced inner city life. I did not linger after getting a 64 oz bottle of Gatorade and chips from a man behind bullet-proof glass with painted 4 inch nails. It got worse the more in the city I went. I almost ran over someone who was frankly inebriated and looking at the ground. Yikes.

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Getting to the ferry things slowly got better as we went to the Ambassador Hotel, also regrettably in a shady area. With a Taco Bell next door I pregamed before heading out to meet Julie.

We got in late and I was excited for the next day.

By car:

Matthew originally wanted to try to catch the noon ferry today, but it would have been too tight of a schedule. We decided to enjoy Milwaukee for the evening and catch the 6am ferry the next day, instead.

As Matthew was nearing Milwaukee, I ventured out on my own to see what what ‘Cream City’ was all about. If you weren’t aware, Milwaukee’s informal moniker is Cream City, which comes from the 1800s when many of Milwaukee’s buildings were made up of creamy yellow bricks that came from the clay found in the area.

As luck would have it, there was a farmer’s market going on! The reviews were pretty good and it was the only farmer’s market open. Eager to see the local craft and scour through fresh produce, I made this my first stop.

As I found the small outdoor market, I realized that this particular spot wasn’t the best part of town. I parked outside of a boarded up house that was directly across from the handful of locals selling produce. The market itself was underwhelming. There were maybe eight tents set up with each offering local vegetables, and one man ringing a bell while rolling his ice cream cart behind him. It turned into a quick tour for me as I turned around to head back to my car.

As I was walking back to my car, a black escalade slowed down next to me and rolled down its passenger window. I looked up and made eye contact, then heard the passenger say “Oh shit,” then roll up the window as they sped off. Either mistaken identity or I was lookin’ pretty rough.

I zipped out of there and found the terminal that Matthew would be rolling up to. Lately he’s had this scene stuck in his head from Water Boy, where Henry Winkler’s character is saying “Gaaatoraaaade” to make Sandler’s character angry enough to crush it on the football field.

I loaded up his stuff and we took off to our lodging. Jon’s wonderful cousin, Kristi, gave Jon’s wife my number, who ended up reaching out to me to insist on taking us out for dinner. Julie is a magistrate in Milwaukee and another incredibly kind human. She wanted to thank me for meeting up with her husband and hear about Matthew’s bike experiences. Julie also recommended several areas of Milwaukee to explore, which we followed.

FINALLY we saw some of the highlights of the city. We had no idea how great Milwaukee actually is! First we enjoyed some root beer floats.

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Then we walked down to the beach. We met another set of cyclists, only they stuck to the local bike paths. There was a very cute and unusual biker that was with them…

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Skittles is a rescue parrot and she never leaves her owner’s side. They go on bike rides together regularly. Unfortunately she was abused by her former owners. If you look closely at her belly, you’ll notice there aren’t many feathers left. She has a nervous habit where she’ll pluck her feathers out. She apparently does this when strangers are around.

It was time to head back to our lodging and meet Julie for dinner. She suggested View MKE, which she made reservations for. This has been hands down the nicest restaurant we’ve dined in since California.

We see why it’s called View MKE!

The food was amazing and the company was even better. Julie explained to us how Jon’s cross country bike ride for Muscular Dystrophy Association is actually his way of announcing to everyone that he has muscular dystrophy. He was diagnosed six years ago, but Jon didn’t want to publicly announce it for fear of it negatively impacting his job as a journalist.

He originally wasn’t going to make his cross country bike tour about muscular dystrophy at all, it was just something he’s always wanted to do regardless of the diagnosis. It was his incredibly supportive family that encouraged the idea, and it seems to have worked out well!

Julie and I got a photo with each other, which she wanted to send to Jon. Now they both have had the “luxury” of enjoying a meal with me, a perfectly odd stranger eager to unabashedly learn about other people’s lives. Biking across the country seems to be the easiest way to make new friends, even if you’re not the one biking!

We ended the night with full bellies and high spirits. Matthew and I have to wake up early to catch the 6am ferry to Michigan tomorrow, which will mark our 7th state on this trip! We’re both excited to take some time to see friends and visit our favorite spots near Ann Arbor.