7/31 Port Huron, Mi. to London, Ontraio

 

Last night at dinner I learned from Canadian cycling friend Joe Hill (more on him later) that the US is testing a balloon with a surveillance camera pointed at the border. Citizens of Sarnia don’t take kindly to this and so they are planning a “Moon to Balloon” event for August 15. For more info see http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1678317

Today’s departure was en mass and precisely timed. We were lined up behind one of the support vehicles at 8:20 so a call could be made to the bridge authority at 8:25 stating we’d be at the bridge at 8:30. We were greeted by a bridge person, given instructions (which we already knew) and then the traffic into Canada, all 3 or 4 lanes of it, were closed and we paraded across the bridge. Twice we had to stop and walk our bikes, actually carry them, across expansion joints. At the other end we were greeted on the road by Canadian passport officials who looked at our passports and verified we were on a list which had been provided. I’m guessing everyone was through passport control within 10 minutes. It will be interesting to see how this works going back into the US.

   

As soon as each rider was through passport control, he/she was welcomed to Canada by Joe Hill (on left in photo) and his friend Mike. I met Joe, a friend of Jim Yuhn, a couple of years ago at Hell Week. And last March, under a shade tree in Luckenbach, I told Joe about the cross country ride and he said, “Let me know when you’re in our area.” So I did. Joe and Mike rode with us for 70 miles; they were then going to visit Joe’s daughter in London and then cycle back to Sarnia.

         

Day 40, 81 miles, 803 feet climbing, 5.5 hrs. 3,038 miles so far

10 days remaining, 702 miles remaining

7/30 Birch Run to Port Huron, Mi.

 

The old saying “Red skies in morning, sailors take warning” didn’t hold true today. There was a slight red sunrise but the forecast was for clear skies and we almost got that – partially cloudy skies. It was a non-descript ride through non-descript Michigan. I wasn’t worried about not finding a photo because I knew there would be one at the end of the ride – the bridge into Canada. The bridge is most imposing; actually scary to someone afraid of heights and of falling. Traffic is so heavy it’s pretty much bumper-to-bumper. But sometime tomorrow – I’ll find out when at our 5:00 meeting – they’ll shut down the bridge and allow us to ride over in mass. I hope someone will be able to get a picture.

         

Riding through Michigan yesterday, I realized we haven’t seen many signs of the recession. In particular, we haven’t seen many houses for sale. That changed coming into Port Huron today; there were many for sale signs on houses. We were on Lakeshore Drive, a stone’s throw from Lake Huron, so maybe these were second homes but there are a lot of them on the market.

         

         

                    

Day 39, 92 miles, 600 feet climbed, 6.3 hrs. 2,957 miles so far

11 days remaining, 783 miles remaining

7/29 Mount Pleasant to Birch Run, Mi.

 

First I must comment on Jake’s comment a few days ago: “good days fade with time but bad days are timeless.” Wrong Jake. Has anyone else noticed that Jake is almost always wrong? With the proper frame of mind, the good days are all you remember. I remember the ride on the Grand Cornish out of Niece, the Gap of Dunloe out of Killarney, Bear-tooth Mountain out of Yellowstone and the Willow City Loop when the bluebonnets are in full bloom. I don’t remember any bad rides. And, if I did, they’d be better than the best day at the office.

Last night some of us had dinner at the Lone Star Steak House. Why are there no Lone Star Steak Houses in the Lone Star State?

                    

Of the 51 riders doing the entire ride, I don’t know of anyone riding in the sag because they’re tired or can’t do the ride. Mostly, if there is anyone, it’s someone who is injured. Poor Joe – a hard core REFI hell or high water rider rode too hard and pulled a muscle so he’s in the van today. Of course it makes him mad, but he’s making the best of it. Well, his luck is not all bad; he did win the Red River Roadkill Rally t-shirt (my contribution)in the t-shirt contest the other evening.

         

Today’s ride was once again familiar – no hills, farmland and some chip-seal roads. Ah! We’re in North Texas. Ok, so it’s a little cooler. Still, today was a casual ride in familiar surroundings. ‘Felt more like a local club ride than an epic ride across the country. --- The only reason we have a photo today is that I took a pee in a cornfield. Otherwise, there was nothing worth photographing.

One thought generated by riding past farms day by day by day – we have too many farms in the US. We need to eliminate farm subsidies, forget this ethanol nonsense and let the free market take hold. Banks and car companies are going bankrupt and farmers should too if the market can’t sustain them.

Back to the Zen question: What is a perfect bike?

• A perfect bike is one you don’t know you’re riding.
• A perfect bike is an extension of you. It responds predictably to your every desire. Maybe it responds before you know where you want to go. It’s like your leg. Do you think about your leg when you’re walking? No, and you don’t think about the bike you’re riding. Most of the time, when I shift I don’t know it.
• A perfect bike it reliable; it never fails you. You assure this with preventative maintenance.
• A perfect bike makes no unanticipated noises. You hear the chain derail when you shift; you hear the free-hub ratchet when you coast; you hear nothing else.
• A perfect bike is a work of art; it is beautiful. But like a woman, it is beautiful in the eyes of the beholder.

Am I riding a perfect bike? So far, yes. In 2,800 miles it has never failed. Never missed a shift. Never dropped the chain. Sometimes there are extraneous noises caused by the handlebar bag and the rough roads, but that is all. There have been three flats but you can’t blame the bike for that.

Day 38, 74 miles, 231 feet gain, 4.7 hrs. 2,865 miles so far

12 days remaining, 870 miles remaining

7/28 Ludington to Mount Pleasant, Mi.

 

PS from last night: I thought Michigan was more or less progressive. Wrong. At the Ramada Inn last night the restaurant was closed so the only available food was at the bar – which was 100% smoking – an ash tray (remember them?) at each table.

I felt lazy this morning; not a good way to begin a 133 mile day. But I ate on schedule (6:00), loaded my luggage on schedule (6:30) and began the ride. A few minutes later, or so it seemed, I was at the first sag stop (30 miles). Mike commented that everyone seemed laid back today so it wasn’t only me. A daydream or two later I find myself at the 64 mile stop where I re-energize with a Starbucks energy drink from the store cooler. Before I know it, I’m at the 82 mile stop and decide I’ll skip ice cream at 97 miles and go into Mt Pleasant for lunch (109 miles). Needless to say we had a lot of tail wind. Not total but enough to make this a very easy century ride – and our last century of the trip. That makes 10 centuries this year, certainly more than I’ve ever done, or probably will ever do. – Mount Pleasant has a nice downtown with a lot of shops. I saw a couple of our riders at an outdoor cafe so stopped and had an excellent chicken-salad sandwich on rye. One of the locals was genuinely interested in our ride – he’s ridden RAGBI five times and wants to ride cross country. We chatted and then he chatted with the others. 

   

Today’s route consisted partly of forests and partly of farms. A few lakes and rolling hills. Have I been here before? No, but some place similar: East Texas, one of my favorite cycling areas. Probably the only difference is that alcoholic beverages are more readily available here.

Riding through farm country brings unpleasant and unfamiliar odors. Quite different odors from those I grew up with in the oil patch. Maybe it’s the familiarity, but I think I prefer the oil odors to the farm odors.

        

Every evening, usually at 4:00, Jim the mechanic opens up for bike repairs. We got 50 bikes riding 50 days. If every bike needs repairs twice, then on average there will be 2 people needing work done each night. But no, there are usually a dozen waiting in line! Every night. I can’t believe it. I asked Jim if this is normal and he said yes. Note that these are high end bikes, Specialized Roubaix and Trek Madone being the most popular – and most are fairly new. I asked Jim what are the most frequent complaints and he said (1) “My bike is making noises.” and (2) “My bike isn’t shifting properly.”

Which brings us to an important question: What is a perfect bike?

• A perfect bike is one you don’t know you’re riding. (More on this later.)

Day 37, 113 miles, 2,168 feet climbed, 7.5 hrs. 2,791 miles so far

13 days remaining, 944 miles remaining

7/27 Manitowoc, Wi. to Ludington, Mi.

 

We’re REALLY in the east now, east of Lake Michigan and in the Eastern Time Zone.

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The third largest of the Great Lakes by surface area (behind Lake Superior and Lake Huron), it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S. states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. The word "Michigan" was originally used to refer to the lake itself, and is believed to come from the Ojibwa Indian word mishigami, meaning "great water." The lake is slightly smaller than the US state of West Virginia.

         

We crossed Lake Michigan on the S.S. Badger, the only coal-powered passenger ship still in regular service in the U.S. --- And we’re in Michigan. We’ve been told that navigation will now be a challenge because of the number of turns but we’ve had 30 turns already so I don’t think it will be a challenge.

         

                     

Preparing to load the ferry we came across a couple on a tandem, fully loaded for self- contained, camping touring. Well some of the time. They’re with us in the Ramada Inn tonight. If you’d like to follow their cross-country adventure, check out www.2bumsonabike.com .

Day 36, 15 miles, 2,678 miles so far

14 days remaining, 1,057 miles remaining

7/26 Fon du Lac to Manitowoc, Wi.

 

                    

         

We were back in farm country today and it was interesting to see modern electric generating windmills juxtaposed against the old farms. I wonder if either makes any money. --- I did see a few dairy cows today and what must have been a cheese factory, though there was no sign so indicating; just a modern building with four milk trucks parked, a large warehouse and a lot of exhaust fans. --- We travelled northeast mostly by going either north or east. The wind was from the northwest so we had either headwind (going north) or tailwind (going east). There was nothing in-between. --- You can see from the photo on the right we had ominous clouds much of the day, and they got worse as the day progressed. I got sprinkled on as I got close to the motel. Others who were a little bit later got caught in a rain shower. --- Riding east on county road X for 10 miles through corn fields and you come to a “T” intersection at road LS and there it is, Lake Michigan (more in tomorrow’s blog).

         

Day 35, 57 miles, 1,213 feet climbed, 3.9 hrs. 2,663 miles so far

15 days remaining, 1,064 miles remaining

7/25 Wisconsin Bells to Fond du Lac. Wi.

 

For the past two days we’ve been in much more forested areas, even overhanging trees, and much less farming. Where are the dairy cows and the cheese factories? -- Another change, starting when we arrived in Minnesota and getting better each day is that we’re mostly travelling on county roads. The western states just don’t have that many roads, particularly in the mountains, so we were on state high ways, even interstate highways, much of the time. I much prefer the county roads. Speaking of which, Minnesota’s county roads are designated by letters, not numbers. Yesterday, the highest I saw was “O” but speculated surely there are more than 26 county roads and sure enough, today I saw “CX”.

         

         

Today was an improvement on yesterday, in spite of weather forecasts of 50% on both ends of the ride. We saw no rain. There was a lot of wind but since it was predominately behind us no one complained. So it was a fast 84 miles to Fond du Lac which was welcome after the previous 4 days averaging over 95 miles. We’re staying in a Ramada Inn high-rise downtown, an old hotel which has been modernized. When is the last time you’ve been in a hotel with ornate brass numbers on the doors?

Without the farms, there were no barns or silos to photograph today. As I rode up to one church (left) it looked like it had Arabic letters on it so I thought “Great, a Muslim Mosque”. But it turned out to be a Presbyterian Mosque.

After dinner tonight we’re having a t-shirt swap. No one has a clue as to how this will work but I’m ready with a t-shirt from the Red River Road-kill Rally. Tomorrow is supposed to be a short day followed by a rest day which includes a ferry ride across Lake Michigan.

Day 34, 84 miles, 1,705 feet climbing, 5.3 hrs, 2,606 miles so far

16 days remaining, 1,121 miles remaining

7/24 La Crosse to Wisconsin Dells, Wi.

 

When I posted the data near the end of this blog I realized: damn, we’re 2/3 across the country.

         

This hasn’t been a good day:

1. We rode 30+ miles on the Sparta Bike Route. Many of you say “Great, no traffic.”. I saw yuck, no scenery – only trees overhanging the trail. Nothing to photograph. By the way, the trail is not paved (more on that later); it’s crushed granite or something like that.
2. The trail has 3 tunnels, 1/4 to 3/4 mile in length, which you must walk and carry a flashlight.
3. It rained most of the time we were on the trail. The unpaved surface, when wet, is not nice. By the time we got off it (mile 60) everyone was trying to wash off the muck with their water bottles. Later at the hotel (mile 92) we were washing the bikes with a hose and rags provided by the hotel.
4. I almost fell on the bike (probably fooling with my GPS) and again in a rest room (wet shoes). Fortunately, I caught my balance both times.
5. While riding in a shorter tunnel a lady is coming straight toward me until my hollering catches her attention.
6. I had a flat – in the rain – on the mucky trail. My hands were so gritty than I couldn’t tell if there was something in the tire or not.
7. I had to retype all of the above when I hit the wrong key on the laptop and lost it all.

         

         

Day 33, 93 miles, 11,575 feet climbed, 2,522 miles so far

17 days remaining, 1,204 miles remaining

7/23 Rochester, Mn. to La Crosse, Wi.

 

Yesterday I forgot to mention that Rochester is home of the Mayo Clinic. Downtown looks like a large city, but the population is only 80,000 – all of the tall buildings downtown are the medical center. We got into town via bike paths and left via county roads so no traffic in either direction.

         

                     

Today was much more hilly than recent days. But it was a beautiful route. Hills are the cyclists enemy because they make riding difficult but also a friend because they provide variety and often great vistas. Our biggest hill today at mile 75 was 10% grade for a mile. But then we were on Ridge Line Road with great vistas (although corn from above is not much improved). We could see valleys below – knew this was the Mississippi River but couldn’t see it.

         

                    

Late in the day we arrived in Wisconsin and then very quickly crossed the Mississippi River.

• The Mississippi River is the second-longest river in the United States, with a length of 2,320 miles (3,730 km) from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The Mississippi River is part of the Missouri-Mississippi river system, which is the largest river system in North America and among the largest in the world: by length (3,900 miles (6,300 km)), it is the fourth longest, and by its average discharge of 572,000 cu ft/s (16,200 m³/s), it is the tenth largest.
• The Mississippi is the approximate dividing line between adequate natural participation (30 inches per year) to the east and lesser to the west. As a result you will notice a great change in the trees, farming and birds within 50 miles of the river.

We’ve been fortunate in having Versus for the past three days at our hotel so we can catch up on Le Tour. We’ve had two 102 mile days and a 92 mile ride today; tomorrow is another 92 and people are getting tired.

Day 32, 92 miles, 3,339 feet climbing, 6.7 hrs

18 days remaining, 1,279 miles remaining