Platteville, Wisconsin

Got a load that got me into Platteville at 6:30 but didn't get unloaded till 8-8:30.
By the time I got going it was almost dark. This area is on the fringe of the Wisconsin Driftless Area, which refers to the Southwest part of the State that the glaciers didn't cover, so it's much hillier than what most people think about when they think Wisconsin.

I was able to get out of town and went to the top of the largest hill. By the time I got there, it was pretty much dark, but it was a great night to ride.

This hill sports a huge M, in reference to the local University and the Mining school from back in the day of lead mining.

You can see the M top right of the photo below.

 Sunset.

Alden, New York

Was pretty excited to head to the Buffalo, NY area. The way the trip started was to deliver a load in West Seneca, a little east of Buffalo and grab a return load in Niagara Falls a few hrs. later. A perfect scenario to check out the Falls on the bike.
 Well, the West Seneca trip held, but I got switched to loading in Alden, NY. Alden is 50-60 miles from the Falls, so had to settle for a local ride.
I had 2 hrs to kill so took off to find a nice Park and found a grocery store as well and got some grapes and Coke.

Looking forward to this trip again but getting close to the Falls.

Cleveland, Ohio

On my way to the Buffalo, NY area. Was able to secure a night spot at the last parking available before Cleveland and before my driving time ran out. Like most large cities, it's basically a truck parking desert once one gets too far into the city limits.
McDonalds right there as well, where I actually parked. Free WiFi is always nice!

It worked out great as it was only 3-4 miles from Lake Erie. Small towns of Avalon and Sheffield Lake.
Had a nice park next to power plant that had a boat launch, swim area and fishing pier.

On the way to the Lake Erie I passed this bee swarm.....As I rode past it, I thought, was that a honey bee swarm?? yep, sure was.

Fishing pier.

Sunsets are tough as the camera wants to darken the shot.....I've since learned not to point the camera directly into the sun and it'll keep it lighter.

Ina, Illinois

This was a cool spot....I noticed a large lake/reservoir to the west of the interstate while driving, so figured it might have some good riding. I originally was going to go up to the next truck stop, but Ina, Illinois just sounded and looked too good to pass up and explore.
Turned out to be a bit longer jaunt than I expected, though, which is fine by me.

First hour there was enough sunlight but then had use my light. The large almost full moon was cool, but didn't add much light.
I went into the Park and cruised around some but my goal was a 1.5-2 mile ride across the lake on the dam road. Google Maps showed a bike path to the south along the edge of the lake that I expected would be singletrack through the woods and would connect to complete the loop. It turned out to be a very nicely maintained paved bike path. That actually made me better as I could roll faster. By the time I got there I was a solid hour into the ride and not even close to half way around.

Too many deer to count. A young buck in velvet ran alongside me for 30 yards or so. Possum, raccoon and also came across 3 young guys fishing in the dark below a bridge I took that crossed the Big Muddy River. They had flashlights as well, as one was trying to bow/arrow gar and some other species of fish but I forgot the name. I directed my intense light to the surface of the river and there were many 2-3' fish near the surface.One was close enough to take a shot but he missed.

Example of a gar. Pic hoisted off the 'net.

I broke a spoke and had to limp in back to the truck stop the last 9-10 miles......along a rather busy road with no shoulder. This was kind of a crapy ending to an otherwise fun 35 or so mile ride.

Boaters coming in.

Osprey nest in the snag out in the water. Just before sunset.

Bismark, North Dakota

First trip "out west"....well....kinda.
Pulled into Bismark, exit 161, at 3pm and tried to get unloaded, my appointment was for 9AM the next day. The lady in shipping smiled but said "no cigar" as it was too late and the lumpers had all gone home anyway.
So, I parked the truck and took off on the bike. Found a bike path that lead downtown so went that way to find a bike shop as the Paragon needed some attention.
Turned out to be an hour or so to get to the shop. The Father and Son team at Broken Spoke got me going and were a pleasure to deal with.

Rode around for about 3 hours.

Lewis and Clark Park on the Missouri. Replica of the boat they pulled up the Missouri to the Mandan Villages then returned that same year to St. Louis loaded with various "findings".

Interstate Bridge.

Deer on the trail.

After climbing up from the Missouri. Bismark is quite the hilly City.

Singletrack starting at the Park and winding around and up.

I got to the client at 8:30AM and the same lady asked how my ride was the day before. After I said great, she said it was going to take at least 3 hrs. to unload me and she suggested I go for another ride. She had my cell number if she needed anything.

So I headed down to the State Capital building and the Natural History Museum after about 90 minutes of riding the trail and finding some more singletrack in Sleepy Hollow Exchange Park.
Was a great way to explore the city.

Mastodon

Grandson checking out the Big Rig.

Company policy is no riders until after 6 months of accident free driving.....and they have to be 13. My 7 year old grandson, like most small boys, in enthralled with big trucks and construction equipment.
The Company allowed me to give him a short ride in the yard....he loved it!

Crown Point, Indiana

Another morning when I had a later set unloading time.
Paved trail in northern Indiana.
Found a small, family restaurant that served breakfast all day!

Elroy/Sparta Trail, Wisconsin

On my way to Minnesota I figured I could get a 90 minute ride in and still have enough time to get to where I had to be to get unloaded in the AM.
One of the oldest, if not the original Rail to Trail in WI if not the USA. Opened in 1967.
I parked at Exit 28, rode down the road on the bike past the Kwik-Trip to the left and picked up the trial there.
Crushed granite. This trail is know for the 1 mile tunnel.....bring a light.

It's been a wet spring, the vegetation along the trail is doing very well.

Richmond, Indiana

Exit 149B on I70. Quick ride right from the Love's truck stop out Flatley Rd. to Wayne Rd. where you'll hit the Cardinal Greenway. It goes north 60 some miles or better to Indianapolis and south into Richmond. Paved.
My morning unload appointment allowed me to get about 90 minutes in before I backed in.

My riding partner, in the truck and out of it.

This site is designed to give any truckers that want bike ideas to do just that, bike while on the road.

Started driving a Commercial Truck at the age of 60 after 10years working in the logging industry in Oregon, a 25 career in the midwest primarily in sales and service of robotic paper testing equipment followed by a 3 year sales stint with a mining company and most recently trying my hand at enticing small and medium sized privately owned businesses on consulting services.

Back in the day I grew up on a dairy farm and spent time in high school driving a milk truck with a can route as my first "real job" outside the home. In my 20's I ran heavy equipment in the logging industry in Oregon.

My other blog motoscotch.blogspot.com covers the logging years, biking and other outdoor activities.

I enrolled in truck driving school at SabertoothCDL near where I live.

The current truck is a 2012 Freightliner with a 10-speed manual tranny. Sleeper berth. I pull a 53' van trailer loaded with freight of all kinds.
Jobs are regional to the Midwest, 500-800 mile radius or so, but will be going OTR as well to try that out.
I live in central WI.

A job in transportation seems to have the possibility of giving me the flexibility and income I desire at this point in time in my life along with the chance to ride bike in different places as I deliver freight across the midwest and country. I want to stay physically active and truckers are so limited on the road. Our trucks can mainly only be parked at waysides and truck stops which provide little to no chances for the driver to do much but hang out in the truck and/or truck stops and be held captive by the meager offerings at either.

Asked the shop to remove the seat. Another driver for the company had done the same and it seemed a good idea.
Lots of room and easy access to load and unload the bike(s). 

Hard Tail Gary Fisher Paragon Mountain Bike.

Full Suspension Trek/Gary Fisher Superfly 

Rigid Salsa El Mariachi will be the main bikes.....in the winter I'll see if the 9:zero:7 Fat Bike works out, as well.

Google maps on my iPhone shows bike trails and I have an APP for singletrack trails as well, which I prefer. In any case, I hope to post up and show a few pics where I find to ride while out on the road.

In the cab.