It may seem odd, given the record-breaking hot weather nationwide this summer, but I’ve had very little heat on this journey so far. That changed today, Wednesday, 8/23, when the temperature hit 97 degrees. In addition, I needed to ride 65 miles to get from Port Washington to Chilton, WI, where I finally arrived just after 7 p.m. But there were no storms, and the first 15 miles of my ride continued to be on the flat interurban trail systems in Ozaukee and Sheboygan Counties, so on the whole it was a good day.

Here is a view off the trail near Cedar Grove, WI (pop. 2,100), which is about 40 miles north of Milwaukee.

I’ve known about the strong Dutch influence in western Michigan, but as I passed through several towns on my route this morning, I learned that this area in eastern Wisconsin was also home to large numbers of immigrants from Holland, who established towns like Oostburg and Cedar Grove. In Cedar Grove, a Holland Festival continues to be celebrated each year and two museums tell the story of the area’s Dutch heritage.

It was already in the nineties by late morning, and a perfect time to stop in at Kups Coffee and Ice Cream in Oostburg. Here is what the shop looks like in real life:

And here is an intricate model of the counter, less than 12″ high, made by Adalyn Lensink, age 10, that is displayed in a corner of the store–impressive!

This afternoon, on a stretch of highway in Sheboygan Falls, I got pulled over by Captain M. Spence with the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department, who was driving an unmarked squad car. Actually, it would be more accurate to say I was already pulled over, checking my maps for probably the twentieth time that day. Captain Spence wanted to make sure I was doing OK and offered me a choice of a cold bottle of water or Gatorade. I picked Gatorade. He said he does some biking himself and was interested in my trip and my route. He also taught me the correct way to pronounce Shawano, where I will be staying this weekend (think two syllables, not three).

Our conversation was unfortunately interrupted by a call Captain Spence got to head to the scene of an accident. He wished me a good day and a good journey and headed off in the opposite direction with his lights and siren on.

I captured a few scenes that were very typical of what I saw on my route today. This is what cows look like when it is 97 degrees.

Here are just a couple examples of numerous farms along the way.

This was one of the better stretches of highway from a cyclist’s perspective–flawlessly smooth, not so much traffic, and an OK shoulder (wider would be nice, but this is pretty good).

I was pretty exhausted by the time I got to Chilton (pop. 3,990). My only real dinner option was the McDonald’s right next door to my hotel, a Best Western, but it felt like paradise to me–a meal, a place to sit, and air conditioning. Who could ask for anything more?