The last day of DHR17 started with under overcast skies from west Milwaukee. We honored a host of dads, overcame the typical obstacles; a flat tire, some headwinds and a little fatigue. We had another picnic lunch outside the Kenosha Public Museum before making the final trek to Evanston. We’ve covered 958 miles in nine days, 106 miles a day on average, not including the C2EFA miles. See some photos below. Funds being raised from the DHR are being used to create the Special Father’s Network, a mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Thanks for all the prayers, emails, phone

The day started with making a presentation to the Appleton Breakfast Rotary. Scot Marcotte joined the ride for the last two days. We had near perfect riding conditions. The Horse-Bike trail offered its own challenges. Were we able to connect with Fond Du Lac friends doctors Joyce and Mike Keyes as the result of receiving very timely phone call.We enjoyed a picnic lunch lunch overlooking Lake Winnebago. One broken spoke (Scot) and a flat (Nic) were the primary hurdles. We had a fund Cycle To End Father Absence (C2EFA) event at Cyclebar Mequon. Thank you Lauren Schroeder. The evening ended

The day of two thunder storms. The first delayed our start until 9:30am so we decided to catch breakfast at the local Shell station, which was more of a fully loaded truck stop and full grill.  It was actually one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a long time. The service was friendly and the food was very ample and delicious. We also presented some Great Dad Coins while there, including Kenny Marks the local Sheriff. The second thunder storm after lunch created another long delay, so we chilled in the RV for a couple of hours. Let’s be

Greetings from Cedar River in the Upper Peninsula.  We had excellent riding conditions and put in 133 miles yesterday mostly pedaling through the Hiawatha National Forest and along scenic Route 2. Manistique and Escanaba were the big towns we passed through. Plenty of Moose sighting along the way and logging trucks rolling around up here. We were happy to arrive at the Riverview Inn and make use of six of their eight perfectly comfortable rooms. Special thanks to Deborah, the owner for her hospitality and for the generous donation. Gary Grube, AKA: Big Brother and now Chef Gary, joined the

Greetings from the Upper Peninsula. We had another really good day. The weather was close to optimal with overcast skies and temperatures in the low 70’s. There is more elevation in the UP than the LP and the headwinds riding west were somewhat of a grind. Downtown Petoskey is picture perfect and the wagon wheel trail leaving town was first rate. We ran into construction again on US31 but a parallel bike path was our savior.  We made it to Mackinaw City and across the five mile long Mackinac Bridge by noon. We had lunch at one of the scenic

AM Monday. Greetings from Petoskey.  We had another good day yesterday. Riding conditions were slightly overcast and moderate winds until the last five miles when a cold front rolled in producing 30+ mph wind gusts and some rain. It was a bit of a boring riding most of the way on US131, except for a five mile stretch of construction.  One of the highlights was meeting Bill Carson (86) of Boyne Falls, a father of three, grandfather of four and great grandfather of eight. The day ended with dinner at Knot Just Another Bar located on the water front. Four

We had another great day. Sunny with south to southeast winds. Young Dave joined the ride. Some good dad connections especially in Newaygo. We used the scenic bike trails much of the day. The biggest obstacles were the not so tightly packed dirt/gravel roads. We had lunch in the RV midway along the route. The day ended with dinner at Hurruda’s Authentic Mexican Bar & Grill next to the hotel. Three days down seven to go 🙂  Photos below. Special thanks to those who have supported the DHR and work of the 21st Century Dads Foundation. Thanks again. Happy Sunday!!!

We had another great day. We started by making a presentation to the Country Harbor Breakfast Rotary.  We rode up the western coast of Michigan with magnificent views and some amazing homes. In addition to honoring firefighters and construction workers, we fueled up at Sherman’s Dairy and the Saugatuck Brewing Company.  Bridge closed? No problem. Thanks, Tim, Chase and Larry. Nice to meet Jim Duran’s daughter, Abbey, a student at Hope College in Holland. The day ended with pizza at the hotel. Two days down seven to go 🙂 Photos below. Special thanks to those who have supported the DHR

We had a nice sendoff in front of Rotary International in downtown Evanston with friends Mike Adamle, b-i-l Bill Owens and UBS colleague Bill Blanchard. Five riders rode the lake shore path most of the way to Indiana. We met with members of the Rotary Club of Gary for lunch. The weather was close to ideal. We had minor obstacles; one flat, some washed out or super bumpy bike paths, and freight trains. We ended the day with dinner at the Stray Dog with longtime friends Leslie and Gary Wood. One day down eight to go 🙂 Photos below. Special