Depending on your natural tendency toward life, optimism and karma, we either had a very late start this morning or an extremely early start this afternoon! Last night we went to bed comforted in the knowledge that we only had to cycle 34 miles into Ellsworth today. A consequence of which being that getting out of bed this morning was not a hurried affair.
Eventually mounting Trusty & Steed (without having breakfast, we add) and completing our first 2 miles along the cycle path at the edge of Little Traverse Bay, we checked the time and realised it was already past lunchtime! Fortunately we were still in downtown Petoskey where the famed eatery, Roast & Toast served simple but sublime creations for many a hungry cyclist and the uber-rich clientele. Propping up our bikes against the outside of the building, we wandered in to see what treasures we could consume. We weren’t disappointed! An Avocado BLT sandwich, two chocolate cookies, a very nice Latte and a bottle of apple juice later we had found that 60 minutes had passed by without much complaint and we were now sitting outside soaking up the sunshine chatting with a great couple Pete & Chris about our adventures around America. Chris then produced her iPhone to show us a picture of her, Pete and none other than Lance Armstrong. Pete then explained how he had once ridden with the “God of Cadence” for 28 miles, which was a humbling experience…very cool.
Time was now pressing on and we knew we had to get on the road if we wanted to arrive in Ellsworth before dark. Saying bye bye to downtown Petoskey we pushed off into the head wind and some very steep hill climbs, which was pretty much how the rest of the ride panned out. Yeah, of course the weather and temperature were perfect for cycling, the wooded and lakeside scenery was calm and peaceful, and the roads where smooth and not very busy; but the hills just kept rolling and the head wind just kept blowing. But it was only for 34 miles and we did plummet down a very steep hill at one point hitting over 44mph (into a headwind)…awesome.
Halfway through the ride, we stopped at a bike/outdoor adventure shop in Boyne City, NO BOUNDARIES to buy some Chamois Cream aka Butt Butter and energy bars. It’s a great little shop with a good selection of quality items, which was opened by Bob (the owner) and Ben (the manager) in April this year. They certainly seem to share our philosophy of life (credit to Bob and Ben for the title of the blog today), and we wish them well in their venture, which we are sure will be a success. Describing our epic journey to Ben, Bob and Meryl (their trusty assistant), Bob kindly gave us some free t-shirts and advice for our trip…Thanks again Bob, Ben and Meryl.
Arriving in Ellsworth, we cycled past a nice-looking restaurant in the village, where we planned on eating tonight (good job Kat for making the reservation last week) and just 0.3 miles further we pulled into our B&B, “The House on the Hill”. That’s not “Amityville”, the House on the hill sang by Lovebug Starski on “Now That's What I Call Music! 7 (disc 2)”…a classic eighties hit! But the picture perfect one run by Marci and Philip perched atop a hill over looking Lake Saint Clair Lake. Marci and Philip showed us around their estate (trust us, it’s an “estate” complete with acres of woodland, gardens, sun porch and kayaks for messing about on the water) and then to our lovely room with a view. It’s a shame we’re not staying here an extra day, because there’s loads of relaxing things to do.
After freshening up, we took a leisurely walk to the restaurant, had a great meal and then strolled back to the B&B to retire.
More cycling tomorrow, and then a well-needed rest day! Talking of tomorrow, many happy returns to Kat’s super-cute nephew, Leo, who is celebrating his first birthday!
Us x
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