Ride With A Purpose: Day 9

Saturday, September 8, 2012
Holland – Union Pier
90 Miles

Ride Data

After a huge meal the night before and a steady rain lulling me to sleep (not to mention the 800 miles in my legs) I slept like a baby. Today was Saturday and I awoke to a group of people getting ready for a running event outside by the lake. I had slept with the window slightly open so I could hear the rain falling. Now as I laid in bed listening to the racket I wished I’d closed the window. Finally I got myself up and shut the window but I couldn’t go back to sleep. There were only two days left and I was excited to get going. After a huge breakfast of Belgian Waffles made with Fred’s special recipe I packed up and got ready to head out for my second to last day.

At the start of Day 9. Very windy.

Windy day on the lake

The weather had cleared up a bit and turned sunny and thankfully I had a good tailwind to see me out of town. The roads were still wet when I set out and I had to detour around Lake Macatawa first heading east then back west along the lakefront. Finally I reconnected with my southbound route along Lake Michigan. The tailwind was brisk and I was feeling good. However, after about an hour my butt started to get really sore. Up until now my butt would get sore after maybe 3-4 hours but over the past few days that time was shrinking to about an hour. Today was even less. I would sit for a few minutes then stand up out of the saddle and ride standing up for a minute or two then sit back down. I did this over and over as my lower half got more and more sore it was also apparent that I was starting to get pretty tired. My ankle was really bothering me today and I was worried that it would continue to get worse. I seemed to have this lethargic feeling of a deep exhaustion. It was understandable after 8 straight centuries in a row but I was very thankful for the tailwind just the same. I thought about the Tour De France riders and how they must feel after a week of racing knowing they still had two weeks to go. Despite the tailwind it was very tough going for the first few hours of the day heading south to Benton Harbor. The time seemed to be moving at a different speed much slower than normal. I put in a book on tape but the hours seemed to drag by. I rode the Blue Star Highway through Sagatuck and South Haven and kept telling myself that in Benton Harbor I would stop for a break but it seemed to take forever to get there.

Looking over the St. Joesph river in Benton Harbor

Finally I made it to Benton Harbor and stopped at the St. Joe River bridge. I ate a bar and looked out over the lake. It was a beautiful sunny day and I took in the view but was anxious to keep moving. As the day wore on I moved a bit away from the lake and got onto the Red Arrow highway. This followed the path of I-94 closely and I could hear the sounds of nature coming out of the woods on my right and the highway on my left. It made me appreciate the right a whole lot. Soon I turned off that friendly back road and onto the main Red Arrow highway and it was BUSY! This was probably one of the most dangerous parts of the trip just due to the high traffic volume and little, to no, shoulder. I felt lucky to have my reflective vest and mirror so I could see what was going on behind me, but I was still nervous. The traffic whizzed by and there was nowhere to go to get out of the way. I stopped just outside Union Pier at a hotdog stand and had a little lunch. I was only about 10 miles from the end of the day and with the tailwind had made good time. I chatted with the hot dog lady for a bit and she explained that she would be traveling to the Apple Cider Century ride which was going on the next weekend. She advertised the dogs as “Authentic” Chicago dogs but they weren’t. Not that I am a hot dog snob or anything, I guess I'm just spoiled living in a place with such great hot dog access. My butt was extremely sore by this point and I was glad to have a picnic table to sit on and eat and equally excited to be almost done with day 9. I was so hungry I slammed those dogs faster than lightening, chugged a pop and was ready to get going again.

Picture of the hotel on Day 9

After chatting with the hot dog lady a little more I jumped back on the bike and finished off the last few miles to Union Pier. Union Pier is a really small town just north of New Buffalo, Michigan. It is located right on lake Michigan and is a quaint woodsy area with small cottages and bed and breakfasts. Hardly any of the roads were paved and most were just gravel tracks. There was hardly any traffic in town either and most people got around by walking. Set in the middle of the woods the hotel was 30’s era which hadn’t seen much renovation since that time I guessed. When I got to the room I was exhausted and collapsed onto the bed for about an hour. The room was small but the day was beautifully sunny and a calm breeze blew through the windows of my corner room. The day was so beautiful that it felt wrong to just stay inside so eventually I got up and put on my sandals and went for a walk.

Hotel room in Union Pier

I walked down to the lake and up the beach. The wind was really blowing and the waves were loudly crashing but it was awesome. The lake seems to always have a personality of its own. I stopped to take a picture of myself in front of the lake and laughed later because I looked just as I felt. Happy but exhausted. By this time I had a good amount of stubble growing and I was looking pretty rough around the edges. It was during this time I started to reflect a little bit on the past 9 days and what I had accomplished. It was hard to remember a time when I was NOT riding every day or when I didn’t have Lake Michigan to my right at all times. As I walked on the beach and reflected I noticed some black dots just on the horizon. For a while I couldn’t tell what they were but finally I realized they were the tall buildings from Chicago all the way on the other side of the lake. Despite the waves I could see across the lake to my final destination tomorrow. It looked SO far that I couldn’t imagine riding it the next day. But of course it was only 80 miles to Chicago and one of the shorter days actually.

Walking along the beach after a long day

Me on the beach on my last day on the road

After a nice walk on the beach I returned to the hotel and laid down for a nap. Heather came to meet me at around 7pm and we went out for dinner. We found a sports bar and I had a beer which tasted pretty good. But I was so tired it was all I could to do eat and make it back to the hotel before crashing out for the day. Tomorrow would be my last day on the road.