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Day 1 - to Michigan City, IN 103.92 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 2 - to South Haven, MI 79.52 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 3 - to Muskegon, MI 80.45 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 4 - to Ludington, MI 100.43 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 5 - to Beulah, MI 87.28 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 6 - to Northport, MI 80.44 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 7 - to Traverse City, MI 74.11 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 8 - to Petoskey, MI 77.87 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 9 - to Mackinaw City, MI 59.64 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 10 - Mackinac Island (rest day)
Day 11 - to Manistique, MI 107.17 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 12 - to Escanaba MI 69.59 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 13 - to Green Bay, WI 116.43 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 14 - to Sturgeon Bay, WI 64.02 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 15 - to Sister Bay, WI 75.64 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 16 - to Manitowoc, WI 107.88 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 17 - to Milwaukee, WI 87.64 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 18 - to Gurnee, IL 67.71 miles	gpx	kml	map
Day 19 - to Wheaton, IL 77.31 miles	gpx	kml	map

Finally home after 1517 miles. That averages to 80 miles per day and included 5 century legs of 100 mile or more. Things couldn't have gone much smoother. Most of the credit goes to Karen for providing such great logistic and emotional support to keep me going - especially during a couple of really tough days.

The ride started out backtracking to the bike path 6.5 miles to the east. Temperatures were pleasant in the low 60s at the start under partly cloudy skies. I knew I would shortly be on familiar routes and soon after getting back on the path I saw the familiar marking for the North Shore Century, which will run the next day. I have ridden it in the past, so seeing the marking was like visiting an old friend.


Proceeding through the north shore communities, I saw the Lake Michigan Circle Tour sign for one of the last times, so I had to get a picture of that to remind me of the only persistent marker throughout the entire trip. I often traveled the same roads as this tour.


Once I on lake shore path in Chicago, the distant outline of the giant ferris wheel at Navy Pier beaconed me onward to close the loop started 19 days ago. As it grew larger and larger, the anticipation and the magnitude of my accomplishment started sinking in.


Finally getting there was cause for celebration, but of course there was no one to celebrate with - except for one cyclist that commented to me "Wow, you have a computer on you bike". I replied "Yes, I needed it, as a matter of fact, I just completed a ride around Lake Michigan this very minute using it!" There were plenty of hand waves and hellos along the way, but no conversations. So this was the only exchange I had with a cyclist the entire trip, as we chatted for several blocks as we rode west until we went our separate ways.


There was one detour on Augusta which was closed for a carnival, so I just rode the sidewalk. At least it provided me a opportunity for a pit stop, something that I didn't expect on the stretch from the lake shore until hitting DuPage county.


Getting to the Prairie Path, I was welcomed by a brand new sign erected in Maywood. Although it is no longer the official trailhead, it still represents a well known milestone for me - I refer to it as the gauntlet of broken glass - the last real chance to get my only flat tire for the trip. Fortunately, I succeeded, but got a start in Berkeley when a really weird sound convinced me something very wrong happened with my from wheel - the spokes or something with the rim - but after stopping, nothing seemed to be wrong. It must have been something I rolled over and then temporally got caught in the front fork. I had visions of walking my bike the last 10 miles home rather than sacrificing my primary goal of never putting the bike on the car except to cross to the Michigan Upper Peninsula.


Arriving at home, it was time for the celebration to begin!










One last thing. Karen insisted that I retire my gloves that were well worn before the start of the trip, but gave most of what was left of their life during the Gustav deluge on day 3.

Getting further south and closer to home energized me today. An early morning business meeting was followed by a leisurely breakfast at the hotel restaurant. A shorter ride today also meant I could get a later start. This allowed bare fingers and arms at the start of the ride for the first time since day 1 - a perfect occasion to break out a brand new shirt. Temperature started in the mid 60s and rose into the 70s. I still had to contend with a headwind of 12 mph though.


The first leg of the Oak Leaf Trail lead through downtown Milwaukee past the Art Museum.











After winding through some downtown streets the southern segment of the bike path proved to be more like the Glendale surface (horrible) in many spots, but it did have its bright spots. I was amused by the painted wavy blue line bike lane through the yacht club packing lot.











Continuing on past the Oak Leaf Trail, I came across this waterfall that presented and interesting visual effect.


The connector routes to the remaining two bike paths for the day both provided some unanticipated situations. For the first, the street where I expected the trailhead to exist was not there. I had to double back and try the next cross street, which fortunately turned out to be correct. This route was the only "last minute" change I made to the entire trip, opting to switch to a couple of crushed limestone paths on the last two legs of the course. Unfortunately, I must have not been careful enough to double or triple check the route. Thus, this careless mistake in route planning occurred.











Prior to reaching the last path that continued through Illinois, I had to ride through a connector route through Kenosha. Well, one indication that I may be in for trouble was that the bike route sign pointed left at the trailhead whereas my route took me right. The street turned out to be a four lane highway that was pumped with more traffic due to a detour from a different major highway. Throw in a miserably poor surface road and this created a perfect recipe for trouble. Sure enough some yahoo with road rage practically side swiped me as the passenger threw a can or something at me - trying to knock me off my bike I presume. Maybe I should feel fortunate that I only encountered one terrorist on this trip. Anyway, crossing the state line gave me a further sense of security - at least I know the nature of the lunatics in my home state - and how appropriate for the state line road to welcome me!




The path through Illinois may not have been as picturesque, but it felt familiar and at home to me.

Today was another tale of two rides - streets and trails. The temperature was mild starting in the mid 50s at dawn and rising to the mid 60s. A 10+ mph headwind slowed the pace from yesterday. I would rather have done the additional 20 miles again if I could trade the headwind for another tailwind.


The first half was highlighted by the soft early morning light on a rural setting.







In order to pace myself against the wind, I took a short break for a Cliff Bar after entering the Sheboygan city limits. I was amused at this more rustic version of an ad bench - much more subtle than the garish ones in Chicago. And yes, that is my gratuitous portable toilet shot peeking out behind the fence in the background. I don't think I have ever been in a town where the streets were so consistently poor for cycling. Fortunately, I stumbled upon a bike path along the lake shore that paralleled my planned route, providing a brief respite from the cracks and bumps.







After zig-zagging south and west, I finally hooked up to the Ozaukee Interurban Trail where I enjoyed a quiet and peaceful 30 mile ride, mostly without the hassle of dealing with traffic.




















I was rather disappointed with the state of the bike paths leading up to the Hilton hotel we were staying at for the night. The park setting had some splendid views of the river, but the ride was crap. I sure hope the log tomorrow is in better condition.







The day ended with some necessary maintenance to replace the cleat on my right shoe. My voice recorder is also on the fritz and I worked to salvage some of the recordings. I will have to wait until I get home to see if I can overcome the flawed software built in to the recorder/MP3 player.


Anyway, the day ended on an uplifting note with a visit to cousin Jeanette, Greg, and Liz (and pup Miles).

The day started out at the crack of dawn turning east put the sun and its glare directly in front of me.


My planned route has taken me on the same roads as the Door County Century ride. This was obvious from frequently seeing the markings on the roads. It was refreshing seeing these markings once again. The 3 days in the Upper Peninsula through to Green Bay was devoid of such cycling graffiti. They direction symbols always remind me of Jouney to the Center of the Earth, where Arne Saknussem etched his path through the underworld. It's always reassuring to know that you are on a route that locals have also chosen, which means there should be few surprises.


Just after taking this DCC photo, weird things started and continued the remainder of the day. First, I broke my tooth while biting into a Carrot Cake Cliff Nutrition Bar (go figure). I first sensed something tenuous about this tooth back in Traverse City, but gave it no further thought until this potential catastrophe. An emergency visit to a dentist for was necessary to put my mind at ease. It just so happened to be on my route as I got back to Sturgeon Bay. The office was very friendly and accommodating, getting me in and out in around 45 minutes. Before leaving, I verified my course of action to have the tooth attended to by my longtime neighbor and dentist upon my return in 3 days.







Karen met me minutes after I left and gave her the x-ray and paperwork. SOnn after that I crossed the divided highway to get to the bike path the cross the bay channel. It was weird to have a sign informing cyclists to cross the highway to get to this path, but not provide curb cutouts. Instead you are forced to cross to islands. It was on the latter of these that I hooked the bite valve of my hydrating back pack on something and it went flying onto the highway. I continued across the street and walk back out onto the highway to retrieve it. Karen arrived at the same intersection at that moment and sent her into a state of concern and confusion that something else was wrong. We were shouting to each other as a car behind here bagan honking to push her along. We both went on our way as I proceeded over the bridge and commenced to cover new territory again.







So what else was weird? Well... about a dozen course corrections due to unpaved roads; dead ends that were supposed to be through streets (one with warnings of armed security); equipment falling off the bike (my rear blinky light) - something that has never happened before; the GPS unit going on the fritz and require rebooting; betting stung on the neck by some flying insect; a great deal of the route being in a cell dead zone for both Karen and me.


By the end of the trip I was emotionally and mentally drained, even though I had plenty of physical juice left. All this weirdness distracted me from a perfect day for riding with a comfortable temperature, a nice tailwind for much of the route, and more of the same fantastic lakeshore roads along rolling hills.