July 21, 2021
Houghton - Copper Harbor, MI
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I asked for a 7 AM alarm, the better to attack the miles and climbing to Copper Harbor. Jacinto is getting spoiled with our late starts. He set the alarm for 7:30 AM.
I was moving along for my planned 9 AM departure when I discovered that the routes I thought I had downloaded on ridewithgps hadn't actually downloaded. Including the route for today! The motel wi-fi wasn't that good. I sat and waited for them to download. In the end I was out the door at 10 AM.
I rode down the bike path towards the bridge. Jacinto and I had walked this way last night, so I would know how to get to the pedestrian portion of the bridge. I had to ride up a steep street for one block to access the bridge. There were two couples walking down the street. They were my cheering section, "You can do it, you can do it!". I did do it - in the very bottom of the granny gear!
Crossing the bridge was a non event. I think when talking with non cyclists they want something to share - so they often share negative things - road construction, narrow bridges, heavy traffic, etc. It's not that those things aren't true - there was road construction - but it wasn't a problem and wasn't worth the time I spent concerned about it.
I took a right off the end of the bridge and immediately lost the traffic. I was roughly on Highway 26 all day. Perhaps 41 stays busy all the way to Copper Harbor, but I don't know that, because I was on delightful country roads all day! I rode through tunnels and tunnels of trees.
I did ride through small towns, Mason, Hubbell, and Lake Linden. The first two had few occupied buildings and were a little spooky to ride through. After I crossed Highway 41 at mile 21, I was really riding in the country. There were a few lake views and places to access the beach. Eagle River was slightly less populated than Eagle Harbor. Eagle Harbor looked busier and more touristy. There was a line outside of the Jampot Bakery. The air smelled like fresh baked goodies. It would be a good overnight. Don and Marilyn stayed at the Sand Hills Lighthouse B&B. That was before Eagle River.
Jacinto was happy with all of the small rolling climbs on this section. We saw a number of road cyclists out for the day. I saw one woman riding with a head net over her helmet. I hadn't had any issues at all with bugs. She wasn't on a mountain bike . . . maybe she just likes being prepared?
I had slowly eaten all of my snacks. I had three hard boiled eggs, and an apple. One Keto bar that we bought at walmart a few towns back. It wasn't holding up so well in the sun. Speaking of sun - it was 68 degrees and sunny when I left. 72 degrees and sunny at Copper Harbor. The wind swirled around today, never being much help or hinderance. The cooler temperatures were in my favor.
I've been mentioning my favorite Spiz meal replacement. I do think I ride better when I drink Spiz each day. Jacinto laughs at me, but I'm a mer mortal and not a super cyclist like him! I also use Hammer brand Anti Fatigue tablets as needed. Today I took them twice. Some days I don't take them at all. It depends on my perceived effort. Jacinto has also been carrying some Hammer brand recovery drink for me. It hasn't been a very difficult tour, I've only used it a couple of times. I'm lucky he doesn't keep inventory on what's floating around in the panniers . . .
I was ready to get to town. I'm always ready to arrive - it doesn't matter how many miles we have, I count them down! The restaurant adjacent to our motel is closed today. Just our luck. I looked to the left and the right as I cycled into town. I saw two other restaurants, both closed. It appears the only one open is across from our motel, the Mariner. It looked busy.
I pulled up next to some motorcycle riders at the Pine Resort. I couldn't find the office. I asked one of the riders. They were just parked there to look for lost sunglasses. Indeed, the man had his hard shell panniers open and was digging around. A cleaning lady came outside and said we had to go to the Fany Ho Campground office to check in. It was down the street. I staged a sit down and said I wasn't climbing any more hills. Jacinto went. The motorcycle couples left - one of the women was whining that she was hot, let's get riding. They were going to Marquette today. Motorcycles cover more miles than bicycles!
Jacinto came back and said we were in number 1, but we had to wait for the cleaning ladies to finish. Perfect timing, they were just walking out the door. I like this place - it has two beds, a sofa, fridge/microwave, roomy enough for the bikes, updated bathroom. A desk. No AC, just a fan. Jacinto was laughingly trying to get the old TV to work. He could get sound, but not TV. This was $85. plus tax. It's probably our best deal of the trip so far.
We don't have to decide where to go to dinner - we are going to the one place that's open!
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Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 904 miles (1,455 km)
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Spoon
3 years ago