Kalkaska to Evart, MI

June 14

Miles Traveled: 61 miles

Today was a day for bike problems. We traveled about 61 Up to this point we have been very fortunate to avoid problems with our bikes. Today my lack of attention the previous day caught up with us. We had ridden through some puddles and sandy spots on the bike trail. Our chains and derailleurs were all full of grit and grime. We were having problems shifting and finally at one point my chain just kept jumping around so much that I had to stop. One of the links was frozen up. Fortunately the guys at East Coast Bicycle Academy had given me a simple link replacement and a chain tool. I pulled out the bad link and inserted a new one. We limped into Evart, MI and then picked up some Isopropyl Alcohol and a cheap toothbrush. I spent the evening cleaning our chains and derailleurs of all the road grime and sand.

Our day was a good one overall. We started off following M66 for the first 40 miles. We passed through some beautiful country. Down to the Manistee River and back up and out. And then I hit the dog. Yes, I hit a dog. One of those “little yippee dogs” as Jan and my mom would say. We were coming up on this one house out in the country and I looked up and saw this little dog just come barreling out for all he was worth. Jan took off and the dog zeroed in on me. I could tell that if I tried to take off the little yipper was going to get tagged by my trailer. So I hit the brakes and sure enough he ran headlong into my leg/peddle/derailleur. As soon as he hit he got back on his feet and high-tailed it back into his driveway. The owner, an older lady who was working in her yard looking quite embarrassed, called out the dogs name, as if to say “I can’t believe what you just did. You’ve never done anything like that before. What got into you?” I just got back on my bike, chose not to say anything and went on my way. No profound thoughts on the whole incident, just fun to say I hit a dog on my bike. Oh! and to my knowledge no “little yippee dogs” were injured in the making of this story. Just a little dazed and confused.

We had some good hills today, especially after we got off M-66. We passed some nice farms and the terrain actually reminded me a lot of the southern Wayne/Holmes County area of Ohio.