To Two Rivers

June 18, 2021

I wake up this morning, reached over to grab my iPad to check the time, and find it is just turning 5. Just a few minutes until sunrise. I lie there for a few minutes considering whether if I care enough to get dressed and step outside to see if we’re getting one of the spectacular sunrises the region is known for, and decide I do. This is a good spot, just yards from the mouth of the river and the lighthouse. I get dressed as quietly as I can and slip out the door, trying not to wake Rachael.

I walk down to the river’s edge, and then out along the walkway to the lighthouse. Signs warn against walking out here when it’s windy, but it’s quite still this morning - last night’s thunderstorms have moved on. Near the lighthouse a sign warns against going closer because of the risk of ear splitting noise from the foghorns. But it’s clear and quiet. The biggest risk this morning is probably slipping and falling on the gull shit that fouls the narrow walkway.

So, I claim credit for taking the initiative to do this. Unfortunately it wasn’t worth it. There’s no sunrise this morning. It’s overcast. There aren’t even many birds out, in spite of the evidence beneath my feet.

I don’t mind so much though, because it’s almost time for the nearby cafe to open anyway. Back in the room, Rachael is just stirring. I tell her I’m going over to the cafe for coffee when it opens at 6, and we’ll have breakfast when she finally gets out of bed and drags herself over there to join me.

Ten minutes later, I’m back in the room. Neither of us knows why we thought the cafe opens at 6. It’s not until 7. Once it does open though, we walk over and have breakfast together. It’s a great place.

We have an easy ride today, straight south along the shore of Lake Michigan. We’re on Lakeshore Road nearly all the way to our destination for tonight, Two Rivers. It’s one of the most appealing roads we’ve ridden in this part of the state because it’s so open, with fine views of the lake nearly the whole way. It’s agricultural, and open pastures run all the way to the bluffs at the lake’s edge.

Michigan’s out there somewhere, if we were just a bit taller.

Yes, I know it’s here just for show; but it’s a good show.

Nice! Another pair of cranes, this time close enough for a good look.

A few miles down the road, I see a bike traveler a short ways ahead of us, stopped by the roadside with his camera aimed out across the field. When he passes, we both stop and enjoy a lengthy conversation in the middle of the empty road, for maybe 15 minutes. I don’t think we’re passed by a car the entire time.

He’s an interesting man - sociable, with a lot on his mind. He’s here on a ride from Ann Arbor, his home, and bound for Door County. He’s hoping he’ll arrive before the lilacs have played out for the year. He’s got an aesthetic sense, and tells us to watch out for the string of fine barns we can expect to see down the road ahead. Eventually we remember that we both have to get somewhere, it’s hot, and we should be moving.

Some oncoming traffic on Lakeshore Road.

You’d think in a fifteen minute conversation we’d have thought to exchange names, but we didn’t. Maybe you know this guy.

Here’s the scene he was photographing when we approached. It’s a free shot, I’ll take one too.

We’re making great progress! We’ve gotten five miles in already and it’s just noon. At this rate we should make it to Two Rivers by about midnight. We move on, clocking another five before stopping at Kewaunee, famed home of the largest grandfather clock in the world. It proves to be just as expected: big, and looks just like a grandfather clock. I wonder if it chimes on the hour?

Miles like this. It’s beautiful having these expansive views of the lake.

Yup, it’s a big one. Look at the time! We should have waited ten minutes to see what happens.

The Great Clock is the main attraction here of course, but there’s more. Kewaunee is worth the stop, and a place we might have explored for longer if it wasn’t becoming so hot. Especially interesting is the Tug Ludington, a military tug that participated in the D-Day invasion by towing barges of ammunition across the English Channel.

The Tug Ludington was originally named the Major Wilbur Fr. Browder. Built in New York, it sailed across the Atlantic to join the war effort. During the D-Day invasion it was armed with a pair of 50 caliber machine guns.

The Kewaunee Pierhead Light sits at the end of a long pier at the mouth of the Kewaunee River.

A giant cloud of gulls arose from a raft on the water on the far side of the bay, too far off for identification.

Leaving Kewaunee, we’re disconcerted by a sign indicating that a bridge is out ahead. I enter a repair shop to inquire about the status of the road and our options, and get an ambiguous response. Maybe we can get through, by turning off onto Lakeshore Drive? She’s not really sure; but the stop was worthwhile to see this emerald gem hidden inside the shop.

There are regular options still ahead to turn off the road, so we decide to bike on rather than detouring just yet. A few minutes later, a postal delivery van pulls off right in front of us, planning a U-turn. She tells us we should be fine as long as we take the turnoff to Lakeshore Road when we get there. Perfect. That was exactly our plan anyway.

The rest of the way to Two Rivers continues to be fine riding, except that it’s turned so blasted hot. Rachael suggests that it might have been smart to have left our motel a bit before eleven. She makes a good point.

There is one more tense moment when we pass signage indicating that our road is no longer open to the public. We’re passing the Kewaunee Power Station, a decommissioned nuclear power plant. Part of our route is actually on Nuclear Road. For about two miles we bike anxiously, hoping no one will stop us and turn us back. Nothing happens though. I still don’t know if this road is open to the public now or we were just lucky today, so bear that in mind if you come this way.

Another old barn, this one with a pressed tin roof.

Is this common, and I’ve just not noticed before?

On Lakeshore Road. This is another pretty area, hillier and a bit inland from the lake.

There were five of these, close enough for a good look.

On Nuclear Road, hoping luck will be a lady today. On either side are vast arrays of solar panels.

Video sound track: Dragonfly, by Yasmin Williams

We arrive at Two Rivers at 2:30 - too late and too hot. Our room is ready, so we quickly drop off our gear in the room, change clothes, and head to the motel’s restaurant for our main meal of the day, a late lunch. Later, Rachael takes off on her own on a long walk to explore the paths along the bay and rivers, and I don’t. After 18 straight days in the saddle, I decide it’s too hot for a walk anyway and a good time to sit out the afternoon. She returns three hours later with tales of the muskrats she saw swimming in the waters, and I tell her about the nice red ale I enjoyed while sitting in the air conditioned bar looking out at the bay. Win, win.

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Ride stats today: 38 miles, 1,000’; for the tour: 791 miles, 24,200’

Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 791 miles (1,273 km)

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