The quick facts
New friends: Half acre friends
Meals: dehydrated lentil curry, couscous
Miles: ~61
Ice cream: does beer count?
Campground: Indiana Dunes State Park
The route:
We prioritized finding the perfect backdrop to take a photo of our start.
And again further outside the city (and less in the way of other cyclists).
We estimate that 80-90% of our ride was on bike paths. Pretty amazing, considering we were all pretty nervous about Gary. No one has anything nice to say about Gary.
Wet and hungry, we waited out the storm, enjoyed a Zombie Dust, and chattered our teeth in the air conditioned brewery. They had to mop when we left.
We made our way to the Oak savanna trail that would take us to Indiana Dunes. Along the way, we met some cyclists who were headed to the same campground. Some guys who were old college friends and this was their annual adventure. We called them our new friends. We celebrated my longest ride to date while cruising through some of the most beautiful trails (Northern Indiana, who knew!).
Brian, Ashley, and I hung out at the beach for a bit, while Ben ventured to find refreshing beverages. On our walk back to the campsite, we ran into our new friends! They offered us "coffee" which we gladly accepted. The "coffee" turned out to be a signature brew from Half Acre. One of the fellas is a founder of the brewery.
Miles: ~61
Ice cream: does beer count?
Campground: Indiana Dunes State Park
The route:
The story
We woke up in our hostel room. We ate free breakfast in the cafeteria (picture toast, peanut butter, cold cereal). We planned to stop for lunch at 3 Floyds Brewery in Munster, Indiana, so we let the sub par breakfast go. And we weren't thinking about the heat advisory. Nope, not concerned. After finagling our bikes out of the bike room (a storage closet), we ventured to find the lakeshore path. Folks were setting up for an event in Grant Park, so we zigzagged around the park and finally found the path.
We prioritized finding the perfect backdrop to take a photo of our start.
And again further outside the city (and less in the way of other cyclists).
We estimate that 80-90% of our ride was on bike paths. Pretty amazing, considering we were all pretty nervous about Gary. No one has anything nice to say about Gary.
We encountered a bike race event south of the city. And enjoyed the paths (lovely paths!) almost the entire way to lunch. As we approached Munster, a storm was chasing us. The skies opened up on us as we were pulling into 3 Floyds. A welcomed cool down (remember that heat advisory!), and we were soaked through.
The blue dot is us, smack in the middle of the storm.
Wet and hungry, we waited out the storm, enjoyed a Zombie Dust, and chattered our teeth in the air conditioned brewery. They had to mop when we left.
We made our way to the Oak savanna trail that would take us to Indiana Dunes. Along the way, we met some cyclists who were headed to the same campground. Some guys who were old college friends and this was their annual adventure. We called them our new friends. We celebrated my longest ride to date while cruising through some of the most beautiful trails (Northern Indiana, who knew!).
We arrived at Indiana Dunes State Park campground and they had room for us. Thankfully. As we rode to our site, we heard cheers from our new friends, yes those guys we met on the bike path! We set up camp and headed to the beach.
Brian, Ashley, and I hung out at the beach for a bit, while Ben ventured to find refreshing beverages. On our walk back to the campsite, we ran into our new friends! They offered us "coffee" which we gladly accepted. The "coffee" turned out to be a signature brew from Half Acre. One of the fellas is a founder of the brewery.
We rehydrated lentil curry and cooked couscous over the camp stove and enjoyed some cold ones. The mosquitos were the worst thanks to our lovely wooded campsite. The radar showed a storm approaching and we could feel the temperature cooling down and the wind rustling the trees. We waited up until the first few drops of rain, then hit the tents.
Day one done!
