Saturday, August 9, 2014
Woodville to Grand Rapids: Oh yea, beer!
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!
Interlochen to Woodville photos
My most hated sign.
Dave and Theresa's farm (part of it)
Pretty!
Gravel :(
Dave and Theresa's farm where I stayed.
Dave and Theresa
Look! Church pizza!
Karaoke
Up high
City park AND airport....
Karaoke
Not all the would are deciduous
This is in a National Forest. I don't think Michigan knows what that means.
Well, there goes my plan to take that road...
Scenery.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Interlochen to Woodville: Adventure happened again!
Jeeze it's late so I'm gonna hurry this up. I'm in the guest room of Dave and Theresa in Woodville, Michigan. Tonight I ate tons of free pizza and sang kaoroke ( can't spell that) at their church (Folsom Prison Blues). I also got a shower - my first since the UP - but not before my church fun so I bet I was smelly.
It all started in Interlochen.... where I woke up. This happens frequently. Actually, about once a day. Then I rode my bike (this also happens daily) about 20 miles before realizing that biking was really hard and that I was tired. My body is wearing out. I should be getting over a hump and be feeling like I could do this forever (I felt that in northern Wisconsin and the UP) but right now I just feel tired. So, I caffinated myself and kept going. 15 miles later in a town with a name that ends in "corrners" I was still feeling poopy so I stopped for lunch and decided it was time for a beer. It was a great call.
The main issue, besides my legs being tired, is my upper body is getting killed by the combination of shrinkage and the new 28c not-shock-absorbing tire. My shoulders, wrists, and arms ache. I've lost about 15 pounds so far this summer (down to 185) yet my legs are larger. I haven't lost too much body fat that I can notice - biking doesn't get your heart rate up much so you don't burn too much fat - but I have lost a lot of upper body muscle. I predicted this, but it's still annoying. Most serious bikers end up looking like someone stapled Raggedy-Andy's upper body to the legs of He-Man.
Side note: Lance Armstrong was a triathelete before getting cancer, and wasn't that great of a biker. During cancer he losts most of his muscle. After cancer he refocused only on biking so he re-grew his leg muscles but not his swimming upper-body. This saved consirable weight and made him a much better cyclist.
So yea, that's happening to me too. Thing is, those muscles really help with long bike rides. The rides themselves aren't enough to build them up or maintain them, however. This is why cross-training exists. Running helps cycling in similar ways, yet cycling does not build running muscles well. Cross-training does not work with a touring schedule, so I'm doomed. Even though I'm still doing a set of 50 pushups most mornings, I've lost about half of my upper-body muscles. I'm now "wirey" I guess.
Anyway, that's part of why I hurt I think. Also I bike too much. In the town that ends in "corners" I realized my intended stop of Luther (59 miles) would put me too far away from Grand Rapids (110 miles) to get there early in the afternoon like I'd like to. I decided to push on 90 miles that day to Woodville to help.
Then construction happened, detours happened, my route changed frequently, got shorter, and even involved gravel. It was sandy gravel though, much better than Wisconsin gravel. I did almost go down a couple times when it went from smooth to "OH GOT THAT'S DEEP SAND" but I'm experienced to enough to muscle my bike back upright when it's sliding sidewise and mostly tipped with a quick kick to the ground and a few swear words. (actually, right before falling I said "Uh Oh" and right after saving it I said "Now what did you learn?" Swearing would have been less pretentious) Mountain and snow biking reflexes for the win!
I got to Woodville, a very small town, about 6:04 pm with 6 hours on bike and 85 miles. There was no park, so I asked to stay behind the one store but they didn't have land. I was directed to a park a few miles away, but before I left I decided to check the church and see if I could camp there. My original plan was to camp anywhere since it's in a national park, but those aren't the same here as they are in Oregon. This national park is all privately owned farms. Huh? Anyway: Church:
WINNING! The church was having a homemade pizza party and karyoake. I got permission to camp there but then was invited to David and Theresa's farm where I got a shower, a bed, good conversation, and will get breakfast. Everything is coming up Milhouse!
"I gotta say, today was a good day!"
Tomorrow I hit Grand Rapids hopefully early to party with Josh and Amy! Also will try to buy a fatter front tire.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Ellsworth to Interlochen Photos
Morning fog after it cleared a bit on the lake. This is what I ate breakfast to.
Dude in Traverse City called this a "Burrito Bike." Yes, it scraped the ground a lot. It's made out of an old Schwinn tandem frame.
Hills today...
Hey look! It's where I ate dinner behind the store thingy! The lady running it was super nice.
Traverse City has water.
and beaches
and is surrounded by hills
but still has beaches
An you enter it on a cool bike path. This path is a good example of Rails to Trails in places, but much if it is poorely made. I guess I am spoiled by Eugene's excellent paths. This path was too narrow (should be 12 feet), and concrete was too thin so it was wavey and cracked, and frequently turned into a wide sidewalk punctuated by driveways and stop signs (like my picture from yesterday) which is incredibly dangerous. Also, all the up and downs into those driveways had a 1/2 curb which sucks to ride. Michigan could learn a lot for Eugene and Portland.
Views like this were all day and night. Well, all day. It's dark at night.
Many of the houses around here in thet rural areas have their own seal or name. There were tons of them. I wish Oregon did that. This was my favorite.
Oh look we're back in Travers City!
Easterport: "Small... BUT MIGHTY!!"
This was sthe fog that I woke up too, which said "go back to bed or cars will run you over!"
Ellsworth to Interlochen: look another two part post!
Ok, this post is another two parter. It will include the ride report (what a fun day) and the route change that I've settled on - for now. Lets get that boring part out of the way first.
Part 1: ROUTE
The original plan for this trip was to ride about 1,200 miles after RAGBRAI to Brattleborough, VT where my buddy Mark was moving. This included riding with the RAGBRAI team bus about 200 miles to Custer (Wellingville) in Wisconsin. Since RAGBRAI I've ridden a little over 800 miles, which would have put me 400 miles out of Brattleborough and currently in upstate New York. I would have arrived around August 15th ahead of schedule.
When Mark did not move there, I figured I'd decide on my post- RAGBRAI route on the way to RAGBRAI - and I did. I wanted to head up into the UP and see Mackinac Island instead of my original plan of heading straight across the lake on a ferry. This, along with my lack of a ride to Wellingville, increased my post RAGBRAI mileage to about 1,800 miles. Vermont was never really an option with those two changes.
So, I've decided that what the latter of this trip will be is a loop around Lake Michigan and then a return to Iowa to visit friends and family. I've never bike tourered Iowa not on RAGBRAI, so I'm actually really looking forward to it. I'll also get to ride across Illinoise again and part of Indiana. The total mileage I'll be doing, if I'd headed straight to Vermont or the lower east coast, would have put me in the Atlantic ocean. I think it'll be around 1,500. I think that's good enough. I plan on doing a post-RAGBRAI tour (with people, hopefully Iris) every few years, so I can always do my original plan later if I want to.
I think my final day will likely be in my hometown of Cedar Falls, sometime around the 20th. I'll be taking a day off in Iowa City and maybe hitting Ames, but I doubt I'll have time.
Part two: RIDE REPORT
So, I forgot to mention where I stayed last night. Ellsworth has a nice campground in town, but they wanted $15 for a tent. That's silly, if I paid that every night I'd go broke. Also, pay to put up a tent? Blah! Instead of I found a covered picnic table area and slept there. There were two, actually, one near the campground and one elsewhere in town, so I picked the one away from the campground for plausible deniablity. The population was only around 600 so I figured I'd be OK. I hid my bike around a the corner of a building and slept under a table since it was a really exposed park.
The funny thing was the couple that hung out in the park from about 10pm to 12am talking and I think later having "relations" in their car. They had no idea I was there the entire time. They weren't too close to me so I tried to sleep, but it was amusing.
The park was right on a lake, so when I woke up it was beautiful and foggy. Condensation had started soaking the roof of the pavillion and dripping off like rain earlier that night (10pm even, that's why I have to sleep in a covered area instead of just a sleeping bag any grass unless I'm in a desert - and then I need to be elevated to avoid snakes and things). The heavy fog convinced me to sleep in since it's not safe to ride the crazy hills and turns around here with low visibility. Yay extra sleep for me!
I got on the road around 8:30 and did about 63 miles to Traverse City which was my intended stopping place. That ride was great, but very very hilly. I'm starting to leave forest and see more farm land. I'm loving Northern Michigan.
Traverse City has a population of 15k so I knew I couldn't just sleep anywhere. I struck out with two Warm Showers people and a bike shop guy said that anyplace I found where the cops wuld leave me alone would be shared with lots of homeless folks. I don't mind hanging with homeless folks, but I have a lot of expensive gear and I wanted to sleep soundly, so I bounced out of town 13 more miles to the smaller town of Interlochen. I got there at 73 miles (79 after exploring the town) with about 5:15 on bike at around 5:30pm.
This is a cool tiny hippy town, but has no park. There is a state park nearby, but I again I hate paying to sleep. I'm not camping and having a fire and partying, I'm just sleeping. Paying to sleep is stupid.
After some digging and asking around the owner of a cool store selling great beer let me sleep behind her store, so I'm set AND legal AND don't need a tent because there is an overhang. Total Win! She is super nice. Everyone here is, actually.
Tomorrow I head about 50-60 miles to Luther and then 88+ to Grand Rapids to hang with Josh and Amy, Team RoadShowers. I biked the US with Josh in 2003 as well! See, route change for the win!
I met another bagger today doing a local loop from Wisconsin, ate good ice cream, took naps, and had fun. With my route figured out I'm able to start relaxing again. Good times!! Also, I'm drinking really good beer right now.
ILYI
Cross Village to Ellsworth photos
I. Hate. Private. Property. If I ever own land in an area like this you won't see one of these friggin signs.
View nearing Petoskey
Tunnel of Trees
The garden at Three Pines Studio in Cross Village.
Hills
Petoskey bike path
Harbor Springs
Going to the Tunnel of Trees
Worst designed bike path ever in Petoskey.
Mmmmm....
Petoskey
I think this is Boyne City
Where I slept in Ellsworth. Great acoustics!
Boyne City
