Days 18 – 19, The Reality of Long Distance Touring

I’ve talked a lot about what I’ve seen and done, and the good parts of the trip, but there’s a very large part of what I’m doing that I haven’t really elaborated on – the actual biking. Generally, I’m a big fan of cycling. It’s an efficient form of transportation, good exercise, low impact, and the feeling of speeding along a country road and covering serious distances powered only by your legs and willpower can be phenomenal. When you’re touring for an extended period of time, however, you get to see the ugly side of cycling as well.

There are days when you just don’t want to get back on the bike, but know you have to. Days when the wind always seems to be coming from the direction you’re going, and never lets up. Hills that keep going and going around every bend, challenging you to slog along at 5 MPH for a seemingly impossible amount of time. And when you finally get to the downhill side and should be able to enjoy the benefit of all that potential energy you built up on the uphill, the wind – now unabated by the hill – does all it can to prevent any buildup of momentum. Days when you’re hungry but just can’t seem to find anything to fill that craving. Times when you eat the meal you ordered, then leave and realize you’re still quite hungry. Times when you constantly alternate between being too hot while going up hills, and too cold going down as the wind cuts through your sweat soaked clothes. Times when you stop momentarily to rest, and your legs scream at you when you start pedaling again. Times when you just can’t find a comfortable position on the seat, and the repetition of sitting day after day on a tiny piece of foam – or if you’re lucky, leather – makes your skin raw and painful to the touch. Then you finally get to your destination for the night, and go to bed knowing you get to do it all over again tomorrow. Today was one of those days.

Yesterday was a decent enough day, with most of it spent around Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakehore. Late in the morning, I took the short ride past some impossibly blue and clear lakes into Glen Arbor – recently awarded the honor (or getting the curse, if you ask the locals) of being voted America’s Most Beautiful Place by Good Morning America. I worked at the Leelanau Coffee Roasting Co until early afternoon, where I had the opportunity to talk to (or rather listen to) one of the more interesting people I’ve met this trip. I never got his name, but he was an older guy into cycling that still seemed to do some pretty serious touring. Formerly the chief engineer at a drivetrain manufacturer, he had designed and built his own touring bike. Also into bicycle advocacy, he was involved in getting the Michigan law passed that ensures bicyclists won’t be turned away at state campgrounds even if they’re full. The guy probably could have talked for days, but he seemed to know that I’d had my fill after the better part of an hour, and went on his way. Very interesting, the people you meet.

Breaking down camp in the morning

I picked up some groceries, unable to find quite whatever it was to fill my craving, then took the scenic freshly paved bike trail into Sleeping Bear Dunes. I stopped by the campground, hoping for a spot, but of course it was full by this point. I continued on along the trail and found the renowned Dune Climb. To say it’s popular would be a bit of an understatement. The parking lot was packed, and hundreds of people clamored up the steep slope of sand which promised stunning views at the top. I found a spot to park my bike, which isn’t always easy, then swapped my bike shoes for sandals, popped off my handlebar bag which doubles as a day pack, and started up the slope.

As can be expected with this type of terrain, what seemed to be the top was, in actuality, far from it. By the time I got far enough up and into the dunes to be satisfied, the crowd had thinned significantly. There were still an ample number of kids jumping off the overhanging dunes and yelling for their parents to watch as they ran, rolled, and cartwheeled down the slopes though. Brought back memories of me and my brother Ryan as kids! The scenery was excellent as promised, and I spent a while sitting at the top enjoying the views of Lake Michigan, with the bluffs of sand rising out of the lake in one direction, and the rolling hills and crystal clear lakes in the other. On the way back down I decided to join the crowd and run down – quite fun and definitely recommended.

Dune Climb

Picturesque farm

Running down the dunes

The trail continued on to Empire, where I’d turned around the night before. I stopped at a beachside city park and ate. As I was getting ready to move on, I spotted another biker and went over to say hi. He was a teacher on summer break, spending his vacation meandering around Michigan and then Wisconsin at a very leisurely pace. There were a couple kids who worked at the park talking to him. They were discussing places to stay, and I asked for suggestions since I wasn’t sure what my destination for the night was. The biker mentioned that he’d slept out on the dunes the night before, and the kids confirmed that people often sleep in their park as well. “It’s not camping if you don’t have a tent”, they remarked. I’d heard the same thing from a guy I was talking to in Traverse City the day before, and figured it might be a good night to try that strategy out.

I decided to head south to the other end of the park, and look for a spot on the beach to sleep around there. After briefly trying a forest road heading out to the shore that I was unable to bike on with my narrow and nearly treadless tires, I found a packed dirt road which was much more suitable and made the bumpy two mile ride out to the lake. For as deserted as the road seemed, there were quite a few cars at the shore. I plotted my strategy for the night, and started by carrying a few things down to the beach for a late evening dinner. It was crowded on the narrow beach where the trail came out, but a few hundred yards down shore I found a much more secluded spot which seemed suitable for cooking, and sleeping later on.

Dinner on the beach

Despite the short day, I was quite hungry and my freeze-dried dinner of pesto salmon with pasta went down quickly. I enjoyed the excellent sunset – the first I’ve seen over Lake Michigan – and then returned to the parking lot to stash my bike out of sight and grab the rest of my gear. I passed by a social looking group that was getting ready to start a beach campfire on the way back, and hoped they were cool with my fairly transparent plan for the night. After lugging the rest of my gear across the soft sand to my selected area, I decided to go back and chat with the group.

They were a big family that’s been coming to the area to vacation for 25 years, and said they were very surprised at the number of people on the beach that night. They weren’t too keen on Good Morning America having made their vacation spot a prime tourist attraction, but were happy to hear about my trip and share a beer with me. One of them actually lives right by Waukesha! It was fun to socialize a little, and the beach fire was a nice added bonus. I eventually retired to my clearing of sand among the beach grass, and got settled in for the night.

A Bald Eagle defending its dinner

Lake Michigan Sunset

Amazing blue sky

It was the first time I’ve slept outside tentless, and it wasn’t the best night I’ve ever had. Sleeping on the beach was neat, but if there’s a way to prevent sand from getting in absolutely everything, I certainly didn’t find it. The temperature was probably only in the low 50’s, but I was actually somewhat cold even with my 30 deg rated sleeping bag fully cinched up. There was a heavy dew on the bag during the night and I was worried that the down filling would get wet, but the water-resistant exterior performed well and kept the bag dry. I woke up as the sun rose, but having not slept well, quickly dozed off again for a few hours. When I finally got my things together and ready to go, I spotted some park rangers down the beach picking up trash. I elected not to blatantly carry my gear past them and risk testing the legality of sleeping outside on the beach, and waited a while till they left. By the time I reversed the process of getting all my stuff back up to the trailhead and packed onto the bike, it was late morning and I was tired and more than ready for breakfast.

Beach sleeping – not as glorious as it sounds

Unfortunately the first town wasn’t for about 15 miles, and the stiff wind made it slow going. I eventually reached it, and located the small but popular Lighthouse Café to do some writing and eat a relaxing breakfast – something that’s turned out to be one of my favorite pastimes of this trip. I mapped out the rest of my day and quickly spotted three very significant hills over the next 20 miles. Not what I was in the mood for on a windy day after a restless night.

The climbs seemed to be some of the worst that I’ve encountered, but it was likely due more to my state and the wind than their actual level of difficulty. The day was gray and cool, and the scenery subpar. It wasn’t an extremely long ride, but the miles seemed to drag on and on with the unrelenting wind constantly fighting my progress. There wasn’t much of the actual biking that I enjoyed, and it ranks up there as one of the worst days so far. I eventually made it to the campground, with barely enough time to make dinner and set up camp before dark. It was, overall, a pretty miserable day. There were a couple bright spots including a nice gentleman who sat down at the café to chat with me about my trip and one he was about to do, and there was also a nice fast descent after one of the steep climbs. I think the best part of the day though was getting a hot shower before bed, and laying down knowing I was done with it.

Tomorrow isn’t looking much better weather-wise, but my mileage is shorter and hopefully I’ll be better rested. After that I’m looking forward to a much needed full rest day in Muskegon, where hopefully I can catch up on a few things and do some laundry. I’m pretty sure all my clothes smell pretty bad at this point – another of the “fun” parts of bike touring. For now, I’m trying to remember that without days like today, the good days wouldn’t be so good.

New lake, new signs

Day 18 Route

Day 19 Route