* Elkhart to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
We left really really late today. Sandy insisted on showing us where the bicycle shop was instead of just giving us directions. It really sucked losing our freedom to just go. Even though we could have just pedaled away, societal norms chained us down. Turns out that when we called the bike shops said they were too busy to fix any bicycle spokes. Once we got that news we high tailed it out of Elkhart and haven't stopped cracking jokes about Sandy & Tom since.
Only six miles into our already late start of a biking day, we came across a bicycle shop. The House of Bicycles (10140 McKinley, Osceola, IN 46561). We pulled in to see if they had time to work on Armins bike and they did. The Head Mechanic at this shop, Josh, was great! He quickly went to work on replacing the broken spokes while telling us stories about his unicycling adventures. He commutes an hour to work on one and takes them on downhill mountain bike courses as well. Josh was so good that Julie and I had him take a look at our bikes as well and he made the necessary tweaks to get rid of the squeaks we had been hearing. If your in the South Bend/Osceola area, Josh is the man to take your bike problems to. As a side note, Armin has a man crush on Josh and would like him to be his best friend.
By the time we got out of the bike shop it was around 1pm and we had gone only 6 miles. We are usually this far along before 8am. We had a lot of catching up to do. One thing helping us out was going through a time zone today, so we had an extra hour to work with. We also decided to make reservations at a campground instead of having to ask around for a backyard to camp in. At only $15, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Campground seemed like a great deal.
So, on our 14th day we finally pay for a place. So, were averging about $1 a night for housing on this trip. Nice thing about this method of touring is we buy whatever food we want because it is really our main expense. We also took hot showers and made s'mores tonight...still joking about the crazy people of Indiana. You will have to read Julie's next blog to learn about the lady we thought might try and kill us.
Tomorrow is Chicago! We all have various plans: all you can eat sushi, Harry Potter, friends birthday party, and I have a phone interview on Thursday. Most important thing will be letting our bodies rest after 15 straight days of being on the road.
