2020: CTD-Pt2 - Day 5 - All Good Things

Day 5 - Connect the Dots Part II

After leaving the Farm, it was another 3 1/2 mile to Hayes State Park. Along the way I passed our former home at the lake, and the spot where my grandparent’s hotel had once stood on Lakeshore Drive. It’s a mile long, and the narrow road lies between many of the cottages and their docks and a narrow strip of beach on Wampler's Lake.  There was a lot of activity at most of the cottages as their owner prepared to open for the weekend. I then went back to the main road and continued on into the state park.

Could you resist?

Even though Hayes State Park was just a couple miles from my childhood home, this was my first night to camp there. Growing up, the state park was something summer people did, and since we had access the lake and dock at the Hotel, I hadn’t been in the park until my late teens. I visited a few more times since, taking Linda and our boys there for swimming and hiking during family visits.

I had an online reservation through the Michigan DNR, which was good, since this was my first weekend night on the road, and a “Campground Full” sign was at the gate. At the gatehouse, the staff was really thrown off by my lack of a “vehicle”. They asked my name, and then just told me my campsite number. I had to ask for a map, and then I started pedaling back to my site

A quiet morning on another lake.

In the full campground, I was the only touring bicycle, and all my “neighbors”, and many of the people walking by, had questions for the guy with just a bicycle and a tent. A couple at the site next to mine offered me a frozen bottled water, (which I used to chill my bottles overnight). Another guy from the site across the drive came over to chat and was fascinated by my Trek 920. Even though he was a “car” guy, he wanted to know about the wide tires, disc brakes and the non-traditional frame on an apparent road bike. Everybody that walked past was social distanced, though you could tell there was a natural tendency to want to move closer. And in chatting, it turned out many of the people I talked to were camping and RV’ing to avoid crowding family homes or traditional hotels for family gatherings.

Charging up for the last day.

Once I had my tent set, I rode out a few miles to a quick shop for a few dinner items. I picked up a Jiffy Pop, a large cup of ice and a bottle of Diet Coke, and a Gatorade to start the morning with. I then headed back to my campsite, cooked my dinner and ate. The Jiffy Pop over the JetBoil turned out to be a disappointing fail, and I will have to research that a little more for next time. With all the conversations and the trip to the store, it was well past sunset before I finally went for my shower, and then crawled into my tent for the night.

I slept well in the campsite, and woke at sunrise without an alarm for my last morning in camp. Breakfast was another home mixed oatmeal, and I finally finished the last of my fruit from my Wednesday shopping. Dropping off my trash on the way out of the campsite, I realized a young raccoon was trapped in the nearly empty dumpster, and I let the gatehouse staff know on the way to the main road.

5 miles of new pavement!

It was a beautiful early morning to be riding, and I even had light tailwind out of the south. On the way past the Farm, I was able to say hi to my sister and niece, who were busy working on updates to the house they would soon take over. After a brief visit, I continued on my way. Every road would be familiar for most of the route to Lansing, and it was rural Michigan riding at its best. It was mix of farms, woods, lakes and marshes for the first 20 miles, as I rode north through Norvel and Grass Lake.

Along the way I started exchanging texts with my friend Steve, who was going meet me enroute between Jackson and Lansing. We tweaked our converging routes via text, and finally connected a few miles outside of Leslie. Despite the miles between our homes, Steve and I have managed a ride together every summer since 2006, including multiple DALMACs, TOSRVs, a RAIN, and handful of Hilly Hundreds. With everything canceled, the tour was our connection for 2020. And just by coincidence, Steve showed up in the same DALMAC jersey I was wearing.

The courthouse in Mason, MI

We were quite a contrast, Steve on his bare road bike, and me loaded for the week on the road. We looked like the King and the Squire from Monty Python’s Holy Grail. I joked with Steve that if anybody asked, I would just say I lost the coin toss. We stopped for lunch in Leslie, and there we coordinated our next connection with Steve’s wife Maria, who would meet us in the next town up the road. We met her in Mason, and stopped for MSU Ice Cream on the town square. Along with my ice cream, and this being Michigan, I also had a bottle of Faygo Root Beer, and collected the last cap* for the trip!

And that's why we love Faygo!

From Mason, it was a dozen or so miles to Steve and Maria’s house, riding many familiar roads from my 2 years in Lansing. This was the last day of the trip, and for first time since Monday night, I would be sleeping indoors. My box of clothes for the drive home was waiting for me, but before I showered, I unpacked and laid out my tent to dry. I was also able to start a load of wash, and all before Steve pulled the pork steaks off the grill. We relaxed over dinner with stories and family catch up. It was a perfect evening finale to a trip planned under the strangest of circumstances.

Sunday’s plans were up in the air, until Enterprise car rental called and asked if a full size SUV, available in 2 hours, instead of Monday, and at the compact car rate, would be okay! I said yes, and we drove out the airport to pick it up. It was HUGE, but that meant no bike disassembly! With my transportation home settled a day early, the 3 of us did an easy lunch ride to the MSU campus, on the very nice trail network south of Lansing. After a week, it was fun to ride a nearly empty bike, especially with friends.

Back at Steve and Maria’s, my personal baggage truck was easily loaded with my bike and all my gear. My unexpected journey was coming to an end. Everything had worked better than I could have hoped; my bike, my gear, my body and the “from scratch” route planning. It is a great feeling to be able to drop into an ‘On the Road” routine in just one night, and to ride day after day, and still look forward to the next. And best of all had been the people along the way, with their friendliness, interest and support. I can’t wait for the next journey, when ever, and where ever, that might be.

Myself, Steve and Maria Lieby - jouney's end.

Day 5 - Hayes State Park, Wampler’s Lake, MI to Lansing, MI

• 65.7 Miles
• 357 Total Miles
• Total Time 07:52:39
• Riding Time 05:21:05
• Avg Speed 12.3 mph

* 14 Gatorades and 1 Faygo!

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2020: CTD-Pt2 - Day 4 - Reunions and Reflections

Good Morning!

Day 4 - Connect the Dots Part II

My fourth day on the road was the first to start under clear and sunny skies as I moved the contents of my tent to my porch tarp and exited my tent. While I boiled water for my oatmeal breakfast, I pulled up my Google Maps bike routing for the day ahead. Google was pretty insistent that I ride US12 part of the way today. From my experience driving US-12, I knew there was a paved shoulder, but I knew I would be sharing that road with lots of car and truck traffic. I was going to stick to county secondary roads where ever it was practical, and in this part of Michigan, I was pretty confident the road would be there.

As I finished my breakfast, I cut up another bag of apple slices. This was Friday morning, and was just finishing up the fruit from my last grocery store on Wednesday night. I took advantage of the sunny morning for a picture of me in camp, and was soon packed and on my way. My route backtracked about 3 miles to the main road, and added two more Gatorade caps to my collection from a small country market. My collection was now up to almost a dozen. I then continued due east, on a smooth, freshly paved road through rolling hills and farmland.

Wrapping up breakfast

For the last 3 days I had been averaging a 10 miles segment every 45-50 minutes, between 13 and 14 mph. My tour planning rule of thumb is 10 mile forward for every hour of riding, and this trip was true to the rule. My first town was Litchfield, at 17 miles. While I had never biked to Litchfield in the past, with each mile east, the closer I was to home, and to familiar names of small towns and lakes. It was just about 10:30 in the morning, and I picked up a sandwich, banana and cold soda for a light first lunch, eating while sitting on park bench in the town square. A guy on a road bike passed through town, the second I had seen since leaving Carmel, but he didn’t notice me or my bike. I finished eating and packed up half the sandwich, and continued east for a few miles.

Rolling backroads

After a short dogleg north, the road continued east, but after a mile, I came to a cross road and for the first time on the trip, my intended road turned to gravel. I was only slightly disappointed, and this was the reason I was using the 920 as my touring bike. On my purpose built, Assenmacher 700c wheeled touring bike, a gravel road was a last resort. The road ahead was the most direct route, so I just down shifted a couple of gears and continued east. The 42mm x 700 (aka 29er) Continental Tour Rides took the gravel in stride, and the 920 was steady as a rock. I just kept my cadence up, and worked may way around the loose sand, gravel and washboarding. My average speed barley dropped. All told, I rode about 6-7 miles of gravel before the pavement resumed.

Sandhill cranes looking for a snack.

At 30 miles for the day, I crossed Moscow Rd, and I was back on my first double century, in 1974, riding into Moscow, Michigan at 2 am, under a star filled sky, with 125 miles complete, and 8 hours to finish the last 75 miles. Before long more road names were familiar, and even a few familiar landmarks. By the time I crossed US 127, I was on regular roads from my first years of riding from home. I passed a farm where I had stacked hay for a summer, and roads to the homes of high school friends. In Cement City, I found another quick shop (1 more cap), and I was surprised again, this time by a high school aged teen who asked about my touring bike, where I was headed, and wished me luck.

I continued on until on couple more miles around Lake Columbia, and turned a corner on another once familiar road, and then into the parking lot of my former high school. This was to have been a reunion summer for my high school class, but then came COVID. I parked my bike in front of the school, set up my tripod and snapped a picture and a few selfies. It was fun to share those on Facebook the 20 or so classmates I have reconnected with over the years.

Keep Calm and Gravel On!

As I was packing my tripod, a women walked up to from the parking lot, and asked why I was taking the pictures. When I explained my class and starting from Indianapolis, she introduced herself as the School District Superintendent and was very pleased I had made the effort. We chatted almost 10 minutes about local history, the 3 generations of my family through the connected schools, and how even a classmate of mine was now on the school board. It was a nice and unexpected connection.

I then headed on into Brooklyn, my last stop before the ride out to my parent’s former home. It was time for second lunch, and the first time on the trip I found a McDonald’s with an open dining room. I took advantage of the WIFI, topped off the charges on my lights, phone and GPS for the day. While my reserved site had electric service (all the Michigan State park offered), I had learned that many RV electric boxes now require a special plug, and don’t offer a basic 110 outlet. I also checked a couple details for a special picture.

The miles out to the Farm were like meeting an old friend, as I rolled past the former homes of classmates and family friends, some dating back to my Dad’s time in high school. The two lane road I had ridden hundred’s of times before now has a paved bike lane, and my years of experience had now reduced some of the hills I had first challenged on a 3-speed. I finally turned on to Hardcastle Road, and soon pulled in to my parent’s driveway, and rolled my bike on the lawn. I found firm a spots for the kick stand and then sat down on the front step.

Really missed our reunion, but this made up for it!

The late afternoon sun cast a long shadow across the front yard, which contrasted with the brightly lit yard and surrounding fields of soy beans. The only sounds were the gentle breeze through the pines along the road, the crickets, a few birds, and the occasional passing car. It was a timeless moment, just one more summer afternoon added to the thousand’s prior in the almost 100 years the house had been a home. It was easy to imagine Mom and Dad, and even Grandma and Grandpa, looking over my shoulder as I setup my camera and tripod, and placed my bike the same way I had so many thousands of miles ago. I tripped the shutter, and I quickly moved behind my bike and picked up my helmet just so, and the moment was finished. I packed up my tripod, said my silent farewells, mounted my bike, and rolled out of the driveway of my parent’s house for the last time.

A lot of miles, and memories, between these two photos.

(Shortly after I completed my tour, my sister took possession of the Farm on Hardcastle Road, the third generation of our family to take ownership.)


Union, Michigan to Hayes State Park, Wampler's Lake, Michigan

61.4 Miles Total

291.4 Total Trip Miles
Total Time 09:09:03
Moving Time 05:17:16

Average Speed 11.1 mph

Continue to Day 5

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2020: CTD-Pt2 - Day 3 Into the Mitten

Day 3, Connect the Dots Part II

It was another quiet and restful night in my tent, and I slept well. The only surprise was that many of the campground noises I was expecting had been replaced by the sound of air conditioning units running on the RVs, trailers and pop-up campers that dominated the campground.

I went through my routine of packing, cooking and packing some more, and while there was sunshine through the trees, my tent was still damp as I rolled it up. By the time I left the campgrounds, I was under a featureless hazy overcast, riding without a shadow. It was 3 miles out to the the park entrance, and I then headed north towards Albion on SR9’s wide paved shoulder. Just like the day before, the majority of passing cars and trucks were moving over, even though I was on the shoulder.

Another hazy start on rolling hills.

I was riding with 2 Bontrager Flare Daylight Running lights clipped to my rear panniers. I had one set at the daylight mode (4-6 hour duration) and the other night (15-20 hours). I had a third in my pannier ready swap out if needed. I certainly believe that the 2/3 of mile visibility changes a drivers reactions to a bicycle on the road ahead of them. I was also riding with a Bontrager Flare 800 headlight in daylight mode (20+ hours). While I didn’t need to do any after-dark riding on this trip, it was nice to have capable lights if I needed it.

In Albion, I found a quick shop, and added two more GatorAde caps, but I could not find a coffee shop or diner, so I just rolled on, relying on another round of apple slices I had prepped at breakfast, along with a banana and a Clif bar. After a few more miles on SR9, I turned east and was back on county roads, moving steadily north and east. I passed through Rome City and Wolcotville, but I felt it was too early for a food stop, so I continued to pedal and snack for the next 20 miles. 

Small town art always tells a story

Crossing US20, I knew I was getting closer to the Michigan state line. Just north of 20, in Mongo, Indiana, I found a small bar and grill that was open for lunch, and enjoyed a delicious home style cheeseburger and refills of ice cold Diet Coke. It was also another opportunity to charge everything along with my iPhone. After lunch I hit the quick shop across the street, picking up another Gatorade, and collecting another cap.

The overcast had finally cleared while I was eating lunch, and the next 10 miles were under sunny blue skies and cotton ball clouds. I started to hear the drone of semi trucks in the distance, and then the next small hill turned out to be an Indiana Toll Road overpass. From the top of the overpass, it was just 1/4 mile, and I was at the state line and in Michigan. One more milestone for the trip.

In to Michigan

Crossing a state line is always a trip highlight for me. One of my first overnight rides as teenager was from home in Michigan to my Grandparent’s in Toledo, Ohio, a 1-day ride, but crossing that first state felt like a special accomplishment, even though we made the 50 mile drive many times a year. Crossing into Michigan meant I was one stop closer to connecting the dots.

The good news was today was going to be 10-12 miles shorter than my prior two days.  After working my way east, my route finally bumped up against I-69, and I continued north, under road signs letting me know this was the Emergency detour for the interstate. I was soon riding in the outskirts of Coldwater, and then came up to US-12, the main east west route through town. US-12 was a familiar landmark, since 60 miles east of here, it ran just 3 miles from my childhood home.

My plan was to stop at McDonalds for a second lunch and some WiFi, but the dining room was closed. I continued my way east, and finally found a Jimmy Johns with picnic tables. It was already almost 5pm, and I was less than 10 miles from the campground. My original plan had been to pickup a couple more freeze dried meals at the Coldwater Walmart (a good resource for rural touring) to finish the trip. But instead, I just went for an early dinner of a sub and some chips, and saved the 30-40 minutes of parking, locking and shopping, and 30 minutes of camp cooking.

Dinner time

The early arrival in camp was nice, since this was laundry night. I was wearing my 3rd (and final) set of riding clothes, and had two days of riding left. The onsite laundry was another reason I had picked this campground. Once I had my tent up, I biked across the campground to the laundry and shower room. I was also able to have everything charging while there. It took about an hour to have me and gear clean and repacked, and then I biked back to my camp site just before sundown.

My tent site was on small rise above the campground’s private fishing lake, and was very open compared the woods enclosing my two previous campsites. My first three days were complete, and as settled in for the night, I looked forward to tomorrow’s ride on the roads I knew so well from my youth.

Day 3 - Chain of Lakes State Park, Indiana - Union, Michigan

• 58.5 Miles Total
• 230 Miles Trip Total
• Total Time  09:09:03
• Riding Time  05:17:16
• Average Speed  11.7

Continue to Day 4

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