Inspired Poetry

On my third day of riding in the U.P, about half-way through 28 consecutive miles of nothing but forest, I came up with a couplet based on Joyce Kilmer's "Trees."  It went something like this:

I think that I shall never see
As many view-blockers as I see in the U.P.

I was enjoying the trees for the first hour or so, but the monotony started getting to me.  As I pedaled, I kept adding lines to my poem in my head.  I do that a lot.  Rhymes come to me for no discernable reason while riding my bike, and I have to believe that happens to other bike trippers too. 

Anyway, when I got to my campsite at the end of the day, I tried to remember some of my rhymes, got out my pen and notebook, and composed a legitimate 12-line poem.  Under the influence of three Two Hearted Ales, I thought my poem might just be the thing that earns me my first Pulitzer Prize.  Fortunately, I came to my senses when it came time to enter my post for that day into the computer machine.

So, despite what I wrote yesterday, it seems I DO have the ability to edit myself when necessary.  Especially when it comes to avoiding embarrassment.

Then today came along.  I have a Grand Sweeping Conclusion to write and I seem to have writer's block.  I feel everything that needs to be said about the U.P. is already in my journal.  Desperate, I reviewed my notebook for new material.  There it was:  my poem.  Against all better judgement, I'm going to post the thing in its entirety.

Ode to Trees

I think that I shall never see
As many view-blockers as I see in the U.P.
The trees are looming everywhere I look,
In every cranny, behind every nook.

At the top of every hill I'm shocked,
To find another view that's blocked.
How could Kilmer shower trees with praise,
While I look upon them with malaise?

Yet somehow these trees inspire me
To compose this brilliant poetry.  (Poe-a-tree?)
I guess my inner Dickinson soars,
When in the Church of the Great Outdoors.

Heart

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marilyn swettLove the poem! But those view-blockers can also give you welcome shade on those hot sunny days as well as cover from rain when the branches meet to form a green tunnel.
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6 months ago

Gregory GarceauTo marilyn swettI did admit to the positive features of view-blockers at the beginning of this journal, but you brought up a new one with the "cover from rain." Thank you for that.
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6 months ago

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Signs of Happiness

I also edited out one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip.  Well, I didn't edit it so much as I missed it when uploading photos that day.  I didn't discover the omission until the next day.  Rather than insert it into the page where it belonged, where I knew nobody would go back to see a page they've already read, I decided to save it for my Grand Sweeping Conclusion.  

I've written this in previous journals, but here it is again.  When I do a headstand, you KNOW I'm happy with where I am. 

Heart

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marilyn swettI don't think I could even DO a headstand anymore!
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6 months ago

Emily SharpWell done! Did you have to dig a little hole for your head before commencing?
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6 months ago

Gregory GarceauTo Emily SharpNope, my head and body weight created its own little hole. I haven't done a headstand in a while, so I kind of surprised myself that day--not so much that I can still do it, but that I can run out there and do it in the 10-seconds my phone timer gives me.
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6 months ago

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Where Are They Going?

Throughout my trip I was amazed at how many vehicles were carrying bicycles on bike racks and in truck beds.  Yet, other than the two bike tourists I met and a couple of people in Houghton who looked homeless, I didn't see anybody else actually RIDING a bike.

Granted, most of the bikes attached to vehicles were mountain bikes, and they were probably on their way to ride some of the U.P.'s mountain bike trails.  But still . . . what the heck?  How can a destination with so much natural beauty not have thousands of cyclists all over the place?  The TransAmerica route does.  The Pacific coast does.  Much of Europe does.  Why not the U.P.? 

Yoopers Are Super

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Without exception, every Yooper I talked to was very friendly.  But then, they were mostly customer service personnel.  Store clerks, state park rangers, motel hosts, and pasty shop employees are required to be friendly.  There were a couple of Yooper folks I talked to who weren't in the public relations business, but they were also friendly.  I try to keep such encounters short, so I hope they didn't think I was unfriendly.  (If only Yooper drivers would show a little more friendliness by moving away from the shoulder when passing a biker.)

Final Pasty Analysis

Though a simple mix of spices, diced potatoes, rutabaga, carrots, onions & ground beef in a pie crust might seem pretty rudimentary, I'm here to tell you pasties are a U.P. work of culinary art.  I don't pretend to think they are better than pasties from other mining regions in England, Montana, Arizona, or Australia, but U.P. pasties have their own unique style.  I love them.  Additionally, in my opinion, the pasties made in the western half of the U.P.--the mining half-- are better than the eastern U.P. pasties.  With that in mind, it's a good thing I didn't ride any further east than Marquette.

I didn't achieve my goal of eating a pasty every single day of the tour, but I did manage to consume eight of them in twelve days.  They were all delicious, but I have to break it down to the top five.

#5:  The pasty at Syl's place in Ontonogan was good, but the thick crust wasn't optimal.  It was the only place I ate one indoors.  The atmosphere was small-town-great and the server was extra bubbly.

#4:  There were many things to like at Roy's in Houghton.  I liked the largish chunks of carrot, but the turn off was the sliced potato vs. diced potato.  In the end, the potato was a little mushy.  Too bad, because the crust was really good.

#3:  Rigoni's Bakery in Ironwood served up a fine pasty.  Its only drawback was that it's located in the same town as Joe's Pasties, which is "the pasty that made pasties famous."

#2:  You'd think the pasty shop that served the pasty that made pasties famous would be at the top of the list, but not so fast there.  No doubt, the pasty I ate just outside Joe's Pasties in Ironwood was excellent.  It was damn near perfect--crispy crust, a decent amount of flavorful grease, nice chunks of ground beef, perfectly diced potatoes, nice oniony flavor.  What's not to like?

#1:  And the winner is . . . Lawry's Pasties in Marquette.  I think the thing that set Lawry's apart from Joe's was the spices.  The meat was slightly more generous too.  That's why I bought a dozen of their frozen pasties to bring home.  Extra credit goes to Lawry's for selling me a brick of dry ice so I could keep the pasties frozen in my pannier for two hours in a U-Haul and five more hours after I picked up my car and drove back to MY town. 

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Karen PoretLawry’s was the winner because of the spices..DUH..Why do you think Lawry’s Seasoning Salt is so spectacular? No connection, probably, but I couldn’t resist the name phreakism . Besides, how many Lawry’s do you know? Really.. :)
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6 months ago

Gregory GarceauTo Karen PoretI absolutely did not make the Lawry's Spices/Lawry's Pasties connection. But you're probably right . . . there IS no connection. Great comment.
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6 months ago

Karen PoretTo Gregory GarceauWhat a hoot! A gal at my exercise class today had a sweatshirt on that said “ copper harbor”… I didn’t know it’s in the U.P! The zip code was hidden in the middle of the sweatshirt, with MI above it. I commented about pasties and she said “ oh, we ALL have our favorite places to get those delicacies”.. “ mine will remain unknown” 😳
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6 months ago

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Well, that's about all I have to say about my modest bike trip.  I truly enjoyed all of it.  Even the rain, thunderstorms, and view-blockers added a little extra something.  So did the hiking and camping and dilly-dallying.

Thank you for reading.  I hope to squeeze in another local tour before the end of the year.