Day 37 Ludington MI to Mt. Pleasant MI

Day 37
Ludington MI to Mt. Pleasant MI.
Miles Ridden 112.2
Climbing 2319 Ft.
Total Miles Ridden 2662.8
Miles To Go 928.9


Today's ride is the last one over 100 miles. We'll cross half of Michigan in one day. Things started at first light which on the western edge of the Eastern Time Zone was 6:30. There was a chance of rain across the course all day but things were dry and overcast at the start. We passed through part of the Michigan fruit growing region along Lake Michigan and then headed inland. The farms got smaller and less prosperous looking and then passed into the trees of Manistee National Forest.

The roads were fine the drivers not

I had warned the riders about the generally poor condition of Michigan roads and the Michigan drivers who pass cyclists before they check for oncoming traffic. The route had been selected to cover some of the recently repaved roads so the riders thought I had overstated the road problem. They were less impressed with Michigan drivers who lived up to my warning by continuously passing quickly and dangerously. One crazy garbage truck driver ran me off the road by pulling out to pass me, right in the path of an oncoming car. He pulled back into my lane and I had to take to the dirt shoulder to avoid him and nearly fell. The garbage truck terrorized riders for miles.

At our first rest stop, we heard the news that one of the riders, Michael Bicks, who is a documentary director from New Hampshire had an accident. While riding with a group very early, when it was still gloomy, he struck a rock and fell. He landed in the traffic lane of the road. The news we got a little later was that he had a concussion, four broken ribs, some lung damage and lots of road rash. He's in the hospital but might be released tomorrow.

Evin and I made excellent time as we had nearly perfect riding conditions of cool temperatures, favorable winds and only rolling (not steep) hills. The rain held off except for a few sprinkles. We finished the first 100 miles in just over 6 hours which is pretty good for us. During the ride, I swallowed a large, fuzzy insect. If it was a bee it didn't sting me but I wasn't able to cough it up and at least parts of it are still stuck in my throat.

Big Jackson school, 20 students

A colleague from our Ford days, John Green, stopped by our motel to see us after the ride. He lives in Kansas City but is vacationing at Lake Charlevoix. and drove the two hours to Mt. Pleasant.
Hopefully I'll have some other visitors from Ann Arbor in Birch Run tomorrow.

John Green in the middle