Leaving Illinois Beach Park had me on the pathway immediately, and rolling through Zion, which seems to have all bible street names. On a bike you only see what your legs are strong enough to take you to, but you notice a lot more things and you can stop and start and detour at will because your speed is slow.

Got on the Kenosha County Path and rolled to bird songs into Racine, where by not following the route I accidentally discovered the huge Johnson & Johnson plant and head office. This is where your Ziploc bags come from.

Fog rolled in as I got back to a path by the harbor and stopped to snack.

Then a harbor bar sang “burger” to me and, since it started raining, I went in and ordered the 14 oz burger with bacon and cheese and felt consoled for the bleak wet ride ahead, the forecast being rain all afternoon. If you’re an outdoor person, you know how grim these wet times can be.

However, out here in the east, the rain is warmer than in the west, and the air smells good, so riding was okay. After half an hour, the rain stopped, and then in another half an hour, I was toasty warm in the sun.

I got on the Oak Leaf Trail which takes you into, through, and then out of Milwaukee. Convenient.

Along the way I looked at the downtown, spent a night with Warm Showers host Evan Pack, and got to eat in a local place near his house. He came to get me downtown, and showed me the community bike store he runs downtown.

Milwaukee is home to the Harley Davidson Museum, and the bikes are built about 20 miles west. After biking all this way, it made sense to learn more about this American Icon, and it was a worthwhile visit. I found the displays interesting, even though my eyes soon glazed over with the hundreds of bikes and typical museum overload.

Then I rode out of town along the shore and past the Art Museum. The same guy who designed the Calgary Peace Bridge, also designed the Museum, only he charged them more because those big sails in the picture go up during the day, and fold down at night. Cool. As for visiting the museum, well those Harleys were enough art for one day.

I rode out of town on the Oak Leaf Trail again, and on to a Motel 6 for some Urban Camping.