Today we will talk about tires, beer, and fun. Not in that order though - well - maybe in that order. I haven't decided. Oh, and M&Ms.
Right now I am eating M&Ms, and Eminem is from this state. Coincidence?!?!?!? Maybe I'm his real dad?
I had a great night last night, which I already wrote about. The hyper-social interaction combined with a shower, soft bed, breakfast, and morning coffee completely rejuvinated me. I felt great in the morning. Even with a cooked breakfest I was on the road by 7:30 (Thanks Theresa!) By 9:30 I had done 20 miles and stopped to eat a pastie, which is basically a portable pot pie really popular in the UP. Since I had only had one there I vowed to eat another one if I saw one down south, and so I did.
After the pastie and some poop 'n texting with Iris, I was back on the road by 10:30. Around mile 28 I hit constuction and a dirt road, but by mile 38ish I was on the Pine River Trail heading 30 more miles to Grand Rapids.
This bike trial was awesome! It was wide, well paved, not rooted out, and full of people doing a 200 mile 24 hour running relay. Crazies like that and me speak the same language, so I had fun visiting with them. I averaged 19 +/- 2 mph on the trail because it was flat and protected from the wind. Hell yea! I made it to Josh's work by 2:30 at mile 65 with 4:20 on bike. That's WITH taking time to find and buy a new tire just north of town.
Can we take a minute to talk about tires? Ignore this if you don't care. Just skip down a few paragraphs.
-------- start bike wonk stuff -----
So, my prefered touring tire is are 700x32 (diameter x width in mm) Bontrager Hardcases because they have a great balance between feel, traction, handeling, weight, and longevity. I used to tour on specialized armadillos and flak jackets, but they tended not to last too long.
For my towny bike Bontrager Hardcases aren't beefy enough for urban riding so I ride the invincible Schalwbe Marathon Plus. These are way heaver, ride kind crappy, but are invincible I would use these or their lighter, better riding, less flat proof brother the regular Marathon on any tour outside the US. Most baggers run these, but I think the hardcases are good enough for paved US tours and that they ride better. Generally the more flat protection you have the worse the tire rides and the heaver / more rolling resistance they have. Josh says that he has good flat-proof Continentals that ride better than hardcases, so maybe I'd try those out. Anyway, today I found a replacement 700x32 Hardcase, so I am winning!
----- end bike wonk stuff-----
I got to Josh's weekend work at a bike shop around 2:30, he got off work, we rode to his house and talked to his wife Amy, and then Josh and I went to Founders Brewery and had lunch and some great beer. This afternoon Josh and Amy (both awesome people and dedicated bike advocates) are volunteering at a brewfest a few blocks from their house. I was there for a bit but got overwhelmed by heat (not sure why, but I did ride pretty hard today) and needed to come back to their house for a bit to cool down and write this blog entry. I'll be heading back to the party soon.
For the record, this part of Michigan has the best beer and beer selection since I left the NW part of Oregon. Go Michigan!
Tonight I will drink beer and hang with my good friends whom I haven't seen in about 10 years, and then tomorrow Josh might ride with me about 60 miles to Portage (near Kalamazoo) to hang out with Andrew (a RoadShower), Liz, and Mark who's my neighbor in Oregon visiting them. Mark is also an original RoadShower like Josh, and I believe it will be the first time they've seen each other since biking across the US together in 2003. What a crazy world.
And now, more fun for me!
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