Day 62 St Thomas, ON-Pt Ryerse, ON

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Jo Day 62 (Oct 1): No rain, just wind this morning at the Comfort Inn in St. Thomas, Ontario. After Kevin, Alan and John took off for their 64 mile ride, we drove off and did some grocery shopping at Walmart...again...yep, more ice! Then we took off down the country roads (lots of corn & squash farms with deluxe farm houses). We saw some kids in a field, we stopped and I asked what they were growing...tobacco! We saw quite a few tobacco farms and a couple wineries. We drove to Port Burwell, and for a few minutes on the beach of Lake Erie we felt like we were in the movie "The Birds" with Tippi Hedren! A gazillion sea gulls on the beach flew up like a tornado as we walked towards them...we looked up over our heads and said, "Oh shit!" and ran back to the van. We escaped without any bird poop on us. LOL! We looked at the Port Burwell lighthouse that was constructed in 1840 and closed in 1962. We parked across the street in the Marine Museum parking lot and Janut put together her crockpot ingredients for dinner (it was yummy good...Italian sausage with white beans and kale raggu over gnocchi). After plugging in the crockpot, we drove by a lot of giant wind turbines sitting on farms. The Lake Erie Wind Farm consists of 66 1.5 MW GE wind turbines that generate enough electricity for 24,000 homes. Each blade is 37 meters (about the length of a Boeing 737) and the turbine tower is 80 meters high. The swept area of the turbine blades is the size of 3 NHL rinks combined. They say wind power has positive environmental and economic benefits, but it sure does interfere with beautiful pictures of Mother Nature. Oh, we drove into the Long Point Causeway Improvement Project area and saw an American mink run across the road. How cool! But we did not get out to walk around because we saw a sign that said something about ticks and Lyme Disease! Yikes! We met the guys at the campground in the Norfolk Conservation Area, Point Ryerse, Ontario. We have a nice spot overlooking Lake Erie (we all looked, but we cannot say "I can see the US from our camp site!"). Alan put a new chain on his bike while Janut and Kevin put the finishing touches on our yummy dinner. It's appropriate that we drove on Spooky Hollow Road today because it's a party here...they are celebrating Halloween tonight, and the kids and adults are dressed in costumes roaming through the campsites trick'o treating...they did not venture into our area (big scary Sprinter van I guess), even though Alan was happily waiting with dried fruit treats and Cliff bars to give away. Kevin took Bob out to "practice" and they fit right in with the Halloween party...he looked like Charlie Brown in his orange and black bike jersey and Bob was Snoopy, of course! LOL! It's 10:10pm and the music is still playing at the pavilion (the campers are having a fun time). Usually "quiet time" is at 10pm, we're pass that. I hope the music stops soon, because we all need our beautyrest.
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Kevin Day 62 St. Thomas to Port Ryerse, Ontario. 64 miles. After breakfast in the Sprinter, we began our ride in the rain and headed back to the shoreline of Lake Erie to get back on the ACA route. It wasn't raining too heavily, so the 10 miles or so back to the route weren't too bad. At about 25 miles in we stopped in Port Burwell for our second breakfast. Port Burwell is primarily a tourist town in summer, so most places were closed for the season. There's a maritime museum in town where's there's a retired Canadian submarine on display. We heard from a local that the submarine didn't become the attraction it was to be. At our breakfast stop, "The Lunchbox", they had a collection of metal lunch boxes. Most seemed to be modern; none from back in the day. My favorite was the soft kitty lunchbox. After breakfast the rain had pretty much stopped so riding conditions were fine for the afternoon-gray skies and temps in the mid to upper 50's. Along the way we passed fields of tobacco, a few potato and tomato farms, and a couple wineries. (No stops). Lunch in Port Rowan, where we chatted with a family that was very interested in cyclotouring. In someone's yard we saw the tree with a bike wheel grown into place. That must have taken some training! Tonight's campsite is at the Norfolk Conservation Area-our campsite is on a bluff above Lake Erie with a view of the water. Tonight's dinner is gnocchi with a ragout with kale and Italian sausage. The cooking of the gnocchi is very exciting! Tomorrow we ride to Fort Erie, our last night in Ontario and the we will cross back into the United States at Niagara Falls. 

Day 62 - St. Thomas to Port Ryerse

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20161001-0823
Ride Time: 4:37:29
Stopped Time: 2:36:17
Distance: 64.23 miles
Average: 13.89 mph
Fastest Speed: 33.06 mph
Ascent: 520
Descent: 618
Calories: 3861

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 61 Clearville, ON-St Thomas, ON

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Jo Day 61 (Sept 30):  Clearville Park, Ontario was not so clear this morning... it was still wet and windy...cyclist(s) rain gear was still hanging up to dry in the van!  Janut was helping John dry his footprint...she looked like a matador fighting the wind! Haha! Kevin, Alan and John rode 42 miles today...42 wet and windy miles.  Janut, Bob and I stayed fairly close to the guys, trying to figure out where we should sleep tonight.  We drove ahead to look at possible campgrounds and motels, then waited for the guys to see how much further they wanted to ride in the rain and wind. One motel owner gave Janut the key to the room without paying (we drove around with the key for over an hour).  The room was ok (as expected for the low room rate) but there were two letters from the health department posted on the bathroom wall warning that the well water was unsafe and had high sodium.  We gave the room key back and told John and Alan to find another motel.  Better safe than sorry!  We stopped at Picard's, a peanut and candy snack shop...we bought beer nuts, honey nuts, mint meltaways, caramel pecan clusters, and chocolate bars. Mmmm tasty!  We were tracking the guys with the find friends app, and they missed a turn (they turned left instead of right).  We were very concerned and tried to call and text them (missed your turn, stop, go back), but no luck, they could not use their cell phones because their fingers and screens were too wet from the rain...well, that's what they told us...but if you look at the find friends app, it looks like they were making a direct b-line to the Railway City Brewing Company in St.Thomas!  St.Thomas is the railway capital of Canada.  Before we met up with the guys at the brewery, Janut, Bob and I stopped at the life size sculpture of Jumbo the elephant, perched on a hill as you enter St.Thomas.  On Sept 15, 1885, Jumbo (PT Barnum & Bailey's prized African elephant) met an untimely death when struck by a grand trunk locomotive in St.Thomas.  On the 100th anniversary of this tragic event the citizens erected this monument (a tourist photo op)...there are also murals with Jumbo throughout the downtown area.  Canada has some fun road signs, so I thought I'd share some with you.  The Railway City Brewing Company began in 2008 and has some tasty craft beers.  We had a fun time there.  Stephanie (their promo girl) took our picture in front of their beer brewing tanks, and it is posted on their Facebook page!  Alan and John checked into the Comfort Inn (no health dept warning letters, yay!) in St.Thomas, Ontario.  The van is nestled behind the motel with a nice view of a green lawn and tall bushes. We hung out at a coin laundry place to dry bike gear and soaking wet socks and chatted with the guy who worked there (he said for me to call him Prince Phillip - he shook my hand then kissed the back of my hand, oh my), he liked curling and sudoku, and did crossword puzzles everyday to "stay sharp". He also said he was a "zoomer"...what Canadians call a baby boomer with a little zip!  A lot of the local football teams drop off their uniforms to be washed...he said diluted baby shampoo removes the grass stains! I'll have to try that sometime. Enjoyed pizza from Al's Pizzeria for dinner.  The rain and wind has calmed down for now...it's a nice, quiet night.

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Kevin Day 61 Clearville ON to St Thomas, ON. 42 miles. Today we took a detour off the regular ACA route to find a motel in order to dry gear and clothing. The forecast was predicting more rain and stronger wind than yesterday, and the weather guys got it 100% correct this time. We left the campground and were immediately greeted with a more than fresh breeze right in our faces. Pouring rain added injury to the early morning insult of wind! We slogged about 18 miles to Wallacetown, where we had breakfast and then left the ACA route to our destination of St Thomas. At breakfast, we saw several items on the menu that included "Peameal bacon", so I asked what it was and our server laughed and explained that it is what Americans call Canadian bacon. Learned sumthin' new! Back on the road, wind and rain were once again our companions and we chugged our way towards St Thomas. I don't know the exact wind speed, but Weather Underground was forecasting winds of 22mph with gusts of 30+. Trees along the road offered some relief, but we would curse at cornfields and soybeans when we saw them, as they had no shielding effect against the wind. By the early afternoon we had reached St Thomas and discovered the Railway City Brewing Company in an industrial park, and we went in to try to dry off a bit, and have a beer. Turns out we had a great time there! They gave us some towels to dry off with, and had great beers! We got the full story about their beers, including their flagship beer, Dead Elephant IPA.  Dead Elephant was named to commemorate Jumbo, an elephant in the Barnum and Bailey Circus that was hit and killed by a train in 1885 in St Thomas. The people at the brewery were very friendly, and had some tasty beers. After we left there, we quickly found the Comfort Inn, where Alan and John have a room, and the Sprinter is parked out back. Tomorrow the forecast still calls for some rain, and decreased wind, but we will rejoin our regularly scheduled programming and be back on route on the shoreline of Lake Erie.

Day 61 - Clearville to St. Thomas

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160930-0859
Ride Time: 3:31:45
Stopped Time: 7:35:47
Distance: 43.05 miles
Average: 12.20 mph
Fastest Speed: 23.62 mph
Ascent: 252
Descent: 75
Calories: 2479

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 60 Kimball, MI-Clearview, ON

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Jo Day 60:  Rainy morning at the Port Huron KOA in Kimball, MI.  Boo - the rain continued throughout the day. Not much to do today except our morning chores, wash the dishes, cross the border into Canada, and shop for groceries. Kevin, Alan and John rode 89.5 miles today in rain and wind.  They got into camp late, too late to include pictures of their wet gear hanging in the van. The boys crossed the border at Marine City to Sombra (via the blue water ferry).  Janut, Bob and I crossed the border into Ontario Canada at Sarnia.  There was a long line to cross the bridge and to go through customs. The border patrol lady basically asked us three questions:  1) can I have your ID's,  2) do you have any pepper spray or mace, and 3) how long are you going to be in Canada.  When Janut replied about 4 days and crossing back over at Niagara, the border patrol lady said, "but that's only 3.5 hours away". Janut had to remind her that we have to wait for the 3 bike riders...they're only riding about 60 miles a day.  The patrol lady laughed.  Janut shopped for groceries at a Walmart in Sarnia, ON ... a small bag of ice was $2.48 Canadian dollars (highway robbery).  Tonight we are camping at the Clearville Park just outside of Ridgetown, Ontario (Canada).  It took us 1.5 hours to drive 54 miles!  I can't count how many turns we made (no direct routes), plus some roads were less than 60 km per hour (farm country, many of the farm houses are made of bricks, very pristine looking)...we had sketchy cell service all day.  At camp, if you're lucky, you can get one 3G bar if you sit in the front seat of the van, but there's no guarantee as to how long it will last.   Tonight it's raining off and on, and it's very windy. There are some nice size waves on Lake Erie.  Did I mention that it's windy?  Goodbye Michigan!  Hello Canada! It's the first day Bob's paws have touched Canadian soil!

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Kevin Day 60 Wadhams, Michigan to Clearville Ontario.  89 miles.  A rugged day on the road today. All day headwinds 20+mph, temps in the 50's and rain most all the time. We were well soaked when we made it to camp on Lake Erie right as it getting dark.  Highlights of the day-riding the ferry to cross the St Claire River to cross into Canada, where the customs officer asked the usual"citizenship? Anything to declare? Any weapons or firearms?"   Lunch in Wallaceburg, and running around to find a Service Ontario office to sign a contract for a campsite(?) and negotiating a closed bridge across the river in Kentbridge, with the only detour that would add miles to our route. We just went around the fences and walked across!  More rain and wind is forecast for the next few days, as a cutoff low is stuck in Ohio just throwing junk our way. Oh well.

Day 60 - Wadhams Michigan to Clearville Ontario

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160929-0845
Ride Time: 6:47:17
Stopped Time: 4:11:28
Distance: 89.57 miles
Average: 13.20 mph
Fastest Speed: 22.37 mph
Ascent: 228
Descent: 296
Calories: 5329

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 29 Litchville, ND-Kindred, ND

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Day 59 North Branch, MI-Kimball, MI

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Jo Day 59: Woke up to a chilly 48 degrees in the Sutter's Recreation Campground, North Branch, MI. We warmed ourselves up with hot cream of wheat, cinnamon toast, and coffee. One of the campground sites had a ray of sunshine hitting their solar powered hummingbird, too cute! It was a nice quiet campground with two ponds, one has an island with goats on it (chomping away at the grass). Kevin, Alan and John had a short ride day...only 53 miles. We ran into many road construction detours today (no worries, we have the iPhone and Garmin), we even passed by the guys who were waiting at one. Janut, Bob and I drove to Croswell, MI to walk on their famous swinging bridge over the Black River. It was built in 1905 as a more convenient route for the sawmill and sugar factory employees to walk to work. Originally it was just two cables with wood planks...thank goodness they added two more cables and the railings (a significant safety upgrade that met my standards). It is the longest suspension foot bridge in Michigan. We got caught in a surprise down poor at the bridge and saw funny Halloween decorations along the main drag (a lot of these small towns decorate the streets for Halloween). Since it was a short ride day, that was all the time we had for sight-seeing...until we arrived at the Port Huron KOA in Kimball, MI (Alan and John are in a cute little cabin). OMG! 309 sites (tents, campers, motor homes, cabins, deluxe sites with gas BBQ grills, glider chairs, covered dining tables, and KOA fire rings). It's akin to Wally World! Giant water slide, batting cages, train, bumper boats, go carts, gold and rock mining sluice box, tennis courts, amphitheater, basketball courts, jumping pillow, water balloon war zone, pavilions, community outdoor kitchens, ice cream palor, gym, pools, bike trails, mini golf, in-line skating rink, volleyball courts, livery (look like for pony rides), bike rental, Wild West stores, general store, game room, golf cart rental, laundromat, ATM, chapel, free wifi, horseshoes, shuffleboard, playgrounds, and a $10 doggy wash station (Bob was happy that he did not have to take a bath)....all this behind security gates...you have to have a security card to come and go. It's all decorated for Halloween and the place comes alive on the weekends. We are very lucky that it's a weekday and the place is almost a ghost town. Janut, Bob and I walked the perimeter, it took us over one hour! Geez, I'm exhausted, not from the walk but from writing about it - LOL. A storm just hit us big time (it's 8:26pm), heavy rain, 40 mph gusts, and pea sized hail. Good thing Janut decided to rent a cabin for Alan and John. Everyone is nice and dry. Yay!

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Kevin Day 59 North Branch to Kimball, MI. A short 53 mile day. A chilly start, but breakfast in Brown City (birthplace of the motor home!) warmed us up and gave us renewed energy. Soon we came upon some roadwork which required is to wait for a while, but conversation with the flagged kept us entertained and soon we were back riding. No lunch break, but we did stop at The Tavern in Yale for a beer-they had a reasonable selection of micros on tap. We got some local info on the nearby Wadhams Avoca Trail, and decided to leave the Adventure Cycling route and save a few miles. The trail was fun-a crushed limestone surface (Strada Bianca) which was firm and pretty smooth. The high point of the trail was the Avoca trestle, which gave a nice view of the river below and the valley around. Horses are allowed on the trail so occasionally we would have to take evasive poop maneuvers to avoid the horsepoop along the way. The trail had some nice amenities-bathrooms and the occasional bike repair station with air pump, complete with both presta and Schraeder valve heads. Tonight we are camping at the Port Huron KOA in Kimball. We got a cabin for John and Alan, which was a good thing, as a pretty good rainstorm came in after dinner-the radar screenshot captured the first squall with gusty winds and pea sized hail. Tomorrow we cross the St Claire River on a ferry and into Canada.

Day 59 - Sutter RV Park to Wadhams

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160928-0857
Ride Time: 3:46:48
Stopped Time: 2:55:41
Distance: 52.88 miles
Average: 13.99 mph
Fastest Speed: 19.31 mph
Ascent: 68
Descent: 259
Calories: 3329

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 58 Bay City, MI-North Branch, MI

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Jo Day 58: It was an Amish triple berry pie breakfast at the Bay City State Park, MI. Yum! An hour after Kevin, Alan and John took off for their 67 mile ride, Janut, Bob and I walked around the Tobico Lagoon and saw a family of mute swans (they have a black mask and are native to Eurasia and each male will take over a 25 acre territory and will evict or kill native birds and threaten endangered wildlife...a beautiful beast). We also saw wood ducks and learned that wood ducks nest in trees (there are man-made nesting boxes around the lagoon). On the other side of the Tobico Lagoon is a short walk to Lake Huron (Saginaw Bay). I watched a blue heron take flight over the water. Unfortunately, animals are not allowed on the beach so Bob took out his frustrations by digging holes in the sand. Our next stop was the Bay City Riverwalk, a long wooden walking bridge that spans across the Saginaw River. It was very windy and my hair flew all over the place...one time I looked a little like the Wolverine from X-Men. The Riverwalk is nice place, but stinky (smelled like Fife, maybe a paper mill). After our walk we ate lunch out of the van. Then we drove to the tourist town of Frankenmuth, "Michigan's Little Bavaria" (it's like Washington's Leavenworth). Fifteen German immigrants founded Frankenmuth in 1845. We walked down the main drag (everyone liked Bob, can't count how many times we heard "what a cute dog"). The Cass River flows through town...looks cool because big boulders have been placed in neat rows in the river for a flood control project. We saw an enormous pile of hubbard squash next to a building (we have no idea why it was there, maybe for some kind of fall decoration). People kept going into a place called "Zehnder's Famous Frankenmuth Chicken Dinners", so I had to stop and check it out...I came out with a to-go plate of fried chicken, spätzle, grandma's dressing, and a dinner roll. Uh, I'm a little embarrassed to say that Janut and I ate a second lunch today. It was yummy. When we drove pass the "road closed ahead & local traffic only signs" to get to the highway, we ended up at Bronner's Christmas Wonderland at 25 Christmas Lane. Unbelievable! We did not go into the store (it was massive), we were running late so we just drove around the giant parking lot that had nativity scenes, polar bears, penguins, various Santas, reindeer, snow men, elves, angels, candy canes, gingerbread people...almost anything you can think of that's related to Christmas was in the parking lot...I can't imagine what it was like inside the store...crazy! We finally made it to the Sutter's Recreation Campground in North Branch, MI. When we arrived there was a happy old man walking around the campground pushing a lawnmower...I think he was using it for his walker. Oh, Janut and I did not eat any dinner (leftovers), hmmm I can't imagine why. LOL!
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Kevin Day 58 Bay City to North Branch, MI. 67 miles. Another start to the day under cloudy, threatening skies, but no rain! It's due to clean living, believe me. We navigated, with some difficulty, the bike paths through Bay City ( signage was nearly non-existent and the ACA maps just said to follow the bike paths through the city). There was a cool board walk bridge over the Saginaw River , and then we were back on the streets following USBRS 20 east to Frankenmuth. From Bay City to Frankenmuth was around 25 miles, and was into a 20mph headwind. We we glad to stop for lunch at the Frankenmuth Brewery (established 1862). Backroads took us to Millington, then we hopped on another paved rail trail that took us to Otter Lake and an afternoon break at the Otter Lake Bar for exotic, local beers. We are about halfway across the thumb now. One more night in Michigan.

Day 58 - Bay City to Sutter RV Park

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160927-0833
Ride Time: 4:57:52
Stopped Time: 2:58:59
Distance: 67.70 miles
Average: 13.64 mph
Fastest Speed: 25.44 mph
Ascent: 334
Descent: 149
Calories: 4229

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 57 Lake George, MI-Bay City, MI

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Jo Day 57: In the morning the Lake George Campground was drying off, and it turned into a nice day of riding for Kevin, Alan and John (70 miles). Janut, Bob and I drove into Clare, MI, where there's an Amish community. The local hardware store has a special covered parking stall for the Amish horse buggies and there's a nice wide shoulder on the road to accommodate the buggies. We stopped at a roadside produce stand and chatted with a guy named Skeeter and his neighbor. The cauliflower was bigger than Janut's head, so we bought it, along with sweet Michigan Red Haven peaches, Yukon gold potatoes, zucchini, a red onion, a sweet yellow onion, and cherry tomatoes. We walked the streets of downtown Clare and did our civic duty (supported the local cops) by having a donut (just an ok donut, nothing special) at the Cops and Doughnuts Bakery (owned by cops). Then we went to an Amish bakery called "The Country Cookstove Bake Shop". A little shop behind Bob & Mabel's farm house. There was a separate building where the women were doing the laundry by hand. There is no electricity and they bake in wood burning stoves. Bob wanted to know how we knew about his bake shop, so I showed him my iPhone that had the directions and great reviews, Bob just shook his head, waved his hands and said "I don't know anything about those electronics, and I don't understand how it got there because I didn't talk to anyone." I explained that someone came to his bake shop, liked it, and posted a great review about it for others to read. Bob shook his head again ... I said, "well, it got us to come here to buy your baked goods!" He smiled and said, "Yeah, that's good. I have buses that come by, one's coming tomorrow with 35." Bob & Mabel's bake shop is doing good business. Oh, and Bob sounded a little like Mrs. Doubtfire. 😊 We went a little crazy and bought , bread and butter pickles, buckeye candy (like a Reese's peanut butter cup, but way better), breakfast crunch (slabs of granola that you break and crumble), egg noodles, peanut butter cookies, and a triple berry pie. So far, everything is awesomely delicious! We wish we could have bought more, but no room in the van! We stopped in Midland, MI to see the "Tridge", a three-way wooden suspension footbridge spanning the confluence of the Chippewa and Tittabawassee Rivers. It was pretty cool! It is also the location of the beginning (mile 0) of the nice paved "Pere Marquette Rail Trail" that Kevin, Alan and John rode on today (30 miles from Clare to Midland). Dow (as in Dow Chemical) is all over Midland (the high school's name, parks, ball fields, farmers market, etc). Camping tonight at the Bay City State Park, MI. It's sprinkling off and on, but it's nice & quiet.

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Kevin Day 57. Lake George to Bay City MI. 70miles. After a very rainy night, we hit the road again expecting a wet rainy day. But, no rain all day! We have had great weather throughout the trip; I attribute that to clean living on our part! The first few miles were on the road through the town of Farwell and then to Clare. We stopped for doughnuts and coffee at the world famous Cops and Doughnuts- decent, but not great doughnuts. The shop is "100% Cop Owned". At Clare we picked up the Pere Marquette Rail Trail- 30 great paved miles to Midland. A lunch stop at Oscar's Downtown-Great food and friendly bartenders. Midland is corporate headquarter for Dow Chemical -the local high school is Dow High School, and they call themselves the Chemics. Our bartender was lamenting how expensive it is to live there, as Dow employees push upthe cost of rent, etc. She said she rents a 4 bedroom house for $1,000/month! It's all relative, I suppose. After lunch we were back on rural roads, heading for the night's camp at Bay City Recreation Area State Park, on Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. We stopped for an afternoon break at Mort's Northern Bar, where I tried the exotic beer the locals liked at Mort's. Then to camp. Jo and Janet and bought a bunch of produce, a berry pie, and some other treats from some Amish along the way, including a cauliflower that was as big as Janet's head! Tomorrow we continue southeast, heading to Lake Erie.

Day 57 - Lake George to Bay City

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160926-0859
Ride Time: 4:39:46
Stopped Time: 3:01:53
Distance: 71.65 miles
Average: 15.37 mph
Fastest Speed: 23.70 mph
Ascent: 113
Descent: 674
Calories: 4503

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 56 Wolf Lake, MI-Lake George, MI

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Jo Day 56: This morning we had a nice chat with the new owner of the Day Star Motel at Wolf Lake, MI.  Kevin, Alan and John took off for Lake George, MI.  It was slim pickin's for sight-seeing, so we embraced the postings on the Roadside America app.  Janut,Bob and I drove to Baldwin to visit the "Shrine of the Pines" a collection of craft furniture made by Raymond Overholzer over the course of 30 years.  Sounded interesting, but we got there too early (imagine that) and we weren't going to wait around 2.5 hours for it to open, so all we saw were carved pine trees hanging from the closed wire gate.  Our next scheduled stop was the Rambadt Park in Reed City, MI where they claim to have a wooden replica of the Mackinac Bridge, it's called "Little Mac" Bridge.  What a riot, it's just a rickety old wooden suspension bridge...now we can say, "been there, done that."  Down the street was "The Old Rugged Cross" a memorial and museum about some old hymn written by Reverend George Bennard in 1912 (a drive by photo op while Janut played the song on the iPod).  We passed a logging mill, and then passed Kevin, John, and Alan on the road.  On our way to Lake George, we passed a farm with neat stacks of corn drying in the fields, so we turned around to take pictures (we do that a lot).  We had no idea that a guy named Jason in a black car was watching us...later on he pulled up next to us and asked if we were lost because he saw us twice (turning around) and thought he'd stop to see if we needed any help. Janut thanked him for stopping and for checking up on us, and told him we were not lost, we are traveling with cyclists and just like to take lots of pictures.  We continued on our drive and found the "Tice Trail" road, so we definitely had to take some pictures of the sign with the sprinter van.  Now, remember the nice guy, Jason?  Well, we were trying to drive around the perimeter of Lake George (sight-seeing), but the roads turned into narrow dirt roads, so at one point we had to turn around.  We pulled into a driveway with a black car to turn around, well, as we started to back up...what a shocker...we saw Jason get out if the black car, look at us, smiled and said "What are you doing here? Did you know this is where I live."  OMG, what are the chances of that?  We laughed and replied, "We had no idea, what a small world...and by the way, we are not stalking you!" We all had a good laugh!  We ended up chatting with Jason for half an hour, another nice guy.  We gave him our trip card so he could follow our adventures. Tonight we are camping at the Lake George Campground (very friendly new owners - according to Jason, the new owners fixed up the campground and the increase in campers has been very good for the local economy).  After laundry and dinner, we devoured lemon custard and creme de mint ice cream from the Jones' Homemade Ice Cream Palor in Baldwin, MI. Mmm...mmm...good!  The sunset?  Well, you could kind of see a little bit of it through the trees.  It's raining now, I hope the rain doesn't stick around.
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Kevin Day 56 Wolf Lake to Lake George, 60 miles. Today was fairly uneventful on the road-rolling hills through farmland. With only a couple of towns, we stopped only for lunch at a motel/restaurant/bar somewhere, and in village of Temple at the Buck Wild for an afternoon break. There's a significant Amish community in this part of central Michigan, and we saw some folks driving their carriages to town. Beyond that, just another low traffic day riding in rural Michigan. Tomorrow we ride to Bay City, which puts us across the mitt, and begins our trek across the thumb. It looks as it will start off rainy, hopefully is dry out during the day.

Day 56 - Wolf Lake to Lake George

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160925-0931
Ride Time: 4:24:39
Stopped Time: 2:23:21
Distance: 60.27 miles
Average: 13.66 mph
Fastest Speed: 29.29 mph
Ascent: 899
Descent: 601
Calories: 3644

http://www.cyclemeter.com