Serious tailwinds again today. We started out on the thirty mile Pere Marquette trail. It began less than a block from the hotel. It is beautifully paved & has good signs, bathrooms every five miles, and even pressurized air hoses for filling tires. It runs mostly through deciduous woods although there are times you can hear traffic on a nearby highway and occasional towns where you can see houses & businesses. The woods sheltered us from the winds a little, but we still got plenty of help. One cyclist going the other way who passed us as we approached the end said, "You're gonna hate riding back!" with a very unhappy look on her face.
We came out in Midland, a fair sized town with a nice deli where we got sandwiches. As we were leaving we felt a few drops of rain so I stopped to encase everything in plastic bags. Naturally, that ensured that we would not feel another drop all day. It was actually almost chilly. I kept my windbreaker on all day. It's been well over a month since I have done that. At home I would have it on almost every day.
We found our way through town to Nebobish Road. I sort of like the name, and we really liked the road. It soon shook off what remained of the town and took us barrelling through about ten miles of open fields. No shelter from the wind there, and no need for it. We just let it push us along towards our goal, which I had just recalculated & determined was about 8 mikes farther than I had thought. Bruce was pleased. He was having a great day. I was a bit less pleased - doing ok, but happy to think tomorrow will be a rest day.
Bay City. My computer was flashing a warning that its hub battery was getting low, so Bruce helped change it. Unfortunately, the batteries in the little bag with the "unused" label must not have belonged there; they gave out before we arrived today, and the place I stopped to try to get new ones didn't have the right size. More on the to-do list for tomorrow. Bruce noted his time & mileage so I could add his for the rest of the day to what I had done up to then. We had a couple of map-folliwing issues in Bay City. Score: one for me, one for Bruce. It was lucky that we didn't miss them at the same time. Reversing directions would have been quite a penalty in today's wind.
A little later, we looked more closely at the map & realized there was a better route to Caro. It is just a bit off the Adventure Cycling route. We tried it, and it worked perfectly. Probably saved us two or three miles which would have been into the wind.
Our B&B is very nice. Everything about it looks precisely as it did online. Since that's what made us choose it, that is very good news. Our hostesses directed us to a great restaurant a couple of miles outside town (Aline, where will we be when you leave???), and we stopped for ice cream on our way back. Aline & I got out of the car to get ice cream while Bruce tilted his seat back to get a head start on a good night's sleep.
When we got across the street, the place looked closed, but Aline tried the outer door & it opened. A guy came right over to the inner door. "Ice cream? Come on in. Don't worry about all this. Lots of groups here tonight."
Yes, there were. As we entered, we passed a large round table with 9 guys playing poker around it. Our guy had stood up from his place at the game to help us; he called out his bets as he served the ice cream. A little farther into the shop were a couple of people carefully producing frosting-flowers for a wedding cake; just beyond them, two young girls were making their own attempts at flowers.
When my ice cream came, it had little candy eyes on top, staring at me. One of the little girls said, "They're edible."
Miles today: 88
Total miles so far: 3232
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
A lucky mistake
Last night's cabin was, well, beyond basic. Very well worn, not very clean, a strong moldy smell, but a full kitchen in which Aline made us a great dinner. Then we all headed for different beds. There were lots of decision points: how close to a nicely screened window? how lumpy was the mattress? how easy to navigate to the bathroom in the dark? good pillows? We all felt quite certain that we had made the best possible choice and equally certain that the best possible choice was not particularly good.
Lights out, and we all shut our eyes and hoped for sleep. We are all quite sure we did not sleep well, and yet we all remember different things that went on. I heard three gunshots. I am SO not used to living in an area where that does not - should not - lead to a 911 call! But I managed to keep my hands off the phone. The service was lousy there and besides, who knew what I might step on if I tried to get up and find the phone? Then I heard tiny bits of rustling, and footsteps. That turned out to be Aline trying not to wake us up. Then it rained and rained and rained. I read a whole book last night, just listening. This sounds sort of spooky; it wasn't. It was just so unfamiliar. We were pretty ready to get out & head for the next place in the morning.
Our route today was to be 60 miles from Luther to Clare, Michigan + whatever it took us to get all the way to Luther. We figured three miles or so. It turned out to be ten. Fortunately, the rain had stopped & the weather was quite nice. The roads were pretty nice, too. As soon as we reached Luther we were once again on the Adventure Cycling maps & that is reassuring. Aline scouted out a place for lunch.
As we rode, I was going faster, so when my cell phone rang I had time to take the call without slowing us down. It was a guy I have talked to through the NBTS connection. He also had an oligodendroglioma & has found it helpful to talk to me & others who have had the same experience. I first talked to him in Montana. Since then he has had surgery & is recovering very well, but there are still future treatment choices to make. It's a lot to absorb. So I felt bad when my cell service suddenly decided to fail. We did manage to talk about an hour later.
The lunch place was fine. I had come up to another cross country cyclist - carrying everything, so catching up was easy enough - who was eating at the same place with some motorcycle friends. While we were there, the weather arrived. It poured. Thunder roared. Bruce moved the bikes to a slightly more sheltered spot and we waited for it to pass, happy that the timing had been so convenient. It was quite a narrow system, and within an hour or so there was more blue sky than gray, and heaps of beautiful clouds all around.
We rode another hour or so, then had to make a couple of turns. I was a little surprised at how quickly the second turn arrived, surprised that the mileage sign brought our destination quite a bit closer, and once we had turned, surprised we were to ride on such a busy road for ten miles. But the shoulder was adequate, the road sloped gently down, and the wind was behind us. We had gone several miles when it occurred to me that the road number on the signs was not right. My brain was pretty mushy.
Once again, though, good luck prevailed. Turns out we had accidentally turned too soon onto a road that took us about as directly as possible to Clare. We missed some pretty roads. Aline got to see them and told us about them. But we kept the downhill trend and the tailwind and had a blast riding mostly 20+ mph all the 25 miles we had left. And it saved us about 7 miles. And tonight's hotel is a big place with all sorts of space and services. As Bruce said when we arrived, we are ready for this!
Miles today: 64
Total miles so far: 3144
Lights out, and we all shut our eyes and hoped for sleep. We are all quite sure we did not sleep well, and yet we all remember different things that went on. I heard three gunshots. I am SO not used to living in an area where that does not - should not - lead to a 911 call! But I managed to keep my hands off the phone. The service was lousy there and besides, who knew what I might step on if I tried to get up and find the phone? Then I heard tiny bits of rustling, and footsteps. That turned out to be Aline trying not to wake us up. Then it rained and rained and rained. I read a whole book last night, just listening. This sounds sort of spooky; it wasn't. It was just so unfamiliar. We were pretty ready to get out & head for the next place in the morning.
Our route today was to be 60 miles from Luther to Clare, Michigan + whatever it took us to get all the way to Luther. We figured three miles or so. It turned out to be ten. Fortunately, the rain had stopped & the weather was quite nice. The roads were pretty nice, too. As soon as we reached Luther we were once again on the Adventure Cycling maps & that is reassuring. Aline scouted out a place for lunch.
As we rode, I was going faster, so when my cell phone rang I had time to take the call without slowing us down. It was a guy I have talked to through the NBTS connection. He also had an oligodendroglioma & has found it helpful to talk to me & others who have had the same experience. I first talked to him in Montana. Since then he has had surgery & is recovering very well, but there are still future treatment choices to make. It's a lot to absorb. So I felt bad when my cell service suddenly decided to fail. We did manage to talk about an hour later.
The lunch place was fine. I had come up to another cross country cyclist - carrying everything, so catching up was easy enough - who was eating at the same place with some motorcycle friends. While we were there, the weather arrived. It poured. Thunder roared. Bruce moved the bikes to a slightly more sheltered spot and we waited for it to pass, happy that the timing had been so convenient. It was quite a narrow system, and within an hour or so there was more blue sky than gray, and heaps of beautiful clouds all around.
We rode another hour or so, then had to make a couple of turns. I was a little surprised at how quickly the second turn arrived, surprised that the mileage sign brought our destination quite a bit closer, and once we had turned, surprised we were to ride on such a busy road for ten miles. But the shoulder was adequate, the road sloped gently down, and the wind was behind us. We had gone several miles when it occurred to me that the road number on the signs was not right. My brain was pretty mushy.
Once again, though, good luck prevailed. Turns out we had accidentally turned too soon onto a road that took us about as directly as possible to Clare. We missed some pretty roads. Aline got to see them and told us about them. But we kept the downhill trend and the tailwind and had a blast riding mostly 20+ mph all the 25 miles we had left. And it saved us about 7 miles. And tonight's hotel is a big place with all sorts of space and services. As Bruce said when we arrived, we are ready for this!
Miles today: 64
Total miles so far: 3144
Monday, August 8, 2011
Multiple personality day
Traverse City really is a small city. It has the feeling of a resort area and also sort of a college town. There are lots of young people around, lots of runners, lots of bike trails. We had one of the best dinners of the trip at Poppycock. The soups were especially good.
This morning we felt lucky to have explored enough to find possible bike trails to get us to our first turn; our road out of town is NOT a bicycle-friendly choice. Two lanes, plenty of fast traffic, no shoulder or parking space. By the way, this has nothing to do with Adventure Cycling. We wanted to stick to the lake shore for a couple of extra days, so we had to find our way back to the official route ourselves. I am obviously not ready to get into the bike map business.
So, on the path for a short distance, then back on the road after the first turn. Not a happy place. We tried heading west a block to find a parallel street. Great, except the parallel street ended in one block. Several more blocks west found us a road with an official bike route sign which got us maybe a quarter mile, then dumped us off on a path which was? was not? was? no, definitely was not paved. So we took it, for another quarter mile or so until it ended at a big, busy road with no signs telling us where we were. Sigh. Our road turned out to be close, but still to be busy and shoulder-free. We tried briefly, then spotted a bike path on the other side of the road & managed to get to without dying. And so on. The first twelve miles or so took all our attention and were not fun.
The next fifteen or so were ordinary. They offered plenty of places to find food and nice people and some attractive farms. There have been fruit stands all over for a couple of days, and their big crop right now is cherries, my favorite.
The second half of the day has been in Manistee National Forest land, lovely and peaceful. Most of it is pine woods, but there were some deciduous areas about knee-deep in ferns. Just about ideal riding. We arrived at our night's destination at 3:00. Bruce is napping outside. On a picnic table.
We are in a log cabin with musty old chairs & beds scattered all over it. The Little Manistee River is about fifteen feet away. The insects are buzzing, the trees are still. It's a perfect summer afternoon.
Miles today: 59
Total miles so far: 3080
This morning we felt lucky to have explored enough to find possible bike trails to get us to our first turn; our road out of town is NOT a bicycle-friendly choice. Two lanes, plenty of fast traffic, no shoulder or parking space. By the way, this has nothing to do with Adventure Cycling. We wanted to stick to the lake shore for a couple of extra days, so we had to find our way back to the official route ourselves. I am obviously not ready to get into the bike map business.
So, on the path for a short distance, then back on the road after the first turn. Not a happy place. We tried heading west a block to find a parallel street. Great, except the parallel street ended in one block. Several more blocks west found us a road with an official bike route sign which got us maybe a quarter mile, then dumped us off on a path which was? was not? was? no, definitely was not paved. So we took it, for another quarter mile or so until it ended at a big, busy road with no signs telling us where we were. Sigh. Our road turned out to be close, but still to be busy and shoulder-free. We tried briefly, then spotted a bike path on the other side of the road & managed to get to without dying. And so on. The first twelve miles or so took all our attention and were not fun.
The next fifteen or so were ordinary. They offered plenty of places to find food and nice people and some attractive farms. There have been fruit stands all over for a couple of days, and their big crop right now is cherries, my favorite.
The second half of the day has been in Manistee National Forest land, lovely and peaceful. Most of it is pine woods, but there were some deciduous areas about knee-deep in ferns. Just about ideal riding. We arrived at our night's destination at 3:00. Bruce is napping outside. On a picnic table.
We are in a log cabin with musty old chairs & beds scattered all over it. The Little Manistee River is about fifteen feet away. The insects are buzzing, the trees are still. It's a perfect summer afternoon.
Miles today: 59
Total miles so far: 3080
Sunday, August 7, 2011
No thunder, but...
They can't all be perfect. We didn't have all that many miles to ride, but they were all on Highway 31, and it's not a particularly nice route. Its shoulders vanish as it goes through towns - the busiest parts, in other words. I made a few bicycle enemies, I am sure, by doggedly taking the whole lane at times. It was either that or get squished by an over-confident driver. Not a hard choice. There was also a stretch of several miles with brand new black top, perfectly smooth. Only no shoulder lines had been painted yet, and that seemed to confuse some RV drivers terribly. Bruce noticed one with its steps still let down. Fortunately it pulled out towards the center of the road. This was a day meant to remind us to be vigilant as we ride.
We did find one pretty side road that ran parallel for a few miles, and thank goodness there is a bike path that took us through the last five miles or so. And we did have one brief shower, but nothing much and no sign of storms until we got very close. Rain began to spit a bit just as we arrived, and the sky is getting steadily darker at 3:00. Looks like we'll get to see some dramatic weather tonight.
We are in a hotel right on a bustling beach. It is very hard to think of this as an expanse of fresh water.
A couple of bits & pieces: we actually were on Lake Huron from St. Ignace to Mackinaw City, so we have ridden along two Great Lakes now; I passed 3000 miles today. That usually takes me six months, not ten weeks.
Miles today: 51
Total miles so far: 3021
We did find one pretty side road that ran parallel for a few miles, and thank goodness there is a bike path that took us through the last five miles or so. And we did have one brief shower, but nothing much and no sign of storms until we got very close. Rain began to spit a bit just as we arrived, and the sky is getting steadily darker at 3:00. Looks like we'll get to see some dramatic weather tonight.
We are in a hotel right on a bustling beach. It is very hard to think of this as an expanse of fresh water.
A couple of bits & pieces: we actually were on Lake Huron from St. Ignace to Mackinaw City, so we have ridden along two Great Lakes now; I passed 3000 miles today. That usually takes me six months, not ten weeks.
Miles today: 51
Total miles so far: 3021
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Testing
Down in the main part of Michigan. We had planned to get off the Adventure Cycling maps for the first couple of days. Kitty's sister got us some ideas from a local cyclist. We put together alternate routes that would take us along the shores of Lake Michigan for a bit longer. We just needed to figure out how to get from the Mackinac Island ferry to the main road we'd chosen.
Back in Montana, when we made our leap from the original route to the southern path through North Dakota, to avoid the Minot flooding, Bruce was quite concerned about diverging from thoroughly tested roads. Well. He seems to have left that worry far behind. He went into a gas station in Mackinaw City for directions & came out with a whole new plan. "If we turn left at the light, that road will take us towards 81." Uh, 81 had nothing to do with our modified route, but ok. I didn't learn until later that the gas station guy had apologetically said he had no idea how to get where we were headed; even the vague advice we accepted had come from another customer who chose to speak up. So we rode for a while, and found 81. Then more ideas surfaced. If we turned to an even smaller road, we could stay right on the water most of the day. Only things didn't look quite right.
We stopped a passing cyclist, who said she thought we might be on a road that ends at a park, but she's from Minnesota, doesn't really know the area. I decided we should keep going. There was too much traffic coming towards us to be coming away from a park at 10 on a Saturday morning. Luckily, I was right. We soon arrived in Bliss. Really. That's the name of the next town. It has a little store where we stopped for snacks and advice. This was the decision point: a fairly efficient road a bit inland, or the winding coast road that would take us on an extra c-shaped bay? Bruce decided he didn't want to add maybe 10 miles to the day so we turned left. Then he changed his mind & we made a hasty u-turn to the coast road. Just the way we might navigate at home where we have a rough sense of what we are choosing. A little adventure!
This turned into one of our best days. The coast road goes through a "tunnel of trees" and goes through a couple of charming little towns, then through a very fancy neighborhood of what have to be summer places. They are great big early 20th century houses, very attractive, great lawns & gardens, porches with swings, interesting windows, docks on the lake. Then a bike path begins that takes you over 20 miles, right up to the town we are in tonight (Charlevoix).
Our first stop was not a great success. We had heard from one of our route advisors that the town had a place called Legs & that it was supposed to be worth seeing. It looked very nice, but too popular. We decided not to wait in line for lunch. We did get a quick look at the gardens and some of the carved bears that fill it. But I was not sorry to leave. As we were on our way out, a woman said yes, we needed to move the bikes; it doesn't look nice when there are bikes all over the place. I was taken aback. Could she not simply have asked us pleasantly to put them wherever she wanted them? Or maybe even said nothing, since we were already leaving? But that was the only sour note all day.
The next stop was in Good Hart, another great name. There is a deli & bakery well worth trying if you are ever there. We got sandwiches & stuff & sat in front to eat them. I don't know if I can describe all the people we met there. First, as we waited to order, there was a very high energy woman who was talking about the stuff she had ordered, then asking us all sorts of questions, then reacting with huge enthusiasm when she figured out how far we were riding. She seemed to be with her mother & sister. She lives in Orlando (but keeps far away from Mickey Mouse). Then there were the two older guys who were teasing each other about whether they were wise to be buying the treats they had ordered (I'd have to vote no on that one) and who also asked us about our trip, then used our mileage to tease each other more. They left after we'd taken a seat on the bench out front, one of them on a motor scooter, smoking a rather overpowering cigar. Then another cyclist. He asked us to keep an eye on his bike while he went inside, then he came out & sat on the other bench & chatted. I know more about him than I do about some people I have known for years. He is a trustee of his college; he has been at the house of a fellow alum in Atherton who has an impressive modern art collection (he refused an offer of 10 million for one piece); he has a PhD- in what I don't know, but I know where he earned it; he's very involved with his local symphony. In fairness I have to add that he offered us his cottage for the night. He was really very nice to us. But I have only rarely encountered such a persistent name-dropper.
Then we went looking for the start of the bike trail and met a guy who used to live in Colorado & race bicycles - especially loved climbing. Then a local couple on a tandem rode beside us for a bit to ask about our trip. He had once done some of the route on a motorcycle. They had reached their car when we got to the end of the trail & stopped to ask where we were staying & told us they thought it was a good place.
Phew. Quite a day. Well worth the extra miles. Aline got here first. We are in a sort if condo on the harbor. We had dinner on our porch, watched while someone attempted to dock a boat very nearby to the accompamiment of the strident criticisms of a brash woman on board who had clearly drunk her lunch. And dinner, probably. Took three tries to get the boat in. We walked along the canal into the harbor afterwards. There's a drawbridge that opens twice an hour to accomodate all the local boat traffic.
70% chance of rain and thunderstorms tomorrow, but no severe weather anticipated. Does that mean lightning can really be gentle?
Miles today: 71
Total miles so far: 2970
Back in Montana, when we made our leap from the original route to the southern path through North Dakota, to avoid the Minot flooding, Bruce was quite concerned about diverging from thoroughly tested roads. Well. He seems to have left that worry far behind. He went into a gas station in Mackinaw City for directions & came out with a whole new plan. "If we turn left at the light, that road will take us towards 81." Uh, 81 had nothing to do with our modified route, but ok. I didn't learn until later that the gas station guy had apologetically said he had no idea how to get where we were headed; even the vague advice we accepted had come from another customer who chose to speak up. So we rode for a while, and found 81. Then more ideas surfaced. If we turned to an even smaller road, we could stay right on the water most of the day. Only things didn't look quite right.
We stopped a passing cyclist, who said she thought we might be on a road that ends at a park, but she's from Minnesota, doesn't really know the area. I decided we should keep going. There was too much traffic coming towards us to be coming away from a park at 10 on a Saturday morning. Luckily, I was right. We soon arrived in Bliss. Really. That's the name of the next town. It has a little store where we stopped for snacks and advice. This was the decision point: a fairly efficient road a bit inland, or the winding coast road that would take us on an extra c-shaped bay? Bruce decided he didn't want to add maybe 10 miles to the day so we turned left. Then he changed his mind & we made a hasty u-turn to the coast road. Just the way we might navigate at home where we have a rough sense of what we are choosing. A little adventure!
This turned into one of our best days. The coast road goes through a "tunnel of trees" and goes through a couple of charming little towns, then through a very fancy neighborhood of what have to be summer places. They are great big early 20th century houses, very attractive, great lawns & gardens, porches with swings, interesting windows, docks on the lake. Then a bike path begins that takes you over 20 miles, right up to the town we are in tonight (Charlevoix).
Our first stop was not a great success. We had heard from one of our route advisors that the town had a place called Legs & that it was supposed to be worth seeing. It looked very nice, but too popular. We decided not to wait in line for lunch. We did get a quick look at the gardens and some of the carved bears that fill it. But I was not sorry to leave. As we were on our way out, a woman said yes, we needed to move the bikes; it doesn't look nice when there are bikes all over the place. I was taken aback. Could she not simply have asked us pleasantly to put them wherever she wanted them? Or maybe even said nothing, since we were already leaving? But that was the only sour note all day.
The next stop was in Good Hart, another great name. There is a deli & bakery well worth trying if you are ever there. We got sandwiches & stuff & sat in front to eat them. I don't know if I can describe all the people we met there. First, as we waited to order, there was a very high energy woman who was talking about the stuff she had ordered, then asking us all sorts of questions, then reacting with huge enthusiasm when she figured out how far we were riding. She seemed to be with her mother & sister. She lives in Orlando (but keeps far away from Mickey Mouse). Then there were the two older guys who were teasing each other about whether they were wise to be buying the treats they had ordered (I'd have to vote no on that one) and who also asked us about our trip, then used our mileage to tease each other more. They left after we'd taken a seat on the bench out front, one of them on a motor scooter, smoking a rather overpowering cigar. Then another cyclist. He asked us to keep an eye on his bike while he went inside, then he came out & sat on the other bench & chatted. I know more about him than I do about some people I have known for years. He is a trustee of his college; he has been at the house of a fellow alum in Atherton who has an impressive modern art collection (he refused an offer of 10 million for one piece); he has a PhD- in what I don't know, but I know where he earned it; he's very involved with his local symphony. In fairness I have to add that he offered us his cottage for the night. He was really very nice to us. But I have only rarely encountered such a persistent name-dropper.
Then we went looking for the start of the bike trail and met a guy who used to live in Colorado & race bicycles - especially loved climbing. Then a local couple on a tandem rode beside us for a bit to ask about our trip. He had once done some of the route on a motorcycle. They had reached their car when we got to the end of the trail & stopped to ask where we were staying & told us they thought it was a good place.
Phew. Quite a day. Well worth the extra miles. Aline got here first. We are in a sort if condo on the harbor. We had dinner on our porch, watched while someone attempted to dock a boat very nearby to the accompamiment of the strident criticisms of a brash woman on board who had clearly drunk her lunch. And dinner, probably. Took three tries to get the boat in. We walked along the canal into the harbor afterwards. There's a drawbridge that opens twice an hour to accomodate all the local boat traffic.
70% chance of rain and thunderstorms tomorrow, but no severe weather anticipated. Does that mean lightning can really be gentle?
Miles today: 71
Total miles so far: 2970
Friday, August 5, 2011
Finding quiet in bustle
I was determined to make this a very restful rest day. Bruce and Jim wanted to play nine holes of golf. I just wanted to be unscheduled. We all walked around the bend in the road last night to watch a beautiful sunset; Bruce and Jim made plans to go around in the other direction to see the sunrise this morning; Aline & I said fine, just don't wake us up on the way out.
They went, and by the time they got back I was starved so the three of us went out to find breakfast. Aline was (Jim thought) still asleep. Unfortunately, she woke up as he left & came out looking for us & couldn't find us. Anyway, after we ate and managed to find each other, Aline and I chose to walk up to the course with the golfers.
The course is at the Grand Hotel, and it is certainly grand! I am so very glad we did not choose that one. It is a lovely old white hotel surrounded by perfectly manicured gardens. Guests are met at the ferry and taken up the hill in the most elegant of the horse-drawn carriages on the island. It must have a terrific view. But then the grand part falters a bit. There are signs all along the drive announcing (ever so politely phrased, but still) rule after rule. No bicycles or saddle horses on the drive to the entrance; proper attire required (with some comment about the reflection on the place's style), which means among other things that women are not to wear slacks after 6 PM. Ok, I expect there are all sorts of people mourning the loss of all those traditions that separated them from the hoi polloi. But perhaps they have forgotten one golden element in that tradition: that you simply do not get to scold your guests.
But we just got to take a quick look and leave. Bruce had his best nine holes ever, Jim was glad to have played, although he was not as excited about his game. They came back down the hill to find that I had managed to spend the entire time sitting & reading & dreaming of lunch. So we went to a little soup & salad place I had noticed, had a nice lunch, and came back to read some more. Bruce and I also spent some time on Aline's computer refining our last week of rides, then back to reading. My big activities today were walking out to buy postcards, walking out to find ice cream, and walking out to do laundry. Oh, and counting. On the main street here, which is perhaps three blocks long, there are thirteen fudge stores.
No miles, plenty of stretching, lots of books.
They went, and by the time they got back I was starved so the three of us went out to find breakfast. Aline was (Jim thought) still asleep. Unfortunately, she woke up as he left & came out looking for us & couldn't find us. Anyway, after we ate and managed to find each other, Aline and I chose to walk up to the course with the golfers.
The course is at the Grand Hotel, and it is certainly grand! I am so very glad we did not choose that one. It is a lovely old white hotel surrounded by perfectly manicured gardens. Guests are met at the ferry and taken up the hill in the most elegant of the horse-drawn carriages on the island. It must have a terrific view. But then the grand part falters a bit. There are signs all along the drive announcing (ever so politely phrased, but still) rule after rule. No bicycles or saddle horses on the drive to the entrance; proper attire required (with some comment about the reflection on the place's style), which means among other things that women are not to wear slacks after 6 PM. Ok, I expect there are all sorts of people mourning the loss of all those traditions that separated them from the hoi polloi. But perhaps they have forgotten one golden element in that tradition: that you simply do not get to scold your guests.
But we just got to take a quick look and leave. Bruce had his best nine holes ever, Jim was glad to have played, although he was not as excited about his game. They came back down the hill to find that I had managed to spend the entire time sitting & reading & dreaming of lunch. So we went to a little soup & salad place I had noticed, had a nice lunch, and came back to read some more. Bruce and I also spent some time on Aline's computer refining our last week of rides, then back to reading. My big activities today were walking out to buy postcards, walking out to find ice cream, and walking out to do laundry. Oh, and counting. On the main street here, which is perhaps three blocks long, there are thirteen fudge stores.
No miles, plenty of stretching, lots of books.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
How'd we get to Disneyland???
Nice walk on the St. Ignace boardwalk this morning. It was just the right length for these tired legs. Lots of signs telling us a little about the local history, sunshine, a relaxed schedule. Aline went to get our ferry tickets while the rest of us packed our things into the car and onto the bikes. We hopped on the ferry for Mackinac. A young woman on the crew spotted our panniers as she helped to load the boat. She completed a mostly solo and unsupported ride from Maine to Florida earlier this summer. We traded blog addresses. She had a great trip, but a couple of pretty scary moments.
Soon we arrived at the island. I don't know quite what I expected, but I was taken aback by the crowd, by the Main Street packed with souvenir shops, by the number of bicycles, only a few of which appeared to be ridden by people who knew how they worked. Gently chaotic, this place. Main Street really has more in common with Disneyland's Main Street than it does with just about anything else I have ever seen. We struggled to walk our bikes off the ferry dock without hurting anyone, and without losing sight of Jim & Aline, who were struggling to find their suitcases. Then we all worked our cautious way down the street to our hotel.
It was too early to check in, which we expected. So we learned the first very un-Disneyland thing about the island: you just leave your bags lying in the lobby while you go off to explore. Don't tell TSA. And they don't rent locks with all those bicycles. Everyone just leaves them standing in the street. Of course, they almost all have kickstands. Well, we can pick things up pretty fast. We tossed everything in the lobby, went back to the heap to empty a pannier to hold our picnic, and prepared to explore the rest of the island. Of course, we needed a few provisions. Jim and Aline rented bikes and some of us fueled up with ice cream. A wonderfully high percentage of the Main Street shoppes offer ice cream. Oh, did I say shoppes? Sorry. I must be giving in to the island atmosphere.
There is a paved trail, almost road, that follows the shore of the island all the way around. It is 8 miles long, almost entirely flat. We rode the whole thing, averaging maybe 9mph. There were hundreds of bikes on the trail, all just taking it easy. We stopped one place to walk up a bunch of steps to see the Arch Rock - very worth the climb. We stopped at a little path & followed it (maybe all of ten feet) to a little beach no one else seemed to be using & had lunch. A ring billed gull came very close and watched with great interest. Then we packed up and dawdled the rest of the way around. Our rooms were ready. Bruce and I were allowed to stash our bikes in an office in the rather dungeon-like space in the hotel basement. Then we came upstairs.
Well, I won't have any trouble getting used to this. Our room is big - bedroom and living room - with all sorts of comfortable furniture and a view over the yacht harbor. Yes, we can sit with our feet up and gaze out at the bikini-clad sunbathers on the big yachts, the parasailers, the ducks & geese. If we take the trouble to walk out on our deck (which turns out to be quite easy once you realize the door wants to be pulled, not pushed - took a few minutes), we can see other islands - at least I think they are islands - the mainland, the fort here, a ferry dock, the hotel pool and patio restaurant. Very resorty, very different from anything else on the trip so far. Not quiet, but perfectly restful.
Aline & Bruce walked a short distance & found a restaurant in a more serene setting, so we'll head there for an early dinner.
Not quite what I expected, but a great break in our routine.
Miles today: 9
Total miles so far: 2899
Soon we arrived at the island. I don't know quite what I expected, but I was taken aback by the crowd, by the Main Street packed with souvenir shops, by the number of bicycles, only a few of which appeared to be ridden by people who knew how they worked. Gently chaotic, this place. Main Street really has more in common with Disneyland's Main Street than it does with just about anything else I have ever seen. We struggled to walk our bikes off the ferry dock without hurting anyone, and without losing sight of Jim & Aline, who were struggling to find their suitcases. Then we all worked our cautious way down the street to our hotel.
It was too early to check in, which we expected. So we learned the first very un-Disneyland thing about the island: you just leave your bags lying in the lobby while you go off to explore. Don't tell TSA. And they don't rent locks with all those bicycles. Everyone just leaves them standing in the street. Of course, they almost all have kickstands. Well, we can pick things up pretty fast. We tossed everything in the lobby, went back to the heap to empty a pannier to hold our picnic, and prepared to explore the rest of the island. Of course, we needed a few provisions. Jim and Aline rented bikes and some of us fueled up with ice cream. A wonderfully high percentage of the Main Street shoppes offer ice cream. Oh, did I say shoppes? Sorry. I must be giving in to the island atmosphere.
There is a paved trail, almost road, that follows the shore of the island all the way around. It is 8 miles long, almost entirely flat. We rode the whole thing, averaging maybe 9mph. There were hundreds of bikes on the trail, all just taking it easy. We stopped one place to walk up a bunch of steps to see the Arch Rock - very worth the climb. We stopped at a little path & followed it (maybe all of ten feet) to a little beach no one else seemed to be using & had lunch. A ring billed gull came very close and watched with great interest. Then we packed up and dawdled the rest of the way around. Our rooms were ready. Bruce and I were allowed to stash our bikes in an office in the rather dungeon-like space in the hotel basement. Then we came upstairs.
Well, I won't have any trouble getting used to this. Our room is big - bedroom and living room - with all sorts of comfortable furniture and a view over the yacht harbor. Yes, we can sit with our feet up and gaze out at the bikini-clad sunbathers on the big yachts, the parasailers, the ducks & geese. If we take the trouble to walk out on our deck (which turns out to be quite easy once you realize the door wants to be pulled, not pushed - took a few minutes), we can see other islands - at least I think they are islands - the mainland, the fort here, a ferry dock, the hotel pool and patio restaurant. Very resorty, very different from anything else on the trip so far. Not quiet, but perfectly restful.
Aline & Bruce walked a short distance & found a restaurant in a more serene setting, so we'll head there for an early dinner.
Not quite what I expected, but a great break in our routine.
Miles today: 9
Total miles so far: 2899
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