Heading Home ... (August 19, 2011)

This two week long ride is done ... and the idea of heading toward New England has been scrapped.

Much like my ride two summers ago, I have grown weary of traveling alone ... guess I am just not good company for myself. I am tired, and have a desire to see familiar faces and places.

The riding has been terrific up here in the Michigan Upper Peninsula. Roads have been generally very ridable (bike lanes), and the scenery awe-inspiring ... but I did not meet-up with other touring cyclist as I had hoped I would. I did have some very nice conversations with other campers, but that is just not the same as the joyful conversations shared with other cyclist.

Speaking of "other campers" ... (and this is a very judgmental statement) do these "fifth-wheel and large mobile home campers" leave anything at home when they come out to the campgrounds? Good lord!

Once again my riding has allowed me to acquire a new appreciation for American History. I now have a little better knowledge of the struggle for territorial control between the up-start United States, the British and the French. Of course the Native Indian nations took it in the shorts, but that was the nature of European movement into the North American continent. For one thing I did not realize that there had been naval battles fought on the Great Lakes. The struggles between the various nations for control of the upper Midwest fur trading business was ongoing for many many decades.

Another aspect of this area that surprised me was the extent of traffic in the "sea lanes" through the Great Lakes. I stopped for a visit to the "ship wreck and lighthouse" museum at Whitefish Point. The number of ships hauling iron ore and other loads, and passing this Point, ran in the hundreds per day. Due to the great number of ships traversing these lanes of travel, there were a great number of collisions and, therefore, sinkings.

Back in the late 1970's, Gordon Lightfoot had a very successful song about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I had romanticized this ship as a wooden ship that had sunk around 1890, or so. Ah, not so! The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in November, 1975. Another incorrect fact carried in my head for many years. I can only guess as to the amount of other "incorrect facts" I am carrying around.

So, two weeks of riding the perimeter of the Michigan Upper Peninsula, two weeks of very joyous riding and two weeks of some not-so-enjoyable camping. The joy of doing this every summer is in seeing areas I have not seen before, and getting a new appreciation of those areas. This is a very large country, and there is a lot of, for me, unseen areas. Looking forward to seeing other parts of the country in years to come ... but for right now, I need some familiar faces and places

It's a dog's life ... (August 11, 2011)

This little guy has it figured out. Just sit and watch the world go by. Course he probably does not have any money invested in the stock market.

Yesterday I took the ferry from St. Ignace, MI, over to Mackinac Island ... about a 15 minute boat ride. The Island is primarily a summer home and tourist location. Cars have been banned since 1902 (or so), which leaves walking, bike riding and horse-drawn carriages as the primary means of travel. Very nice not having to deal with cars, but the thousands of cyclists careening around causes one to be very careful when stepping off of the curb. But, as I say, nice not to deal with cars.

Once again, my bike touring has allowed me to take in history lessons that I missed (or slept through) during my years of schooling. Mackinac Island (pronounced "Mack-a-naw") was a key location in the disputes regarding who controlled the upper midwest ... the French, the British, or the newly formed Americans. The Island was also key to the fur trading industry, in as much as it sits at the joining of Lakes Michigan and Huron, and is easily accessed from Lake Superior.

One historical fact regarding the fort on Mackinac Island is that it was the location of the first confrontation of the War of 1812. I say "confrontation" because there was no fighting. The British, who were based at Fort Charles (northeast of Mackinac Island), received word that war had been declared, so they formed a war party and landed on Mackinac Island. The American army, who occupied the fort, did not know war had been declared until they looked out at the approaching 650 British soldiers and allied Indian tribesmen. Since there were only 50 Americans in the fort, the 24 year-old commanding officer decided to surrender. Very wise decision. Very interesting history.

Today I head north to Sault Ste. Marie ... you can see Canada from there (you bet'cha). Then I will head west along Lake Superior. Not at all sure what I will do when I get back to my truck (by Aug. 21). Not really enthused about traveling at the moment ... may head back to Arizona.

Oh well, all of these trips can't be great.

Found Him!!! (August 6, 2011)

I don't quite know how the FBI can not find this guy ... his name is right there on the mail box.

I finally found a sympathetic Park Ranger. The truck is now safely parked for two weeks and I am on the bike again. While it feels good to be "back on the saddle, again", the body is a little sore this evening. It has been almost a month since I finished up my Pacific Coast ride, and it is clear to me that I have lost much of the fitness gained during that five week ride. Fortunately, this portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is quite flat. None-the-less, 35 miles in the heat and humidity has taken its' toll. Add that to several nights of sleeping ... or rather, trying to sleep ... in the heat and humidity and the end result is a night in an air conditioned hotel.

I am heading toward the Mackinaw City area, but have not decided if I will head south to the Traverse Bay area or stay up in the Upper Peninsula. The truck can be stored at Wells State Park for 15 days, so that limits the amount of miles I can cover on this trek (especially in this humid environment).

All-in-all, I am happy to be pedaling again ... just wish there was a way to spend time with familiar faces. Such is the fate of the lone traveler.

Many More Miles (August 3, 2011)

I have now traveled many miles ... very few on the bike.

Currently I am just south of Green Bay, Wisc., trying to figure out where and how to start my Lake Michigan/Lake Superior bike ride. My idea of leaving my truck at a Michigan State Campground is not happening ... seems the program of leaving a vehicle at a campground for several weeks only applies to camper trailers and large RVs. The program is intended to encourage campers to use less fuel if intending to frequent the same campground. My needs do not qualify.

Since last posting, I have covered a lot of miles ... Wyoming, South Dakota, Michigan and now Wisconsin. Cruising I-90 at 60 miles an hour is tedious, but traveling at that speed increases the "miles per gallon" number, so at 60 I go ... much to the displeasure of faster drivers.

I spent a couple of wonderful days in and around the Mount Rushmore area. Got two 30 mile rides in and spent time at both Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. No pun intended, but creating these sculptures is monumental. Starting with a mountain, the sculptures are created via blasting and air-hammering. I find it hard to believe the amount of man hours required ... the Crazy Horse work has been going on since 1947.

The bike riding was enjoyable ... on the second day's ride I took advantage of riding on the Mickleson Trail. This rails-to-trails path is 101 miles long, running along the west side of the park areas. I only rode a small segment, but riding without worrying about vehicles is wonderful. Felt good. The first day of riding I rode on the main road leading to Mount Rushmore. Of the thousands of people viewing the sculpture, I think I was the only one who arrived on a bike. Not bragging; merely an observation.

I was very fortunate to make a connection with Lisa and Marty Brandt in Sioux Falls, SD. Lisa and Marty had been in Oshkosh, Wisc at the annual air show gathering. It was so very nice to see familiar faces. The weather was horrid (very hot and very humid), so sharing their air conditioned trailer was greatly appreciated ... that and the fact that I managed to lock my keys in my truck precluded any attempt to sleep in the bed of my truck.

So here I am trying to figure out where to leave my truck ... no good solutions come to mind at the moment.

Looking forward to getting back on my bike.

Whole lot of sittin' ... (July 29, 2011)

Lot of miles ... not much else to speak of.

I am now in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Since leaving Tucson last Sunday, I have traveled through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and now South Dakota. Campgrounds, hotels, grocery stores, convenience stores, visitor centers, and (of course) gas stations. I stop along the roadside whenever there is a "point of interest", which typically points out when some military group or rancher did something of importance back in 1840, or 1860, or whenever. I usually take the opportunity of taking a leak at these stops as well.

At this point I am not greatly enamored of this style of traveling ... very few opportunities to stop and talk with locals. I am just another driver instead of a long-distance cyclist. Buy your stuff and move on ... there are many more like you coming down the road.

I am planning to do a short ride here in Southwestern South Dakota ... heading up toward Mount Rushmore tomorrow on a "rails-to-trails" path. Hope this brings some enthusiasm into my psyche ... as of this moment, not so much. Weather is beautiful and the terrain is pleasing (similar to Williams, AZ).

High-point of the trip so far was at Three Rivers Petroglyphs campground, just north of Almagordo, NM. My nephew Rich, and his girlfriend, came up for a very enjoyable chat. Later that evening, feeling a wee bit stuffy in the back of my camper shell, I opened up the tail gate and fell asleep enjoying a wonderful breeze and (seemingly) no bugs.

I now have a large number of small scabs attesting to the fact that there were bugs ... and the intense scratching of the bite-sights hurts so good.

New Means of Travel (July 23, 2011)

So much for my solitary, slow pedal through the U.S. Time to speed things up a little and see more of the country than possible via my bike.

After a very enjoyable stay in Venice, CA, and an even more enjoyable couple of weeks seeing friends and family in Arizona, I am heading out for a new style (to me) adventure. I purchased a camper shell for my pick-up that will allow me to haul my touring bike in relative security and also provide me with a (hopefully) weather tight sleeping enclosure ... kind of a mini-R.V.

I am feeling a little strange embarking on travel in this mode as I feel I am abandoning my much loved bike touring. While the intent is to drive to various locations, then go bike touring, I feel as though I am not staying true to my bike. Oh well, the bike is an inanimate object, so I guess it will mean little to the bike.

I plan on heading out of Tucson tomorrow, and head to Silver City, NM. After a day or two of local Silver City riding, I will then head over to eastern New Mexico and then north through Colorado and Wyoming. When I was four or five years old, our family took a vacation trip to Mount Rushmore (of which I remember little), so I think I will make a stop in South Dakota ... possibly do a multi-day bike tour around the Mount Rushmore/Badlands area. After this, I will then head to Lake Michigan for a multi-week bike tour around the upper Great Lakes area.

Lots of thinking and map reading of late ... action starts tomorrow.

Hope the price of gas takes a serious dive.

At Rest (July 9, 2011)

No more Pacific Coast ride for me ... just too much traffic and too much urban noise and congestion. I have decided to halt this ride in Los Angeles, and forgo the last 130 miles to San Diego.

For the most part, the 500+ miles between San Francisco and L.A. were aesthetically pleasing, and the adjacent vehicular traffic bearable. There were many, many scenic views to be had, as well as some spectacular up-hills and down-hills. The route took me through such wonderful areas as Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, the Monterey/Carmel Peninsula, Big Sur and Morro Bay. There are some very nice campgrounds and some not-so-nice campgrounds.

One very vivid memory is the ride between Santa Cruz and Monterey. The route took me through miles and miles of agriculture ... primarily strawberry fields. The aroma of fresh strawberries is very sweet and enjoyable; the visual of artichoke plants/fields astounding and amusing. One memory that will stay with me for a long time is the sight of the workers picking strawberries ... how a person can work all day, bent over or squatting, is beyond me. Looking at the fresh strawberries in Trader Joe's now has a new meaning for me (that's not to say I won't still buy strawberries).

As happened in my riding prior to San Francisco, I met some great fellow touring cyclist. There was a couple (my age) from The Netherlands who had been riding for the past five months, having started their trek in Florida; a couple (younger than I) on a five-day trek from San Francisco to Morro Bay. Also, much to my surprise and great pleasure, I reconnected with a couple of riders I had camped with prior to San Francisco. Great joy in reconnecting.

I am very thankful for my short stay with Rod Paragas in Santa Barbara. Rod's parents and my parents were best friends when I was a kid in Creston, Iowa (back in the 1950s), prior to my family moving to Arizona. Rod and my older brother, Bob, were best friends. Other than a quick re-union in Havasupai Canyon back in the mid 1970s, I had not spent any time with Rod since childhood. The stay on his boat, in the Santa Barbara Marina, and the low-key conversations, were a true joy.

I arrived in Venice Beach two days ago, and have been enjoying a very relaxed rest ... my brother and my nephew (Bob and Sky) have been vacationing in Bob's friend's house (about a half a block from the beach). Reading, napping and watching the Tour de France have been the primary activities. Wonderful way to finish a 1500+ mile 40 day ride.

My thought on riding the coast is that it is an incredibly beautiful ride, but quite hard ... lots of climbing and (sometimes) very little in the way of bike lanes. I think if I were to do the ride again, I would start in Astoria, Oregon, and finish up the ride in San Luis Obispo, California. While Santa Barbara is beautiful, the ride from S.L.O. to Santa Barbara is difficult and, for the most part, unattractive.

So tomorrow I head back to Arizona and prepare for the second phase of this summer's travels. I am glad I rode the Pacific Coast ... the memories will stay with me for a long time (my mind willing).

Not sure I am ready for the Arizona heat.