The Gulliver Loop

Today’s ride has been dubbed the Gulliver Loop. I’ve never ridden east of the town of Manistique and wanted to see what I could find, so I plotted a 40-mile route that wraps around Gulliver Lake, heads north, then turns west and south back to Manistique. I also found lots to see and had a long, virtually car-free stretch that was most enjoyable. Heading home was a bit of work because there was a wind off of the lake. It’s quite a different wind from the cornfield winds I usually encounter. It’s a constant resistance of heavy air. It also got the full attention of my thighs.

When you travel the east side of Manistique, you can:
image
see a movie, though I don’t know what’s playing.

image
gamble away any money you didn’t spend at the theater

image
ponder the question: If a tree falls in the woods . . .

image
shop the world’s largest cedar selection

image
hang your clean clothes to dry

image
chat with my new bestie, Farmer Fred

image
swat gigantic mosquitoes at a humble abode on Gulliver Lake

image
buy some really big rocks

image
help this guy find some tires.
 

Riding in the UP

This morning’s planned ride was a 70-mile round trip from Manistique, MI to Singleton. When I awoke the temperature was 49 F and it was foggy. I had to be back by 10:30 so waiting for the fog to lift and the temp. to rise was not going to get it done. Plan B was a 30-mile trip I had mapped out for yesterday but couldn’t do for a lot of reasons. So I waited for a an hour, the temperature rose, and the fog lifted so off I went.

One of two buildings in beautiful downtown Cooks, MI, is the post office.
One of two buildings in beautiful downtown Cooks, MI, is the post office.

The first half hour was uncomfortable because my shoulder nerve was bothering me and I couldn’t get loose. Things got better and I reached my first turn at about 15 miles. Contrary to what the map said, the road was dirt/gravel, which is not a good surface for thin tires. Garmin said that Rt. 2, the main route across the Lake Michigan coast of the Upper Peninsula, was just a couple of miles ahead, so I rode in that direction, planning to take that road back to Manistique.

I passed through the “heart” of Cooks, MI, the downtown area consisting of a a few homes, a post office, and a church. Not too exciting, but I’m quite sure none of the people I know can claim to have ever visited Cooks. Yay for me.

The other Cooks municipal building is the Catholic church.
The other Cooks municipal building is the Catholic church.

Rt. 2 turned out to be a terrific road for cycling. Traffic in the early morning is minimal and the shoulder is almost a lane wide with a rumble strip between the car lane and me. Since the road was recently re-surfaced, it was smooth, safe riding all of the way to Manistique.

As I rode along, I spotted a sign for an historical marker down a side road. I’d spotted that sign when we were driving to Manistique, so decided to find out what it was all about. The marker was part of a nice area at the Lake Michigan shoreline that told about the Christmas Tree ship, a ship once owned by a family that delivered Christmas trees from the Upper Peninsula to Chicago each year.

The historical marker tells the story of the Christmas Tree ship.
The historical marker tells the story of the Christmas Tree ship.
The Christmas Tree ship and Thompson docks stories are told in this little historical area at the Lake Michigan shore.
The Christmas Tree ship and Thompson docks stories are told in this little historical area at the Lake Michigan shore.

I educated myself, then moved on to Manistique. I got back in time to eat, shower, and attend the local 4th of July parade.

The Manistique 4th of July parade was classic small-town fun.
The Manistique 4th of July parade was classic small-town fun.

Stringing Together Some Long Rides

A barn I passed Saturday on my 60-mile ride and again Sunday on my century ride.
A barn I passed Saturday on my 60-mile ride and again Sunday on my century ride.

In preparation for our Rt. 66 ride, I’m trying to get used to going out on consecutive days for long rides, since that’s basically what we’ll be doing. My thinking is that if I get used to riding three days in a row for long distances and only stopping when necessary, I’ll be prepared to go five days in a row riding at a leisurely pace and stopping with some frequency to see the sights.

This is my shadow riding 60 miles on his bike on a road northwest of Huntley, IL. I was riding 60 miles at the time, too.

This past weekend was my most serious effort with this approach. I rode 40 miles on Friday and 60 miles in a rather healthy wind on Saturday. When I got home I was tired, but did some gardening and took a nap. After I felt quite good and started thinking about how far I wanted to ride on Sunday. On Saturday I had passed signs for the MS ride and that reminded me that the Swedish Days century ride is always the second day of the MS ride.

My initial thought was that there was no way I could do a century the day after riding 60 miles. Then it occurred to me that it would be an excellent challenge and, if I pulled it off, it would tell me that I’m just about ready for the Rt. 66 ride. I decided to meet the challenge, got up at 4:30, loaded the bike and gear, and headed to the corn and bean fields to see how much abuse my legs could stand.

I was careful to save energy the first 50 miles and really didn’t get loose until I’d covered 50 miles. It was at that point I knew I could finish the century, so I went for it. I finished much stronger than I expected. The final five miles I caught up with a guy who was cramping and struggling after 60 miles. He was definitely in shape so I guess he screwed up his water and food. I rode to the start with him to take his mind off of the misery. He knew what I had done and thanked me. Anything for a member of the two-wheel brotherhood.

The end result was that I rode 200 miles in three days and didn’t feel all that bad on Monday, i.e., I could have ridden 20 or 30 without any problem. I also feel that I’m ready for the Rt. 66 trip.

Not One Flat Mile!!

Friday's lunch at the High Street Eatery in Metamora was excellent.
Friday’s lunch at the High Street Eatery in Metamora was excellent.

This past weekend Nancy and I did an overnight bike trip to test our gear and get a sense of what it’s like to go for a bike ride and have it not end back at home. We also got to learn whether what we’re hauling on our bikes is what we’ll need when we make the trip from St. Louis to Dundee in three weeks.

Our trip was from Nancy’s house in Washington Twp., MI, to our dad’s place north of Davison, MI, and then to Nancy’s friend Sheryl’s house on the south side of town. Then back to Nancy’s house the next day. We had essentially perfect weather for both legs of the ride.

During our ride, I made the discovery that there appears to be not one flat mile of  road in the entire southeast quadrant of Michigan. To my credit, I made Nancy wait until the final 10 miles before I treated her with a complaint about the terrain. Up and down, up and down, it never ended. Time for more hill repeats for me, though I have to say I was getting used to (not necessarily enjoying) the hills toward the end of the round trip.

Friday’s ride involved an excellent lunch at the High Street Eatery in Metamora. We ate terrific food sitting out side on a perfect day. The lunch stop came at a perfect time, i.e., after a rather challenging stretch of hills on Dwyer Rd.

Sheryl's house was a welcome site Friday night.
Sheryl’s house was a welcome site Friday night.

A nice visit with our dad, a short visit with our Aunt Sophie, and we were off to Sheryl’s house. Sheryl had cold drinks, a washing machine to clean our gross cycling clothes, and a car to take us to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.

The Mexican food tasted good going down, but, for me, was a big mistake. For the first half of the ride home the next day that Mexican food sat in my stomach like a bowling ball and I would have given a good deal of anything to have vomited. I really struggled for about 30 miles. It was ugly.

We made a couple of “we got lost” excursions that, ultimately, didn’t cost us any miles. One stop for desperately needed water was at a pizzeria/sandwich shop/general store. My request for water was met with, “You don’t want our water. You can have it, but you don’t want it.” I immediately concluded that I also didn’t want any of their food. Bottled water was purchased and we headed on our way in quest of breakfast. We had planned to return to the High Street Eatery for bacon and eggs, but discovered that there wasn’t one restaurant open for breakfast in downtown Metamorah.

Ten miles from Nancy’s house, we found a restaurant that made great food and we needed it. After breakfast, the our tanks were full and the final leg home was a lot easier than the previous miles.

It was a great ride, a good workout, and we learned some things:

  • Don’t eat Mexican food if you’re riding the next day.
  • My touring bag isn’t nearly big enough to carry everything I’ll need on Rt. 66.
  • Even though we’re eating at restaurants on our trip, having more food with us will be important.
  • I need to do a lot of hill  repeats between now and July 15.
  • When setting up routes on my Garmin, I need to make separate files for the outbound and in bound trips.
  • Traveling Rt. 66 on bikes with Nancy is going to be a great deal of fun.

Training ride to Davison, MI

Two rookie touring cyclists at the end of our overnight ride.
Two rookie touring cyclists at the end of our overnight ride.
Well, we completed our first overnight ride together on Friday/Saturday.  We rode to Davison, MI from Washington, MI, which is about 50 miles.  It was a great ride on Friday; we stopped for lunch at the High Street Eatery in Metamora, sat on the porch, and had awesome sandwiches that we devoured.  We arrived at our dad’s house in Davison and visited for a while.  We then headed to our friend Sheryl’s house where we went out for Mexican and stayed the night.

Saturday we headed out about 7:20.  We got off course a few times and were getting very hungry and a little fatigued.  (The Mexican dinner was not agreeing with Gary!  He was looking for “one flat mile” to ride on – he was sick of the hills!)  We stopped at a little party store for more water in search of a restaurant.  We got back on track and finally stopped for breakfast/lunch at Lakeville Lake, which was only 8-10 miles from home!  Lesson learned and all part of the training/adventure/experience.

Overall, it was a great ride – beautiful weather.  Gary realized that he will need a larger bag on his bike, we learned to watch our route more closely, and we need to have food with us!  (Gary could also use a little training with less corn fields and more hills! hee hee 🙂

I have to add that this post is my first time putting myself “out there”.  I do not have facebook, twitter, etc., so this is very strange for me – Gary talked me into it – I hope I come across the way that I intend to!  I am so excited to be riding with my brother and looking forward to our big trip!

Nancy

Pedaling Rt. 66

My sister Nancy and me enjoying a beer (for me) and Pinot Grigio (for Nancy) before a 100-mile bike ride last summer.
My sister Nancy and me enjoying a beer (for me) and Pinot Grigio (for Nancy) before a 100-mile bike ride last summer.

We’re about a month away from my big cycling challenge for the year. On July 16, my sister, Nancy, and I, are planning to ride our bikes from St. Louis to Dundee, IL, a far-northwestern suburb of Chicago. We’ll use the Adventure Cycling Association route that follows, as closely as possible, the classic Rt. 66. We plan to ride about 80 miles a day, at a tourist pace, enjoying the many things to see and do in the small towns that are along the historic road. It’s the first multi-day bike touring trip for both of us, so it’ll be an adventure/experience on several levels.

Unlike a lot of touring cyclists, we won’t be camping. We’re doing what cycle tourists call a credit-card tour in which we eat in restaurants and stay in motels. Hotels would be nice but I doubt there are many along the old route.

We’ll be reporting our training progress leading up to the ride and, of course, our experiences as we travel Rt. 66 across Illinois.