July 10, 2009

So I started the Trek in Stockbridge, MI where we were fed AMAZING food by the community. The town let us stay in their park and kept the bathroom open for us all night. I slept okay, our tent is a small backpacking tent so Kara and I were quite cozy ;) We left around 10:30am and biked through Chelsea and Adrian. The roads were a bit rough and there were some nice hills but it was tolerable. What was intolerable was the last 15 miles of the journey. We were taking a break next to a wheat field when I felt a burning sensation in my inner thigh. I pulled my pants down while everyone laughed but I was stung by something at it was all red. Luckily someone had some itch cream and it wasn't too bad. The bad thing was as soon as I started biking a terrible pain shot through my left knee... and it continued to throb for the next 15 miles. We set up camp just after the Ohio border in a town called Metamora. Again, we had permission to sleep in the park and the facilities were open all night. The tent was really sticky and there was a stupid bird cawing and if I had a gun or arrow I would've shot it down.
The next day we got a better start around 9:30am. The first 10 miles were brutal, the knee was a killer. We stopped at a great park and my knee (and butt!) got a rest. The next 14 miles went much smoother and we stopped for lunch at a quaint little park/ old tyme park. They had a General Store, Mill, and horse and buggy. We stayed there for about an hour. During that time I made the hard decision to ride in the car. I really didn't want to as it was only the second day for me. I rode in the car with Anna, she just had her appendix out so she acts as the navigator. I got to drive the car until she told me the next turn and I would run out and "mark" aka use orange spray paint to mark the turns. I marked 38 miles of road. We got to Findlay, OH where Marci's previous roommates parents offered there house to stay in. The place is AWESOME with a swimming pool and they did our laundry. Also, they are letting us stay in there house tonight!! They let us use their showers but we decided a shower in the yard was much more fun; Marci, Katie, Kara and I used Dr. Bonners and are surprisingly clean right now. Tomorrow we will leave here and go to Richwood, OH.