Day 17 - The Trip Back Home

Today we made our trip home.  Nolan Jr was coming home for a week so we decided to drive together.  We packed up the car, I installed the bike rack and loaded the bikes.  Now for the trip home!

We got an early start and beat all of the traffic.  On the way down I considered stopping at the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville, PA.  We had been there before (and I recommend visiting it if you are in the area) so we decided to visit the grave site of my 4G Grandfather Leonard Beck.

My 6G Grandfather, Johan Heinrich (John Henry) Beck, emigrated with his family to Pennsylvania from Germany in 1740.  His son, William (my 5G Grandfather), was 18 when they arrived in Pennsylvania.  The Beck family started out as farmers and eventually came to own sizable plots of land in and around Lehigh township.  Leonard Beck was born to William in the mid-1700's.  Official records show him as entering the Revolutionary War as a PFC, and later records show him as being granted land south of Pittsburgh as a Colonel.  From this area, his children further moved west into Ohio, and eventually Michigan.

We found his grave near New Stanton, PA.  Someone had obviously replaced his headstone fairly recently; however his wife's (Susanna Beck nee Deeter) headstone was in pretty poor shape (but partially legible).

It was pretty cool seeing them and walking around the cemetery.  We found a monument that listed "Leanard Beck" under Revolutionary War and also listed a John Beck on it (under what I suppose is Civil War).  I haven't figured out who John Beck was yet...

We left to continue our trip home.  The rest of the way was easy going, we stayed on back roads most of the way back to stay off of Interstates.

It was good to arrive home and sleep in our regular beds.  The trip was fun, and Ileana and I enjoyed riding together.  We have begun planning next year's trip.  Yes, Ileana has decided she likes touring and we will do another two week trip next year!

Leonard Beck (4G Grandfather) site

Susanna Beck (4G Grandmother) site

Civil and Revolutionary War Memorial

Day 16 - Beck History in Ohio

Today Ileana and I drove down to Wayne and Holmes counties (Ohio). This is where my Great-Great-Great (3G) and Great-Great (2G) grandfathers lived. My 3G grandfather, Michael Beck, moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio in a covered wagon in 1822.

He eventually settled in an area and built a sawmill on Doughty Creek in an area that came to be called Beck's Mills. One of his son's (Benjamin) continued to run the mill, which remained in operation until after 1900.  The Becks there also opened a general store, ran a schoolhouse, and Michael also was the postmaster.

My 2G grandfather (Daniel) remained in the area as well. Daniel opened and operated a flour mill;  unfortunately he died in a mill accident. Both Michael and Daniel are buried nearby.

The mill is long gone. There is a Beck's Mills Country Store; however I don't think there are any Becks in Beck's Mills anymore. We went into the store and purchased a few locally made fishing lures and some whole wheat flour. We chatted with the people at the shop who told us the last Beck they knew was Bob Beck, but he had sold his farm years ago. Probably a distant cousin...

One of Daniel's sons, Charles, eventually moved to Michigan, establishing the Beck presence in the central Michigan area.

The entire area surrounding Beck's Mills is populated with Amish. We saw dozens of horse-drawn wagons, people on bicycles, and people working farms by "horse-power"

We drove out and visited the cemeteries of my grandfathers. After looking around there, we headed out to see Lehman's, a pretty cool hardware store.

Then we headed back to Nolancito's to pack for the trip back home.

Beck's Mills Country Store

Amish wagon at Beck's Mills

Michael Beck (3G grandfather)

Daniel and Sarah Beck (2G grandfather and 2G grandmother)

Working the land!

Days 14 and 15 - Around Cleveland

On Thursday, we went out for breakfast at a place called Jack Flaps which was pretty good. Nolan took us on a tour of Cleveland where we looked at a lot of architecturally significant buildings and Nolan gave us a small lesson on Cleveland history. We walked around downtown for a while and saw some of the stuff up close. There is quite a bit of history here and some cool buildings.

We then went out to Chagrin Falls and walked around. Chagrin Falls is a neat town that has a river (Chagrin River) flowing right through the center and a pretty impressive waterfall. Nolan showed us where he participated in the planting of about 700 trees a few weeks ago along the river.  We then went downriver and walked about a bit and enjoyed the outdoors. We found a bench that someone had assembled out of slate so we say there for a while and pondered life...

The weather was beautiful and we had a great day out.

Friday, we went to the Cleveland Museum of Art. This is a large and nice museum with a lot of nice works of art.  A short visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art was followed by a trip to the Lake View Cemetery. Here we saw the tomb/monument to President James A. Garfield, and the gravesite of John D. Rockefeller. Both of them were from Cleveland. We also saw the grave of Eliot Ness, who lived in Cleveland.

When exiting the cemetery, we saw the Lake View Cemetery dam. This is an impressive dam that is part of Cleveland's stormwater drainage system. When built, it was the largest concrete poured dam east of the Mississippi.

Chagrin River where Nolancito helped plant 700 trees

Nolancito and Ileana on the Chagrin River

James A. Garfield tomb

 John D. Rockefeller site

Eliot Ness site

Traverse City to Cleveland Recap

Total miles:  596 miles
Longest day:  60 miles (Ludington to Montague and Dundee to Fremont)
Shortest day:  40 miles (Fremont to Huron)
Hardest day (Nolan):  Day 3 - 60 miler to Montague, due to steady, strong, headwind
Hardest day (Ileana):  Day 3 - same reason!
Coldest temperature:  28 degrees F
Hottest temperature:  80 degrees F
Highest speed:  38.2 (Ada, MI)
Longest hill:  South of Frankfort, MI

Day 13 - Final Day Into Cleveland

Route
Huron, OH to Cleveland, OH - 51 miles
For details of part 1 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 2 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 3 of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Overcast about 500 feet rising to about 1,500 feet
Temperature:  65 to 72
Visibility:  1-1/2 to 5 miles
Precipitation:  Rode through light rain
Wind:  Left quartering headwind about 5 to 8 knots
Comments:  We were lucky that storms passed in front and behind us! All we got was mostly drizzle on the edges of the showers. Thunderstorms were forecast, but we never saw any!

Significant Events
-Arrived at Nolan's in Cleveland!
-Became honorary members of "Bike Cleveland"

Today's Song
"Money" by Pink Floyd
"Truckin" by The Grateful Dead

Wildlife Observed
Robins
Geese and goslings

NOTE: Earlier birds observed (I called yellow warblers) have been further identified as "yellow-throated vireos" after consultation with Jeremy.

Today's Ride
Got a decent start again this morning. 

We headed eastbound and after about 2.5 miles we passed a restaurant that I had considered walking to last night. I'm glad we didn't; neither of us was up for 5 miles off walking!

Today's route followed the coast of Lake Erie all the east to Cleveland. There were quite a few cottages, bed and breakfasts, and motels along the way, especially near Sandusky. As we got closer to Cleveland, there was less of that kind of thing and the area became more residential.

Our route took us through Vermilion, OH which looked like it had a nice "old-town" section but it was still early so nothing was open yet. Next we went through Lorain,  which looked rather large and industrial. We passed a closed plant that I think must have been a Ford factory. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of Econoline vans in the parking lot. Many were already painted in customer livery (U-Haul, etc.) and others were plain. The plant was obnoxiously closed though.

We made a rest stop at a park in Avon Lake. Nice view of Lake Erie. Thousands of mayflies, which were harmless but a nuisance!

As we rode through Rocky River, Ileana spotted a diner called Bearden's. As soon as we saw it we knew that was the place for lunch. The place has been there since 1934 and has been called Bearden's since '48. Pretty cool place, they have cruise-ins, and make good burgers. They also have shakes and malts, which (unusually) I didn't try.

As we entered Lakeview, the route detoured off of the main road and took a parallel road that went along the shoreline through neighborhoods. There are some pretty nice homes in Lakeview. Money!

We rode across the "Detroit-Superior" bridge and into Cleveland.  Riding into "Public Square", Nolan and the of his mates from "Bike Cleveland" were there waiting for us. We met them and became honorary members of Bike Cleveland. Then Nolan and one his friends, Christina, rode the last mile or so with us to Nolan's place.

Hard to believe it, but the trip is over. I plan to do a little riding and some site-seeing in Cleveland before we head home on Sunday.

Lake Erie

Bearden's in Rocky River

Lake Erie

Nolan and some friends meet us in Cleveland

Day 12 - Short Ride to Lake Erie

Route
Fremont, OH to Huron, OH - 40 miles
For details of part 1 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 2 of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Overcast
Temperature:  65 to 75
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  Thunderstorms forecast, but we missed them!
Wind:  Light and variable
Comments:  Very humid today!

Significant Events
- 28 year anniversary of joining the Army

Today's Song
"Hey Tonight" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Wildlife Observed
Red-winged blackbirds
Geese
Chipmunks

Today's Ride
Got another early start to try beat the thunderstorms. We were successful!

We headed back down the Inland Trail. In Clyde, OH, we met a guy cycling the trail. He asked where we were headed, we chatted for a few minutes, and he asked if we wanted to stop for a cup of coffee at a cafe next to the trail. We stopped, had some coffee, and a maple glazed cinnamon roll.  I have a soft spot (my mid-section) for cinnamon rolls, and just about anything maple, so this was a double whammy.  He was an interesting guy named Dan who had done a number of tours, including a cross-country trip back in the 70s or early 80s (San Diego to Georgia) in 40 days. I estimate him as about 74 or so, and he was out there riding a Lightspeed. He has ridden the BRAG, the GOBA, and the RAGBRAI, among other rides.  When we left, he rode with us for a while until we turned north. Clyde looked like a nice little town as well.  The Elmore factory (yesterday's post) was there for a while, and Major General James McPherson (Union) was from there.

Ohio roads, like Michigan roads, are laid out in a square pattern, road crossings are typically one mile apart. The Ohio roads, however, are in a lot better condition (so far), and a lot more of them are paved. There are quite a few dirt or gravel roads in Michigan. I must add that in all the riding I have done, in a number of states and in foreign countries, that Michigan drivers seen to be the most "cyclist aware" (maybe I just coined a term!). They were patient, waited for a safe place to pass, and generally gave a wide clearance when passing.  Thank you, MDOT!

We got to Huron in good time and ahead of the storms.  Looks like plenty of choices when it is time for dinner!

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana
¡No hay!

Dudes fishing in the Sandusky river

(the bridge is the bike trail)

20+ fish - Dinnertime!

Dan in Clyde, OH

Day 11 - Into Ohio!

Route
Dundee, MI to Fremont, OH - 60 miles
For details of part 1 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 2 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 3 of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Clear
Temperature:  61 to 85
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Mostly light and variable, periodic 15 knot headwind

Significant Events
Crossed into Ohio through Toledo!

Today's Song
"Freeborn Man" by The Outlaws

Wildlife Observed
Geese and goslings (dozens)

Today's Ride
We got a pretty early start this morning (0700). The weather was cool and nice, and there was no traffic to speak of. We worked our way south and headed toward Toledo.

The trip through Toledo was actually pretty good. Again, the traffic was light. Several of the streets were paved with bricks, which looks really nice, but made a pretty poor cycling surface. We crossed the Maumee river and headed southeast toward Fremont.

At Elmore, we picked up the North Coast Inland Trail.  It was pretty nice: no traffic, in the woods (shade and wind block), and pretty flat.  Elmore apparently has a lot of history. There is a railroad history building and a historical society building near the old railroad depot. I found out that this is where the "Elmore" car was built.  The Elmore was eventually one of the first companies bought to become General Motors (long before the government bailout).  About 5 miles northwest of Fremont we exited the trail for the last 5 miles of our trip.

The Ohio border

Elmore train depot

Trying to get a workout

Flowers along the trail

Close-up

More flowers!

Day 10 - A Change in Plans!

Route
Chelsea, MI to Dundee, MI - 41 miles
For details of part 1 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 2 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 3 of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Clear
Temperature:  55 to 75
Visibility:  Unlinked
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light early, becoming strong headwind

Significant Events
Had an Orange Julius!

Today's Song
"What's Your Name" by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Wildlife Observed
Yellow Warblers
Red-Winged Blackbirds?

Today's Ride
We got a pretty good and early start this morning and the weather was great!

However, Ileana's knee was giving her a little problem, so I decided to forego a night of camping and get a hotel. I was able to find one (Memorial Day weekend!) in Dundee.  That meant about a 40 mile ride. That would give us plenty of time for Ileana to rest her knee and ice it.

About 16 miles into the ride, the knee was not getting any better.  I thought about getting Nolan Jr to come pick us up in Saline, which was about 5 miles away.

We made it to Saline, and got some Tylenol. Ileana took a couple and we waited about 45 minutes for it to start working. Meantime, we saw a Dairy Queen, so we decided to chill out there and get a bite for lunch. We had a couple of chili dogs, which reminded us of eating chili dogs with Rob in Cumberland, MD. That gave us a pretty good laugh!

Sidebar:  Ileana and I started a ride in Cumberland, MD a couple years ago, and Rob dropped us off there.  We walked around a bit and found this place that claimed they had "famous Coney Island Style" dogs. Well we went in there, expecting some really good chili dogs. Needless to say, we were sadly disappointed.  The dogs themselves were about the size of a #2 pencil. (If you are young and don't know what a #2 pencil is, sorry!).  When we were done eating, we had to go somewhere else to actually get a meal. Fortunately, Rob knew of a decent Thai place in the next town...

Anyway, after today's chili dogs, which were pretty good, we had Orange Julius for "dessert". That brought back some memories that I won't delve into here. One sidebar is enough...

We had about 20 miles to go and the knee was feeling better, so we "mopey-joe'd" along at an easy pace, about 10 mph.

Ileana was happy to see the hotel, and I noticed a Lone Star steakhouse that just might suffice for dinner.

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

Today, we were loading our bikes in front of the hotel and this couple that was leaving the hotel in their van stopped and asked us what we were doing.  The man asked if he can take a picture of him and us and I said 'sure.'  While Nolan was talking to the man. I was talking to his wife about Nolan and I making a deal that we'll balance sleeping in a tent and hotels.  She says, 'that sounds fair.'  And then she said, 'we are actually staying in a campground close by. But I could not take shower there and couldn't fall asleep in the tent. So, I left my son with my friend at the campground and my husband and I got a room here.'  What about that?! I think this lady may be relate to the baby bunnies' mother!

Day 9 - Minor Bike Repairs

Route
Durand, MI to Chelsea, MI - 48 miles
For details of part 1 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 2 of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Scattered to clear
Temperature:  49 to 70
Visibility:  Clear
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light

Today's Song
"It Wasn't Me" (George Thorogood version) written by Chuck Berry

Wildlife Observed
Ducks
Geese

Today's Ride
A fairly uneventful ride. Traffic was mostly light, however, a couple of times it felt like we were on Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

When we got to Chelsea, I had to take a look at Ileana's bike. It was making a weeder noise. I determined that the bottom bracket was slightly loose. I carry a few tools and spare parts but I don't have a crank puller or any BB tools. A Google search showed a bike shop 3 blocks away so I rode her bike over there.  A quick adjustment of the BB and $10 later, I was on my way.

I had a few other minor adjustments to make on both bikes and they were ready for tomorrow.

Day 8 - Beck Country

Route
St. Johns, MI to Bancroft, MI - 50 miles
For details of part 1 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 2 of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Overcast, broken, then clear
Temperature:  46 to 68
Visibility:  Good
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Light and variable, crosswind to tailwind

Significant Events
- Had another delicious breakfast prepared by Vilma
- Rode though Owosso, where my father was born.

Today's Song(s)
1. "Hey Negrita" by the Rolling Stones
2. "Life's Been Good" by Joe Walsh

Wildlife Observed
Geese
Orioles

Today's Ride

After breakfast, did a little bike maintenance before hitting the road. Paul described a route for me that sounded better than the one I had planned so I decided to use his route. Paul and Vilma headed out in their van to get a couple shots of us riding by.

We headed through Elsie and on into Owosso. We had some lunch there and found a small grocery store to get some good for later.

The roads Paul recommended were great for riding on. They were in good condition and had light traffic. We were able to ride side-by-side for quite a ways and not worry about traffic.

The campground is located on the Shiawassa river in a pretty nice area south of Owosso. Since it off Memorial Day weekend, the place was packed. But we had a nice spot right on the river so we were pretty happy with the setup.

We enjoyed watching some guy spend about an hour trying to get his trailer into a spot. He would back up, move forward, pull out and start all over again, get out of his truck, look at it, and do it again. Eventually he gave up and was able to get a spot somewhere else on the campground. I figure that probably gave someone else a show for a while...

Our "next door neighbors" invited us over to their campfire so we went over there and BS'd with them for a while. They invited us to go golf on Saturday but we have to get on the road. Oh, and I am terrible at golf anyway!

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana
Nolan is using a Russian app to navigate the route for our trip.  We named the app 'Natasha.'  Well Natasha has been aggravating Nolan for the entire trip because she keeps given 'bad directions.'  One example today, (out of many), she says to 'turn left.' So, we did. 60 yards later, she says 'make a u-turn' - to go back where she told us to turn left so we can go 'straight.' Nolan is not happy about Natasha's continual misshaps!  I think maybe she needs another shot of vodka!  Afterwards, when we were at our camp spot (room, zimmer?), I met our next door neighbors while Nolan went to take a shower. They were very nice fellows and some how I started to tell them about Natasha's mishap today and Nolan's  frustration with the program. One of the guys says, 'when he comes back, I'll tell him I'm Russian and get him going.' I said, yes please, do it and tell him your wife's name is Natasha.  So, Nolan comes back and I say 'this is Igor and his wife Natasha.'  Nolan looked at me and there was an awkward moment and 'Igor' could not take it anymore and told Nolan about our conspiracy! Nolan laughed nervously and I laughed aloud because it was priceless to see Nolan's face!

Riding past what looks like a lake but is really flooded farmland

(Photo by Vilma)

South of Ashley, MI

(Photo by Vilma)

Beautiful blue sky

Elsie, MI

Day 7 - Rest Day

Route
No riding

The Day!
We stayed at my cousin Paul and Vilma's house just north of St. John's.  Vilma made a delicious breakfast; a Venezuelan dish called cachapas. These are like pancakes, masse of corn, smothered in butter, and eaten with white cheese. These are delicious and I immediately asked for the recipe.

We mostly chilled for the day but did go out and got a few things done. Ileana went for a much desired massage because she was a little sore in the shoulders.

Vilma made pastillo (Venezuelan-style lasagna) which we ate for a late lunch. We then went out to a friend's house for his birthday party. There were BBQ ribs and chicken and some pretty good desserts. After dinner we went out into his workshop and checked out a couple of his projects, including a '32 roadster he is working on.

A good rest day. Any day you get to check out someone working on a deuce is a good day...

Cachapas with bacon

Day 6 - Along the Grand and Maple Rivers

Route
Lowell, MI to St. John's, MI - 50 miles
For details of part 1 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 2 of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Partly cloudy to clear
Temperature:  60 to 80
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  Threatened, but none
Wind:  Light tailwind
Comments:  Really nice day, good riding weather

Significant Events
- Met up with my cousin Paul and Bilma
- Visited Ionia Rod Shop
- Had ice cream at "Quality Dairy" in Fowler, MI
- Half the trip completed

Today's Song
"Redneck Friend" by Jackson Browne

Wildlife Observed
Yellow warbler
Lots of road kill

Today's Ride
Started out with a great breakfast (omelet for me, French toast for Ileana) at the "Backwater Cafe". All home cooked, and the bread is made on the premises. Delicious!

I had planned a kind of zig-zag route to stay off of the main roads but I found out that most of the east-west Rails-to-Trails route was incomplete and still made up of railroad ballast. Not a good surface for a fully loaded touring bike so we decided to roll east on Michigan Highway 21. This is a fairly busy road but it has shoulders between 2 and 4 feet, and we have actually found Michigan drivers to be very cool when it comes to passing us. They either slow and wait for a good time to pass or go way left, across the centerline, and give plenty of room.

M-21 has some "gently rolling hills" and generally follows the Grand and Maple rivers between Grand Rapids and St. John's. It made for a pretty scenic ride and I think it helped keep the ride a little cooler being by the rivers. I saw the rail trail paralleling us in a few spots; the condition of it confirmed that we had made the right choice staying on the road.

In Ionia, I met up with a friend of Paul's and got to observe some hot rod builds at Ionia Rod Shop.

Next, we stopped in Fowler because there is a place there (Quality Dairy) that makes their own delicious ice cream.  The featured flavor this month is "Fried Ice Cream". It isn't really fried, and I have no idea what is in it, but it tasted like "Cinnamon Toast Crunch" cereal. I had that and Ileana had "Cashew". Both were excellent. If you see a Quality Dairy in your travels, stop in for some ice cream...

After heading north to Maple Rapids, we turned back east and made our way to Paul and Bilma's. We made it to their place in good time and chilled for a while, catching up and telling stories. We went out for dinner and had some good Mexican food in DeWitt.  That certainly hit the spot, and set us up for a good night's sleep!

We will spend Thursday with Paul and Bilma and give our legs a break.

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana
It must have rained pretty hard last night because all dead animals on the side of the road were very moist! I almost ran over a couple of them and made the comment to Nolan how gross it would be to get splashed with dead animal matter. In a attempt to ease my concern he said, 'you have fenders on your bike, it would get stuck inside the fenders but you will not get splashed.'  Thank you Nolan, but that logical statement did not help much. Anyhow, I swear that not even 30 seconds later something landed on my rigth shoulder and I thought before I touch it, I'm going see what it is. I took 2 looks at it and my brain identified the foreign obeject as a moist and smashed earthworm!  Of course I screamed and added 'eww gross!'  (This worm was so smashed and moist that if there was a 'Gerber' version for baby birds, this would qualify for it!). So, what was Nolan's reaction to my scream, you may ask.  He asked me, 'are you ok?' And with horror in my voice I said 'a dead earthworm landed on my right shoulder!' He shook his head several times and continued riding. I, on the other hand, shook my sleeve several times until the earthworm fell off, leaving a gross wet spot on my jersey!

No pictures today!

Day 5 - A Ride Through Grand Rapids

Route
Coopersville, MI to Lowell, MI - 45 miles.
For details of part 1 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 2 of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Overcast becoming broken
Temperature:  55 to 65
Visibility:  Great!
Precipitation:  Threatened to rain/thunderstorm, but it didn't!
Wind:  Mostly light tailwind, estimated 5 knots
Comments:  We definitely enjoyed the tailwind, too bad it wasn't 25 knots!

Significant Events
-Hit 38 mph downhill into Ada
-Arrived Lowell, where I booked a Suite at the Main Street Inn

Today's Song
"Cruisin' Deuces" by Danny Gatton

Wildlife Observed
Wild turkeys
Geese (same ones from the other day?)
Ducks

Today's Ride
We got up early and packed to go. There were thunderstorms in the forecast, so we ate a quick breakfast of Cheerios and a banana nut muffin.

Once on the road, the "app" I am using (Osmand) for mapping took us a couple miles out of the way. This app is kind of convoluted to use, but I suppose it could have been operator error. Either way, it added a few miles to the trip. I noticed it after a short while when our route just didn't look right. Must have been my "spidey sense"...

In any event we got back on track and headed toward Grand Rapids. I thought about spending a little time downtown, but we were trying to stay ahead of thunderstorms! We did stop for lunch at a decent deli on the east side of town. Not as good as yesterday's lunch, but good nonetheless.

Heading toward Lowell, I had selected a route that kept us off the heavily traveled road. The nice thing about this route is that it had a few decent downhill sections. On the road leading into Ada, we hit over 38mph (25 zone; I need to turn myself in to the sheriff). The downside of that route is that for each downhill section, there is usually a somewhat equal uphill section. But we were off the highway which seemed to have more than its share of heavy rigs on it.

We rolled into Lowell which seems like a pretty nice town. My cousin Paul told me about a covered bridge a couple miles to the north, but unfortunately I don't think we will make it there.

The hotel I booked was a total surprise for Ileana. I told her it was a flea bag but it is actually a pretty nice place.

We ate some decent pizza for dinner then headed back to the room for a good night's rest!  Tomorrow, I have a little bike maintenance to do prior to leaving.

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana
Today before leaving the campground, the grounds' manager came over to our spot (room, zimmer?). She had a cardboard box with several baby bunnies in it! (picture below). She stated that they were cleaning around the pool and they 'disturbed' the nest and when a rabbit's nest is disturbed the mother will not return! (I thought can humans use that same logic but the department of social services may have problem with that logic?). Anyhow, the lady will feed them until they can be return to the wild.  I wondered if they will have any questions for their mom, if they see her again, and will they break the cycle!

Four baby bunnies!

A Troll statue in the Flat River

Riverboat in the Flat River

The river at night from our balcony

Day 4 Addendum

Los Dos Centavos

I had the opportunity to witness one of the country's finest soldiers (Nolan) show some of the skills learned in his military career. Allow me to explain:  Nolan got attacked by huge bumblebee. I was riding behind Nolan and suddenly a huge bumblebee like missile went into his helmet. Nolan, being the trained soldier he is, maintained a straight line with his 90 pound bike, checked traffic, informed me of what was going on with the attack and took his helmet off, to be environmentally friendly not to kill the bee, and put his helmet and glasses back on, all at the same time!!  He didn't even slow down!! I was very impressed because if it was me in that situation, I would have wrecked or get killed by a car, and the bee would have been dead too!

Day 4 - Back in the Groove!

Route
Montague, MI to Coopersville, MI - 50 miles
For details of part 1 of today's route, click here.
For details of part 2 of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Clear, becoming overcast in the evening
Temperature:  50 to 60
Visibility:  Good
Precipitation:  None until about 8 pm - started trading
Wind:  5 - 10 knots, headwind shifting to right quartering tailwind
Comments:  Much better weather today, then RAIN!

Significant Events
One third of the ride completed - 208 miles!

Oh yeh, it was warmer and less windy!

Today's Song
None came to mind!

Wildlife Observed
Bluebirds
Rabbits
Frog

Today's Ride
We decided to ride to breakfast so we packed up the bikes an after saying goodbye, we hit the road. We rode through Montague and into Whitehall, where we found this nice little place called Peckadill's.  It was an excellent choice. Ileana got me a Reuben on rye and it was excellent. She had a chicken wrap and it was delicious as well. And their cole slaw was great! By the way, it was more of a lunch than a breakfast...

We rode all the way down into Muskegon, which we crossed, then headed down toward the campsite near Coopersville. We found a food mart where we got some chow, mainly for tomorrow's breakfast.

Got the tent set up, took a shower and made dinner. Not a moment to soon, because just as we were finishing dinner, we felt the first raindrops. We were able to get everything put away and secured before it became too heavy. We got into the tent just in time; it started coming down pretty steadily. Dodd to be clear tomorrow during the day...

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana

TBD

Last night's cabin

Peckadill's

Small frog chillin' on a fence

Day 3 Addendum

For details of part 1, click here.
For details of part 2, click here.

Los Dos Centavos

Last night, we camped (30 some degrees outside). Nolan, being the sweet man he is, said to me, 'you go take shower and I'll set everything up.' I quickly took him up on it and headed towards the shower (I meant showers and toilets all together). When I was planning (well, that's stretch, more like throwing things together) I thought, this trip will be great opportunity to use some samples of cosmetics (because I have to literally carry everything I decided to bring on the trip).
Well, that's a good idea, except in this particular shower and sample of facial cleaner didn't go together (keep in mind that I had about 20 layers of sun protection on!). This shower is set up to turn on by pushing a button, and puts out about 1 quart of water and then turns off! (I can assure you I'm not making this up, and remember the temperature outside is freaking cold and no heating inside the shower building either!).  While I am trying to open my sample of facial cleaner, I also have to keep pushing the shower button every 2 seconds so I would not freeze to death!  And then I could not open the facial cleaner thingy, I use the proper way to open it but nothing!  In a desperate moment to survive the most freezing shower of life, I used my teeth, I smacked it against the wall and I stomped on it and nothing! (Picture of battered example below). While still pushing the blessed (not the word I used while this was happening!) shower button! And then when I was ready to quit and take a plane back home. I remember that I had another sample and reached for it and it worked! This ordeal made me realize how everyday I may take little things for granted!

The battered remains of an impregnable sample

Day 3 - A Tough Ride

Route
Ludington, MI to Montague, MI - 60 miles

For details of part 1, click here.
For details of part 2, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Clear to partly cloudy
Temperature:  45 to 55
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  Constant 15 gusting to 25, headwinds to quartering headwind
Comments:  The wind was terrible!

Significant Events
Met my cousin James and his wife Joy!

Today's Song
"Against the Wind" by Bob Seger

Wildlife Observed
Yellow bird
Eagle
2 snakes
Bison (on a farm)

Today's Ride
We ate breakfast, broke camp, and got a fairly early start. After about 45 minutes of riding, we saw a McDonald's in downtown Ludington and decided to stop for a second breakfast. Man, was that delicious!

Started riding again and pretty quickly determined that the wind was going to be a pain in the rear! It was very strong and persistent, and of course, generally from the front. We would work pretty hard pedaling up a hill (lots of rolling hills), looking forward to coasting down the other side, only to be stymied by the wind. It was so strong that we actually had to pedal downhill as well.

We eventually got to Hart, where the Hart-Montague bike trail starts. It is an old railroad bed, and it runs largely through wooded areas, so we were looking forward to the trees providing a windbreak. But this was wishful thinking. It offered some reprieve, but not much. It did, however, at least get us off of the road.

20 miles later, we were in Montague. I had picked a pretty direct route from the bike trail to my cousin's place (Happy River Campground). We got to one of the roads and it turns out it is sand. Well I "had a go", but it was like trying to ride on a beach. 2 miles of that was not going to do. I did a 180 and we took paved roads. It was much easier to ride, but it added about 5 miles to the daily total.

We finally got to my cousin's place where we found out there was no electricity or water for the past 36 hours! The power company was working on it and said it should be on by 8pm. We're desperately needed a shower, and needed to do laundry. I was trying to figure out how to make this work...

Joy gave us the grand tour of the campground. They have a heck of a facility. They have owned this place since the mid-70s, and have been improving and enlarging it ever since.  They are situated on about 300 acres, with lots of natural buffer land, They have a couple of hundred spots and can accommodate tent camping all the way up to the largest 5th wheels and motor homes. They also have a number of cabins, with plumbing. We stayed in one of those...

Adjoining the campground on the east side they have a canoe livery, on the White River. My original plan was to be there early enough to take a canoe out, but not only was it late, we were exhausted from the wind.

When the "tour" was over, the power was back on. Some very good news, indeed!

We took the opportunity to go out to dinner with James and Joy,  and do a lot of catching up.  Talking to them was the highlight of my day.  James was a pilot and had owned several of his own planes since the 50s. He also had done some time in the Army. And since he was roughly the same age as my dad, he had spent some time with him as a child.  We talked a little bit about those topics, which was very interesting to me.

I had a fried fish platter, followed by a brownie sundae for dessert, which was a welcome and delicious meal!

If you find yourself in western Michigan, a bit north of Muskegon, and want to camp, park your motor home, or go canoeing, I highly recommend their place. It is a very nice campground, run by great people!

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana
To be continued

Day 2 - Cold and Windy

Route

Frankfort, MI to Ludington, MI - 54 miles

For part 1 of today's route, click here.
For part 2 of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  Clear
Temperature:  34 to 52
Visibility:  Unlimited
Precipitation:  None
Wind:  10 to 15 knots, mostly headwind again
Comments:  Cold in the morning, but the temp wasn't too bad, except the wind made it feel about 15 degrees colder!

Significant Events
We made it to our campsite after fighting the wind all day.

Today's Song
"The Long and Winding Road", by The Beatles

Wildlife Observed
Fox
2 nesting swans
2 geese (flew about 10 feet in front of us)
3 whitetail deer
2 scarlet tanager (turns out this is the mystery bird Ileana saw yesterday)
1 yellow bird, possibly a yellow warbler

Today's Ride
Started out cold and windy and ended up a little less cold but windier! Also found out some of the limits of using Google maps to plan a cycling route. Turns out it is difficult to accurately read terrain. The hills, although not too bad, were a little more significant than I thought. Well, that is exactly why I put GEARS on the Trek! And they did a great job. Set up camp, made some beef stew, and now it is time to get ready for bed! I think it is safe to say we are both tired and should sleep well!

Los Dos Centavos de Ileana
The lady that owned the place we stayed at last night was very nice. She even made breakfast for us (cherry pancakes, eggs and susages). When we were leaving, I went to take back something that we had borrowed and pay for the breakfast. She said that the breakfast was on her. Then she asked me, if I was ready for "the hill'? To that I responded 'sure, after the hills we did yesterday in Traverse City (Nolan assured me the night before that hills in Traverse City will be it and the rest were 'rolling hills'), It should not be a problem. To that she responded, 'oh no, those hills are nothing compared to the ones here.' She continued 'this hill makes grown men cry.' I thought (believing what Nolan told me, the night before), this lady does not know what she's talking about because Nolan probably planned around this hill, otherwise he would have told me. I thanked her for the wonderful free breakfast and went on my merry way. Well, she was right! Not even 10 minutes into the ride, there it was, (not a 'rolling hill'), huge, steep, long and any other descriptive word for the mother of all  hills. I must confess that half way (well, I think it was half that), I started to think, if this 'hill makes grown men' cry, I'm enough of a grown women to get off my bike and walked up the hill (still hard work by the way). I told Nolan that I was going to walk up, to which he responded (with alot of restraint, I think), 'walk???' 'Do what you think is best.' Nolan rode to the top and waited for me  (of course the difference between riding and walking). While I was walking to the top, I suddenly understood why Lance Armstrong doped!  However, when I got to the top, I got on bike and went down the other side of the mother of hills and reached 28 miles per hour! That was a lot of fun!

Lake Michigan 

from a scenic overlook

Overlooking Lake Michigan

Two nesting swans

Our humble abode

Day 1 - The Adventure Begins!

Route
Traverse City, MI to Frankfort, MI - 44 miles
For details of today's route, click here.

Weather
Sky condition:  About 500' overcast in the morning, then broken, then clear
Temperature:  33 to 43
Visibility:  Good
Precipitation:  Snow flurries in the morning!
Wind:  10 to 15 knots (headwind of course)
Comments:  A cold and windy day.

Significant Events
Started the trip!

Today's Song
"Bluebird Bluebird Through My Window" - Traditional

Wildlife Observed
Wild Turkey
Squirrels
3 Orioles
Numerous unidentified blue birds
Some unidentified pink bird
Domesticated: cats, dogs, donkeys, chickens, horses

Today's Ride
We delayed our departure waiting for the snow to stop and the temperature to rise. Got a good start on the TART Trail, but I found out I have a shimmy in my front wheel. I haven't fixed it yet...I think it is unbalanced load (too much weight in the front). I will experiment with it tomorrow.

On the west side of Traverse City there is a steady climb, about 600' over two miles. Not too steep, but constant. Ileana did great using her gears and we crawled right up the hills. Unfortunately, we had an ever present headwind. It just would not let up.

We stopped about the 20 mile mark for a test and a snack. Ileana had some banana with peanut butter, I had an Otis Spunkmeyer blueberry muffin. Delicious!

We hit the road again and pedaled our way west. We rode around quite a few lakes. There are lots of them up here. Eventually we hit a rail trail which led us to our campground. It followed around a lake that was very nice (Crystal Lake).

Upon arrival at the campground, with the temperature forecast to dip down to 28, we opted for a cabin. A bit warmer inside!

Now for a little bike maintenance and some rest. And hoping for a little warmer weather tomorrow!

Ileana's Two Cents(hereinafter called "Dos Centavos"

When we were leaving the hotel this morning, I stopped right before I exited it. I was putting on my helmet and so on and this lady came in, she looked at me and said 'you brave soul.' I thought what does she mean by that? Once I went outside I understood completely, it was freaking 33 degrees outside! It's a good thing that I know how to apply 'positve self-talk!'and convinced myself that 'I can do this' however, about 20 miles out (including some very long hills, one of them I swear to God was about 2 miles long!). We stopped to get a snack (picture of Nolan trying to peel a boiled egg, which took him about 10 minutes, he was about to throw it into the woods, it was comical, really!). Anyhow, once we started going again my fingers were frozen! So, positive self-talk was not working anymore! Nevertheless, we had some good laughs and overall a good ride! Here are some pictures of ride today.  Michigan has beautiful lakes!

Trying to peel a hard-boiled egg

Wildflowers - Pretty much the only  

thing green so far!

Beulah Beach

The Cabin

Old Railroad stop - Beulah