Biking Our First Century - Hayward, WI to Dalbo, MN

To Cumberland, Erin's Home Away From Home?

We had a bit of a later start heading out of Hayward, due to having to mess with the bike a little bit more and quite a chatty neighbor. It was a very hot and humid day, and we got moving with the intention of going as far as we could given the heat. We stopped in Everton for lunch (already dripping with sweat - the air has been very thick around here), and the local convenience store owner told us it's been uncharacteristically hot these few days. Hah! That'd be our luck, wouldn't it? 

Another couple riding from West to East stopped for lunch and chatted with us here - they were originally planning to hit Maine, but have had to cut their trip shorter (guess it's taking them longer than they hoped). We talked about what was to come on either side, trading tales of the road. We took off we before too long, since it was only getting hotter - the other bikers had said something about it being hilly, and we didn't want to let too much time pass if we had to cross that.

(Wisconsin farmland)

Pretty soon we were seeing less and less forest and increasingly large fields of crops, which seemed like a good sign in terms of the terrain leveling out. Wisconsin's interesting in that half of what we saw was lush, beautiful forest and the other half was straight farmland.

We reached a tiny town called Haugen and already needed to refill our water. I hopped around to almost every building looking for a faucet, but they were either closed or unwilling to give me a fill up (one guy tried to sell me a gallon jug, though). Eventually, the bar at the end of town let me use a faucet (phew!), and we were back on our way after getting stuck in more than one conversation about our trip. People really want to talk, which is great, except when you're standing out in the sun and have many more miles to bike :(

(Haugen)

(The search is on!)

As we rode on, the terrain became these tall, really vast hills. We wouldn't exactly call them "rolling" as peak to peak it was about a mile's worth of distance, with over 200 ft in elevation change. This was hard riding, folks. We decided that rather than push for the 80 mile day, we'd settle for 60 and once more rework our schedule - the sun was going to set, and we'd prefer to play it safe.

(Hills, dude. Also, now Erin can take action shots as we ride! Woo fanny pack!)

We stopped in Cumberland, which is the same name as Erin's hometown in Maryland!

It was a cute town, and the city campground had showers (YES!), which was soooo nice after such a humid and gross day. Of course, we each found that after drying off, we immediately felt like we needed another shower - it was so humid and sticky, there's just not much you can do when you're living outside. The campsite was beautiful, though. It rained torrentially for about half an hour (all that humidity was leading up to something!), but it wasn't enough to break the humidity, so we spent the night with the rainfly open for some ventilation.

(Our campsite)

We wanted to get plenty of rest, because the next day we had an ambitious plan: Ride over 100 miles to get across the state line into Minnesota and reach the free cyclist bunkhouse in Dalbo.

The Big Day

Morning came and we left from camp at around 8 AM, which would give us just enough time to reach Dalbo if the terrain didn't give us any nasty surprises (that's a big "if" and we knew it). We stopped to pick up a gatorade and caffeine for midday, and were on our way. Of course, we got a little turned around leaving town, then had to struggle up a really steep hill, then got chased by three dogs at once. OFF TO A GREAT START! But seriously, it was a little worrying, and the sun wasn't even fully up and we were, again, already drenched thanks to the humidity. But, we were on a mission, so we pushed on.

(Overlooking a river in Amery)

(Lunch!)

By midday we had made it 30 miles or so to Amery, where we stopped for lunch. It was a quick break, and we looked up an off-route bike trail that would take us to the next town of Dresser (and knock off 4 miles of road riding). We took off on the trail from Amery, and it was a nice path that went along seven different lakes. It was just compacted dirt for 14 miles, so we got a nice grimy film attached to our bodies as the wheels tossed up dust and sand.

(Trail!)

(Lake!)

(Us!)

We made it to Dresser at around 2:00 in the afternoon, with only about 6 more miles to the state line. We filled water again and pedaled out through more fields to get to the border town of Osceola.

Somehow we lost an hour or more there, switching our maps and getting a second gatorade to replenish everything we'd lost. It was getting to be as hot as it was going to be, and we had made it about halfway in mileage. This is also the point where we finished the North Lakes route, and are finally reconnected with the Northern Tier (which we had departed from back in Niagara).

After almost getting hit by a driver who was not paying attention as we went through a crosswalk, we blitzed our way downhill only to come screeching back to a halt as we crossed the state line. At last, we were in Minnesota.

(Another state down!)

Then we climbed slowly out of that trough through some meandering highways that had thankfully large shoulders. Honestly, this part of the day becomes kind of a blur - it was hot, we were tired, and Minnesota was not immediately stimulating (big fields...biig fields). One road was in really bad shape, but we don't have pictures of this part of the day.

Basically we road for 50 more miles, racing against against the clock and the sun. We stopped every 10 miles or so to pep talk each other, chug water, and get back on the bike. The terrain was flat until the last 12 miles or so, and we split a Gu packet (crucial care package delivery) to get us through - our speed jumped from a lagging 8 mph back up to 16 mph. Finally, sun just slipping below the horizon, our energy sapped, we rolled into Dalbo. Dripping sweat and panting, we had made it.

"This Whole Place Is Like A Dodge Commercial" - Phelps, WI to Hayward, WI

So we made it to Wisconsin! In Phelps, where we stopped the first night, we treated ourselves to a state beer called "Point," which was veeerrry delicious and crazy cheap! It has been really fun to travel through the states and sample really tasty local brews - especially when they are cheaper than your standard macro-beers!

Our first day's ride consisted of many beautiful hills and forests, which were nicely shaded and pleasant to ride. Nothing too steep or too laborious, but still plenty engaging physically. We saw more sandhill cranes (one pair had a baby!!), and ended up crashing (not literally) into a flea market in Boulder Junction where we stopped to have lunch and fill up water.

(Hilarious propane tank)

Boulder Junction also had a really long bike path that was paved and ran along 10 miles of the county highway we were supposed to ride, so that was extra nice!

In Star Lake, which was earlier, we spent some time talking with another cyclist who had made a trip from her home in Wisconsin to Connecticut. It was really nice to commiserate with someone who had already traveled the same route we had just covered. She said she and her husband got 11 flat tires in Michigan! There must be something about the roads there, which actually made us feel better about our flat tires.

We ended the day at a really nice campground, too! Our neighbor offered us some of his drinking water since the well pump tasted pretty rusty and gross.

(I didn't take a picture, but in the morning there was a low mist hanging over this lake. Spoooky)

Small Town, Big Lunch!

The next day, we got up early and headed off to the town of Butternut, which was another pleasant ride. Wisconsin has been beautiful, if a little remote. We go through 10+ mile stretches without seeing a town or store, let alone more than 20 cars. It's pretty wild.

(Really nice memorial of people in Butternut)

At Butternut we stopped at this place called "Jumbo's", where we had a humungous breakfast for lunch (and for the first time in a while, we felt full). Then it was off to Glidden, and then through a National Forest to another campground. Another thing about Wisconsin - the mosquitos here are voracious, much like those in Michigan. Who would gave thought riding through all these nortern states would lead to so many bugs?? (Sarcasm).

(We rode this here!)

Yay Consumerism!

(Not sure how patriotic this poor black bear actually was during its lifetime)

The next day we rode through more national forest, and there were special lights along the side of the road that would blink if elk were expected to be in the area. Sadly, we saw no elk, despite seeing many blinking lights. We made a stop in Hayward (after around 25 miles of forests and vacation homes) to visit the local Walmart and pick up supplies. We got some backup camp fuel, a new foot pump (our initial one has gradually fallen apart), and a fanny pack for Erin to access while riding. Now it's a lot easier to take pictures on the road and get snacks on the go during the day!

We broke for lunch and the heat just kept getting more intense, so we waited a little to see if we felt like the next 30 miles to Birchwood were worth it. As we debated, we encountered two other touring cyclsits from Madison, WI. They were biking to every single county seat in the state - a 3,000 mile journey! They seemed like they were having a blast, and we thought that was an awfully cool idea.

The heat didn't wear off, so we opted to stay indoors in Hayward and refigure our schedule. And wouldn't you know it, we got a flat half a mile from the motel - back tire, as always. So we used the motel day to also rotate the tires from the front to the back - the replacement tire we got in Charlevoix, MI has already been quite worn away, while the original front tire has remained really sturdy over the whole trip. It's a heck of a lot easier to repair the front tire (the back is a threaded, steel axle, not a quick release), so we hope this will improve our riding.

So that was the first leg of Wisconsin - next post will cover the craziness that is the second half of the state! 

Days of Michigan Part 2: Life in the Yoopee - Mackinaw City to Phelps, WI

After our rest day, it was time to get back on the bike and move on to the U.P. But in order to do so, we had to cross a five mile suspension bridge (it's a big deal, look it up). We aren't allowed to ride bikes across the bridge, so we had to use this wacky phone booth to call up a bridge authority truck to take our bike (and us) across - it was a strange ride, and we learned that there was another couple on a tandem with a trailer going from San Francisco to Maine, and they had just been dropped off on the side of the bridge we were leaving.

(More Lake Michigan from the Mainland)

When we were dropped off on the other side, we had the difficult task of riding through traffic away from the bridge to get to the highway across the U.P. A bit stressful, but it was only half a mile or so, and then we were on the relatively slower highway 2. And there were so many billboards for 1) Smoked Fish 2) Jerky 3) Pasties and 4) Wild Rice (again, much of it "Famous"). 

We were clocking a pretty good speed along 2, even with the strong wind off the lake. And we decided to take a short lunch break on the beach! Even though we've obviously had some tough times on the bike, the trip has undoubtedly still provided us some amazing views and experiences as we've traveled across the country.

(This lake is huge!)

The downside of this route, though, is we've spent a lot of time on a major US highway, which is super stressful when you're on a bike, even if you have a shoulder to ride on. Lots of recreational traffic (big RVs) mixed in with logging trucks makes for a taxing time spent on the road. We ended up stopping a tiny bit short of our intended campground, since we saw a cheaper site behind a tiny bar in Gould City that wasn't listed on our map. So we stopped and decided to make up the extra 5 miles tomorrow.

F(r)oggy Day

The next day we awoke to rain (not on the forecast) that continued throughout the morning. So we packed up our wet tent and were ready to head out only to see we had a flat tire on the trailer (some industrial wire had worked its way through). We breathed a joint sigh, and got to work to replace the tube. More tough riding along the highway followed (some other cyclists passed us in heavy traffic on the shoulder without warning - dangerous and stupid) but eventually the weather cleared up. AND WE (Erin) RESCUED A FROG.

We also saw one of those same cyclists we met in Frankenmuth (she pedaled by as we were taking a stop to pick up more granola bars), which was kind of funny. We ended the day in Gladstone at a really nice city campground, and we ran into a man from Wisconsin who had seen us on the road twice! And boy he was a talker!

Why is it so Hot??

After Gladstone, we pedaled through Escanaba and began making our way towards the Michigan/Wisconsin border. But as the day progressed, our own progress began to seem more dubious. It was so humid our clothing was literally sagging off bodies from the heat and sweat. Plus, the hills were starting to get really steep. Services were really sparse, so we decided to stop in Hardwood at a campground, since a 20 mile stretch of nothingness was approaching and we didn't want to run out of water on a day like today. At the campground Erin found a bunch of abandoned mosquito coils, which was like winning the lottery to us because we have been getting eaten alive out here! We have become very good scavengers on the road.

(Did you know Michigan was in two time zones?)

(More campsite shots)

The next morning we battled bugs as we tried to pack up our now quite dry tent, and we had gotten maybe 7 miles only to find we had another flat tire on the back wheel. Michigan roads have not been kind to us, as this was our 3rd or 4th flat in this state. The headwind was crazy strong today, too, and our morale began to lag. So, we decided to cut this day short too and stay indoors to recharge. And guess who we saw later in the day at the gas station in town? None other than that same cyclist in Frankenmuth. (We never see her sister, though!)

(Freaky caterpillar hitchhiker on our tent)

Reaching the Promised Land

So it turns out the wind wasn't going to go away, and we had to fight it once again as we left in the morning. And 8 miles out, we got yet another flat tire - this time, it was my fault, as I replaced the tube imperfectly last time and it got pinched between the wheel rim and the tire. So, again, take the tire apart to patch it on the side of the highway, put it back together, get back on. But we pushed onward, and finally, after one last gigantic hill in Crystal Falls, we got off the highway and the inclines started to get less difficult (or at least less regularly steep - we still had a few very hard climbs to make, but they were more spaced out with gradual grades inbetween). The scenery was also absolutely beautiful, and with the huge dropoff in traffic, we were able to really take it in and enjoy the natural beauty.

And then finally - FINALLY - we made it to the state line after breaking for lunch. And we were so relieved to be entering Wisconsin.

Believe it or not, you can really tell the difference between states when you cross the border. Thus far, Wisconsin has been CRAZY beautiful, and there's basically no traffic on the county highways. Still windy, even a little cold, but a really nice change of pace in terms of inclines, scenery, and road conditions. We'd spent 12 days in Michigan (12 days!! And we weren't slacking!), so to be finally out and moving on feels extremely relieving. We've also hit over 2000 miles by bicycle upon crossing the state line, so we're about 3.5 days short of hitting our halfway point in mileage. Here's to progress!

Days of Michigan Part 1: Marine City to Mackinaw City (Back in America!)

So we made it back into the states, and we've been spending the last week+ winding our way up and across Michigan (currently we are in the UP - that is, the Upper Peninsula - but we'll cover that in our next blog post. Because so much has happened in Michigan, it's hard to even know where to start).

No Rest For the Weary

Our first destination was the tiny town of Otter Lake - but it was 10 additional miles since we stopped short the day before due to rain and feeling severely frigid and cold. But we figured we'd decide whether to go the now 80+ miles or stop early at a later time of the day. We hopped on route and started off in the late morning, dodging heavy traffic and making a necessary pitstop to pick up lunch supplies. Part of our route was a railway converted to a bike path, which was really cool - we got to ride over the trestle of the old tracks!

(High up!)

It was fated to be another late day - Otter Lake is almost 1000 feet in elevation, and we started at sea level (lake level?). We cranked out the last 30 miles as the sun was setting and rolled into the campsite at just before 9:00, making camp right in front of two drunken RV ladies who gave us fresh veggies and bug repellent candles! Quite a day - we did notice more than one grain elevator still operated by the local communities, though (it was a heavy farmland day).

Everything Is Famous

Then came another late day, even though it was supposed to be short. In the morning, everyone who came by our campsite wanted to chat, which was cool, but set us behind in terms of departure time. But we did get a helpful hint from a local that gave us a detour and made up for some of the lost time. And so we found ourselves in Frankenmuth, a strangely cute Bavarian town that has TWO restaurants apparently "famous" for their chicken dinners.

(We stopped for a beer and terrible live polka music)

We also ran into two other cyclists who were doing the same route as us. We chatted for a bit and went on our way, assuming we'd never see them again. But then, as we were making our way into Bay City for the end of our day, we saw them again! They were probably staying the night there as well.

We spent the night with a friendly warmshowers couple named Gary and June, who were supremely kind to us. They cooked us dinner, gave us some snacks for the road, a warm bed, and a tour of the town (Bay City had some awesome old houses from when the lumber barons lived down there). They also gave us some shortcut pointers to avoid a very busy and dangerous road out of town.

Bike Paths All Over

One thing that's really nice about Michigan is the crazy amount of bike paths they've got (the Rails to Trails initiative started here). Once we left Bay City, we pedaled about 20 miles to Middleton, where a bike trail picked up for the rest of the day.

(This is real)

(Sooooo bad, gettin that potable water)

We ended in Evart (another long day - sensing a trend? That's cuz the weather has been reallllly hot and we slow down majorly between the hours of 12-4. Then we pick back up as the sun starts going away). It was a generally pleasant day, especially since we got to see many animals (Two owls!). We also had a lot of difficult fly encounters - those monsters!

Yogurt, Sand, and Luther

Our next stop along the bike project was Reed City (they had a great rest stop). Turns out there's a Yoplait factory there. Weird, right? Check it out:

Well, shortly out of Reed City the trail turned to some deep gravel, but we planned on turning onto an actual road shortly, so it wasn't too long. BUT THEN the main road turned into deep, hilly sand! And THAT was crazy rough. We saw cars slippin and sliding everywhere in it too, which was scary.

(Impossible!)

Well, that's what we get for following yhr advice of locals.

Then it was up to Luther, a tiny town up in the hills. We also watched a snake get hit by a car on our way there, which was really tragic.

(It was so hot)

We took a break in Luther to dodge the heat a bit, and we switched Adventure Cycling maps here from the Lake Erie Connector (which ended) to the North Lakes Route, which will take us into the Upper Peninsula and over through western Wisconsin.

Then it was off to Messick (ME-sick, not meh-sick, apparently). We got another flat at like 2 miles out of town, and had some strange talks with passersby as we repaired it ("you carry a concealed weapon in there?" "We're going north...way up north...INDIAN COUNTRY!") but eventually we made it and set up camp, ready for the next day.

(Everyone has lakes)

"Rest Day"

A short ride to Traverse City, and we had made it all the way to the west coast of lower Michigan (hello again, Lake Michigan, it's been a while). They were cleaning up after a big cherry festival, and we stopped at a bike shop to get a tune up on the drum brake. They gave us a free tube and snacks - thanks Brick Wheel Cycles! We had a nice picnic on the lakeshore, then went further to a sweet campground. Wasn't much of a rest day (50 miles) but at the same time it was incredibly nice to be around people after so long on the road.

Dangerous Day

Then came a tough day, starting with a big beetle right in the eye on the way down the first hill. It was a rainy day, with hilly roads and windy farmland. But then the weather cleared, and it got very hot and humid...Michigan weather is crazy.

(We had some...observers)

We ended up on some really terrible roads, no shoulder and intense truck traffic. It was there we got two flats in a row (our rear tire was totally shot), and things seemed really hopeless. And that's when a friendly man stopped by and helped us get back on track AND get us to a bike shop for a new tire and tube.

(All smiles at the end of the day!)

Finally to the Bridge

Luckily we were able to take a bike path back to our route, riding along the lakeshore as we went through Petosky and Harbor Springs. We got some very nice views during this part of the day.

(More lake selfies)

It was a haul to get to Mackinaw City, where we would end our time on the lower part of Michigan state. We went through some incredibly beautiful landscape on our way, though. Something about the light in Michigan, this place always looks so brautiful. We also saw a pair of sandhill cranes hanging out together in a field - so cute!

(Hard for an iPhone shot to do justice to the beauty of the scene, but here's a shot)

We finally made it to Mackinaw City, and decided to take a rest day here to relax our tired legs. We spent a two nights in a very nice campground and basically hung out, looked at the maps, and even performed some bike maintenance (finally undid some of the problems that bike shop in Vermont left us with...).

Something that surprised us is that terr really hasn't been very much roadkill here. Far less than we'd seen previously. It's a nice change of pace!

Oh Ontario - Four Days in the North

Last post we had finished New York and made it to Niagara Falls - and if you were following along with the Adventure Cycling Routes, this is where we jump from the Northern Tier to the Lake Erie Connector, swapping out Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa for the province of Ontario and then Michigan. So here we'll discuss our days in Ontario, which were 4 (not including rest days in Niagara Falls).

Starting Off With a Bang

When you're on the road in a country that uses the metic system and you rely heavily on road signage, things can get a little confusing (what is 7 km??). And when you're biking a long day with heavy traffic - because apparently many New Yorkers like to take July 4th off on Canadian Lake Erie - your chances of making a mistake navigating get really high. And thus we had a day that lasted over 90 miles and sent us completely off route...but it wasn't all bad!

(Niagara Brews)

Even though we got lost, even though it was 9:00 in the evening when we finally found any campground, and even though it was really hot, we still had a cold beer, some corn on the cobb, and veggie dogs to celebrate independece day (and only one of those was supplied by a kind RV camper who was astounded at what we were doing - are we cool or are we stupid?? Still don't know). We were lucky enough to find a place that had a single site still available ("we're having a camp dance and fireworks, it's the most crowded we've been in 5 years!" are frightening words when all you want to do is collapse and sleep), so we didn't have to camp in someone's field. It was a nice night, too, and we did get some sleep plus got to use a computer to map our way back to the route thanks to the very kind owners of the campground (or maybe we just looked so desperate).

Canadian Cyclist Courtesy

Two words for rural Canada: Flat and hot. And lots of traffic, which was A) Surprising and B) Uncomfortable - Canadians really didn't give us a lot of space on the roads, which typically had little to no shoulder for us to ride. We also had a biker (motorcycle) intentionally spray us with gravel because someone in a car was talking to us in the lane, so that was really fun (the guy was offering us a free place to sleep, which was incredibly nice - he co-owns a winery that was on our route. Sadly, it was much before our scheduled stop, so we didn't take up the offer).

(Basically Ontario)

The heat was intense and the scenery was boring - but we saw a ton of roadkill. It seems like large-scale agricultural spaces are hotspots for roadkill. Erin suspects it is due to the closure of community owned grain elevators (which used railways to collect the grain) and the rise of privatized agriculture (which utilizes  company semi-trucks driven straight to the fields to collect grain). Food for thought on the further removed repercussions of industrialized food production and corprorate ownership of crops.

We Are Not Alone

We stayed at a provincial park one night (verrrry full of mosquitos) and the next day we ran into another pair of tandem bikers (also hauling a trailer - they were interested in our single wheel BOB trailer, as they had a two-wheeler). We stopped and chatted for a while, also meeting a man attempting a week-long cicuit around Lake Erie. It was very cool meeting other cyclists on the trail - it made us feel a lot more like we weren't just two totally insane people out in the world.

(Not impressed - midsentence)

(We also saw this elk thing)

Finishing With A Splash

We started our last day really early, since we were crossing the border and wanted ample time for whatever customs debacle would occur. And man was it a muggy day - riding straight into a headwind and the horizon looking hazy as heck. Of course today we got a flat (foreshadowing - we will get many more in Michigan), and as we set off after repairing the rain set in. And it continued. And then it hailed (crazy thing to hear hail as it makes its way across the fields towards you). And then it rained. And then it hailed. We were just soaked. But we stopped to save a bunch of tiny little frogs trying to make their way across the road. They were so cute!

(She's famous in Canada)

(Before the deluge)

And so onward we pushed through the rain till we finally made it to the ferry - cold and extremely exhausted. But we showed up right when the ferry was leaving, so we didn't have to wait and we only had to pay 2 Canadian dollars (the ferry operator was a friendly, funny man). Customs was easy and quick, and then it was back in America!!

(No welcome to Michigan sign, so we took a picture at the bike route)

(Stealth camping - shhhh!)

We decided to stay indoors, and stopped at a Marine City motel to dry off and OH MAN DO LAUNDRY FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE MAINE. So we had a really pleasant ending to a tough day, and it felt great to be back in America.

(Lake Erie)