Memoirous

I’d camped here before and really enjoyed the leisurely packing up and getting going—by 7:30 I was off. Very slow. I kept stopping to adjust. It was chilly and again drizzly. In Itasca I got a chance to use my immersion stick to heat up water and make a hot tea. I ate a bar and tried to knock some of the built up yukka on my bike that accumulated due to rain and being on a gravel and broken asphalt path. It was more than a baby wipe could handle. I was on mostly roads. Dewitt turned into a long gravel segment, but again the rain made it a hard-packed surface. My butt and thighs were sore and I had to keep stretching while in the saddle. It was a lot of miles for a spring ride, first of the year, without a lot of training. Again, ate lunch in St. Johns and purchased a Gatorade for the last push home. There is the gravel path to Krepps, a mile or two of hard surface, then 2.5 miles of gravel, then maybe 5 more miles on asphalt with rollers, ups and downs. By the time I turned off f...

I scurried to set up my tent for stealth camp just minutes before the storm hit. The weather cleared the park, but also meant I didn't set up beneath a shelter like I'd intended. I got the tent up and clambered in with my stuff to sort out inside. Water unfortunately got in and I had to deal with that as well as residual clamminess. There was nothing to be done about it: It was a soggy night. But, quiet after the storm. In the a.m. I had to pack up wet and sort've wet stuff. I ate hot oatmeal at the shelter and used the restroom before leaving at 7:30. It was hard going. I was supposed to follow Fallasburg Park road to eventually meet up with Flat River trail, but ended up on Lake Lincoln Hwy, which seemed busy for a Memorial Day morning. I took McPherson to get on the trail which is "recycled asphalt"--it was horrible stuff. I only made maybe 8 miles an hour on it. It was like riding on a broken down roadway. I continually had to keep gearing down and my bo...

I rode through cottonwood drift falling around me like snow from the sky. Beside the path white and fuchsia wildflowers bobbed their little heads. The day was warm but not too hot; the sky was blue dotted with clouds—but I knew that storms were predicted for later on! In St. Johns bathroom doors were locked, drinking fountains dry. I ate a little and then rode on, using the Shiawassee Trail. At Fowler I texted a work mate who lives in Ionia to see if he wanted to meet up. Yes! He rode to Lyons where we went on to Saranac. I’m glad Jeff was with me as the trail, though level and scenic, can also be a bit boring. After Jeff turned around, I was a bit tired and took a break before starting the road part of the trip to get to Fallasburg Park. The road went up, leaving the river. It was about 11 more miles to the park. The North Country trail also goes through the park. Right before the park is what Wikipedia describes as an abandoned village. Established in 1837, it went into decline ...