Another seventy-five mile day, which is something I’ve never done before. I was feeling great and strong though, coasting back down out of Crystal Falls on this sunny and pleasantly cool morning.

The riding was good, although the roads were not the best. Some stretches were what I would describe as loosely bonded together gravel. The shoulder was deceptively narrow, and the skinny tire tracks farther right told me that past a couple of feet it was nothing but gravel. So I carried on keeping as close to the white line as I dared, trying not to stress about the passing vehicles.

I skipped the first SAG stop because I didn’t need it, but by mile 30 the tank was getting empty. The rest stop was a roadside park next to a lovely river, and I refueled pretty well. The next leg of the day was another 20 miles of main road in the beating sun, and I was going pretty slow. The shoulder was super gravelly, and I started worrying about flats. A mile from lunch I did indeed get one, and it turned out to be from a standard office-issue staple. I learned some lessons about tire changing from Terry though, so it was not for naught.

After lunch and tire maintenance, Terry rode in to Marquette with me. The route took us off the main road and partially on to a great paved trail through the woods, so I revived and enjoyed the final part of the day.

After a shower and dinner, Scott, Jason, Travis, and I headed into town, Scott asking the Lyft driver to take us to the divey-est bar in town. He took us to Remy’s. We drank cheap drinks and played terrible pool for several hours, and I honestly had the best time.

Unfortunately, Lyft never responded for the trip back, so we were committed to walking back up many hills to the school. But no matter. I enjoyed a great conversation with Jason the whole way back, so I didn’t mind the walk at all.

The overnight weather was warmer than it has been, so I did not freeze. A nice change.

Tomorrow is our day off in Marquette, so stay tuned, sports fans!