Made our last trek up to the bathroom at about
12:30 and were marveling at how the predicted rain had missed us. I was just making myself comfy on the air
mattress when the thunder boomed, the lightning flashed, and the rain came pouring
down which made me wonder whoever originally thought a thin layer of nylon over
top of the tent was adequate protection from the rain. But whatever…it’s what
we had and I drifted off to sleep to the sound of the rain splattering
overhead. It wasn’t until I woke up this
morning that I did a run-through of what may have been left out in the
rain. Note to self: Check your belongings before you go to bed. Your camera would appreciate it. 😐
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This morning one of the
neighbors across the road from us came over to ask if we’d like a breakfast
burrito. They had too much and would be happy to make us each one. Yes, please. But I have to admit that I did wonder if it might
contain some of the weed they’d been smoking last night into the wee hours of
the morning. But there was no weird
taste and we made it through the day without the munchies, the giggles or
getting unusually tired. None of which would be good on the bikes. So I’d say
there’s No Regrets on eating the neighbor’s burritos. 😎
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Thursday night when Moxie realized
that we were heading out on a bike trip, she started dropping hints that Louie’s
brother wanted to join us. Like most
children Moxie is
persistent when she grabs hold of an idea:
Moxie (for the fourth time): Can Louie’s brother go with us? Huh, can
he?
Me: “Where is he going to ride?
There’s no room on your seat and even if he is Louie’s brother, Louie
may not want to ride squished next to him on Kim’s bike.”
Moxie: “Well…he could ride with your friend. What did you say his name was? Larry?”
Me: “What if Larry doesn’t want a little monkey riding with him? Did ya think of that?”
Moxie: “Whaddaya mean? You know that everybody loves little
monkeys. I’m sure Larry would love to
have him along. Besides there’s always
room in a saddlebag.”
Me: “And he’s naked. You know how cold it can get when riding even
with your fur. What’s he going to wear? You
and Louie don’t have any extra clothes.”
 |
| Jeffro, Moxie, and Louie |
And that’s how Jeffro, Louie’s brother from another mother, joined our little group. I made some clothes for him and Larry was happy to make some space for him. Moxie is going to be insufferable if we keep this up.
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Made a reservation at the
Thornapple River Campground in Ladysmith, WI, before we left Newberry. And because we were getting conflicting
routes on our phones and computer, Kim gave Rapunzel permission to
navigate. It was about 335 miles to
Ladysmith which we thought was very doable.
What we hadn’t factored into that decision was the fact that none of us
have been getting a lot of riding in lately.
And that may have been part of the reason that we all agreed that those 335
miles were the longest we’d ever ridden. The other part to that is that we were on 55 mph roads for most of the route.
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Today’s smallest town
(population sign required): Glen Flora,
WI with a population of 92.
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Temperature was in the mid-60’s today with a momentary high of 71o…and
it was windy. But the sun was shining so
we had that going for us.
We were a study in contrasts while
riding today, for sure. Kim was wearing
a short-sleeved t-shirt and vest…I had on a light fleece…Larry was wearing two
jackets plus a winter hat. And sitting
here around the campfire it feels like it’s shaping up to be a cool, dampish
night. I think we have enough blankets
to weather the night chill…and we’re hoping like crazy it doesn’t rain again.
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I made up a song today while
I rode. I call it The Biker’s Lament and
it’s sung to the tune of a popular children’s song:
Neck, shoulders, hips and butt…hips and butt
Neck, shoulders, hips and butt…hips and butt
These body parts are angry with me now
Neck, shoulders, hips and butt…hips and butt!
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The award for the Best Name
of The Day goes to the Peme Bon Won River.
Crossed both the North and South branches and wondered about the name’s
origin. Here’s what I found on the
website alpsroads.net: The Peme Bon Won
River is not named by Chinese French natives, but it has some elements of
different cultures. "Peme" is indeed Native American, from the word for
"crooked river" (peam-ah-wan-seba). They could have stopped there and
named this the Pemewonsiba River, but no, the settlers decided it was a good
river, and not bothering to ask how to say "good" in the local
language, they stole "bon" from the French. As for Won, it has nothing to do with the
Chinese currency. The etymology I read says it's a corruption of the English
"one," just to fit with "Bon," but could they have mangled
English itself that badly? Either its one good river, or it's a winningly good
river. Fast fact: the town name Pembine is named after this river, and actually
is a perfectly mellifluous name given its cacaphonous origin. Whatever the origin, I just thought it
was fun to say!
And this is what Wikipedia had to say about it’s description: The Peme Bon Won River is a 6.1-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is a tributary of the Menominee River and flows through Marinette County. It is formed by the confluence of its North and South branches. The North Branch contains a waterfall known as Long Slide Falls.
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Today’s miles: 337
Total miles: 441
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