Swimming in Sewage: Bike Traveling Chicago-NYC

Toledo, Ohio

​Day 10: The other day, we jumped off a dock into the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio, only to moments later find out that the channel was a passageway for human sewage. Other than that, we’re doing great!

Nearly 400 miles have passed beneath our two wheels in the last ten days. We left Illinois, crossed Indiana, entered Ohio, left Toledo and now take a rest day in Cleveland. Today, we explored the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, jumped off a pier into Lake Erie, and played frisbee in a park. We also stumbled across a live outdoor event with rapper Busta Rhymes, whom apparently I was the only one familiar with? Come on, kids.

Sometimes I can’t see ahead, or how far we’ve come. Sometimes it feels like we are putting out one tiny fire after the next, trying to keep the flames from consuming us altogether. A broken spoke, a new wheel, another broken spoke on the brand new wheel, an injured knee, losing bolts, a flat tire, one kid hungry, all needing water, getting lost, losing maps, violent headwinds, endless rain, wet sleeping bags, the list goes on.

But that’s kind of what bike touring is. You don’t ever have a bullet-proof plan, things go wrong. And you adjust, you take time to fix the problem as it is presented and you move on, only to anticipate more to come. But either way, we’ve made it to Cleveland. We’ve jumped in sewage water in Toledo and then just laughed about it. Our gear has been wet from rain and we’ve smelt like mildew for days but we got to see a spectacular rainbow. We’re sometimes just three miles away from camp or dinner when a sudden flat tire comes, but we stop and fix the problem and later enjoy sleep and food all the more. 

I think that’s kind of how life is too.  It’s just not smooth. Sometimes you have to stop and fix a flat, and sometimes you unexpectedly run into Busta Rhymes. I’ll take it.