|
Tuesday dawned as another cloudy and foggy day. We left Farwell and headed east on a quiet semi-rural road. Turning south after about 10 miles, we rode through a Native American reservation. After several miles of cornfields, the pavement ended abruptly and we were on a dirt road. Since most of us had road bikes with very skinny tires, we slipped from side to side as we pedaled, often feeling like we were about to fall. As we started to adapt to the surface, two dogs ran out of a yard and started to chase us. We escaped the dogs, but rain then began to pour down on us. Fortunately, we turned left on to a paved road in about a mile. All of the riders stopped at this intersection to don rain gear.
A few miles later, as the sunshine resumed, we came to the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail bicycle path. This path paralleled Rt. 10, but was much more pleasant. As we rode along this pretty wooded path, with a tailwind pushing us, I teased Corky by calling "TRUCK BACK!" We noticed that the bicycle path was paved, but many of the crossroads were gravel. I'm curious as to why there are so many gravel and dirt roads in Michigan, as almost all of the rural roads in my section of Ohio are paved. I'm also curious as to why the bike path developers did not simply continue the pavement across the gravel roads, instead of stopping and starting the path. Perhaps the cars would break down the pavement quickly.
We left the bike path in Midland and rode through town, stopping at a mini-mart for a bathroom break and a snack. In front of the store, there was a large display that was made up of many cases of soda pop. When I was not looking, ornery Corky picked up a case and sat it on top of my bicycle. Leaving Midland, we rode through fertile farmland where beans, greens, and corn were growing. After about 55 miles, we cycled into Bay City State Park for our picnic lunch. The lunch was in a shelter house overlooking Saginaw Bay. As we ate, many of the riders danced to the tunes coming from a boom box that was sitting near our food.
Leaving lunch, we crossed a metal grate drawbridge and rode through the outskirts of Bay City. We passed a lady who was mowing her lawn, and Corky and I both waved to her. She didn't wave back at first, so Corky waved more forcefully, with a big smile on his face. She laughed and waved back. A few miles later we came to a toilet sitting at curbside waiting to be hauled away. Corky passed it, turned around, rode back to it, sat down and said, "Take my picture!"
An hour or so later we came to the historic town of Frankenmuth. Frankenmuth is proud of its Bavarian heritage, and there are many beautiful, old buildings. Some of the buildings are actually very new, but are constructed so that they appear to be from an earlier time. We arrived with about 90 miles for the day, so I decided to head back out for a few more miles to reach 100. I chose a country road at random, and rode for a few miles until the road turned to gravel. Heading back into town, I decided to find a library to e-mail my wife. This began an adventure that was both amusing and annoying. I started by stopping in the tourist information center, where a very nice young lady gave me a map and marked the location of the library. I rode to the spot that she had marked on the map, only to find that there was no library at that location. I did see a sign pointing to the library, so I followed the sign and found the correct building. Walking in, I saw a sign on the computer saying that Internet users must sign in at the desk. As soon as I approached the desk, a small elderly staff member came up and asked what I needed. The conversation went something like this:
Me: "Hi, I'd like to use the Internet to send a quick e-mail home.
Librarian: "We only have one terminal."
Me: "OK."
Librarian: "It's in use right now."
Me: "That's OK, I'll wait."
Librarian: "Are you from around here?"
Me: "No, I'm passing through on my bicycle."
Librarian: "Well, you'll have to pay $2.50, and give me your driver's license." Next page
|
|
