Lake George, MI to Bay City, MI; 68 miles, 5-6 mph SW, cloudy, 70-80’s
The day started cloudy and cooler than predicted as it had rained overnight. However, there was a big black cloud to the west that threatened rain and worse, with storms predicted later in the day. Funny (and lucky) thing, it never did rain while I was riding. That black cloud just seemed to sit there all day. It did finally storm late afternoon while we were eating dinner. So while it was humid, the sun never really came out so the temperatures were not as high as yesterday. The route joined the Pere Marquette Rail Trail in Clare and I rode it for 30 miles or so to Midland, MI. It is another well maintained paved trail with small towns along the way. Anytime the route goes through a larger city like Midland more attention is needed to follow the cue sheet as there are many turns to navigate through bike friendlier streets. Until of course one of those streets is under construction and closed. Then one relies on dead reckoning to get back on route (the phone is the last resort). I may have mentioned our Adventure Cycling route is coexistent with US Bike Route 20. The latter is well signed to make route finding easier. I have three wildlife observations from today. I happened to look over into a woods as I passed by to see a deer calmly sitting just off the road as though it had nothing better to do than watch the traffic go by. At one point I came upon a mass tiny frog (half an inch at best, maybe tree frogs?) migration across the road. I hope I did not end any frog lives prematurely. Lastly, it appears to be a good year for rabbits, at least along the bike trail. They have been breeding like, well, rabbits.
