Day 19, Whitehall to Grand Haven

It was a cool, sunny day, and while the winds were against us, they were only 5-10 miles an hour. This route hugged the coast of White Lake, then Lake Michigan. Leaving Whitehall, South Shore drive was beautiful: each home along this route had something to offer, many of them were spectacular. Sooner or later we're going to have to rebuild our house, and we were using the houses we passed to compare against ideas we'd discussed before.

South Shore turned into Scenic drive, which lived up to its name. While there wasn't a shoulder on most of it, it was quiet and we were able to ride side by side talking. Duck Lake was particularly beautiful.



Not every lawn ornament would work at our house.




I saw this trailer in the parking lot of the Super 8. This Super 8 had nothing but a bed and a location to recommend it. It astounded me that someone would go to the expense and effort to have a rig like this, and then stay pay $50 for a motel. There was a nice trailer campground along the trail about 5 miles from the motel. I took this picture to remind myself that you still pay for motels when you have a nice trailer.



We followed a recumbent to the bike trail as we left scenic drive and rode through North Muskegon. The houses in this area were fun to look at, and talk about.

I have a little trouble with bridges. I have what is sometimes called -- inaccurately -- an irrational fear of heights. It's really a reasonable fear of falling. So I don't do well on bridges. The bike trail around Muskegon Lake was ALL bridges. Nice, wide, well guarded sides, and I rode cautiously, but I wasn't too stressed.



Until I crossed the bridge in Grand Haven, that is.



The coast in Muskegon State Park had so many no parking signs it detracted from the stunning natural beauty of the area.


After Muskegon it was a straight shot, more or less, down Lincoln/Lake Harbor/185th to Grand Haven. There was a sidepath along the road, which was sometimes useable, but the overhangs from trees and occasional sudden loss of pavement made the road a much more effective place to ride.

We could not figure out how to get on the bike path across the bridge in Grand Haven -- we even checked at a gas station. However, there was a sidewalk, so we rode on that (if you want to call what I was doing riding), across the bridge. Beacon Road (31) is very busy with narrow right lanes, but bicycles are allowed on the sidewalk, so we stayed on the sidewalk until we got to our hotel.

We left early from Whitehall so I could work in the afternoon, and we arrived with plenty of time. We stopped at Pannera Bread Company and bought lunch and dinner there. I think we had our best meal(s) of the trip there.

We followed the planned route (except at the end, in Grand Haven), 45 miles, 774 total.

Day 18, Ludington to Whitehall

The winds were harsh, and I was feeling tired. I had to work, so I'd been up early getting as much done as I could before we had to vacate the room. Sue was feeling great -- she had given up an entire pannier of kid clothes and other paraphernalia, not to mention the Luggage. I took advantage of her empty pannier, loading it with some of the crap I was carrying, so we were all carrying a lot less weight.



Not every cyclist survived the windy conditions.



I did have trouble swinging my legs over the back of my bike, so I took advantage of curbs when I could. My groans amused others, and for that I'm grateful.



Our room was at the end of a long hall.

We took Pierre Marquette Highway into Hart, then picked up the Hart-Montague trail which goes from Hart to Whitehall. This is Don's favorite trail, and I had fun telling Sue stories about riding with her dad. I hope she comes with us on a ride soon, and I also hope she pretends to be slower when she does.

We had a fun day, but we missed the kids a lot. We found several playgrounds and an ice cream store/petting farm where they could play. They would have really liked this day.


48 miles, relatively flat, and sheltered from wind on the trail. 739 miles total

We did not go through Pentwater, as it shows below.

Day 17, Ludington

I got a lot of work done and plenty of rest. Sue researched computers and ended up buying a book -- the computer she wanted wasn't in Ludington.



Sue's Dad grew up in Ludington, or at least mis-spent a lot of his youth there. We celebrated Sue's Mom's birthday -- and Sue's birthday -- at the House of Flavors.




Here's the lunch crowd, sans photographer. Birthday girl Dorothy is hiding behind Karen on the left.



We visited Sue's Grandfather, Don Sr, after lunch. We also noticed the flags pointing due north -- the winds were strong and against us again. If we had been riding 60 miles from Frankfort that day, it is very unlikely we'd be there for lunch unless we started the day before.

We thought everyone was spending the night, but it turned out that we were on our own again. We had a fun dinner in the bar, then soaked in the hot tub.

Day 16, Petoskey to Ludington

It was Monday, and I was up at oh-dark-thirty to get as much work as I could done before today's grueling ride. We were planning to go to Traverse City. The weather was going to be cool again, but instead of heavy cross-winds, we were going to have 20 mph headwinds. The hills were going to be worse, and the ride was going to be 60 miles instead of 40.

Sue woke up with sore knees -- for the first time she could remember. She thinks it was because she had a birthday the day before. She looked at all the factors for the ride, and if we were going to be riding together, she thought we could do it. But we weren't -- to get this ride done, she was going to have to start early, and I had to work until at least 10.

The next day was her mother's birthday, and we were meeting a large contingent of her family in Luddington -- which was three riding days away (Traverse City, Franfort, Luddington), so we planned to get a ride from Frankfort down to Luddington from her dad.

The day before had been draining, and the day ahead was daunting. We remembered the 61 mile day from hell in the UP -- and we did that side-by-side. If we had more time, we could have waited another day -- or just ridden to Charlevoix along a nice bike path and spend a night there, knocking off 10 miles and a chance a better wind the next day. But we had a deadline -- the kids had to be back by Sunday of Memorial weekend for their birthday party. Their actual birthdays were a week later, so we hadn't expected this constraint when we started.

This trip was about having fun, not torturing ourselves and the kids. We and the kids would have more fun hanging out for a couple of days in Ludington, where there was a big pool, a game room and plenty of other things to do. This would allow us to get back on schedule, celebrate Sue's and her Mom's birthday, and rest our legs. We called Ben and he agreed to give us a ride as soon as he could get out of school.

I went back to work, and Sue went off to find entertainment for the kids until Ben came. I worked a little extra, getting ahead with the extra time.



Sue needs to ride with someone who can take a good picture. This is the hill up to our hotel.

I started out going to the bank, which was at the bottom of the hill. The bank lobby was closed, which worried me because I had a long argument with a bank in California about using the drive through with a bike. The lady at the bank was very nice and didn't give me any trouble, which surprised me, given our experience with other Petoskey residents. Sue and I talked about where to have lunch -- she was at the top of the hill, and I was at the bottom. We compromised and ate at the bottom of the hill. Annie scared a 12 year old in the next booth, which was odd to me. Don't they have kids in Petoskey?



This is the light in Petoskey. I think the residents buy pickups to compensate for having such a little one.




At the park, waiting for Ben.


Ben and Annie enjoy their reunion.


We all missed Casey; I'm glad Ben brought her up to see us.

After all the running around, all we had to do was wait, so we hung out at a park and played with the kids. Ben got there, we loaded up the bikes and all our gear, and headed out.

Annie and Mark never got to see Ludington: their mom asked Ben to bring them home. For the rest of the trip it would be just Sue and me.

3 miles, 691 total.

Day 15, Mackinaw City to Petoskey

This was a Sunday, so we could ride together the whole way. We chose to ride inland, rather than hug the coast as we had originally planned. This cut about 10 miles from the ride, but did not eliminate any hills.



Happy Birthday Sus!

Sue dragged the cart through Bliss, up and over some dreadful hills, all the way to Pleasant View. There was a point where she could not push down on the pedals to because the hill was so steep. I learned that resting on the way up is better than trying to make it all the way in one go. I took some pictures of the hills, but they are blurry, probably because I was trembling in fear.


Or cold. That's snow next to those ski lifts.

Now we can say, "we went around the lake, uphill both ways, in the snow".



It was hell getting to Bliss. At least these residents don't have to ride up out of this valley. Or at least not for some time.



The winds were very strong. I tried to show Mark and Annie dandelions and how it was almost like blowing bubbles, but the wind had already ripped most of them apart. Still, they had fun running around in the grass. Mark would get distracted with something and forget he was on grass, but as soon as he remembered, he'd crawl or toddle over to the cement as fast as he could.



There was laundry at the hotel and I wanted to prove that the yellow jacket got cleaned now and then.

I was amazed at Sue's strength over the hills to Petoskey. Up until this day, I had tried not to use my granny unless I had the cart, but these hills ended that game. Even with strong, rested legs, the wind and the hills were physically exhausting.

Petoskey is a beautiful town filled with ugly people. It should be stricken from any cyclists itinerary. There were maybe 2 or 3 people we encountered who were friendly, but most of the residents treated us rudely. To date, this was the most unwelcome, most dangerous town we have encountered.

We entered town on a four lane highway, 31. The speed limit was 30, and traffic wasn't too bad. It was Sunday, remember? A large pickup in the left lane chose to honk -- using a Semi horn -- right next to the Burley. That was very unpleasant, and got our dander up, but he was gone, and we were stopping at a bike shop. As we pulled into the parking lot speculating about why someone might honk at us another man in a pickup said, "what do you expect, you're on a highway". What we expect is courtesy, but that isn't something you would expect from Petoskey residents. That bike shop was closed, so we reentered the highway and headed towards our hotel.

After a few more honks and shouts we found an open bike shop and replaced Sue's speedometer. The wires had broken on her original. The bike shop was at the base of a nasty hill. I had actually told Sue that the hills she pulled the cart over were much worse than the ones I had, and up until then, that was true. After we arrived at the hotel, Sue thought it had evened out.

I went to a grocery store and grabbed some supplies. My bike felt light and nimble without panniers. The climb up to the store was a breeze; coasting back holding a full grocery bag was actually harder.

We took the kids to a family restaurant across the street from the hotel. There were some motorcyclists eating next to us, shooting us dirty looks if Mark and Annie made more noise than they thought they should. I don't know what they expected. It would be like Sue and I going to a biker bar and shooting dirty looks to people smoking and drinking beer. But then, what else would you expect from a rude town like this?

47 miles, including a trip to the grocery store. 688 total.

Day 14, Epoufette to Mackinaw City via Mackinac Island

We forgot the flag for the Burley, so I replaced it with something from a gift shop near St. Ignace.

I got up early and put a liner in the bad Burley tire, and I repatched the tube. It was cold and rainy, but I did it outside the room so the kids could sleep. There was no coffee in the lobby of the hotel (more of a tiny office with a desk) -- there was a coffee maker taunting me, but no carafe. Enough about that: the tire and tube looked good. I never looked in the Burley, and didn't notice that the inside was soaked. I woke up Sue and we tried to figure out the weather report. We knew there'd be strong winds, but we didn't know which way. We called Sue's uncle Vic, who called his wife Karen, who called us back with the good news: 20 - 30 mph tail winds.

Everyone was sore and tired from the day before, and we had breakfast at the coffee shop next door. When we're in a hurry we'll throw a bagel, apple juice and fruit into the Luggage with the kids, cover them with blankets, and get on the road. This day we knew there was time, so we relaxed -- er, took our time eating at the restaurant. We cleaned out the Luggage as well as we could, made sure the kids were warm and dry, and loaded everything up.

When we eat at a restaurant it's an adventure, and with both of us working together we can keep the chaos a 1 and 2 year old can produce to a minimum. We usually eat in our room, or in a fast food place where kids don't bother people as much, but sometimes there isn't much choice. We took our time packing and getting on the road, since we knew we had time and we didn't want to stress more than we had to.




There was some fantastic scenery on the way to St. Ignace. US 2 was not as nice as it had been, but it still wasn't bad, and was certainly bikeable.




Annie learned "boat" in Sheboygan, and equated boats with "fun". We promised her that today she could go on a boat!





I show my buddy around the ship. He's making loud, annoying noises when he's happy, hurt, mad or bored, and we don't know how to stop it. Sometimes distraction works.





He had fun on the boat too.



Annie could not believe that horses made music when they walked! She danced and waved to every horse that went by.



Horses love Annie, and vice versa






This is the bike shop that fixed both Luggage tires, new tubes and fixed a broken spoke that Sue got two days before. Prices were reasonable, service quick, and we got to drink -- I mean eat lunch -- while everything was repaired.

We went on another boat, to Annie's delight. We had to wait as hundreds of bikes and cyclists came off the ferry. The seas were heavy and our bikes were soaked through and through. The Luggage was closed tight, though, so the kids had a dry place to sit. We got off the ferry and saw hundreds more cyclists waiting to get on.

We called around to hotels. The Ramada didn't have a double room, but they put us through to another hotel which did; they wanted over $100. I said it was too much, and we agreed on $69.

It had a waterpark, which capped off the day! Annie was so happy she could NOT stand it.

All in all, a perfect day, and a stark contrast to the day before.

Oh... all those cyclists were among the 3800 doing the zoo-mac, which is an endurance ride that involves 50 mile, unloaded, fully supported riding and an extraordinary amount of drinking. It was ending it's northward push as we were passing to the south.


30 miles, 641 Total

Day 13, Manistique to Epoufette

In Escanaba I made a fairly stupid remark. "That tire looks fine -- it'll make it to South Haven no problem". In my defense I was looking at it in a Super 8 and not in daylight, but that's a pretty crappy defense. Eventually the tire developed holes, and the tube failed.




You can see my buddy helping me fix the tire. Unfortunately, I didn't patch this one well.

Rather than "waste time" re-patching the tube, I chose to pump it when it got low.


Here I go again.


And again. We didn't take a picture every time, but you get the point.

It was a long, long day. There were some hills, but the 20MPH headwinds were brutal pulling a parachute. Sue and I switched off every 15-20 miles.



When you're not carrying the cart, you can recover. But when the cart's on, you're struggling to make 5-7mph. So the pictures are all from the person without the cart.

The kids were fussy, not having a good time, and there weren't many places to pull off and let them stretch. US 2 is very busy.



Sue thinks the way I get on my bike is hilarious. So I mounted it gracefully, knowing she was going to take a picture.


Even with the wind, hills, noise and traffic, the natural beauty of the UP reaches out to you, takes you by the ear and says, "look over here and admire me, eh?"




You just have to love the stores: "Honest Injun Tourest Trap".

We stopped and switched the Luggage for the last time in Naubinway. One of the people at the store there told us we would find a hotel in "exactly 16 miles". Those were long, grueling miles (since I was pulling). There was a nasty hill, flat tires, headwinds were getting stronger. We stopped at a house for sale -- always dangerous to do around Sue -- and let the kids run around a bit. I was exhausted, but pumping the tire gave me an excuse not to pedal.

When you don't have the Luggage, the wind is cold and bitter; when you are pulling, the wind is a temperature relief, but the sudden gusts will stop you as if you braked.

We found a motel in Epoufette which did not pretend to have internet, and my Sprint phone did not pretend to have internet either. It was right before the Cut River Bridge, which was out.



The view from our room was lovely, though. Sue and I ate in shifts: she ran the kids around while I ate and ordered a dinner for them, then she ate while I fed them and got them ready for bed. We all dropped, exhausted, and tried not to think about the extra miles we faced the next day getting through a detour. The kids had a tough day because there wasn't any place to let them play, and we didn't have time for long stops due to our slow pace. Our day was physically tough.

61 miles, 611 total.

Day 12, Escanaba to Manistique

We're in the UP. Fishermen, Women and Hunters -- that covers everybody, eh?



We had two days to get across the UP. It was 136 miles from Manistique, and the directions were simple -- take US 2. We decided to take an easy 52 mile day to Manistique, stay in a cute hotel at the beach, catch up on work and enjoy the day, then do a 70 mile day the next day. Then we would be only 20 miles from the ferry.





US 2 has sections of lovely, bucolic scenery: mostly forest and rivers. And noseeums. Deet isn't meant to repel noseeums because they don't bite. In fact, they wallow in bug spray all over your body. But back to US 2: the shoulder is wide and relatively clear, and while the highway is busy and noisy, we never felt as if there was a sharing issue. In fact, the trucks that pass with a huge gust of wind push us along that much faster.



Isn't every cemetery a Dead End?



Here's our room on the beach. Cute, eh? The Internet didn't reach the room, although the owner, who set up the network himself, had a computer that could -- barely -- get to google in the room. He told me my computers didn't have very good wireless adapters and I should buy new ones. So I did my work in the lobby, where I had a 30% signal.


Mark discovered he could walk here. He would rather walk on cement -- or lava rocks -- than that icky grass stuff.

54 easy miles (with a tailwind). I never caught Sue, who pulled the Luggage the whole way.

550 total.