Mackinac Island Day:

May 17, 2019

No cars today!

We had bright sun but still cold temperatures through out the day.

A patch of snow met with Rhona’s full disapproval.

He didn’t balance well. I had some ferns on his head for hair but Rhona said he had more hair than I did.

We rode along the coast around the island.

While planning this tour I thought we should stay at the Grand Hotel but gave up on that idea when the cost exceeded $700 per night. My next plan was to at least sit on the veranda. That looked like it was going to cost $20 each.

When we saw this sign we realized we didn’t have the correct clothes in our panniers. So, not sitting on the veranda was not because we are too cheap but we just didn’t happen to pack suitable attire.

There are a lot of bikes on this island.

I resolved a mechanical problem that has been nagging at me since 10 minutes after I mailed our spare tire home. We were just blocks from the post office when I felt a thumping in the handlebars every wheel revolution. I couldn’t see any defect in the front tire but days later purchased a spare. Today it was worse. I changed the front tire although I still couldn’t see any defect in the tire. While the bike was upside down I checked the back wheel which had a heavy duty Schwalbe mounted. There was a big bulge on the sidewall. I put the old front tire (Gatorskin) on the back and the thumping was gone. This is the third (of four) Schwalbe tires I’ve owned where the sidewalls failed. I’ve yet to wear the treads out. No more Schwalbe for me.

Today's ride: 21 miles (34 km)
Total: 759 miles (1,221 km)

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