Clare, MI

Our first day in Michigan started on a high note and got better and better as the day wore on. Like robots going through the motions, the group dragged themselves out of bed at our six o'clock wake- up call. While we enjoyed a breakfast of cereal, bagels and fruit, the group realized that rather than running the risk of traversing unpaved back-roads to our destination of Clare, we could simply get there by going on the main road (Route 10). That having been decided, the group got on the road and went thirty miles in what seemed like little time. But then something incredible happened: Mark suggested that instead of stopping for a morning snack as usual, we could go out to a diner and have "Second Breakfast". The group consensus was immediate and unanimous: it was one of the best ideas of the entire trip. So we stopped at a diner in the town of Baldwin to partake in our second meal of the day. And it was glorious. A Valhalla of breakfast delights awaited our aching stomachs, and nothing could have hit the spot better. With our appetites appeased and our spirits rejuvenated, we hit the road for our next set of thirty miles.

We had gone about twenty miles when Mark received a call from Mrs. Richardson saying that she had met a pair of bikers up ahead in the town of Evart, where we were stopping for lunch. They had told her that there was a scenic, paved bike path that led to the town. Mrs. Richardson immediately called us and told us how to get to the path. The team branched off the main road, and found the path. It was everything we had been promised. With Renzo dancing to "You Can Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac on his iPod ( no hands of course), and Anna Richardson blowing past all of us and leading the pack fifty yards in front of us (Anna completed her first ninety-eight mile day today after only three days of biking. Congratulations Anna, it took the rest of us about one week to do that), we reached our lunch destination. We ate lunch on our new bike trail, then got back on Route 10 to finish out the day. Nothing terribly eventful happened except for a wicked tire-kisser crash by Renzo and Anna. Renzo hit Anna's tire, causing him to bellyflop onto the road and Anna to fly onto the gravel next to the road on her knees. Luckily, neither were terribly hurt, and we continued on our way. The region gradually turned from suburban to agrarian and we finished our day on a scenic lake.

We are now currently staying at the Turner household right outside of Clare, MI. Immediately as we came in, they took us to their backyard, where they had a lake. We happily took a dip, and then enjoyed a delicious barbecue of hamburgers, hot dogs, and Polish sausages. We met some of the local Youth Group members who joined us for dinner, and we took a pleasant tour of the lake on the Turner's boat. And now it's bedtime. See you all tomorrow night, same time!