Made the Michigan destination in one piece. I don't know my exact mileage but I think I must have pedaled near to 3500 miles. Now for a few days off with the family.
I got an early start and was on the road in the dark before 6. Naturally it was raining lightly. I had eaten a half rack of ribs and mashed potatoes leftover from last night's dinner. It fueled me well through the first few hours.
My strategy for the day was the stick to mostly Michigan state roads as they are smooth and have 2 to 4 foot shoulders but do have a moderate amount of fast traffic. The road out of Owosso was the only one that needed resurfacing and the first section was pretty rough. The rest were in very good condition and a smooth road really helps.
At one point I went through a section where they had lots of signs protesting solar power. Everybody likes solar, right? I looked it up and some nut is trying to stop a solar farm in the area because it will hurt property values. I wonder what a pig farm does to your property values?
Coming into Frankenmuth I was in that area where the road transitions from state to local maintenance and those areas always seem to have a lot of debris. I heard a sound like I had a leaf in my wheels. The tire got soft and I found a big shard of something sticking out. The sealant in the tire mostly plugged up the leak and the was still some air in the tire. I pulled into a huge empty parking lot and found a bench at the building in the center. Christmas music was playing. I pulled out (or pushed in?) the sharp thing and since the hole seemed bigger than the tubeless tire sealant was able to effectively seal I used my plug kit. The guy at the bike shop said while expensive the plug kit can save your ride. It did today. Back on the road I did stop once to add more air but the tire was fine after that. All these miles and my first flat is on the last day.
The parking lot I pulled into belonged to Bonner's Christmas Wonderland. The largest Christmas store on the planet. It was kind of bizarre.
From Frankenmuth I was on a bike route for an hour. The roads were rougher and slower but it was nice to have a break from the traffic. The rain was letting up and I started to dry out a bit.
In Vasser I stoped for some bacon and eggs with lots of coffee. The coffee is better in Michigan but it may be just the water is better. The thought of Missouri water makes me gag.
Back on the state roads into Caro, then Cass City and Bad Axe. I was just grinding it out. I wasn't getting wet any longer but heading north there was a bit of headwind.
In Bad Axe I needed to eat again and found a bar on the main street the had burgers and fries. The 3 people in the bar were very interested in my journey. Mostly people have trouble comprehending why one would ride across the country on a bicycle.
Leaving Bad Axe I knew I was in the final stretch. I also knew that Laurie was near by from location sharing so I was not surprised when she and her sisters passed and we had a little roadside reunion. An hour later I was at the house at PAB.
