Day 1 - 63 miles today - Hard ride

Stone house we encountered

Keith and I drove up to Michigan yesterday. We met my son Steve in Detroit for lunch and then headed to Alpena. We arrived at out hotel and checked in. I will be leaving my truck here until we finish our ride.
We got up early and were on our way by 8:30AM. We headed to the harbor so we could start our ride at Thunder Bay.
We found the trail and headed north. This trail is fairly new and is not compacted as firm as the trails we are used to. After about 15 miles we decided to leave the trail as it was too soft and go on the highways. We were sailing along and then turned north into a head wind. The cold front came through and dropped the temperature from the 80"s down to the high 60's It was a tough going but we made it to Roger's City and had lunch. Lunch was a little disappointing. It was pricey with very small portions.

A River!

 By now we had 39 miles in and debated what to do. Finally we decided to go on to Onaway where we had motel reservations. It was another 24 miles. Of course, we were back into a head wind as the wind shifted from the north to the west. We had to also do a lot of hill climbing but we made and checked into our $47 motel which we both agree is a bargain.
We showered and went to an excellent dinner and then walked to a DQ for dessert.

Onaway made all the wooden  steering wheels for the auto industry at one time.   

Early to be bed for us!!