Day 38 -- What? No detours today?

July 28, 2004

ROUTE: Mt Pleasant MI to Birch Run MI    
DISTANCE:  75 Miles                  
WINDS: Light NW

WEATHER: Stunning, temps mid 70s  Not sure where summer went to              
TERRAIN:  Pancake like                 
TOTAL CLIMBING:  700 feet somewhere

RIDE OVERVIEW: Mikie here today, I'm in the van so I thought I'd try my hand at the web page...don't want to get too rusty and also thought I'd give Susan a break.  But she's so gung ho, she may put in a couple more cents at the end. 

Something about the eastern time zone...I hate it.  Because of the late sunrise, we get on the road an hour later by the clock. Of course that makes us get in an hour later and then it doesn't get dark until about 9:30...makes for a long day and little sleep.  I was really dragging this morning and several of the riders were too.  Many were on the road as the sun was peeking over the horizon, but there were also some who were more laid back in anticipation of an easy day. We are beginning to see some new faces near the back of the pack, but I think some of them were wanting to get in to check out the outlet stores by the motel--that is enough to get Barbara in early--did I remember to hide her credit card?  I'll bet the luggage truck will be packed full tomorrow.

Aside from the fact I hate this time zone, I love this riding area.  We get on a road or two for a short while that I wouldn't want to ride for a whole diet, but there are many good country roads in Michigan to ride and they are easy to navigate as they all run basically north and south, east and west, and they are pretty straight. Best of all--to some in our group--they are flat. I spent the best part of the morning just driving up through all the riders except the very front end, Another boring day in the van. Which is just how I like it.

I did have one diversion in the late morning.  As I was driving down Baldwin Road just past the town of Alma, I remembered that I stopped near here to talk to a farmer who had a great antique tractor collection. Every time I've led this ride, I've stopped to chat and see all his newly restored tractors so why not take a little time to see if he was home.  I drove up and knocked on the door. Luckily they were home and remembered me from years past. We chatted a bit until the docs and Team E rode up. I flagged them down and they all got to take the grand tour. The owner told us about his collection and some upcoming shows where he displays his prizes and competes in tractor pulls.  He has over 20 Allis Chalmers, Case, International Harvester, and Oliver tractors that he has restored to mint condition dating all the way back to 1934!  Last year he fired up an old '36 Allis that hummed better than it did when it was new I'll bet.

I got to relive some of my childhood memories as I sat on his old Farmall M model which was the first tractor I used when I lived on a farm. I was 12 again!  It's a good thing my van was in the way of me getting to a field. I was ready to plow something.  It's things like this that make these trips worthwhile and memorable--when you unexpectedly meet the nicest people on the road. I'll always remember Clarence Reeves and his wife Sandra on Baldwin Rd for taking the time to chat with us and share his passion for old tractors and I'm sure he'll remember the crazy cyclists who stopped by to take a picture of his old tractor. Thanks again to Mr. and Mrs. Reeves for their friendly hospitality.  It all started because I needed a photo of his lawn art (above left)!

Our terrain today was mostly flat. I think we climbed only around 600 feet all day today.  That's hardly worth getting up for, but riders are enjoying the flat stages for awhile. Our next real climbing won't be until the last two days when we'll have to really work to get to the beach. But flat and quiet country highways were the road of the day.  I'm not going to stereotype Michigan and say they have the roughest roads in America, but I think if you ask most cyclists, they would confirm that was the case.  In all defense of Michigan, at least they try to let us know when we get to roads that are probably not suitable for skinny tires.  As the road sign to the right clearly points out, we might want to bypass this road.

As I've said before, sometimes I have too much time on my hands or I've been on the road too long.  Today we came into the small town of Alma...another proud, small Michigan town.  Everywhere you looked there were signs indicating the high school's mascot...they were the Alma Panthers.  I think they should have used a tomato as their mascot.  Then they could have been called the Alma Maters.  Just a thought.  Sorry for that one.

You could make a whole trip out of just taking pictures of strange signs we see on our trips.  Yesterday I was riding along pretty briskly and saw the sign left. Is this sign advertising one process or two?  Either they have an unusual way of preparing deer meat (I would imagine the meat might be a little gritty) or you can have sandblasting done while you wait.  Now, I don't know about you, but just the other day I was wondering if I could get the paint removed from my car while my venison was being processed. I should have called 796-7500!

All in all, it was a pretty short day. Everyone was in by 2:30 and trying to relax or get laundry done.  It's amazing how soon everyone gets in when they don't have to figure out how to get around construction and road closures. We skated by today without any detours, but only barely.  We did pass one road-closed sign, but the road wasn't closed until we turned off. Whew.  For once, we got lucky.

So much for today, I'm headed for the outlet mall to warn them about Barbara coming later.  They don't close until 9:00 so it may be late before we get to bed.  Tomorrow is our last day in Michigan. Gee, the states are flying by now.  It won't be long before we will start to smell the Atlantic.  I hope you will join us again tomorrow for more adventures.  Mike

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:  

• "I felt lost without a detour."     
• "I can't wait until we have another hill." 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

Bob is carrying outlines of his grandkid's hands with well wishes
inscribed.  Good to have strong support on the home front. 
To the grandkids at home...Pop Pop is doing great.

Rory cruisin' past just one of the many rural scenes we passed today.

Due to the shortish day and with all the hard century days behind us,
Neal felt obligated to put in a few extra miles in the motel gym. 
Whatever floats your boat I guess.

Somehow I think this "Sponge Bob" thing is getting a bit out of hand. 
I have a Sponge Bob on the front of my bike, one on the rear of my
 bike, and I wear a Sponge Bob jersey...now I have to wear Sponge Bob
socks...What next?  Live in a pineapple? 

Dinner at Tony's was great...especially if the riders sprung for the "mountain of desert"
they served.  We put the spoons in there for size comparison...there
 must be 8003 calories in that thing. I think I'll start my "cut back on
the calories" speech before it's too late.