Rain and Bears

Alex becomes acquainted with the local wildlife

We were happy to leave Naubinway early this morning to head toward something more like civilization. Also, the rain was coming, and we hoped to outrun it. We did get caught in a chilly rain for about 15 minutes, but that was long enough to get soaked. To warm up and get a snack, we stopped in at a little camp store, where an older couple showed us pictures of their backyard pet bears and talked about last night's Tigers game.

We rode into Manistique by 11:00, just in time to avoid more rain. The winds were also picking up, and we were ready to be warm again. The afternoon was all about napping, reading, and washing clothes. Pretty boring. We did walk to town and the lighthouse before dinner, and then it rained on us some more. Not to be a whiner, but I'm sick of crappy weather.

Alex claims the lighthouse as his own

The UP reminds me of one big ghost town. We've ridden past countless run down abandoned hotels, restaurants, cabins, businesses. It's sad, really.

Tomorrow we ride to Escanaba. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for better weather. Alex is still hoping to pet a bear. I am content to see images taken by the locals.

Pasties! De're Yooper Good

Art

After a very cold night with little sleep in the tent, our original destination today was Newberry. When David originally mapped out our route, he had trouble finding places for us to stay without our having to ride unreasonably long distances, so he solved the problem by routing us through Newberry. As we set off from St. Ignace this morning, we started seeing little motels and cabins along the way that he didn't find on the Internet, so David figured that if we could find a hotel in Naubinway, we could shorten our ride tomorrow and avoid some hilly roads.

When we arrived in Naubinway, the motels weren't immediately apparent. The one actual former motel in town was closed, and we found out that there were rooms to stay in above a diner. So tonight we'll be in a warm place at least. It's kind of like staying at your grandparents' house if they decorated each room one area at a time during different decades.  For example, the floors would have been done maybe in the '60's, the curtains are from the '70's, the wallpaper is from the '80's, the dining chairs are from the '50's, etc.

I'm not sure who Larry is, but our bikes are locked in his garage out back. The really great part about Naubinway is that they have a snowmobile museum. We haven't taken advantage of this attraction, but I'm sure we'll regret that fact. For days.

We're also really missing out on Newberry. I've been there once, so I feel sufficiently qualified to provide a little background on the place. Originally, Newberry was founded by a group of literature enthusiasts. Their reputation as book critics spread far and wide, and to this day, newly published books are sent to the citizens of Newberry for their expert reviews, and annually, books are selected to receive  the distinguished Newberry Honor Award. The town's traditional greeting when one is first introduced is to loudly announce what book you are currently reading and then demand to know what  your new acquaintance is reading. Failing to do this is immensely insulting to the residents.

The Upper Peninsula is an interesting place to ride. While not as quiet as riding in the countryside, as the traffic is heavier, and everyone seems to be in a hurry, possibly to get out of the UP, it still feels isolated. What qualifies as civilization is different here. For example, after miles of seeing nothing, we came across a diner with a large sign advertising pasties, and we felt we had reached civilization. There are no signs announcing how far it is to anything- perhaps they don't want anyone to feel discouraged.

 Places selling pasties are more abundant than roadside bbq's are in Texas. For those of you who are not familiar, pasties is pronounced with a short "a" rather than a long "a". These delicious pies, once prominently featured in the critically acclaimed documentary about life in the UP, "Escanaba in Da Moonlight", are the original inspiration for the Hot Pocket. We sampled this unique cuisine for lunch today and found veggies pasties enjoyable. Also of note, everyone listens to old country music. Possibly there's a law I'm not familiar with.

We still haven't figured out why there are signs advertising wild rice everywhere.

Tomorrow we ride to Manistique, a real town with actual hotels. Hopefully Larry will return our bikes in the morning. Before we leave the UP, I'll be sure to explain why you really aren't hearing banjos.

Forget about the raccoons and bears. Beware of the birds!

We left Petoskey early, even though it was in the 40's out. Sometimes you just have to bundle up because you've got someplace to be. It was a beautiful day for riding, and the fact that much of the route was downhill made it a fast day as well. Once we were out of Petoskey, we were also out of traffic, and the quietness of riding through the tunnel of trees and farm country was a welcome change.

I was looking forward to a nice Polish lunch at the Legg's Inn in Cross Village, which is located just as you emerge from the tunnel of trees, but when we arrived, we found that they didn't open until noon, so we bought some juice at a gas station, found a picnic table, and settled for some PBJ. The tunnel of trees kept us in heavy shade most of the time, so it felt good to be in the sun again.

A beautiful ride through the tunnel of trees

David and Alex, just before they jumped into the water and towed the bikes to the U.P.

Once we arrived in Mackinaw City, we found the Mackinaw Bridge Authority booth and obtained a ride for ourselves and our bikes across the bridge (bicycles are not allowed on the bridge, and I'm not in to being terrified anyway) for $5 each. Once we were across, it was only 2 or 3 more miles to the campground. So far we've been pretty lucky, and the campgrounds have all had clean, hot showers, although Alex said one of the shower stalls at the first campground had a spider in it which wouldn't let him take a shower.

We were assured here that they have had no problems with raccoons or bears, but after we visited the rocky beach for a bit, we returned to find our camp had been invaded by Blackbirds. They tore into a mostly  empty box of pasta, ripped open our box of matches, which was also in a ziploc bag, and dumped some of those out, and generally poked holes into and tore up whatever we had left out. I guess we won't be hanging the trailer up in the trees tonight.

Tomorrow we ride to Newberry, where we will get another hotel room, which is good because thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow night.

Sometimes it IS about the Destination

Planning a trip like this is a lot easier than experiencing a trip like this. After packing up our equipment, we left behind that obnoxious squirrel who kept sneaking into camp and set off in the sunshine to Petosky. Today was work. We rode 65 miles in a little over six hours, slowed significantly by a cold headwind. I never took off my jacket today, but put on more layers instead. It was mostly a day to keep your head down and pedal.
On the bright side, the hills were much gentler, even if the traffic and the shoulders and the wind weren't.

You can never tell when you set out what the day will be like.  It was a relief to make it to Charlevoix because it felt like we were making progress. I tried not to think in terms of time and miles, but of landmarks instead, like the farm supply place we rode out a storm in last time we were on a bike trip.     It's always encouraging to see something familiar. Once we were within 20 miles, I reminded myself that this is a normal amount of riding to do when we're training at home, so it seemed reasonable.

For the last few miles of the ride, we were fueled by the promise of getting off the bikes, taking hot showers, and eating a hot meal. Within a few miles of Petosky, it started to rain, and I started thinking about going home. Being cold, sore, damp, and hungry gives me a bad attitude. The thought of camping didn't sound appealing at all.  When we finally arrived at the campground where we intended to stay, no one was working, and we could find no place to purchase fire wood , which would be necessary for tonight. It wasn't a difficult decision to go find a hotel room  instead, but this required climbing some steep hills . We pushed our bikes.

Tomorrow is a much needed rest day. We'll have no squirrels sneaking in to search for food. Tonight everything hurts, and it's all I can  do to keep my eyes open.  If only the squirrels knew when we were really most vulnerable...

Who was the walrus?

After a night of thunderstorms, we packed up our soggy gear and started out in the mist toward Traverse City. Our first three miles or so took place on a paved trail along the Betsie River. The trail was lined with turtle nests, some of which were occupied, but I took no pictures, so you 'll just have to take my word for it.

David and Alex have an adventure in a very windy sky

Art - possibly the Far Side Gallery of Prehistory

As soon as we were off the trail, the hills started again. As I huffed and sweated my way up, I kept imagining the roadsides littered with the petrified remains of past riders who didn't make it, their legs forever straddling their bicycles (stuck for eternity in granny gear), their skeleton mouths gaping as if sucking in their final breaths. I took comfort in knowing that I was at least a better athlete than someone.

After being resuscitated by Traverse City pie, David asked if I had noticed the yard with the Jesus sculpture next to the Goofy sculpture next to the  "God Bless America" sign. Sorry I missed that. We must've been passing that when I was dying. He seriously needs to start taking pictures. Or wait up for me so he can point these things out. All I got to see was the guy with a big mustache roller skating along the bike trail in TC with ski poles in his hands. I have named him the walrus. Goo goo gajoob.

The great thing about riding around this area this time of year is that there are roadside markets with fresh, healthy food available for snack time. We've lucked out the last two days by coming upon these markets just in time for a mid morning snack of fresh fruit and trail mix.

Today was a short ride. We only ride 42.5 miles to the camp site. Unfortunately, this one doesn't have  laundry facilities. Yesterday's camp also had no laundry, so we have ridden about four more miles to wash our stinky clothes before we find dinner this evening. I may need another shower and more clothes washed after riding to the laundromat to wash clothes.  Next stop, Petosky, MI.

Stop inhaling all the pepper spray so we can pack

After a long school year, it's time to slow things down again. To about 12mph on average, to be exact. So we planned out a new adventure, the longest we've attempted so far. We're traveling from Ludington, MI to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. In the interest of science, Alex began the trip clean-shaven today and will not shave until the end. He has taken a before picture for comparison. Also in the interest of science, David inhaled a bit of pepper spray while preparing for the trip. Perhaps this is why we seem to have forgotten so many important items we intended to bring.

Speaking of which, Alex has the daunting task of towing the trailer with camping equipment. It's about 70 pounds of extra pain for his muscles. He held up amazingly today on some hills that most likely would've killed me or David.

The first 40 miles of the ride today were pretty smooth sailing, but the last 23 were awful. David said that since we were riding closer to the coast, the land would be flatter. I'd hate to see what the roads are like further inland. Otherwise, it was a good riding day. I could wish for warmer weather,but I still appreciate the time to enjoy the outdoors with family.

This deer presumably had a rough night

I can't seem to get pictures posted here at the moment, so I'll have to figure that out later. We did come upon a fake deer in someone's yard. It was dressed in a red hat and stood next to a sign advertising a wildlife control service. Humiliation must be one of their primary methods of control.

We are camping tonight and have been told that bears have been spotted here (shhhh... Don't tell my mother). Therefore, the office will lock up our food for the night to help ward off unwelcome guests. Alex said he was planning to train a bear to guard our stuff instead. We'll see how that works out. 44 miles to Traverse City tomorrow. We'll see if our legs still work in the morning.

Blueberry Fields Forever

Although difficult to see, there is a deer decoy thing
locked in that cage.  No one knows what crime it
 committed to deserve such a fate.  

Our final cycling adventure of the summer, and the topic of my last blog post for awhile, takes place in Western Michigan, which to me means lots of fresh fruit.  Currently my two favorites are in season, blueberries and peaches.  With two more weeks to go before we must go back to functioning in boxes, what better way to spend a few days than out in nature, camping and cycling?  Nature has a mind of its own, so "out in nature" sometimes means you end up bailing water out of your tent, which is what we did after shivering through the first night of our trip.  Before we left to set up camp in South Haven, I kept checking the weather forecast, and it looked like day and night one were going to be pretty wet, but David kept looking at his smartphone and telling me that it was going to be great.  And it was.  In South Haven, Minnesota, the weather is supposed to be beautiful this week. I hope they have enjoyed their camping and cycling.

Imagine blue skies behind David.  Isn't
that much better?  

We were able to dry out and get on the bikes after a cold, wet night at the campground.  The first day's ride quickly turned all "Gorillas in the Mist" on us though.  We've never ridden through fog before. "Just be prepared to bail in case a car doesn't see you," David told me.  We cruised through fruit country in record time, though.  The first 20 miles were nice and flat, my favorite terrain, which instilled me with a false sense of security. The last 21 miles were hilly. I expressed my outrage to my cycling partner, who simply giggled at me.

24 miles into the trip, we purchased some giant, juicy blackberries to add to our next morning's breakfast. One great advantage of riding through fruit country is an abundance of fresh fruit and veggie stands, which we've taken full advantage of. On the way back to camp, I saw several signs that said, "Michigan Critical Dunes Area."  We rode faster to avoid the dunes' scathing appraisal of us.  Just shy of 42 miles, we completed our first day.  We bought a second blanket at Walmart hoping to be warmer in our tent for the night.

Mmmm... blueberries...

Being fairly new to camping, I have to say a few things about our stay in Van Buren State Park.  Having gotten used to parks between here and Rhode Island last summer, I was expecting a quiet setting in which to enjoy nature.  Instead, what we have is one of those busy parks where you get to know a lot about your neighbors.  The second night of camping was dry, and so the neighbors were out in abundance and kind of late.  There were the girls diagonal from us, whose tent leaned precariously to one side, who addressed one another as "bitches," as in "Okay, bitches?  I'm totally going to order a pizza now?"  Then there is the family next to them who noisily set up camp yesterday as well.  They had one of those dads who yell everything they say.  I can only imagine the joy they shared camping. Actually, I didn't have to imagine, as he was sharing the joy loud enough.

This is clearly for "Team Jacob" patrons

The people across the street say everything loud enough for the neighborhood to hear, even though they sit closely to each other under their tent.  This morning when it started raining, I discovered that in addition to the family's passion for bocce ball, one of the family members plays the harmonica.  He had few songs in his repertoire, but his favorite seemed to be Rock of Ages, and not the cool 80's version.  He played this over and over and over...  Basically, here's my advice: if you are like me and prefer the sounds of nature over the coughing and hacking of the neighborhood smokers, don't stay at this park.

Michigan's best kept secret

Another side note: the local Walmart seems to have more people using the motorized scooter carts than any Walmart I've ever been to.  Stay off motorized scooter carts at Walmart, my friends.  Ride a bicycle.  It might even increase your life expectancy.  Unless you get attacked by a dog, of course.  Dogs hate bikes.