Days 7-9, Hills, Wind, and Cold

The past few days haven’t been the most enjoyable. Sunday started off well, with a nice breakfast at the Tap Roots coffee shop in Ashland then cool temps and clear perfectly blue sky for the morning ride. The first half of the day was sunny and I had the wind at my back. Aside from a few significant hills, everything was on the up and up.

A beautiful morning for a ride

I was shooting for Union Bay Campground in Porcupine Mountains State Park, and, as usual, had mapped out my route a day or so earlier including looking at the elevation map to get an idea of the hills. Somewhere along the way, I was looking at the map again and decided that a route which went along closer to the lake and through the park, rather than around it (it’s a big park), was a better plan. It was a bit longer, but I hadn’t really gotten a chance to bike along the lake yet, and damnit that’s what I’m here to do! I got to the turnoff for it and figured I’d better fill up on water before setting out on what looked like a pretty deserted stretch. Unfortunately there wasn’t a gas station, and the park I found didn’t have any water. I had two full bottles and figured I’d be fine.

The wind had picked up a lot over the day, and the past couple hours it had been directly at my back and I’d been on a very nice smooth road making excellent time. When I turned off onto the county road to head into the park, it was a night and day difference. I was now headed largely into the wind, and the road was rough and winding. It was slow going, but I plodded on and eventually came to a large downhill which meant I was getting near the lake (it’s significantly lower than most of the surrounding land, so there are almost always big hills around it). At the bottom I found a picturesque river, and stopped in the sun on the bridge for a snack. “This isn’t so bad”, I told myself, and got ready for the final 20 or so final miles to the campground. What I failed to remember at the time, was that in biking, Newton’s first law works backward – what goes down, must come back up.

The climbing started immediately after the bridge and continued on for miles. There would be the crest of a hill with a nice little decline, then the next one would immediately start. I realized after a few miles of this, that I hadn’t looked at the elevation profile for this variation of the route, and thus had no idea what I was in for. I did look at the physical map I had, and noted that there were a few points along the way with titles like “peak” and “overlook”, not good. At this point I was in water conservation mode, which just made the climbing that much worse. The sun was long gone as well, and the monotone gray sky had returned. Despite heading in the right direction again, the tailwind I’d enjoyed earlier was negated by the endless trees which shrouded the small country road. By this point, I was beyond questioning my own judgment for taking this route, and was just flat upset. “They’re called the Porcupine MOUNTAINS Steve, what did you expect”!

First new state!

Note the word “Mountains”

At one point in between hills, I became worried there was something wrong with my bike and stopped to take a look. Maybe a bearing dragging or a brake pad rubbing on the wheel (I’d had that problem earlier in the day), it just wasn’t coasting right. I gave it a quick once over – everything looked fine and the wheels spun freely. I went to get back on, and realized I was having to hold the bike in place to keep it from rolling. I was still on a hill and didn’t even realize it! The constant climbing with no discernable end and towering trees blocking out the surrounding landscape were playing tricks on my mind and I was legitimately having trouble telling whether I was still on a hill.

Eventually, I did find what seemed to be a real peak and sure enough the descending started. I had been a bit worried that I was just being a pansy, and that it wasn’t really that big of a hill. After about 10 miles of pretty much coasting down to the lake again, I was satisfied that wasn’t the case, and it had been a pretty serious climg. As I reached the bottom lake and turned toward the campground, the sun briefly emerged and illuminated the lakeshore. It didn’t exactly make up for the intense hills, but it was a nice end to the day.

Monday morning brought cool temps and gray skies. I took my time making a breakfast of oatmeal with honey and dates, and enjoyed some coffee as usual. As I started packing up to hit the road, the rain started. If you’ve never had the opportunity to pack up a campsite while it’s raining, let me tell you it’s not fun. It’s even less fun on a bike. I try to keep everything in my panniers relatively sorted according to what I’ll need when, but when I’m breaking down camp it always seems everything has to come out and get re-packed. I also often put things away or close up a pannier and then realize something that’s out needs to be in, or vice versa. Not the fastest or most enjoyable activity to do in the rain.

Luckily I did bring fully waterproof (supposedly) rain gear. It definitely proved its worth during the rain that persisted throughout the entire day. I didn’t have anything for my feet though, so plastic grocery bags inside my shoes had to suffice. This worked out relatively well, although my feet were still soaked by the end of the day. I learned that biking in the rain for extended periods isn’t so much about staying dry as it is about staying warm. Water inevitably works its way into just about everywhere, and if by chance that isn’t the case, sweat will quickly soak your clothes without the normal flow of wind to evaporate it.

Wet and unenthused

Michigan hills

Snow, really?

The rain finally stopped a few miles before I got into the town of Baraga, where I planned to camp – typical. I decided to find a coffee shop for a few hours to warm up and dry out, and hopefully let the ground dry out, before setting up camp. I found a little place in L’Anse, and enjoyed some chili and a large salad. I’ve been subsisting mostly on peanut butter sandwiches, rice and beans, pasta, and trail mix, so anything fresh or green is a welcome change. I decided to swing by the grocery store before heading back to camp to pick up something else fresh. Although I’d just eaten (I also ordered fries and coleslaw before leaving), walking into that grocery store was a true test of my self restraint. I guess biking all day in the chilly rain left me a little hungrier than I’d thought. Luckily I was well aware that anything I bought had to be carried with me, so I managed to get out with only a few more pounds to add to the bike.

There was a chance of rain again today, and sure enough it started coming down before I got out of bed. Packing up camp in the rain is a pain, but getting out of bed knowing that you have to make breakfast, pack up camp, and bike in the rain is downright depressing. After I made a less than dry breakfast, the rain let up for the rest of the morning. If I’d have known that was going to happen I would have just stayed in bed!

Most of the day today was dry, but it was cold! I’d stayed at Baraga State Park which was right on one of Superior’s many bays, so there was a hefty climb to start the day. A few hours in I saw another cyclist coming the other direction. Cyclists are generally a friendly and social bunch, and sure enough before I could even slow down to say hi he had cut across the road to my side to chat. Geoffrey was from France, and had started his trip in Montreal headed for California, and planned to continue on to Central and South America eventually! We talked for a few minutes, and he told me about the place he had stayed last night and highly suggested I at least stop there.

There is a network of cyclists (and other friendly people) who host other cyclists, known as Warm Showers (warmshowers.org). These are people willing to provide a place to camp, a bed, use of kitchen, warm shower, etc. for free to cyclists passing through. I was planning on signing up before this trip and seeing if there were hosts along the way, but it was one of the many things I didn’t get to. Geoffrey had stayed with a Warm Showers host that owns the Midtown Bakery and Café in Negaunee, and raved about the food and hospitality. I figured it would be a good afternoon stop at the least.

Officially on the Lake Superior Circle Tour route!

The day went by slowly, with a cold shifting wind that was sometimes pushing me briskly along, and other times slowing me to a crawl. It started to mist again as I finally got near Negaunee, and I was quite looking forward to a warm drink and a rest. Starting up a hill in town, there was the sudden presence of a scraping noise similar to when a rock gets pulled into my fenders. I slowed down to check it out, and sure enough saw the head of a nail protruding from my rear tire. Well, I haven’t had any flats yet so I’m probably overdue, I thought. As I looked around for somewhere convenient to stop, I noticed that my front tire seemed to be losing air quite quickly as well. TWO flats, at the same time? I’ve certainly never had that happen.

I jumped back on the bike and quickly headed uphill to the nearest parking lot, barely making it there as the rim started to make contact with the pavement. There was a suitable lightpole in the middle of the parking lot, so I set up shop there and got to work. Luckily the panniers pop off the bike pretty easily, so getting it stripped down and removing the wheels was fairly quick. I managed to patch them both quickly, and find the culprits – a roofing nail on the rear tire, and small shards of wire probably from a shredded tire in both the front and rear tires. I guess it’s certainly more efficient to repair two flats at the same time, but that’s about the only upside I could find.

Two simultaneous flats

Cold, hands dirty, and really needing a bathroom, I finally got back on the bike to head onward. I pulled into a gas station at the top of the hill and hit the brakes – and kept rolling right along. Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to re-connect BOTH those brake cables, this should be interesting. I wasn’t going too fast, so managed to step off with one foot and slow myself down then hop off and slow the bike to a stop. Hopefully that’s enough of a scare to remind me not to make that mistake again!

A couple miles later and I was in Negaunee and looking for the café. I found what looked like the right place and pulled up. The sign said they were only open till 4 (it was 4:30), but two people were instantly at the door asking where I was going and if I needed a place to stay. Undecided, they invited me in for some tea to rest and warm up. I did want to make it to Marquette tonight, and this was significantly short of that. There have been a number of things on this trip so far that I have passed on doing, and have regretted after. Past experience traveling has certainly shown me that you’ll regret the things you don’t do much more than those you do, so I figured I better take advantage of the opportunity and try out the Warm Showers experience!

As I sit now in a warm, dry, welcoming flat above the café, with laundry going downstairs and an extremely welcoming host (thanks again Marybeth!), I have to say I’m quite glad I decided to stop. This beats camping any day, and is exactly what I needed after a few of the most miserable biking days I can remember. The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow, and I think I’ll be in much better spirits after a good night’s rest and as I look forward to having company join me for the weekend.

Also, for those of you that are nerds like me, I’ve included the mileage stats to date.

Mileage and stats to date

Day 7 Route

Day 8 Route

Day 9 Route