July 2, 2021
Whitehall - Ludington, MI
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3 years ago
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We slept well in our memory foam king size bed. I was concerned because the cooler blew right on my face. I anticipated waking up with a kink in my neck from sleeping in an awkward position trying to avoid the cold air. No. I slept the sleep of the tired bicycle tourist!
Last night over dinner I didn't waste much time in asking Jacinto if we could ride together again. I prefaced my question with asking him if the pace we rode had been to his liking. Jacinto said that his bike is so heavy that he was slow. That was his pace. I then asked if we could ride together. I had enjoyed the final miles MUCH more after Jacinto took over navigation. I did an update on my ridewithgps app and I hope that encourages Bertha to talk more. There are far too many turns and road changes in this area for me to go without voice directions. Part of our negotiations was departure time. Jacinto typically leaves at check out time. He enjoys easing into the day. I like to get out early and ride in the crisp air. We both like have a little alone time. A favorite part of my riding day is when I get to town and I'm putzing around the room after riding. I don't think riding together is going to be an every day occurrence, but at least for today we are riding together.
Jacinto set the alarm for 7:30, but is planning to leave at 11 AM. I requested 10 AM. I pointed out that leaving so late means I will be ready for lunch before leaving town. Jacinto's solution is to eat 'after he wakes up'.
So - here I sit, killing time. My bike's tires have air and the sky is blue (no rain in the forecast). I think it's just windier around here than we are accustomed to. We will have a north wind again together.
Humidity - yesterday wasn't strenuous riding - but it was a long day with the ferry ride in the middle. My face was sweating excessively and I had to use a tissue to wipe my face multiple times while riding down the road. Other than that, I didn't notice the humidity.
Edit - I typed the entire rest of the day in here. It is gone. Poof! Where did it go, I do not know . . . let me give it another try. This will be the Cliff Notes Version as it is bedtime . . . I'm so sad . . .
We were out the door at 10:30 with Jacinto in the lead. Interestingly, he made a wrong turn out of the motel parking lot. That is a move I am known to make.
We were on Michigan's first bike path, right from town. I was happy to not have to bicycle over the bridge. It might have been fine, I didn't even see it. Usually riding over bridges is stressful.
Jacinto took a pace that was just a bit fast for me. I kept up with him, but wasn't sure of the cost later. He wasn't well trained to stop at potties. I had to call him back for the first potty. Also the second one. As we left the second potty, he noticed his tire was soft. That was a surprise as we thought this problem had been fixed. Jacinto had been having flat tires on the spoke side. When he had the pre tour tune up, the shop installed new fabric rim tape. We thought that would fix the problem. It is easy to see the problem spot, it's about 6" from the valve stem. This all happened directly in front of a bike shop, but he didn't want to borrow their floor pump. Irony that I purchased a new pump with a gauge for my bike and somehow ended up with the old pump in the bag.
Jacinto took off pedaling standing up. I decided to let him go, I was already at the edge of my speed zone. He didn't get too far ahead of me.
We were still on the bike path. There were a number of road crossings, but most of them were small and we could keep rolling. My long bike takes some effort to get back up to speed.
On the bike path I saw a total of four trikes, and two touring cyclists. I would have stopped to chat with the tourists. Jacinto didn't stop when he saw them and they didn't stop when they saw me. I also saw a woman on a cruiser bike with a lap dog in the front basket. It had a very cute canopy over the dog. That would be perfect for Tucson!
Jacinto has been using Komoot for routing. It is largely following Bicycle Route 35. Today, that route went past three small lakes after Hart. Ridewithgps routed a more direct country roads route to Ludington. We opted for the lake views. It was a good choice. I enjoyed seeing the lake homes and small, personal docks. One dock was a giant sandbox. There were small children playing with buckets and shovels, with their moms sitting in beach chairs. It was great.
Jacinto waited for me at the top of a climb. I told him I was doing fine except I was desperate for a potty and why didn't he stop at the pink potty back by the lake. He never even saw the potty! Spoken like a man. He did redeem himself somewhat by finding a faint road into the trees that served as a potty spot.
We shared beef jerky and agreed that the last seven miles to town should go soon. I took the lead. Look at me. Bertha has been on the job today. Perhaps the update I did on the phone app was necessary. We hit a road closed sign outside of town. The detour made us pass our motel and we had to double back. Rather than cross four busy lanes of traffic and cross again to get back to our motel, we rode on the sidewalk. There weren't any corner cut outs - just sharp curbs. A little bit too late I remembered denting my rear rim riding through the pothole last summer. I hope I'm okay today.
We are at a $198. Best Western room tonight. It's the holiday weekend. This was the only place I could find that would give us a one night reservation. As we pulled up, we could see men in suits and women in dresses outside. I felt a little awkward in my sweaty cycling clothes. Let me whine a bit - for this price I was expecting a hot breakfast - not bag and go items. Plus - there was only shampoo in our room, no conditioner or hand lotion!
The desk clerk was very persuasive that our best meal option in walking distance of the motel was Culver's Ice Cream. He assured me that they had a variety of food and not just ice cream. It was sit down, inside and great food. He eats there all the time! Perhaps that's where his sister works?
We ended up at El Rancho, .4 miles away. They were slammed. We waited 5 minutes for a table and easily waited 30-40 minutes for our food. We were warned that the kitchen was backed up. It was good. I dare say, better than Culver's hamburgers . . . I've never had one . . . that's just a guess.
Now we are back in the room. Jacinto suggested we ride together again tomorrow. He said he wasn't waiting for me at all, that his bike is very heavy and he's slower. We are going to start out earlier because we are riding more miles and have the Three Sisters to climb.
Earlier is relative when Jacinto is talking. He suggests really leaving at 10 AM. I suggested 9 AM. Wind was a factor today. It was blowing strong enough to make my ears hurt. I think earlier would be better. But the temperatures have been cool and Jacinto doesn't like cold at all. Today's high was 70 degrees. Tomorrow is forecast to be 79.
This had better save. It is definitely bedtime. I'm going to click save and edit more first. I do learn, eventually.
Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 88 miles (142 km)
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3 years ago
I just checked our routing. We are on 22 all the way around. I read about Old Mission Peninsula after we had done our reservations. I'm sad I was a little late there. We do have the Leelanau Trail in there, so I got that part right!
Thanks for the good wishes.
Kelly
3 years ago
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