The route has changed considerably from just following the Adventure Cycling Northern Tier plan. Mike took the car ferry across Lake Michigan after heading east into Wisconsin from Minneapolis. Eventually he will get back on the Adventure Cycling route, most likely somewhere in Indiana. There's a map on this page to give you an idea what's happening. By taking the ferry Mike is going to miss two I states - Iowa and Illinois - but he gets to see quite a bit of Michigan!

July 13th Luddington State Park

Took the ferry across Lake Michigan from Manitowoc, WI, today. The crossing was slow and easy. The weather was unusally hot and I had kept out some warm clothes in case it was cooler. No such luck. There was not even any wind to speak of. As I was watching off the side, I remarked to myself, "There are no sea birds here." I guess we all know the reason for that. Not a sea but almost as large as one.

July 14th & July 15th Reed City, MI - Mike emailed that he was visiting his old high school classmate, Joe Kelly, and his wife Cheryl. He hopes to get to Cleveland by July 25th. Terry and I met in Reed City after a fashion. He was waiting for me by McDonalds in Reed City thinking I was going to ride by. I turned a few miles earlier and was alread at Joe's house. With poor cell service, I had to walk up the hill and check messages. It turns out Terry had missed an important piece of information in the directions and we drove 2 miles to the McDonalds to bring him home. We had a nice time and took advantage of Kelly's hospitality to have a rest day. We took a short tour of Reed City (there can be no other kind, its pretty small) There is a real nice park where we walked around. We all went to dinner in Big Rapids that evening and had a nice time.

July 16th Hardy Dam Today was slightly adventurous. I was innocently cruising down old highway 131 when a car kicked up a dead skunk from the center of the road and threw it at my bike (it was somewhat freshly dead so not really a road pizza yet). Before I could react, it was in front of my rear tire and under it and BOB's tire. It did smell and I washed off the bike at the next gas station. On the way to Hardy Dam, I noticed my rear wheel rubbing. At the campsite, I further inspected and found the wheel out of true. Terry later found a broken spoke and repaired it with a spare of his. I rode to the Rockford where they trued the wheel for me.

July 17th Smyrna (experienced quite a storm... a tornado occurred just north of him somewhere) To update on the storm. I was camped near Flat River. It was hot and humid. I planned on some form of a storm and camped on the highest ground available. About 8 I got in the tent with storms threatening. I was writing in my journal and the storm struck. I felt big wind, rain and lots of lightning was brightning the top of the tent. At one point I heard a huge crack and knew that a tree was down close. When morning came I found the tree was 3 feet from the tent and had fallen away from it. Quite a scare.

July 18th Yankee Springs State Park, Middleville, MI

July 19th Centreville, Michigan It was very hot several days this week, but now it's nicer. It was 85 degrees when he phoned me from a grocery store pay phone, though. He had riden 70 miles today. Terry rode fewer miles to reach the same destination. Mike missed a turn, then didn't realize it for 7 or 8 miles. He has been to several bike repair shops in the past week. They are finding crappy cell service all through Michigan, so he hasn't called much. He hopes to take a rest day soon (maybe tomorrow if it rains) and will update his journal.

July 20, 2006 Mike here: Taking some time as a storm passes. We have been experiencing the heat and humidity that everyone else has so there is nothing special about being out on a bike that is a magic elixor for poor weather.

To date, I have ridden 2736 miles.

If the weather clears, today we will enter Indiana. We are only 20 miles or so from the border. With the threat of rain, Terry got us a place to sleep in the game/dining hall of a campground. Though it didn't rain until this morning, it is nice to know that all our stuff is dry and cam be packed up and hauled on at a moment's notice.

The easier riding days since we left my friend, Joe Kelly's house have been very nice on my body. I am feeling good about each day as it comes. The heat is not really a bother when the mileage is planned to be low. Yesterday, I had a couple of phone messages and in dealing with them, I got somewhat distracted in my following of directions and took a wrong turn out of Galesburg and before I knew anything was wrong, was 8 miles in the wrong direction. I got help from a passing motorist and backtracked. I finally arrived in Centreville with 74 miles for the day instead of 60 or so. A bad goof up. I will have to be more careful.

The miles have begun taking their toll on Aurora and BOB. I have replaced BOB's wheel bearings, just yesterday, Aurora's tires, brake pads, chain and handlebar tape and a spoke so far. Basically all the repairs are regular maintenace so I am not at all dissastified with the costs.

July 21st Chain of Lakes State Park, Albion, IN - NW of Fort Wayne

July 22nd Mike phoned from the grandstands at a tractor pull in Monroeville, IN, which is very close to the Indiana-Ohio border. The tractor pull was fairly quiet because they had to repair the machine that they pull against.

Mike reported that his ride to Monroeville was very likely one of the nicest riding days of his trip of 2850 miles so far. The temperature was about 80 with a light tailwind. It was a second day of riding through a beautiful Amish farm area.

Monroeville is on the Northern Tier Bike Trail and the town has made things very nice for cyclists. There are free hot showers and a free place to camp near the community center. If the weather is bad they even allow you to stay in some sort of shelter that is part of the community center. - Bob

July 23rd Mike just called from Mary Jane Thurston State Park near Grand Rapids OH. They had a few guests at their campsite tonight. My cousin, Bill Kilpatrick and his wife, Ann and daughter Kelly drove down from their home (Perrysburg, Ohio) about 30 miles north to see the cyclists. They brought pizza! Mike said it was so nice to catch up on family news...and to meet Kelly who is almost 6 feet tall! Mike had just called them this morn to say he was close by, so they made the trip with out much warning.

Another cross country cyclist was also in the park, and some guy that they met 15 miles back in the town of Napoleon, drove in to check on them, to see if they needed anything. Terry and Mike had ridden together all day today, they covered 75 miles. The biker that came by had run in to their friend "Pat" yesterday. (Pat is the biker that they met way back in Washington and has joined them intermittently throughout the trip.) He will catch them in a day or two.

Oh, and Mike was still juiced about the good time they had in Monroeville, IN last night. The tractor pull, and the loud super stock truck pulls were great! While at the pull, the announcer had announced between heats that there were two cross country cyclists in the audience and made Mike and Terry wave to the crowd. Bikers are treated special in Monroeville. Mike retired to his tent before the pulling was done, so he was glad that he has ear plugs with him. - Becky

July 25th Planning to arrive in Cleveland, OH

Well, actually at a cousin's house just about 8 miles west of Cleveland, in Lakewood. He'll have logged over 3,000 miles by the time he sees the Cleveland skyline. Writing from Vermillion, OH. Stopping by the lake on a hot, humid day on the way to Lakewood. Someone should write a poem about stopping by something sometime. I did a phone interview this AM with a reporter from the Cleveland area. Terry went ahead and found this library. By the time I got here, I was hot and sweaty so the air conditioning sounded like a plan. Thus the entry.

We stayed in Avery last night at a campground near the juncture of I80 & I90 near an asphalt plant. It was a nice campground with great facilities. I used my ear plugs to drown out the noise of the highway but could not figure out how to cut out the smell without expiring. Slept well anyway, a little black this am but not so bad. Momentarily I will be back on the road and hope to arrive mid afternoon at Hup and Betsy's house. Will do more entries there.