109: tree tunnel trail, having a great time crashing, bingham schoolhouse, important information!, a perfect fit, drivethrough massage, no rest for rob, bathroom in uruguay, engineer luddites, checkout time, kicking myself, building bikes, stag party

August 14, 2025

Suttons Bay to Traverse City

Rose drove us over to a bakery just outside of town where we had pastries prepared by a chef who was trained in France. Along the way, she mentioned that a full two thirds of the houses in Suttons Bay are rentals. That seems remarkably high, but she would know.

Rose accompanied me half the way to Traverse City...

...passing apple orchards and corn fields,

It's a lovely trail with a lot of shade, but some of that shade comes from the shady-looking characters riding on it.

I love the signs along the way because it looks like the characters are having a great time as they crash their bikes, get hit by cars, or plow into unsuspecting people.

The halfway point was Bingham Township, with a population of 2,500,000 people.

My zero key might've gotten stuck when I was typing that number.

The only reason this picture is of interest to anyone is if your last name happens to be Bingham.

When I arrived in Traverse City I rode straight to A Perfect Fit alterations and explained my situation: that I'm traveling by bicycle and the zipper on my pants broke, and that I'd like to avoid any embarrassing situations such as a one-sided conversation with someone in the Police Department as I'm bent over the hood of a squad car.

The woman I spoke with was very understanding and, after a quick glance in my direction, probably decided she could do the world a favor by replacing the zipper. She's likely correct. Although it won't be finished until tomorrow, if she's able to get it done today she'll give me a call. Upon request, she also suggested a good deli for lunch.

After spending over an hour at The Chef's In eating and working on the journal, I pedaled around town a bit looking for someplace cool to relax until my Warm Showers hosts returned home.

looks like you can get a drive-through massage in Traverse City

I found a shady corner with a picnic table in Lay Park and settled in for the duration, thinking about the possibility of taking a postprandial nap. Waves of sleepiness were starting to roll over me.... the temperature was slightly warm but not hot, there was just a hint of a breeze, the birds were singing a lullaby, and my eyelids began getting heavy.... I might've dozed off for a minute.

When I next looked up, I saw another bicycle tourist rolling into the park. A moment after that, a curious resident strode over and began talking to him. After shaking off the nonpermanent cobwebs in my brain, I walked my bike over to talk to them.

Oddly enough, of all the people in town, the guy who walked over to chat was my Warm Showers host, Bob. He saw a touring cyclist and assumed it was me. After a moment he left and Rob and I continued our conversation.

Rob, from Madison, is taking his first bike trip since he was 23. Originally planned as an 18-day trek, he increased it to 28 days. If you can believe it, he's taken no rest days. It's even more remarkable when I think that I've probably tallied more rest days than actual riding days. Having been out of the cycling loop for a while, he was unfamiliar with Warm Showers, ACA, RideWithGPS and, most importantly, CycleBlaze. I shared those with him, all of which will make future touring much more easy.

Rob from Madison, camping along the entire route

Mark, from Iowa City, who isn't... but looks like he has. And will you look at that hair??

Just before taking off, I got a call that my shorts were ready. They close at 4:00, in thirty minutes, so I gave Rob my contact information and we said our good-byes, then rode over to get my "guaranteed not to get you arrested" pants.

Now that I knew my Warm Showers hosts were there, I pedaled over to their place. When I rolled up to the house, it looked strangely deserted, with that feeling you get when no one has been there for a while. It was particularly odd considering that I had just talked to Bob at the park, who said he was on his way home.

Instead of knocking, I called him to let him know that I was in his driveway. The response, "Me too, and I don't see you," could only mean on thing: the continued deterioration of my minimal directional skills, and the likelihood that upon returning home I'll probably get lost going to the bathroom, ending up in Uruguay.

"We're across the street," he let me know after I told him the address.

After eating dinner in the backyard, we sat around talking until my arch nemeses, the mosquitoes, made an entrance.

Bob and Laura are self-proclaimed Luddites who generally postpone advances in technology as long as possible. As their neighbors, one by one, began adding air conditioning to their homes, they staunchly refused (this is northern Michigan, on the lake, where you just don't see that many hot days). Their resistance is particularly interesting when you consider the fact that they're both retired engineers. (Of note, my room stayed cool all night)

As I typically do, I asked about unusual Warm Showers guests, and Bob reported that everyone is always pleasant and courteous. However, there was this one guy... (there always seems to be "that one guy").

The morning after his arrival, he just didn't come out of the bedroom.... 9:00, 10:00, 10:30... finally, at 11:00, Bob had to call through the door to let him know that "checkout time is at 11:00." Who knows how long he would've stayed?

The backyard where we spent most of the evening. I was kicking myself the whole time for not getting Rob's contact information, and I pictured him stealth camping, eating a can of cold beans by himself while swatting mosquitoes. All I had to do was ask Bob and Laura if he could also stay. There was plenty of room, and I'm positive they would've said yes.

Before turning in, Bob showed me the bikes he's built. After retiring, he took a frame-building course and made all of these.

He told me that it's actually cheaper to simply buy a bike than to build it, because by the time you purchase all the individual components the cost adds up to more than the package deal.

But, of course, that takes away from the fun of building your own bike.

I asked about the bent top tube pictured above and Bob shared this story:
He was riding along with a group of cyclists when, in an instant, the rider on his left slammed into him. His first thought was, "Why did Dan do that?!?" He would only later find out that a stag had burst out of the brush on his left, plowed through the peloton, then disappeared in a flash.

The rider to his left was propelled into Bob and suffered some minor injuries, as did the rider behind them who did an endover the two of them, but Bob fractured his pelvis and his clavicle. It's a painful fracture, and he attended Physical Therapy for several months. The story was even written up in several newspapers. Not something I'd want, but it sure makes for a great story.

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Today's ride: 24 miles (39 km)
Total: 2,882 miles (4,638 km)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesNot trying to score points, or anything, but we generally do not take rest days, even on 90 day tours. We may occasionally stay for 2 days in a town where we want to walk around and take in the sights. Does a 10 to 16 km walk count as a rest day?
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4 months ago

Mark BinghamTo Steve Miller/GrampiesSorry, superhumans don't count.
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4 months ago

Carl B.I love your entries on Up North. It’s my happy place, as you know. I’ve spent time up there for abt 40 years, but never at the slow, leisurely pace that you’ve been able to. I’ll have to work on that.
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4 months ago