We were down a car during Mother's Day weekend, with the youngest Jamison kid in possession of one of our two Honda Elements in Decorah, Iowa where she attends college. My wife Margaret needed a vehicle to travel to the Northern 'burbs of Chicago to see her Mom, and I was left to puzzle out how to get to Moline, Illinois to see my Mom and sisters for Mother's Day as well. Options were pretty limited and my first plan was to rent a car and make the trip that way.

But then ... Inspiration! Hey, I've got this touring bike, and a bunch of camping/touring gear, and I was in acceptable shape for a slow roll down to and back from Moline so I was all about riding the Seven Expat down and reducing my carbon emissions. Plus, when is it not fun to ride your bike somewhere, right? It was settled ... two wheels from Stoughton, Wisconsin to Moline, Illinois and back again. I figured two days of about 75 miles each, and the mirror image on the return trip (silly boy ... more on that later).

Attending Mother's Day this year was especially important, as my Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer in late August of 2016. She is tough, and a realist with a sharp-edged sense of humor, but this is a tough hand of cards to be dealt. Her treatment is ongoing and she doesn't complain, but it is not an easy thing for her.

So here we go ... Two day trip down, one rest day in the middle, and two days back.

Heart

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