Best in US

Day 58. Marquette to Munising. 54 miles. 3,553 miles TTD. 1297 feet elevation. The weather was warm, but there was a tailwind.

Michigan is definitely my favorite of the three states on this route. And today was the best of Michigan. Marquette has embraced the idea of being a waterfront community and has made beautiful jetties and piers. Additionally, they’ve paved a trail for miles down the coast, and even after the pavement ends, it continues for several more miles with a very nice crushed limestone surface. The clouds were gathering, and the thunder was rumbling behind me, but I was able to make it out of town with a nice tailwind. With a relatively short trip to Munising, it was a very pleasant day overall.

As I’ve said before, a bike is a wonderful way to see the country. In a car, I never would have noticed these narrow little tracks leading into the woods and down to a secluded beach. There was no one in either direction that I could see for miles. I thought about skinny dipping, but decided I didn’t want to get a charge for indecent exposure in Michigan. I settled for soaking my legs, which was quite pleasant in the cool water. I wish I had brought lunch because it would have been a wonderful picnic spot.

With rain on the way, I jumped on the highway to avoid mud on the trail. It was not only beautiful to have the shoreline just to my left, but also pleasant because there were many turnouts and rest stops. Many of the other places I’ve been to, I’ve gone for tens or hundreds of miles without a rest stop. Today, there was one about every 5 miles, it seemed. Bravo, Michigan.

In Munising, I risked going to a Mexican restaurant. There really was just relatively fancy food rolled in pretty pathetic tortillas. There was no Spanish coming from the kitchen, nor did anyone appear to speak Spanish. The food was good, but we’re a long way from Mexico.

This evening in the hot tub, yes, I soaked in the hot tub. A couple was already soaking when I arrived. I bravely entered and started talking to them. What was terrifying was that they talked back and kept talking. I was hoping they had been soaking long enough that they would be ready to leave when I arrived. However, with goal number two on my mind, I chatted away, and we had a good 15-minute conversation before they decided to hit the sauna. That was definitely a better experience than when I tried to engage the kid who was the cashier at the grocery store. When I asked him how he was, he said, “I’m here.” Perhaps it’s being lonely or being alone, or maybe it’s just working on my goal, but I really am finding it enjoyable to engage with other people and try to learn about them.

Tomorrow is another relatively short day to Newberry. Then on Friday, I’ll pedal back into Ontario.