T1 Day 42 (Kayla)

7/18/22: Escanaba to Manistique 

This morning my alarm went off at 6:30am, the typical time, but instead of getting up we all just continued to lay in our bunk beds in the RV we were sleeping in. I was way to cozy to move and I was waiting for someone else to make the first move, but no one was. Eventually I rolled over and looked at Keelin and said what we all knew but didn’t want to accept yet, “we have to get up”. After we got up the morning consisted of our usual routine, but with coffee and homemade berry oatmeal bake and yogurt instead of Quaker instant oats, which was pretty great. By 8:30 we were saying our goodbyes to our hosts and setting off. With only 55 miles to bike we knew we would have time to spare today, so we planned to make a stop 12 miles away in Gladstone, MI to take care of some errands. We followed a bike path there and got some of our first views of Lake Michigan, which was quite spectacular, it really feels like an ocean. Gladstone turned out to be a very cute town with everything we needed. Our first stop was the library. I took care of some paperwork for UCONN while liz and keelin met the library’s resident turtle, Franklin. After the library we paid a visit to one of the only bike shops in the U.P. and the last one we would come across until lower Michigan (the mitten). The owner of the bike shop was a friendly man who was eager to hear about our trip and give route suggestions. I picked up a new saddle (or rather an old saddle, since it is same saddle Liz has, and the saddle I rode through North Dakota and Minnesota). I installed the new saddle on my bike then headed to the post office to mail back the saddle I had purchased in Hayward, WI, which had sadly not worked out. Meanwhile Liz and Keelin headed to the grocery store to pick up goods for the next few days. We left Gladstone around 11a and after following a short section of side road to the next town we got on U.S. highway 2, the main road along the coast of Lake Michigan in the U.P. The route was a bit noisy from the passing cars, and not the most scenic, but thankfully the shoulder was large, making for more comfortable riding distance between us and the cars. After about an hour it started to rain. It wasn’t too heavy, but it was enough to warrant a rain coat. After biking in the rain for about 15 minutes I hear Keelin and Liz shouting my name. I look around but can’t tell where they are. Then I see them jumping up and down and waving their arms up ahead in a parking lot for storage units. They had been hiding out under the awning to get out of the rain. There was a 2ft section of dry pavement and that was all we needed to set up and make lunch and hopefully wait out the rain. When we set off after lunch the skies had cleared, but we kept our rain coats close by. At this point we knew better than to think we could avoid the rain that easily. About 16 miles from our campsite I ran into Liz and Keelin stopped on the side of the road. Liz was sitting on the ground with her rear tire in her lap… A flat. By the time I arrived the tube was already switched out and all that was left was to put the wheel back on the bike. It turns out that we’re still very confused by this step. By the time we figured it out we were all covered in bike grease and a bit exasperated but we had done it! Or so we thought… the axle wouldn’t screw back in, and that’s kind of an of essential part. We got Graham and Zack on the phone for advice. Then it started to pour. The situation was looking pretty bleak when a man appeared from across the street offering his help and the use of his shop. At first we declined, then decided we could at least use the shelter, and ran across the street (with Liz’s partly disassembled bike and gear). Under the shelter of the shop we explained our situation and it was just our luck that he happened to be a mechanic! He offered to clean the axle and grease it, and it worked like a charm! We made it the remaining miles to the campground without issue. There we ran into a fellow cyclist from Germany named Andre. He was heading East to west from DC to Minneapolis and then on to Vancouver. It was lovely to chat with him and hear about his trip so far. We swapped tales of the highs and lows of our trips. He shared that he had had some trucks honk at him and tell him to get off the road in town and was wondering if he was doing something wrong. We reassured him he was not and that those people were just the unpleasant type of American’s that are perpetually grumpy. I did follow up to make sure he hadn’t been biking in the middle of the highway though, just in case. He had not, of course. 

For dinner we headed over to the local brewery for a feast of carbs on carbs - beer, pasta, pizza, breadsticks (and side salads for something green). The day concluded with a walk on the beach of Lake Michigan, and a dip in for Liz! The sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the vastness of the water transported me back to the beaches of RI and I felt very much at peace. It turns out we all love being close to the water in some capacity, so I’m glad we will have more days along Lake Michigan to come.