Hart MI

I was up by 6. I fired up my stove to heat water for coffee. At the Discount grocery store we bought a couple boxes of instant Cafe Bustelo – cafe con leche flavored. For instant coffee these are pretty good. But to be honest at 6 am I’m not very picky. It was chilly enough that I was glad I was drinking hot coffee and not iced. The temperature was 48F degrees and the coolness was invigorating. That was a good thing as we had a big mile day planned. Our goal was to get to a Warmshowers host in Hart, a little over 70 miles away. We were on our way by 8:30.

The weather continued to be perfect for cycling and we made good time. Around 11 we had made it as far as Grand Haven. I was hungry and in need of a coffee. I had ate a couple handfuls of mixed nuts and a granola bar while riding but was ready for something more substantial. We stopped at Jumpin Java where I got my usual iced vanilla latte. Rose usually gets what I get but switched it up and ordered an iced chai latte. I had never tried one before and after taking a big gulp will probably never try one again. I had to ask if it was supposed to taste like that. I certainly won’t be switching from from coffee drinks any time soon! Anyway, Rose had packed ham and cheese sandwiches last night and we ate outside at a sidewalk table. With the miles we had planned, we were trying to limit our breaks to fifteen minutes. That was no problem for me. I can devour a sandwich in about two minutes. A 20 Oz coffee doesn’t last much longer!

Most of the riding was on trails. Awesome, beautiful, paved trails. Michigan has over 13,000 miles of trails, pathways and bike lanes. It is home to one of the largest interconnect trail system in the country. I know I sure have enjoyed them.

One thing I love about Rails to Trails is the benches and picnic tables along the way. It’s so nice to have a place to sit and rest even if it’s only for a few minutes. One of the benches had a plaque with a quote that me and Rosie really liked.

It wasn’t all trails though and Google took us through the town of Muskegon. It was through a very depressed section of the city. Our speed slowed to about 6mph due to the potholes, broken pavement and broken glass on the road. Going so slow was a little bit annoying. We had done really well at keeping our speed above 12 mph all day. To add to our annoyance we were following a trash truck. A very juicy trash truck that was leaking odiferous liquid all over the road. Getting behind a garbage truck or the postal service can get aggravating on a bicycle. Depending on where their stops are, as soon as you go around them 30 seconds later they pass you. This can go on for miles. What we usually do is stop and take a ten minute break to avoid that. That really wasn’t an option here because the stench made breathing difficult. But we made it through and our reward was cheese! Right on our route was a store called The Cheese Lady. Rose saw it and pulled into park. I hadn’t seen the store and thought she was stopping at the Bakery right beside it. As she was buying cheese I went Morats Bakery and got a loaf of bread and two doughnuts. I put the bread and doughnuts away and after waiting several minutes went to see what was taking her so long. She had struck up a conversation with the lady behind the counter who was also a cyclist. I’m glad I went in because there were free samples! A smoked gouda with veins of blue cheese through it was my favorite. I couldn’t wait to see what Rose had picked out. Thankfully I didn’t have long to wait. Two blocks away was where the Muskegon farmers market is held. There were about 100 tables for the vendors and also picnic tables, all under a big roof. The farmers market was not today so we had our choice of tables to enjoy our second lunch. Fresh garlic and herb bread, butter, ham and Delft blue cheese. It was delicious.

The doughnut for desert was delicious too. The only thing missing was a coffee drink! I thought if there were a coffee shop between the bakery and cheese shop that it might be the most perfect city block ever. After our lunch we were back on a trail for the rest of the day.

Our host in Hart was out of town but said we could just make ourselves at home in her house. With less then two miles to go, the trail ran right by a grocery store and we stopped for water. I’m a little picky about water. I dislike “city” water and will filter water from a creek before I drink chlorinated water if I have a choice. Our bottles were empty and we definitely needed to rehydrate so I didn’t want to take a chance. We bought a gallon of water 1 quart of whole milk for me and a quart of chocolate milk for Rose. I had finished mine by the time we got to the register. Actually, I finished before I left the dairy section! After a long ride, I’ll take milk over soda any day. The trail ended 8/10ths of a mile from the house we were staying at. We slowly rode the last mile through town exclaiming how awesome our day had been. 76 miles and we both were doing good. Tired but not beat. After arriving and making ourself at home we both had showers and sat down to relax. That lasted about 20 minutes until my belly said it was passed dinnertime. We made it here around 7 o’clock. Dinner was box Mac n cheese with the rest of the sausage and a few slices of bread. It was great but I think any food would of been great after that many miles.

76 miles is our biggest day so far.