Today's Report: 

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 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.  We are going to be on gentle terrain for the next few days and I'm sure everyone will be looking for a hill just to get out of the saddle a bit.  But fear not, we'll get plenty of climbing on the last couple of days...and I do mean plenty.

Karen and I didn't get on the road until after the last rider since I was sweep today.  I hadn't eaten when everyone left and also needed to take care of a couple odds and ends so it was play catch up all morning.  By about 20 miles we started to pick off a few of the back end and felt we could now take a little time to ease off a bit. 

Every year when we get to Baldwin Road just out side of Alma, Karen and I stop by and say hello to the Reeves family.  In 2002, Karen and I saw an old tractor sitting in their front yard and wanted a photo.  As a result of that chance stop, we developed a nice friendship with Clarence and Sandra Reeves and make a point to stop every time we come through just to say hello.  Sadly, Clarence passed away this spring succumbing to Lou Gehrig's disease, but Sandra still welcomed us with open arms and was eager to show us their latest projects.  Her son and a neighbor were restoring an old disc plow they picked up from Tennessee and she also wanted us to see a 1942 Chevy farm truck they'd procured...they sure have a knack for restoring old stuff...a lost art in most of this fast paced world.  In the past visits, Clarence took the time to show us his prize tractor collection, dating all the way back to 1934, he had stored away in the sheds behind the house.  He had over 20 Allis Chalmers, Case, International Harvester, and Oliver tractors that he had restored to mint condition!  During one visit 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 Super M model which was the first tractor I used when I lived on a farm...I was 12 again!  I'll always remember Clarence and Sandra on Baldwin Rd and feel blessed for making their acquaintance.  They surely didn't have to take the time to chat with us and share their passion for old tractors, but they did.  I think Sandra will remember the crazy bikers who stop by every year for a visit and to see what she's up to.  It's things like this that make these trips worthwhile and memorable...when you unexpectedly meet the nicest people on the road.  It all started because I needed a photo of their lawn art!

Our terrain today was mostly flat...we only climbed around 600 feet all day today.  That's hardly worth getting up for, but they 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 today, 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 bikers, they would confirm that a few of them were close.  Today we had a short detour around a bridge out and a couple other roads had just been chip sealed and still had loose gravel laying about...but something like that isn't going to stand in the way of us getting to the beach.

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.

All in all, it was a pretty short day...everyone was in by 2:00 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 with only one detour...and it was pretty easy in spite of a mile of gravel.  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.

PS:  Happy birthday Julie!

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