Today's ride was brought to you by the number 62 and the letter H. 62 miles of hills, heat and headwinds made for a long day. As I left Hancock this morning I was treated to five miles of a serious climb. Before I got to the top of that hill there was a grocery store I stopped at and I got some food and snacks to get me through the day since I was going to be on a pretty desolate stretch of road. I had already drained one bottle of water in that five miles so I bought a couple extra bottles of water in case I wasn't able to find somewhere to refill. Glad I did because I went through a lot of water today even though I found a place to refill. It got up to about 90 degrees again here today which is unusually hot. Supposed to cool back down tomorrow thankfully. The hills were brutal today. The first ten miles tested me and just made the next several miles really tough. Wasn't until about 25 miles in I got my legs underneath me. A couple of the mile or two stretches had 3.5-4% grades. Pretty tough. Might look at the route tomorrow to see how hilly it is and if I can minimize some of it. Tomorrow is my last day over 50 miles so after tomorrow things should get easier!
Didn't see the lake at all today until I got to Ontonagon. Went through forest today so the pictures won't be overly exciting. Something about the lake doesn't get old as far as scenery goes but the forest can get monotonous. I am probably getting a little spoiled at this point! Ended up getting a pizza for dinner tonight and put it on the front rack of my bike since the motel is four miles out of town. The Porcupine Mountain Music Festival is going on nearby and everything else is booked including all the campsites at this place. Kind of nice to have a room after a day like today though! Have a fridge and a microwave too so I got a couple beverages as well to enjoy the day!
Back in central time tomorrow so I gain a hour! That will be great. Here are pictures from today.
Some of the trees are already changing color around here.
That was by Twin River. There is a small lake by there. I also found out that a lot of the houses right on Lake Superior are vacation homes (not a huge surprise) but the state of Michigan gives permanent residents that live on the lake property tax breaks but the individuals that use them as vacation homes pay the full amount. My guess is if they have a vacation house there they can afford the property taxes.
Really need a sign for that, Michigan???
While that downhill was great, I had to climb back up to where those high trees were.
This is the Ontonagon River flowing into Lake Superior.
Well, on that note, I am going to enjoy relaxing tonight and watching some TV. Off to Ironwood, MI tomorrow. Not sure if it will have wifi unless I find a coffee shop in town or somewhere like that. Have a great weekend!
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