Friday, September 3, 2010

Soggy


I made up for lost time yesterday. After my impromptu layover in Green Bay, I biked about 115 miles to Escanaba, Michigan. (I say "about" because even though I bought a new odometer in Green Bay, I still don't have an odometer that works. I've abandoned that dream.) I headed out early and crossed into Michigan before 11:30am. There were several milestones yesterday, as I also crossed into a new time zone late in the afternoon.

By the time I hit Michigan, I had already been drenched once and had started to air dry from the bike seat. Rain had been predicted for the day, and after several hours of riding under thick clouds, a torrent hit. When you're on a country road there is really nothing to do but keep pedaling. As I passed through the twin cities of Marinette, Wisconsin and Menominee, Michigan, a hard rain fell once again. This time I waited for a lull under the eave of a bank building before continuing on.

Rain continued until late afternoon with occasional thirty minute respites. When the rain broke, deer began to appear, grazing by the side of the road and in open fields. They clearly didn't know what to make of me, often waiting until I was upon them before turning and leaping back into the woods.


As I rode into Escanaba, slivers of blue sky appeared, and the sun warmed the air. Lakeshore Drive wound down to a lakefront park and marina. I passed by small ship graveyard. It was a pleasant end to a rather challenging day.




With storms predicted throughout the night and my shoes and socks waterlogged, I decided to stay in another motel. (I hope to improve my camping to motel ratio when the weather clears.)

It was difficult to drag myself out of bed this morning -- my body demanding just a little more sleep. The weatherman on "Good Morning America" said that the holiday weekend was going to be beautiful practically everywhere in the country. "Practically everywhere" because digital raindrops fell on the map of the Upper Peninusula. At least I'm not biking through Hurrican Earl.

There was a chill in the air when I stepped outside this morning. The temperature barely hovering above 50. Fortunately, for now there is sun. I biked seven miles down the road before eating a healthy breakfast of french toast, eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns at a local diner. I'm now ready to tackle another day.

2 comments:

  1. Hope you start hitting more sunny skies... fantastic blog, again. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Mike. No sunny skies, but there are fierce winds pushing me along.

    ReplyDelete