Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Epoufette – Harbor Springs
84 Miles
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| View from my hotel room at the start of Day 5 |
Tuesday morning I awoke to sun pouring in the hotel
windows. The rain had moved out overnight
and I was going to be treated to beautiful sunny weather for my crossing of
Mackinac Bridge today. I got up and
walked over to the restaurant where I’d had dinner the night before and got a
huge breakfast of French toast and sausage.
The view overlooking the lake was spectacular and as I sipped my coffee
I couldn't have been happier. It was one
of those rare moments in life where things just couldn’t be any better. I sat and savored the moment as much as I
could, but I was so excited to cross the bridge I couldn't sit still long.
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| The Restaurant I ate at overlooking the Lake |
After packing for the day, I was standing outside my room
getting the bike ready when I noticed a couple of motorcycle guys talking to
each other in the parking lot. Yesterday,
I played leapfrog with a number motorcycle riders throughout the day. They would pass me on the highway but then
stop for gas and I would pass them.
After a while we began to wave at each other and it became a fun game
going back and forth. I recognized the
riders from the day before and overheard a bit of their conversation. One guy with a giant beard was talking to another
woman saying: “some guy rode his bike up here from Chicago…. My God that’s a
HELL of a long way!!” I laughed to
myself but didn't go over to talk because I was on a mission. I don’t think they noticed me pedaling out,
but 15 minutes later they passed me on the road and I never saw them again.
As I got closer and closer to the bridge I got more and more
excited, I just couldn’t stop smiling.
Finally I hit the top of the hill and pulled into a park overlooking the
entire bay and bridge. I pulled up to an
overlook where a couple was taking pictures.
We started talking and they asked me what I was doing. I gave
them what was now becoming a common story of what WBR is and why I was riding
around the lake. They were so excited
and we talked for 15 or 20 minutes about the trip and everything that had
happened so far. They were from Texas
but had ridden parts of RAGBRAI before so we made an instant connection. Most people had no problems taking pictures
of me when I asked but only she actually got into it and tried to get a good one. At one point she said, “Make a funny face and
pretend you just saw the bridge for the first time.” That picture became one of my all-time
favorites.
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| Funny picture of me at the overlook taken by a couple I met |
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| View from the overlook |
Bikes are prohibited from riding across the Mackinac Bridge,
and for good reason. There is no vehicle
barrier separating the lanes of traffic and the railing along the outside of
the bridge is surprisingly short. A
biker could just fly off it and drop 200’ down to the water. I also learned that the bridges huge
expansion joints have gaps over 1” wide which could easily swallow a bike tire
and cause a serious crash. I was not
hesitant at all to take a shuttle over the 5 miles span, which was the only
part of the trip that I didn't ride.
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| Shuttle over the Mackinac Bridge (after crossing) |
I went down a steep hill to the base of the bridge where
there is a large park. I was looking for
the Bridge Authority’s office where I could arrange for the shuttle to cross. I stopped again to take some more pictures
and ran into a couple in their 70s who looked friendly. I told them I’d left Chicago Friday, and
ridden up here over the past 4 days and the look on the old woman’s face was
priceless… she was in complete awe and couldn’t believe it. When they found out I was only carrying what I
had in my little saddle bag they were even more stunned. They were the nicest people and took my
picture a couple times and then I did the same for them. I had to carefully explain how to use my
camera which is built into my cell phone because either one had use a camera
like that before. Later I found out that
in every picture, but one, my head was directly blocking the bridge from view. I just had to laugh. It was an incredible experience to be there
getting ready to finally cross the bridge so I waited a little longer just to
soak it all in.
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Taken by the old couple at the park just before crossing.
This was the only picture where my head wasn't blocking the bridge. |
I found the office which was connected to the tollbooth
plaza where the vehicles go through. As
I was pulling up I met a guy named Ed who was also on his bike looking for a
shuttle across. We went into the office
and paid the $5 fee for the crossing. We
came back outside and stood at the side of the road waiting for the shuttle and
got to talking. Cars came up to the
plaza right next to us and paid their tolls and went on over the bridge. The traffic seemed pretty light to me based
on Chicago standards. Pretty soon a
green pickup truck from the Bridge Authority pulled up. We threw our bikes into the back and all
three of us (including the driver) crammed into the trucks single cab to go
across the bridge.
As we talked going over the bridge I found out that Ed was
also doing a tour of Michigan but on a slightly smaller scale. He had ridden up from Detroit and was on his
way back home. His plan was a little
different though and he was camping along the way, carrying everything but the
kitchen sink… and there may have actually been a kitchen sink in one of his
saddle bags. It was an amazing
experience to cross the bridge and I took a million pictures of the beautiful
sweeping view of the bay in the morning sun, none of them did justice to the
view. The truck dropped us off in a
hotel parking lot on the other side and we both unloaded our gear. As we unloaded our bikes Ed commented on how
light my bike and pack were compared to his.
He had a huge green Surly Long Haul Trucker that literally took two of
us to lift out of the truck. It was
enormous and unbelievably heavy especially compared to my light carbon bike and
4 lb. pack. As we said our goodbyes I was
surprised to see the old couple from the other side of the bridge pull up. They had seen me driving past and stopped to
wish me luck and say goodbye. The generosity
and kindness of people is sometimes overwhelming. I shook both their hands and said we all said
our goodbyes.
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| One last stop after the bridge at a swing |
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A stretch of road after
the bridge. |
I peddled through the city of Mackinac in a euphoric state
that I have never felt before. It was
amazing. Not far down the road was
another overlook which looked north on the bridge across the bay where I’d just
come. I took a rest at a wooden swing and
called my dad to say hi and tell him that I’d made it across. I munched a bar and took in the view for
another few minutes. The feeling of accomplishment was enormous and I was on such a high when I took off again that
it felt like I was flying. The road
followed the lake and went into a national park. As I road I couldn't help but notice the way
the sun hit the trees and the lake, maybe it was the time of day or maybe I was
crazy but it was absolutely beautiful.
Riding that road along the lake was one of the most amazing moments of
my life. I stopped here and took a
short movie which I will always remember.
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| Roads? Where we're going we don't need Roads! |
As I road through the forest I kept an eye out for a left
hand turn which would take me down to the Tunnel of Trees scenic drive which I
had been really excited to get to ride through.
I looked at my GPS and realized I’d passed the road somehow. So I turned around and went back, but again
seemed to ride right by the street. How
could I miss it??? I slowly approached the turn and stopped right where my GPS
was telling me to turn. I peered into
the trees and realized there was a trail of some sort snaking through the
woods. I pedaled up to it and what had
been identified as a “road” was actually more like a hiking path. I actually did try to ride the path for about
50’ before turning back in defeat, my skinny tires sunk deep into the soft bed
of pine needles making it impossible to pedal through. I road back to a ranger station I’d passed
and asked if there were any roads that went through the park. They told me “no” and said I would have to
ride the almost 8 miles back to the main road and detour around the park. The detour added about 15 miles and 45
minutes to the day and I contemplated cutting the Tunnel of Trees out of my
route for the day. But, I still really
wanted to see it so I looped out and around to make it back to the road I would
have been on after going through the park.
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| After the detour this is where the trail would have come out of the park |
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| Dunes along the lake as I entered the Tunnel of Trees |
The detour was maddening but when I started though the
Tunnel of Trees it was all worth it. The
road snaked through a forest on top of a huge bluff overlooking Lake
Michigan. The road dipped and climbed like
a roller coaster but wasn't anything too challenging. It was just enough to make things
interesting. It was one of the all-time
coolest rides I've ever been on. There
was little to no traffic and the scenery was beyond compare. The Tunnel took me all the way into Harbor
Springs where I would be staying with Heather's Aunt Vickie and Uncle Dave for
the night. As I approached the town I
was sweating like mad and dog tired. The
day was hot and it was later in the afternoon.
My power tap hub had quit working (presumably out of batteries) and I
had looked up a local shop to stop in and see if they could help.
Pictures of the Tunnel of Trees
Coming into Harbor springs I swung into the shop called
Touring Gear for help. I stood there for
a while with no acknowledgement that I even existed. Finally a mechanic looked at me, sighed to
himself, and asked what I needed. I told
him the problem and without even looking at it or asking any questions he just
said “sorry can’t help.” I stared at him
for a minute, a little surprised, then said “ok” out loud to myself and laughed
as he turned and walked away. I guess
they were not interested in my business or helping me out. Not a problem… Note to self: “Never go back to that shop again.”
Getting to Vickie and Dave’s was a great feeling. Dave greeted me like I was his own kid and
asked what I needed after a long day. I
got to talking with him about my batteries and broken front wheel. Soon he was on the phone with his friend Bill
who had owned a bike shop in Harbor Springs for 20 years. He said he’d come over and take a look. I cleaned the bike a little and then took a
shower to clean up and sipped a beer in the garage while talking to Dave and
waiting for Bill. Dave and I ran up to
the drug store and were amazed to find they actually had the batteries for my
power tap hub! Excellent!! I had managed to crack into it with a pair of
channel lock pliers. Already they were a
step above the local bike shop. On the
way home Dave drove me on a little tour of the town showing me where he worked
and some of the famous rich people that have mansions in Harbor Springs. I was fascinated to learn the guy who started
Potbellies lives there!
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| View of Harbor Springs as I came into town |
When we got back Bill was just arriving and as I put the new
batteries back in the hub he looked at my broken front wheel. He immediately recommended I not ride on it
anymore for fear that it would completely explode and cause a crash. He described that at any moment the rim could
just separate and split in half… I thought back to some of the long fast
descents I’d taken in the previous days going well over 35 mph! I kicked myself for not taking the time to
change the front wheel back in Escanaba when Heather was there with the wheel. Bill was so generous and offered me a wheel
to get me by and said I could just mail it back to him when I was done. Again, the generosity and kindness of people
was without hesitation or expectation.
He ran home and got the wheel and we mounted it up and I was good to go
again with fresh batteries and a new front wheel.
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| Bill and I fixing the bike. Note wheel off to the left. |
After the bike maintenance was done we went inside for a delicious
Texas Yum Yum dinner that Vickie made. Texas
Yum Yum is a casserole made with ground beef, noodles, tomatoes, and cream
cheese. Very healthy! It was absolutely delicious and I stuffed my
face beyond belief. After dinner we
looked through some pictures from the previous days and before long I was dead
tired. I went to bed early and slept
really well in a nice huge comfy bed.
Before bed I calculated up my mileage so far and was surprised to see
that I’d already gone 530 miles in 5 days.
Well over half way! Tomorrow
would be the shortest day of the trip and a chance to visit and catch up with
my Aunt Aurea in Traverse City.
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