Evan Malinchock
The morning was like any other, Brian and I woke at the crack of dawn to roll out of our warmshowers hosts home. We soaked up the chilly morning air knowing full and well that today was going to be one of the hottest of the trip so far.
Pothole left!
After a mile or two I still felt the lag in my legs that typically disappears after a mile or two of soft pedaling. For another twenty miles I chugged my way into Bay City (our desired breakfast stop) in discontent knowing the rigor of the day ahead of me. It was here that I loaded up on calories, water, and the all important caffeine to get me through the day. Once we left city limits the sun seemed to intensify and the wind seemed to blow in our face just enough to make the biking hard and the breeze not refreshing in the least bit. The day was going to be a slog.
After a quick lunch in the plastic lawn chairs that were for sale in the shade of the Dollar General, we hit the road for a 30 mile finish in Brown City. On the outskirts of Brown City we ran into a massive haunted Mansion, the Bruce Haunted Mansion, to see a face staring back at us through the main second story window. After seeing this figure run off, a pasty white bald headed boy poked out through the front door and gave us the stink eye until we left the premises, we definitely didn't need to be asked twice.
Bruce Haunted Mansion
Once we rolled into town, before we could even get out of our chamois we pulled into a Mexican restaurant where Brian and I feasted on burritos the size of both of our heads combined. It was safe to say that we left clean plates for the kitchen to clean. Over dinner there was talk of how excited we were for Canada tomorrow and our break day two days from now. We are unbelievably excited for this massive milestone in our bike ride.