The day started off nice enough. The Pioneer Restaurant was open in Brookville. They had hot coffee and a morning paper. The customer base included two locals and me. One took my paper as I made my way to the door and the other stopped to ask questions about my ride. I'm a bit of a circus in spandex so I tend to draw a look or two. I tell the man I'm headed out of town on Hwy. 52 and trying to get to Rushville.
"Had a nephew killed on that road ridin' a bike," said the man. It’s just the kind of information I want to hear. The other guy who took the paper chimed in. "Lots of hills between here and Rushville," he said acting like it would take me a day and a half to make it 30 miles up the road. All I could think while leaving the cheery place was -- a big Robin Williams GOOOD MORNING EVERYBODY!!
Roads weren't that bad, nor were the hills. A little chilly at 8 a.m. and some fog but that lifted shortly and I had 30 miles in before 10:30. Continued on towards Greenfield after a quick change of clothes. You can spend more energy fighting the headwinds on the flats then putting in a 100-mile ride in one day. And riding wet is a quick route to failure.
The winds are about 3 to 7 miles an hour from the west. I change directions and head north up Hwy. 9, still making my way towards Wisconsin. I use the semis to my advantage. If they're coming up behind me and pass, I try to ride in their wake and use the draft to pull me down the road. If the semis are coming at me I tuck and bear down as the wind from a passing semi really whips me around and hanging onto the handlebars is as challenging as trying to steer a kite.
I stop in Greenfield, debating about whether to continue. The skies have grown darker, and even though there's no rain in the forecast I'd hate to chance it with the cold. Cold and damp equals doom. The locals say it's about another 10 miles and I figure I can make it.
About four miles out of town I start regretting the decision. Battling the breeze today has taken it out of me. My form is starting to fade and I start wishing for a water tower. The water towers are normally so high they can be seen for miles and they're a good indicator that a community is not far off. I also start closing my eyes briefly to save my eye energy. At this point in time I know I'm getting tired. I'm also relying on my "I can make it" song. It's just a little ditty I made up, very popular on my internal bicycle radio station, WBYK. The song has a simple rhythm of a train, a Johnny Cash kind of beat.
With every word I pump my legs like pistons and get a little further down the road. If I sing the four words over and over with a little twang, that's the country version. If I throw a "Sweet Jesus" into the mix, that's my religious version. I'm still working on a hip hop and rap version.
Finally made it to Pendleton and rode an extra seven miles to find a place to stay in Anderson, Indiana. This is the tenth day of my tour and I've got in about 700 biking miles. Have to be back at work on Tuesday, Sept. 26 and looking ahead at the weather I have to really make time within the next couple of days, as storms are in the forecast for Friday and Saturday.
Judy is a Milwaukee native who is ever exploring the country. Her favorite mode of travel is her 21-speed, blue Centurion bicycle, which she bought after high school. Judy has worked in the local media for the past 20 years. "I need to do something to support my biking habit."
Judy has an extensive history in radio news, having worked at WISN, WUWM, WTMJ, WKTY in La Crosse and WBKV in West Bend. A strong interest in sports also had Judy reporting for ESPN Radio covering the Packers, Buck, Brewers and Badgers. "One of my first Brewer games at County Stadium the security guy yelled as I walked into the locker room LADY IN THE LOCKER ROOM. Now its so commonplace. But that story makes me sound really old."
Judy is currently working at WISN-TV in Milwaukee. She is a freelance writer and her pieces have been seen in The Small Business Times and The Business Journal. Her travel journal has appeared in Minnesota Trails Magazine, The Statesman and the West Bend Daily News, to name a few.
Aside from biking, running and being active in her community, Judy is known as someone who is "very, very thrifty." "I get candles for Christmas. My friends call them my space heaters because I normally keep the heat in my house at 40 degrees during the winter. Its not that I cant afford to turn up the thermostat, I just hate paying for heat."
Judy said her "conservative attitude" plays a part in her bike tours ... not needing to pay for gas and frequently spending nights camping inside churches. "First of all, it makes me feel safe since Im traveling alone and second all youre doing is sleeping, so why pay for that. Its no wonder I cant ever get someone to travel with me."
Judy grew up in Whitefish Bay and graduated from Dominican High School and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Judy is the second oldest among seven siblings and spends a lot of her time working as a "park tester" along with her eight nieces and nephews.
