Omaha to NYC Day 19
It was a rainy night. No way to pretend. I woke up at 6:45 after hearing rain drops on the tent most of the night. Thankfully, there weren’t when my eyes popped open. Checking my Windy app, I saw a second band of rain was on its way. I quickly got dressed and packed up my tent, strapping the wet rain fly to the back rack. Breakfast would be in South Haven just a few miles up the road.
On my way to one of Michigan Parks’ well built shower/restroom building, I noticed a huge gob of bikes said “hi” then headed in. A guy in a bike cap was drying his rain fly with the hand drier. Good tip. I learned they are with a Chicago non-profit called Out Our Front Door (OOFD) (Just say it out loud!). They introduce people to bike camping. This was a special trip for all the 15 volunteers who lead trips. They are on a 10 year anniversary trip around “the Lake”, which means something very different in Chicago than it does in Seattle. It will take them two weeks to get back to Chicago. I spent a while chatting then moved back to camp.
Soon I was on the bike trail into South Haven. By 9:00 I was at Cafe Julia where I ran into an advance group from OOFD. Happy accidents! As more folks arrived, I stayed longer than I’d planned and talked bike camping. It was heaven. Most of the folks were younger than me, but there was one old school aging Critical Masser, John, who was my age. He has a bell strapped to a vest sown with a dozen patches. He seemed to know everyone including the owner of the bike shop in Council Bluffs, Iowa that I planned (but didn’t need to) use if my bike was damaged in my flight into Omaha. John also told me of the joys of doing Iowa’s huge RAGBRAI self-supported. You don’t have to pay and you don’t have to be locked into their schedule and logistics, but you can enjoy the company of thousands of cyclists.
While chatting, I learned one of their number and one of the few non-tour leaders was heading to Kalamazoo because he was heading home early, nothing wrong, just no time for a two week trip. I was headed to Kalamazoo. Another happy accident. About 10:30 Brian and I heading out on the trail.
Having company was a blessing, because it rained nearly the entire 40 miles. Brian’s friendly and interesting stories made the wet miles pass fast. He is a software developer in Chicago and new to bike camping. Originally from Texas, he wanted to live in a bigger city. We took limited breaks because we wanted to just get to Kalamazoo. The trail was beautiful. It was an extended trip through the woods on a gravel bike path. For those who bike think an extended Snoqualamie Valley Trail.
About 2:30 we entered Kalamazoo. Brian recommended Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, which despite the name is a brew pub. I have been trying to avoid the ubiquitous bar and grill food, but after the rain, a burger was exactly what I needed and it did not disappoint, especially because Brian treated me. Thanks Brian!. Brian’s train back to Chicago didn’t leave until 8:00. I stayed until 4:00. The rain had stopped, but it was still cloudy and I was still damp. It was hard to leave the comfy brew pub, but I only had 12 miles to Fort Custer Rec Area so I packed up and said goodbye to Brian.
From Bell’s it was just an 11 mile ride to the ‘secret’ back gate that Tony, another cyclist at Van Buren Park, had clued me into. I had a bike trail, but it was next to a road so OK. Then I had a great country road to a gate. On the other side was a mowed path that took me straight to the campground. There was one ‘mini-cabin’ available. With the weather still iffy, I took it.
The cabin was charming and gave me space to dry my stuff. I discovered one down side to cabins. They have doors and doors allow mosquitoes to get in so I did not have the bug free evening I was planning. I also heard scratching and worried the place had mice, but when I went outside I discovered a skunk. I can deal with that. With piece of mind I turned in.
Yo Ted!
ReplyDeleteYay to all the great company along the way - Tey
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