Day 36 Ashland to Michigan

Alright first off we went swimming in Lake Superior 

This should be our cover photo with those fake smiles. Sunday smiles. 

Mom and her bike "ruby" 

We met Clare yesterday. 

We went to culvers for lunch and saw this nice old car. 

A bunch of people played a fun game of Code names. 

Breakfast this morning. So far all I have is coffee. 

Breakfast and the lunch table about 3/4 of the way through the time. 

Starting out this morning we rode a bike path through Ashland. 

A nice quiet road to start the first 20 km. There was however a big crevice every 30 ft. 

Some water finally. 
First rest stop. I'm not sure what Reuben is pointing at. Maybe he was trying to send me down the wrong road. 
Loving the rolling hills. And smooth roads. The shoulders weren't huge but they were smooth. 

Reuben's dad and mom are always a welcoming couple. Thanks for the great job they do every day. 

We went past this log home building lot. 

They must have big bottles of wine in Michigan. 

Here's the rookies taking pics of the sign. 

Look at these gems. 

After lunch with Carrie at subway a local told us about a nice bike path. That was the last place I wanted to be. On a bike path. So we took the road for about 1/2 km. The shoulders were riddled with junk and rocks so when we noticed the trail a ditch away we decided to take it after all. 

It was a great railway line with nobody on it. 

It was like a trip down memory lane. I'm not sure who's memory though.  

Some more great rollers. And one long climb. It was like where did that come from. 

Saw this great caving. 

I asked him to lean in so we could talk. I hope it's still standing.  

We went around the lake off the main hyw and I thought to myself oh great another crappy backroad  

As it turned out the road was awesome. See I was worried about something that I had no right be worried about. 

Here's Reuben racing his shadow. 

Last stop. Turns out we stopped just across the street at the gas station on our way out to Vancouver. 

We decided to support a local shop   The sacrifice was worth it. 

The next 15 km was a not so fun ride of keep the fresh tar off your tires and don't get sucked into the long vertical ruts. 

 

It really warmed up in the afternoon   We also noticed we changed time zones lost another hour. 

Finally back in our normal time zone. Here's a little saw mill. Good to finish today after 140 km. Still averaged 27.5 kmph. See you all later Len 

Day 35. Sunday.

I woke up this morning not feeling the usual thoughts of what time is it ,will everyone be gone? Is there any breakfast left. How long will the bathroom line be? What do I need to do to my bike? Are my water bottles full? Will there be any coffee left?  Ahhh it's Sunday. 

A nice slow paced breakfast. People talking about everything but the route or bikes. They were however talking about some pretty serious issues. Probably one of the most important things you can do daily on this trip. The issue is.  Where do I place my tent. Am I beside the atomic snorer. What if I'm in between two of them. Should we mark their tents with an S.    now considering all the beans we've been eating you have to make sure your not down wind from the flatulant tenters.  Maybe mark there tents with a F. Then there's the dreaded early risers. I think most of the have hearing aids or don't realize their  hearing is going. They bumble around like their the only ones in camp. Click click click go there tent poles. Hey if I'm awake everyone should be. I know it's only 5 am but I always get up this early. Their tents need a big E on them. After you get stuck next to a few of these people you quickly remember who they are and tend to steer clear of them. 

Doesn't all this kind of remind you of a church. Some of the members always early. Some always late. Some sit in the exact same spots every week. Boy have we settled in our Sundays. Any thing that happens out of the ordinary throws us off. We get to our seat and someone's in it. Would we tell them to move? Should we tell them to move? Here's a true story that happened on this ride. I have to say that because I have been known to enhance things a little. We arrived at a church with the whole group. As we started to find seats in the sanctuary a couple of us were about to sit down when we heard,  "oh no you don't. Those are our seats". Were we at a ball game or the symphony.  Was there paid seating. Were these people part of the welcoming committee. Now we would never do that would we. Our would we. Hey I see your new here, you can't drink coffee on the carpet. You definitely can't bring that Tim Hortons cup into the sanctuary. How did you even get that coffee dont you know it's Sunday. A young member comes into church in shorts and flip flops. I'm sorry I can't hold my tongue. I have to say something to them. Don't they know where they are. Why do we figure we need to negatively interject in these situations. Do we honestly think we are doing good. Have you ever heard of anyone coming to Christ by us winning an argument with them. Or publicly humiliating them. If we go by Jesus' example he didn't try to fix them first. Is it even our job to do that. Are we leaving room for the Holy Spirit. 

Try next Sunday to make a point of not doing these things. Try to talk to someone who you would never normally talk to. Ask them their story and just listen without the judging part. You will find things out about people you never knew. You will be invited into their messy lives. It's not always easy but I can guarantee you will be blessed. You will feel compassion for the people you may formerly felt contempt for. Ask God to give you a situation like that. You will be blessed and in turn a blessing to others. Once you put down the wall you've been hiding behind it will amaze you how your life will change. God wants your desire. He really is not worried about your competence. If He only picked competent people he wouldn't have picked the disciples he did. Put yourself out there. Trust in Him and  see what happens. 

Have a great Sunday full of opportunities to show Gods love. Then just leave it at that. Take your normal tendencies and bury them at home. I hope it works for you. Len.   

Day 34 Carleton to Ashland wis

Who let the dogs out who who who who. 

This town had a sweet statue of a deer. 

After a nice bike path we headed into the fog. Hold on a second. Did I say nice and bike path in the same sentence. Give my head a shake. 

It was full lights on because of the thick fog. 

It was so thick I had to ride without my sunglasses. They got so wet I couldn't see any thing. 

We crossed over 10 railway tracks today. 

First stop was Carrie's.  Jonathon was taking pics. 

We passed into Wisconsin so I found an appropriate sign welcoming us. 

I think the only thing missing here are sticks. 

Stopped at this windmill on the second stop. It was built by the Finns. That's probably why it only worked for 22 years. 

People stuffing their faces. 

Today we had a lot of  nice rolling hills. 160km worth. 

Still looking for the chocolate fields. 

Saw this old school house or church. 

Saw another great barn. So different from the plains

Lots of rest stops on a long day. 

Ruben looking for some spare parts. 

It's a bit of a fixer upper. 

I call this billy and the trees. I know its brilliant  

950 for this boat. 

3000$ for this truck. 

We're getting into cottage country.  

We stopped for a pic at the delta diner. It's the halfway point in km of the ride. They had great ice cream. 

Apparently someone couldn't handle the whisky ice cream. Talk about a cheap date ;)

This bikes engine has more hp than all these others. 

After the celebration we got back on the road you can see the cyclists dotted on the road. 

More cool barns 
And trucks to see. Who's looking at the road? 

Last stop before camp. 

We got to Ashland beside Lake Superior. 

Two more right turns and we're home for the weekend. 

We got served supper 
And we only had to pay attention for it. 

They even made dessert. It was a great meal. 

This is what happens to you if you try and pass me on a 160km day. Rookies. See you all tomorrow. 

Len