Day 32: One Month on the Road

One month ago today, I dipped my rear tire in the Atlantic and hit the road. It feels like both yesterday and a million years ago. I’ve been collecting a few stats on the trip, so here’s the one month update:

• Miles biked: 1494
• Flat tires: 6ish (there was a bad patch job in there that I’m not sure how to count)
• Jars of peanut butter eaten: 3
• States crossed: 6
• Books read: 6
• Post cards written: 18
• Nights stayed:
  • Friends/Family: 13
  • Camping: 12
  • Warm Showers: 2
  • Hotel: 5

Resting and Exploring

I had a nice, quiet morning today. Ann doesn’t drink coffee, but a neighbor, Bonnie, very generously made an extra cup for me. I enjoyed sipping coffee on the deck with Izzy and Ann and all the plants.

We went exploring a bit this afternoon. Ann works/volunteers at Interlochen Center for the Arts, which has a beautiful campus in the woods, so she gave us all (me, Bonnie, and Ann’s sister Cindy) a tour. Then we dropped Bonnie at home and Ann at her haircut and Cindy took me on a whirlwind tour of Traverse City. This included a preview of my route tomorrow, which was very helpful in planning. The city is really cute, with lots of old trees and houses, bike paths, shops, and restaurants. There’s an old state hospital that’s being restored beautifully and turned into mixed use development that’s quite cool.

Cindy sent Ann and I home with some meatballs to go with our pasta and some cupcakes for dessert, so we were happy campers! Cindy and Ann also have friends further along the route, so I have a place to stay and rest towards the end of the upper peninsula, which I am very excited about!