This time we didn't forget any critical items on our way to Chelsea. We were, as usual pretty slow getting the team moving in the morning and didn't start the ride until just after 10. But who cares?
Rather than park in downtown Chelsea with it's mix of quaint, classic, eclectic, and industrial shops and buildings, we opted for a park on the north side of town, primarily due to the presence of a pair of port-a-johns. And a playground.
The morning temperature was not as low as the last few mornings, but was somewhere in vicinity of 60 F. There had been a wind and a little rain the night before. The forecast for the day was for a NW wind, sunny skies, and high of 75 F. Almost perfect, but I'd deduct a point or two for slightly too much wind.
This ride was generally quite hilly. There were several roads on the route that continually climbed or descended steeply. We were either in low gear climbing at a crawl or screaming downhill. Generally, however, the hills were short, so most of the climbs and descents didn't last long. Here, Cindy and Abbey round a downhill corner at speed.
We were quite surprised to see several flocks of herons hanging out in recently cut corn fields. One flock had about 20 birds. I later learned that I was right to be surprised that herons would be in a corn field - these are not herons, but sandhill cranes. What do I know? I'm no biologist.
These birds were even bigger. Right after passing their runway, we saw one being towed into the sky. I'd like to try a glider ride sometime.
And then there was this flock of turkeys. Quinn seemed convinced they should be turkey vultures (his favorite bird, I think), since we see so many of those soaring the skies while we're out riding. Not much of a picture, but I gave it a shot.
We made it to the Wooden Nickel Cafe. This Cafe is mentioned as a lunch destination in our Road Biking Michigan book (which we haven't been able to find for at least the last month or so). It was also identified as a lunch stop on our map from the AABTS. Last night we tried to look on the web to see if we could find any review of the cafe, or maybe even its hours. All we learned was that in Dansville, 1 out of 87 persons are convicted sex offenders. Hmmm. We went there anyway, using the justification that perhaps 1 in 87 was really representative of the national average, and that they just have better law enforcement and a high conviction rate in Dansville. In Okemos, it's 1 in about 4500. The water tasted funny, the dining area was a little smoky, and the menu was short (very) on vegetarian items, but the waitress was nice and the burgers, fries, and hotdogs, were fresh and hot.
After lunch, heading back to the south, with the wind now behind us as we passed mile 30, we were all feeling full and sleepy. Quinn was feeling so full and sleepy that he started falling asleep. In my mirror, if I tip my head way back, I can see Quinn. I watched his head gradually drop to the side and then twitch back upright, causing the whole bicycle to lurch to the side. I tried to talk to him, but I couldn't get him to wake up. So we pulled over for a few minutes, shed some clothes, drank some water, and he perked up. Soon he and Abbey started complaining so much about needing to pee that nobody was getting any sleep. In fact, between the deep cracks in the road hurting my arms and butt, and the whining kids, I was getting a little grouchy. This too passed once we found an out-of-the-way woodlot where the kids could pee. Soon the road smoothed out, too.
We then stopped at convenience store so Quinn could used the facilities. We got some cookies and water, too. Goofy boy with his Thomas the Train sunglasses, chocolately mouth, and mosquito-bitten cheek. The cookies made everybody cheerful, again.
The rest of the ride was very nice. There were lots of rolling hills, some of which were quite steep around Waterloo. We repeatedly found ourselves climbing in our lowest gear. We were getting tired, too, and I'm not sure tailwind was much help in the forested hills. During the last 20 miles or so, Quinn was keeping a careful count of the miles remaining. He was happy and having fun, but he was also anxious to finish.
Here's a sign for the Harrs.
We ended the ride with odometers at 58 miles. The ride took us about 7 hours, including stops, with an average pace while moving of 11.5 mph. That pace seems really slow when you compare to 18 to 19 mph pace we used to keep with Fish for a Cure MS150 team from NOAA, but it's not a race, it's a family bike ride, right?
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