2010 Bike Trip

July 13, 2010 10:19 am

This is the Scenic Motel where we stayed last night. It probably once had panoramic views of the meadow and river, before BP, McDonald’s, and other buildings went in across the street. There’s a backhoe out there constructing yet another building as I type.

The motel is owned by Marge and Denny Nurski, an accommodating couple. They helped us with directions for the day.

This morning, we went next door to the Rose City Cafe for breakfast. The place was busy, which I found unusual for a small town. Nine tables were filled, with one waitress serving all. Try the French Toast.

It was a straightforward day, entirely on highways. At a Marathon gas station near the junction of Michigan 32 and 55, we had some lunch. The huge grinder sandwich was made from an entire loaf of foccacia, and loaded with hot meat. For only $7.41 including tax, it beat Quizno’s and Subway hands down. Elliot and I split one, and only ate a quarter sandwich each. We packed the rest for the road.

There was just a single bathroom at this gas station for both sexes. It had the usual condom machine, but also had a scale inside. I couldn’t fathom why, unless you wanted to do a before and after to see how much you left behind in the bathroom.

At Alger (AL-jer), we stopped at the gas station / jerky outlet. They had Buffalo, Venison, Elk, Aligater (that’s how they spelled it), and Kangaroo, along with the usual smoked fish. We already had Venison, so I got some Elk. The woman there said it was a different animal, but it looked like a different size of the same thing to me. Like a raton in Spanish – mouse, rat, same thing.

Although the ride was straight, the day was warm. We stopped at an A&W in Standish for root beer floats.

Cruising down highway 13 on the final leg of the day, we some something that looked like a water park. It was huge. I believe this was the Mr. Chips pickling plant. Moving on bicycles, it took 2 minutes to cross the length of it.

When we got close to Bay City, I started noticing motels. Either of these would have worked.

However, we went into town, by the commercialized strip with all the fast food, and got a room at the Euclid Motel. Single King bed, $55. Wi-fi, a/c, pool, in-room coffee, fridge, microwave, hair dryer, ironing board, continental breakfast.

Total mileage for the day: 60.3

July 14, 2010 9:55 am

The breakfast at the Euclid Motel was not bad for a budget place. Cereal and milk, donuts, coffee, orange juice. Better than the Downtown Motel back at Gaylord.

I went out on errands this morning, first to 7-11 to get cash, then to the Totally Clean laundromat. It should have been called the Totally Clean Out Your Wallet laundromat. The small washers were $2.25, and the dryers only gave 5 minutes for 25 cents. After 15 minutes on hot, our clothes were still a little damp, so I packed them up. We’ll air dry them on the racks.

We’ll check out of the motel, soon.