We left Ashland with great bicycling conditions; not quite as hot as the 4th and a little overcast, the wind helping us a little. We traveled along the lake, which was flat riding, and then went up hill and away from the lake traveling east with big rolling hills. We came across a bicyclist from Huntington Beach, California who is riding, his poster says, for cancer. He has a .org web site. He says he left four and a half months ago with a lot of faith and only $20.00 in his pocket. His equipment looks pretty poor to us, his 2 wheel trailer has tires almost warn out, he lives on donated food, mostly canned, he says. It looks like he lives on a shoestring. He says he was in the Ashland parade yesterday and has had quite a lot of press time. He’s planning on being gone on his trip for a year. Interesting guy. When we got to Wakefield we had only gone 50 miles, and since the wind was with us, we decided to press on. The next town was Meetswater, Michigan, 40 more miles, another 3 hours at least. We were pretty tired when we arrived, checked into the only motel option in town, the casino. They gave us $10.00 coupons to try to get us to gamble, maybe we’ll be lucky.
Greg
This morning we had a very good breakfast of coffee, oats, potatoes, eggs, and sausages before leaving Chas and Tricia’s cabin. Our ride today is fairly short because we want to get off the road early due to 4th of July holiday traffic and the heat. We climb steadily up hill out of Cornucopia, cross over the hills, and then descend again back to the coast into Washburn. We stop for a break at a coffee shop, where we meet a woman who does inline skate marathons. Then we continue on to Ashland. As we arrive we find out we’ve missed the 4th of July parade. Oh well, it’s 85 degrees and we’re done pedaling. Ashland is a regular town (unlike the villages we’ve seen lately) built along the coast of Lake Superior. We walk around town, most businesses are closed, but the City is filled with interesting historical murals. At a food co-op the checker tells us that we should see the annual Fire Run on Main Street before the fireworks. So, at 9:00 we go downtown to watch the event. Dusk is settling in and people start lining up along Main Street for blocks, we’re about midway through town. A couple of old retired Fire Engines go by driving east, towards the fire house, with 10 or 12 volunteers sitting in the empty hose beds. This is the 2nd parade of the day. It’s getting dark but still 84 degrees, and light traffic continues both directions on Main. No streets are blocked off, we are only 1 block off Highway 2. At a quarter to 10 we can hear the sirens as they approach. People get up for a better view of the approaching sirens. Then a police car, 2 fire engines, a ladder truck, the 2 engines with volunteers, 3 ambulances, a Chiefs car, 6 wreckers, and finally another police car all race by at 40 miles an hour down 20 blocks with lights, sirens, and horns blaring. The crowd waves and cheers as they pass. As the sirens fade away down the street, the crowd picks up lawn chairs and moves towards the highway to get situated for the fireworks display over Lake Superior. This is 4th of July in Asland, Wisconsin.
Greg
Today is a food day. Alice made crepes with blueberries, raspberries, bananas, pears, nectarines, yogurt, powdered sugar, and maple syrup. Then Tricia and I went to get water. The water here tastes like iron but there are a few public artesian sweet water wells. After that we drove to Washburn, about 20 miles, and bought Amish raised chickens. Tricia dropped me off at the school in Cornucopia for their annual fish fry. I happened to be standing in line next to Les Touve who is somewhat of a local historian and story teller. He has lived in this area all his life, graduating from Port Wing high school (the first high school in Wisconsin, he says) in 1946. He said the entire area around here was originally a Swedish community established in the 1880’s. The dinner was good, all you can eat whitefish, potato salad, bread, and vegetable trays with onion, carrots, radishes, and celery, along with tartar sauce and lemons. After the fish fry I walked back to Romans Point along the beach. Meanwhile Randy had been working on and improving his alcohol stove and getting the outdoor wood pizza oven (Chas built) fired up for cooking the chickens. For dinner we had chicken, boiled new potatoes with butter, sauteed brussels sprouts, and Bunny Tracks ice cream. Yes, no pedaling, but plenty of fueling up.
Greg
It rained 4 inches last night but this morning is a bright beautiful day, and a day off riding for us. Romans Point juts out into Lake Superior between Bark Bay and Siskiuit Bay with Lost Creek physically separating east Romans Point from Siskiuit Bay and the beach. To get to the beach it’s necessary to wade across Lost Creek which today is about 3 feet deep. This physical separation seems to add to the feeling of a separate sub community from Cornucopia. About noon Tricia and Alice arrive along with Tricia’s friend Emily. While they are getting situated Randy and I ride into Cornucopia to buy a few groceries. July 2 is the day Cornucopia celebrates Independence Day with a fireworks display over the lake. Alice, who is 13, shows us a path to the beach walking through the woods and then through back yards. It’s dusk and the neighbors get up to see who’s trespassing. When they see Alice they wave. One neighbor comes out and gives Alice matches, tells her to make a bonfire on the beach. Alice is our passport. We stay on our side of Lost Creek, Randy and Emily build a fire. Along the crescent of beach we can see 3 or 4 other bonfires along the mile to the Marina where fireworks will be launched. The fireworks are impressive, especially for such a small community. Around our fire there are 15 people, all Romans Point people. There is a disconnect between when we see the fireworks and hear the boom, and the reflection of the fireworks on the water makes them seem about 10 times as bright as they really are.
Greg
When we woke up it was foggy, apparently this is fairly common for Duluth. We started our ride with a long coast downhill, using brakes, into downtown Duluth. We stopped at a bicycle shop, the tire pump is not working well, also Randy had his brakes adjusted. The errands and fog delayed our riding a bit. Crossing the bridge over Lake Superior to get to Wisconsin was a spectacular ride. After we got to Wisconsin, we followed highway 2 to the Lake then turned off onto highway 13 towards Cornucopia. The ride was very warm with long hills to coast down with a good climb to follow as we crossed river drainages. We are staying tonight in a cabin on Romans Point, near Cornucopia. Chas and Tricia generously offered the use of their cabin for a couple of days. Tomorrow we expect to see Tricia and Alice, but tonight we are on our own. As we arrived tonight, thunderstorms threatened. We hurriedly showered (the shower is outside), then cooked dinner. As we were finishing dinner, the storm knocked the power out. It’s raining hard, but thanks to Chas and Tricia, we are staying dry.
Greg
Being on a bike we are conspicuous. We look odd because of our bikes and trailers, and because of the clothes we wear. It brings out a strange and wonderful response from the people we meet. Often we are a little lost as to where to find food, or a place to stay, or directions to this or that. We have gotten to the point that we just approach people, on our bikes, and ask for help. They invariably give us a quick once over look and then are most cordial and helpful. When we stop for wate or juice at a Cenex, or go into a cafe, people look at us and don’t hesitate to to approach us and ask questions about our trip, or tell us of grand adventures of their own that they have had. The experience is quite wonderful, and an everyday experience when traveling as we are. Sometimes people honk and wave when they go by, and even Amtrak has blown their horn and waved. A couple of people are worth mentioning. One was a taxi driver who drove us on a bike route through Duluth to get to Highway 13 tomorrow, then he drew us a map. The second was a hotel clerk who printed out detailed maps of the area, bicycle maps really. Today we left Grand Rapids just as we expected, with the wind in our faces. It was anovercast day so cool. A long ride to Duluth. We heard way back in Williston from Jason and Jerry that we needed to eat at Grandma’s in Duluth, that it was the place to eat. That was confirmed by everyone we asked here, too. I’m ready to report they are right, my Walleye and Randy’s Wild Rice burger were excellent. 75 hard miles today.
Greg
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