MUP Day 5 - Paradise to Newberry

On Saturday, 25 July, we awoke to a cool, moist morning. Yesterday had been sunny and almost hot, so the chill in the air and the hint of rain were somewhat unexpected. After a pancake breakfast in the Paradise school we rode north through Paradise and then up the road towards Whitefish Point. We got a good start that morning, and our pace up the road felt fast, perhaps because we were all a little chilly and pushing our speed helped keep us warm. The road from Paradise to Whitefish Point was in good shape, and the surrounding forest had really taken on a northern forest feel.



As we reached Whitefish Point point the cool, moist air had turned to a steady rain.



We were glad to be inside at the Shipwreck Museum as a heavy rain fell. The museum was very interesting, but contained many sad stories of ships and lives lost on the Great Lakes.



The rain let up and we looked around a little bit before getting back on the bicycles. Once again, we could have spent a few hours here, but we had many miles to go before our day was done.



After leaving Whitefish Point, we retraced our path to Paradise, meaning, of course, that we'd traveled 20 miles and were right back where we started. The next stop was Upper Tahquamenon Falls State Park, about 14 miles west of Paradise. The State Park was surprisingly well-developed - perhaps excessively. It reminded me of someplace like Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. There was a very large parking lot, a gift shop, ice cream, and a restaurant and brewery. I suppose that being a large attraction located in a remote setting, it makes sense to have adequate facilities to support visitors. The development was quite a distance from the falls. Paved walkways made viewing the falls easy for all types of visitors.

The ride to the State Park had gone quickly, the weather staying cool with only a little rain. When we arrived at the Upper Falls, however, the rain started to fall again. We decided to get some lunch at the restaurant before visiting the falls, hoping that the rain might slack off while we ate. The food at the restaurant was pretty good, and we tried the sampler of the beers. To be polite, I'll just report that the beers weren't the best we'd ever had, and we didn't even finish most of the samplers.

We headed down to the falls, and the steady rain became a downpour. The waterfall was very impressive.





We rode out of the State Park in the rain, with about 27 miles remaining to reach our destination in Newberry, MI. For those next 27 miles, the rain never stopped.



We took a break at the North Star Brick Oven Bakery. Inside the bakery, the air was warm and delicious. Stepping inside the bakery was like being wrapped in a warm, fresh loaf of bread. We talked with owners and watched them pull hot loaves out of the brick oven. The bakery has been making delicious breads for eight years in hand-built brick oven, in a building that doesn't even have electricity. It was wonderful. We bought some bread and a couple jars of jam.

Riding in the rain all day was kind of fun. We all had good rain gear, so our arms and torsos stayed dry, and we weren't too cold. If we had realized just how much it was going to rain, we would have kept out the neoprene booties for the kids feet, but we'd packed them onto the truck. The fenders on our blue Burleys kept some of the spray off the riders, but we aren't using extended flaps on the fenders, so spray is thrown forward and backward, dowsing riders to the front or rear. I think the fenders also help keep road grit off of the brakes and chains. Of course, when you ride a bicycle in a downpour for hours, it's pretty hard to stay dry. Grandma and Grandpa didn't have fenders, and I'm sure they were no wetter than the rest of us. Their Burley has a disc brake in the rear, which can be a real advantage over rim brakes when riding in wet conditions - even more so if you're on trails or unpaved roads. Muddy or icy rim brakes are useless, in my experience.

Eventually, after some long hours riding in the rain, we made it to Newberry. This was our only inland camp on the MUP tour. The school was big and roomy, and the showers were hot. Dinner was served by the Newberry football team. We definitely appreciated their efforts and the hot meal, although it was noticeable that food was of the economical pre-made sort, not the home-cooked pasties we were served in Paradise.

There were some severe storms in the area, and the tour organizers recommended that we stay indoors while some of the storms moved through. That meant we didn't have quite as much time to organize our wet gear before going to sleep for the night.





The next day would be the final day of the tour! I felt excitement, relief, and disappointment at the prospect of finishing the tour. I also felt bruising on my butt.