The final planning day.

I have arrived in Sault Ste Marie, ON ahead of Jim and now in a fine hotel room where we will do our final decision making. I was able to drive many of the roads we will be on, or thought we would be on. Some of them in the stretch from Paradise to Grand Marais, MI are in the deep woods and are soft sand in many places. That will be our second day's ride. If we were on a wide open epic in the desert they might look good but not in this case. We will need to decide which of a few alternatives we will use. I also checked out campgrounds we plan to stay at. There are some really nice spots along the lake. The number of campgrounds along the route is huge. The ship in the picture is the ore boat aground on a reef in Whitefish Bay. You may have heard about it. My weather app had

been indicating thunderstorms in this area for tomorrow. I have been a bit concerned about crossing a huge high bridge back to US in a thunderstorm. It appears however that there is only a low chance of showers and that is not a problem for us. I visited the fantastic bike shop across the road from the hotel, Velorution. Jan, the owner, has helped with arrangements to leave our vehicles. Canadians are so nice. Jan rode around the big lake once. He averaged 180 miles a day and did it in a week. He says he wishes he had taken a bit more time. Well yaaaa! Most people in a car or on a motorcycle probably don't do it that fast. Needless to say, he is young (compared) and very strong. When Jim arrives we will have dinner and then dive into organizing and final decision making. As with all big events one plans for weeks and months it is hard to realize the time is nigh. Will be in touch.

The Big Lake--Prologue

Last December I was quietly minding my own business when I got an unexpected email from my bike touring buddy Jim. Attached to it were spreadsheets and Garmin GPS waypoints for our bike ride around Lake Superior. I knew we had talked about this in the past but he had the whole thing planned already. The spreadsheet had daily destinations, daily and cumulative mileage, camping and motel options for every day and notes about if there were any big hills and stuff. I was more than a little taken aback. I guess we are going on this trip. He had the whole thing planned already. I guess it's what you do during the winter in Maine. Or Minnesota for that matter. So we got busy refining the plan and creating our routes and commiserating by email, phone and FaceTime. Jim has used a Garmin device for navigating our trips for some time. I am a recent convert and we have different devices so there has been back and forth on how to get them in synch. Garmin has a couple of ways to create routes using their website or software they provide. It has taken a bit to decide how best to use the

tools and be sure we were on the same page. We have had experience with the device apparently not leading us down the right yellow brick road. Although sometimes it is just us not using logic and trusting the device too much. Spring came and it was time to get serious about training for this little excursion. We had both kept active over the winter but we knew there would be a way to go to really be ready physically. Especially at our advanced age. We have both been riding as much as time and weather allows. For the last month we have been adding more and more weight to our bikes in the form of our panniers, camping equipment, etc. Jim has documented over 1000 miles this spring with his bike loaded with gear. I am not sure I have that much but probably close. I do not keep track. I did do a shake down cruise last week riding 60 miles to Wild River SP, camping and riding back the next day. It was a good test and the second day with a head wind was a bit much. Since then I have felt great and I think it may have been the icing on the top of my training cake. The other key element is packing light. I keep trying and failing. If you are camping at all there is certain stuff you need. Some do with much less than me but I try to minimize within reason. For clothes one needs more than a pair of riding shorts and a jersey. So again, minimize within reason. You need tools and supplies for bike repair. So it adds up. Just weighed it: 48#. Four panniers, handlebar bag and tent with poles. It will get a little lighter as I eat food and wear what is packed, but that is where I am at right now. So I am just two days from leaving. Drive to Munising MI on Sunday. Will stop and say hi to Rob and Carrie near Hayward on the way. I will be driving some of our riding route backwards. The second day Of riding out of Paradise MI will of special interest since a large part of the ride will be on gravel roads. Anxious to see the conditions. We will start in Sault Saint Marie, ON. It is easier to start and end there since Jim is coming from Maine and needs to go through Canada to get there anyway. A bike shop there, Velorution, accommodates touring cyclists with a place to camp and showers so we will have friends right at the start. More from the road..... Gary

Well we're in Wells

Wells, Maine. Leaving St. Paul I had a hard time calculating how long it would take to get here where my friend Jim Smith and Joan have a house, having moved from CT in the last year. We first arrived in Elmhurst IL to visit Kelli's brother Jeff. We spent the next day there and intended to go to the art institute but there was a long line to get in and it was raining. We got wet and then got in the car and did driving tour of the north side. That evening we intended to get on the road to get past the big city and avoid rush hour traffic. The storms that moved in eliminated that plan. It rained so hard we could not leave the house for dinner and the water level in the street was nearly up to the floor boards of the car. So we moved it to higher ground and bedded down for the night. Next morning we were on the road at 4:30 and put in a 12 hour day landing in Buffalo,NY for the night. Next day was another 12 hours on the road with bad traffic only around Lowell, MA as we arrived there just in time for the Boston commuter escapees. Telling ourselves we were early on our schedule helped us endure that and before we knew it we were in Maine. We spent the night in Kittery, just over the line from Portsmouth,NH. Next morning we bumped around downtown Portsmouth which is a very charming town with a lot of quite interesting history. Like they hosted the peace negotiations of the first major war of the 20th century between Russia and Japan. Apparenly it has also become quite an east coast Mecca for fine dining. We had a great lunch at a nice little Italian place after passing up the long lines at all the lobster roll shops on the street. Arrived at Jim and Joan's later that day. Dinner at Billy's chowder cafe. Ever had a haddock Reuben? I have. Wells' beach is long and wide and that evening very bracing with a strong cold wind. Today Jim and I got a very nice 50 mile ride in, including a climb up Mt. Agimenticus. Short and steep. Reminded me of a 1/20th version of Mont Ventoux which was last year's challenge. We did a mini tour of the roads between Wells and Portsmouth. Sunday we start a more extensive 4 day trip, fully self-contained up through Portland and ending,near Bar Harbor where Kelli and Joan will meet us for a night at a B&B. Updates are planned

Retirement, anniversary and a road trip

June 12 We are approaching a turning point or at least a big deal. That is, retirement occurring on the same day as our 45th anniversary. The next day Kelli and I leave on a 3 week road/bike trip out east to visit friends and brothers. The bike trip is also a mini celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the cross country tour for both myself and Jim Smith who we'll visit in Maine. So I am thinking I would like to resurrect the bike trip blog, even though only 4 or 5 days of the trip will be biking. Jim Smith and I will doing a bike tour of the coast of Maine for 4 days while Joan and Kelli do some exploring in southern Maine. Then we will roll down to Delaware to visit Steve and Kit. After that it's over the rivers and hills and through the woods to Jack and Linda's in the Appalachian foothills of Kentucky. This is a test to see if I can actually make a post to the blog using my iPad. If I can maybe we'll do some more of this.

Empty sail in Hood River

Day 12 Hood River, OR

We started the day in northeast Portland.  It always takes time to ride through and or out of a city and today was no exception.  Once we did we were on the very scenic Old Columbia Highway.  It was Saturday and this is a popular cycling route so we saw many riders flying by us as we lugged our loaded bikes up and down the rolling hills.  The peak of the experience was a spot called Vista House where there is a beautiful building and a spectacular view of the Columbia Gorge.  An amazing site.  Then there was a very long descent to the gorge floor.  The next incredible sites were two wonderful high waterfalls, the largest be Multnomah Falls which is hundreds of  feet high.

We finished the day riding on I-84 for about 15 miles.  In MN it is never legal to ride on an interstate but in Oregon, at least on this one, it is.  It is the only road which connects Cascade Locks with Hood River.  There are accommodations for cyclists so it is not as bad as it could be.  There is a tunnel on the interstate and bikes are directed to a bike path off the interstate to bypass it.  The only draw back is a set of very steep stairs, probably 50.  It is not at all easy to get these loaded bikes down stairs.  At least we did not need to go up the steps.

As we rode along today I felt a real lack of motivation and my legs felt tired and heavy.  I struggled up slight grades that should have been easy.  I knew that the huge mountains ahead were going to be at least as challenging as the previous ones and I thought more than I could handle.  To my very great regret I made a decision that I can not continue the trip.  It was very difficult telling my great riding partner because I know he really wants to continue on.  I can not.  I think this is the best decision for me and I will just need to deal with it and hope that it will work out OK for Jim.  

Having made that decision we stopped in Hood River, OR.  We had planned to go on about another 20 miles or so.  At this point Jim wanted to continue to ride to finish in Reno, our original destination.  He knew he could not, or at least should not, continue alone on the route on less travelled roads going over the high passes that are on the Adventure Cycling route maps we use.  He spent the evening on his laptop with topographical maps looking for a more direct route.  Eventually he had it and proved again his resourcefulness on the fly.  

It is supposed to be fun and it is very much fun.  When, for some combination of reasons, it does not feel like fun one needs to reflect and make a decision that is best for yourself.  That is how I feel about this.  As much as I do not want to abandon or disappoint my riding partner I need to make the best decision for myself, and Kelli, of course.  So, for me this is a big deal.  It means not finishing a project I spent months planning and invested a lot of energy and resources.  It is not what I want but it is what it is, something which has to be. 

Getting back on course, I hope

Day 11 Portland, OR

Nice town.  I am not going to see much of it and I should not even be here.  But we spent the day getting back toward our intended route.  The ride today was flat and unspectacular except for the distant views of Rainier, St. Helen's and Hood.  They are awesome even from a distance.  

We had the most amazing second breakfast in Longview, WA shortly before crossing the Lewis and Clark Bridge from WA to OR.  It was cinnamon bread French toast and an egg and bacon. There was enough French toast for three people, literally. This was Stuffie's which I guess is famous for very large portions.  It was just a lucky choice on our part.

We left Stuffie's and asked directions to the Lewis and Clark Bridge from Washington to Oregon.  That was quite a climb up over that one and a great view of the Columbia River with ocean going vessels in the River.

We then road a mostly boring route on US 30 to Portland, found a motel, a place to eat and started to look at the maps and plan for the next days of riding.  The climbs are as long or longer.  The history we have with the weather and getting over the high mountain passes led me to have some trepidation on the balance of the planned trip.

Tomorrow is another day.

Elk Pass. Oh no you won't

Day 10  Cascade Rocks, WA

So.  This is an interesting story.  One of those that can only happen when you put yourself out there and hope for the best.

We finished our bad day yesterday at an RV campground between Packwood and Randle, WA.  We both slept well although I was awoken by the loud hoarse bleating of some kind of deer that hangs around the campground.  We did our usual camp breakfast of oatmeal, green tea or coffee and Jim has some rice pudding cup he favors.  We were off by 7:30.  We had at least one and perhaps two major climbs ahead of us so we stopped at the One Stop in Randle.  We talked to someone in the parking lot and the very friendly attendant in the store where we should get 'second breakfast'.  This is the idea that if you ride for a while and you have a big day ahead, more breakfast is good.  

Both fellows recommended the Mount Adams Cafe.  Walt, the attendant said to tell Will the cook that he sent us.  So we did.

We had a very nice breakfast and very good service, I must say.  We each took our turns in the restroom after we finished and as Jim was doing his thing, one of the locals sitting at the counter next to us asked where we were headed.  Over Elk Pass I said.  Oh no your not said the three in unison.  Why not I said.  Because the road is closed on account of 3 feet of snow they said.  Oh really I said.  So how can we get where we are going?  By then Jim had joined us for the news flash.  We spent a half hour or so studying maps with the guys and determined our only option was to continue west on US 12 to the I-5 corridor and take the side roads down to the Columbia River and then west to where we want to be.  It would add a 70 mile detour to our route but it is do-able.  The route is flatter, though not flat, than the one we had planned.  We should be able to make better time and find a place to stay for the night.  

Off we go, in the direction we did not anticipate.  There was one quite big climb, perhaps 3 or 4 miles, but not too bad compared to White Pass. 

We had planned to get to a town, Toledo, about 50 miles down the road.  We looked to see what accommodations there were there and found none listed on Jim's Garmin GPS device.  We got to another town and noticed their library with WiFi and stopped in to inquire about lodging or camping up the road.  We finally, after a lot of searching and questioning, found an RV campground about 20 miles further than we had intended to go.  It is an upscale one, in contrast to where we were last night and it has WiFi available at every campsite.  Whew!

One of the troublesome questions we have had is how we negotiate the I-5 corridor, without going on I-5.  So, fortuitous event number two for the day, we ran into a cyclist at the library who had just completed the route we were thinking we needed to follow, in the opposite direction.  She had her cue sheet of directions and was done with it and would be happy to give it to us.  So we had a plan.

We rode like crazy to get here.  Stopped along the way to take a picture of Mount Rainier in the distance.  We had not been able to see it yesterday, although we were much closer then.  The ride was great.  Almost all flat and even a tailwind for part of the way.  

We sat down to figure out tomorrow and discovered a much simpler way to get where we are going using a different Adventure Cycling route, they make the maps we are using, which will take us back to our route, which is the Sierra Cascades route.  It should work slick and I will get to ride some of the Lewis and Clark route which will be fun.  The L & C route follows the route they took in 1803-1805 to find a water route to the Pacific.  It is an amazing story and the bike route commemorates it.

So, started at breakfast, before we really knew what our day would be, saying this is going to be a good day.  Turns out it has been, though not the day we expected.