ROUTE: Birch Run to Port Huron MI
DISTANCE: 88 miles
WINDS: Northwest tailwind at 5 to 8 mph
DISTANCE: 88 miles
WINDS: Northwest tailwind at 5 to 8 mph
WEATHER: Beautiful--sunny, clear and in the low 80s
TERRAIN: Gently rolling in spots
TOTAL CLIMBING: 1,340 feet
TERRAIN: Gently rolling in spots
TOTAL CLIMBING: 1,340 feet
RIDE OVERVIEW: Up in the morning and off to school♫, er...Up in the morning and off after Mike, Our leader is riding a Roark bike....♪ [Sorry about that. The song has been running through my mind all day (aarrrggghh!) and I had to dump it!]
Onward. We waited until first light, which comes an hour later than we're used to, and then after a hearty breakfast at either the motel or a place called the Exit--or both--riders and staff were off. Well, most of the staff. Barb got hung up in check-out paperwork, so I booked it to SS#1 at an artesian well and provided the SAG smorgasbord until Barb arrived. I hadn't been there more than a few minutes when the first riders showed up. The fragment of birthday cake left was the piece with Josh's photo on it, and no one wanted to eat it. So I cut Josh into such tiny pieces so that no one recognized him. Then the last of the cake disappeared.
After Barb arrived, I packed up and headed to the front of the line and SS#2 in a city park in Yale, MI. I had just arrived, marked the road since I was not visible from it, and set up when Mike and Karen rolled in. They used the facilities, grabbed some trail mix, and hit the road again. They were hammering at 25-26 mph intent on getting to Port Huron by 11:30 so that Mike could set up the bridge crossing into Canada tomorrow. This gigantic arched bridge is closed just for us, and we ride across like royalty. When I got to Port Huron I took a photo of the bridge (left), as I understand it may be in fog tomorrow morning. Traffic was at a standstill on both spans, but the bridge is so high that you cannot see it. That's a statue of Thomas Edison in the foreground. His connection to Port Huron I do not know. Maybe Mike can fill you in...or not. [I later found out that Port Huron was Edison's boyhood home.]
Evelyn's husband, Craig, met her yesterday and rode with her today. He will ride with us for the next couple of days. Craig brings the number of docs back up to 3 because he is an anesthesiologist. As conversation flowed, I found out that both Craig and Mary Jo's son, Dan, competed in the same Ironman in 2001. So many connections--is this because dedicated athletic cyclists are such a small group? My roommate, Diane, is going to Honolulu for the World Triathlon Championships in 2005 (when she is 70!) and she has competed in 9 Ironman competitions in the past. Dan Goade's wife participated in a triathlon at Lake Placid a couple of days ago, also. At breakfast that day, Dan looked at his watch and announced, "Well, she's in the water now." I hear she did very well.
Onward. We waited until first light, which comes an hour later than we're used to, and then after a hearty breakfast at either the motel or a place called the Exit--or both--riders and staff were off. Well, most of the staff. Barb got hung up in check-out paperwork, so I booked it to SS#1 at an artesian well and provided the SAG smorgasbord until Barb arrived. I hadn't been there more than a few minutes when the first riders showed up. The fragment of birthday cake left was the piece with Josh's photo on it, and no one wanted to eat it. So I cut Josh into such tiny pieces so that no one recognized him. Then the last of the cake disappeared.
After Barb arrived, I packed up and headed to the front of the line and SS#2 in a city park in Yale, MI. I had just arrived, marked the road since I was not visible from it, and set up when Mike and Karen rolled in. They used the facilities, grabbed some trail mix, and hit the road again. They were hammering at 25-26 mph intent on getting to Port Huron by 11:30 so that Mike could set up the bridge crossing into Canada tomorrow. This gigantic arched bridge is closed just for us, and we ride across like royalty. When I got to Port Huron I took a photo of the bridge (left), as I understand it may be in fog tomorrow morning. Traffic was at a standstill on both spans, but the bridge is so high that you cannot see it. That's a statue of Thomas Edison in the foreground. His connection to Port Huron I do not know. Maybe Mike can fill you in...or not. [I later found out that Port Huron was Edison's boyhood home.]Evelyn's husband, Craig, met her yesterday and rode with her today. He will ride with us for the next couple of days. Craig brings the number of docs back up to 3 because he is an anesthesiologist. As conversation flowed, I found out that both Craig and Mary Jo's son, Dan, competed in the same Ironman in 2001. So many connections--is this because dedicated athletic cyclists are such a small group? My roommate, Diane, is going to Honolulu for the World Triathlon Championships in 2005 (when she is 70!) and she has competed in 9 Ironman competitions in the past. Dan Goade's wife participated in a triathlon at Lake Placid a couple of days ago, also. At breakfast that day, Dan looked at his watch and announced, "Well, she's in the water now." I hear she did very well.
Last night Robert invited Jeff and Jim (and me, but I had to decline) to a cook-out at his relatives' house near Birch Run. Really sorry I missed it. The guys reported a fabulous spread--marinated flank steak, sesame chicken, and trout for the entrées and all sorts of goodies surrounding these delectables.
The route was mostly flat today--only one "climb" of any size. It came as a surprise, too, because the road had run flat for so long and then suddenly we came upon the truck on a cheese. The road took and abrupt downhill and then a quick uphill after a bridge across a creek. I've learned that where there's water there's generally climbing. Lakes, rivers, and oceans were either created by glaciers that clawed the surrounding land into hills or created by erosion that carved out bluffs and created hills, headlands, or capes. Even water towers such as the friendly one below right may mean climbing because they are located on the highest point of land for gravity flow.
Everyone was in by 3 today, but many of these would have been in by 1 had they not stopped to picnic on the beach or to tour the enormous and beautiful lakeside homes in Port Huron, or to go to "da bridge" as I did for a look-see and photo shoot. Speaking of lakeside, we were on Lakeshore Drive for a piece today, and I saw also Lakeshore Road, Lakeside Road, Lake Edge Street, Beach Street, and Lake Street. Gee, enuff already!Tonight we're eating dinner at the Bangkok Star, and then everyone is to get themselves together for crossing into Canada tomorrow--which means locating their passports, birth certificates, or photo IDs and making sure that their ABB North 2004 jerseys are clean...this latter because Mike has declared tomorrow "Jersey Day" so that he can get some good pix for the website, the ABB brochure, and the end-of-ride CD-ROM. Tune in tomorrow for the great bridge adventure. I'm riding, yahoo!
Four more limericks from our limerick lad, Andrew:
Jeff, Robert, & Jim
Jeff, Jim and Robert
On pie are truly expert.
And you can be sure
Team Entrepreneur
Will never ride past a dessert.
Jeff, Robert, Dan, Paul K., Louis, Russ, & Rory
Of them there's a great weighty tale,
These guys are way off the scale.
Each big as a horse,
I'm speaking of course
Of the team we know as Clydesdale.
Senior Paul
What should we call senior Paul?
We've already used "New" and "Tall."
Moreover, we're told
He doesn't like "Old."
How about Paul "Geritol"?
Mark
If ever your bike is a wreck,
Just take it to Marcus the Mech.
He'll give it a fix
In just a few ticks,
Be it Seven, Serotta, or Trek.
HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:
- Q: "How many doctors does it take to change a flat bicycle tire? A: One, but it takes six people to assist him in this delicate operation." [Steve had a flat a couple of days ago and six riders stopped to "help" him.]
- "Where'd this downhill come from?"
- "Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day. I've got a wonderful feeling! Everything's going my way. . ."♪♫♪♫
- "Do we have to climb the bridge? Can't we swim across?"
DUH! OF THE DAY: Riders calling for new plates because one tiny muffin (still unblemished and in its paper) was sitting in the middle of the top plate on a large stack of plates. Paul said he put it there and then watched all shun that stack of plates. Ahh, the Mighty Muffin. Carry one with you and place it on your bike when you have to leave it unlocked. It'll work better than a kryptonite lock as a deterrent.
RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS: Haven't had a chance until now to report a RAK that happened to Neal in Manitowoc. He'd been discussing his craving for a fresh ear of buttered corn with Paul. when he got to town, he stopped at a fresh produce stand and asked the woman who owned it if there was a place in town that served fresh corn. She did not know of any.
After eating and doing his laundry, Neal returned to the hotel at about 7:30. Lo, he found a dozen freshly roasted ears of corn, a tub of butter, and a salt shaker in his room. The produce woman had stopped some of the other cyclists and found out Neal's room number. She said not to tell because she might not be able to make it home and complete the task in time. She went home, prepared the corn and delivered it herself to Neal's room. Now that's a real RAK! Neal shared his booty with several others.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY:
After eating and doing his laundry, Neal returned to the hotel at about 7:30. Lo, he found a dozen freshly roasted ears of corn, a tub of butter, and a salt shaker in his room. The produce woman had stopped some of the other cyclists and found out Neal's room number. She said not to tell because she might not be able to make it home and complete the task in time. She went home, prepared the corn and delivered it herself to Neal's room. Now that's a real RAK! Neal shared his booty with several others.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY:
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| Judith's calling the cops. Andrew passed her in a no passing zone! |
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| Robert, Jim, Jeff, and Liisa take the pause that refreshes. They're happy campers...even though not the missionary campers welcomed on the sign in the background. |
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| Red inserts itself between an angry rotweiller and Diane. The rotweiller took great exception to Diane, who was using her cell phone in its driveway... so much so that she had to hang up on her daughter and beat it out of there. Now, this dog, Robert, is definitely not a Pomeranian. |
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| Portrait of an Artist--Tall Paul takes a photo of White's innards to illustrate his 2004 North Journal. Dear Ma, this is what the water cooler, Germ-X, Handiwipes, Gatorade, and sign-in sheet look like. |
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| Riders exercise their metal ponies on the merry-go-round at Yale City Park. |
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| A barn with a backache. Actually, since it is surrounded by soybeans, which don't need to be stored in a barn, and since a lot of hay these days is rolled in plastic and left in the fields, unless the farmer has animals he needs to house, big, beautiful, wooden barns like this may go the way of the dinosaurs. |
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