Day11: 82 miles was too long

Once again my persistence snatches success from the jaws of confusion. I'm in a motel I didn't know about till I was told by some nice young women at a fast food place where I told them I was lost. I didn't tell them I'd ridden east when I thought I was riding south- and this was with a strong west wind that I had been riding with all day! - and I just told them needed to find a motel. Then after riding right by that motel because I'd mis-remembered its name, a McDs employee on break, told me where it was, twice, first when he told me where it was and again after I realized I must have ridden right by it four miles ago. When I did get back to it- riding into that strong wind - I remembered reading its sign, but not realizing it was the motel I was looking for. I think (?) - maybe not(!) - my body id hanging in there better than my brain is.

I could have been at the Canadian border now - although I think I'd have to be wild camping of I was there - if I had simply ridden on route instead of playing confusion games with my routing. I did meet, and get helped by, some nice people which is always a high point in my touring day. Today was also a high point in use of rall trails. Riding a touring bike through greater Detroit - definitely a Mecca for US car culture! - is insane. Traffic levels and lack of any real thought given to bike travel as an alternative to car travel make this dangerous place for being on a bike. The presence of a linked network of rail trails covering over 40 miles of the 80 miles of travel I did today made it fairly easy and only occasionally insane. I think peak insane today was coming out of a complicated round about into an almost continuous stream of traffic and realizing I had to merge, from the left, into that stream! Fortunately, after being stranded on an island between two lanes, folks were kind enough to let me get off of it.

On the rail trails, there were frequent street crossings on streets with heavy traffic in both direction. In only only one of the many crossing was there any provision for giving a bicylist any right of way. Some drivers were kind enough to do that despite the signs saying that they had they right of way.

Today's ride did remind me of how insane our culture and make me very thankful that despite that insane culture, many people are still considerate of other people. Having said that, I don't think I'd do today.s ride again. Back the first time I rode across the US, I discovered why many bicyclist will bike across Montana on the interstate, which is legal but not much fun rather than the 'surface roads' which expose the bicyclist to more danger. It is one of the few US states I've never bicycled across since then. I've bicycled across both UP and LP Michigan multiple time. It was safer 20+ years ago than it was a few years ago because they have made driving faster and more convenient for cars and harder and more dangerous for bicyclists.

This morning I'll reach the Canadian border at Algonac where there is a river ferry, First I'll stop for breakfast and wifi at McDs and after the border I'll stop in Wallaceburg where there is a motel. After yesterday's abuse, I may take a short day to rest and, plan my route through Ontario, and get Lonnies and a Canadian SIM card.

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