Yoopers

Day 57. Baraga to Marquette. 70 miles. Ttd. 2688 feet elevation. Weather good.

Look closely at the map information above. It might help explain why my day started out a little difficult. Notice that after going 56 miles south I’m then supposed to turn on to the same road and go north. Yeah, that didn’t make any sense but ultimately it did take me to where I wanted.

Peddling around the south end of Lake Superior Inlet as the start of my day didn’t register with me that I was at the low point of the ride. In fact, for the next 25 or 30 miles, I just couldn’t seem to get moving. Ultimately, at the midway-ish point when I finally started heading back down towards Lake Superior, I realized I had been climbing for the first half of the day, and that’s why I felt so sluggish. Thankfully, the second half of the day was much easier than the first half of the day. It also helped that I was enjoying texting with a good friend. Yes, sometimes I’m texting as I’m peddling, but I’m a very cautious rider:-).

It’s hard for somebody that doesn’t pedal a bike cross country to appreciate the wonder of a shaded picnic table. Thanks to the people of Champion, I was able to pull off the road and have a nice little rest before continuing the second half of my journey today. It makes me want to go home and put up a small shelter with a picnic table along the cross-country bike route that runs through Pueblo. It’s almost shocking how much better I feel after a 15-minute rest with my legs up in the air. It’s almost like starting the day completely a new.

At one of the motels I stayed at, they had yooper bars. I asked the clerk what they were, and she just said good chocolate. Fortunately, I have an upper peninsula expert in my family. My nephew Josh has spent considerable time up here with cross-country skiing and telemarking. He has offered suggestions and advice throughout my travels, and it’s been wonderful.

He sent me a text telling me to make sure I tried some pasties. I assumed he had misspelled pastries, and of course, I didn’t need any encouragement to try pastries. However, I looked it up and learned that pasties were unique to the area. The wives of minors would take the leftover stew or dinner of the evening and roll it into their bread dough. After baking it, they would send it with their husbands to the mines. I tried it tonight, and it was quite delicious.

Yooper is the term for upper peninsula people as in U Per. I’ve also learned by experience that this area is very much like Canada. The similarity is that the people are quite pleasant, kind, and engaging. I was talking to one clerk, noting her accent, and thinking it was Canadian (yes, I am still working on my three goals each day). She indicated she was not Canadian but that this was basically Southern Canada. I would say that’s a great description and compliment.

Tomorrow it’s a short ride over to the Picture Rocks area. Hopefully I’ll be there in time to see some of the shoreline sites.