day 1

Today I came home to my bike family, and I was welcomed with lots of open arms and hugs galore.  The bike tour is one big family vacation where no one fights or very little fighting occurs. We come together because of the trees, but we return each year because we are family.
I had the wonderful opportunity to go through milwaukee and see it up close and personal and I am happy to say I did not crash nor did I make anyone else crash.
We rode along lake michigan and I was surprised by the amount of beach front that there is. There was a beach volleyball tournament going on with well over 3 dozen nets set up.  I never pegged milwaukee as a destination for beach volleyball, but hey I learned something new today.  The lakefront is beautiful and flanked by beautiful homes with emmaculate gardens and landscapes. And best of all lots of great lanes for bicyclist.
I have decided that on this trip I am going to enjoy the scenery more than I did last year. Last year was all about riding and proving to me that I could do this. This year its about stopping and enjoying the uniqueness that is called wisconsin.  On the short ride today I begged to ride by the miller beer factory. The buildings were incredible,  they are made of stone and brick and they flank both sides of the road for about four blocks. There was even one large building that was the stables. The stables have stained glass windows and they were beautiful.
After our nice little 26 mile ride we started the evening with a german fest extravaganza.  I have never seen so many lederhosen in my life and these huge hats with mile long feathers in them, alright maybe I am exaggerating a little but they were huge. There was lots of beer flowing but best of all was the food. I had a brat with saurakrat and lots of mustard. And a yummy cherry strudel, I could have eaten at every stand and been very content. There was roasted pig on a stick too, and if you wanted you could order either pig head or feet in one special line, there was no one in that line. After the fest instead of taking the bus back a group of us walked to the hotel, it was only 1.7 miles.  I am so glad that we did, it was a wonderful way to see the river walk and  all the wonderful restaurants along the way. Somehow I lost my headband on the route, a small casuality but the walk chased away the sorrow.
The only thing I worry about during this ride is my knee and the stubborn swede that I am. I hurt it on monday during a ride and it is not healing very fast. I am stubborn enough that I wont let it slow me down,  and thats what worries me. I have always looked at challenges as just that, challenges, and they are meant to be conquered. What I am trying to do now or what I should be doing is looking at a challenge and saying .....alright so you want me to stop and look at this situation and find a reasonable solution. Yeah right thats not going to happen.  What I say is bring it on challenge, I am ready, and I will laugh in your face as I overcome you and pedal on. For behind me and in front of me I am supported by my bike family and we can survive anything you throw at us.  I look forward to this week and the adventures that await me, I hope you will join me.