Day 42 Bad River Casino Wisconsin to Iron River Michigan

I rode 110 miles today with hills, but no real wind problems. All of my riding was on US 2 which is very good riding in
most of this stretch. I was in two places with touring list members: Ironwood and Iron Mountain MI, and am staying with
one of them, Dick Boyd in Iron Mountain. It was a good, if a bit long at 8:30, ride with some very nice riding in both
Wisconsin an Michigan.

This morning, the only food available at the Casino was in snack machines. I made do. After leaving the Casino, it is over
25 miles to the first services in Ironwood Michigan, so I was quite hungry when I finally had breakfast in Ironwood. When
I reached Michigan, I stopped at the welcome center - very nice! - and phoned Arly Arlenson who lives in Ironwood, but
no one was home. I rode on, through Ironwood, which is, frankly, some of the worst riding on US 2, and stopped for a
good breakfast. Nothing like riding 30 miles in hilly country before breakfast to give one an appetite! After breakfast, I
stopped at a Family Dollar store to stock up on snacks. Riding out of Ironwood, the road was four lanes for a while and a
bit bumpy looking, but really not bad.  A fellow drove by in his car on that stretch, waved and beeped and then came back
to visit with me. He lives in Fint MI and has a cabin on a lake in the UP near US 2. He gave me a map (I had just lost the
one I got at the visitors center!) and an orange, and told ne that I was in for a real treat riding US from before Marenisco
to Watersmeet. He was right!

I stopped in Wakefield for dessert. I ordered pie al la mode, coffee, and water. I got pie with dreamwhip, one cup of
coffee and no water. I didn't leave a tip. I made sure all three of my water bottles were full since it is over forty miles to
the next services in Watersmeet. I emptied all three bottles on that section, but, if I had hydrated well before leaving
Wakefield, I wouldn't have needed as much water on that part of the ride. In retrospect, I should have gone to another
restaurant with better service and had more coffee and water before I left town.

I stopped twice to snack alongside the road and rode into Watersmeet hoping there would be a good place to eat. There
was and I had my second meal of the day 80 miles into the ride. Shortly before Watersmeet the smooth road went away,
replaced by a decent, but bumpy, road with a shoulder that was bumpier. Traffic was so light that I rode in the lane 99% of
the time. Even that was bumpy and my butt suffered as did some stuff on my  bicycle. I had been carrying a can of WD-40
and a roll of paper towels in a bag I got in Edmonton. About fifteen miles before Iron River, or halfway through this
bumpy section, on a major bump, the WD-40 can came through the bag and ended up resting against my rear spokes. No
harm done, but I had grown found of that bag.

My Michigan map showed a town, Beechwood, about ten miles before Iron River. I figured I'd stop there, phone Dick,
and he could meet me on the road between the towns. Well, that town doesn't exist, so I had to push my very tired body
on into Iron River. There is a big hill just west of Iron River and, as I climbed that hill, I picked up head winds that lasted
for the rest of the ride.  When I finally made it into town, I stopped at the Mobilmart, called The Other Boyd Tourist
Extraction Service' - that is what Dick said on the answering machine - and waited for Dick to pick me and my bike up.
He claims I was asleep when he got there some 45 minutes later. Let's just say I didn't notice his truck pull up in front of
me...