Day 50 – Hancock to Baraga State Park (Total Miles = 821.65)

Oh…My…Hough…Ton…Legs!!

It took us 1 hour to go 3 miles. For those that prefer…that is 3 miles per hour!! For those runners out there…that is a 20 minute pace per mile. You speedsters…that is 0.05 miles per minute. You all get it, now? Our toughest climb to date!! I thought riding out of Copper Harbor was tough!! That was child’s play to leaving Houghton. Child’s Play, I tell ya!! As a matter of fact, our ride to Baraga State Park took us 6 hours and 43 minutes in the searing heat. We went 38.4 miles and ended with a 5.7 mph average speed.

A couple of positives on this day. First, we met Nathan. Nathan lived along the route, in Chassell Township, and saw us coming UP the road (not down the road). He waited for us to crest his hill so that he could talk with us. Nathan is an avid cyclist and is influential in the Houghton biking scene. Nathan made the mistake of telling us that he corroborated with Tour Da Yoop, Eh race director on route options. Nathan got the evil eye from me… $:\$ Seriously though, Nathan filled our water bottles, recounted the remaining route to Baraga State Park, and provided a really nice diversion from what lay directly in front of us. Second positive…we made it up what was directly in front of us…without stopping!

Third positive…we met Sam on the road. He flew by us about 5 miles out of Baraga. From our short greetings while riding, we knew we would see him at the campground. As it turned out, we had a reservation, but Sam did not. We offered to share our site and to our delight, he did! Sam was out for a long weekend with plans to meet his buddies for a ride to Copper Harbor. Haha!! Just wait until they ride out of there!! Sam has been a nature enthusiast all his life and is now a wilderness guide. He rode real light with only a few essentials. Sam went and bought some beer so we all enjoyed some conversation before heading to bed.

Day 50 done…and in the blog.