Day 30 – Seney, Michigan (Sunday, May 31, 2015)

Hard day. Didn’t feel like getting going.

I had breakfast in the Perkins restaurant and set off against a tough North by North Eastern cross wind bringing cold air in from the lake.

At a rest stop not far from Marquette I met a “serious” cyclist on a time trial bike.  He was on his way to Munising and back for a four hour workout.  We both complained about the cross wind but it didn’t do any good.  At the same stop I met another fellow who was planning a trip across North Dakota.

The wind made the trip tough and I made Munising for a late lunch and met a man who owned a bike shop in Esanola (south somewhere).  There were certainly a lot of cyclists in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

After Munising the highway runs further from the lake and the wind subsided.   I originally wanted to make Singleton but I felt fine at Singleton and in good time so I kept going to Seney.

Given the tough morning I was happy to have made Seney by the late afternoon.  As I entered Seney I met some ladies at a general store all bundled up and asked about a restaurant they could recommend.  They mentioned a bar/restaurant down the road and a campsite (they couldn’t recommend the restaurant because they doing go to bars).   I went to the bar/restaurant and stayed at an old motel with a nice room in the rear.

Ralph taking a rest.

View of Lake Superior from the rest stop just east of Marquette.

Sand dunes beside the road to Munising.

Day 29 – Marquette, Michigan (Saturday, May 30, 2015)

It was still cold and wet from rain in the morning.  I packed up the tent and made my way to the coop for breakfast; a wrap and sandwich – not very satisfying.

As I set off I discovered that my rear rack had broken.  A fellow cycler happened by and fixed me up with some wire.

It was about 9am before I was on the road.  Much later than I would have liked to make Marquette.

Lunch was not memorable.

I arrived in Marquette in the late afternoon and stopped at a DaysInn with a laundry, a pool and a good Perkins restaurant adjacent.    Throughout the restaurant there were tributes to the pioneers that had established the surrounding area.

Day 28 – Bruce Crossing, Michigan (Friday, May 29, 2015)

I set out to make Kenton, Michigan (that unknown state to the east).

I had lunch in Wakefield (the first real town in Michigan) at a place recommended by a variety store at the west end of town.  Wakefield was important because I had to leave highway 2 and head off across the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula via highway 28.    I was anticipating this all morning.  However when I finished my lunch I had forgotten completely about the fork and continued along highway 2.

I would have travelled along highway 2 for a long time – perhaps all day – if I hadn’t been interrupted shortly after leaving Wakefield by a driver of a car who was interested in talking to me as a rode – of all things.  He drove next to me at my speed opened the passenger window and commenced to carry on a conversation while we were travelling down the highway.    Well that wasn’t going to work for long so we stopped.   He was interested in my ride because his parents were setting out on their own trek from Portland Oregon to Maine on a custom made tandem recumbent.   (I have never seen one.)   We exchanged stories and as we were departing I told him I was heading to Kenton today.    He pointed out that if I was going to Kenton I was on the wrong road.   When there you go.   There was a benefit in conversations after all.

I corrected my course by heading back the short distance to Wakefield and made my way along highway 28.

I approached Bruce Crossing the town just west of Kenton just as it was starting to rain.  Bruce Crossing was a real town.  It was small but it had everything people needed; a coop, gas stations and a camp ground.   I  asked, as I have become accustomed, “what’s available in Kenton?  Is there a camp ground there?” etc.  It turns out that there is nothing really in Kenton so I ate supper in a sketchy restaurant, passed on the beer because the pub area was too dark and pitched my tent in the rain at a park behind the coop at Bruce Crossing.   I mentioned in one of my texts that there is a certain comfort tenting in the rain.   The rather soothing sound of rain on the tent makes for a good sleep.   After all, the rain is really the reason you have a tent and my new Big Angus , by the way, performed beautifully.

Day 27 – Ashland, Wisconsin (Thursday May 28, 2015)

I left Superior happy to put the bad memory (re: traffic) behind me and set off east.

I think I had lunch in Iron River but I can’t quite remember because I am writing this a week later.   Anyway I had lunch.  I am sure I had lunch.

I travelled less than 70 miles today.  I could have and should have gone farther by the people in Wisconsin didn’t have any confidence that there was anything beyond their border.   No one could really give me a good description of the towns to the east – in Michigan – and I didn’t particularly like the prospect of travelling distances that were too long to cover in the daylight.

So I stayed in the Best Western in Ashland.  (I had supper somewhere too but it was not as memorable as lunch.)  The hotel was a 1980ish reconstruction of a historic hotel that apparently was burnt down twice.   The hotel was nice but it didn’t have a laundry and, to be honest, the historic architecture and history was lost on me.  All I needed was a bed and an uneventful sleep.

The property was on the shore of Lake Superior that is adjacent to a small marina.   It sat next to another property that had some chemical contamination – big tourist draw.  I’ll have to ask David what polyaromatic hydrocarbons are.  With all the signs, fences and big tent like buildings like they have in the X-Files, they can’t be good.   Apparently they were in the water too.  There were information posters assuring the public that as long that the goo wasn’t disturbed there was nothing to worry about.    Pretty disturbing.   But they were doing their best to show professionalism and reassure us all.  Good thing I have had all my kids.

Day 26 – Superior, Wisconsin (Wednesday, May 27, 2015)

Today was my first 200km day!

One of many Mississippi river crossings. This one – which is difficult to see – is nothing but a little stream n a marsh.

Interesting town name. The town will survive.

Old houses.

First glimpse of Lake Superior after the long haul across the prairie.

Day 25 – Bena, Minnesota (Tuesday, May 26, 2015)

I left Lakeside Campground in Erskine around 7am.

I picked up bits of breakfast along the way, muffins and stuff. It was not very satisfying but it held me over.

I had lunch at McDonald’s in Bemidji. I am still concerned about keeping my system running smoothly. One thing that I can say about McDonalds is that I have never suspected that the food has been “bad”.

I was entering the national forest at Cass Lake and a girl at the checkout counter recommended a restaurant and campground in Bena. I am finding recommendations by locals ahead of where I want to stop are more reliable than maps or the internet.

The forest was a nice change from the long stretch of treeless prairie. I found the smell of the conifers (I think especially the pine) especially beautiful. But the land was still essentially flat and height of the trees unimpressive.   I believe the other attraction of the National Forests were the lakes and the associated fishing. The lakes were all low lying and I imagine, in keeping with the geography, quite shallow.

I had supper just west of Bena at a recommended place called Big Fish. It was a very friendly, inclusive place. Whoever entered was thoroughly greeted and brought into conversations. This was generally lead by the bar tender with a big booming voice and an infectious laugh (he may also been the owner.). I struck up a conversation with a Ornithologist who had just severed his Achilles and was wearing a special boot. The restricted mobility resulted in a blood clot that nearly killed him. My own issues with Achilles issues peaked my interest. Fortunately cycling seems to be good therapy.

I camped at Winnie’s General store in Bena. Not a bad little place. They had a good spot for tents and seem to have had other cyclists pass by.

Day 22 – Leeds, ND (Saturday, May 23, 2015)

I had relatively good, consistent wind from the south by southwest and made good time.

I left Minot at 7:15am. I stopped at Rugby for lunch a bit after noon.  Apparently I passed the middle of the continent today in Rugby.   There was a big sign making the proclamation.  Now I start going down hill!  Unfortunately by my calculation I will have gone halfway in another 700kms.

I stopped at Leeds at 2:30pm and decided to have a turkey wrap at the road side joint (I was suspicious of the hamburgers). As I was eating a man a little old introduced himself. He said he recognized me right away as the cyclist; skinny, eating healthy food (only by random coincidence), and my apparel outrageous apparel. He had met a lot of cyclists passing through from all over the world. Apparently he and his wife had set up a spot at Knox for long distance travelers. It was too bad I had already passed Knox. I told him that I would mention the place if I met anyone going west.

I decided to stay the night at Leeds. This was a day that I would have liked to go farther but Devils Lake was 30 miles more (50 km). I still feel that if I stretch the distance on one day I may feel tired early the next. The distance to Churchs Ferry would have perfect except there didn’t seem like there was much there.

I am pitching my tent tonight. It is 6:50pm. With the sun still bright in the clear sky the tent is too hot to settle down.

I found a few things loose on my bike.   One of the bolts and a spacer for my front rack came loose and was lost.   I replaced the bolt with one of the spare bolts. The spacer will be difficult to replace. Another bolt came loose that was used to fasten my rear water jug.   I will have to be more careful and check all the bolts regularly.

I have to look at the map for tomorrow.   I will have a strong head wind after about 10am. I planned to make Niagara ND tomorrow (80 miles) but if the wind isn’t too bad I may see if I can camp adjacent the highway near Larimore (93 miles.)

 I think Leeds is a typical American prairie town. I have an impression that the American towns are more prosperous. Stores, restaurants and accommodation are cleaner and better maintained in North Dakota along Highway 2 at least. The whole economy where I’ve been is based on some sort of farming.

I think there is a high premium on “large” genes.   It might have something to do with three or four generations of farming in tough conditions. None of the locals here were shorter than 6 feet.  I am speculating here… the runts all ran away and ran the banks in Chicago. Who know’s they may have found Steinbeck’s Kate. Then their offspring caused the market crash of 2008.  Voila – the genesis of two new species – evolution!

Geographical Center of North America 12:16 pm 2015/05/23

Geographical Center of North America 11:52 am