Leaving the Lake

I didn't visit much with my hosts last night (outside of chatting at dinner) as they were busy with their own things, which worked out fine as I had my own stuff to attend to (like route planning and getting mildew out of my gloves I had foolishly bagged while damp). I intended to be asleep by 10 last night, but it took me until 10:30, and I couldn't drag myself out of bed before 7. I'm going to try to do better tonight.

There was no wonderfully solitary bike path today, sadly. But most of the time I was on roads with either good shoulder or little enough traffic I was okay without. I took a little time to see the beach in Ludington, then headed on from the little town. Google directed me to a short stretch of dirt road on Quarterline Road, but it was so well smoothed it was almost better than pavement, and that was the only off pavement I did all day. I stopped for awhile in a park in Manistee to enjoy a view of the river and of Manistee Lake. Then I continued on north along the lakeshore. Despite being right next to the lake, and on a road called Lakeshore drive, for most of it trees, or sometimes Lakefront houses, blocked most the lake view most the time. Onekema and its sizeable lake that seemed tiny connected to Michigan (it advertised itself as "A Two Lake Town") was another nice little stopping point. I continued on the Lakefront as far as Arcadia, having to climb a decent hill on the way there, then getting to top out at 36mph (and I could have gone faster if I hadn't wimped out and braked a little around a turn) on the way down into town.

Embarrassingly, the little hill I climbed yesterday on the way into Ludington was not the monster Roger had warned me about. I clearly wasn't listening well enough. The one he was telling me about was just north of Arcadia. I was tempted, oh so very tempted to keep going along M22 on the lake so I could try my mettle against it. But it didn't make sense for my route and would have not only added the time of climbing it, especially if I did end up needing to walk, but it also would have added miles to my day from not being able to angle at all on my way to Interlochen. So I wimped out, and turned inland at Arcadia.

The wind was coming from the East and I really felt it for the first time as I went inland, but it wasn't so bad. There was a little more climbing to get up from Arcadia, then it was smooth sailing from there. I had let myself run a little low on water by the time I hit the little town of Copemish, and I stopped at a park there to refill and eat some food. Then, aware of the forecasted storms (that have yet to come) and wanting to be in for the night, I rode the last 15 miles hard and with barely a stop. Karlin Road for a while lacked any shoulder and was surprisingly busy (I had two semis waiting on passing cars in order to go around me at one point), but at the tiny town of Karlin itself it gained a decent shoulder at it was easy going from there.

Tonight I am at Creekside Cottages. It's a cool business run by a couple ladies (who I have not gotten to meet in person; I called ahead and the door was left open for me), a hostel in rustic cabins (a bunk room and lounge in a main building and then two private cabins). What's really neat is that they offer the space free to Couchsurfers and Warmshowers guests for a night, as a kindness to fellow travellers and also as a way to get good advertisement for their business. So yeah, here it is for what it's worth, Creekside Cottages is awesome and if you're ever in Interlochen, this is where you should give your business to.

It's nice having some solitude again tonight. I think I shall read a little, then try to get to sleep on time.