The route is about 77 miles to Midland, MI with the rain and headwinds of 12-14 mph out of the SE prepared to be my main foe. The terrain, is my friend however, as it falls gently away for a gradual overall downhill run. I am also aided by the last 30 miles as I travel over the Pere-Marquette Rail Trail that is closely shrouded by trees to break much of the wind. My friends more that mitigate the headwinds and together we make relative easy work of the course.
The morning actually starts out crystal clear for the first few hours, but about 10am, the first wave of clouds cast a literal foreshadow of the pending rain. In another victory over the days foe, I fortunately avoided the heavy rain. I made Midland just as the storm started in earnest.
It should be noted that for the days in Wisconsin, I was bombarded with the green and gold "G" of the Green Bay Packers, especially as I made my way further East. Since crossing over into Michigan, they have been replaced by the pristine gothic white "D" of the beloved Detroit Tigers. (Yes, I know they are different sports, I am just reporting the news). Being in Michigan, it is refreshing to commiserate with some of the locals on the recently over-priced, under-achieving Tigers. Quickly, some of the talk moves to UM and Lion football, which I care little about. I tried to steer one conversation toward hockey to throw down a little thunder and Lightning on the Red Wings, as it were, but I could not get anyone to bite. I will find a worth adversary that is willing to drop the puck before I leave this great State.
Speaking of adversaries, I did have a rare confrontation today. As I was pulling into a general store in Sanford to get a Lunchable and water, I pedaled through the parking area and settled my bike into the bike rack at front of the store. A young fellow in a truck started yelling at me for cycling through the lot. He was using some choice words and barking at me because he "nearly hit me". One would have thought if he had "nearly hit me", I would have been the one that was upset. Since he did not come close to hitting me, more precisely since he truck was not moving, I was not at all bothered. I attemped to encourage him to control himself and improve his language, especially in front of younger children. He did not appreciate my suggestion, or perhaps simply wanted to get closer to hear what I said and got out of his truck and stomped toward me. I simply looked at him (Hillary, you know it) and waited for his parting shot...."just go ride your little bike"... before I turned and walked in the store. Inside the proprietor apologized for his actions. Another couple came up to me, exclaiming disgust for how I was treated and then chatted with me for several minutes about the tour and raising money for AFI. I must tell you, the latter as been what I have experienced most. From the Cajun who fed me at the campsite on day three; to the lady in Montana who pulled over to check on me and ask me if I had enough water; to the road worker who saw me struggle up a steep grade and purposedfully pulled out a cold water bottle from his truck and handed it to me as I passed; to the saint who pulled over in Washington and turned on his light to escort me through the tunnels, to the bike shop owner who offered for me to sleep in a trailer to get out of the pending rain; to the cafe owner who offered a me use of a shower; there have been many generous and thoughtful people. Oh, there have been the few who like to squeeze by as close a possible, since they cannot be bothered to slightly adjust their steering wheels, only to purposefully blast the diesel smoke in your face as they roar away. Even so, in one such circumstance, the very next driver slowed to apologize for the "idiot" and ask if they could help me at all. Just them slowing down, was help enough.
Moose Search: 0 -- but still vigilant
Tomorrow is Otter Lake, MI
Song in my head: John Lee Hooker; Boom! Boom!
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