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The Dakotas – Day 3 On the Bikes!

July 17, 2025 / Paul Rito

45.1 miles, 1672′ of climbing – to read from the beginning, click here.

We had a lovely stay at the DeAngelo’s lake house on Wednesday and did indeed need the shelter as it stormed most of the day. We did get a hike in, and I did some work on the bikes. We thought there was a decent 3 hour break in the rain coming up so we got into the kayaks and paddled north on Lake Milton. About 45 minutes in, the previously sunny afternoon turned dark and I suggested we head for a bridge for shelter from the impending storm. Sure enough, shortly after we hit the bridge, the skies opened and we stayed dry and safe from the lightning.

The Dakotas – Day (-)2

July 16, 2025 / Paul Rito

We arrived at Dana’s cousins’ in Youngstown around noon yesterday, unpacked the bikes and gear and said a heartfelt thank you and good-bye to Tinamarie & Todd as they headed off to Cuyahoga Valley National Park & Cleveland to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The Dakotas – Day (-)1

July 15, 2025 / Paul Rito

We’re on our way to Youngstown! We left only 15 minutes past our target time, so an auspicious beginning – for us anyway.

Our original tour plan for this year was to head to Southern Cal in February, but the fires quashed that plan. On anticipation of that trip though, my daughter Sarah’s very thoughtful Christmas present was a “care package” of touring related envelopes filled with encouragement and some cash to enjoy the related activities. Now that we’re finally headed out on tour, I thought it would be a great precursor to share them with you now.

The Dakotas

July 13, 2025 / Paul Rito

Dana and I are embarking July 15th on a 3,000+ mile adventure through the upper midwest. Our friends Tinamarie and Todd are driving us to Dana’s cousins’ in Youngstown, and we’ll start from there on the 16th. Roughly, we’ll be heading to Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and back to Ohio (and maybe even ride back home through PA).

More to follow soon, of course, but we’re very busy prepping and getting the houses ready for a long absence.

NS & PEI – Home Again

September 7, 2024 / Paul Rito

Saturday, September 8, 2024, 0 cycling miles, 5.5 miles hiking: We drove from 4:30 pm to about 2:30 am then pulled into a rest stop in MA to catch little sleep (4 hrs) before continuing on. Now, if you know Dana, you probably know about Dana Head. No movement or exercise for too long and, well, it’s not pretty. So, she found Bennett’s Pond State Park, a short detour off our route, with lots of hiking trails. We got to the park around 8, picked a trail and started out.

NS & PEI – Day 18 – Last Day

September 6, 2024 / Paul Rito

Friday, September 6, 2024, 9 miles: Our last day in NS. We packed the car, checked out of the hotel and headed to a local park next to a police station to stash the car for the day. The it was back on the bikes across the bridge to Halifax yet again to check out some more recommended sights to see.

NS & PEI – Day 17 – Ketch Harbour

September 5, 2024 / Paul Rito

Thursday, September 5, 2024, 46.8 miles: Today we headed back across the bridge to Halifax and to a ride along the western side of the harbour south to the Atlantic Ocean at Ketch Harbour.

NS & PEI – Day 16 – To Halifax

September 4, 2024 / Paul Rito

Wednesday, September 4, 2004, 9 whole miles: Today we packed up the car and the house and said goodbye to Parrsboro. We’d been told by multiple people that Halifax wasn’t to be missed, so we decided to go for a couple of days and head home from there.

NS & PEI – Day 15 – Five Islands

September 3, 2024 / Paul Rito

Tuesday, September 3, 2004, 29.9 miles: When we get back from one of our trips, we often look at each other and say, “Well, it wasn’t a relaxing vacation!” With some resistance, I reluctantly agreed to riding to a hike. This meant another trek over the logging road we used on our first day to PEI and a 15+/- mile ride to the Five Islands Provincial Park and good hiking as we’d been told.

NS & PEI – Day 14 – Return to Parrsboro

September 2, 2024 / Paul Rito

Monday, September 2, 2004, 46 miles: After breakfast at the motel, we took and a walk past the windmills dotting the landscape. It’s Labour Day in Canada as it is in the U.S., and we expected quiet roads and a pleasant and rain-free ride back to Parrsboro. We weren’t disappointed as we followed Routes 302 and 2, somewhat windy and mostly flat roads that took us the 39 miles back “home.”

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