Chesterton to South Haven —74 mi, 119 km
We woke up early. Some of the people wanted to be an hour ahead, because today we would cross into another time zone and "lose" an hour. So at 5 a.m. many were busy taking down their tents and packing. Most of us left before 7 a.m.
The biking was good. The weather forecast had told that we would have a wind from the north, which was a headwind. However, the wind was not strong, except for the last hour when we got close to South Haven. Most of the time, we were biking in a "dune area" along the coast of Lake Michigan. The road went up and down while we crossed the dunes. The advantage is that most of this area is covered with forest (many oak trees) and so we were protected from the wind.
Very soon we crossed the borderline with Michigan. We have many people in the tour who are from Michigan, so they were excited. Of course, we took a picture when we saw an official welcome sign at the highway. In fact we were biking on a road parallel to this highway and I carried my bike across a railroad to take the picture with the welcome sign.
Michigan is a little bit like coming home for me, because Coby, Ardjan, and Hanneke are waiting for me in Grand Haven.
The route zigzagged between the Lake and the dunes. Several times we followed a road along the lake with houses that were very different from what we experienced yesterday in the poor areas of Chicago. Here were the beautiful houses of the rich and as my biking partner said, "Most of these are just for the summer." The houses and the boats show the other side of the country, that is obviously not influenced by the suffering economy of West Michigan
The agriculture pattern changed with getting further north into Michigan. We were seeing several signs of vineyards and wineries. There were also the first fields with berries and other fruits. Around 3 p.m. we arrived in South Haven. The beaches and the town reminded me a lot of Grand Haven that I had visited in the past.
We were tired and spent some time in a restaurant. I ordered soup, but most of the other bikers were eating icecream.
Katrina, one of the bikers, used the time the others ate ice cream to change her leaking tire.
When we arrived at the school, there was a big surprise! Hanneke, our oldest daughter, and her three children (Catherine, Julianna, and Rebecca) were waiting for me. I put up my tent and we went out for supper. I was expecting to see them in Grand Haven, because they were with Coby at the Conference Grounds, but they came to surprise me in South Haven. It is obvious in the camp that the closer we get to Grand Rapids more family members are showing up.
1 comment:
Hi, I ride my bike around town with my 3-yr-old in a carrier seat on the back. I can only go about 4 or 5 miles before I get tired but for short trips we love it!
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