Sunday, May 15th 2011

So we leave tomorrow. I feel like something is off, maybe I'm just bummed I didn't get much time to see friends around home and who knows when I'll be back, I think Christmas. But, I HAVE gotten some really good family time. My parents forced me to get the iPhone so they could track me, however, I had to stain my dad's deck for it.

My little brother and sister camped outside in the back yard with me, and I got to go to Alena's track meets and Lewis's band concert, I can't believe how talented they are. Alena is running 68's in her 400 and Lew is first chair for the trumpet.

I did get to go out to Lansing and stay with Courtney and Travis. I think it is impossible not to have the time of my life when I'm with them. We played wine jenga, Trav and I lost our keys and we had coffee in the sunshine.

So today is rainy, It is supposed to be rainy for the next two weeks. It's also raining in Bar Harbor with no sign of the Sun coming out. It's gonna be a rough start, but my mom did just buy me a whole bunch of food : ).

Transitions are always an awkward time, it's like letting go and opening up simultaneously. So many emotions I hate they emptiness I need to have to get through it, like the blank domino, giving up its' identity in order for something new to start...

Day 4- Curtis to Mackinaw

We got up at six because Zack never found his wallet so he had to take the bus. He hated it just as much as I did, can't believe 16 was already five years ago. Made and AMAZING egg sandwich and had coffee with Mike before the set me off. It was nice to be on the road by 7:30. It was gonna be a long day.

Going through Curtis in the morning was nice. I stopped at the old corner store my cousins and I used to play put put at then made my way down to highway 2. I had the wind to my back so that was nice. I made a few stops to walk around and stretch. My favorite is the rest stops that have the board with all the milages on them.

It was nice to stop and hike under the cut river bridge. Joe (my bike partner in crime) told me he met a guy who fell off it, over a hundred feet, landed in a soft pile of dirt and survived!

The hills going into St. Ignace were brutal, but going down sure was fun. Stopped at family dollar and bought $4.50 worth of food. Strapped the ramen noodles to the back of my bike and headed to Shepler's.

I waved as the boat was pulling out, it was cold so I was bummed I missed it, but they came back, it was just Mike practicing spinning in and docking. I watched for a while, he is a natural. Then went in and said hey to some old coworkers and made some food.

I looked out the window and see this guy starring at my bike. I knew it was my friend Zach and ran out to say hey. We got coffee and chatted in the office, a few others joined us, then I hopped over to the Island and back into Mackinaw City. It felt really good to be back at work and I was tempted, for a second, to skip the trip and tend to my bank account.

There wasn't much going on, too early in the season. However all the new changes looked great and it was refreshing to see the people who were up there. I ended up crashing at the Shack with Mike and Zach, all of us were pretty wiped out so it was a nice relaxing evening. Oh, and thanks Mike for doing my laundry, and Zach for making me dinner : ).

Miles: 67

Day 3- Hanging out in Curtis

Today was intensely windy and I really liked Mike and Marg so I decided to stay another day. Their 16 year old grandson also lives with them. He got back home from a friends after Mikegot done putting one of the boat launches in the frigid water. As soon as Zack got in his grandpa threw him a pair of waiters that were two feet to long, and told him to get in and help.

When they were done and Zack went in for breakfast, Mike, Marg and I sat out on the law and had a good talk. They have traveled all over. Once when they were in Germany a friend gave them tickets to a bed and breakfast. But what they didn't know was that it was at the top of the mountain. The train stopped at the base and the got on a "climbing" train. People started putting on winter coats, boots, snow pants, getting out their ski polls and putting on their hats. While all the natives skied from the train to the lodge, Mike and Marg trudged their way through the deep snow in the summers latest fashion.

If you look closely at the picture of the lake you will see som

ething in the water. That would be part of the dock that blew off and started sailing across the lake and Mike and Zack chasing after it in a canoe. Mike thought it would be shallow so jumped out then Zack had to stabilize the canoe so he could get back in

after he realized he was in over his head. I thought they were both going down. So the canoe failed, the rushed back and put the

fishing boat together and headed back out. The motor quite fifty yards from the dock and again, Mike jumped out and pulled them to safety.

Miles: 0

Later, Zack took me into town in the rhino to get gas and stuff for strawberry shortcake, but when we went to pay for gas, his wallet was gone, I stayed at the store as collateral...

We never found the wallet, backtracked, searched the field and tore apart the cabin. No wallet :(

They taught me a new game called UP. It's like scrabble except you can stack letters on top of words to change them and get more points. It got pretty intense and in the end, I got my butt kicked.

Day 2- Munising to Curtis

Last night was FREEZING. Kayla was smart and had two huge mattresses to sleep on and I had to fight the urge to shove her off and take them for myself ; ). It was really really cold when I had to get out of my sleeping bag, crawl over Kayla to get out of the tent and pee behind a tree, that's the worst.

Woke up with the sun and all I wanted to do was break down camp and get on the road, I didn't realize it was only five in the morning. So I was excited to hear the fire popping around seven and see Gordie getting it ready for breakfast. We packed up camp annihilated our food and were out of there by eight. They dropped me off at Scott's where I packed up my bike, left them a thank you and was on the road by nine.

The morning was crisp and clear. I knew I had to get to Curtis and a storm was expected and I did not want to meet in on the twenty-five mile long Seney Stretch. I washed up in a gas station and the wind picked up and tried to keep me from getting up the Wetmore hill. I stopped in Pamaida to get some headphones and they confirme

d it, the storm was coming, and someone didn't have a rain tarp....

I listened to Beautiful Boy, it got me through the stretch. I had about thirty miles to go and the storm was just over my shoulder. I debated on locking myself in the bathroom of M28 but knew I HAD to keep going, so I bought my self a chocolate bar and put my sorry butt back on the bike.

I really didn't think I was going to make it. I stopped at the bar in Germfask and the checked the weather channel for me. The storm was right over our heads, I guess I already knew that. I called Marg, the lady I would be staying with. She seemed really nice, but I had caught her off guard, she thought I wasn't coming until next week and she had somewhere to be at six but insisted I come. She even offered to come pick me up.

The road from Germfask to Curtis is probably the hilliest road in the Upper Peninsula. I was hungry and grumpy and the hills kept coming. I was half way up a steep one and asked a boy in his driveway where a certain road was. He had no idea, crap... thirty seconds later, there was the road. I found the house and Marg and Mike met me and helped me bring in all my stuff. I liked them instantly!

It was 5:34 and Marg invited me to the girls night she was going to at six. I hopped in the shower, hopped in the car, she picked up a friend and we were on our way to Chamberlin's, a well known bed and breakfast.

The place was beautiful! It had once been an old train station that was now adorned by a white wrap around covered porch that sat on the lake. There were lots of people, wine, and appetizers. Marg and her friend introduced me to their friends, dinner and desert was AMAZING. By the end of it we were all ready for bed.

Miles: 58

Day 1- Marquette to Munising

I'm in Curtis, MI sitting outside on the dock of my mom's friends parents. The trip so far has been AMAZING. Leaving school was a little sad, had my last meal in the MP with Nick and Nabbers, they are always good company.

I checked out of the dorms, took the mountain bike over to the house and started packing up the trucker (the touring bike). I had way to much stuff, it's soo heavy, there is no way I'm going to be able to take my camera stuff on the big trip.

The day was perfect, fifty degrees and not a cloud in the sky. My first stop was Lakeshore, a local Marquet

te bike shop I'm partial to. Matt gave me a mirror he had laying around whichworked perfect with my bar end shifters and I headed out. It was good to have the shop see me off.

Within the first two miles I met Keith, a man in his late seventies. he has done some tours on his mountain bike in Wisconsin, we rode along the bike path and chatted about trips, family and life before he reached his lunch stop, wished me luck and I continued on my way.

In Munising, I stopped at a softball game where a local photographer made his way over to me and we got talking. He told me stories of Tom, a cyclist from Colorado who who does a trip across the States every year. Says it only takes him two weeks and he is on his thirty fifth tour. Then about Frida, who travels the world and who's last adventure took her to Antarctica.

Kayla and her parents met me in Munising. Her parents happen to be some of the coolest people with the best names, Gordie and Delphine. They wanted to come help Kayla move, but all the hotels were booked. I needed someone to stay with in Munising and Kayla and I had been wanting to camp, so she asked her parents and they AGREED! However, the place we wanted to camp was thirty miles out of my way and it was late. Scott and his wife wanted to help me out so they picked up my bike and let me store in in their garage. What great people!

After we dropped off the bike, Kayla, Gordie, Delphine and I crammed into the car, Kayla and I in the back sharing a seat with my bike bags on our laps. We drove out to miners castle and hiked a bit. It was chilly but beautiful.

Then we got to the little dirtroad to go to Little Beaver campground. We drove, down, down, twists and turns and down some more. We got there and the place was PACKED. There was one spot left so we set up camp and Kayla and Gordie saved the day by getting a fire going. We chowed down on snacks then hit they sack.

Miles: 44

Biking Beginnings

My mom used to train for triathlons, then I came along.... but she didn't use that as an excuse to quit. When she was pregnant with me, I replaced her drag suit in the pool and after I was born I was just some added weight to the back of her bike or on top of her kick board.

She likes to tell the story of my first time riding a bike. We were still in the apartments out in Flint and we picked up an old bike someone was throwing out. I was so excited, riding it around and around. My mom was across the courtyard with the camera filming me, when I went to turn, but turned the wrong way and disappeared down some cement steps.

I just loved bikes, my cousins and I used to decorate them for the 4th of July parade and I liked to ride mine down the hill at my dads. Then we had a day during cross country camp were we mountain biked through trails and I feel in love and bought one of my own. I hated riding the bus and would always beg my mom to let me ride to school, she never let me until high school.

Once a friend and I got lost and ended up riding forty or so miles through Flushing, downtown Flint, and finally back into creek. I couldn't believe we covered all that distance on bikes! For my attention span that was for-ev-or in a car.

Then then triathlons came along in college and I bought my first road bike and my addiction grew. I loved how easily the skinny tires flew down the pavement and the feeling of clip less pedals.

I got to be friends with a few of the guys at the bike shop and they would always take me out to the trails or for longer road rides. But Up North, where I live now, I have a hard time finding people to ride with so I started doing trips on my own. Started with Mackinaw to Grand Lake, then Mackinaw to Marquette, and just recently Marquette home. The feeling of knowing I powered every single inch of travel is so rewarding. It also feels good to know I saved about one hundred dollars riding home from school rather than driving, enough to pay for a bridesmaid dress in my big sister's wedding.

Each trip leaves me wanting more. "Well now that wasn't so bad Grace, what's next?" says my mind. Traveling is one of the greatest teachers. Our mind lives in a world of what we know, or think we know. However, we live in a world that is filled with things we don't know, and things we don't know we don't know and the only way we will ever know them, is to let ourselves go. Forrest Gump's mamma was right, life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. But why would you stick with the box of chocolates when the chocolate factory is next door and you have a golden ticket?