[Biking Adventure: Day One]

[Day Two] [Day Three] 

Lara and I set out on a biking/backpacking adventure in the Kettle Moraine area, to take some beautiful photos, make our leg muscles sore, and pee outside more times than I can count. #awesome 

We set out after work Saturday morning, our packs full, our clothes fresh, and our stomachs tied in nervous knots. 

The ride was so much more hilly than we were expecting, and we were forced to walk up two hills in the first mile. The heavy panniers on the back of the bike didn't exactly boost us up the hills either. Although Lara rightfully deemed that first mile "awful" (which I agree with entirely), we didn't give up. We took our first break here, and Lara had her first bathroom experience of the trip. So proud of her bravery while peeing on the corner of a busy intersection. 

We felt good at our second break, when we chowed down some protein bars and correctly navagated ourselves further towards our destination: a backpacking shelter on the southern end of Kettle Moraine State Forest. However, storm clouds were rolling in, making me fairly nervous. About a half hour after stopping at Greg's for water, we started to feel the rain. We tried to put on ponchos, but that just led to a parachute-break type effect. We instead decided to cover our packs in the ponchos and deal with the rain. It was 4:30 and the storms weren't supposed to start until around 7, but the lightning and thunder just seemed to be getting closer and worse. We started to check out farmland to pitch our tent in, but decided to keep going. 

Once the rain got harder and the thunder louder, I decided we should call it quits, not just for safety from the storm, but also a fear of getting too wet and not being able to get warm again. We tried knocking on a few doors and finally a kind woman agreed to let us stay in her backyard. After setting up the tent, getting our bikes under shelter, and getting our gear in the tent, we changed into dry clothes and prepared to spend the rest of the night in the tent. 

However, the tent had flooded, not due to the rain, but due to a punctured can of water. Poor planning on our part... After getting that cleaned up we laid in the tent and ate a dinner of GORP and peanut butter wraps. The rain ended up clearing up and we were able to walk around, stretch, watch the sunset, and get a good nights sleep.