103: mold, smokey stealing checks, make up lies, honor on the roadside, watching traffic, a cemetery to die for, peshtigo fire, mullet on a tree, stuttering jones, florida man returns yet again, a three-hour shower

August 8, 2025

Ludington to Manistee

This morning as I was loading up my bike I noticed this.

Because I let my water bottle sit for three days it grew mold. It's pretty gross, and this is coming from the guy who has no problem eating expired food with probably more mold than that.

I asked the housecleaners at the hotel if they had any bleach, and was informed that yes, but it was mixed with other cleaning fluids so it wouldn't be appropriate.

That meant I had to ride with a different bottle.

why is that bear trying to pull the mailbox down?

This is a series of pictures showing the stands all along the road.

...selling everything from honey to hay to fruit to flowers to firewood to jam to corn...

All of them are based on the Honor System...

...although some of them are based on the Honor System With a Camera.

You could buy just about anything, and I kept expecting to see one with children for sale.

This cemetery is so peaceful and beautiful it almost makes me want to die, but then I'd miss out on more of this 13-mph tailwind, so... maybe later. I learned later it's the Catholic cemetery, and the Protestant cemetery is even more beautiful.

I'll be staying in Manistee tonight, and was doing my usual research when I learned about the Peshtigo Fire.

On October 8, 1871, Manistee was almost completely destroyed by fire. Although that fact in itself isn't particularly interesting since almost every town older than my grandmother has, at one point, been destroyed by fire, the fact that it occurred on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire and the Peshtigo Fire is. Three devastating fires on the same day.

I had never even heard of the Peshtigo Fire, but should have, because it remains the deadliest fire in American history. By comparison, Chicago's fire killed about 300 people, while Wisconsin's Peshtigo Fire killed between 1,200 and 2,500 people. Curious as to why I hadn't even heard of it, I found part of the reason to be that the Peshtigo Fire was largely overshadowed by the Chicago fire because the telegraph lines to the remote region were burned in the blaze, delaying news of the catastrophe, while everyone in the country heard about Chicago's fire.

The mullet equivalent for a tree trim: business in front, party in the back.

James Earl Jones, the famous actor who voiced Darth Vader (Star Wars) and Mufasa (The Lion King) was raised here in Manistee. Some of the things I learned about him during my reading:
* When his parents split up, he moved here as a small child and, upon his arrival, developed a stutter so severe that he was functionally unable to speak.
* He originally thought he'd like to be a poet, but when his high school English teacher encouraged him to read his poetry aloud, it helped him to overcome the speech impediment.
* In the late 1960s, he appeared in Guiding Light and As the World Turns.
* Because he thought the Star Wars role was too small and considered it more of just "special effects," he initially wanted his name removed from the credits.
* For voicing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars movie, he was paid a one-time fee of just $7,500, with no royalties.
* He's one of only 27 people with an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony).

The Ramsdell Theatre is where he did his first performance as an actor. There's an anecdote that he was paid $5.00, and that he framed the check, but I wasn't able to find a good source.

The statue of Jones reciting his poem in front of Donald Crouch, the teacher who encouraged him to speak in public.

When I arrived at my Warm Showers hosts for the night I noticed that the garage was open so I rolled my bike inside. It was a little odd, because I knew they were bikers but didn't see any bikes or bike tools, just a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. There was some Country & Western music coming from a speaker, the old twangy sound creating an eerie background to my rising suspicions. Looking around some more I noticed a calendar. The picture for the month of August showed a large-breasted woman holding a wrench, grease stains in strategic locations as if she'd been working on the nearby motorcycle.

The realization was dawning on me that this might not be the right place so I started rolling my bike backwards when a man came through the door from the back yard. He was about 6' 3" or so, shirtless and tanned, with a bandana wrapped around the head.

"Can I help you?"

I felt like a young James Earl Jones as I spoke, "Are you...?" Unfortunately, that's as far as I got, because the names of my hosts immediately evaporated from my memory.

"Are you.... uh... I'm at the wrong house, aren't I?"

"I dunno. Who're you looking for?"

Absolutely nothing came to mind for about five seconds as I stood there scrunching my face up trying to remember, then suddenly, Kirsten's name floated up to greet me.

"I'm just looking for my friends, Kirsten."

I realized that it probably sounded a bit weird that (1) "my friends" was singular instead of plural, and (2) if they're my friends why don't I know where they live?

Regardless, he knew exactly who I was talking about.

"Ah! Andy and Kirsten. They just live across the street."

We ended up talking for several minutes, Rob and I, and I learned that his brother does a lot of cross-country cycling so he didn't find it weird at all that I was in his garage. He thought it was something related to that... or at least he was kind enough to give me that impression.

The moral of the story: Never judge a person by his wall calendar. Rob was a really nice person.

Andy and Kirsten, my Warm Showers hosts for tonight, have spent their careers as teachers. Andy recently retired, but got bored so he went to work for the nearby State Park. He loves being able to leave work at work, and not have to worry about lesson plans, or ignorant parents, or unruly students. Kirsten, on the other hand, is still working, at least for now.

They're both very intelligent. I could tell, not only because they wanted to read my blog, but also just by talking to them. Plus, there's the fact that both of their daughters were valedictorians.

As far as being hosts, they were both more than helpful. I was able to get some bleach for my water bottle and gave it a good cleaning, and Andy spent a fair amount of time making calls to secure a place for me to stay tomorrow night. And, of course, I got a warm shower and some excellent Mexican food for dinner.

On the topic of showers, I sometimes ask my Warm Showers hosts about peculiar guests and learned that, unsurprisingly, almost every one is polite and respectful. However, there's always "that one guy" and, in their case, it was a couple. Their guests went into the restroom to shower and just stayed there... for almost three hours. Andy eventually had to knock on the door to let them know that they needed to come out so others could use that restroom, and so they could go to bed. He thinks they were just sitting in there looking at their phones.

I spent a pleasant evening with my hosts, and when it was time to get cleaned up I made sure I called out to them as I was closing the bathroom door, "See you in three hours!"

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(credit should be given to Kirsten for taking the pictures of the high school, the sculptures, and the informational board, which she texted me later)

Today's ride: 28 miles (45 km)
Total: 2,735 miles (4,402 km)

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Kirsten AmstutzHi, Mark,
I am enjoying reading your blog--probably because my intelligence allows me to get all of your many jokes! :) I hope your journey continues to be safe and full of weird adventures!
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4 months ago

Mark BinghamI don't think it's your high intelligence allowing you to get the jokes; I suspect it's a result of being a teacher and working with immature children. Plus, if you do get the jokes, I'm concerned about your mental health. ;-)
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4 months ago