As I said yesterday, my camping neighbors said it was going to rain in the morning. Specifically, they said 6:00. It started raining at 5:40! I was not going to get an early start… or even an average start for that matter.
The rain stopped and the sun was out by 10:00. I got the tent dried out and camp packed by 11:00 and headed toward the Lancing suburbs. I had lunch there since it was lunchtime by the time I got there.
From Lancing, I was now heading toward Detroit. WHAT?
Of course there was a reason for this. Normally I would steer clear of a major metropolitan area. Well except for Denver and Colorado Springs, but my reason for going near Detroit was similar. I have old friends, Jerry and Elizabeth Brusher who live in Novi, a Detroit suburb. I had not been able to contact Jerry, but I was hoping that he would back at work on Tuesday and I would have a chance to meet up with him and Elizabeth for lunch so I turned toward Detroit on a chance.
There is an Interstate that runs from Lancing right into Novi. Of course I am not going to ride on the Interstate, nor is it legal. But there is a parallel road, the Grand River Road that also goes right to Novi that I rode.
There was one little problem. I should clarify that. There was one small problem and one really large problem. Afternoon thunder storms. One small one that I mostly rode through and one really big one that drove me to cover for close to an hour. This was causing me to ride well into the evening. I was hoping to camp at Island Lake State Park since it showed that there was camping on my map. Once there, I found out there was camping…. if you had a canoe! The only campsites were only accessible by canoe. My bike was not going to get me there.
My next option was a motel, but there did not seem to be one around the area. So it was another 10 miles to Proud Lake State Park! It was going to be around 7:30 by the time I would get there. I would have to get the tent set up, cook dinner, stow my stuff all in about an hour before dark. It worked out pretty well except I also took a shower so I ended up eating my dinner in the tent by headlamp since it was thundering again and threatening rain.
These afternoon and evening thunderstorms are getting old. I could use a nice high pressure system over Michigan and Ohio. I would like some nice clear weather for about 3 weeks. That’s not asking too much is it?
Your ability to “bob & weave” with every change in your plans is inspiring – plus keeping your humor – awesome!