day 30 (80 mi.)--people are wonderful: i woke fairly early, packed, and headed out dreaming of breakfast. it was fairly cool, with maybe even a touch of frost. i wasn't expecting a restaurant very soon as i was heading into some pretty rural territory. just past the little burg wahalla though, i spotted a big sign, country critters cafe with a couple of trucks in the lot--score! the waitress jessica took my large order with out much surprise and i dug into my 'american fries' eggs and salsa, thinking that waffle was going to taste really good. a woman came out of the kitchen and sat next to me to eat her own breakfast. it turned out norma, was more interesting than the food and i slowed down to listen to her history. i got her to pose by my bike where she finished telling me about working as an undertaker in a jewish funeral parlor.
i rolled away smiling at how people, no matter where you go, have some pretty incredible stories. the rest of the morning took me by plenty of more rural homes and until i got to the town of baldwin--with a library. while i was there i met freddie rosado, a bee keeper from branch, a 'town' i just passed through. i also got the addresses for all the postcards i wrote back on the badger (the ferry from manitowoc to ludington) and dropped them off at the post office.
as i headed out of town, i passed another rail-trail but choose to stay on the highway. a few miles down the road, a really stiff wind and the rolling hills got me thinking that maybe the trail would be better--flatter and less windy. i took the next connector i found. then as i bumped along on a rather rough pere marquette rail trail for a mile or two i started to wonder should i go back to the highway. i found some smoothness in certain areas and decided to stick with the trail. i came into reed city and stopped at the just closed trail center and chamber of commerce. no problem, it was still lunch o'clock so i parked myself at a picnic table and spread lunch out.
after reed city, the trail was paved and i made some really good time despite the nasty wind. at one point i did get off the bike and walk along with another older biker. "the wind is killing me..." started a nice conversation for almost half a mile. i remounted and took off as we neared his truck parked at a crossroad. just after that i passed a tiny lookout next to the river pictured below.
now things were really pleasant on the trail...and i pedaled into the evening toward my goal of clare. as the sun set and colored everything bright pinkish-red--"...sailor's delight..."--i knew clare would be tomorrow and started looking for a flat camp site. i found my spot and pulled off the trail, set up things, and ate before zipping myself into bed.
when i woke later to go pee, i felt a pressure deep in my jaw at the tooth my dentist had advised me to get pulled before i left. "it's only going to cause you trouble." i can remember saying back, "there have to be dentists out on the road..." now as i fell back asleep, it struck me it was going to be a pain in the butt to actually stop at one that could pull it. maybe it would go away.
day 31 (60 mi.)--real and figurative aches: toothache aside, i rode along happy that the grey sky was just that and not raining too. i went through clare and then came to coleman where a breakfast cafe stood on the corner of main street just off the pere marquette. eggs, potatoes, salsa, tea, and this time strawberry pancakes filled a good part of the 'tank' but there was still room i told the waitress. she had just told me "you eat like my teenage son!"
i rode through the large town of midland after leaving the trail. it was getting greyer and much windier as the day went on. about ten minutes after leaving town, i was thinking how terrible it was to bike routes with no shoulder when the wind was blowing so badly, directly into your face...then the rain started. i had thoughts of stopping and asking the folks i saw in their barns or garages and ask if they ever considered renting out space. the 15-ish miles from midland to bay city were definitely the toughest
miles i had pedaled this trip. at one point i got past a farm house
wind break and was nearly blown off my bike. i had to drop down to the
middle chain ring just to keep moving ahead.
when i got into bay city it started raining harder and harder, i
realized my hair was going to be a mess. i was riding along thinking this
is getting ridiculous--windier and wetter every block. at a stop light, a woman rolled down her window and asked "how far are you going?" she pulled ahead a few streets, turned in, and stopped. i caught up with her, june, and she told me about warm showers and directed me to her house where she would ask her husband, gary. the feeneys took me in and gave food and shelter that was indeed warm.
they were long distance bikers themselves and we shared plenty of stories. they also had the tv on so i got a chance to catch up on what was happening out in the non-biking world.
day 32--a rest day: church...rain is tapering--sort off...decided to rest one more day...all packed...glad i am not riding in south carolina
day 26 (95 mi.)--starting east, with a blessing: i opted for late start trying to let the rain get far enough east that i would never catch it. i said goodbye to nancy dawn and followed 96 east out of town. i went right by the pine tree apple orchard she and palmer had taken me to the day before. being that it was monday morning i thought it would be quite different than the weekend commercial madhouse we saw it as yesterday. but then again, it was developed to be that. i rode on toward stillwater.
a bridge out on the county roads i had planned to ride in wisconsin led me back to rt 64, the double lane hwy that map my ride kept throwing me off. it was under construction for some miles but eventually got 'normal'. again, being a monday morning, it was not at all crowded and i didn't have any qualms riding along a freeway. in fact i got several close encounters with birds off in the surrounding fields: a hawk perched in a tree, another hawk hunting a field, five or six turkey vultures circling off in the distance, one-two-three pheasants in the corn stubble, and my second flock of sandhill cranes--4 of them, taking flight with their raspy calls, less than 100 yards away.
when 64 reduced to two lanes i passed a large bar and grill with picnic tables out. i set up under one of their umbrellas and was on my third sandwich when a mini-van pulled in and a guy got out and came over to me. turned out keith, was a local minister that dabbled in commercial window washing and blessings for travelers in this part of the country. he asked if i minded getting one of the latter. when i replied that i thought he already had blessed me by stopping to talk, he took that as a yes and gave me an official one, chanted in hebrew no less. i felt refreshed as i packed up and got back on the road.
the midwest might not seem like the most exciting biking terrain, and at times i suppose i could agree, but i fell into some sort of comforting zone as i kept pedaling east, absorbing the experience. at a snack break i noticed the sky was full of roiling clouds of deep blue and purple with bright red highlights and realized the sun was setting. it was time to start looking for a camp. i passed the town of bloomer and got serious finally settling on another bar and grill that just happened to be closed on mondays. pushing my bike to the back under some oak trees and next to a cornfield, i found a flat spot. i mixed up some hummus and ate a couple of sandwiches. the stars were all out as i set up the tent and crawled into sleep.
day 27 (115 mi.)--what time is the right time: when i got up around 5:30 it was really windy--blowing the tent hard. when i took out the two stakes holding down the fly and tent, it started rolling off into the cornfield. in flat farm country the wind seemed to always be blowing--check out the street view on google! i slept at the back of the building, listening to the wind, traffic, and the refrigeration in an alternating chorus.
the hills appeared soon after i got on the road just as the sky was starting to lighten in the east. even though he was out in la, jalil and i still had an argument going as to which was worse, hills or wind. this morning i was actually thinking they were about even.
it was still dark enough to see two owls fly across the road. i started thinking about how those owls were occupying the same niche as the hawks seen the day before, only without the sun. since i was pedaling in the dark, i naturally contemplated how that was different than riding in the daylight. flashing bike lights and lower traffic aside, seeing things on a much reduced scale in both amount and detail, made me focus other senses more than i might in the light.
in taylor county, 64 runs into and then south of a fairly large collection of natural areas that combines several different ecosystems. the ice-walled lake and the eskar sections seemed like places to explore if i wasn't on a bike headed home. i did stop and eat first lunch at a large entrance sign to the pirus road swamp where 119 runs into 64. it was a sunny comfortable spot that would have lulled me to sleep if i was interested.
a few miles down the road i started my county road riding that would take me into wausau. what that basically meant was that i would avoid the big towns and pass through little "hamlets" as some call themselves. i stopped for a second lunch at a graveyard next to a cute little church. i had just seen a woman walking her dog--on a leash--way out in some well-manicured fields. at what seemed to be the dog walker's brightly painted, richly trimmed house i noticed at least two late model suvs and i wondered which big city did they move here from? soon enough, back on the road i got a possible answer when i came into the town of little chicago. as i went up and out of town, a woman in the loudest biking suit i have ever seen--a really bright blue with some sort of wild design--atop a super bike--carbon fiber and fast--flew by me. dogs on leashes and really expensive bikes seemed more city than country.
even with the wind against me and steep hills galore i made good time and got into wausau. after a lucrative stop at a grocery, i found the start of my next off road trail, the mountain-bay state trail. i laid out a fine supper with all the food i had just bought and ate until the sun completely disappeared. thinking that this was not the best place to sleep, even though it was quiet and flat, i packed, turned on the lights, and headed east. about 10-ish more miles out of wausau i stopped and set up the tent. it was a clear and getting cold and felt really good to crawl into the sleeping bag.
day 28 (95 mi.)--cold can lead to warmth: my first frost--cold riding but sparkling for the eyes. the sun was pretty much in my eyes but i did see the deer standing in the trail. for some reason animals seem much less skittish with bike riders and i often got really close to them before they bolt. i was wearing my winter gloves but it didn't take too long before my fingers felt like wooden blocks. i figure it is the constant pressure of leaning on the bars. it definitely gets worse when i am on a graveled trail rather than smooth asphalt.
i rode on to warm up before stopping to eat. my reward was a picnic table beside a nearly glass surfaced lake. i was able to take off some of the cold weather gear and spread out a breakfast feast. i have been buying the large container of yogurt since jalil left (he didn't think we could finish it...) and eating it over two sittings--one in the evening and one in the morning. my favorite is to add fruit, usually a banana or strawberries, granola, and dark chocolate chips.
...great trail most of the way to green bay...
some snowmobile club guys working on bridges...'sin'amon buns...getting through the big city of green bay...Denmark...relatively protected on the trail--no hills until i left the hills...
day 29 (30/10 mi.)--wow, that chain really was dirty!: cruise into manitowok...health food store...piggly wiggly...josh and dan at the heavy pedal...library closed on thursdays...sub...ss badger...bob...kids love granola bars...10-ish miles out rt 10...wind and hills
