Freewheeling it along

July 29, 2021

Boy did we have a great time last night with Paul & Kris. They were so kind and generous to share their home with us. We felt so welcomed and comfortable. We really appreciate their hospitality and look forward to seeing them in January in Arizona.

Paul rode with us for the first 25 miles today. He guided us safely out of Muskegon. He pointed out interesting parts of Muskegon and told us facts about places we rode past. Eventually we got onto a bike path and picked up our pace. After 25 miles Paul had to turn around and go home. Paul has now qualified to be a member of the Metal Hip Club. He has had both hips replaced and has ridden with other club members. Since he had successfully met the strict qualification items we are pleased to announce that Paul is an official member of the Metal Hip Club. We are also announcing that Kris is a new honorary member of the club because she is so nice.

After Paul left us we cruised into the small town of Conklin. We went to the bathroom and got some drinks. We had 15 more miles on the trail to reach Grand Rapids. After the trail ended we navigated through Grand Rapids traffic to the Freewheeler Bike Shop. Ross has been having some problems with his bike. The guys at Freewheeler took it in and started to look at it. They said it would take some time and recommend a deli for us to get lunch. Half way through lunch they called and said it was fixed. They had to replace a part in the rear cassette. The guys at Freewheeler were great and we would highly recommend them if you need your bike fixed. They really helped us out and did it really fast.

After finishing lunch we had 15 miles of working our way through Grand Rapids to get to our hotel. Riding through urban areas is a slow process. We ride slower because we hit more lights, there are more cars intersecting our path and we have to make more turns and consult maps more often. We went through two urban areas today so it was slow going and we didn’t stop riding until 4 pm.

Tomorrow we have a 65 mile day planned and will be camping at Sleepy Hollow State Park.