Well, That Was Hard

 

Well, That Was Hard. 

June 28, 2025    Miles 0-28.3

We headed out yesterday, leaving our house at 11am, rushing to get all the details managed: refrigerator cleaned, laundry done, yard mowed and weeded—in addition to the other tasks I put before myself.  I wanted to make sure our will and trust was updated, I needed to convey emergency instructions to our loved ones.

I have been packing and re-packing, trying to get the weight down to a manageable level, knowing that both of us are quite a bit weaker than we were starting other trips.   We are both pulling BOB’s- a single wheel trailer that attaches to our back axle.  Wes is carrying all of our gear: clothing, and personal items, plus my tech requirements, including this computer and the microphone and I-rig which will allow me to conduct live interviews.  (More about that later).  His total weight: about 40 lbs.

I am pulling the dog and all her materials.  That is about 45 pounds, plus my day bag for another 5 pounds. 

So we are just at our capacity to manage these loads.  It is hard to start from a stop and fairly challenging to manage curves and bumps.

So of course, there were opening day glitches.  A big crowd loading onto the Detroit Princess that made moving through the Riverwalk a challenge.  I hit a big bump and that caused my back fender to start dragging.  Wes’ clip holding the left side of his BOB failed, so we had to replace it with a cotter pin.  (I had already experienced that on training rides with Heidi, so I brought extra cotter pins, expecting the clip to fail.)

We met our friends Keith Gunter and Gary Hanafee at the Iron Belle Gate on Belle Isle for nice break in the shade and some photos, but that excursion added 4 miles to our trip.

The Iron Belle is barely a notion in the city: no signage and no services.  It was as we headed to east side of Detroit.  Even party stores are in short supply.  We stopped at a deli near Chandler Park, hoping for a sitdown lunch.  No way.  So we sat on the ground while Wes groused, and soon made our way to our first 20 mile 360. 

A 360 is video and audio log of the trip.  We were not yet out of Detroit, near the City Airport.  It was hot.  The riding is fairly miserable, and we still have miles to go before weget to our hotel.  The only one I could find close to the trail that would accept dogs was an Extended Stay America in Warren, near the GM Tech Center.

The miles dragged on.  Wes was getting burned and he had to change clothes.  My BOB wheel came off (!) as I crossed a railroad track.   I was well up Van Dyke and looked for Wes—nowhere to be seen.  I waited and waited, then finally back-tracked to find him struggling with his back fender, which had lost a screw.  I had a screw which kind of worked so we drug ourselves up the road as the evening started to come on.

We arrived at our lodging after 7, sweaty and tired.  We had traveled more miles than we wanted or should have.  20 was a more reasonable expectation.  

The room is clean but classic welfare hotel.  No coffee machine, no amenities.  Warning signs everywhere, overflowing garbages.  We shower and wash our bike stuff.  Walk to a nearby pub for quick bite, then come home to fall asleep by 10:30, exhausted. 

I am up at 6:30. There is no coffee, so I walk to a nearby coney island for takeout.  It is nearly 9:30 and we are heading out.  We were tempted to stay because we are so tired, but this welfare hotel is not worth the rather high price we paid.

We will pack up and head out—and hope for a better day today.