Today was as different from yesterday as possible. I still rode 60+ miles and there were many hills, but otherwise totally different.

The rain cleared off and today dawned clear but pretty chilly. I heard a few people saying they were uncomfortably cold, but I actually slept very well. I wore my jogger plants and sweatshirt to sleep, and with my sleeping bag I was good.

I got a pretty late start today but Cynthia and I were able to start off together a bit before 9. After getting out of town, the scenery was beautiful right away. Crystal Lake sparkled under a wide blue sky.

We made our first stop at Riverside Canoe Trips, on the Platte River. We ran into Jeff and Maria from the group there and set out again with them.

We rolled through so much beautiful farmland today. The temperature throughout the morning was pleasant, and the traffic pretty light. We did attract the attention of a very helpful lady in a Suburban who was an expert on Michigan bike laws and actually slowed down to yell out the window at us that we weren’t allowed to ride two abreast. She seemed pretty confident (and annoyed), but she was, if you can imagine, wrong.

When not irritating the driving public in general, today I was able to enjoy the scenery and joy of riding.

The next thing I knew, we were rolling past the Empire Bluff Trail, where my friend Jen and I had just visited. Then into Empire past Joe’s Friendly Tavern, where Jen and I had lunch on the way back downstate. I hadn’t realized then that I’d be pedaling through again just a few weeks later.

After moving out of Empire we enjoyed one of my favorite parts so far: cutting off the road onto the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. What a joy to leave cars behind and cut through the gorgeous forest. I really couldn’t have enjoyed it more. And look where we went.

I did not do any dune climbing. I did get some ice cream. Jeff did the climb, and we’d hooked up with some additional group members, so we chatted and waited.

The trail takes you pretty much right into Glen Arbor, and we headed for Boondocks for lunch, where the whole group briefly reconvened.

The unfortunate side to the company of a group is that I don’t make my usual pace. By the time we left the restaurant, we were heading for 2pm, with 30 miles to go.

By now the sun had become hot and the hills steeper and longer. Nothing like yesterday, but one set in particular seemed to climb steadily for miles. I had my first negative thoughts this afternoon 3/4 of the way through one nastily long one, but it was all climb focused and faded as soon as I started down the other side.

And boy were the downhills fun. I had a max speed of 34.3 mph today, which feels pretty dang fast on a bicycle. It felt like riding a motorcycle again.

The good times never last though, and soon the road leveled off as we found ourselves in Traverse City. We were able to ride the TART trail to avoid the busiest roads though, which took us along Traverse Bay.

After an easy ride through neighborhood streets and a bit more TART trail, and we finally hit camp, on the grounds of the Grand Traverse County Civic Center. It’s a large park, now with tents and bicycles strewn around a large area under the trees.

No riding for me tomorrow, and I’m pretty happy about it. Three days in a row of 60+ mile days of hilly terrain isn’t exactly my weekly norm, and my legs need a rest. Cynthia and I are going to do some wandering (after I do my laundry), with vague goals of me finding something made from cherries, and a packable camp chair. The weather will be beautiful again, so as always, adventure awaits!