Day 35 - Munising to Newberry MI
Day 35 Progress to Newberry Michigan
Living the Dream! Day 35 would take us inland on the Upper Peninsula about 100 kms away from Lake Superior. We have found the last 6 days traveling along the lake to be awesome with perfect weather and interesting people and places. We are disappointed that we are now moving away from this area, but we expect that as we continue to move further from home, the unique culture of each area will give us interesting new experiences and stories.
Cam's Command Centre We slept late (once again!) and weren't ready to leave town until about noon. One of the things that delayed us was that Cam purchased a new cycling computer yesterday in Marquette and we worked to install it on his bike. The packaging said that no tools were required, however, they seemed to forget that most bikes have pedals that can only be removed with a wrench. This was necessary in order to slide the cadence magnet onto the crank stem. Although we had a small crescent wrench, the pedal was so tight that an hour of effort the night before wasn't enough to get it off. As we left Munising, we stopped into a small ATV shop and after much more effort with a proper wrench (and sweat in the hot shop), we finally got it off and were able to complete the installation. As would be expected, Cam's Filzer device has worked flawlessly for two days since making the investment in the new technology... his love/hate relationship with his Filzer continues!
Ken rides the Seney Stretch The mechanic in the ATV shop warned us that we had a pretty desolate ride ahead of us through the "Seney Stretch". He explained that this was a 25 mile stretch of road that is completely straight, and flat between Shingleton and Seney. We had been warned about this several days earlier by Joachim Overtag, the rider from Owen Sound that we had met on June 29th. As promised, this stretch was completely straight and had barely a dip for 40 kms! (Check out the map above). This seems to be quite unusual in this part of the country, but for Ken and Cam, being prairie boys, this made us feel like we were back home on the prairies!
It was during the Seney Stretch that Cam completed a scientific survey that he started on Day 29 as they began their journey below Lake Superior. Many of you will know that when you ride a motorcycle, every time you pass someone going the other way on the highway, you give a "biker wave". This happens almost without exception. Cam wondered if motorcycle drivers would give the biker wave to a cyclist. His hypothesis was that only a small percentage would wave back, as he suspected that most bikers don't much like cyclists. After 6 days of riding, Cam gave the biker wave to 100 motorcycles, and the survey says that....39 waved back! At 39%, this response rate was higher than expected. It was interesting to note that a motorcycle was more likely to wave back when:
- it was morning rather than later in the afternoon
- the driver was wearing a helmet
- the driver was a female, or
- the bike was driven by an older couple.
In spite of these trends, Cam's favorite response was from a bike at the end of a line of tough looking bikers whose driver looked like Hulk Hogan with long gray hair in a ponytail, biker sunglasses, and serious black riding leathers. He lifted his leather gloved hand and gave Cam a thumb's up - along with a great big toothy smile! Kindred biker spirits Cam thinks!
- it was morning rather than later in the afternoon
- the driver was wearing a helmet
- the driver was a female, or
- the bike was driven by an older couple.
In spite of these trends, Cam's favorite response was from a bike at the end of a line of tough looking bikers whose driver looked like Hulk Hogan with long gray hair in a ponytail, biker sunglasses, and serious black riding leathers. He lifted his leather gloved hand and gave Cam a thumb's up - along with a great big toothy smile! Kindred biker spirits Cam thinks!
Newberry Prison Our lunch stop today was the Fox River Country Kitchen in Seney. This was another small town restaurant classic - the special was Sloppy Joes, and came with soup (two kinds to choose from), salad bar and dessert (carrot cake with cream cheese icing) all for $7.95!
It was once again a beautiful day today without a cloud in the sky - great conditions for riding. Ken commented that he was feeling quite comfortable on his bike today. Once again, the wind swirled a little bit, but generally came from the South South West, not hurting us at all. Although the countryside is quite lush with trees and vegetation there is very little development along the way. We arrived in Newberry at about 6PM and rode by the Newberry Correctional Facility on the way to the Evening Star Motel. Although much of the prison yard is not visible due to the fences, we could see the yard filled with hundreds of prisoners in brightly coloured clothing as we rode by one section of unshielded fence. We read that the facility is a maximum security state prison and is the primary employer in this region. As we go tomorrow, we will be sure not to pick up any hitchhikers!
We have forgotten to announce the winner of our trivia question of what movie the quote "the sky was so blue that it hurt your eyes just to look at it" came from. The winner of 5 points is Mr. Gordon Johnson! He and his wife Shirley now have 10 points between them! Good job Gordon!
Ride Details:
- Distance: 99.4 kms
- Riding time: 4 hours, 28 minutes
- Average speed: 22.2 kms/hour
- Wind: South South West
- Temperature: 29 degrees Celcius
- Cumulative: 3,714.2 kms
Tomorrow's Destination: Sault Ste Marie CANADA! 110.0 kms
For more ride details, see Strava and for more photos from today see the Photo Gallery.
It was once again a beautiful day today without a cloud in the sky - great conditions for riding. Ken commented that he was feeling quite comfortable on his bike today. Once again, the wind swirled a little bit, but generally came from the South South West, not hurting us at all. Although the countryside is quite lush with trees and vegetation there is very little development along the way. We arrived in Newberry at about 6PM and rode by the Newberry Correctional Facility on the way to the Evening Star Motel. Although much of the prison yard is not visible due to the fences, we could see the yard filled with hundreds of prisoners in brightly coloured clothing as we rode by one section of unshielded fence. We read that the facility is a maximum security state prison and is the primary employer in this region. As we go tomorrow, we will be sure not to pick up any hitchhikers!
We have forgotten to announce the winner of our trivia question of what movie the quote "the sky was so blue that it hurt your eyes just to look at it" came from. The winner of 5 points is Mr. Gordon Johnson! He and his wife Shirley now have 10 points between them! Good job Gordon!
Ride Details:
- Distance: 99.4 kms
- Riding time: 4 hours, 28 minutes
- Average speed: 22.2 kms/hour
- Wind: South South West
- Temperature: 29 degrees Celcius
- Cumulative: 3,714.2 kms
Tomorrow's Destination: Sault Ste Marie CANADA! 110.0 kms
For more ride details, see Strava and for more photos from today see the Photo Gallery.