On the road again... just can't wait to get on the road again. It's funny how songs can just fit your circumstances sometimes. This Willie Nelson oldie is going to be our trip theme song!
We had to get up so early this morning... 3:30 AM. My parents drove us to Milwaukee so we could catch the 6 AM Ferry to Muskegon, MI. Marc says its not cheating as we rode 106 miles from Madison to Ingleside. (If we rode directly to Milwaukee it would only have been about 60 miles or less.)
The ferry ride was beautiful, and smooth as glass. I was a bit worried as I do get seasick, but this ferry was fast and the waters were extremely calm. One of the most gentle boat trips I have ever been on. It was weird boarding such a large ferry with our bikes when all the others were loading via car.
We arrived in Muskegon at 9:45 AM (Eastern Time - we keep losing an hour!). It was kind of fun to actually ride your bike off a boat.
The ride down to Saugatuck was beautiful. We followed the Lake Shore Bike Path/Road for most of our route. I was naive to think that we'd have great views of Lake Michigan but of course the shoreline is sheltered by woods. We did have a few glimpses of blue down the long treelined driveways that led to the mansions along the shore.
It was hard keeping up with Marc today. He must have been inspired by watching the Tour de France or something. He was riding at a clip of 18-22 mph that morning! I wish I could say we had a stellar tailwind to keep up the pace but the winds today were negliable - about a 5 mph NW wind. I tried my best to keep up at a 17-18 mph pace but I couldn't go any faster, especially knowing that we had almost 55 miles to ride to our destination.
Even though we made good time on the bikes, it still took us 5 hours to get to Saugatuck. That's our plight! No matter how fast we ride, it still takes us about 1 hour for every 10 miles on average.
We did finally take a break around mile 40 and I had quite a few pressing work emails to respond to on my phone. So we took a 20 minute break or so. Then, not 10 minutes later, Marc broke a spoke on his back wheel so we stopped again. ( Too bad I already responded to all those emails! I should have waited!) The repair took at least 30 minutes as Marc had to unpack his trailer to get to the tools.
With the stops, it took us quite a long time to get around Holland MI. It didn't help that we came into town from the lake shore area and then had to ride about 6-7 miles due east to get around the inlet.
Holland looked like a neat town with some historic buildings and homes. On our way out of town, our noses stopped us dead in our tracks. We could not pass up the aroma of BBQ ribs cooking on an outdoor grill. We made just one final stop for our tummies!
We dined on the best BBQ rib tips from a small roadside trailer stand - Courtney's BBQ on Michigan Ave on the South end of town (if you're ever in Holland, give it a try!) The two guys running the stand were so friendly and couldn't believe that we had biked all the way from Seattle.
After all the stops, we finally rolled into Saugatuck around 3 PM. Saugatuck is a must see destination! Its filled with neat little art shops, boutiques and the like. I think I may have a new favorite town! We wandered around downtown taking in the shops, scenery and people for a few hours. It was busy! I was particularly fascinated with the Chain Ferry. They have an old (1848) ferry that will take you across a narrow portion of the inlet. It gets back and forth across the water via a crank on the boat that pulls a chain running from one shore to the other. (Pictures to follow!)
We had a great dinner at Mermaid's Bar & Grill which overlooks the water. The best part of the night was that we had the company of Marc's old high school friend, Jennifer. She lives in Grand Rapids and drove out to Saugatuck to meet up with us for a few hours. Marc hadn't seen her since high school and they reconnected via Facebook.
No pie today, I am still recovering from pie overload at my parents house and I know there will be several delicious pie choices awaiting me tomorrow in Kalamazoo.
Tomorrow's ride is a 55 miler down the shore of Lake Michigan to South Haven and then directly East to Kalamazoo on the Kal-Haven bike path. The weather is promising tailwinds - we'll keep our fingers crossed. Can't wait to see all of Marc's family and of course our doggies too!
Marc's Stats: (Yes they are back!)
Miles: 54
MPH Avg: 15.3
Hours Riding: 3 hours 40 minutes
Total Ride Time: 5 hours
Weather: Sunny, Hot, Winds NW at 5 mph. (No breeze, basically)
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Sorry to hear Marc had another spoke go out. I thought those days were past. Just thought of our favorite places to ride along Lake Erie in Canada, they are Long Point Park and Turkey Point. Both of these are probably out of your way. Great start to the eastern part of your journey.
ReplyDeleteYou choose Saugatuck over Madison?! I'm crushed. :) Patsy
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