All You Wanna Do is Ride Around, Sally

Listen: some people over share, even strangers. I'll do a little of that myself in this post. Even when you aren't traveling by your own power, you can still be exposed to interesting characters. For long after our family bike trip to Rhode Island, the kids amused themselves by imitating an unfortunate couple from a campground somewhere in Ohio or New York. "IRV!! I need my MEDICATION!!!"

We packed up the tent this morning and got ready to travel to Petoskey together. We couldn't find an open space at a campground, so we had to find a hotel, which was fine with me because I believe camp bathrooms serve mostly to build character. We did have a beautiful site next to a lake, and there was an artesian well the locals spoke of with uncommon enthusiasm. I filled the water bottles with the magic elixir, which I assured 

David would rehydrate him better than any other water, returned to the tent, and announced,  "IRV! I need my MEDICATION!!" 

David had ridden into camp about 45 minutes after I had  yesterday, looking haunted by the mountains he'd conquered along the way. I tried to make him feel better with a personal sized cherry pie I'd purchased along with some fresh cherries at a roadside stand. 

I was excited about visiting Petoskey today because we were planning a bike ride along the path on the Lake Michigan shoreline. 

I know. I shouldn't be riding, but it was Petoskey, and I figured trails wouldn't be so bad. A little over 17 miles later, I felt exactly how wrong I'd been. I'm 95% sure my elbow is sprained and 100% sure I will be off the bike for quite some time now. I suggested that David get a black armband to match my elbow brace so people would think we were protesting something. 

Ordinarily, we can find a movie to see in Petoskey, but today there was nothing, so we found a winery/brewery instead for some tasting. A group of young ladies from the Ojibwe tribe were there taking their 80 year old grandmother out, as they did once a week. The lady next to us explained that she had been raised by her mother off the reservation, but as an adult, she chose to move onto the reservation against her mother's protests. I appreciated her respect for her elders and her desire to make her world a bigger place through learning. 

Our visit to Harbor Springs was such a drastic contrast to the values she talked about. We walked around the marina, as we usually do, and checked out the yachts. Beautiful as everything is in Harbor Springs, I don't think any of those yachts or million dollar homes could make me as happy as I am taking in nature on a perfect summer day. 

Tomorrow we're off to Cheboygan and camping again. Between the two of us, we owe this hotel $700. 

Being Flexible... Or Not

A few people have told me that after reading this blog, they were inspired to go ride their bikes. This makes me wonder whether they really read any of the blog or not or if maybe some of my friends are just not critical readers. Maybe it's me. Perhaps I've done something to glorify getting lost in sketchy places where the residents have domesticated dangerous, prehistoric animals. Or getting stranded with a flat tire in freezing, torrential rains.. Or fighting headwinds up mountains while being chased by ferocious, hungry dogs. I could go back and read my posts, but I'd rather not see all the errors I've made while writing through the brain fog that develops after a 60 mike ride. Whatever the reason, if you're going to ride, be prepared for occasional or possibly frequent disappointment. Today, I am disappointed. 

After setting up and waterproofing camp in Cadillac last night (a big storm was expected, and it didn't disappoint), I spent a sleepless night in part due to the storm and cold, but mostly because of pain. 

The truth is, I don't know what it's like to ride a bike without pain. Shoulder and hand and neck problems have made most long-ish rides very uncomfortable, testing my endurance at times. We have made adjustments to my bicycle so that riding long distance might not be so difficult, but there is always pain. The falls I took last week while practicing riding with clipless pedals exacerbated the problems, so there I was, awake all night. 

After talking it over with David this morning, we agreed to change our plans and make this an assisted ride. I'll drive the truck ahead and set up camp, riding shorter distances on my bike where  I can, and David will ride alone between campsites, unhindered by a heavy trailer behind his bike. 

Yeah, I'm disappointed,but when it was cold and rainy and windy this morning, I was thankful it wasn't going to be a ridiculously rough day on the road. 

We drove to Traverse City instead of riding and set up camp with a cushy new air mattress in the tent. Then David bought me a cookie at my favorite TC bakery and made me feel better. On the bright side, I will still get to enjoy some bike riding without the pressure of how many miles there are to go. And hopefully I'll heal up enough soon to take on those harder paths again.