The Last Century is IN THE BOOKS!

Today's route took us 115 miles from Ludington to Mt. Pleasant (that's in Michigan, not Iowa). We stopped for lunch in Big Rapids. One of the servers had a really hard time understanding how we had found our way to their community from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, until we explained the car ferry. She seemed very relieved that it wasn't as bad as what her imagination had lead her to believe.

The encounters on the road are always interesting, and usually involve the same series of questions --
You started where?
You're going where?
WHY?

In the end, everyone is very intrigued. Today we had several encounters with young children that seemed to be captivated by all the bikes and people in bright colored jerseys.

We have one young rider with us on the ride. She is riding on a triple with her mother and father. She is 8 years old. I spoke with her tonight after dinner and asked if she was having a good time. The response was an emphatic, "No!" which Mom confirmed. I think the two of them have had a long summer, as they started in Astoria.

The day started with a 6:00 breakfast (keep in mind we're now in the eastern time zone). We loaded luggage and hit the road by 7:00.

Mike, the ride leader, immediately re-routed us from the motel to smoother pavement. It was to save us two miles and get us to a more rural route quicker. It was a good plan, but in the end didn't save any miles due to construction and detours later in the day. In addition, we added miles going to lunch. I ended the day with 116 on the trip meter.

The detour had minimal impact, actually brought us right back on route without any navigational challenges, AND provided a good tailwind push for several miles! Love it when it works out that way.

Late in the day, though, things didn't work out very well. The road on our route was gone. The crews indicated we could get through, but may have to walk. That was an understatement. The old pavement had been ground up and just lay there waiting for the next step in the process. While I understand some riders did manage to ride through it, I chose, as many others did, to walk it -- 1.4 miles. It was actually a good change of pace at that time of the day, although I'd have preferred it to be a bit shorter.

While we were walking through, a driver approached from the opposite direction. She stopped to ask if she could get through. We told her no. She didn't seem to believe us asking, "So if you were me would you turn around??" Duh!

Today's route saw varied terrain. There were rolling hills and plenty of flats. We saw lots of farm land, forests, and also had some urban riding.

We saw not only corn and soybeans, but also extensive produce -- including asparagus, pumpkin, sweet corn, cucumbers and an unidentied crop some felt was squash and some thought might be watermelon. The blossom looked similar to a pumpkin but the plant didn't have any vine. It's a mystery.

The area also supports small grains, hay land and extensive pastures.

I rode with several folks today. The Bloomington group carried me over half of the day. When they went by this afternoon at 28 mph (on a century day) and yelled for me to hook on, I knew I wouldn't last long!

I dropped off shortly after the last SAG stop with roughly 30 miles left. I rode in following Jean, a rider from Boise, Idaho; which was helpful to have someone in sight. All in all, thanks to the various individuals and groups I rode with, it was a good day. I had to dig pretty deep for the last 30, but it's now in the books. Tomorrow will be 75.

Weather was great for cycling, overcast until late in the day with, generally, favorable wind depending on which direction you were going.

We saw and heard about some interesting things today. The Blue Brothers can be found on top of a Chrysler dealership in a small town between Ludington and Big Rapids. Hmmmm....

Big Rapids had some excitement in the last few days as the Stanley Cup was in town. Chris Kunitz, forward for the Anaheim Ducks, played for the local university, Ferris State. Evidently, each player gets 24 hours with The Cup, and Kunitz decided to split his time to share it with his alma mater and his home in Regina, Saskatchewan. The server at the lunch diner, Crankers, was quite excited about the event.

There was one serious dog encounter on the route today. Have you ever seen a Great Dane chase a bike? I can laugh at the image that surely looked like a cartoon, only because there weren't any injuries to the dog or myself. Somewhere in the last 30 miles there were two Great Danes laying in wait for the slow riders. One of them decided to give chase as I went by. Of course, as tall or taller than me and my bike! This Great Dane wasn't nearly as quick as the junk yard Pit Bull that gave chase for quite a distance yesterday, but the Dane's bark and teeth made it quite clear that all these bikers were invading his space and he had had quite enough by that time of the day! The commanding "Don't!" had no effect. Fortunately, I was able to out-run and out-maneuver to avoid becoming dinner.

Hoping for a little bit more enjoyable day tomorrow, but there's still a long way to go and weather can be a huge factor. One of the worst days I've ever had on a bike was a 38 mile day with a big headwind!

RAGBRAI rides into Cedar Falls tomorrow! Hope everyone has a great time!
~ Lisa