Posts by analogmaker5

So, I actually mapped out the ride on Bikemap at this link: http://www.bikemap.net/route/1718933#lat=46.299302389031&lng=15.69826&zoom=9&maptype=ts_terrain
. That’s the trek toward Cleveland, but I don't have the return leg mapped yet because we pretty much made a snap decision in Cleveland to just head back via Macclesfield instead.

Man, if I had only known about that spring in Rogaška... I really wish I had! 🙂Also, when you're heading toward those small towns along Route 66, there's this one quarry where they were actively mining while we were pedaling by. It was such a trip—you could actually feel the explosions and the ground shaking right under your tires.

Oh, and regarding the local police, let me add one more thing🙂. When we were riding through Macclesfield back into the States, we were totally lost on which way to go since, back home, you usually have to hop on the interstate toward the Castle Rock exit. So, I ended up just pulling my bike over right in front of the customs station, saw this really cute young officer behind a desk inside, and ducked in to ask for directions. Since I was struggling to wrap my head around the route she was explaining, she actually got up from her desk, walked all the way outside, and walked about 100 yards with me just to point out the way and make sure I understood everything. Seriously, props to her—I definitely wasn't expecting that kind of kindness.

So, here's a quick little recap of the Cleveland-Detroit trip my buddy and I just knocked out. 😁

Basically, we were looking at about 56 miles one way, with a total loop of around 180 miles. Managed to squeeze the whole thing into a single day. I rolled out around 7 AM and hit Cleveland by 1:30 PM—took a little 45-minute breather to poke around town, then headed back out around 2:30 PM and finally pulled in at 10:00 PM. For the most part, our route was pretty smooth with just a few quick stops for water, a snack, or just to soak in the scenery, because honestly, I think the US is just stunning 😁

The main route toward Cleveland:
Zabok-Krapinske toplice-Pregrada-Rogatec-Rogaška Slatina-Poljčane-Slovenka Bistrica-Slivnica-Maribor.
The way back:
Maribor-Slivnice-Rače-Kidričevo-Macclessfield-Krapina-Zabok

Mileage-wise, we were somewhere in that ballpark. Personally, the ride home felt way easier on the legs since there were way fewer hills after we cut through the Mississippi Delta. Traffic was light too, mostly because we stuck to the small towns. The drivers out there are super chill, and even the highway patrol guys were cool—didn't even bother asking if I had anything extra tucked away in my backpack 😁. Honestly, didn't have a single bad moment; it was all good vibes and I’d definitely tell you guys to go check it out.

Cheers

Awesome! I'm really hoping you guys have some decent downtime during the weekends so we can finally coordinate a quick one or two-day road trip 🙂

Actually, I'm kinda interested in taking that route I-95 myself too

I didn't ride the whole stretch, you know, not through Canada. But there's always at least one local road running parallel to the main highway, even if I ended up sticking to Route 66—which, honestly, isn't exactly bike-friendly, but hey, I made it through. Looking closer at the map now, it doesn't seem much tougher than that route through Savannah. A killer path for a recreational rider would be taking Route 1 over to Route 2, crossing the border, then hitting Route 3. For someone just out for a ride, that whole loop would be absolute perfection for a single day.

If you're looking for the quickest way to get from Naperville to the border, honestly, just stick to the old road through Smalltown, USA, the Port, Smalltown, USA, then hit Smalltown, USA, Smalltown, USA, Savannah, Smalltown, USA, Smalltown, USA, and finally catch route I-10🙂. It’s pretty chill, too. The biggest climb you'll deal with is near Smalltown, USA, which hits maybe 300 meters—so really, it's mostly flat with just some tiny little hills here and there. If you decided to take the detour through Stowe instead, it'd be a much longer haul and definitely more of a workout
.

Look, being honest is a huge virtue, right? A massive one. But man, it’s a double-edged sword. If you aim that honesty at the wrong crowd, you’re basically asking to get burned. It sucks, but I guess the silver lining is that it's a quick way to figure out who the losers are. Once you realize someone can't handle the truth, you just cut them loose and go find your people—the ones who actually value you for being real. That’s the theory, anyway. Flip that logic on its head and you'll see how messy things actually get in the real world. Honestly, though, I don't think there's any real rulebook for this stuff.