Along Rt 41

It’s been a few days since I last posted. A couple of evenings a didn’t have cell phone service and last night I was too tired to write. We have been 179 miles since Newberry but 27 of those were in a pick up truck. We left the town of Newberry on route 28. Traffic was very heavy and there wasn’t much of a shoulder.

At a gas station we stopped for a soda and to look at the map. We weren’t having much fun on 28. We met a group of local orv riders that stopped to fuel up. Most of the secondary roads are open to off road vehicles here in the U.P. They were very helpful and perused the map with us. We decided to leave route 28 and take rd 415. We wanted to get to Grand Marais 41 miles away. A fairly easy day so we thought. But all too soon rd 415 turned to gravel and then sand. We were too far along or too stubborn to turn around and we had to push our bikes a lot. Our narrow tires just don’t work in deep gravel or sand.

It was a really beautiful area and that kept our spirits up for a while. Eventually though we were walking more then we were riding. It was a great road for the off road vehicles and judging from the number that flew by us it was a very popular route for them. The sides of the road were deep sand and it was impossible to even push our heavily loaded bikes through it. We stayed as close to the lane of travel as possible even though we would become engulfed in a dust cloud every time an atv flew by. Taking a break under a shade tree a logger in a work truck asked if we were ok. We asked how far until the road is paved again? He looked apologetic when he replied at least 18 miles. At the rate we were traveling that was going to be about 2 days. We came up with a plan b, Bass Lake State Forest Campground was 5 miles ahead. We decided to camp there for the night and hope somebody would take pity on our plight and give us a ride to the nearest paved road. At campgrounds our bicycles always atract attention and people often come to our campsite to chat. I was pretty confident we could get a ride, most the campgrounds we have been to have been very full. Most any one pullin a trailer would have a pickup truck and that is just what we needed.

With aching feet we hobbled into the campground around 4 o’clock. Both of us wear shoes that clip to our pedals and have very stiff soles. They are made for pedaling and are not very comfortable to walk any distance in. We were sure happy to be home for the night! I was surprised and disheartened to see it was a very small campground with only 3 other campers. Suddenly I wasn’t so confident in getting a ride in the morning. I shouldn’t of worried though. Passing the first camper there, he came out to talk to us. He was there for several days with his family. They had seen us struggling miles back on the road and couldn’t believe we had made it that far. Larry really knew the area well. From memory he listed off about five different roads to take and said that would be your best way to get to a paved road. Rose said no Sir, the best way to get to the paved road would be in the bed of a pickup truck. Larry said be here at 8 am and I’ll take you! We were so relieved and super happy. We set up our hammocks and made dinner. Actually we were too tired to make much of a dinner. We just ate whatever we could find that didn’t need cooked. The rest of the whitefish, crackers and cheese, summer sausage, granola bars and peanuts.

We set our alarm so we would be up and packed by 7:30. We sure didnt want to miss our ride. By 8:30 we were loaded up and on our way. Larry was a really nice man and took us the whole way to Grand Marais. He dropped us off on H58 the road we had hoped to get to before we hit the sand road. Rose hustled over to a gas station to get cash to give him some gas money. Larry wouldn’t hear of it and left before she even returned. Thank you so much Larry!

We put our gear on the bikes and headed a few blocks back into the town. After a quick breakfast at the Breakwall Diner we rode down to the shore of Lake Superior.

We met a couple motorcyclist that were out for a week long trip. They brought up how incredibly friendly and kind every one in Michigan and especially the U.P. is. We chatted with them a bit, mostly sharing stories of kindness. Finally we headed down H 58 full of exitement, eggs, grits, and biscuits and gravy. It was a good breakfast but not very budget friendly. 16.99 each. (Ouch) But it was a celebration and reward of sorts. A celebration to finaly be on H58 and a reward for our effort on the gravel roads. We have been hearing of this road for miles. Every one we talked to said it was brand new and beautiful. It certainly was beautiful! And it was in great condition, but I think it was many years ago since it was brand new. The road followed the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

There were many scenic overlooks we stopped to enjoy. We even hiked down to Sable Falls. At several of our stops we ran into the motorcycle guys again. They were impressed with our time. H58 was mostly flat with a few big, but gradual climbs. The downhills were great, sometimes as long as two miles.

We kept up a good pace that was helped by a light tailwind. Munising was our goal for the day, 53 miles. Around 3 we stopped at the only store we had seen all day to get a gallon of water and a Dr.Pepper. We were shocked when the lady at the register said the price. It was $7 dollars for a gallon of water! We passed on the water but did purchase one Dr. Pepper to share. We figured we would cross a creek soon and filter from it. A few miles from the store we found a rock in the shade to sit on while having a snack. A can of oyesters, tuna fish, crackers and hard boiled eggs washed down with ice cold Dr Pepper. That snack fueled us for the last 20 miles of our day. That and listening to Gordon Lightfoot. I had to play Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

We rolled into Munising tourist campground around 6 pm. There were no trees big enough for us to use hammocks so we set up the tent. I set up the tent while Rose showered then she started supper while I took a shower. They say hunger is the best seasoning, meaning everything taste good when your hungry. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it or not but dinner was amazing! Andouille sausage,black beans and rice.

For being in the tent I slept very well. Around 6:30 I got up and made coffee. It was almost chilly 45 degrees. Over coffee we made plans to stay at a warmshower host in Ishpeming. It was 58 miles away. We got off to a late start but we’re determined to make it. The tulip popular and maple tree leaves are starting to change colors. It a bright and beautiful reminder that fall is almost here and we need to pick up our pace.

We were on 28 untill the last 25 miles or so. From Marquette there was the Iron Ore Heritage Trail. We finally made it to our WS host around 7 pm. David and his father had dinner ready when we got there. Lasagna salmon and broccoli. Desert was two kinds of ice cream. The food was delicious and the conversations great! Thank you guys very much.

Today we got a pretty early start 9:30. After getting back on 41 Rose back tracked 1 mile to the town of Ishpeming to get some groceries. I went to the Da Yooper Tourist Trap. It was free and I walked around a bit looking at all the displays. The displays were light hearted and funny, mostly poking fun at the U.P and at the same time good naturedly making fun of “tourist traps” around the world. I wasn’t there very long before I became more interested in a cup of coffee. I rode up to a gas station, got a cup and waited for Rose there. We planned on just riding untill we found a good place to stop today. Our goal was somewhere around 50 miles. At 35 miles we found the perfect stealth camping site. It was 3:30. Even though it was earlyn it was too nice to pass up so we stayed. Dinner tonight was boneless pork ribs cut into chunks, marinated in 2 pkgs barbicola seasoning. Couscous, red potatoes and onions all wrapped up in whole wheat tortillas with Colby cheese.

Delicious and enough left over for lunch tomorrow. Leaving left overs is really tough for me. I don’t ever go to bed hungry but I sure could eat more. I remind myself that I am trying to lose weight. I really would like to find a scale soon. The last time I tried to weigh myself was back in Ohio. I don’t know how much I weighed then because that scale was in Roman numerals. It just said ERR. Haha. Just joking, I know it meant error as I’m sure it didn’t go as high as I needed it to. I weighed right around 350 on July 6th but that was 1676.53 miles ago. Today was the day we were supposed to take our measurements but I forgot to. I’ll try to do it tomorrow.