NEUBURG, GERMANY -- Today was uneventful but enjoyable.
Leaving Sebastian in Altdof I scooted west on some spectacular country roads. The area is much like Wisconsin with green fields and rolling hills. It looks like the farmers are already working on their second cutting of hay.
The priest at St. Peter's in Neuburg let me set up my tent for the night in his garden. It's at the side of his house, across from the church and on the other side of the wall is the area cemetery.
A day with little excitement and lots of miles would have been perfect. It's been sunny and in the mid 60s.
However around 10 p.m. the winds started to rush through the trees and lightning ripped and obviously a storm was ahead.
Normally I'm a storm enthusiast; that's when I have an option to go indoors. This tent setup merely felt like I had a newspaper's width of protection between me and the storm.
Knocking on the door of the priest's house proved hopeless, even though I prayed for him to come to answer.
The door to the entrance of the church was still open; it was a tiny area about 10 feet by 10 feet but much better than what I had going on.
With lightning flashing and winds howling I raced to grab my bike and wheel it into the church. On the second trip I grabbed my bedding and the third my camera and other valuables. The tent stayed.
This could easily make for a reality game show.
The storm pushed through and I stayed in the entryway until 4 a.m.
I figured there would be the one Catholic who gets to church at 5 a.m. for their normal daily prayers and I didn't want them to start their morning scared by a hopeless transient sleeping in the doorway.
So I packed my gear and moved back to the wet tent.
It's all part of the adventure.
Judy is a Milwaukee native who is ever exploring the country. Her favorite mode of travel is her 21-speed, blue Centurion bicycle, which she bought after high school. Judy has worked in the local media for the past 20 years. "I need to do something to support my biking habit."
Judy has an extensive history in radio news, having worked at WISN, WUWM, WTMJ, WKTY in La Crosse and WBKV in West Bend. A strong interest in sports also had Judy reporting for ESPN Radio covering the Packers, Buck, Brewers and Badgers. "One of my first Brewer games at County Stadium the security guy yelled as I walked into the locker room LADY IN THE LOCKER ROOM. Now its so commonplace. But that story makes me sound really old."
Judy is currently working at WISN-TV in Milwaukee. She is a freelance writer and her pieces have been seen in The Small Business Times and The Business Journal. Her travel journal has appeared in Minnesota Trails Magazine, The Statesman and the West Bend Daily News, to name a few.
Aside from biking, running and being active in her community, Judy is known as someone who is "very, very thrifty." "I get candles for Christmas. My friends call them my space heaters because I normally keep the heat in my house at 40 degrees during the winter. Its not that I cant afford to turn up the thermostat, I just hate paying for heat."
Judy said her "conservative attitude" plays a part in her bike tours ... not needing to pay for gas and frequently spending nights camping inside churches. "First of all, it makes me feel safe since Im traveling alone and second all youre doing is sleeping, so why pay for that. Its no wonder I cant ever get someone to travel with me."
Judy grew up in Whitefish Bay and graduated from Dominican High School and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Judy is the second oldest among seven siblings and spends a lot of her time working as a "park tester" along with her eight nieces and nephews.
