Safely Home

 

I’m a little remiss (late, truth be told) in getting this post out but I’ve been putting together the video for our MUP 2022 ride which you can watch below. When last we talked we had made the trek from Munising to Manistique (why do so many Michigan towns start with the letter “T”? - Marquette, Munising, Manistique, Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island?) where we had been greeted by the beautiful East Breakwater Lighthouse completed in 1916. The next morning we rolled on out toward the small (very, very small) community of Chatham some 60+ miles away. Chatham was our only stop away from the shore and was also the only town (hamlet?) that didn’t offer weary cyclists showers after completing their rides in the sometimes sweltering humidity that makes up a wonderful summer day in the Michigan sun. Although, according to one of the signs in Chatham, one business could wash both your laundry and your car at

the same location, but for folks looking for a long-awaited scrub-a-dub there was none to be found. What to do when that luxurious stream of hot water is missing from the hygiene equation? Well, American Ingenuity to the rescue of course with a novel product called - I kid you not - a Crud Cloth - that  purports to actually provide a waterless shower… and actually delivers on that promise.

Apart from shower woes Chatham is actually a lovely little town (hamlet?) that still manages to have one of the best ice cream shops in the UNIVERSE. Granted, ANY ice cream would taste wonderful after turning the pedals for some 4 hours, but still, Kudos to Mama Cow’s to opening on a day they normally would be closed (not a lot of traffic in Chatham mid-week) to serve up scoops (One? Two? Three?) along with pulled pork sandwiches to fill the mouths of hungry cyclists. And yeah, its hard to bellyache about the lack of running water when said belly is satisfyingly full (stuffed) of such tasty treats.

Sadly, the next morning would be last of this year’s ride and would return us to our starting point in Marquette. Still, surprises awaited including a section of the route that turned to dirt and featured a little hike-a-bike which is something most road cyclists dread. For Colorado boys (and girls) like me hike-a-bike is nothing new. Heck, some of my mountain bike jaunts feature far more of the hike part than the bike part so trudging along on a dirt roadway pushing an expensive two-wheeled machine designed to take you anywhere is nothing new.

Soon cyclists found themselves back on the lakeshore path on which we had left Marquette just days earlier. They sun was shining, temps were in the 70’s, humidity was in the 90’s, and since all the Crud Cloths were used back in Chatham, we were all looking forward to the magnificence of the Superior Dome’s locker rooms and shower facilities awaiting us at the finish. The Superior Dome is the indoor stadium of Northern Michigan University (I had never heard of N.M.U. before doing the ride) and the folks of Michigan didn’t spare any expense in making sure the students of the far North got the very best facilities money could buy. So thank you Michigan taxpayers, your efforts were much appreciated nby some very hot, sweaty, and stinky cyclists rolling back into town.

A special Thank You is also due to our Tour Director Neal without whom we literally would have been lost, the fewer than normal but still wonderful volunteers who took immaculate care of us at every turn, the League of Michigan Bicyclists for doing rides like this in the first place, and last but certainly not least the host communities of Marquette, Munising, Manistique, and Chatham for putting up with us during our stays with you. Many of the folks up this way seem to still be trying to wrap their heads around why anyone would voluntarily climb aboard a tiny saddle and pedal hundreds of miles up hill and over dale in the heat of summer. The answer is simple - we may be willing to hike-a-bike in the middle of July but I for one am not coming back to do it again (lovely as it may be) in the middle of January. 

Here’s the video of our two-wheeled travels. May it give you some sense of what MUP 2022 was like. It may not get you off the couch, but if it does anything it will make you appreciate hot, steamy water all the more. Now, where’s that ice cream scoop?