Lake Michigan Cycling Trip Day 5: Things Pirates and Cyclists Have in Common

Nearly eight hours perched atop a bicycle is enough to drive anyone mad.

Anyone but me. To keep myself sane, I thought of lists that I might like to make, including:

- Roadkill I have observed
- Things I’ve used my knife for
- Things I know that I’m willing to assume you don’t for the purpose of this list
- Things on my body that are jacked up
- Things on my bike that are jacked up
- Things that have not gone according to plan
- Things that pirates and cyclists have in common

I worked on what things might populate each list, but am far too tired to tell you what they are.

I got an early start out of St Ignace (8:45 is early for me), but it was futile. I was moving sooo slow. There was a headwind, but it wasn’t until 17 miles in I checked the machinery, and the back brake was pulling hard. I made a quick adjustment, and at least the average speed started creeping up from 9.0 mph. It was still slow going, but I can’t imagine it was all headwind. Probably a combination of that, pavement type, and my simply being exhausted. Also my chain and shifting situation is super cagey at the moment. It sounds like when I left my purple bike with the banana seat out over winter.

I grabbed an unsatisfying lunch at a place in Naubinway where the old lady overcharged me, met some nice bikers from Milwaukee doing the whole Lake, and plodded on.

The cool thing about road work when you’re cycling is that you get to ride in the construction zone. I pulled up past a long line of cars right up to the foreman. I dismounted (honorably this time) and pulled out my headphones.

“What are we looking at here?” I sounded so cool!

“Stay to the left, watch my equipment, and you’re good to go.” He gestured to the construction zone. He was as cool as me!

For five miles, I had four freshly paved lanes nearly to myself (save for the occasional paver). It felt bad ass and post apocalyptic, so I put on old Tom Petty. The cars were stopped far away, leaving me alone with his unique blend of folk Americana. On a different five miles today, Neko Case and I rode along a not-yet-open portion of the roadway that was higher up than the current highway, prompting an (albeit brief) sensation of superiority.

Around 7, I checked into the Holiday Motel, which is a really nice place for the price, took a hot shower, washed my cycling clothes in the sink, then called the shuttle for the nearby casino to come get me. They have some cockamamie system where the bar and restaurant are separate, so I didn’t get my daily beer, as by the time I had demolished their salad bar, I was not interested. (I was thrilled to have the opportunity to ward off scurvy.) But I do have a full chicken dinner that I predict I’ll be eating at one of the Michigan DOT’s finest rest areas tomorrow around noon. Probably like an animal, as thats what these trips do to you. On my last non-solo cycling trip, I remember fighting with my friend over squished up key lime pie in a paper bag. We compromised, and both ate it like animals, using our fingers as the bag sat on the grass. It was delicious. Today, I poured out the rest of my tri-type popcorn on the desk in the hotel room and inhaled all the caramel ones. I just threw out the rest. (Moments like these take care of the brief sensations of superiority I mentioned earlier.)

Today felt really long. I’ll spare you the list of all that hurts, but I’m looking forward to a shorter day tomorrow. Stretch the Sea Captain called and can still take me from Escanaba to Washington Island. Dock 3 Slip 128 as I recall. Beer in the fridge if I get there before him. Now that’s my kind of sea captain.

Today’s Mileage: 84.0
Time Cycling: 7:47
Today’s Avg Speed: 10.7 mph
Total Miles Cycled: 299.5

Gain: 1,122 feet

Expenditures:
$8.00 two egg breakfast and coffee at Truck Stop Cafe
$13.00 meager tuna sandwich, slice of pie, diet Coke
$15.00 fried chicken dinner
$49.05 Holiday Motel
TOTAL $85.05