Road to Laconia - Day 1

We packed until the late hours last night and then unpacked all the things that were not necessary.  That always happens on a bike trip no matter how experienced we get.  We always want to take more than we can but in the end must scale back to just what we need.  Even that is a tall order.  Between the iPad, GPS, cell phones, camera and all the chargers that go along. we've packed an entire bag. Plus the new iPass can be thrown into the mix. Then there's the mandatory rain suits and helmets. Where will my shoes go?

The bike is ready and we are ready.  We head out later than anticipated but still early enough to get through Chicago without incident.  It's always good when the traffic keeps moving and amazingly enough, we don't have to stop until we get to the Indiana tollway.  The iPass is a blessing and I wonder how we've lived without it all this time.

Our first stop is in South Bend.  We got off the highway to get gas and some breakfast.  We were still feeling pretty fresh but hungry. We had breakfast at a little local place called Top Notch.  It was amazingly cheap. We both had a full breakfast and coffee and our bill was $10.59.  Since we were in the area, we decided to take a ride up the road to see Notre Dame. It's just a half-mile away and we are in no hurry. It's nice to vacation like this.

As we rode what turned out to be more like a mile, we were surprised by how poor the area looked.  That is, until we got to the campus.  The neighborhood seemed to turn from aging, closed up buildings with cracked sidewalks and roads to brand new beautiful brick ones with perfectly manicured lawns and roads.  It was such a striking contrast.  We rode around the campus until we came across the practice field, where there were football players walking from the field to their dorms right across the street. The football field had to be nearby so we pulled over and parked.  This is a walking campus and there is no room for vehicles and no roads, only sidewalks. 

We walked over to the football field to take photos of the statues out front when a greeter handed us a poster outlining the day's events.  We were welcome to go walk out onto the field.  There was a fantasy football game going on.  A bunch of very old (for football players, anyway) men were coming out of the locker room, some so out of shape I feared injury if they actually ran or took a hit out on that field.  So here we were, expecting to jump off the bike, take a few photos, and get right back on.  Instead we were standing on the grass where the Notre Dame football team played their games.  We chatted with a few people, particularly a man wearing a GB Packers sweatshirt.  He was a photographer who graciously offered to take our picture. We rarely have vacation photos taken together so this was a great opportunity. 

Notre Dame Football Field

After our photo op we got back on the bike feeling like we walked off breakfast and were ready to continue on.  Amazingly enough, we didn't stop again until we needed gas at 3pm. We went to the Panera across from the gas station to get off the bike, grab a salad and review our maps.  We were outside of Toledo thinking that we could press past our original plan of stopping for the night in Cleveland. We stopped at the local Harley dealer hoping to buy some patches for our jackets.  They didn't have any so I bought a shirt I didn't need and we headed out before rush hour got too bad.

We drove all the way through Cleveland and stopped for gas in Madison, OH.  We knew we could make it to Erie so we got out the GPS to route us to the best exit with many hotels.  We pulled into a Holiday Inn Express where we got the last room available. The town was crawling with kids and parents who where there for a soccer tournament. Luckily our room had a whirlpool tub in it so we didn't have to deal with kids in a public pool.  It would be much nicer to relax in a tub in our own room.  We unpacked the things we needed, and walked through the parking lot to the closest sports bar.  We both ordered a local ale and enjoyed some appetizers while we let the day fade away. 

550 miles completed.