DHR17 Day 9 of 9 – Mequon to Evanston (958 Miles in Total)

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

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DHR17 Day 8 — Appleton, WI to Mequon, WI (100 Miles)

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

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DHR17 Day 7 — Cedar River, MI to Appleton, WI (120 Miles)

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

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DHR17 Day 6 — Engadine to Cedar River, MI (133 Miles)

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

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DHR17 Day 5 — Petoskey to Engadine (95 Miles)

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

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DHR17 Day 4 — Cadillac to Petoskey (90 Miles)

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

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DHR 17 Day 3 — Muskegon to Cadillac (114 Miles)

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!!!

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DHR 17 Day 2 — New Buffalo to Muskegon (111 Miles)

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

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DHR 17 Day 1 — Evanston, IL to New Buffalo, MI (92 miles)

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

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June 19 — Hammond, IN to Chicago IL (40 Miles)

Happy Father’s Day Good evening. I hope your Father’s Day was a good one. Speaking on behalf of the 20 riders yesterday, it was a very memorable experience. Hard to believe the Dads Honor Ride 2016 journey has come to and end. We traveled 40 miles yesterday for a total of 1,393 miles since leaving Boston three weeks ago. Yesterday started out with a police escort by the Hammond Police Department. They got the group of 20 riders, including four of the Hirsch kids (Dave, Amanda, Emily and Addie) through the city streets and onto the lake shore bike path

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June 18 – South Bend to Hammond IN (80 Miles)

Hammond, IN Good morning and Happy Father’s Day from Hammond, IN. Hard to believe today is the last day of Dads Honor Ride 2016. We expect 20+ riders today. DHR traveled 80 miles yesterday for a total of 1,353 miles since leaving Boston. Yesterday started out with a police escort by the St. Joseph County Police. It was a bright sunny day and a forecast for temperatures in the mid 80’s. We met and honored some extraordinary dads again yesterday, with Great Dad Coins, including a large number of first responders. We had a great picnic lunch in Chesterton. We

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June 17 – Coldwater, MI to South Bend, IN (79 Miles)

Greetings from Chesterton Good afternoon and greetings from Chesterton, IN. 19 1/2 days down and hard to believe only 1 1/2 to go 🙂 DHR traveled 79 miles yesterday for a total of 1,273 miles since leaving Boston. Yesterday started out with a police escort by the Coldwater police. It was a bright sunny day and a forecast for temperatures in the mind 80’s. Great Dads! We met and honored some extraordinary dads again yesterday, with Great Dad Coins, including firefighters in Sturgis and White Plains and police officers in three different communities. Gary (Big Brother) Grube was nice enough

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June 16 – Detroit to Coldwater, MI (114 Miles)

1,194 miles from Boston Good morning and greetings from Coldwater, MI. 18 days down and hard to believe only 3 to go 🙂 DHR traveled 114 miles yesterday for a total of 1,194 miles since leaving Boston. Yesterday started out with a police escort by the Dearborn police, the same group that provided an escort into Detroit the day before. The skies were overcast all day and we had a lite rain the last few hours of the day. We met and honored some extraordinary dads again yesterday, with Great Dad Coins, including firefighters in Ann Arbor. Eight hours of biking

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June 15 – Toledo, OH to Detroit, MI (56 Miles)

Greetings from Detroit Good morning and greetings from Detroit. 17 days down and only 4 to go 🙂 DHR traveled 56 miles yesterday for a total of 1,080 miles since leaving Boston. Yesterday started out a little damp. It was drizzling the first hour of the ride. Since you have to keep your eyes on the road when the pavement is wet and there are potholes disguised as puddles, I didn’t even see the “Welcome To Michigan” signage. Fortunately, the weather improved as the day went on. We met and honored some extraordinary dads again yesterday, with Great Dad Coins,

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June 14 – Sandusky to Toledo, OH (81 Miles)

Greetings from Toledo 16 days down and only 5 to go 🙂 DHR traveled 81 miles yesterday for a total of 1,024 miles since leaving Boston. Yesterday was another great day for riding. We had overcast skies most of the day with temperatures in the low 70s. Much of the day was spent on the well maintained North Costal Inland Trail. We had lunch at the Wilson Nature Center in Lindsey, OH. While off the trail, we had a higher than average number of “road closed” situations due to construction, but nothing that prevented us from altering our planned route.

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June 13 – Cleveland to Sandusky, OH (58 Miles)

Sandusky, Ohio Greetings from Sandusky, home of Cedar Point Amusement Park. DHR traveled 58 miles yesterday for a total of 943 miles since leaving Boston. Yesterday was another picture perfect day. We had sunny skies with temperatures in the high 60s. The route was flat and hugged the south shore of Lake Erie. This was the start of week number three and with seven riders: Mikolaj “Nic” Tropicha-Dolny who started in Boston and five one week riders; Darek Cupial (Poland), Kevin Masukevich (Chicago), Jeff Meckert (Chicago), Dernard Newell (Chicago), and Kasia Wac (Poland). Honoring extraordinary dads We met and honored some

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June 12 – Austintown to Cleveland, OH (73 Miles)

Greetings from Cleveland DHR traveled 73 miles yesterday for a total of 885 miles since leaving Boston. Yesterday was another picture perfect day. We had sunny skies with temperatures in the high 60s. It could just be me, but the 10-12 mph winds felt like a headwind no matter which direction we turned. We started the day with three riders including full ride partner Mikolaj “Nic” Tropicha-Dolny and one day rider Steve Weyland, who drove in from Kentucky. Markos Sinclair also rode the second half of the day after spending most of the last two weeks piloting the RV. We

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June 11 – Pittsburgh, PA to Austintown, OH (75 Miles)

Greeting from Austintown, OH DHR traveled 84 miles yesterday for a total of 812 miles since leaving Boston. The forecast was for some rain and highs of 90 degrees, which was pretty much spot on. We started the day with three riders including full ride partner Mikolaj “Nic” Tropicha-Dolny and Ryan Daniel, who flew in from Vermont. Ryan will take over as rider director for week #3, once Lincoln peels away. Today was the longest day by miles traveled, but not the hardest since the elevation was much more reasonable. To begin, we rode through the downtown streets of Pittsburgh

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June 10 – Uniontown to Pittsburgh, PA (62 Miles)

Greeting from Pittsburgh, where there seems to be Penguin fever.   DHR traveled 62 miles yesterday for a total of 728 miles since leaving Boston. The forecast was for cool temperatures in the AM and then warming up to mid 70’s during the afternoon. It must be one of those once in seven year situations with large swarms of cicadas. Most alarming was getting one stuck in the strap of my helmet.  That loud pitched sound two inches from my ear sound like a freightening angry alien. We traveled mostly along the flat (< 1% grade) and scenic Great Allegheny

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June 9 – Frostburg, MD to Uniontown, PA (56 Miles)

Greeting from Uniontown, PA Question: If you work in Uniontown, does that make you a union worker? 🙂 DHR traveled 56 miles yesterday for a total of 666 miles since leaving Boston. The day started on a chilly note, with temperatures in the mid 40s. It was a very hilly day with five climbs of 2,800+. The uphills are a grind and the downhills are a thrill with the top speed recorded at 47mph. Extraordinary Fathers We met and honored some extraordinary fathers today, including some veterans Karl Heilborn (Army), Ricky (Green Beret) and Kevin Kitts (Marines) and Jessica Landry,

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June 8 — Hancock to Frostburg, MD (50 Miles)

Greeting from Frostburg, MD This message was created the morning of June 9th and is actually the 10th daily update. DHR traveled 50 miles yesterday for a total of 610 miles since leaving Boston. The day started with a hearty breakfast at the Potomac River Grill, followed by a pretty severe downpour. Since it was a lighter day mileage-wise we decided to postpone the start to avoid starting out on a damp note. Today’s challenges were the elevation and high (head) winds. There were two 1.6 mile segments (as measured by the MapMyRide app) where we averaged 5 mph (uphill

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June 7 – Charles Town, WV to Hancock, MD (81 Miles)

Good morning and greetings from Hancock, MD This is actually the 9th daily update. Unbeknown to me, Earthlink decided to supress four of my last five email blasts, without letting me know. It’s the same feeling you have when you’re talking with someone by phone and come to learn minutes later you got disconnected and you were talking with yourself. Argh!!! We traveled 48 miles yesterday for a total of 560 miles since leaving Boston last Monday. Beautiful West Virginia The day started out bright and sunny as we left Charles Town, West Virginia and rode through the breathtakingly beautiful

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June 6 – Baltimore, MD to Charles Town, WV (79 Miles)

9 states in 8 days Good morning and greetings from Charles Town, WV our 9th state in eight days. We traveled 79 miles yesterday for a total of 512 miles. It was a hot sunny day so I decided to don my riding sleeves to minimize the sun exposure.  We’re down to tow riders this week, just me and Nic, my new friend from Warsaw, Poland.  After visiting Camden Yard, home of the Orioles, and presenting a couple of Great Dad Coins, it was off to the hills of central Maryland  Oh the hills!!  Did I mention the hills? There

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June 5 – Wilmington, DE to Baltimore, MD (79)

Greetings from Baltimore MD Good morning and greetings from Baltimore, MD our 8th state in seven days. We traveled 79 miles yesterday for a total of 433 miles the first week. The day started with overcast skies and a severe weather forecast. We spent most of the day riding up and down the country roads through western Delaware and eastern Maryland. One random encounter was with Brian Riva, a cyclist and father of two boys. We were also pleased to have Kevin Heerdt, an avid cyclist and board member with the Center For Urban Families join us mid ride. Our

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June 4 – Yardley, PA to Wilmington, DE (57 Miles)

Wilmington De Good morning and greetings from Wilmington, DE our 7th state in six days.  We’ve traveled a total of 354 miles. The day started with overcast skies, doing some photos for our sponsors and an escort with Sergeant Mike Histand of the Lower Makefield Police Dept. The first dad to be honored was Lenny, a Philly dads, who was pushing his two year-old son Liam in a stroller. From there we stopped at the 2nd & York Fire Company and honored fathers Elvis, Kenny, ??, and Matt with Great Dad Coins. Within 15 minutes they pealed away in twos

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