Michigan, The "High Five" State

Tarn seeks relief from the heat at the Millenium Splashpark, Grand Rapids, MI.

We visit the US headquarters of Velocity rims, a company that has helped us out immensely on our trip - including an invitation for a landing spot for a few nights! Thanks!!!

Sampson's journal: Today we saw a Woolly Mammoth that was being dug up by a scientist. When we saw him he was digging up the clavicle or the scapula. He had dug up a tool a couple of weeks ago so he had proof that there were people in the time of the ice age. The Woolly Mammoth was found by a creek in the golf course we camped in. Tomorrow morning the owner is making pancakes for breakfast for us.

Sampson's journal: Today we went from Sandusky to Lindsey. We camped at an old farm where some people were plowing farms with horses like in the olden days. We are going to have burritos for dinner.

Are you as excited as I am? The pattern on this new shirt of mine will disguise the salt/sweat stains and looks classy too! Markos kindly gave the "deep 6" to my old biking shirt, Goodwill re-sale shops are an important support system for this crew!

We've just been riding through this state a few days, but true to form, Michigan has it's own unique characteristics as each of the other States has had. For us, Michigan is lots of green. Big trees, blooming peonies, fragrant air and another style of farmhouse architecture. Lots of brick, huge barns and fields of emerging with corn and soy bean plants. Heat, humidity and mosquitoes are a sharp contrast to the cold snap accompanied by wind and thundershowers that we'd ridden through in Northwestern Ohio.

Markos' journal
May 24
Average Speed: 10 miles per hour
Ride Time: 4 hours and 7 minutes
Starting Place: Eaton Rapids, Michigan
Ending Place: Morrison Lake Country Club, Michigan
Temperature: 90 degrees Fahrenheit
Maximum Speed: 23.9 miles per hour
Today we had some cereal and egg dish for breakfast. After breakfast I helped take down the tents and there was a bee in one of the tents. Then we said good-bye (to Warm Showers hosts Mike and Cindy) and we got on the bikes and rode away and the road was dirt for a little bit. The we stopped to put some sun screen on.
May 21 Today we had yogurt with granola for breakfast. After breakfast we packed up. Today we saw some mushrooms growing in a circle and they were white. Today we camped out in some one's back yard...then we set up the yellow tarp to dry and we set up to dry too. For lunch we went to a hamburger place and I had a grilled cheese with apple sauce and some milk. It came with a tootsie roll pop.

oHIo - Farmland, Industry, and Family

The Black River rushes towards Lake Erie, just west of Cleveland, Ohio.

Tarn selects only the finest of fresh greens for a tasty feast from Lisa and Ken's garden, Oberlin, Ohio.

Saddlebreds race by at a fast clip clop, a common occurrence at the county fairgrounds where we often camp.

"Look who I found in my shoe!" Morning wake-up at Meramec State Park, Missouri.

Bill and five of his step-great grandchildren, can you believe this healthy young guy turned 100 years old? Bella Vista, Arkansas

Sampson, Markos and Tarn get the "royal" treatment, Mormor and Grandad take us all to a Kansas City Royals game. American baseball at it's best.

Yes, these pictures show quite diverse locations - not really reachable by bike. Sometimes a lot happens in just a few weeks! The 100th birthday party of Bill Wanamaker, Rick's step grandad is a celebration we were honored to attend. The location: Bella Vista, Arkansas. We left our bikes and gear with friends in Cincinnati. The ten hour one-way rental car experience was a rude reminder of the zooming fast pace of life we generally are able to avoid. Fortunately, visits to several of Rick's family were part of our car-trip excursion. Then back to Cincinnati for an excellent send off by way of 70 miles of park land path - the Little Miami River Rails to Trails route. We cycled north/northeast through the back roads of Ohio, arriving near Cleveland, at my sister's home. We head out tomorrow, this time traveling west, making the turn onto a direction that will eventually guide us home to Calgary by mid August.


oHIo

Small farms, white barns, little roads and trails.
Honeysuckle, darting birds, water drained from fields.
Cool weather, dish gloves, county fairground shelters.
Lightning bolts, thunder claps, cold fronts moving through.

Warm hosts, tasty feasts, comfy beds and showers.
Steel mills, "brown fields"- industry revealed.

Organ pipes, piano parts, a destination reached.
Cousins and fun, and finally, the emergence of the sun.