Miles Today: 74

Miles to Date: 1,661

States visited to date: 8

June 3, 2015 – Sunny, 75 degrees

Today was easy riding: up at 5:30 a.m., out shortly after six, with only short breaks until I reached Jackson just after one. I pedaled a few miles along Tireman Road, the line between Dearborn and Detroit; a world of stability on one side, a world of chaos on the other. Hines Drive out of the city was closed to cars; I shared the wide, pleasant road with only a handful of other cyclists. Even after the Ann Arbor Trail merge, traffic was light and the shoulder solid. Plymouth is a beautiful town with a graceful fountain in its center. Instead of seeking out University of Michigan intelligentsia in Ann Arbor I stopped by a skateboard park and talked with the board guys. After several miles of wide highway, the road narrowed to country proportions in Jackson County. Farmland rose around me like bed sheets drying on the line. Main Street in Grass Lake is lined with elegant old houses. The tall grass outside the aptly named town billowed in the soft crosswind like waves in a shallow sea.

I spent the afternoon writing. Around five I pedaled through Jackson, past Allegiance Healthcare where I did some consulting two years ago. On that trip I dragged my companions away from highway chain restaurants to explore downtown, which was a shadow if its glory. This trip downtown is a construction zone as the city’s replacing core infrastructure. I guess I’ll have to come back in a few years to see if the massive project spurs rejuvenation.

I spent a relaxing evening with my warmshowers host family. The sun doesn’t set until past nine this time of year in Michigan. After dinner, Scott, his neighbor Jeff and I drank beer on the deck while their children ran between the backyards. We kept talking after we moved inside and Scott’s wife Karen joined us. It was past eleven when I crawled into the cozy bed tucked under the stairs in the dark and quiet basement.

A shout out to my niece Isabelle who texted me to say I should add how many states I have visited to my header – which I did. Great idea, Izzy.