124: the staple, superglued, an odd new tube, fixer-upper, christmas in michigan, the writing place, siri helps with pink anchor gland, a lot of trees, wild turkey, a lot of water, scott falls without injury, valhalla, happy place, 5th-generation - My Midlife Crisis - CycleBlaze
124: the staple, superglued, an odd new tube, fixer-upper, christmas in michigan, the writing place, siri helps with pink anchor gland, a lot of trees, wild turkey, a lot of water, scott falls without injury, valhalla, happy place, 5th-generation
Munising to Au Train
We're only riding 20 miles today so we weren't in a hurry to leave, especially since (according to the weather reports) the later we leave, the less likely it is to rain on us. We found out when checkout is (noon) and started loading our bags at 11:30 when we noticed Lori's bike.
In my entire life, I've never had such a difficult time getting a tire unseated from the rim. Tire tools had the effectiveness of a jelly-filled sock, and I eventually had to take it outside, put my foot on the rim, and yank with the strength of someone wearing boxer briefs. It felt like it had been superglued, or welded. Here you see Lori using a cotton ball to make sure no other pointy things are stuck in the tire.
We thought it was odd that the new tube didn't have a washer on the stem, nor a cap. The reason it didn't, we finally realized after pumping up the tire and replacing the wheel on the bike, is that we had put the old tube back in. Duh. Instead of switching it out again, we decided to play it by ear to see if it's a slow leak. We can always change it on the side of the road if we need to... especially since the weather report says it won't be raining on us and, as you know, they NEVER miss.
Gregory GarceauVery interesting. In my town of Hastings, MN, there was a Bed & Breakfast called the Historic Thorwood Inn. It was owned by a husband and wife with the last name of Thorson. It burned down eight years ago under mysterious circumstances. Is it a coincidence, or a Thorson insurance scheme? Reply to this comment 3 months ago
Mark BinghamTo Gregory GarceauI think you might be on to something. They took the money and started Thorson Insurance Services (a real company). Nothing gets past the two of us. Reply to this comment 3 months ago
Sometimes when I’m on a brainless road like this, one with not much to distract me besides my mortality as the logging trucks rumble past, I wonder about The Big Questions in Life, as I'm sure most of us do. These Musings of Import include, for example: If someone from Michigan is a Michigander, does that mean their young child a Michigosling?
At other times, my brain goes to this… place. I don’t know what to call it. Maybe The Fun Place. Or The Writing Place.
While I’m visiting there, I write sections of the journal, at least the parts that are readable. Sometimes, I’ll think of something amusing and laugh to myself in that demented way of people who mumble and talk to themselves as they push a grocery cart filled with all of their worldly possessions. "That's funny!" I'll think, then see an advertisement for ice cream, or a burl on a tree that looks like Abraham Lincoln's head, or simply pass a memorably pleasant amount of gas, and…. POOF! (so to speak), whatever I was thinking about is lost forever.
That’s why I sometimes use Siri as a memory aid. Occasionally she’s helpful, although there's definitely room for improvement. Let’s say, for example, that I see some flowers shaped like bonnets, so I say “Remind me: mention flower bonnets.” Her response: “Okay. I’ll remind you: retention of bowel contents.” "Stump shaped like a chair" becomes "Rump shaded by hair," and "Move sunscreen to handlebar bag" becomes "Make skin into handbag."
Usually I don’t realize that she misheard me until later when I’m reviewing the reminders and see things like: “Cool greasy hair croissant,” and "Bare chest for news," and “Review taint colors.” But, for the most part, it works well.
By the way, apparently I saw a Green Bear Juggling yesterday. I didn't get a picture of it, but it's in my notes so I'm sure it happened.
The state of Michigan has 10.5 million acres of forest. Of those 10.5 million, the U.P. claims 8.8 million of them. 84% of the Upper Peninsula is covered by trees.
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Mark BinghamYes, it is a fun addictive hobby. By the way, you can eat Guinea Fowl. The meat is very dark. In France they are called Pintade. Just in case you are ever in a restaurant with Pintade on the menu, now you know what it is. Reply to this comment 3 months ago
Carl mentioned in a previous comment that the Upper Peninsula is his Happy Place and, indeed, it's quickly becoming my Happy Place as well. At some point over the past couple of weeks, without me even realizing it until today, Michigan eased past Virginia as my favorite state of the trip.
We arrived at the four-bedroom cabin where, instead of a storage closet for our bikes, each one got their own bedroom. Raven and Schnooks would have loved it.
Over the course of our ride Lori's tire lost very little pressure, but we put in a new tube anyway, then patched the old one for later use.
While Lori was working and attending Zoom meetings this afternoon and evening, I worked on the journal, then strolled down to the beach around dusk.
As I was gazing out over the water, a gentleman in a North Face jacket and pajama bottoms slowly strolled in my direction. He was being led by what appeared to be a dust bunny on a leash, although I later learned it was a long-haired pug wearing clothing. After commenting on the weather he introduced himself and pointed out the house where he lived, quite nice and right on the water, about 250-300 yards distant.
When he told me his name, Dennis VanLandschoot (which, according to Google Translate, translates literally as "by land shot"), I recognized it from a sign in front of one of the houses we passed shortly before arriving here. He's a fifth generation fisherman from Belgium: "A hundred fifteen years we've been fishing these waters," he told me, and added that he's the biggest producer of whitefish in Michigan. "You can google it and my name will come up." (I did, and found this website.)
Thinking to myself that that's pretty impressive, I asked how many boats were in his fleet and was surprised to learn that the largest producer of whitefish in Michigan only has three boats.
He continued without prompting to let me know that they historically used "gill nets," which would catch fish by the gills. It would also kill them, even the ones they didn't want, so they "progressed with the times" and started using "trap nets," allowing them to throw unwanted fish back into the water.
