Freedom, WI to Manitowoc, WI 62 Miles, July 2

We usually leave early enough in the morning to avoid wind. Today the wind was up before we were, signifying a weather front. We have ridden quite a few days with no rain, so I finally decided to pack away my rain covers. I put them on again when we pedaled 11 miles down the road and heard the weather report: RAIN.

Approximately 23 miles into our ride, Carol and I began to see lightning and hear thunder. We debated whether or not to try to duck into someones barn or garage and decided to keep pedaling until we reached the town of Potter, 10 more miles along our route. As the lightning and thunder continued I wondered if we were being wise. We hit Potter just as the water poured down. The first place we came to was a tractor dealership. We parked our bikes in the entryway and asked if we could take shelter inside. We were led to comfortable chairs, clean rest rooms and a giant screen TV to watch the weather report. All this even though there was no chance of us acquiring a tractor. We ate our snacks and watched the weather which said we were in the middle of an emergency alert for thunderstorms and hail moving through the area at 35 miles per hour between 9:45 AM and 10:07 AM. I had never seen such precision regarding the weather. We comfortably waited out the time and watched the storm pass.

We got back on our bikes and noted the sky getting darker. I complained that I couldn't see through my sunglasses. Then came the ligtning, thunder and masses amounts of water. With the lightning we knew things were getting serious. We spied a home and pulled off the road to ride up to the porch. A dog announced our arrival and smiling faces appeared at the entrance to the garage inviting us in; no questions asked. We had a lovely conversation with this couple as I was wringing water out of my clothes and changing my socks.

The storm passed quickly and we were back on our way. When we connected with Pam in Manitowoc at the Super 8 we compared notes. Pam told us that she also got rescued from the storm by taking a ride in a car. You do what you've got to do in the face of a serious storm.

We are grateful to be warm and dry once again. This is thanks to Caryn Arsta who donated us this beautiful room at the Super 8. This is our last night in Wisconsin. Tomorrow we will be on the car ferry to Luddington, Michigan and into the Eastern Time Zone.