Category: Cycling

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Start: Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
End: Birch Run, Michigan
Mileage today/cumulative: 74 / 2,785
Elevation Ascended: 653′
Weather: Sunny, 63° at start; partly cloudy, 75° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

On paper, today should have been an effortless 74 miles. Little elevation, cool temperatures, and low humidity. Alas, it was not meant to be. Strong headwinds and poorly maintained roads made for a more challenging day. The lack of variation in terrain and scenery is fueling a desire to get across Michigan as quickly as possible. No mountains or anything resembling a hill. No interior lakes and only one small crossing over the Flint River. Yesterday we were looking forward to what Michigan had to show us. Now that we’ve seen it, we’re ready to get into Canada and New England. We have one more day in Pure Michigan and it sounds like we’ll be pleasantly surprised with more sights between here and Port Huron.

This rolling extended family of 40+ cyclists has been together now for over five weeks and many are growing weary of the grind. Tempers are getting a little shorter and while civility still reigns, anyone who was mildly irritating in Oregon is now extremely annoying. We’re happy each morning when we get on our bikes (even in Michigan with a headwind) but we’re tiring of hotels, living out of duffel bags, and eating an unhealthy diet. Also, I could live for 50 more years and be happy to never see another Golden Malted Waffle Maker. The grind isn’t taking a toll on our relationship – we still love traveling together and are a good team, but we’re also looking forward to being in our home and getting back in our routine.

In the meantime, we still have about 900 miles to go. That sounds small after what we’ve already done!

Monday, July 24, 2017 / Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Start: Manitowoc, Wisconsin
End: Ludington, Michigan
Mileage /cumulative: 7 / 2,598
Elevation Ascended: 0′

Start: Ludington, Michigan
End: Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
Mileage today/cumulative: 113 / 2,711
Elevation Ascended: 3,202′
Weather: Sunny, 53° at start; partly cloudy, 78° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

A trip like this requires creating a daily routine that can be done in the most fatigued state. It prevents leaving things in hotel rooms, enhances efficiency, and keeps us on schedule every morning. We are semi-robotic in our routine and when it’s disrupted, everything feels out of sorts. That’s how things were yesterday, our fourth rest day. Instead of sleeping in and having the day to ourselves, it was up early for breakfast, load luggage, ride our bikes around the dying town of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, before going to the ferry terminal where we waited around for two hours to take a dreadfully boring four hour ferry ride across Lake Michigan. Fortunately, the weather was nice enough to sit on the deck for most of the ride, because going below deck, even to use the restrooms, was barf-o-rama. The ferry arrived late in Ludington, Michigan and we lost an hour somewhere in the middle of the lake when we crossed into the Eastern Time Zone. Then it was a mad rush to disembark the ferry, get our bikes, and ride the three miles to the hotel, with a quick stop for a photo at the “Welcome to Pure Michigan” sign, before dark. I don’t know where the state of  Impure Michigan is but I’m glad we’re not riding through it. We arrived at the hotel at 8:45 and ran across the road to get Subway sandwiches (gag) for dinner. Finally, back to our room to prepare for today’s 113 mile ride.

After all of the chaos and boredom of yesterday, it was a joy to get back on our bikes. We had a pretty fast group of five riders today and our route from Lake Michigan to the Canadian border is flattening out. Less farmland, more trees; fewer rollers and more flat road. We’ve also left “Minnesota nice” far in the rear view mirror. We are definitely in “Michigan cranky” country. People here just aren’t as friendly as those Minnesotans, whose ancestors probably arrived in Michigan and said “gosh darn it, why the heck are these people so cranky? Let’s keep going west.” Regardless, we’re enjoying the countryside and looking forward to what else Michigan has to show us for the next two days.

And, finally, the 2017 Tour de France has ended but our Tour de America continues. The pros rode 21 stages; we are riding 45. They rode 2,200 miles; we are riding 3,650. They ride on closed roads; we navigate traffic all day. They have team nutritionists and chefs; we eat Holiday Inn breakfasts, Dairy Queen, and hotel banquet chicken and pasta. The pros are a bunch of wimps.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Start: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
End: Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Mileage today/cumulative: 61 / 2,591
Elevation Ascended: 1,285′
Weather: Sunny, 71° at start; partly cloudy, 82° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

Happily, today was a short ride through Wisconsin dairy land. The beginning of the ride featured Lake Winnebago and the end brought us to the shore of Lake Michigan, which will take four hours to cross by ferry tomorrow.

For the most part, today’s ride was about getting to the hotel in time to do laundry. Ride, grab luggage, change into street clothes, and taxi to the laundromat. “Rest day” is a misnomer because there are always a million things that need to be done. The butt is the only part that gets a rest.

We’ve completed the fourth leg of this journey (two to go!) and seen all kinds of farm animals. Bev greets all of them. Hi cows! Hi horses! Hi goats! Good morning chickens! Yesterday she yelled “Hi pig!” and it squealed in return. Occasionally, a cow will moo back at her. It’s like riding with a hot Dr. Doolittle. Riding along and hearing Bev call out to all of the animals always makes me smile. It’s also nice to see animals that don’t chase us on our bikes.

It’s hard to believe that we’ll be in Niagara Falls in a week. This trip keeps going by quickly.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Start: Mauston, Wisconsin
End: Fond du Loc, Wisconsin
Mileage today/cumulative: 95 / 2,530
Elevation Ascended: 2,608′
Weather: Foggy, 67° at start; partly cloudy, 78° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

When we booked this tour last year, I mentally circled this day on the calendar. I didn’t know the exact date we would get to experience the life-changing event that I so eagerly anticipated but then, when the route sheets were handed out, there it was. Mile 55. The American Legion Wisconsin Brat Fry.

When I was a kid in the 1960s, my Dad traveled to Chicago every July and came home with fresh bratwurst to cook on the grill. Back then, there was no internet and very limited mail order business for meat, so getting fresh Midwest brats was a huge deal. All of these years later, I can still remember how they tasted. Every ballpark brat pales in comparison but today I was going to experience heaven in a bun. As for Bev, she would never eat a bratwurst in the middle of a 95 mile ride, but, hey, she ate cheese curds on yesterday’s ride, so there was hope that she would join me in this culinary delight.

As we approached the small town of Princeton, Wisconsin, we could smell those heavenly sausages – and we were over a half-mile away. And then, there it was. Wisconsin’s Best Brats (so the sign said)!  Yes, I’ll have the 1/4 pound bratwurst with potato salad and beans! It was as good as I remember. Even Bev succumbed to peer pressure and ordered a brat, which she promptly covered in sauerkraut and mustard. Wisconsin = bratwurst, cheese curds, and Spotted Cow beer. Well done, Wisconsin.

As for the ride itself, it was an easy 95 miles of beautiful dairy land with ideal riding conditions at a casual pace. People here take great pride in their gardens and we saw some elaborate ones. It also seems that everyone owns an ATV and a snowmobile. In fact, there are marked snowmobile trails everywhere, often paralleling the road.

One more ride tomorrow before we spend a rest day taking a ferry across Lake Michigan. The tour keeps on rolling!

Friday, July 21, 2017

Start: La Crosse, Wisconsin
End: Mauston, Wisconsin
Mileage today/cumulative: 78 / 2,435
Elevation Ascended: 2,667′
Weather:  Cloudy, 70° at start; rain, 77° at finish
3D Relive Video (approx. 1 minute)

Today was one of those “best laid plans” days. After pushing it pretty hard the past couple of days, we planned for an active recovery ride because the middle 32 miles of our 75-mile route was on the Elroy-Sparta trail. This is a hard-packed crushed gravel  bike path that was the first Rails to Trails project in the United States. It includes three tunnels that you must walk your bike through because once you enter them you cannot see the other end. It’s so dark that you cannot see your hand in front of your face without a flashlight or headlamp.

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate with our plan. Before we even arrived at the trailhead, we were detoured due to road construction. Then we came upon a road crew assessing a bridge that sustained serious damage last night from flash flooding. They allowed us to ride through the debris but the bridge was closed to automobiles. It was impressive to see what a sudden onslaught of water can do to asphalt and cement. When we showed up to begin the Elroy-Sparta trail, we were told by our ABB team leader that we would not be allowed to ride on the trail. She showed us the weather radar, which was basically one enormous blob of green, orange, and red that was coming toward us. It also included a flash flood alert. Because the trail is hard-packed, it could become messy and difficult to navigate, with mechanical or medical support unavailable, if needed. So, we were rerouted onto a paved road that paralleled the trail. It also meant that we had to climb three hills that we would have “tunneled” through. We were disappointed but now we have an excuse to come back and ride the trail.

A trip like this requires going with the flow and staying positive, so we hopped on our bikes and rode like mad to stay ahead of the looming storm we saw on the radar. So much for active recovery – at that point it was just ACTIVE. We didn’t beat the rain – it finally caught us with about 40 miles to go – but nothing that required us to stop or seek shelter. We did slow down long enough to wave at the Amish gentleman riding into “town” in his buggy. All was forgiven and forgotten when we reached our second SAG stop and found that the staff had bought cheese curds. I’m pretty sure we ate our weight in cheese before getting back on our bikes for the last 20 miles or so. Team Pea fueled by Wisconsin cheese. Blurp.