41.36 Miles for the day. Tonight would be my first night to camp in my tent. I arose early enough, but before I knew it, the morning was wasting away. Such is the pleasure of having an air-conditioned room and relaxing seating and beds. At long last, I dragged myself from the creature comforts of the modern world and went out into the sunlight.
It actually was sunny. Lately, at least most mornings, it has been overcast, dreary and chilly. As usual, with poor Internet service, thanks to T-Mobile, my GPS was hopeless. At some point, as someone suggested in the comments, I need to look at changing that.
After making several wrong turns, I finally was underway. Usually, I avoid a large, “Lumberjack,” breakfast. Three eggs, bacon, ham, home fries, four slices of toast, tea, orange juice, etc. make one too full to actually go out and do work, and riding is work.
Approaching noontime I was getting anxious to find a place to stop for lunch. I was also curious about my surroundings. As I was riding the Harger Line Trail (bike/pedestrian trail), I stopped to chat with a rider going the other way. Gordie was a wealth of information. My first question was about a root plant that I saw them harvesting a few miles back. See photo below:
Next, I asked him why so much corn had not been harvested, the cobs were drying up on the stalks. I love corn, I would never let it get to that state! Gordie told me that the corn was “industrial corn.” I thought about that and concluded that it could be used for ethanol product, or perhaps for clothing fiber. Curious about my travels, he then asked me a few questions about my ride. It was a nice encounter, but I was hungry and wanted to move on. Sorry, Gordie.
I’ve learned that a bowl of raisin bran or Cheerios, some fruit and an orange juice and a cup of tea is plenty. However, this means that by noon, I’m getting hungry. At about 25 miles (42 km) I came into Frankenmuth, Michigan. I had never heard of the place but it is very European themed, especially Germany and Austria. The first establishment I encountered was The Old Christmas Station Restaurant (Currently, as of 2021, The Station 100 Restaurant). The menu was pricey, but I didn’t want to eat too much anyway, so I ordered a house salad and a curry chicken sandwich from the appetizer menu.
The salad was ample and excellent. It had all sorts of vegetables in it and a nice dressing. The sandwich was actually about as long as a sub sandwich, but open-faced and covered in chicken and curry sauce. It too was excellent and a very sufficient lunch, and not too pricey. The place was really ritzy and I thought perhaps they would throw me out on my ear, but they were very gracious and welcoming and I went away a very happy diner.
I learned later that the town was having a special event weekend, starting the next day, and it draws on the order of 80,000 people and has all sorts of parades and celebrations. It would be worth checking on if you’re in the region in early September. I don’t know where they would put all the people, the village isn’t that large.
Satisfied with lunch, I headed east. As the afternoon dragged on I had to decide on where to stay for the evening. The GPS (while I was in the restaurant and had WiFi) showed there was one motel in Vassar, MI. After Vassar, there wasn’t much for at least 30-40 miles. It would be a gamble to try and make it to 70 miles (110 km) for the day and beat sunset, so I opted for Vassar. I found the Vassar Inn Motel, which was about a mile from the bicycle route.
I was tempted to call ahead for a room, but I didn’t have any T-Mobile phone service, so I just had to chance it. When I arrived the woman that manages the place told me they were full. She offered that I could camp behind the motel and I jumped at the offer, there wasn’t much else I could do.
When I rode around back she came out the door with a nice big glass of ice water…I must have looked the part. Sue was a wonderful host and warned me that I couldn’t pay for camping there, it was her gift.
I set up the tent and threw in the sleeping bag and rode off to find something to eat. It was a choice between a Subway shop and a McDonalds. I’m not a big fan of McDonalds, but they have fantastic WiFi and, if it is only once in a while, it won’t kill me. The manager of this McDonalds talked to me after I had my meal and I was complimenting him on having installed electrical outlets at a bunch of the customer seats so one could charge a phone. He proudly said it was his idea and it worked great for me. I do carry backup charging gear, but McDonalds made it so convenient that I was beholding to them. It really did make my life easier. Not only that, I had an excellent connection to call home.
A number of years ago NPR did a series on McDonalds and how they were trying to improve their image with the public in respect to animal care. They hired Temple Grandin, a Ph.D. in animal behavior and worked with her to improve the lot of the animals involved in their products, such as chickens, pigs, and cattle. The series changed my view of McDonalds to where I will stop in once in a while. It had been at least 25 years since I had been in one of their stores. There was a movie about Temple Grandin and it is worth a watch if you haven’t seen it.
I returned to the motel and finished unpacking the bike. I took a short nap and shortly after sunset I threw a wire into a tree and set up my ham radio station on two folding chairs. Just as I was ready to settle down for some radio fun, the skies opened up and it started to pour. The stars were out only a few minutes earlier.
I hurriedly dragged everything into the tent and set everything up again. I managed to operate for a while and then my legs were getting cramps, so I shut down for the night.
It poured all night long, intensely at times. I awoke about 7 am and it was still pouring, so I turned on the radio and, using Morse code, connected with Henry, K1PUG, in Harwinton, Connecticut. He lives near the high school that I graduated from back in 1965, Lewis S. Mills. People are often surprised to hear that I actually talk with Morse code these days. In the world of amateur radio, it is still a very popular way to communicate. It is my favorite, even with all the newer digital modes that have come along over the years. It is always a good skill to have.
Anyway, we’re into the next day here and I’ll close this out for now. The rain has finally stopped and I will be on the road again by 10 am or so.
