Friday, September 2, 2016

I just realized the video Cathy took of me starting out this morning did not work.  I uploaded it three times.  It looks right in the draft but not in the preview or after it is published.  I'll have to ask Google when I get home.

Today was one of the hardest rides I have done in a while.  The wind was out of the south and relentless.  Nearly steady 6-10 mph with frequent gusts of 12-15.  I was tired at mile 66 and still had 25 to go.  As you can see below, I was going South a lot.  It's what I get for wanting to start at the border.

On the bright side, if you have to ride a US highway, you could do a lot worse than US 53.  Smooth pavement most of the way, a shoulder as wide as the auto lanes and separated by a rumble strip.  Scenery a bit boring but at least it is mostly forested both sides.  I went by one lake small enough to call it a pond (Ash Lake) and Pelican Lake where I took a break.

I am having fun with technology.  I have each day's course loaded into my Garmin GPS as well as my phone.  My phone does a super job of telling me about turns and the Garmin better keeps me up to date on my progress as well as showing me the elevation profile coming up.  The downside of my phone is that the battery goes down rather quickly.  To counteract that, I have a portable battery zip-tied to the handlebars so that I can plug it into the phone when it gets low.

Below is for the data geeks like me (I know you're out there).


 
 
We are staying with one of Cathy's cousins in a beautiful home with a great yard.  She is treating us royally and I should be ready to head for Grand Rapids tomorrow.  The forecast is for more wind out of the south.  It will be another slog but at least about half the ride is more Southwest than South and I will be largely be on a trail that should protect me from the wind.
 
 

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