GreatLakes

Day 2

Friday, 29 May 2009
Superior, WI to Bayfield, WI
80.3 miles, 5h50m, 13.7 mph
Elapsed Time: 7h18m, Max speed: 35.7mph
Total Climbing: 2423ft, Max elevation: 1021ft
Total mileage: 89.0

For dinner last night , Linda and I drove back in to Duluth and visited the trendy Canal Place District. That's the neighborhood where all the trendy restaurants are in old warehouse and industrial buildings. I had Fish 'n Chips at Hell's Kitchen. After that on top of the Galleybuster, Linda had to wheelbarrel me back to the hotel.

I was still full when I woke up, so I barely had any breakfast at the free buffet--only coffee, juice, and a muffin. Then off to really start the ride. Conditions were favorable.

Old Glory says, "Tailwind, baby!"

I started out on the bike path that ran along the lakeshore. It might have been called the Lakeshore Trail, but I doubt it. It was cold, so I wore a jacket and glove liners. Although it was sunny, I kept them on most of the way to Bayfield.

There are many rails around here. This is a rail-trail.

After a few miles on the trail, I turned left onto Route 13--the road that took me all the way to Bayfield. Early on, the road was nice, and it usually had a shoulder.

Route 13. Early on.

Later though, Route 13 got worse. There were these spine-jarring cracks that opened up every 10 yards or so. That got really old in a hurry. I hope the rest of the ride isn't like this. It's been 4 hours since I finished riding and I still feel those bumps.

One of those spine-jarring cracks in the road.

The scenery was not that interesting for the first 40 miles or so. Then there was a wayside that had a sweeping view of the lake. Linda caught up with me there and we walked down to the lake on a little path.

Looking west.

Looking east.

Then I touched Lake Superior. I hope to literally touch all five Great Lakes on this trip.

Touching Lake Superior. One down, four to go.

After that, the scenery returned to not-so-interesting. The riding was easy with the tailwind, but the road got hillier as I got further east. I stopped for lunch at Cornucopia, where the food was plentiful, and I had a turkey sandwich and fries. After that the terrain got really hilly. There were a few long grinds followed by long descents, punctuated by those spine-jarring cracks.

I rolled in to Bayfield at around 2:30, and Linda directed me to the Harbor's Edge Motel where she had set us up. We took the car out to the Apostle Islands Visitor Center at Sand Bay and poked around there. Took some pictures.

Like this one.

Finally, back to town and dinner. I was reasonable this time--a broiled Lake Superior Whitefish fillet and a baked potato....and ice cream.

Tomorrow is Linda's last day. She will help me get to Ironwood, Michigan, and then she has to head back to Duluth for her return flight. Starting Sunday I will have to carry all my gear. Uggh. I just hope I have a tailwind.

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