Today was the first day that I woke from my night’s sleep not feeling well. I had a headache and that was making my stomach upset. I took a couple of Advil and Mary had brought me a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts and a donut. Apparently Dunkin Donuts is to the east coast what Starbucks is to the west coast. I didn’t even know Dunkin Donuts was still in existence. Both were good but hard for me to eat with my headache. We loaded and went to breakfast where I tried to eat some more but was still unsure how much to try to force down. Then we hit the road. As soon as we started riding I immediately began to feel better.

The route was flat and not much wind. All of us were somewhat tired from the previous day’s antics, but little by little we came back to life. We passed one beautiful, well-kept farmhouse after another all day. The first SAG was at an Artesian Well. On well! The Stop A Lot Team stopped in Brown City for a Sobe and a sandwich. We never pass a town without eating.

Mary was riding unusually strong today. She was pulling consistently at 20-21 mph and that was even into a mild headwind. We decided we would provide her Dunkin Donuts coffee and a donut every morning. I followed her after one of her long fast pulls and, as she drifted to the back, I yelled to her that I hope she didn’t expect that kind of speed from me because she would be sorely disappointed.

Gerard the mechanic joined us after SAG 2 at mile 62. Gerard is an excellent musician and he and Danny sang songs for the next 20 miles. All of this time we were moving down the road at about 20 mph. I moved forward in the line so I could put in an occasional harmony part or bass line. As anyone who knows me well can attest, I am terrible at the lyrics.

As we got into Port Huron we rode alongside the lake. This provided cooler temperatures and a bit of a breeze off the lake. Just before we got to the motel we were stopping at a red light when Mary went down. She had bumped into the back of Steve’s rear tire and tipped over. As she fell, she dove for the grass on the side of the curb and made it. Once again she yelled out, ”I’m OK, I’m OK.” Gerard, the mechanic, checked her bike out and declared everything was OK except her chain needed lubing. Her squeaky chain had been driving us nuts all day. All in all we managed to arrive at the Holiday Inn in good shape.

After cleaning up and eating lunch at the local McDonalds, Steve and I walked a mile to the lake shore. It was a beautiful and we had a great view of the bridge we will cross into Canada tomorrow. Most of the people on the ride are from back east, so more and more friends and family are dropping by to visit riders. It is fun for me to observe the happy reunions. Gee, I wish all of my family and friends could drop in and see me. But good news! Jay, one of my riding buddies, will join me in Niagara Falls and ride with me for a day. How cool is that?

Well, thanks for joining me. Always keep the rubber side down. See you on the road in Canada tomorrow.

Click here to see more pictures from today!