When we left Manistique, it was cool. I almost stopped to pull out arm warmers. A nice change, actually, especially for someone like me who associates August with chilly fog & wind. It was cloudy and there was a fairly strong north wind. Just like home.
We were riding along the water much of the day, too. I guess it's not news that Lake Michigan is big. Still, riding along it for two whole days with more to come gives a sense of scale I did not have before. We saw lighthouses and beaches and gulls and all the tacky little businesses that seem to be attracted to waterfront settings. My personal, uh, favorite? A hand made sign announcing Honest Injun's Tourist Trap.
Jim looked forward to riding again; it was a long day, so Bruce was happy to quit before reaching St. Ignace; Aline wanted to have a beach day; I just wanted to ride. We did all sorts of calculations & gave Jim names of the towns we expected to be near at 2:30.
The clouds stuck with us. A couple of hours out we saw another rider pulled over. We stopped to be sure she was ok, and of course we got to chatting. She had stopped to add a layer - we were feeling a very few drops of rain, and that wind. She is getting started on a trip around the UP, 800 miles, and she will be giving talks along the way about moving beyond domestic violence. It seems that most of the people on long tours these days are doing it for a cause. They are surprised we are just out here 'cause we want to be. Anyhow, as we were leaving she told us about some road work ahead, and described a detour we might want to consider.
We thought it would not be worth the extra miles, and we didn't want to risk having Jim miss seeing us and worry. That was until we saw the construction. The lanes were narrow, enclosed by those big orange barrels, and there was no paved shoulder. We were on a major road with lots of big trucks. Yikes. Detour, here we come! Fortunately we were able to call Aline & tell her about our new route.
It led us to Engadine and another great lunch place. There's a little cafe & bakery with a beautiful flower garden in front. We had great soup and sandwiches on bakery bread. I asked if they had lemonade. "Yes, but it's organic," said the waitress dubiously. I asked if that made a big difference in the flavor (I was a bit concerned it might be sweetened with some exotic - but organic - fruit) & she looked mildly alarmed & admitted she had no idea! It was good. Bruce ordered some after he tasted it.
Back on the road. The detour probably added 4 miles to the six the construction zone would have taken. Well worth it.
Not long after we got back to the main road we saw a car pulled over on the shoulder. As we approached we realized it was our support car. We pulled up figuring Aline & Jim were checking on us. It was only Jim, and he was deep in a nap. It was only 1:30, so we figured we'd let him rest & see him down the road. Got that one wrong.
At 2:30 we stopped for a snack & watched the road carefully. No Jim. We called Aline, who was at a beach by herself. Jim doesn't carry a phone. We couldn't think what to do other than keep going, so we did. After about 45 minutes, we came upon Aline who was sitting by the road hoping to see Jim. Uh oh.
Fortunately he pulled up a few minutes after we had. He had no idea we could have passed him without waking him & had assumed we'd had problems somewhere before reaching his nap spot. He did the detour deluxe, searching unsuccessfully for two cyclists who just weren't there any more. What a mix up!
Now we had finally connected, Bruce handed over the bike & helmet and we were off. Instead of the thirty miles we had planned, Jim only rode about 18, so he needed to move. I fell back - my legs already had 70+ miles and we agreed to regroup as we approached town. Then it started to rain. Other than making the city riding just that little bit more exciting, it really didn't matter. We didn't get hit by any cars, didn't skid or fall, didn't make any wrong turns, we just pulled right into tonight's place, a Victorian style B&B with very spacious rooms.
Tomorrow we take a ferry to Mackinac Island for two nights. We will probably rent bikes for Jim and Aline & explore tomorrow, then get off the bikes for a day before going on to the lower part of Michigan.
Miles today: 90
Total miles so far: 2890
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