Day 3

Sunday, September 2, 2012
Green Bay – Escanaba
118 Miles

Ride Data

Sunday morning I awoke and walked to the car to go get breakfast.  Since Heather had driven up I still had transportation for another day.  Approaching the car, I noticed it sitting at quite a substantial angle.  I walked around the back side to see that the back tire was completely flat.  I checked and immediately saw a giant screw lodged in the tire.  Luckily there was a gas station across the street so I drove on the flat tire to the station and filled it up, but knew it would have to be fixed.  I ate breakfast at ANOTHER Perkins which was only slightly better than the worst Perkins on the planet that I’d eaten at the previous morning.  I returned to the car and drove back to the room and started to devise a plan to fix the tire and get riding.

Early morning ride Day 3

I woke Heather and told her about the tire and she agreed to get it fixed that morning so I was free to get ready and head out.  I packed for another long, 120 mile day in the saddle and headed out into the morning coolness.  Going north out of town was really like heading into town because I had stayed on the southern outskirts of Green Bay.  I rode through town and then out of town going north along the shores of Green Bay.  I hit some really long straight stretches of road with no grade at all, that were just as flat as a pancake.  The scenery was mostly farm fields but there were also some woods starting to appear as I went north.  The morning was beautiful and cool with barely a cloud in the sky.  The roads seemed to stretch on forever and in some of the fields I saw turkeys, herons, and other birds mostly around the ponds and high grass areas.  There were very few cars, as it was Sunday morning and even though I was on a road with no shoulder there was no real danger of traffic.

Herons in a field just off to the right

A swampy marshy area as I got closer to Lake Michigan

About 30 miles into the day I was riding along following my Garmin GPS map, which was working out beautifully to this point.  I swung into town and saw that I was about to cross a bridge over a river to continue north.  All of a sudden I screeched to a halt and stared in amazement at a giant construction project where the bridge was supposed to be.  I rode up and down the street looking for a detour but there was nothing.  I realized there was no way to cross, so I used my cell phone to get a better map of my location and find another crossing.  The next river crossing was miles away in each direction and I had no choice but to start backtracking.  At first I was a little irritated but pretty quickly I got over it and realized that it was all part of the experience that it would probably happen a few more times.  As it turned out I was right. 

Bridge Detour

As I went over a set of train tracks I noticed a rattling sound and the bike felt kind of funny.  Without giving it much thought I continued on, and after 5 or 6 miles I was back on my track again and moving fine.  However, after another 20 minutes and around 40 miles into my day I noticed a swaying feeling from the back of the bike and heard another rattle.  I stopped and looked, only to find that a bolt had fallen out of my rack causing the whole thing to hang at a drastic angle.  I was out in the middle of nowhere with few tools and certainly no extra nuts or bolts.  I put my ISU engineering skills to use and quickly improvised a solution.  I took another bolt out of the rack, which thankfully was the same size and used it temporarily to hold things together until I could get to a town.  I cautiously rode on until I hit the outskirts of Marinette, Wisconsin where I happened to drive by an AutoZone.  I stopped and went in and was fortunate enough to find some nuts and bolts to put things back together.  After cobbling together a fix with some chewing gum and pop sickle sticks I went ahead and tightened all the other nuts and bolts before heading back out.  I definitely dodged a bullet on that one.

Look back south towards Wisconsin where I crossed at the river bridge

I headed north through Marinette which is the town separating Michigan from Wisconsin.  I was really excited to cross into Michigan for the first time.  I had previously driven this route with my dad and brothers for my bachelor party so I knew the dividing line was a bridge that ran through town.  I was hoping to meet Heather here to take a picture of me crossing into Michigan but she was getting the tire fixed and wasn’t able to get up there in time. There isn’t an official “Welcome” sign so I stopped and took a picture of the Michigan Visitor Center sign and continued on.  Immediately upon entering Michigan the bike lane ended and the street turned to a cobbled mess of potholes and bricks which reminded me of riding the Trouée d'Arenberg at Paris-Roubaix.

Crossing into Michigan at the Marinette bridge

Soon after heading north out of Marinette I hit Highway 35 which runs along the Western shore of Lake Michigan all the way to Escanaba.  This was the first time since I’d left Chicago where I’d been riding right next to Lake Michigan.  I had already done 70 miles today and was feeling tired and ready to be done for the day.  It was at this point I pedaled slowly past the “Escanaba 53” sign, meaning 53 miles (about 2.5 hours) before arriving at Escanaba, my stop for the day.  Ugh! The heat was picking up and so was the wind and traffic.  This was going to be a long afternoon. 

The Escanaba 53 sign

Scenery along the Lake going north on M35

Soon enough I heard a beep coming from behind me and Heather drove up with a sandwich for lunch. I wasn’t really hungry but I ate anyway.  As I ate my sandwich she walked around, popped the trunk, and brought out a giant hunk of cheese.  No, not real cheese, but a giant foam cheese head that the folks in Green Bay wear to the football games.  For the first, and last, time in my life I had my picture taken as a cheese head.  I totally felt like a traitor to my Chicago roots and felt compelled to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.  But, re-energized I headed back out into the afternoon heat to finish up the day.

Grinding on, I had my headphones on and was just riding it out when I heard another beep coming from behind me.  I knew Heather was on up ahead so I assumed it was some jack-ass trying to run me off the road.  I pulled over and motioned for the person to pass.  They slowed and pulled up alongside me.  I waited for some item to be thrown or tossed at me in rage, but it was a group of high school kids with their window down.  Waiting for what was to come next, I was expecting the worst.  Instead the passenger leaned out the window and said “holy cow you’re going 22 miles an hour!!!”  The look on his face was just about as excited as a person can be.  I smiled and said “I know” then they drove off.  I laughed to myself and remembered that outside of Chicago the whole world isn’t necessarily out to run you over.  Not long after that I pulled into a gas station to refill my water and saw the same car that had pulled up alongside me before.  The same guys jumped out and came up to me curious about what I was doing.  I explained that I had left Chicago two days ago and had ridden up here on my way around the lake.  With looks of shock and disbelief they went nuts.  They asked a million questions and kept saying how cool it was that I was doing this.  I talked to them a little about WBR, my bike, and my gear.  I happily answered all their questions and chatted for a few more minutes.  Finally they drove off and I headed out again.  I think after our meeting they probably all went out and bought bikes. 

Long sections along M35 going north to Escanaba

The House of Ludington where I stayed in Escanaba

As the afternoon drug on my feet started to hurt worse and worse.  It was like a dull ache that just wouldn’t go away.  I would get out of the saddle and pedal for a while then sit back down for a while.  Using this rotation of standing and sitting I kept on.  Finally after another hour or so I pulled into the town of Escanaba, marked by a giant billboard.  Today was unlike the others in that I wasn’t feeling quite so good these last few miles.  I was desperate to get off the bike today.  I reached the hotel which was a beautiful old renovated house on the tip of Ludington St.  The hotel overlooked the entire bay which could be seen from my window.  The weird thing was there was no one at the hotel.  And I mean not a soul… not even any employees.  The hotel was run by a couple, who were out of town for the weekend but had left a key in the box.  Heather had gotten the key and let herself in and found that there was no one else staying there that night.  (We knew this because there were no more keys in the box) it was really weird to have the entire building to ourselves. 

Me in front of the hotel after a VERY long 6.5 hours in the saddle

The hotel was built in 1864 officially making it the oldest building I’ve ever slept in.  We explored some of the old rooms and it was fascinating to see the old construction.  Soon enough I changed and put on my swimming trunks and we headed out to the beach which was just across the street.  I took a swim in Lake Michigan, which felt amazing after such a long day.  The weather was very hot but the sun was starting to set when we headed back to the hotel.  There was a beautiful park and lighthouse across the street and the whole neighborhood reminded me of something you’d see in New England.  We found a small diner in town and after a delicious hot beef sandwich and three huge chocolate milks we headed back to the hotel.  It was a beautiful night and on the way back we drove through the small town enjoying the sunset and old charm of the shipyards and lakefront.  Finally, back in the hotel we cracked a window to hear the sound of the lake and I took a heavenly, hot shower before crashing into bed.  Sleep was certainly coming easier and easier and I drifted off with the sound of the waves crashing in on the beach.

View from my hotel window