2020, Day 3: Rectitude

Julie Kesler
Sep 5, 2020
3 min read

As discussed, Dad's a man of principles, and this rectitude sometimes lends to the comedy of strict adherence. Dad's the type to not claim a coast-to-coast ride unless he can claim it in every literal sense. You may recall, he started with his rear wheel in the water in Washington, way back on the first "Day 1" of riding. Today, he met the second coast (I guess it's a coast-to-coast-to-coast-to-coast), meaning he wouldn't be satisfied until he baptized his front tire in the waters of the Huron. He then matched the principle by doing a cut-take to ride out of the lake on the other side. Surely if he could have, he'd have found a way to pedal right across the water, but I don't think they let you take water bikes that far out from the shore. I keep telling dad to start a TikTok. That would've made the popular page, for sure! Forget Social Security or the retirement bonus, TikTok Creator's Fund could've paid off this trip.

(pics or it didn't happen)

Dad's also a "Cross that bridge when we come to it" kind of guy. Today we've come to that bridge.

From Dad:

Today’s riding was interspersed with some site-seeing. We started off at Trout Lake about 8:25. It was only 23 miles from there to the I-75 interchange, which took about 1½ hours. Then another 8 miles or so along a frontage road into St. Ignace. I had hopes to ride right down to the lakeshore. We pulled into a state park campground, and rode as close as we could. There was a short trail to a scenic overview of the Mackinac bridge, but the trail down to the water was dirt with lots of exposed roots. I didn’t want to pop a tire, so we decided to call it good. Then, when trying to drive out of the campground, we took a “wrong” turn, and ended up on a road that took us right down to the shore. So I hopped on my bike and rode right down to the water. There was a couple sitting at a picnic table there. I told them I didn’t think I was good enough to ride on across to the other side. Linda and I took off our shoes and went wading in Lake Huron.

Then we went back into St. Ignace and got a couple of pasties for lunch. It’s a fully enclosed pocket of flatbread filled with meat and vegetables, baked in an oven. It was invented by miners looking for a convenient way to pack their lunches. It’s a local dish. They really aren’t that great tasting, but it’s a local character thing.

We drove across the Mackinac Narrows bridge (about 5 miles long, and a $4.00 toll--bicycles not allowed--for good reason!--no shoulder) and pulled off at a park on the other side of the strait in Mackinaw City. Again, I took my bike down to the water, put my back tire in the lake, then rode out of there, about another 4 miles to where the road connected with Highway 31. All totaled, we rode 36.25 miles today in about 3.25 hours.

Tomorrow is a day off from riding, so I can rest up some sore muscles and start fresh on Monday

Meanwhile, mom took some great shots (her photos are improving with cell camera tech!) of the surroundings and landmarks, and she even got a chance to dip her toes in the lake!

The first week of riding has left dad's knees a little red. Hopefully this isn't a harbinger, but just some warm-up pains. Fortunately, our annual family holiday trophy holder