It's Not Dry Anymore!

Well, the rain did fall today for a short time, and I suspect on only part of the group (me included). We had made a short stop at the Burtchville Market when the rain began to fall as we pulled back onto the road -- but BIG drops! Everyone in Iowa knows that means it won't last long, right? Well, long enough (about 2 miles) to totally get drenched and make the bike a horrible mess.

Don't know if I'll get the latter problem taken care of tonight or not, as laundry is THE chore for today.

Most of the motels we are in have A washing machine and A dryer. I'm sure that when architects and facility planners draft these structures, they aren't expecting 70 cyclists to come through on a regular basis.

I estimated it would be 10:00 before I could get into last night's "line up," and delaying one day seems to be playing in my favor as long as everyone ahead of me keeps the process moving.

Just like travel, there are "The Rules of Laundry." For instance, there is a sign up sheet that helps manage the laundry queue. If a person earlier in the queue has not removed their laundry from the machine, ONLY the next person on the list can remove it and put the next laundry in. Anyone else from further down list who does this has committed a major laundry sin!

Temperatures were again pleasant today, with a bit more humidity. The route was 87 miles today. I ended with a couple more, deliberately going off route to try to find a convenience store. I haven't been able to find a popsicle yet, one of the comfort foods of riding.

We are in Port Huron tonight. Tomorrow we cross into Canada.

Last night we had the BEST dinner at Tony's restaurant in Birch Run. It is a local place. If anyone went away hungry last night, they really weren't trying. The spaghetti was served on a platter, and it was awesome! Way more than what one person could eat, and according to the server is a smaller serving than ordering it from the menu.

We loaded at 6 this morning. Some riders went to a local restaurant, the Exit Restaurant (named, I presume, because of it's location at an exit on Interstate 75), for a sit down meal. This process usually takes longer and can cause frustration if the restaurant isn't prepared for a group of cyclists. I ate at the hotel, and was on the road by 6:15, probably a little too early for the staff's preference since it wasn't completely light yet. We saw, though, the most magnificent sun rise over the fields, fog and trees of Michigan!

Today's route took us through Millington, Brown City and Yale.

The most excitement was probably in Yale, and I do mean Excitement! Yale is celebrating its Bologna Festival. According to the Chamber of Commerce's website, the festival honors the town's long standing tradition of producing high quality bologna. I, and the rest of the riders, can attest that their processed meat is pretty darn good. One of the locals had provided a meat tray of bologna and sausage for the second SAG today. It was so good, I'm not sure there was any left for the last riders that came through. It was much appreciated at mile 62.

I rode with several different riders today, including Dave O'Dell (banker from Syracuse, NY) and Michael Heitz (Lexinton, KY -- former center for West Virgina). They were riding in front of me, and I had to chuckle to myself. Dave might be 5'8", and Michael, of course, is 7'. I soon stopped chuckling when I realized if I stayed behind them I hardly had to pedal to cruise along at 16 mph!

Michael was telling us of some of his other biking adventures. Last year he and his son did a 7,500 mile, camping ride from Cairo, Egypt to South Africa. The ride was 4 1/2 months long. I was amazed, and can't imagine camping for that long. Later this year he will be doing a similar ride with his daughter, but I think it will be a bit shorter and no camping involved.

I stopped at Wendy's next to tonight's motel on the way in. While I was standing in line, a family approached me and commented about my University of Northern Iowa Jersey. Turns out they are from Cedar Falls and alums of UNI. They had been vacationing in Niagara Falls and were on their way back to Iowa. It was great to speak with them!

Next post, hopefully, will be from Canada. We cross as a group tomorrow morning. They will close the bridge to get us all across. It appears the road to the bridge is just outside the motel, and I've noticed it seems very busy. I'm not sure tomorrow morning's commuter traffic will be very happy with us. And, it sounds like rain.

Okay, anyone from the Rabo-family -- cyclists here are wanting the inside scoop on Michael Rasmussen. The general consensus here is, "What was he thinking?" Got any dirt??

~ Lisa