June 23, 2015. Three Rivers to Coldwater, MI. 55 Miles.

This day started out a little chilly--cool enough for me to wear a light jacket. It was another hilly day, but we're all strong enough to do this!

Bill chose to drive first again today, but got his bike out of the trailer to allow us easier access to ours. We have it down to a science now--take bikes out, air up tires, load bikes with water and other gear, take a photo, and pedal away around 8 AM. It's a nice system.

The first rest stop today was at a horse farm. I'm not sure why this one had blinders on. Any ideas? (Help me out here Lisa). There was no place to hide at the rest stop, so we stopped a little later to use a cornfield... fortunately there was no poison ivy on the way into the field. I am being very careful--the stuff is everywhere!

Martha and Malorie have both gotten very much stronger in the last couple of days! Neither had ever ridden multiple days in a row, and are adapting famously. Another cyclist took this photo of me, Toby and Martha soon after Tom found the truck. He passed it again today and I had to yell to get his attention. I wonder if he is subconsciously deliberately not seeing it? It sure is a beautiful ride and I would not want to stop riding in the middle of it!

 

 

We passed through Colon, the Magic Capital of the world. Harry Blackstone, the great illusionist, spent his summers here in the 1920s, dazzling townspeople with his shows. There is a magic festival here every August, and it is the home of the largest magician's supply company in the world of magic. It would have been fun to spend some time here, but we pedaled on.

We arrived at the Coldwater High School around 1:30, and Tom had found a prime spot for our tents. We set up ours, Tom's, Toby's and Martha's tents and by then I REALLY needed to eat lunch. We got back on the bikes and rode into town. We found Jeannie's diner just in time--they close at 3 PM and it was already 2:40!

We had a nice lunch and then rode back to the high school. It's been a bit of a struggle meeting everyone's dietary needs--Malorie does not eat meat and Toby does not eat bread. The vegetarian option (which Malorie signed up for) has been a little skimpy, and Toby has been eating a lot of omelets for lunch!