Ok, ok. I know. I've probably made the climbs sound pretty torturous. Well, they are, but mostly the challenges aren't that bad. They don't last forever even though it felt like it would. They do give me something to write about. Probably the best thing about the big climbs are that they make the smaller climbs seem, well, smaller. It's all about perspective I guess. So it goes.
Frankly I was glad I turned in before the fireworks started in earnest last night . We were too far down the beach to see them . But, I certainly didn't have any problem hearing them. Even with my hearing aids out! I hope you got to enjoy the occasion. (My Kiwi friends will have to ask Fred about it all when you see him.)
We left Petoskey pretty early and stayed on a multi use (bike) trail until we were well out of town. We stumbled onto a place for a coffee stop. Refills were free and some breakfast food was on hand so we tarried for a while.
Next we came to a decision point about which direction we should take. No one could decide so we tossed a coin. It was tails so we stayed on the route. I'm glad we did. We went along Lake Michigan. It was a different world from what I had seen so far. Across the street from the lake were a line of Victorian style homes. They were so beautiful, we actually stopped to look at them and take pictures. When we resumed our ride, a man on an old touring bike pulling a Burley trailer just like the one I have at home, pulled up beside us and started chatting.
When we asked where he was headed, he said "To yoga." When Fred learned he was a local, he started peppering him with questions. Who lived there? What did the do for a living? How much did the homes cost and so on. The houses are either owned by temporary residents or rented then boarded up for the winter. The man was friendly and answered Fred's questions as best he could. We went our separate ways and he bid us farewell.
The roads were mostly flat for a while. (No killer hills today. Sorry. :) We stopped at a country store for a break. A nice lady sitting outside took interest and chatted with us for a while as we rested. She showed us a slightly different way to go than the guide map indicated. We took her advice on the way.
The roads were in terrible shape so we had to dodge the cracks and potholes but roads were almost totally devoid of traffic so it was a wash.
We were closing in quickly on our destination, the Mackinaw Ferry to St Ignace We arrived and located the ferry. We had to take 2 ferries. One from Mackinaw to the Macinac Island then the second one to St Ignace. We stayed at a state park campground very near the ferry. A short day gave us time to do laundry.
Total mileage today = 52 miles
Total mileage on route to date = 1,511 miles
Thanks for reading.
Cheers.
KPW
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