resting in Coleman
Steve, Rao and I ate breakfast at CMU's Woldt Hall at around
7:00 AM. Realizing we were in the wrong CMU dormitory, we started
to leave, but the manager (a man wearing a tie) told us we were
welcome to stay and the food was the same, but without the lines
(few students are up that early--especially my daughter). We had
omelettes cooked to order. I also had cold cereal, fruit and bagels;
a very nice meal.
From Mt. Pleasant, we headed east and north on new ground. There
were 315 of us on the new East Route. The first 21 miles were
relatively flat, so we maintained a heated pace. At Coleman, we
stopped for refreshments (Gatorade a/k/a "go juice"for
me).
From there, instead of the boring flat ground and corn fields
of the old west routes (4 or 5 day versions) we quickly reached
rolling hills and some nice forests.
It got quite hot as the day wore on. At the hilltop rest stop
south of Meredith, they ran so low on water that it was rationed
out to the riders.
By the time we reached Meredith--the obvious lunch stop for the
day--we were really hot, dehydrated and hungry. The waitress att
he only restaurant in Meridith said they were first told that
morning at 9:00 of the 300+ bicycle riders coming through town
and that they couldn't get help on such short notice, so were
seriously short-handed. The patrons (DALMAC riders and the others)
were quite understanding and the waitress was good-natured, so
there was no animosity despite a wait of about an hour for our
food. In fact, one young DALMAC rider took it upon herself to
dole out menus and refill water pitchers and glasses.
The hamburgers were almost worth the wait.
The Cannondale was just what I needed. It was my home on wheels;
the bike that tamed the Alaska Highway, the Canadian Rockies and
the plains. Coming out of Meridith, we had some nice hill climbs,but
we all seemed fired up and moving rather fast. From Meridith it
was about 45 minutes to Prudenville where there were all sorts
of services and another brisk (I was going 20+ mph on the flats)
45 minutes on to the State Campground at Higgins Lake where we
spent the night.
At the campground, we had a block of campsites rather than a separate
area. That would be okay, but we were surrounded by other campers
and I picked a campsite for Rao, Steve and I next to one of the
worst. They had 2 cars, 3 tents, 2 dogs, a cat (on a leash), a
bird (in a cage) and some kids. The dogs (Alaskan malamutes) howled
though the night.
Our dinner (and breakfast) were catered in to an open air pavillion
about a mile up the lake from our campsites.
The walk and dining were pleasant, but wouldn't have been if
the weather was bad. The food--from Cowles in Houghton Lake--was
great--among the best ever on DALMAC.
At dinner, I was approached by several riders with questions about my Alaska-Michigan ride.
