New York, Part 1

I got started a bit later than I meant to leaving Boston but still got to New York before rush hour. I got caught in a downpour, but the rain pants Emily and Larry gave me worked like a charm. Also to make my outfit more ridiculous, I've switched from small newspaper bags in my boots to heavy duty garbage bags.
I went to dinner with my friend Rowen for her birthday and also ran into Richard which was a surprise. I had stayed at his place for a night in Madison but he was out of town so I didn't see him then. After dinner we went to the Rockwood Music Hall and heard an awesome free concert.
To round the day out, I met up with my friend Robin from grade school and high school and we had a beer and shot the shit. It was great to remember times and people from our past.
Odometer: 8042 miles

Boston, Part 2

I grabbed lunch with my friend Annie near MIT and caught up with her. We had to be quick because she was in between experiments and had limited lab time. I had a salad- gasp- probably the only healthy thing I've eaten on my trip.
From there I went to the Harpoon Brewery to get a tour only to find out that they had a beer festival going on. I met a bunch of great people, tried some awesome beers, and still fit the tour in. The tour was really cool and I got to learn a bit about the beer making process.
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Williamstown/Lancaster/Boston Part 1

I'm being lazy and rolling several days of blog into one post.
I was a bit delayed leaving the shop so I got to Williamstown late. I grabbed dinner with my cousin Rebecca and we tried to watch The Hunger Games but were too tired. I headed to Lancaster in the morning instead of trying to go after dinner.
The road to Lancaster was beautiful going through mountains and forests with the leaves changing colors. Unfortunately it was raining the whole way and water was getting in the bottom of my jacket and soaking down into my pants. I was quickly sitting in a small puddle...not too much fun. Also my boots aren't as waterproof as they used to be so my socks were soaked through.
My aunt Emily and uncle Larry saved me in Lancaster. I used their dryer while we ate lunch and they gave me some bags to put my feet in before putting the boots on. Kinda silly, but does the trick of keeping my feet dry. They also gave me a pair of oversized waterproof pants that fit over my armored pants. Conveniently, I can cinch them up higher than where my sweatshirt was getting wet so they kept me dry on my way to Boston. When I'm wearing them I look like a sexy Steve Urkel.
I'm staying with my friend Kellen in Boston. Traffic was horrendous getting here so I was late and missed my dinner plans. Kellen and I grabbed some late food and beer and were ready to pass out soon after.
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Yardley (Philadelphia)

I got started pretty early heading towards Philadelphia. The leaves are starting to change in western New York and Pennsylvania and it's beautiful to see. It really hit me that I've gone all the way across the country when I saw a "New York City 78 Miles" sign.
My cousin Joseph that I was staying with recommended a local pub so I headed there. I had been trying to figure out when/where to get the next service done on my bike, and I ran into a couple women there whose friend runs a bike shop so he is servicing my bike right now. Funny how that kind of thing works out. Based on my interactions at the shop and on the phone I'm much more confident in the work getting done than I would have been at the shop I found on yelp.
Right before heading into the shop I jetted into central Philly to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. I didn't have time for a tour but it's still cool to see that kind of historic stuff sprinkled into a modern city.
Odometer: 7529
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Niagara Falls

From Cleveland I scooted up to Niagara Falls. The ride seemed to take way longer than it should, but the views were completely worth it. It wasn't as tall as the Shoshone Falls I stopped by in Idaho, but there was a lot more water going over. Since the ride took a long time, I ended up doing some night riding in the rain. The road was still hot enough that I could see the rain steaming off of it making a low layer of fog. It was super creepy...like right out of a horror film. I found a questionably legal camp site for the night and packed up super early so I wouldn't be found out!
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Cleveland

Headed from Maineville to Cleveland, a short trip. I stayed with my cousin Whitney and her boyfriend Scott and we went to the BSpot for dinner (Burgers, Brats, Beer). Afterwards I sampled a bunch more local beer. All in all not super eventful but...beer!

Toms

I bought a pair of shoes for a needy child, and what do you know? Toms hooked me up with a pair for myself. What a deal! I shipped my flip flops home since it's getting to cold for them and got some shoes. These ones will dry quickly when wet and pack down very small so they're pretty perfect for my trip.
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Maineville

Did King's Island with Richard, Stephanie, and Dan all day today. The park was so empty it was awesome. We rode 16 rollercoasters in about 6 hours, and maybe stood in line for a total of half an hour. King's Island has the longest wooden roller coaster in the world, which we rode twice, and a coaster that goes 80 miles per hour which we rode 5 times. Also it was my first time on a hanging coaster and a flying coaster. The flying coaster did a number on the holes in my jeans, which are now much bigger...I'll probably need new ones soon. My Aunt Susan and cousin Michael came over for dinner. Such a fun day.
Odometer: 6628 miles
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Cincinnati, Part 2

Oktoberfest all day. Not a lot else to say...did Oktoberfest with Tim and his friends, continued Oktoberfest with Richard, Sharon, Stephanie, and Dan. Oh man, I drank way too much.
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Cincinnati, Part 1

I left Ann Arbor way later than I meant to and met up with my Aunt Marie, Grandpa, and Stepgrandma for lunch and beers. Made it to Cincinnati very late but got German Oktoberfest food and beer plus a really nice Stein. Crashed with my friend Tim and met a bunch of his friends who were, of course, awesome.
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Ann Arbor

After a very windy night of not much sleep, I left the upper peninsula of Michigan and headed to Ann Arbor. Crossing the Mackinac Bridge was scary...gusty wind on grating. Yikes!
In Ann Arbor I stayed with my friend Tim's parents. Tim's dad drove me through the University of Michigan campus pointing out various things, and then we went to Blimpy Burger for dinner, an Ann Arbor favorite. They are very particular about how you order there, but honoring their rules was worth it for a delicious quad stack.
After dinner I went to Grizzly Peak and Ashley's, two local brewpubs, for tasters.

Odometer: 6323 miles
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Ignace

Nothing too eventful today, just made the 400 mile trek from Madison to Ignace. I got rained on for about 3 hours, but already had all my waterproof gear on for warmth anyway. The north shore of Lake Michigan is unbelievably pretty. I'll take more pictures tomorrow on my way out.
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Madison

The 150 miles from Chicago to Madison took for freaking ever because there was road construction for about 100 miles with a speed limit of 45 mph. I tested the cramp-buster-as-throttle-lock on the way and it worked like a charm. Between that, an ace bandage, and ibuprofen, my wrist will be ok. Also it was really cold once I hit Wisconsin so I pulled over at Walmart to see if I could get a scarf. It's not winter, so I couldn't buy one. I had to make a scarf out of a pair of fleece pajama bottoms. Everyone at the checkout gave me super weird looks as I took my pocket knife to the brand new pants (:
Once in Madison I found a bar called the Tipsy Cow serving local brew and got some tasters. I met up with Sara (a friend from college) and her friend Megan for dinner at Great Dane, which conveniently makes its own beer as well.

Odometer: 5596 miles
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Chicago, Part 3

I spent a good bit of time this morning figuring out where I'll be for the next few weeks to make sure I'll finish the trip on time. Looks like I'm on schedule, but I'll have to hustle a bit. I tried to lunch at Standard India Restaurant, recommended by Leah and Nathan for the buffet, but it was closed so I settled for a Thai restaurant close by.
I tried to make a DIY throttle lock similar to this, and was moderately successful. The contraption I rigged up had 2 pieces, one of which clamped the other closed around the throttle. It proved to be too hard to operate with gloves on, so I scrapped the idea. I managed to slice my finger while working and had to make a DIY bandaid since I had my toolkit with me but not my medkit. I figured out how to use my crampbuster as a throttle lock so the problem is solved regardless.
After fiddling with throttle locks for far too long I went to the bar on the 96th floor of the Hancock Tower. The views were incredible. I knew Chicago is big, but it's hard to tell when you're down on the streets. Seeing everything from high up really tells you the scale of the city. A Swedish guy that was trying to recruit me away from Google bought me some Goose Island brew to drink while taking in the city.
After drinks at Hancock Tower I headed to the Greek district for dinner with Jeremy, who interned at Amazon with me 3 years ago. Had a bit of a scare getting to the restaurant as I entered the freeway on the left and had to exit on the right 1000 feet later. That's 5 lane changes, one about every 2 seconds.
I'm currently trying some local beer at a spot called Local Option. Hopefully nobody buys me Malort tonight.
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Chicago, Part 2

I rode the L with my cousin, Leah, and her boyfriend, Nathan, to grab breakfast at Do-Rite Donuts. I asked a bunch of dumb questions about the stuff we passed on the way like "Which river are we crossing? Oh...the Chicago River."
After breakfast I met up with Garrett, who interned with me at Google a couple summers ago, and some people from ChicagoMotorcycles and we rode some twisties and country roads near Starved Rock.
Leah had cooked a Rosh Hashanah dinner when I got back so we ate brisket, fried cauliflower, and challah bread. After that we hit up Oberweis, a local dairy, for some ice cream.
Next I grabbed drinks with my friend Sam who I played sports with in elementary/middle school and went to high school with. We drank some local brew, and the bartender insisted I do a shot of Malort, a Chicago liquor that was originally intended to be a medicine. It's not really popular anywhere else. Odometer: 5411 miles
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Chicago, Part 1

Made some bacon and french toast before leaving Davenport today. I met up with redditor Vegall_st for a beer and to swap stories in Morris. He's on a motorcycle trip around the country as well. Got in to Chicago around dusk and chatted with Leah and Nathan before going to bed. I was so wiped.

Davenport

It took me 8 and a half hours to get to Davenport from St. Louis, which should have been a 4 hour trip, because I got a flat tire. The tiniest rock was wedged, sharp end in, into my rear tire right next to the tread. I was lucky I pulled over when I did. I couldn't tell on the highway that my bike was riding differently, but my rim was sagging almost all the way to the ground. Luckily, where I pulled over there was an auto shop that plugged it for me and sent me on my way to Quincy (60 miles out of the way) to get a new tire installed. It was the longest 60 miles I've ever ridden wondering if my tire would make it all the way, and if I'd get to the shop in time to get a new one before they closed. I didn't make it in time, but they stayed open late on a Friday to get the job done. So awesome!
When I finally made it to Davenport, I walked around the city a bit with Paige, then we went to Great River Brewery and Front Street Brewery.
Odometer: 5007 miles
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St. Louis, Part 3

I went to the City Museum with Tom today and we climbed all over the place for several hours. The City Museum is kind of like a jungle gym for adults featuring a 10 story slide, but they also have some random stuff like the world's largest pencil and the world's largest pair of underwear. Afterwards we grabbed lunch and sampled beer at 3 breweries; Schlafly, Urban Chestnut, and Buffalo. I met up with Tom and Susan later for drinks at the Moonrise Hotel's rooftop cafe, and the views were awesome.
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St. Louis, Part 2

Checked out the Gateway Arch today which was amazing and hit Charlie Guitto's for lunch. Then I went to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis to see the mosaics. It reminded me a lot of St. Mark's in Venice. Grabbed pizza for dinner with Tom, Susan, Ben and Gavin followed by some froyo at Ben and Gavin's favorite place, Tutti Frutti. Tom and Susan had school open house so I hung with Ben and Gavin. We watched Shaun the Sheep (Wallace and Gromit spinoff) and played some more with Contraptions.
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