July 30, Stage 24

July 30, Ludington, MI to Hudsonville (Grand Rapids), MI, 110 miles, 2500 climbing feet. Temperature high of 82--great day for riding, 6-7 mph headwind most of the day that was not too bad. A few hills out of Ludington, then rollers, then the last 40 miles were pretty flat. Route went through forest-lined areas that were gorgeous, then 12 bike trail miles, then about 20 on this wonderful, little-traveled winding, gentle up and down road through forests, then along shouldered and non-shouldered busy highways. The surprise was that the ride was supposed to be 121 miles, and ended at 111. The concern is that we will have a surprise 10 extra miles added to tomorrow's route. Quality Inn tonight. Yesterday, the 29th, was the Badger Car-Ferry day from Manitowoc to Ludington, a 2-hour preparation and loading time that embarked on a 4-hour trip from 2 p.m. Central to 7 p.m. Eastern as we switched time zones. Beautiful motel right on the Lake Michigan coast. The day and trip were welcome. I immediately sat down in one of the recliner chairs and was out like a light. The Badger had bingo, a game room, a quiet room, a gift shop and everything that one might want for lake-going. Badger is the last coal-fired ship on Lake Michigan, about 60 years old. An unexpected problem was that my bike computer stopped working. A new battery did not solve the problem. Trying to follow a cue sheet with many turns at exact mileages, without a computer would be a problem. My bike-shop-employee roommate guessed that Walmart might have a computer. After a few calls to the Ludington Walmart and attempts to explain what a bike computer was, the electronics guy told me that they had what I needed. Then, at 8 p.m., do I get my bike out of storage and ride the 3.4 miles to Walmart or take a taxi? Rode out to Walmart, got the computer, along with a couple of Burger King grilled chicken sandwiches for my roommate and me, since we had not had dinner, got back to the room at 9:15. An advantage of having a roommate who works who has the best job in the world, working in a bike shop, and who specializes in installing bike computers, is that he took over and had the new computer set up and installed in about 10 minutes. I would have spent about 45 minutes reading and decifering the manual. The computer worked great today. Another nagging problem is that the hip bursitis problem that I eased with a Cortisone injection 2 weeks ago in Missoula is starting to come back. Fortunately, it is not a problem while riding. Hopefully, I can ward it off with the I-Vitamin for another week. The neck pain was non-existent today. The massage probably helped greatly. Should be a relatively flat day tomorrow. Heading to Coldwater, MI.