July 11, 2021
Mackinaw Island - Naubinway, MI
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In the end my overall opinion of Mackinaw Island is that I'm glad I visited, but probably I don't need to go back. When I went to breakfast at 8 AM, the streets were quiet. That would be a good hour for a bike ride, or late, like Jacinto. But not at 11 AM . . .
Our goal depart time was 10 AM - Jacinto is a strange morning person by my standards. He sits drinking coffee, not doing anything else at all, for at least an hour. Then suddenly he's up and moving and has everything ready to go. Me, I sort of putz around, but get things done more quickly.
We were indeed out the door by 10 AM. Jacinto went to the wrong ferry line and we had to wait to get on the Sheplers Ferry. They run every half hour, so it wasn't too long.
We were pedaling by 11:15 AM. I was extra happy that our directions had us out of town within a few blocks. I don't know if St. Ignace is that small or if the ferry was on our side of town. It worked for me. Directly across the street from the ferry was the first pastie shop we've seen. Little did I know that every other store the rest of the day would be a pastie shop (slight exaggeration).
Today was my kind of day. We took two turns to Cheeseman Road and were on that for five miles. Then we were on Highway 2 until the motel.
About mile ten we saw a bicycle tourist coming our way. Highway 2 is a busy road with a very wide shoulder and nice new pavement. The other cyclist slowed. I slowed. I'm sure we were both evaluating the traffic, if crossing were realistic. I stopped anyway, to get a snack. The rider crossed the road. We chatted for a couple of minutes with Marty from South Carolina. He was headed to the ferry in Ludington. His bike was tricked out with the latest gadgets. Even Jacinto was impressed. Specifically, Marty had a dynamo to charge his electronics that was powered by a roller than runs on the rim. I've seen them advertised, but this is the first one in person.
We had hard boiled eggs left over from breakfast. I ate two during the day, and a granola bar. I took the lead in pedaling all day and set a good pace. It helped that the pavement was so nice. Jacinto said it was too nice, his pedometer only had 12,000 steps. In Colorado he gets more steps for the same miles because the roads are rough.
We had occasional lake views. We had discussed that the water must be cold, because we see people near the water, but never IN the water. Today we did see people in the water. No fancy docks today, not even where there were houses close to the water.
There's not a lot to report, it was a quick ride on a busy road. Marty speculated that traffic was extra heavy because it's Sunday and people are returning home. It was busy, but we had a giant shoulder. I'm still not seeing any semis at all and although now there are motor homes, they aren't in the numbers I would expect.
We pulled up to some roadway signs, 'tree trimming work' - that was a slow down for us. I had to wait for a break in the traffic to pull around. Of course, as soon as I stopped, I really, really had to pee. Too bad these weren't official state workers with a potty on wheels. Jacinto questioned my choice of bathroom spots, he thought the plants were stinging nettles. I rather had to agree and didn't into the trees at all, but just next to a pine tree. I hope Jacinto was showing some nice leg, because from one direction, I was quite visible!
As we pulled into town, I saw a convenience store (also in short supply this trip). I stopped and asked Jacinto if he wanted to buy a pop. No, let's go on to the motel. It turns out we are only a few blocks away. We had prepaid and I had received a text telling us our cabin number and the wi-fi, go on in.
We just pulled in and a cyclist walked out of another cabin and introduced himself. We met Val and Jude, two very experienced cyclists who have crossed the country 14 times! We are going to go to dinner right now. More later.
As I walked out the door for dinner, what do I see across the driveway but two more loaded bicycles! Their lights were still flashing. A father/son duo had just arrived. Scott said this was his son's first 50 mile day and he (the son) was bushed. They had started in Kalamazoo and had fought the wind across Wisconsin the entire distance. Scott took the time to show me a video from Green Bay, the trees were really bent over and blowing in the wind. Poor guys. I suggested they could walk over to the restaurant after their shower, but they had already purchased pasties to eat in the room.
We ate at Moofinfries (Beef, fish, and fries). The owner stopped by our table several times . He said the beef is raised by his brother, all organic, etc. The salad greens were also local and organic.
We had a long talk that will be a highlight of our tour. Jude and Val have cycled many places we haven't, namely in Quebec and New York. They've done that area twice and highly recommend it. I've requested a photo from them.
The restaurant was a busy place, I felt a little pressured to move out and open up a table. We sat outside at a picnic table until my rear end went to sleep. Then we walked over to the convenience store and they went back to the room. Jacinto bought a glass jar of pickled hard boiled eggs. I hope we aren't expected to finish that off before we leave. We haven't opened it yet.
Tomorrow is a 70 miles ride. Terrain is once again very flat. The wind is from the east (against us). I've been trying to negotiate a depart time with Jacinto. His best argument is that he doesn't like to leave early as he isn't hungry at that hour and likes to have a full stomach before riding. That I can understand. I usually eat something (oatmeal w/fixings) and then like to eat again about two hours later. Jacinto's method is to eat a huge meal before leaving and then eat nothing at all for the rest of the day.
We shall see what time we leave in the morning. 70 miles is beyond my fun factor. The saving grace is that the storm is moving slowly and we will have a dry ride tomorrow.
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Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 440 miles (708 km)
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2 years ago