Cadillac to Big Rapids, MI

HI Everyone,
Been trying to upload pictures to this site, and having some trouble from our hotel room. We all needed a respite from the routine of set up and tearing down camp, in addition to biking of 70 miles a day. Was dreaming this would work better. Hope to have pictures at some time soon.

So we started our 4th official day of biking from Cadillac, MI at a state park called Mitchell State Park. We awoke to a beautiful day of sunny skies, light winds, the lake was like glass. our hope was to get an earlier start than past days. With the time change, not getting dark until after 10, it really has thrown us off. And I find it hard to wake the camp before 8, having had such a full day the day before. But Steve, Zoe and I headed off around 10:30 in the hopes of covering 70 miles today. We biked some really beautiful roads, full of horse farms, some more lightly traveled than others. We did some hills, for sure, had a few encounters with some friendly dogs: one a Great Dane that chased Steve on his recumbent, and the dog was taller than he was. And also near Woodville, a little dog chased Zoe, got away from this older woman who was getting her mail. Evidently the woman puts her dog in a basket on her bike, and he wanted to catch a ride with us....

We ended at Woodville with zoe and i grabbing an ice cream cone, opting for a hotel at Big Rapids, and then I biked from Woodville to Big Rapids, only an extra 7 miles.... I was really proud of Zoe completing her first 65-mile day when i think she had had enough by 40 miles. As hard as I tried to catch up with her on her bike this afternoon, she was always out of reach.

The forecast for Saturday doesn't look very favorable for biking. We might drive the 50-60 miles as not to get behind, and have a really long day on Sunday. Eric, who drove today, doesn't want to miss more than 1 day of biking in a row.

We are all learning to be flexible with each other, what the day has in store, the route, the ending point, really you have to be flexible every step of the way when dealing with 4 people's desires.....

I know we will have challenges along the way, more than I can even imagine. It's what makes this such an incredible journey.

Trudi