Wheeled Migration

[posted to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo Group on June 18, 2005]

I strained my right Achilles tendon just before I wrote you last time, so I made an effort to cut down on my daily miles. I decided to forego the Midwest Renewable Energy Association's annual Sustainability Fair this weekend (you may recall I visited their location in the second week of my trip and nothing was going on at that time) because I'd have to ride fast and hard for six days... besides, it happens every year. My joints are feeling much better now.

I slept all right with earplugs in last night, but I felt rotten in the morning and really didn't want to get back on the highway.  I stopped in Florence, WI to use the Internet and supplement my breakfast... just after that I left the highway behind and immediately felt 100% better.  The coffee may have helped.

There's a joke that small towns in Wisconsin (and other states, I suppose) consist of just a church and a bar, and the church is optional.  Well, the town of Spread Eagle, WI, has six bars and no churches, and half the bars feature dancers.

Today was cooler and very breezy, but I still made over 50 miles.  I crossed back into Central time, so now dawn will come at 4:30 AM... joy.

I stopped at the county campground near Iron Mountain, hoping for some peace and quiet away from the highway -- last night I needed earplugs to keep the noise out.  But this campground is full of families who want to play their radios for some reason.  After weeks of highway riding, I'm so sick of the radio I want to throw it in the lake, but earplugs work for that, too.

52.0 mi

I waited to leave Manistique until the rain stopped.  It didn't return all day, though there was drizzle on and off, and the wind was strong at times.

I joined US-2 this morning, the road I'll be riding all the rest of the way into Wisconsin.  It's a lot like the Trans-Canada Highway, only with paved shoulders.  I hope they continue!

I followed the Hiawatha Tour bike route shown on my maps.  It took me down highways that had low traffic and good shoulders.  There was only one hill; otherwise flat farmland and pine forests with a ferny understory.

I stopped for lunch in Rudyard and talked with the diner's owner.  He gave me a bumper sticker that says I ate there.

I was able to ride back roads more than half the way today.  Sunday morning traffic was so light it wasn't really necessary, but it was nice to sample the quiet and countryside.  I saw a lot of fields, but none appeared to be cultivated.

[posted to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo Group on June 12, 2005]

Some reflections on my ride through "the north": The region I rode through is referred to as "Northern Ontario" even though it's south of most of Ontario -- it's just north of most of the inhabited part. Sometimes it's just called "the north" or even "northern Canada" even though it's actually south of most of the Canada-US border and the majority of the provinces!

[posted to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo Group on June 12, 2005]

I made it to Michigan! I've got a lot to tell -- it's been almost two weeks, after all -- so I'll put the travelogue in this message and some more general observations in the following message.

After yesterday's marathon ride, I was glad to take it easy today.  I had brunch in Iron Bridge and planned to turn north at Bruce Mines and camp at Rydal Bank, but when I got to Bruce Mines around 4:00, an ominous thunderstorm was moving in.