Day 29

Stats
Net Elevation gain: 269 ft.
Average Speed: 11.5 mph
Top Speed: 24 mph
Time spent biking: 5 hours 15 minutes
Total time for the day's travels: 13 hours 30 minutes
Miles biked today: 60.2
Total for trip: 1313.9 miles

It was raining when we went to sleep in the tent, and it was raining when we got up at 7:15. Sometimes it's really hard to get up when it's raining and wet, but this morning we got up more easily, maybe because we had company in the campground. Jenny made breakfast while Brett packed up the tent, but Tom was still ready to go first. We weren't too far behind.

When it's wet, we strap the tent fly and other wet stuff on top of the bags.

The rain started falling harder and more steadily as the morning progressed. We made a “deal” with the skies that it could rain as much as it wanted on the way to Escanaba as long as it was dry when we left the city. You never know if the sky will keep its end of bargains like that, but we sure hoped it would. We were already wet by the time we got back out to Route 2, and morale was a little low.

To lift our spirits, Jenny started singing. Once we'd been through the songs we know fully, we felt quite a bit better. Nearly daily we sing “Ol' Jack” (Bill Staines), “The City of New Orleans” (Steve Goodman), “The Lilac and the Apple Tree” (Kate Wolf), and “Barrett's Privateers” (Stan Rogers), but we add in some others, too.

Besides the singing, seeing a family of sandhill cranes also brought us up. We love seeing wildlife of all kinds, but the cranes are pretty neat.

Jenny is used to seeing sandhill cranes in Florida, but it was exciting to see them here when we were least expecting to.

We didn't make many stops, partly because of the rain, and partly because we were still behind Tom and hoping to catch him. We passed him when he stopped to buy a new knife along the way. Shortly after that, we took a break for a snack of carrot, cucumber and chips. A little while later, Tom caught up to us, and we rode together along the smaller, quieter roads into Escanaba. We were glad for a chance to rest, but also a break from driving on the gritty, messy shoulder, full of sand that gets thrown up on Jenny's legs and nails and tacks that Brett attempts to avoid.

We found an Internet signal at the public library in Escanaba. Unfortunately, since we were wet the inside of the building was unbearably cold. So, since it had stopped raining, we cooked outside on some benches.

Can you tell that Brett's clothes are soaked?

While the three of us were outside eating and looking at maps, lots of people stopped on their way in or out of the library to ask us about our trip. A few were particularly curious or helpful. One man gave us a county map, and talked to Tom about his route. Another woman talked to all of us for quite a while, saying she has ambitions of biking across the country someday, too, and hiking the Pacific Crest trail. A third woman must have overheard us explaining things on her way into the library, because she came back a few minutes later and handed Tom $20 saying, “I hope your dreams come true.” Tom said he thought her eyes might have been misty. Tom was thoughtful and generous, too, as he gave us half. We haven't seen that kind of generosity much on this trip, but we've seen all other kinds in abundant amounts, and we're so thankful for everyone's help and support.

Tom and Brett look at maps.

After we finished eating and cleaning up, Tom was ready to get going and we were ready to brave the cold and spend some time inside where the Internet connection was better. We exchanged hugs and goodbyes before going our separate ways. We really enjoyed the time we got to spend with Tom, and maybe we'll run into him again in our travels. For now our paths really do diverge, because while we were continuing west, he was taking a detour south.

We ended up staying inside the library working on the computer for a long time. While we were inside it started raining again, including one huge downpour. Brett stepped out long enough to move the bike under an overhang more, but otherwise we stayed inside, shivering. We looked at a road atlas to get a better idea of where we're going in the days and weeks to come. The library also allowed us a chance to charge up our phones and the computer.

Leaving the library when the rain had once again stopped, we asked at the local Chamber of Commerce about campgrounds in the area west of Escanaba. They didn't really know of any. We were also hoping they might have a map of Wisconsin, but they didn't. We hurried over to the offices of the Department of Transportation, but got there just minutes after they closed for the day, so no map for us.

Our next stop was going to be the most exciting of all: RadioShack for new batteries for our bike computer (both the sensor and the display unit)! The store was open, they had the right batteries, and we bought a 3-pack. However, the darn computer STILL didn't work after all that!! There was much disappointment, but there was nothing to do but ride on at this point, still without an odometer.

Jenny plays with the camera while Brett is on the phone with Spartan talking about the bike computer.

The sky had started to clear up and we tried to ride away, but our shorts and seats were still wet from the morning's rain, and so we were very uncomfortable. We tried to tough it out, but a block later we decided to change clothes when we found a porta-potty outside a school. Jenny still had some trouble finding a pair of shorts that were comfortable, and we were disgruntled by all of it. It's hard to be comfortable when most of our clothes are dirty and our bike seats are wet. Finally, we figured out a set of clothes that would work well enough and left Escanaba on 8th Avenue heading west.

Finally, some blue sky!

Several miles west of town we met back up with Route 2. At this point we realized that we really should have bought some more food back in Escanaba, because there was nowhere to buy groceries for miles in the direction we were headed. We were also coming to a decision about which way to go. We were considering heading toward Crystal Falls on Route 69, which would have less traffic than Route 2, but Route 2 might have more places to buy food.

We stopped at the golf course we came to and asked about places to get food. Hearing we wouldn't find much, we decided to eat something from the restaurant there. We talked to several people there, both about our route and about campgrounds in the area. They told us the campground we thought was on Route 69 was actually east of us, but that there was a town park in Powers, right on Route 2. As much as we were eager to be on a road smaller than Route 2, it was clear that in our situation the right choice was to head for the campground in Powers.

About five miles down the road, we realized that Brett's phone was still at the golf course. This was annoying, because it was the very first time we'd actually left something behind! We didn't panic, though, and called information to get the phone number for the golf course, which we then called. The woman who had served us answered the phone and we explained the situation. One of the men we'd spoken with there got on the line and told us that the manager was driving past Powers and would drop the phone off at the base of the flag pole if he didn't see us along the way. We were so thankful for all their help, and we hoped it would work out.

A few miles after that, we crossed an exciting boundary we hadn't crossed yet: a time zone! Crossing this point made us really feel like we'd biked a long way. We were in a while new time zone! And we BIKED there!

As we neared our destination for the night, we spotted three skunks along the sides of the road. Thankfully, we passed by them stink free, though one of them turned around and lifted its tail in a threating way when it was startled by our presence. We were both very tired when we made it to the campground in Powers. The mosquitoes where terrible, so we set up the tent and went right inside. We both fell asleep almost as soon as we lay down. Jenny got up after about an hour and went out to retrieve Brett's phone from the flag pole (it was there, yay!!) and to secure the bags for the night. Another long and tiring day done!

A quick picture of the sun setting, snapped by Brett, before he dashed inside the tent for the night.

Day 28

Stats
Net Elevation gain: -26 ft.
Average Speed: 12.7 mph
Top Speed: 27 mph
Time spent biking: 5 hours 30 minutes
Total time for the day's travels: 9 hours 30 minutes
Miles biked today: 70
Total for trip: 1253.7 miles

Waking up in a small hotel room in a place you've never been isn't that much different than waking up in your familiar tent in a different place every night. However, a bed is little different than our comfy air mattresses and familiar pillows. This morning it was nice to wake up and cross the room for a shower. We enjoyed not having to pack the tent up, and we cooked a little breakfast on the front step before we backed the bike out of the room and loaded up at 9:45.

Before we set off west, though, we went back to the cafe we'd been at the evening before. We used their wireless signal to post another update to the blog. While we were there, we waved to a fellow touring cyclist also headed to the west. Seeing us wave, he turned in and we started to chat. His name is Tom, and he's riding from Maine to Washington. We finished up and set off before he was ready to leave, but we figured he'd catch up to us soon after.

Two touring bikes, all loaded up!

Tom, on the wet morning we met him. He always seems to be upbeat and positive!

Maybe it was the inspiration of having another bicyclist coming along right behind us, but we got off to a pretty good-paced start by 10:30. Tom didn't catch up until we stopped to stretch. He passed us, and when we were done stretching, we got back on our bikes and were able to push hard enough to keep him in view for miles. We were cruising! On the uphills, Tom would pull further ahead, and on the gentle downhills we would make up the distance. When he paused to take a picture, we passed him!

Chasing our new friend Tom down Route 2 heading west!

When we stopped again, this time for lunch around noon, we saw him pass by a few minutes later and we waved through the window of the cafe we'd stopped to eat at. This was only our second break of the day, and we were feeling good. We weren't sure we'd see Tom again, because more than an hour had passed before we had finished eating and were ready to leave.

However, we kept pushing because we felt so inspired and the roads were really flat. We were delighted to see Tom again when we pulled into a grocery store in Manistique! He was just about to leave the same store as we pulled in and it was fun to talk about food choices with him. It was fun to hear Tom say that he also searches for foods without high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils, two of the main ingredients Jenny tries to avoid. Again we said hello and good-bye, not expecting to see him again. We took our time food shopping, getting enough supplies for the next couple of meals, and then checked a nearby store for a battery for the bike computer. No luck, and the hardware store in town was closed.

Groceries.

The rain started to fall shortly after we packed away our newly purchased food and started riding west again. It wasn't a hard rain, but consistently wet. After about an hour of riding, we were pretty damp and the rain started falling even harder. We were almost to our destination for the night, and weren't sure about stopping, but as we pulled into a roadside rest-stop to use the bathrooms and fill up our water bottles, there was Tom! He was cooking his dinner under the overhang out front. We decided to join him and cook up some food ourselves, since it was now pouring. Sometimes things work out better if you don't plan them. Eating dinner together, we found out more about Tom and his trip. He is from Ohio, and like us, is doing this bike trip for fun and because it's something he's always wanted to do. We had a lot in common, got along well, and having good company was a nice change.

Cooking at the rest area with Tom.
We ate pasta, chicken sausage, broccoli, cheese and spices. Om nom nom!

The rain was a little lighter when we finished cleaning our dishes and left the rest area. We pulled out first, but Tom wasn't far behind us. We were all headed for Nahma, where there was a campground. We turned off of Route 2 for the first time all day to head south about 5 miles to No-Nah-Ma campground, which was completely empty on this Monday evening. We pulled in and picked a spot, and Tom found us when he rode in a bit later. We set up in the wind and a light rain, used the vault toilets, and said good-night to Tom.

It's fun to see the distances to other places shrink throughout the day. We hope to make it to Escanaba tomorrow, especially since they have a store with a battery for the bike computer!

Since it was raining again, and we were tired, we snacked a little in the tent and went to bed. It was a low-key ending to a great day of riding. We didn't have our computer, but Tom told us we'd done about 70 miles! We had topped our longest day of the trip, without much difficulty, and our average speed was so high! This is the kind of riding that we had expected to do when we were planning this trip!

Day 27

Stats
Net Elevation gain: -43 ft.
Average Speed: 8.6 mph
Top Speed: 28 mph
Time spent biking: 2 hours 45 minutes
Total time for the day's travels: about 8 hours
Miles biked today: 23.8
Total for trip: 1183.7 miles

Sometimes we wake up feeling pretty good. Today was not one of those days. We awoke tired and sore from our long and eventful previous day. Plus, the bike computer wouldn't start working again, no matter what we tried: moving the sensor to different places in relation to the magnet on the spokes, taking the battery out and putting it back into the sensor, etc. We weren't in good moods anyway, and the lack of our beloved cycle computer made things worse, and it wasn't until 11:10 before we finally left the campground.

Jenny was right, though: we didn't have to climb any enormous hills (that Brett felt so sure the night before would be straight up). On our way back to the paved roads, a monarch or two came flying by and landed on some milkweed plants. Jenny spent a while taking pictures and and got a couple decent shots. It was really beautiful out and our bad moods started to lift a bit after the short stop to watch the butterflies.

Watching this butterfly lifted our spirits.

We made it back to Brevort (on Route 2), and found a little motel/restaurant to eat at. Breakfast was disappointing because Jenny's order got mixed up and someone else's food was brought to her. By the time the right food was prepared and finally delivered to our table, Brett was all finished with his breakfast. The food wasn't even that good. We considered getting a couple pastys there for our next meal, but it didn't seem like a good idea. We figured we would wait and there would be better spots, since it seemed like every store we passed sold them.

We biked along for the next few hours, making short stops to fill up water bottles and stretch. We crossed over the Cut River Bridge and continued to have beautiful views of Lake Michigan along Route 2. We took a longer stop at a roadside park that happened to have a wireless signal coming from a hotel across the road. We worked on line for a few hours, enjoying the shady place to sit and the cool breeze.

Crossing the Cut River Bridge.

Jenny works on the computer at a beautiful roadside park.

It wasn't until about 5 or 5:30 when we left the park and the Internet behind. Our laptop battery had been depleted, and we tried to psyche ourselves up for biking. Our water bottles were almost empty (the water at the roadside parks tasted gross) so we were looking for a store to fill up our bottles. When we stopped at a little shop that sold gifts and fudge, the owners told us that we should fill up our water bottles at the spring just down the road. They claimed it was the best tasting water ever, and it was just pouring out of a thing that looks like a "beehive". We thanked them, bought some fudge, sat outside in the shade and ate some, then pushed on to find the water source.

Brett investigates the "beehive".

This is what we found! The water that was flowing out was ice cold
and was very refreshing to drink. Brett fills up a water bottle.

Jenny fills up another. Very shortly after this picture was taken, Brett dumped his newly filled up water bottle on Jenny, which started a water fight. A truce was called after both bottles were empty.

Soon enough, we made it into Naubinway, a little town with a few stores and banks and such. We wanted to buy some dinner, and we wanted to know where the nearest campgrounds were.

Their were some friendly patrons and staff at the only open place at 7:00 P.M. on Sunday, July 4th. They had Internet, and some knowledge of the area, and talked about the closest campground as less than fifteen miles away, or far fewer if you cut along the private beach road. We even had a kind offer to stay in a man's cabin six or seven miles out of town. But really, we were finished. Wiped. Worn out. We decided to just book a room in the motel in Naubinway, and bike no more this day.

The motel didn't have Internet, though, so we used the cafe's connection right up until they closed at 9:00. Jenny worked on uploading pictures, while Brett reserved the motel room. We also spoke with several other patrons, including Jay and Anne, who were curious and impressed with our trip. Jenny ordered some soup for dinner, and then we both had ice cream cones just before the shop closed.

The sun behind the clouds as we bike along Lake Michigan.

Since the motel didn't have Internet, we hoped to catch up on all the days of the blog (about three or four). However, when we got there, we were so tired, we hardly wrote notes for this day, never mind writing nice long descriptions of the other days. We fell into bed, and that was that.

It was disappointing to have gone so few miles, but some days are like that: you just can't get going, you just can't push yourself further, and you just feel like stopping already. We made our peace with that and hoped the rest would do us good.

Day 26

Stats
Net Elevation gain: 56 ft.
Average Speed: 8.8 mph
Top Speed: 25 mph
Time spent biking: about 7 hours
Total time for the day's travels: about 14 hours
Miles biked today: 61.5
Total for trip: 1159.9 miles

Even though we got in late the night before, Brett set his alarm for 6:43 A.M., but we didn't get up right away. Still, we did manage to leave by 9:30--not bad for us. Excited by the prospect of getting into the U.P. by evening, we set off looking for a place to eat breakfast.

Packing up in the morning.

We found both good breakfast and a good Internet connection at Wilson's, just a half mile down the road from Burt Lake State Park. We ordered omelets and potatoes, Jenny got hot chocolate, and we checked the comments on the blog. We laughed, smiled, and “ahhed” at all the funny and sweet things people say. The comments always put us in a good mood.

We didn't quite finish both omelets, so we packed up half an omelet to take with us for later. We stopped again right away to buy some cherries at a roadside stand. It was sad we couldn't eat them right away because we were stuffed from breakfast, but we did eat some after we found the wonderful bike path again.

The bike path often had these posts so that the cars couldn't use it. We fit through them easily enough, but it was close. We are proud to say that we never hit one, much to Jenny's delight. Brett is such a good driver.

Brett stretches.

Jenny stretches.

Mullet Lake was beautiful to bike by, and we really enjoyed that. The path passed by so many houses on the large lake, but also lots of open spaces so we could see the shores and the beautiful reflections of the sun on the water. Everything was going so smoothly, and then disaster struck.

Well, not really, but our odometer died. The little computer on our bike that tells us all the little stats is a constant source of entertainment, distraction, and joy for us. Brett reads the stats back to Jenny. Jenny guesses how far we've gone. We also use it as a tool: how far to the next campground? How far to the next highway? There were two sad faces when after long efforts to get it going again, we declared that either one of the batteries needed replacing or the unit had died for good.

We tried to fix the bike computer, but no such luck.

Noting the next crossroad so that we could figure out later how far we went, we continued on unhappily. We'd heard there isn't a good way to go straight north in that area, so we took the path to Cheboygan, on the shores of Lake Huron. There wasn't much in the downtown, and we ended up picking a restaurant for lunch, seeing that there was a wireless Internet signal there. Unfortunately, their connection didn't work, and we ate a fairly expensive meal that was only so-so.

Going back outside into the terrible heat of the day from the air conditioning was rough. The whole afternoon was rough, because of the heat. We started working our way northwest on the Route 23, but then did find a way to the path that parallels it. Back on the path, we still found no relief from the sun's constant heat. At least it was quieter than the road. We crept along, craving a place to go swimming.

Then we spotted a roadside park that bordered the lake! We eagerly cut across from the path to the road and into the park. Once again, though, we found it wasn't really suitable for swimming. We did meet a whole bunch of nice people there, however. It was fun to talk to a fellow recumbent rider, and share our stories with a group who took us in and fed us watermelon, “haystacks,” and fudge. The park also had deliciously cool water from the hand pump. No swimming, but at least we left somewhat refreshed.

One of the nice people we met at the park had brought their cute little kitten with them. She was having so much fun pouncing on grasshoppers.

We found a place to cut through back onto the bike path. It was a little steep and muddy. Jenny's foot got wet while helping push the bike up onto the path. A few minutes later we spotted another path that we could have taken that was nice and flat and not so wet. Oh well.

We got back on the path, and were a bit frustrated when a beautiful monarch butterfly wouldn't land to have her/his picture taken. Oh well. We tried to push onward a little faster, and there were finally a few patches of shade here and there, but it was just so hot! It was only a few more miles before we hit the touristy Mackinaw City, where the bridge is. We weren't sure where to go to ask for the ride over bridge.

In our investigating, we did find a fun place to go in the water: right at the base of the bridge! What a cool view of the bridge we had, from almost underneath its massive supports. The rocky shore wasn't fun to step on and it wasn't deep anywhere near shore, so it was hardly “swimming,” but it certainly did cool us off some!

In front of the Mackinaw bridge.

It was very rocky, but that didn't stop us from going in the water.

Brett swimming under the bridge.

Jenny is excited to go swimming too!

In the waves.

Finally, we asked at a museum where one would go to ask for a ride across the bridge. No one knew about getting a bicycle across, but they did direct us to the booth where people can call the Bridge Authority for escorts across, or if they are too scared to drive their own vehicle across. The bridge is five miles long (including approaches), after all, and it can get really windy up there! We picked up the phone that connected us to the Bridge Authority, and they said they would send someone down. In a few minutes, Greg arrived with an official pick-up truck. We loaded the bike and our gear into the truck, climbed in the cab, and set off across the immense Mackinac Bridge.

Inside this little booth is a phone that you pick up to call for a ride across.

Our second time on this trip putting our bike in a truck to cross a bridge.

From up on the bridge, the water below in the Mackinac Straights was so beautiful. It was an amazing view in general, being up so high. We asked Greg about the history and use of the bridge, and marveled at the low barriers on the sides of the bridge. At the far side, as we touched down into the U.P., we thanked Greg and paid the two dollar fee for the ride inside the office there.

Beautiful view of the water over the short railings on the bridge.

The view of the bridge from the top.

Our bike didn't fall out.

We made it to the other side!

Our first order of business after that was to try to get maps and information at the visitor center. The man there was very helpful, taking his time talking to us about our trip and giving us as much information and as many maps as he could. When we left, we had to ride a tiny way on the big highway, and then we got off onto the slightly smaller Route 2.

Route 2 was really busy and loud, and it was packed on both sides with tourist traps and gas stations. We didn't have a choice about our route though, so we tried to ignore it. We stopped and Brett ate the rest of the omelet from breakfast, and we shared the cherries from the morning. Jenny was still hungry, so we stopped and figured we would try a pasty.

Pastys (pronounced past-ees) are a trademark of the U.P. They remind us of a pot pie that you can hold in your hand and eat. The one that Jenny got had potatoes, chicken and carrots in it. It was SO delicious! After we finished and started biking again, we wished we'd gotten another one for later.

As we biked further west on Rt. 2, the scenery was beautiful. The traffic lessened once we got away from the bridge and we biked slowly past many wildflowers, sand dunes and views of lake Michigan. We were looking for a campground, and there were a few on the map not too far away. We were getting pretty tired, and it was getting dusky.

The view from a roadside park we stopped in to take a break.

There were seagulls EVERYWHERE. Even on the picnic tables.

This purple flower was so pretty in the sunlight.

The first campground we came to was a National Forest Campground, but the sign said it was full—no surprise on July 4th weekend. We tried calling a phone number listed, but there was no answer, and we didn't feel like checking all the sites. We moved on. The next campground didn't seem too much further, maybe 7 more miles. However, when we got to where we thought it would be, right off the road, there wasn't much there. We went a little further and saw a sign for Little Brevort State Forest Campground, but it didn't say how far. We were really confused, and by this point our fatigue made decisions and navigating hard.

Jenny is tired but happy.

Thistles and Brett.

The sun setting over Lake Michigan.

We followed the signs (uphill), and finally found a dirt road that seemed to be the driveway (we hoped). Brett moaned as we went downhill in the dark, but Jenny reminded him that it probably wouldn't be such a bad climb the next morning. In the end, we did find the campground, and there were a few open spots. Before picking a place to set up camp, we watched some far away fireworks over the lake and felt very grateful to be together on such an amazing adventure.

One of the prettiest sunsets we've seen so far.

More Questions Answered: Take 2

Here are some answers to questions that have been asked in comments on a few of our previous posts:

Is there a learning curve in riding a tandem recumbent? Do you have to coordinate with each other when shifting? I know when shifting my road bike I have to let up on the pedals to allow the derailleur to shift.

First of all, the recumbent position is a little different than the upright bike, but it didn't take us long at all to adjust from our upright style. Then, there are different things to think about when riding a tandem. Starting is probably the part that is the most different. We both sit on the seats with our feet on the ground, and then Jenny puts both her feet on the pedals (and clips in). Then Brett puts one foot on a pedal with the crank arm just about straight up. We check traffic and such, then one of us says, “Ready?” The other person responds, “Setty!” and then we push together as we say “Go-ey!”

As for the shifting, Brett doesn't coordinate much with Jenny on that. We have had long discussions about preferred cadences and how hard we like to push, and what might be the most efficient ways to climb to the top of hills and such, but only once in a while does Brett have to say anything before shifting. It's mostly subconscious now, but Brett thinks he does ease up just a tiny bit as he's shifting.
Jenny can hear the click of the shifter most of the time, and she probably eases up a tiny bit, too. She can often tell when Brett's about to shift, because by now she's very used to his timing.

I am curious about Brett's job with a bicycle delivery service. What is that?

Pedal People is a cooperative business that hauls things by bicycle. We have trailers of different sizes that can haul hundreds of pounds at a time. The main income source is hauling away trash, recycling, and compost for both individuals and businesses, but there are other things that people are willing to hire us for: delivering food from farm shares, moving the contents of a home, delivering lunches from a local deli, deliveries and pick-ups of cloth diapers, etc. Brett has been a member since the end of January this year, and loves the work!

Jenny, what do you do when you are working?

Jenny has been taking college classes, working towards getting a BA degree. She's not sure yet what it will be in, but probably psychology. That has taken up a large amount of her time for the past few semesters. When she is not studying, she takes care of kids a few days a week for two different families in town. She also cleans houses part time (she has her own house cleaning business) and substitute teaches at a preschool when it fits into her schedule. Plus, we own a second property that we rent, so that takes time to manage, too.

Do you have a break down your budget for the trip? How much you are spending each day, etc. for those of who might someday plan a long trip like this. Sounds like you are doing it very frugally.

We are also curious how much we've spent so far, and how much we'll spend total. We made some estimates before we left, but we're probably exceeding them a bit because we're spending more on food and accommodations than we anticipated. We are trying to do it frugally, but we also want to make sure we enjoy this trip, as it might be a once in a life time experience. We feel like we're doing really well so far, and we'd be happy to share a break-down of our expenses at the end of our trip, when we take the time to figure them out.

How do you feel about your fitness levels as you go?

We feel like we are getting stronger! We are probably building up different muscles than we usually use. The beauty of a tandem like this is that we often don't feel like we're huffing and puffing much to achieve a decent speed together. We're certainly still tired at the end of the day, but we've been feeling good on the bike.

What do mulberries taste like?

We think that mulberries taste a little like blackberries, but they are a bit sweeter. We definitely hope you all get a chance to try mulberries at some point. There is a tree within walking distance of our house, so if you come visit next summer, we can pick some with you! If you are in Florida, Jenny's parents have some mulberry trees growing (and for sale) at their nursery.

Have the bugs been bad?

The mosquitoes, especially, have been terrible some evenings and mornings. When they are so bad, it is all we can do to set up the tent and dive inside. While we are biking, the bugs haven't been a problem. We have had no problems with black flies yet, and the mosquitoes can't get us while we are on the bike because we go too fast! The only bug that is sometimes annoying while we are biking is the deer fly. They swarm around our heads when we are pedaling up the hills in the shade, and they sometimes try to keep up with us on the flats and downhills. Deer flies are fast! They hardly ever bite us though.

How's Brett's knee?

Both of Brett's knees are doing okay, though they both get just a little sore and tired most days. He says they “talk” to him, telling him to back off a little, or stretch more, or sometimes to take ibuprofen. He's only taken ibuprofen a couple of times the whole trip, and the knees aren't getting worse at all. They must be getting stronger, and the stretching has really helped keep things lined up okay. He still wears the brace on his left knee, the one that bothered him so much the first week, but it's hard to say if that's even still needed.

Day 25

Stats
Net Elevation gain: -617 ft.
Average Speed: 10.9 mph
Top Speed: 34.1 mph
Time spent biking: 5 hours 15 minutes
Total time for the day's travels: 10 hours
Miles biked today: 57.97
Total for trip: 1098.4 miles

The night was colder than we had thought, and we never really slept well until it warmed up in the morning, so we slept late. We didn't even get out of the tent until 10:30! It was a beautiful day, with cooler temperature then the day before, and we took our time packing up camp and writing. By the time we left the campground, it was our latest start of the trip: 1:30.

This butterfly stayed around our campsite the whole time we were packing up in the morning. It was so friendly and beautiful.

A butterfly on our map. A good omen?

We had been thinking all morning about ways that we could avoid biking back up the big hill we came down in the dark last night: perhaps we could walk the bike the couple mile trail through the woods out to the road, or maybe there was some other road we could take that wasn't so uphill, maybe a ranger would come by with a big truck and offer us a ride up, etc. In the end, we decided it probably wouldn't be so bad and we just biked back up the hill. As it turns out, it wasn't really a hill after all, just a gentle incline. All day long we joked that today was the day of “magical” hills and any hills that we happened to make a mistake and go down, would be flat if we had to climb back up them. We will have to remember in the future that hills we bike down at night sometimes appear to be steeper then they actually are.

Despite the late start, our spirits were high, all the more so when we got to the top of the “hill” and out of the campground. We turned north on Route 93, and found ourselves going up and down medium size hills, real ones this time. Atop one, we stopped to call friends and family: Brett called Dan to congratulate him on becoming a dad and thank him for the stretching tips while Jenny called her parents. Going on a big trip like this makes us appreciate our loved ones all the more, and perhaps vice versa, too. Anyway, it makes us emotional, and we love to connect with people we care about.

Pretty fields we passed today.

The heat of the day was catching up to us, though, and we were without real meal food, so we were hoping to get to the town of Waters fairly quickly. We had to ask for confirmation on our choice of road one time, but we were right. (It seems just about every time we stop to look at the map or ask directions, we're right or there's a sign just ahead to help us out.) After we caught a glimpse of a “downhill truck sign” we gathered our withering spirits and flew down the hill, right into Waters. That was our first big downhill in a looooonnnng time.

We LOVE downhill truck signs!

We found a place to eat with a wireless Internet signal, much like we had at the Tool Shed back in Munger, but there were some differences. This time, it was only 20 free minutes of Internet, the staff weren't very friendly, the food was only okay (they left off bacon from Brett's club sandwich), and no one offered us directions.

Back out into the heat we went, having used the 20 minutes to post one more blog entry. It was HOT. We pedaled north, now back on Old Route 27. We were grumbling about the heat, when we came to a State Park that had a beach on Otsego Lake. We asked if we could just bike in and swim, and the answer was, “Sure, go ahead!”

Elated, we went and changed, and then went swimming for just the second time of the trip. We had thought we'd find many more pretty rivers and lakes to just jump in along the way, but the rivers haven't been clean-looking or we haven't seen them at the right times. Otsego lake was great, though, and they had fun bathrooms.

Jenny was so happy to go swimming.

Refreshed a bit from our swim, we changed back into riding clothes, leaving on our wet shirts, and pushed back out into the 90+ degree heat. North on Old 27 once more, we were eager to get to Gaylord for food and a better Internet connection. When we got there, we tried a diner that had deLICIOUS malts, and yummy nachos, but no Internet. We walked across the street a bit, and found a good signal, though. While we were updating the blog with another post, Councilman Joe found us.

That chocolate malt was one of the BEST treats we've had the whole trip.

Joe seems like a great fellow, and he's also a bicyclist. He excitedly asked about our trip, and offered us a place to stay at his house for the night. He also offered dinner, saying that he had pulled pork in the slow cooker back home! If it had been different circumstances, we'd have gladly taken him up on his offer. As it was, we'd only biked 20-something miles so far, we'd just eaten, and we were anxious to get further along now that it was finally cooling off for the evening.

Joe also reminded us that the long stretch of bike path north started in Gaylord. We forgot to ask exact directions, however, and although we asked a few others, no one had even heard of it. Finally, we decided just to find Old 27 and see if we could find the path paralleling it ourselves. We found Old 27 easily enough, and then saw a sidewalk/bike path beside it. Figuring we'd found the path we wanted, we had just gotten on it when it veered off into a college and then disappeared.

Brett was getting pretty upset because we had it in our heads that we wanted to get all the way to Burt Lake State Park that night and that was still 30 miles away. Jenny was annoyed too, but mostly because Brett was being so pessimistic. She gently reminded him to relax and that was helpful. We biked on Old 27 for a few miles, looking for the path along the road, and for someone to ask directions from.

We asked directions from a nice couple in a roadside park, but half a mile later we couldn't remember what they had said. Was it on the left or the right? We turned off onto a little road on the right and Brett bravely walked up to a house and knocked on the door to ask directions. The friendly man who came to the door told us that the path was just a block up on the road across the other side of Old 27! Yay!

The bike path was AMAZING! It was hard packed stonedust and used to be a railroad bed, so it was very straight and the grade was very gradual. We went down hill for miles! We could sometimes see the highway off to the side of the path going up and down hills, but we just continued to along at a slight downhill grade the whole way to Burt Lake State Park!

The path we followed was an old railroad bed, so it was flat and downhill for miles! We even got to go through a cute tunnel.

We hardly stepped off the bike after asking directions, so it took us only three hours to go the thirty miles to the park. We got in after dark, but had called ahead and knew there were likely to be spots open. We found the signs on the door at the entrance house, and headed into the campground to check out the open sites. We picked one in the dark, and set up by bike light and headlamp. It felt so great to have gotten to our destination with such a long last push!

Brett took a shower, but Jenny was already asleep by the time he got back to the tent. It was a very long day, but it was downhill quite a bit, as you can see by our net elevation gain of -617 feet!

Day 24

Stats
Net Elevation gain: 0 ft.
Average Speed: 11.1 mph
Top Speed: 29.4 mph
Time spent biking: 3 hours 55 minutes
Total time for the day's travels: 10 hours 30 minutes
Miles biked today: 43.8
Total for trip: 1040.4 miles

What a beautiful day to wake up to! It was sunny but the temperatures were cool, a rare combination on this trip. After packing up, we backtracked the little way back to Old 27. We stopped briefly at a Subway shop to buy more sandwiches, because they worked out so well the day before. Three miles into our ride today, we broke 1000 miles!! It was very exciting.

Here we are, just after pedaling our 1000th mile of the trip!

While we were on the bike we were cruising. We took lots of breaks, though, which both kept us in good spirits and able to bike quickly. When we got to Roscommon, we stopped to ask about maps at the township hall. They only had a free map of Roscommon County, which we were only a few miles away from exiting. The ladies were very nice, though, and gave excellent directions. Plus, while we were outside on the grass eating our sandwiches, one of them brought out copies of maps for the next section of our trip!

Brett writes for the blog (or just checks his email).

It did get pretty hot later in the day. We kept stopping at places, looking for shade and Internet and good places to sit and write the blog. When it's so hot in the middle of the day, it's much better to stop for a few hours and take a break, if we can find a place. In some shade outside a grocery store, Jenny talked to her sister on the phone, and lots of people talked to us about our trip. One man took our picture and said he would write an article about us in the paper he works for. An older woman swore when she heard we were biking all the way to California. “HOLY S**T!” were her exact words. It was unexpected, but cute.

After all that, we had a pretty long stretch in the woods on smaller roads. Almost all the traffic we saw had some sort of outdoor gear: an RV or trailer, fishing poles in the backseat, jet skis, boats, you name it! Soon we found ourselves back on a bigger road, flying down a long hill into the town of Grayling. We were hoping for the magical combo: Internet, good cheap food, electricity, and good place to sit at the laptop together in the shade.

We found the magical combo at Wimpy's, a fabulous diner just outside town. The staff were all really friendly, too! They even took our picture for us. We stayed there for quite a while, eating our ice creams and then later a hot dog. By the time we left, it was cooler and getting on into the evening.

Thanks to the great staff at Wimpy's for this picture of us!

After our break and our ice cream, we took the bike path out of town all the way to Hartwick Pines State Park. It was mostly flat most of the way and then at the end down hill to the entrance. We were going very fast the whole way there without a huge amount of effort. We entered the park, checked in, and then proceeded to go downhill in the dusk/dark to our campsite. All the way down, and for some while afterward, we were dreading the climb back up in the morning.

Brett steers us into the park at high speed!

The park was nice enough, but the temperature had dropped sharply, and we were shivering as we got into bed for the night. We had trouble getting to sleep because of the cold and tossed and turned for a while trying to get warm. Because we were awake we heard a hoot owl in the night. At first the sounds were far away and then right overhead! Maybe the campsite we chose is this hoot owl's favorite night time roosting spot?