Below is an archive of guestbook entries I received and sent when this journal was posted at the Crazy Guy on a Bike website.

CycleBlaze (where this journal is now) allows comments for each day’s entry and for each individual picture, if you’d like to leave a note.

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#1: Your bike
 By Jonathan Voelz (mapper) on Wed 8 Aug 2012 08:44
I just came across your journal in serendipity and was looking for the bike brand. I was about to drop you a note asking the "what is it" question when I saw that you had already taken care of that!
Thank you realizing that we had put the bike in the mystery section and then taking the time to add the bike info to the journal. I will work to get it posted where it should be.
Jonathan

#2: Re: Your bike
 By Jeff Teel (map330) on Sat 18 Aug 2012 15:15 in reply to #1
Jonathan,
Thanks for the guestbook note. I enjoy seeing pictures of all the loaded bikes together in one place. Hopefully I’ll have a different model bike for you to add next year – a Trek Belleville. I’m planning to use it on a trip to Kansas and Nebraska in 2013. Along with other trails, I’m going to check out the Prairie Spirit Trail you rode on in 2011.
Jeff

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#3: Great Story - Good News
 By Frank Masterman on Thu 11 Oct 2012 06:10
Jeff,
I really enjoyed reading your trip journal. Good news: I'm told that the Dixon Park District regularly maintains the Joe Stengel Trail all the way to Polo now. I knew Joe personally and worked with him. He would have appreciated your enjoyment of this trail that he worked so hard to establish. Joe was a good guy. I've not been over there yet but hope to visit it soon.
Frank
Murray single-speed cruiser - New in 92
Trek 3700 Mountain bike - Recently acquired 2009 model
(Just a kid in an old guy's body)

#4: Re: Great Story - Good News
 By Jeff Teel (map330) on Sun 14 Oct 2012 20:46 in reply to #3
Frank,
Thanks for the note. That is good news concerning the Joe Stengel Trail. I prefer to use trails when I can, and this trail fit in well for me as I was heading south. Hope you enjoy your ride on the trail.
Jeff

#5: UPDATE! Re: Great Story - Good News
 By Frank Masterman on Tue 16 Oct 2012 06:11 in reply to #4
Update!
The pull was too great... The urge took over...
After my reply, I decided that the yard work could wait another week, and I loaded up my mountain bike and headed for the Joe Stengel Trail for an afternoon outing. The trail really has been cleaned up since your photos were taken and it is, in fact, being very well maintained by the Dixon Park District.
Riders will appreciate the condition of this trail now.
Frank
Murray Monterey single-speed cruiser - New in 92
Trek 3700 Mountain bike - Recently acquired 2009 model
(Just a kid in an old guy's body)

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#6: Straight Story
 By Bernie Friend on Wed 17 Oct 2012 09:24
Hi Jeff,
My name is Bernie Friend and I'm an English journalist and author.
I'm currently putting plans together next summer for a David Lynch-style travelogue, visiting all of the locations from his films, to see whether the real places in 'Lynchland' having anything in common with the movie creations.
One of the trips I am most excited about is following Alvin Straight's route, so I was very excited when I stumbled across your own journey, which has whet my appetite even more.
I was hoping you may be able to fill in a few more pieces of the jigsaw with me, thanks to your 'local' knowledge.
I was wondering if there is any clear marker/address for the family that took Alvin in when he crashed his lawnmower after losing his brakes on the hill, just past the fire truck.
I was also hoping to find the french trappers' cemetery/church where Alvin stayed the night and spoke to the priest, just outside Mt Zion in reality I believe.
Also, did you make it to Lyle's (Henry's) residence in the end and was there anything still there?
I look forward to hearing from you and thanks so much for producing such a detailed account of your fascinating journey.
Kind regards,
Bernie

#7: Re: Straight Story
 By Jeff Teel (map330) on Wed 17 Oct 2012 16:33 in reply to #6
Bernie,
As you know, I can relate to wanting to see locations from movies!
During my trip, I wasn't 'with it' enough to look for the location in Clermont where Alvin stayed (in the movie) while his tractor was repaired. But, between re-viewing the movie scene and using "Google Earth" with their "Street View" option, I see that the house and garage are located at the south corner of Pine and Clinton Streets in Clermont, just north of US-18, on the west end of town.
You are correct, the French trappers' cemetery/church filming location was in Mount Zion, on the east side of town. I have pictures of that posted in Part 2 for the day I was in Mount Zion. (I’ve attached a "Google Earth" KMZ file with these two locations marked.)
Sadly, I did not find Lyle's place. I should have asked the fellow in the pick-up truck I met in Mount Zion. He did help me by volunteering information about the cemetery location. I also don't know if the house shown in the movie was Henry Straight's real home, but I kind of doubt it.
Even without finding my final goal, this was a fun trip for me.
Happy searching and safe travels to you. If you post a "trip report" of your adventure, please let me know.
Jeff 

#8: Straight reply
 By Bernie Friend on Tue 23 Oct 2012 14:46
Hi Jeff,
Thanks so much for the prompt reply and pointing me in a few other directions.
It really is a great little trip you put together there, being a long-distance cyclist myself I can really appreciate it.
I'll keep you in the loop on my own journey.
Thanks again,
Bernie

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#9: My enjoyment of your Straight Path tour
 By Todd Jackson on Sun 25 May 2014 18:21
Dear Jeff,
Have just finished the journal of your Straight Path tour; what an enjoyable journal it is.
The whole concept and execution are fascinating and reverberate strongly with me.
I was specifically looking for information on Illinois tours when I came across your story, and could relate on so many different levels: I have toured in northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and eastern Iowa, stopping in some of the same towns you did, and, while I haven't (yet) used a film as an impetus for a tour, I have used a personal quest as a reason to tour by bicycle (northern England and southern Scotland to see the land where both my names, Todd and Jackson, originated).
You are a true "monster" rider to ride those hills with a single 57 inch gear ratio and a loaded bike.
I must say I chuckled when you were dubious of the bike choice of the cross country rider you met who rode the Schwinn 10 speed. You know, of course, that that is what most tourists would think of your bicycle/gear choice. But, that is one of the things that makes bicycle touring so enjoyable: we all have our own unique way of doing it.
Thanks sooo much for taking the time to chronicle and share your journey. I enjoyed reading it immensely.
Your friend on two wheels,
Todd Jackson

#10: Re: My enjoyment of your Straight Path tour
 By Jeff Teel (map330) on Mon 26 May 2014 17:49 in reply to #9
Todd,
Thank you for signing my guestbook and for your kind words.
You're so right saying different ways work for different people. For my first trips, I was most comfortable on the bike I was used to. Last year, I upgraded to a three-speed, making that bike as much like the old one as I could. It's working OK now, but I have plans to move on to a bike I picked up in May 2012: a 1965 Schwinn Typhoon "kick-back" (two-speed). It's just like my childhood bike, except 26-inch instead of 24-inch, and two-speed instead of single-speed.

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But before that, I need to finish sorting out the extra pictures I have for adding to my last trip reports. (My wife says my pastime has switched from bicycle touring to messing with bicycle touring pictures!) I'm getting there though, and will someday be planning another trip, once I decide where I'm going (and accumulate enough time-off).
Thanks again for your message - it was exciting to receive. Best wishes to you with your plans for touring in Illinois.
Jeff

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#11: Great tour idea and wonderful documentation!
 By John A. Johnson on Sun 20 Jul 2014 09:18
Jeff, After watching the Straight Story movie last week I searched for the route taken by Straight and I found your tour log. What a fantastic idea! And your detailed documentation was just exquisite! Great pictures and good story-telling.
Your traveling diet was interesting, I must say. ;-)
Although I've spent almost all of my life in Pennsylvania, I have a special affinity for your area because my father's family lives down the Illinois River from you. We traveled from PA to Perry, Illinois for many years for our family reunion until my grandfather finally passed away. I still have family in the area, though. Maybe some day I will do a similar bike tour.
Thanks for sharing your tale!

#12: Re: Great tour idea and wonderful documentation!
 By Jeff Teel (map330) on Mon 21 Jul 2014 19:34 in reply to #11
John,
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the journal. My wife originally came up with the idea for me to follow The Straight Story route, seeing how I loved that movie. Years earlier, one of our family vacations (by car) included checking out locations from other favorite movies: the Alvin C. York home in Pall Mall, Tennessee, (Sergeant York - 1941), and the train depot at Sparta, Illinois, (In the Heat of the Night - 1967). My wife is a good source for bike trip destination ideas, even if it appears she's just trying to get me out of the house.
Hope you're able to do a bicycle touring trip someday. Pennsylvania-to-Illinois (and back) following a years-ago often-traveled route could be a good trip. It would certainly offer memories, old and new.
Jeff

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#13: As timeless as the straight story
 By Vikas on Thu 2 Jul 2015 18:31
Loved reading through your journal, Jeff. Besides touching upon the 'straight' nostalgia, it provides a vivid picture of the American small-town life. I hope more people seek adventures like yourself, and trace the footprints of history. I myself will definitely do the straight route in my lifetime.
Keep Riding !

#14: Re: As timeless as the straight story
 By Jeff Teel (map330) on Fri 3 Jul 2015 18:34 in reply to #13
Vikas,
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed my trip report. I like small towns, especially when they have a place to eat! Right now I'm planning a trip to southern Indiana on an old Schwinn middleweight bike I have rigged up for touring. My destination compelled me to re-watch the movie Breaking Away (1979), but The Straight Story remains my favorite. Glad to hear you have 'straight plans' ahead.
Jeff

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