Sister Bay - Algoma, WI - The Only Thing Fast On This Tour Is The Ferry

August 2, 2021

Sister Bay - Algoma, WI

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Why am I so slow to get going when I've had a rest day? Jacinto had stopped at the Piggly Wiggly (I love saying that name - it's a real tongue work out) last night and purchased far too much food. It will be a magic trick to get it all in our panniers. Jacinto has four fully loaded panniers - a large portion of the contents is assorted food he carries from town to town.

I was out the door barely before the 11 AM check out. Now we are heading south. We should have a tailwind, but, no . . . it will be a south west wind all day. It's never terrible, but never helpful either. I spent a little time thinking about what a great ride this will be with a tailwind. That isn't productive. I move on to other thoughts. Something I've been meaning to mention is how many convertible cars I've seen this tour. I'm speculating here - but my best thought is that winters are so long and tough that people want to enjoy the summers to the max. I counted six convertibles on rural country roads today. To me, that seems like a large number. I was also passed by a car with a license plate that said DOOR C. Later I was passed by a car with a plate saying DOOR CTY. I think people here are proud of their beautiful area.

I was prepared to dislike Door County. It was pitched to us as being a real tourist area. Some said to skip it, others said we couldn't miss it. Similar to what we were told about Mackinaw Island. I didn't enjoy the island at all. WAY too many people in too small of a space. Door County, as I've seen it, has many smoothly paved backroads for cycling. It's easy to escape the business of the tourist areas. I would visit Door County again. I would also go to North Country again.

We were back along the water today, riding Shore Drive. There was a surprise mile long section through Whitefish Dunes State Park. It was mostly firm packed, but had some sandy spots. Jacinto caught up to me right when I was making an emergency stop. I was happy to get out of there without dumping the bike. I had checked the map, but the road route arounds looked long.

After Jacinto caught me, we rode together the rest of the day. I had to pedal a little faster than usual, but didn't get hot foot. Hurray for me! I hope I don't use up all of my rest day energy. AD Carson is joining us for the last three days. I've warned him multiple times that I'm a 10 mph rider. He's going to have to ride with one leg or something . . .

11 miles out I received a message from AD, he was in. His wonderful wife made the four hour round trip to drop him off. She's a keeper! I was anticipating seeing AD's Mach 2 bike. It's his favorite ride, bright yellow with a yellow seat. When I got to the motel, I was ready to check it out. To my surprise, he had the Ti Rush. I haven't seen one of those either!

Backing up a little - we spent 12 miles riding into Algoma on County Road U - that is some of the best riding of the tour. Actual water views, interesting farm buildings, smooth pavement. Does this day have to end? I wish the headwind would!

We have a double busy night. A transplanted friend from Colorado, Julie, and her husband are going to dinner with us. They will be here any second for dinner. I'm trying to get this out first.

But, I have to say that Jacinto had a little more bike trouble. He lost not one, but two screws from his rear rack. He thought it was his brake rubbing and instead it was the rack hitting the frame. It wore the paint off. AD quietly walked to the hardware store and bought screws and an itty bitty wrench to install them. I wasn't in on the installion part, there was trouble with the size of one screw, but I had a spare in my tool bag. It took quite a while, but Jacinto is all fixed up now.

We are walking along the harbor to the Fish House for dinner. Julie and Ray are going to take us the scenic route.