58.07 Miles / 2797.03 Total Miles
1864 Ft. Elevation Gain / 95,482 Ft. Total Elevation Gain
Some motels, you just want to block out of your mind, and last night’s was one of them. The sanitation was such that we didn’t want to boil water to make oatmeal for breakfast, so we packed up and headed for a nearby McDonalds. Ed figured he’d fill his water bottles there, and I figured I’d use their bathroom, instead of the creepy motel bathroom. So we pulled up to McDonalds, and the dining room was completely closed, which meant we had to wait in line with the cars.
When we pulled up to one of the two drive through speakers where you order, we weren’t recognized by the speaker, so we sat waiting, while cars at the other speaker placed orders and moved forward. Taking matters into our own hands, we pulled in behind the cars and ordered at the window where you normally pay, which caused a big pileup behind us. When all 3 of our orders were ready and paid for, we sat on the curb to eat breakfast. Not ideal, but what other option did we have?.
We had already dropped our old fashioned metal motel room keys into a drop box, but I had left the door to our motel room unlocked, so after breakfast, we headed back to the dive motel to fill Ed’s bottles and use the restroom there.
Once we got on the road, it was a chilly 52 degrees out which, for a Phoenician, is like the dead of winter. I’m not complaining, trust me. I’ll take that over 110 or 117 degree heat any day. Our route was dominated by quiet, hilly 2-lane roads, that wound their way through cute, little, well manicured towns. We took our time, but there wasn’t much to stop for, in terms of food and sights, so we made good time.
In Gregory, we stopped at a little grocery store, for our morning break. I had an ice cream bar, which, for those of you who think that sounds unhealthy, has a couple of food groups in it.
After our stop at the market, we were surprised to learn that our next left turn was going to put us on the road to Hell. What did we do to deserve this? After just a few miles, we were rescued from going to Hell, but making a right turn, to stay on our route.
In the classy little town of Dexter, we had the best lunch I’ve had in a while. We stopped at a pizzeria for lunch, and when we sat down, we found out that they had a pizza and salad bar. We were all over that. Have I mentioned that we have the appetites of 3 teenaged boys? Among the pizzas offered, on the food bar, was my favourite: barbecue chicken. It was amazing!
After lunch, we only had 12 miles left to go, to get to our final destination. I stopped for a few photos, as I rode through the University of Michigan, then headed for the home of our Warm Showers host.
Our Warmshowers host, Michael McGashen, greeted us outside his 100 year old home, and showed us where to put our bikes and gear and our options for sleeping and bathing, of which there were many. This guy is a few years younger than me, but he has been way busier than me on his bike. He’s toured the world extensively and had photos to show and tales to tell. We were in awe of the many austere, distant and remote places he has been to and the situations he has been in and dealt with.
Also being an excellent chef, he prepared a feast of appetizers, fruit dishes, beverages, main courses, etc. The stories and conversation continued late into the evening, and it didn’t matter, because we were sleeping in till 6 AM (did I just say that was sleeping in?), and could stay up late. I went to bed and dreamt of all the places I was adding to my bucket list, after listening to Michael.
Michael: Thanks for your hospitality, the amazing food you prepared for us, and for entertaining us with your cycling adventures. We loved our stay with you!
Living Our Bucket List 