Which Way To Go?

It certainly didn’t take long for me to fall behind schedule … well, blog schedule anyway. My riding “schedule” remains as vague and open-ended as ever.

My morning began with the discovery that the rain that had thoroughly soaked me the previous day had since moved on, leaving a sunny day in its wake. For that I was truly grateful. I was also truly grateful to wake to a Warm Showers response confirming that I would have a place to stay this evening – assuming I made it to Ann Arbor. Spoiler Alert: I did.

Ann Arbor was a little under 100 km away so I was reasonably confident I could handle that – especially considering the previous day was almost 130 km in the rain. The biggest challenge on this day was routing since the city sprawl of Detroit was the main obstacle between my trusted Red Roof Inn and Ann Arbor.

The more I pedal in big cities the more I dislike pedalling in big cities. There are lights. There’s traffic. And frequently there are a lot of turns to navigate which typically leaves me with no real bearing as to where I am. Putting my trust in Google is not something I particularly relish. But, on this day, that’s what I did.

Surprisingly, my cautious trust in Google (and the Google lady that was telling me when and where to turn) was rewarded with a mostly efficient route through and around Detroit. That said, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant ride as there were a lot of red lights, potholes, and other distractions … all of which tend to take the fun out of a ride. However, sometimes days like this are necessary. My goal, of course, is to keep them to a minimize as much as possible.

Included with today’s “other distractions” was traffic. And today’s traffic featured two more conversations with drivers along the way but, unlike yesterday, these conversations were a positive experience. The first one had a woman honk at me while at a red light. When I looked over, she was waving the rain cover from my handlebar bag at me. Somewhere along the way it had fallen out of its pocket and somehow I didn’t notice. Obviously, she did notice – and stopped to pick it up and then delivered it to me. I was both surprised and very appreciative of her efforts. I really don’t know if I was more surprised or more appreciative. Either way, I thanked her and she continued on her way.

The second driver caught my attention by slowing down beside me. When I looked over (still pedalling), he asked, “Are those weights?” I said, “Well, they’re heavy but its all my gear. I’m heading to the Grand Canyon.” He laughed in response before saying, “D@mn! You’ve got a LONG way to go!!” All I could do was laugh and agree. He wished me well and also continued on his way.

The rest of the ride went pretty smoothly. There were a few delays and mini-detours along the way but nothing particularly significant and before I knew it I was pedalling along a nice trail in Ann Arbor. Mission: Accomplished.

I arrived at my hosts (Mike and Kelly) in time for a pre-dinner beer. And whiskey. As luck would have it, I had arrived on a day that was both their anniversary (33 years, if I remember correctly) and their daughter had stopped by for a short visit – the result was joining them for a ridiculously great lamb dinner. Actually, feast would probably be more accurate. Either way, it was delicious.

Post-dinner, Mike led me on a cycle tour of the area including a stop at the Ann Arbor Music Festival which runs daily for a month. It was fun and impressive to see both the number of people in attendance and the fact that the festival is supported for so many days.

Returning to the house, I had the choice of either writing a blog update or figuring out what my plan would be for the coming days. Obviously, I opted for the latter. The big dilemma was whether to take a ferry from Michigan to Wisconsin (the ferry is about a 3-day ride from Ann Arbor) or to head south into Ohio. It was a decision I greatly struggled with … but I’ll leave that decision until the next update.

Today’s totals:
Distance: 98.66 km
Ride time: 4:39:49
Average speed: 21.15 km/h
Maximum speed: 38.31 km/h