Day 40: High Highs. Low Lows.

Low: I woke up early to strong winds and some showers. I saw a bigger front was coming through so quickly got packed up and out of the campground so I wouldn’t be taking down my tent in the rain. I didn’t even fill up my water or eat breakfast.

High: There was a really great coffee shop that was open in Boulder Junction. I got a big latte, a breakfast sandwich, and French toast sticks and hunkered down for a couple hours, thus avoiding the worst of the rain.

High: the bike path out of Boulder Junction was pristine and quiet.

Low: I took a spill. I was late to a turn and slipped off the path and tumbled heels over head.

High: I fell into grass and was totally fine. I had a really minor scrape on my knee that didn’t even bleed.

Low: Bubba was not fine. I went to get rolling again and he did not roll. The rear wheel was lightly taco’ed.

High: Dan, my warm showers host tonight, got my message asking about availability for rescuing and he was available!

Low: Walking back to the road and along the county highway trying to hitchhike west so Dan wouldn’t have to drive so far.

High: A couple of the guys who maintain the bike path were trailering a bunch of bikes to the bike path benefactors house and picked me up. Apparently the head of Uline has a lot of property in the area and has bought/donated a bunch of land for bike paths and parks that are all maintained like golf courses. They dropped me off at Rest Lake Park, which had the Taj Mahal of picnic pavilions. Cushioned teak furniture, a fireplace, cut flowers, Adirondack chairs, a giant skylight, clean as can be bathrooms with running water. Wild.

High: Dan rescued me and we were off to Bay City Cycles in Ashland! We chatted about bike touring and the world and dairy farming on the drive (Dan is a retired dairy farmer). I took him out to lunch as a thank you while they fixed my bike.

High: Fifth lake! The bike store was up on Lake Superior.

High: We made it to Dan and Jeanne’s house on a lake. I took a nice shower and rested for a while, then hung out on their deck sipping beer that Dan brewed. We had a delicious dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce, salad with greens from the garden, and strawberries and ice cream for dessert.