Today’s biking, 53.5 miles, took me through the town of Freedom, WI (pop. 6,200), where I stopped for about 20 minutes to have a lemonade at a BP gas station/convenience store. If you ever find yourself stuck in a rut and want to meet some interesting people, I suggest you spend some time hanging out there yourself.

I left Chilton, WI late morning and passed through Freedom about 30 miles into my route, around 3 p.m. I saw a bench in front of the store, which made it a great place to sit and have something to drink. I soon met Mike, who asked how far I was riding that day. He had bought some live bait at the store and was on his way to go fishing. He was very impressed that I planned to ride 53 miles, and we talked about my trip. Mike said he used to play basketball (“hoops”) for Marquette University, “back when the team used to win games.” He is now in his sixties. Mike said he was thinking of doing some biking as a way to get back into shape following replacement of a blood vessel in his leg with one from a cadaver to relieve some blockage.

What an honor it was for me to have a former Marquette basketball player express admiration for my athletic prowess! “God bless you, man,” Mike said, as he wished me well on my journey.

Soon after my conversation with Mike, this guy, who said he was 70, drove up in his homemade vehicle, which as you can see in this photo, he calls the “Rat Rod.” We never exchanged names, because we were way too busy talking about his ride.

I asked if he is able to drive his car in the rain and he said no, because it has cloth seats that would soak up the water. He wears a “Snoopy-style” helmet to keep his hair from getting messed up when he’s driving around.

He built the car on a Camaro chassis and put a Chevy Trailblazer engine in it. The hood ornament is actually a lawn ornament.

The radiator coolant overflow reservoir is an old wine bottle.

And the center console is an old ammo cartridge box.

There is a “gun” mounted on the back of the car, but this guy works at a YMCA, and after someone there complained about him driving around with a weapon mounted in his vehicle, he needed to make it clear that the gun is a toy made of plastic. He solved the controversy by putting a label on it that says, “This is Not a Real Gun.”

I left the BP Station feeling refreshed not only from my lemonade, but the chance to meet a couple interesting folks whose paths crossed mine that afternoon.

I arrived at my hotel in Pulaski, WI around 6:30 p.m. Tomorrow’s route will take me to Shawano, WI, where I will spend the weekend with our son Joe, daughter-in-law Kelsey and her parents, and our three grandchildren. They are driving up to the area from their home in Madison, WI.