Day 25 and 26: I Really Hate the Panera Crowd!

Day 25 contd...

I take one step outside and am blown back by the most intense headwind I have felt since NYC got that tropical depression last year. This is goin gto be a long afternoon. The wind is blowing me all over the road... so it's a good thing I'm traveling on deserted roads. The down side to these deserted roads are all the dogs... Ive been chased a few times, but have yet to get attacked. I'm sure its an inevitability though. I fight the headwind for three hours, before buying $10 of junk food and giving up for the evening. Some nice guy named Brad let me camp in his side yard. It got real cold that evening, and I am starting to worry about the weather when I hit Montana. I set my alarm for 5am, so I can hit the road by 5:30/6:00am and get to South Bend by 11am and spend the afternoon touring Notre Dame and catching up on my blog stuff.

Day 26
I wake up at 5am... and its still pitch black.... so I sleep in til 6:30.... Everything is soaked with condensation, and it is absolutely freezing. Oh man... I wish i could just stay in the sleeping bag until the sun comes up over the trees and warms everything up. I get moving about 7:30 and stop at the nearest Hardee's for Breakfast. Hardee's really does have the best food in the fast food business. So good.

The road I ride this morning is absolutely beautiful... there are no cars, it is incredibly beautiful... all gently rolling hills with small towns and countryside. An amazing morning. My plan was to cut north on HWY 31 and trudge along the last 20 miles along a major highway. It would be quick, I told myself.... well it was.... but riding along major highways has the unique ability of putting me in a terrible, foul mood. When I roll into South Bend, I am too annoyed to be excited. First things first.... I 'm gonna find Notre Dame...

Well... I ride into the city center and spend about an hour trying to find the school but I just cant seem to locate it anywhere. I call and ask friends for directions and finally locate it in the NorthEast corner of the city.

Let me tell you.... the campus may be pretty, but it's creepy as all hell... and I went to BYU for a year... so you gotta trust that it takes a lot to creep me out. There were friars(?) at special numbered stations dotting the lawns, and you could go sit with them and receive counsel. Maybe confess? It was really bizarre. The campus was not as cool-looking as I had hoped either. Princeton was much cooler.... so I hightailed it outta there and proceeded to get lost in Northwest South Bend. Eventually I am able to wake Greg from his slumber at 2pm and he gives me directions to the nearest Strip-mall suburban center... which was about 2 blocks from where I first entered the city... Ugh.... I rode 58 miles to get into the city and then 12 miles inside the city. Long Day... But I have a place to stay tonight just down the street from here, so I am real excited.

PS - I really hate the clientèle that Panera Bread seems to attract.... I'm currently listening to a Cheerleader Mom trying to fit in with her daughter's friends. She just told them that many people in Alaska live in Igloos... And how they're all talking about how much they love Brownies. Wow... I'm not sure I want to live in the same world as these people. Does anyone know any other major chains that offers free Wifi? I'd be very grateful for any suggestions. Very grateful.