June 2005 Activities
Now Playing: (Events 36-39)
Topic: f - June 2005
(4 Activities in June

EVENT #36 - BIKE RIDE - AMBOY-LEAF RIVER, IL
June 4, 2005

We continued with bike training for our Iron Man ride later in the month. We had planned on a 100k ride for Saturday.

It was very humid with temps in the 90s. For lunch we stopped at Jay's "fifties diner" in Oregon. Five minutes after entering the restaurant the sky opened up with a torrential sideways rainstorm. By the time we finished lunch, the storm had passed and the sun returned. After lunch the temperatures and humidity continued to climb.

At the 50-mile mark everyone was starting to wilt from the heat. We decided to take an indoor break in air conditioning and get some hydration and carbs. We drove to Burger King in Byron where everyone got cooled off, refreshed, rehydrated, and "carbed up" for the final 12.5 miles of riding.

As we were leaving, the boys paused and joked about a life-size poster of Chubaka from Star Wars. They joked about the bandalier Chubaka wore and wondered out loud if he kept drugs in the compartments to smuggle onboard the Millenium Falcon. They also joked about the comparison between the Millenium Falcon and my 15-passenger van. Both were older models, oversized, sort of beat-up, and had difficulty achieving warp-speed. We loaded up and started driving back our end point to continue our hot humid biking adventure.

Suddenly, not one but two police cars with lights flashing descended upon us. It turned out that our fast food restaurant was a local hotbed for drug traffic. The employees had been advised to report suspicious behavior or talk to the police.

An oversize van loaded with bikes was an easy mark to find. The police thought they had found the mother lode of drug busts, a van driven by a middle-aged drug lord loaded with his teenage lieutenants. They had the big kahuna and his minions, the whole distribution network.

After surrendering my license I was asked to step out of the vehicle. They were visibly disappointed to see my green pants, Scout belt, and troop t-shirt. They asked me what my relationship was to the boys, and I replied "Scoutmaster". They looked at each other and said "Oh boy!!"

For the next 30-minutes they interviewed the boys individually. We were cooperative and the police were courteous and professional. Afterwards the police apologized for the inconvenience and said it was obviously just a misunderstanding.

We said we understood they had a job to do and were required to follow all leads. We thanked them for their dedication to a tough job.

I later talked with the boys about it and they agreed they were all impressed on how quickly the police had responded to the call. They said they actually appreciated what the police were doing.

Still, we did feel "weirded out" by the whole experience. We paid a brief visit to a natural history museum and returned home. No one really felt like riding, and our timeframe for riding was pretty much gone.

So that was our weekend. Just a typical Scouting event, 50-miles of biking followed by a drug bust.

Like I told the boys, this is where all my crazy stories come from. Now you guys are part of the legend.


EVENT #37 - DULCIMER FESTIVAL - FREE
June 10-12, 2005

At the annual Dulcimer Festival we operate two booths, one for chicken wraps, sweetcorn, drinks, and hot dogs. The other booth is for funnel cakes and drinks.

We camp at Gebhard Woods State Park in Morris, Illinois, where the festival is held. Two days of cooking is a lot of work. Boys earn money for their Scout Accounts at this event.

On Saturday night we go to downtown Morris where they hold a car rally with vintage cars, muscle cars, etc., and we visit the local ice cream shop.

Sunday we continue with cooking and selling, then the hardest part, taking down and packing up. It's dark by the time we get back to DeKalb.


EVENT #38 - COURT TO HONOR - FREE
June 13, 2005

Another typical Court of Honor, with awards and annoucements and trip sign ups. This is the last big gathering before the big trips of summer.


EVENT #39 - IRON MAN BIKE RIDE - $300
June 18-26, 2005

Our 9-day bicycling adventure through Wisconsin, Minnesota, to Thunder Bay Ontario Canada included a 410-mile route that along highways and bike trails.

Of the 9 days, we spent one day driving up, 6 days biking, and 2 days driving home. We rode 60-80 miles/day.

Our trip began in Hager City, Wisconsin (on the Mississippi across from Red Wing, MN).

We biked north on Hwy 35, following the Great River Road. We crossed into Minnesota at St Croix Falls. On to Hinkley, MN where we encountered a severe thunderstorm with hail.

We biked the Willard Munger trail north to Duluth, MN, the Western Waterfront Trail through Duluth, and old Rt 61 along the northern shore of Lake Superior.

We biked portions of the Gitchee-Gummi Trail, which is still under development. Colin crashed his bike on the Gitchee-Gummi trail on a sharp turn. He shattered his carbon fiber fork and ruined his front wheel. We transported him to Two Harbors Memorial Hospital where he was treated for abrasions and his right arm x-rayed. No fractures, but his elbow was sprained. His arm was splinted and the doctor ordered no biking for 24 hours. After that he continued the ride with his arm splinted using a
spare bike.

BTW, the doctor was also a cyclist and knew the turn where our guy crashed. He had previous patients from that same spot.

We biked through about a half dozen or more beautiful State Parks, past incredible rocky Lake Superior shoreline, lighthouses, etc., etc.

Crossing the border into Canada was amazingly easy. No paperwork was asked for, not even a drivers license. We had birth certificates, written parental permission slips, and photo IDs along for all the boys.

Crossing the Canadian Shield into Thunder Bay presented us with some steep climbs. We saw one moose and a bald eagle along the way.

We visited Kakabeka Falls Prov Park and Fort William. A major storm system produced lightning and golf ball size hail north of Thunder Bay. We decided to stay at a hotel that night. We later celebrated the ride at Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis.

The trip included 3 hotels, and 5 nights of camping. Most of the 25 meals were eaten at restaurants (some pretty nice ones too).

This completes the northern anchor of a larger ride criss crossing America. We've been doing installments of 250-500 miles for several summers. We've biked about 4,000 miles so far; north/south now from Thunder Bay ON to Memphis, TN; and east/west from Portland, ME to Couer d'Alene, ID.