TODAY'S TALES: 

Yawn, it was a laid back get up this morning since breakfast was scheduled to be at 6:00.  We loaded at 7:00 to allow people time to go eat, but some took advantage of the breakfast at the motel. It was a pleasant ride out of town as they rode along the endless fields that glistened with fresh morning dew and listened to the sounds of farm dogs, song birds, and wild geese that broke the monotone of the whirl of their chains through their rear derailleurs.  There was a light fog lurking over the fields which gave the departure a sense of eeriness over the landscape. These are things you come to appreciate on a bike ride...things that you would miss if you were driving a car along the same route.  We had a pretty easy 87 miles to Port Huron with the winds forecast out of the NW...they were light most of the day.  We had another dry day in spite of rain all around us...keep praying to the rain gods.

The roads out of Birch Run were quiet country roads that were varying levels of smoothness.  Some sections were smooth as silk while other sections had weather cracks that would rattle your water cages...and your eyeballs.  For the most part, it was a good surface and the riders made good time until reaching the first SAG at about 29 miles out. 

There's still a few of the gang who are pushing to get the ride over with during the day, but I think there are more who are seeing that the end is near and are starting to throttle back a bit to enjoy the moment.  There were a few different riders near the rear of the group today which is usually an indication...that's a good thing and it usually happens about now.  We only have 11 more days after today...only 10 riding days.  We're almost down to single digits.  In route rap I mentioned a side trip to view Lake Huron and I think several riders took the diversion as I saw them eating lunch under the bridge...probably trying to get the nerve up to ride up that thing in the morning.  Some even went to the baloney factory in Yale...a can't miss attraction for sure.

Our first SAG was out in the country at an Artesian well that spews fresh drinking water which most of the riders used to fill their water bottles.  By the time everyone got to the well, they were in high spirits.  Last year a rider summed it up by saying he was energized by the state of Michigan, but find it puzzling that the biggest tourist attraction is a Bavarian Village.  Being energized is a much different attitude than we had the first year we rode across Michigan.  Since then, we've changed a large portion of the ride from busy, broken pavement highways to more back roads.  The second SAG was in a city park just inside the small town of Yale where we just missed the Bologna Festival that ended on the 26th.  We could have been in a parade and met the Bologna Queen...oh shucks.  But even though we missed the festivities, the park had bathroom facilities and shade...two major ingredients for a successful stop. 

It was basically a routine morning except we got really spread out early because of the split breakfast and the timing of both.  Actually, with a group this size, spreading them out a bit makes for easier traffic management and much safer than riding in large groups.  If we were all together, cars would have a tough time getting through us all day.  So our normal van rotation was easy...Barb to the first SAG, Silver to the second, while I bounced from the rear to the front to make sure everyone was doing OK.

While driving around all morning, I spent my time taking photos, calling into the office for an update on our progress, and calling the Bridge Authority to arrange for our crossing into Canada tomorrow morning.  They close the gigantic arched bridge over Lake Huron just for us, and we ride across like royalty while cars are parked at either end waiting for us to clear the road.  That's a statue of Thomas Edison in the foreground.  Port Huron is his boyhood home.  Wonder if he ever crossed this bridge?

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 sign indicating a steep descent...that usually means a steep climb right afterwards and this one was no different. 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 in the "Photos and Such" column may mean climbing because they are located on the highest point of land for gravity flow.

Most everyone was in by 2:00 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!

At rap, we talked about tomorrow's trip across the bridge.  We roll at 8:25...if you snooze, you lose!  We are to meet the bridge authorities at 8:30 at the top for an escort across the bridge...ought to be a hoot, but I won't rest easy until we get everyone into Canada and then I won't sleep until we get them all back into the states.  Hey, someone's got to worry about these things.  Hopefully, it will all go smoothly...it should as I'll be a lot smarter by tomorrow since we're staying in a Holiday Inn Express tonight!

PS:  I don't know how the internet connections will be in Canada...I'll keep up the journal while I'm there, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to update until I get back into Niagara...I'll try...we'll see.

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