Day 7

Thursday, September 6, 2012
Traverse City - Ludington
111 Miles

Ride Data 

Me and Aunt Aurea leaving Traverse City

After calling an audible the night before I was excited to have a new and more secure route planned for today’s ride to Ludington.  The original route went through a few parks which I was afraid would lead to more gravel roads, dead ends and problems.  But, it was still 111 miles from Traverse City through some pretty hilly terrain so the day was going to be anything but easy.  The morning started with a little coffee and chit chat before Aunt Aurea and I went out for a big breakfast.  We talked nonstop the entire time catching up on the years gossip, as I ate like a Lion on a fresh kill.  We sat and chatted for over an hour and could have gone on longer but it was getting late in the day and time to head out.  Back at the house I was packing up and getting ready to leave, feeling really bummed because I wanted to stay longer.  As I was getting ready a thought popped into my head and I went out and asked Aurea if she wanted to ride with me going out of town?  She was so excited and agreed immediately.  We got both our bikes out and pedaled out of town.  It was fantastic!  We rode down the path and then along the bay together and after crossing a few busy roads we were on the outskirts of town.  It was an awesome way to start the day and one of the most memorable parts of my trip.  Aunt Aurea was the only one to ride part of the route with me which is something I will never forget.  After stopping for a couple of joggers to take our picture we said our goodbyes and as I left Aurea warned me about a big hill going out of town. 

Picture of me just before leaving Traverse

Only picture of me actually riding the tour.  I'm waving goodbye.

Heading west out of Traverse to the Lake

The “big hill” turned out to be an epic 1,000 foot climb out of Traverse City that seemed to never end.  It was excruciating!  The next 25 miles went straight west to the shores of Lake Michigan and to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park.  The climbs were huge and the wind was blowing a strong headwind.  It was a tough couple hours getting to the town of Empire which was the turn I made to start heading south along the lake again. As I was coming into Empire I got my first bit of road rage as a driver totally buzzed my tower (meaning he purposefully drove super close to me) and yelled at me out his window to get out of the road.  All while honking and giving me the finger.  Impressive moves for such a safe driver.

Elevation profile of Day 7.  Note the first climb out of Traverse City.

Coming into Empire

At Empire I stopped off at the gas station to eat a bar and rest and ran into two motorcycle riders dressed in black leather from head to toe.  They both gave me a raised eyebrow look and asked how my day was going.  I took a little sarcasm from the comment but said it was going great.  I asked where they were from and they said Central Illinois.  I responded that I was from Chicago and got another raised eyebrow type of response.  Immediately we struck up a conversation about the Circle Tour which they were also doing, only from the other direction.  I said I’d left Chicago on Friday and gone clockwise, where as they had left later, going counter-clockwise.  I felt some instant respect and we traded stories back and forth about good places to eat, sleep and sightsee.  They were firefighters and taking a vacation to do the circle tour.  I told them about the Inn on Ludington in Escanaba and about the views of the lake on Highway 2.  They told me about two cool spots coming up ahead with great views and said the next few miles were not too hard.  Hearing this I was even more excited to get going.  It was great to talk with them and after bonding for a few more minutes we said our goodbyes and good lucks, and were headed out again.

One of the many lakes I rode around on Day 7

The next miles were lots of ups and downs with a strong headwind to boot.  It was one of the most challenging parts of the ride and the wind just seemed to come from all directions.  I guess on a motorcycle this section would seem pretty easy but on a bicycle it was anything but.  This section seemed to be really difficult and I thought maybe all the miles were catching up to me.  But, the scenery was amazing and in addition to the sweeping views from the sand dunes I rode by numerous lakes and rivers and through thick covers of trees as the road snaked on and on.  I was also listening to my next Dark Tower book on tape which helped the time go by faster.  After what seemed like hours I finally got to the top of an overlook and stopped for a break. 

Me at the overlook taken by nice lady I met

The view was spectacular and as I was taking it in and eating a bar I got to talking to a guy about why I was there.  I ran through my now well rehearsed speech about my ride, WBR and what I was doing.  A nice lady in a long dress overheard our conversation and came walking over.  She was incredibly nice and amazed about my trip and the fundraising I was doing for World Bicycle Relief.  She gave me her last bottle of water which I was very thankful to have.  It was an extremely hot afternoon and there was no running water at this stop.  The cold bottle of water was like heaven.  She took my picture and took down my information so she could check my blog.  After returning home in the coming days I discovered she had donated another bike to the cause!! Simply amazing!!  Each day I was more and more amazed by the sheer generosity of the people I met along the way.

View from the lookout over the Lake

I asked how much further it was to Ludington and she told me no more than 50 miles… OMG, I thought to myself that seems SO far.  The afternoon was very hot and the next two hours seemed to crawl along like a snail.  The hills seemed to get bigger and bigger and the wind picked up too, it was a simply exhausting ride.  There were times climbing that I felt I was barely moving forward.  It was one of the toughest afternoons of the trip.  I was still listening to my book on tape but eventually turned it off and rode along in silence.

View looking south from the overlook

When I finally made it to Manistee my feet and butt were killing me.  I stopped at a stop sign and was checking my map to see how far it was to Ludington.  When I started to go again I was going up a slight hill and couldn’t get any momentum.  As I tried desperately to clip in and turn the cranks I failed and tipped the bike over into the grass.  Forgetting about my freshly repaired collarbone I got up angrily after pulling such an amateur stunt but before I could dust myself off I heard laughter coming from behind me.  On the street was a school bus full of kids stopped at a stop light they were all laughing and pointing out the windows.  Then to make matters worse a car of high school kids rolled down their window and shouted out "HAHA! Did you mean to do that?"  Fantastic!! I ride 700 miles to get laughed at by a bunch of teenagers!  I just shook my head as they all drove off.  It was close to the end of the day and finally when my feet felt like they couldn’t stand anymore pedaling things started to level out and I rolled into the outskirts of Ludington.

View of the lake as I came into Ludington

One game I would play every day was using the zoom function on my GPS to gauge how far I was from the end of the day.  I would zoom all the way out and usually have the finish in sight on a 8 mile scale.  Then I would zoom in close again to get the turns for my route as I rode on.  Then after a few more hours I would zoom out again and could see the finish at a 5 mile scale.  As the day progressed and I got closer to the end of the day I would zoom out and see what scale it took to see the finish.  Early in the day it would be 8 miles and then 5.  But as I got closer, the scale would go down to 3 mile, then 2 mile then 1 mile scale.  When I was below a mile I knew I was close!  Then it would creep down to .8, .5, then even .2 miles.  It was usually then that I would be so close that I could taste it.  My usual scale for getting my turn by turn directions was .2 mile.  Any less than that and would only be used if the turns came up very quick and I needed a very detailed street level map.

At the end of a tough day of riding Day 7

At .2 miles from my finish at Ludington my feet felt like they were going to explode and my ass felt like it was on fire.  I was hot, sweaty, sore, and tired from the long day.  All of a sudden I rounded a corner and Lake Michigan was sparkling before my eyes.  I was so amazed I had to slow down and take it all in.  The sun was starting to set and the top of the water had what looked like a million diamonds all over it.  The beach was so white it almost looked like snow for a second.  I was amazed and all I could think about was jumping in.  After a few more turns I was at my motel for the night and after first taking off my shoes I checked in and immediately dumped all my stuff on the bed and threw on my shorts. I couldn’t wait to get to the lake.

My chariot in front of the motel in Ludington

Getting ready to go swimming in Lake Michigan 

I made a bee line straight for the lake and almost sprinted to the water.  The cold water was like heaven on my sore sweaty body and for about 15 minutes I just bobbed out in the water like a pale white cork with brown arms and legs.  But finally the sun was going down and I got a little cold so I got out and walked along the pier before going home and changing for the night.  I ate dinner at a bar down the street and ate two entrees of spaghetti and meatballs.  It was ok but nothing great and again my giant glasses of chocolate milk.  I defiantly got strange looks from the staff as I wolfed my huge bowls of pasta and drank chocolate milk but its what I needed to keep going.

Smoke from the ferry over the harbor

Sunset at Ludington 

The harbor at sunset

 After dinner I walked along the harbor and was just in time to see a stunning sunset over the harbor and Lake Michigan.  It was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen and it will always be etched in my memory.  The Manitowoc car ferry blew its huge steam whistle as it was heading out on its run between Ludington and Manitowoc, WI and I took this video as it motored by.  The ferry is the last operating coal fired ferry boat in the country because of the pollution it creates dumping its coal ashes into the lake during the voyage.   There is a current effort to shut down the ferry because of the pollution.  It was the most beautiful evening of the trip and by the time I got back to the hotel it was well after dark and I was totally exhausted.  The bed was like heaven and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.  Tomorrows forecast looked like rain but I wasn’t thinking about that right now, I just wanted sleep.

Manitowoc ferry leaving the harbor