Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Day 38- Birch Run, MI - July 26th 2006
Weather: Cloudy to rainy, 84Location: Birch Run (from Mount Pleasant, MI)
Miles per day: 75
Average miles per hour: 13.78
Elevation climb: negligible
Blizzards/Ice Cream to date: 28 (Reeses' - an old favorite) . With just 2 weeks to go, there is discussion on the future of my Blizzard consumption. Watch this space!
Flat Tires to date: 1
Michigan has been hit hardest by the downward economic spiral of the automobile industry. Both the urban and rural areas are noticably poor. However, with a strong indian community, Casinos seem to be the main opportunity for growth, Soaring Eagle has been a lifeline for Mount Pleasant. I am not sure how long this will last.
We had the luxury of a late start today (7:30 am) as it was anticipated to be an 'easy' day. Promises of tailwinds turned out to be false but with just a little headwind and flat terrain it was (admittedly) one of our easier days. With a flat tire, we lost some time but also discovered the vicious Michigan Mosquito that chomped away at us while fixing the flat.
The biggest challenge of the day was navigating the 'Michigan Pothole', these are rather large poorly patched parts of the road that physically jolt your body every inch of the way. A mixed blessing, part of the road had just been repaved with loose gravel so there weren't potholes but rather treacherous miles of slippery stone. Take your pick!
There were many vegetable farms along the route today including asparagus, corn, soybean, beets, beans (green and lima), pumpkin and cucumbers. As one field was being cleared by automated trucks, we joined the locals to pick up the leftover cucumubers.
As we head East with more miles under our belt, we are picking up Media interest. TV, Radio and Newspaper reporters are becoming the norm. Many of us are raising money for charity. My cause: Save The Children. For donations, see link to the left of my blog.
