Back to Algoma

June 17, 2021

So we close out our loop of Door County today, returning to the point where we started - Algoma, our favorite town in the county even though it’s actually six miles south of the county line. Close enough.

The first half of the ride takes us straight down the west coast of the peninsula, following the line of the Niagara Escarpment the whole way. The cliffs are only visible in a few spots where the vegetation has been clipped away, but it’s indicated the whole way by the line of ridgetop houses a hundred or more feet above the road.

We’re following Green Bay the whole way too, just a few hundred yards to our right. But, like the limestone cliffs, the water is only sporadically visible, generally through the back yards of the unbroken line of beach houses. Because that’s just the way it is. If you got here early enough and have the resources, you could have bought your very own chunk of beach front and kept it all to yourself.

So, twenty five miles of riding a narrow ribbon between cliff and sea but with fairly limited views. The ride itself is quite nice though, with very little traffic. Bay Shore Drive is a fine cycling route, certainly much nicer than WI42. We’re passed by a number of other bikers as we make our way south into a modest headwind of maybe 10 mph.

At one point we hear a loud croaking off to our left, seemingly coming from a marsh we are just passing. Rachael suggests they could be cranes, but I correct her and say they’re frogs. Immediately afterwards, two noisy cranes appear above the trees and pass almost directly over our heads, making a liar out of me.

Leaving Fish Creek, cycling through a white cedar tunnel.

Another pretty stretch of road, through a young beech forest.

Cruising south along Bay Shore Drive. That line of trees on the left conceals the Niagara Escarpment, and the one on the right masks Green Bay.

Wreck of the Day. This one looks like it was built by limestone blocks from the Escarpment.

Looking across the mouth of Sturgeon Bay to Potawatomi State Park.

We make it down to Sturgeon bay by about 11:30. I was pretty lukewarm about the town when we stayed here last Sunday when the place was bursting with tourists. This morning though it’s much quieter and more interesting. If we come back this way in a quieter season I might give the town another look.

For lunch we stop in at Fatzo Subs, a spot Rachael came up with in researching the options. It’s only takeout for the time being, but there are tables and chairs outside. We relocate a couple of chairs to the only shaded spot on the lawn and dig in to our 12” sandwiches when they arrive. At first we’re irked that we didn’t get the 6” ones that I thought I ordered, but they go down easily enough and the calories will definitely be welcome later.

It’s only another 18 miles to Algoma, nearly all of them spent biking south on Shiloh Road down the exposed, open spine of the peninsula. It’s a very pretty road, peresumably one of the older ones in the county because of the placement of two historic churches and their associated small cemeteries beside the road. The cycling goes quite slowly though, because the weather has changed and now we’re biking straight into a strong headwind that must be 20-25 mph. The sun is out, and there are no trees to provide shade or break the wind. It’s a challenge.

As I bike, the name of the road triggers a memory and I start whistling and singing a favorite song I remember from long ago: In the Hills of Shiloh, sung by Judy Collins. It’s from one of her earliest albums, Judy Collins 3, one of the first folk albums my first wife and I owned. I can still picture the intensity of her blue eyes on the LP cover. Looking it up again now, I’m startled to see Shel Silverstein listed as the lyricist - rather a different mood than his I’m Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor.

It’s a haunting, bitter antiwar song - a simple, repetitious melody, sung by Collins almost as a howl, it works well as a mantra while I’m pushing into the wind. It gets the job done, and eventually we drop down off the crown of the peninsula to the lakeside and pick up some protection from the trees for the final few miles to town.

On Shiloh Road, we pass our Moravian Church of the Day. Two Moravian Churches in the same week!

Let’s wait here in the shade until the last minute. Are you finally ready, Scooter?

This should have been a video. Just imagine that grain shimmering and whipping furiously under a 25 mph wind.

Colorful. I like that peeling green roof and the stone foundation.

Lake Michigan, a few miles north of Algoma. It’s windy here, but this is the easiest part of the afternoon’s ride because we finally get some shelter from the trees.

Video sound track: Sonho (Dream), by Nando Lauria

We’re staying in a different motel this time through: the Harbor Inn, right at the mouth of the river. We’re considerably happier with this one than the cramped quarters we lived with last time. It’s significantly more spacious, less expensive, and maybe best of all it’s much closer to downtown and hardly more than a block from the great bakery Rocky swooned over before.

After showering and cooling off, we each set off to find comfort in our own way. Rachael heads to the bakery of course, and comes back with a carrot cake loaf. I walk across the bridge to the other side of the river to check out Ahnapee Brewery, enjoying their Little Soldier amber ale while I catch up on the journal.

Beer Here! I like that information. After the last 20 miles I feel like I’ve earned one.

Definitely a congenial place, one that welcomes all kinds.

Not long before sundown a brief thunderstorm develops. For a few minutes there’s just enough sunlight to produce a faint rainbow.

Heart

Comment

Link

Ride stats today: 46 miles, 1,300’; for the tour: 753 miles, 23,200’

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 753 miles (1,212 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	8
Comment on this entry	Comment	0