Day 59 - 31th July 2013, Topinabee to St. Ignace

- Hole day on nice bike trail, no cars to take care today :-)
- Mackinaw City is pretty tourist trap, we bought amazing fudge!
- How to get over Mackinac Bridge? Just call the Bridge Service, they operate 24 hours/day and it cost 5$ per bike.
- In St. Ignace we visited Ojibwa museum, before storm we hide in teepee and cooked diner.

Pictures:
bike trail from Gaylord to Mackinaw City
wetlands on the way
beaver's dam
How to get over Mackinac bridge? Just call bridge service.
Mackinac Bridge

Day 58 - 30th July 2013, Song of the Morning to Topinabee, 38.52 miles

After an amazing week at Song of the Morning it is finally time to continue our journey. We spent a wonderful time there with yoga exercise, meditation, help in the garden (beans  :-)) and kitchen (we exchanged work for our camping and meals). The people living in community here were very kind. SoM is surrounded by coniferous forests and is literally in the middle of nowhere, with a 100 year old water dam, which has now collected so much sediment that upstream looks like wetland with sand cranes and bald eagles nesting there (two of them were still sitting around), many birds, animals and plants, the beautiful Pigeon River (we canoed a substantial part of it, fighting thought fallen trees and sandbars). Ms. Indu taught us about body consciousness, meditation and some of the spiritual aspects of yoga. Quite simply it was an unusual & amazing week at an extraordinary place, unfortunately with some ordinary human problems, but hopefully they will be able to solve them, at least they were working on it quite hard.
- So we left this place about noon, not just because it was hard to leave (if we could, we would stay there much longer, but our foreigner/visa status doesn't allow that), but also because Baška was solving her never ending problems with her backpack she sent home.
- From SoM we biked to Vanderbilt and here we followed nice bike trail (not paved, but with good crashed limestone), which lead to Mackinaw City.
- We stayed for the rest of the day on this bike trail, rode thought Sturgeon Valley with nice wetlands & beaver's dam on Sturgeon river
- After Vanderbilt we past Wolverine, Indian river and ended in small vacation spot with name Toolmaker in the shore of Lake Mullett.
- Byvak in pavilion near Topinabee library with electricity, internet & toilets and absolutely no people.
- Evening reading of Harry Potter, first book - The Philosopher Stone.

- Dnes opúšťame Yoga&Retreat Center/ Ranch Song of the Morning, strávili sme tu úžasný týždeň s úžasnými ľuďmi. Za trocha pomoci v záhrade či v  kuchyni sme tu mali zadarmo parádne vegetariánske jedlo (a lá Govinda), ráno a po obede sme cvičili jogu a večer vždy bola budhistická meditácia. Okolie ranču pripomínalo Záhorie, všade samé borovice, duby, pieskové duny, mokrade. Toto miesto je takpovediac uprostred ničoho, čo znamená, že je tu viac stromov než domov (resp. domy sú od seba vzdialené takmer jednu míľu) a do najbližšieho obchoďáku je sakra ďaleko (viac ako 10 minút). Ranč má aj vlastnú “zdedenú“ priehradu, ktorá je teraz plná bahna a okrem toho, že predstavuje celkom výraznú ekologickú zaťaž, sa pomaly mení na mokraď a na večer sa tu zlietavajú žeriavy, na starej borovici hniezdia americké plešaté orly a rieka, ktorá napája priehradu je fantastická, prekajakovali sme tu nejeden deň. Po práci, ono to bola skôr zábava, všetci tu boli v pohode a nikto s ničím nestresoval, sme mali jogu a pani Indu nás učila o duchovnej stránke jogy. Takže po týždni sa nám veľmi ťažko odchádzalo, naozaj rýchlo sme zapadli do tejto komunity (a to aj napriek tomu, že nie je dokonalá). Asi by sme tu ostali až do ďalšieho leta, keby nám to víza dovoľovali.
- Vrátili sme sa späť do Vanderbiltu, kde sme sa napojili na výbornú cyklocestu, vedúcu až do Mackinaw City.
- Prešli sme cez Sturgeon Valley, popri riečke s rovnakým menom, po stranách cyklocesty boli mokrade, raz sme videli takmer dvojmetrovú bobriu hrádzu.
- Večer sme skončili v malej dovolenkovej osade menom Topinabee pri jazere Mullett
- Byvakujeme v altánku pri knižnici, je tu elektrika, internet a úplne mŕtvo.  :-)

Pictures:
Song of the Morning ranch
pictures from ranch
teepee belong to ranch's campground
garden
inside of the Domes - great place for yoga
SoM's garden
on the lake
Pigeon River which flows throught SoM's property
Song of the Morning - entrance

Day 50 - 22th July 2013, Elmira to Song of the Morning,

Zase sa raz pecieme, opat nas cakaju kopce, co ma vyhodu, ze si mozeme vychutnavat skvele zjazdy po prazdnych cestach. Dochadza nam voda a takmer 10 minut musime umierat smadom, kym sa nedostaneme k jazeru Huffman, kde nas "zachranuje" verejna plaz s pumpou a vybornym kupanim. Po prvy krat si mozeme vypocut osamele volanie potaplice, plavajucej si tu po jazere. Obedujeme vo Vanderbilte, malej dedine, poslednej civilizacii pred joga/retreat center/ranch - Song of the Morning, kam smeruju nase pneumatiky a kde chceme stravit zopar dni. Song of the Morning je uprostred "divociny", co znamena ze medzi jednotlivymi domami je aspon jedna mila...
Prichadzame do Song of the Morning podvecer, ludkovia su trocha prekvapeny, bo je pondelok, ked maju vsetci volno a ich manazer im akosi zabudol povedat ze prideme, ale ked si ujasnime co sme kto sme, tak sa velmi rychlo skamaratime  (budeme tu ako pracovna vypomoc pre zopar dni, za trochu pomoci tu budeme moct byvat, jest, cvicit ci meditovat). Po vybornom obede/veceri si ideme zaplavat v rieke pod malou priehradou co tu maju, clnkujeme sa po priehrade a vecer pozerame na mesiac cez telescop a vychutnavame si uzasnu atmosferu tohto miesta.

- very hot day, especially if you start at eleven in morning
- again riding thought hills, with amazing downhills rides
- Lake Huffman save us from dyeing of thirst (our bottles were empty for whole 10 minutes, it was for first time and for somebody it was big shock) & heat
- we swam in Lake Huffman with a lonely Loon and it's lonely call
- lunch in Vanderbilt (we found only one small grocery store, which was very expensive)
- rode from Vanderbilt to Yoga ranch - Song of the Morning was amazing, pine trees everywhere, no people, we felt like in the middle of wilderness.
- people at SoM were a little bit surprised when we arrived, but very friendly so very soon we felt like at home
- swimming under the dam in the waterfall, canoeing on the lake, evening observation of the moon with telescope and amazing atmosphere  

Pictures:
hospitality? 
watching the night sky 

Day 49 - 21th July 2013, Traverse City to Elmira, 52.92 miles

Dnes je fakt kosa, vyrazame zavcasu, nachadzame teepee ako stvorene na ranajky. Tetuska nam dava vodu a aj klasnu hlinikovu flasu. Doobedie sa hupeme po ceste cislo 72, nie velmi sympatickej, je nedela a vsetci prchaju domov, premavka je dost husta. Obedujeme a cvicime Tai-chi na cintorine. Zo 72ky sa presuvame na 131tku, staci iba zdolat zopar kopcekov a uzit si zopar vybornych zjazdov, po opusteni 72ky zmizla aj husta premavka, smerujeme na sever, cize sme v protismere, vsetci idu dole na juh. Na 131ke SJ takmer zaspava na biku. Po kratkej pauze ma baby ucia ako robit zuvackove bubliny. Na pumpe doplname palivo do nasho varica, tentokrat to bolo iba za 35 centov. Byvakujeme niekde za malym mesteckom Elmira na ceste ako stvorenej na kempovanie, vola sa totiz Camp road.

- we woke up in early morning & had breakfast in teepee
- sunny but cold day
- when we asked for water, we got also nice metal bottle (thanks!)
- never-ending ride (uphill & downhill) on route 72 with annoying traffic, than on the Old route 72 with cool downhill ride
- launch & Tai-chi at cemetery
- another long miles on route 131, SJ nearly fell asleep on the bike
- SJ and Baška taught me how to make bubbles
- refilling of our fuel bottle for cooker costs us 35 cents
- we camped somewhere behind the village Elmira on Camp road

Pictures:
breakfast teepee  
green snake 
our camp on Camp Rd 

Day 48 -20th July 2013, Sleeping Bear Dunes to Traverse City, 40.56 miles

Rano navstevujeme severnu cast dun s krasnou plazou a vyhladom na Manituove ostrovy, prevalujeme tazky kamen. Opustame duny a po nadhernej cykloceste sa dostavame ku Glen Lake, kupanie, obed, pekny vyhlad na Dune Climb s mravcami, trochu to pripomina zjazdovku. Dnes sa akosi ochladilo, miestami je az zima. Zdolavame prvy kopcisko dna a za odmenu sa mozeme pokochat vyhladom na Glen Lake s takmer tropickym image. Cvicime/ucime SJ Tai-chi. Pri druhej obedovej pauze zastavujeme pri zda sa opustenom sklade, sme trocha prekvapeny, ked tesne predtym, nez odideme pride chlapik a strasne mu vadi, ze sme mu osedeli tien pred jeho garazodomom (ci to to bolo). Tak sme stretli prveho americkeho trkvasa, v porovnani s mnostvom uzasnych ludi co sme minuli cestou to zas nie je tak zle...
Smerujeme do Traverse City, cesta je opat ako husenkova draha. Vecer bivakujeme (tajne :-)) pod sirakom v malom State park za Traverse City. Vychutnavame si lipovy caj z dun a takmer spln.

- in the morning we visited north part of dunes, not as steep as yesterday, but with beautiful beach & view to the Manitou islands
- we found and lifted very heavy rock
- another nice bike trail through pine woods and dunes led us to Glen Lake
- it's a first colder day, Baška is swimming, me and SJ are standing in shallow water
- first real steep hill of the day & overlook to"tropical" Glen Lake & Tai-chi exercise (first SJ's class)
- up & downhill exercise on the way to Traverse city
- we took lunch sitting in somebody's shade and than man came and was quite angry (probably it was very expensive shade, because it's building looked abandoned) and tell us to leave, but we were leaving anyway
- we reached Traverse City in the evening and following another bike trail camp behind TC in small TC State park
- no mosquitoes, no tent, nearly full moon and linden tree tea

Pictures:
bike trail near Glen Arbor 
northern part of Sleeping Bear Dunes 
beach and Manitou island 
on the bike trail around Glen Arbor 
Dune Climb from Glen Lake 
Glen Lake 
 

Day 47 - 19th July 2013 still Sleeping Bear Dunes, 2.54 miles

Dnes sme cely den stravili na "Dune", jedna cast dun je pristupna pre verejnost, takze pieskomilovia sa tu mozu do sytosti nabazit behania, plazenia, skakania v piesku, nachadza sa tu aj pekny chodnik veduci k jazeru Michigan s moznostou ovlazit sa v jeho chladnych vodach. Dnes bolo prevazne zamracene a bola celkom zabava pozorovat ako sa ludske mravenisko zrazu rozprchlo a zdupkalo z duny, hned po tom co zacalo trocha prsat (asi tak 10 kvapiek). Dnes nebicyklujeme.


- we spent whole day on the "Dune"
- dune was full of ants/people, but after small storm (3 minutes rain) nearly everybody run away
- we climbed the dune, talk a lot, hike the dunes and sleep a lot (me)
- no biking today, only bare feet and sand
- we talked a little with one ranger about work (as colleges)
- we got a free dinner - grilled potatoes with meat, carrots and onions :-) 

Pictures:
Dune Climb 
Climb the Dune 
on the Dune 
on the Dune  
on the top of dunes 

Day 46 - 18th July 2013 Crystal lake - Empire - Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, 34.15 miles, total 1000 miles :-)

- po rannom kupani vyrazame do Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, staci sa iba presplhat cez jeden kopcisko a potom si uzit paradny zjazd v takmer 60 km/h
- po cyklisticky priatelskej 22 prichadzame do Empire, nachadza sa tu Visitor Center pre NP, takze po chvili uz vieme co chceme/mozeme navstivit
- najvacsie teplo preckavame pri North Bar Lake, ktore je periodicky prepojene s Lake Michigan (zavisi to od entuziazmu deti a ich motivacii prekopavat v piesku kanaly)
- splhame na miestnu malinkatu dunu a v rozzhavenom piesku si takmer spalime nohy
- v podvecer sa presuvame na Scenic Drive, odkial si prezerame cele Sleeping Bear Dunes a prvy krat vyuzivame nase volne pasy do narodnych parkov, co sme si vysluzili v Cuyahoge
- Scenic Drive je nadherny, ale treba tu zdolavat superprudke kopceky, ale stoji to za tu namahu, duny su nadherne, nachadzame tu aj prastaru lipu a posledna zastavka je na pobrezi jazera Michigan, na svahu obrovitanskej duny co spada priamo do vody, vietor tu vytvara mensiu pieskovu burku a prejst cez nu je znacne bolestiva zalezitost, piesok boda ako stado zmutovanych komarov, ale opat oplati sa to je to nevsedny zazitok, nehovoriac o tych vyhladoch na okolite duny a jazero, ostavame tu az do nadherneho zapadu slnka a potom si uzivame nocny zjazd po Scenic Drive, ktoru opustame ako uplne posledny
- prespavame zadarmo v kempe (volny pas nam tu plati aj pre kemp) kusok od Glen Arbor

-Started early so we'd be awake to say goodbye to our fabulous hosts -hope you had safe travels all the way back to Missouri!
-Had breakfast of fish sausage (from Leland) and oatmeal on the shore
-biked to the visitor center at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It was nice to see rangers again :-D
-Bought more stickers for our penniers (thanks again for the sticker fund mom!) and read the legend of the sleeping bears in the gift shop.
-refilled water bottles and ate a few snacks at the visitor center before heading over to North Bar Lake which is/n't connected to Lake Michigan depending on how many enthusiastic beach goers have built damns/canals. We swam during the hottest part of the day, had more oatmeal improvisations for lunch and walked the beach appreciating the colorful water depths. Barbora swam the width of the lake 5 times, Martin took a nap and SJ laid in the hot sand.
- We packed everything up to head to the scenic drive in time for "the golden hour" and used our National Park passes for the first time! The loop through some of the parks most beautiful dunes included more than 10 stopping points to look at/out/over the amazing forests and dunes. While writing this I couldn't remember how many stops there were and tried to find it on google...instead I found:
"While bicycling is permitted along the Scenic Drive, it is recommended for expert-level cyclists only due to the steep terrain, sharp curves and heavy traffic present. We recommend that anybody contemplating bicycling the Scenic Drive first take a car through it to see if your skill level is up to it." Sleeping Bear Dunes - link
We agree!!! :-D Even though the drive is paved, you're weaving through the dunes themselves. It was worth it though to watch the sunset from "#9" the overlook which includes a pier on the top of the steepest dune.

Watching the sunset somewhere gorgeous of course means riding to and making camp in the dark, so we put on our tail lights and headlamps and made our way to the NPS group campground. Thinking of CVNP and CVEEC all day today-as we set up our tent and sleeping bags there was a group of about 30 kids and camp counselors around a fire. Peace to everyone at summer camp!

Pictures:
over the hills and far away 
North Bar Lake 
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 
across the dunes on Scenic Drive 
on the overlook - Scenic Drive 
sandstorm? 
sand and water - Scenic Drive 
Sleeping Bear Dunes 
overlook on Scenic Drive 
SJ's meditation in sand 

Day 45 - 17th July 2013 Masick through Thompsonville to Crystal Lake, 29.51 miles

Do obeda Baska riesi problemy so svojim batohom co poslala domov, nasi colnici robia problemy. Opat je strasne teplo, snazime sa najst Betsie Vallie Bike Trail, nachadzame ju az v Thompsonville, kde obedujeme a preckavame najvacsie teplo. Cyklocesta je fantasticka, vedie luznymi lesmi s mokradami, potokmi, pieskovymi dunami po stranach a co je najlepsie prakticky stale vedie z kopca. Po nejakom case prichadzame do mestecka Beulah na brehu Crystal Lake. V rozpravacskom zapale prehliadam verejnu plaz, co mi Baska potom trpko vycita, pretoze si chcela ist zaplavat, ale kedze ideme do Sleeping Bear Dunes a musime aj tak obist "Krystalove jazero" (ktore je naozaj krystalovo ciste, hlavne vdaka invaznym Drysenam) a po chvili nachadzame miesto s verejnym pristupom k vode (inak je breh totalne zastavany domami) a opat raz "nahodou" tu stretavame ludi (dovolenkarov) z Missouri, co nas nielen ze nechaju prespat na ich zahrade, ale kedze im zvysila nejaka pizza, salat a kopec zmrzliny o veceru mame postarane a Baska si do sytosti mohla zaplavat v jazere (s kacacimi blchami) :-)

- late start this morning (lots of letters and journal entries written : )
- Barbora got an email from her father about her backpack (which she sent back to Slovakia) going through customs. It took some time to call and email to try solving the issue.
- another day biking in extremely hot weather- yay for staying hydrated!
- we found the very beginning of Betsie Vallie Bike Trail, but it's unpaved and unsuitable for biking
- we got to Thompsonville where the bike trail is more "towpath" style (think nice gravel :-))
- Lunch in Thompsonville's shady park (Barbora improvised oatmeal and tortillas) and then we napped till 5 pm....we joked we're becoming crepuscular bikers in this weather.
- the bike trail from Thompsonville to Crystal lake is very nice (and mostly downhill), a lot of pine tress, hardwoods, wetlands, creeks, sand, turkeys, made all the more enjoyable by telling vampires stories...
- in the town of Beulah (which is not pronounced how you think) Navigator Martin overlooked a very obvious public beach, but later on down the road we found a "public access" boat launch and decided to go swimming there instead. As we swam we made friends with some fabulous Missourians on vacation who were leaving the next morning--which was the perfect excuse for us to eat their entire fridge (meat lovers pizza, a pint of ice cream, peanuts, random condiments and a big bowl of salad for SJ) of food that was going to be thrown away anyway :-D Thanks Gretchen, Tracey, Ron and Tim!!!! They invited us to shower indoors and camp on their lawn, where the waves on the shore rocked us to sleep. The universe works  :-) 

Pictures:
looking for bike trail... 
on the bike trail 
Crystal Lake and ours camp 

Day 44 - 16th July 2013 Clare-Cadillac to Mesick, 45.06 miles

Zase sa pecieme. Pribudli kopceky, kolena dostavaju trocha zabrat. Okolo nas sa mihaju lesy, mokrade, jazera, krajina je tu naozaj uzasna. Pri jednom z garazovych vypredajov (okukovali sme nejake topanky, sandale co mame sa zacinaju dost rozpadat) sme stretli nadupany postarsi manzelsky par na bikoch, tiez su na dlhsie, na ceste zo zapadu na vychod (je to jednoduchie, vietor mate neustale v chrbte). Pri jednom z malych obchodikov stretavame amisha bikera (asi nejaky rebel, ze pouziva taku vyspelu technologiu). Pred Cadillacom kupujeme cerstve, umyte, sladke Michiganske ceresne. Pri Cadillacu sa kupeme v jazere, obedujeme a odchadzame okolo piatej po obede. Stale je viac ako 30 stupnov. Miname znacku upozornujucu na prechadzajuce medvede cez cestu. Vstupujeme do Manistee National Forest, vsade je piesok, borovice, mokrade, duny, tien a zopar paradnych zjazdov, ziadne hlupe znacky zo zakazom vstupu. Objavuju sa vsak hned ako opustime Manistee N.F. Miname zrazenu herbarovu polozku medviedata (asi). U milej rodinky co stavia dom si doplname vodu a davaju nam dobry typ na byvak. Prechadzame cez rieku s pieskovymi brehmi silne pripominajucu Osypane brehy na Morave. Vecer byvakujeme na "odpocivadle", je tu voda, toalety, miesto na ohen a okrem nas ani ziva dusa (ludska). Svetlusky predvadzaju svoje kazdovecerne blikave divadlo a SJ zase raz dokazala, ze je majster v robeni lievancov.


- Burning hell since the morning (again)
- many small/big hills, knees in pain
- forests & lakes
-we met older couple on the bike trip from Seattle to East coast
- smiling Amish rebel (on a bike) waving to us
- we bought (fresh! washed! sweet!) Michigan cherries
- finally Lake Cadillac & Mitchell & swimming & lunch
- we left Cadillac at 5pm, but it was still more than 90°F
- "bear crossing" sign, are we entering the wilderness? (finally)
- Manistee National Forest, sand, pine tress, wetlands, dunes, shade & a few amazing downhill coasts and we enter an area without "no trespassing" signs every 10 feet.
- refilled our water bottles with a nice, happy family, and got a tip for a good campsite
- camped for the night at a road side park (think "rest stop" but off a road. free camping with water, toilets & grills)
- fireflies performed a beautiful light show on the side of the road
- pancakes by the pancake master!  :-)

Pictures:
wetlands around route 115 
Bear x-ings 
on the route 115 
 

Day 43 - 15th July 2013 From Clare to Cadillac, 51.31 miles

Dnes bol neuveritelne horuci den. Vyhen pekelna uz od samotneho rana. Nastastie cyklocesta, po ktorej sme isli bola takmer do obeda v tieni stromov, ale aj tak velmi rychlo sme sa zacali varit vo vlastnej stave. Nastastie v Coleman-e, kde sme sa zastavili nakupit nejake zasoby, sme sa trocha schladili nanukmi. Dalej sme pokracovali po vybornej cykloceste, kiez by take boli aj inde, do mestecka Clare. Baska nafotila asi tisic fotiek lalii co tu rastili na okrajoch. V Clare sme obsadili vchod (jedine miesto s tienom) do miestnej kniznice, mali tu wifi a aj ked kniznica bola zavreta, stale fungovalo. A samozrejme, za tie dve hodinky, co sme tu stravili na maily a blogu sa pri nas zastavilo kopec ludi a kazdy sa zaujimal o nasu cestu. Mozno by sme mali vytvorit nejaky list s najcastejsimi otazkami a odpovedami, usetrili by sme cas :-), ale zase sme spoznali zopar zaujimavych typkov, vlastne typka - bol to Dan/American/Juhoafrican/vysluzili vojak/cestovatel/biker/skydiver, volal sa Trevor a stravil sest rokov v Afrike na bicykli. Bol to neuveritelny typek s takym danskym prizvukom, ze mu rozumela asi iba SJ. Vlastnil tu v Clare niekolko restauracii a miestnu vychyrenu zmrzlinaren a dal nam "poukazku" na zmrzlinu zadarmo. Hned sme ju isli vyskusat a naozaj, za chvilu sme sa takmer topili v paradnej zmrzline (stale bolo priserne teplo). Vdaka Trevor!
Pocas nasho zmrzlinoveho soare, nam zavolala mama SJ a precitala nam "clanok" o nasej ceste co napisala do ich miestneho ostrovneho platku menom Flyer. Celkom sme sa pobavili.
V podvecer sme opustili cyklocestu a bicyklovali do Cadillacu po ceste 115. Pomerne frekventovana, ale s prijemne sirokym okrajom, takze celkom pohoda. Okolie sa zacalo celkom menit, polia zmyzli kdesi na juhu, krajna sa zvlnila a vsade naokolo sa zacali rozpinat borovicove lesy a kopec krasnych mokradi. Take trochu vacsie Zahorie. Akurat duny, cez ktore sme prechadzali boli oobrovskeee. Na chvilu aj civilizacia kdesi zmyzla. Dosla nam voda, nacerpali sme si ju zo studne nejakej rekreacnej chatky. Mne prisla trochu podozriva, ale SJ bola totalne presvadcena, ze voda musi byt ok, inak by tam bola cedula, ze nie je... tak to aspon chodi v USA, pokial nie je niekde napisane ze voda je nepitna, znamena to ze je pitna. Moc som tomu neveril, ale asi to tak bude, prezili sme v zdravi. A zaroven sme sa mohli aj umyt a na zaver sa este ukazal aj dikobraz.
Vecer, po paradnom zapade slnka, sme najprv chceli zabyvakovat za opustenym strasidelnym domom, ale bol moc strasidelny, tak sme sa presunuli o kusok dalej za opusteny obchod, ktrory vsak nebol strasidelny a mal funkcne elektricke zasuvky a vodu. Veceru sme varili pod tazkymi utokmi komarov, holt vsade naokolo su mokrade.

Very, very hot day, but nice fresh morning. Beautiful bike trail from Midland to Clare and far behind.
First ice cream in Coleman.
In Clare they have public wifi in library, which was closed. So sitting in front the entrance, we spent a few hours here, on emails and Skype, hidden in shade, hunting wifi signal. It's still very hot. And, as usually when we stop somewhere for longer than 5 minutes, people stopped and chatted with us. The last man which we met before our depart was Dutch/South African/soldier/traveller/biker/skydiver named Trevor who travelled for six years through Africa. He is also owner of a few restaurants (and one ice cream shop) here in Clare. Very soon we were sitting on bench with huge ice cream. Thanks you Trevor.
SJ's mom wrote article about us in Flyer. In the late afternoon we hit the route 115 to Cadillac and spent the rest of day on it. Wide road with quite traffic but also wide shoulders so we are safe (not wildlife, here it is more wild road kill). Everywhere around us are wetlands (we expected that we see a moose every minute), woods instead of farms. Shape of the land changed, now we are passing through wide hills, probably old sand dunes. We refilled our bottles with suspicious (for me) water from well  by one cabin and take also shower. After dusk we found camp by abandoned creepy house, but it was too creepy so we biked for a while and found perfect place behind temporary abandoned antique shop. Than we cooked our dinner during very heavy mosquito night and well fed these little creatures.

Pictures:
on the bike trail to Clare 
bike trail from Midland to Clare 
lily 
porcupine
sunset

Day 42 - 14th July 2013 Bay City to Midland and a little bit behind, 40.76 miles, total 840 miles

Od Grega sme sa nevyhrabali skor ako pred obedom, takze sme zacali tahat v riadnej horucave. Bay City sme presli po cykloceste, stretli sme chlapika s uzasnym touringovym bicyklom, presne nieco take by sa nam hodilo... Obedujeme na ostrove v Saginaw River, obkluceny husami a cajkami. Cesta do Midlandu je priamka bez jedinej zatacky, konciaca v chemickej obrovitanskej tovarni, ktrora dominuje juznej casti Midlandu. V Midlande maju trojmost - na sutoku riek Tittabawassee a Chippewa. Pot z dnesneho dna sme splachli v miestnom "Splash pad", co bol Baskyn dobry napad. V Midlande tiez zacina vyborna cyklocesta veduca dobrych 100 mil do mestecka Cadillac. Kedze je to prerobena zeleznica, ide dost obklukou, takze mi ju budeme sledovat len po Clare, co je asi polovica.
Bivakujeme vo "Veteran State Park", kus za Midlandom a krmime komare.

It is sunny and hot, especially because we started about the noon. But Greg did us perfect breakfast and we were quite tired after yesterday. Bay City has nice bike trail which led us to Saginaw River, on the island in river we had lunch, surrounded by goose and always hungry seagulls. Than we rode on Salzburg road, which was totally straight, probably made by ruler. In Midland is huge chemical factory, tridge (three-way wooden footbridge), cool Splashpad where we washed down all dust from roads and paved bike trail which goes to Cadillac. 

Pictures:
the Tridge 
The Splashpad
bike trail from Midland to Cadillac

Day 41 - 13th July 2013 From Columbiaville to Munger (Bay City), 32.96 miles, total 799 miles

Zobudili sme sa do nadherneho rana. Beth a Jeremy pre nas pripravili poriadne ranajky (prazenica, s cibulou, paprikou, paradajkami, fasirkou a vybornym pomarancovym dzusom). Po tom co sme sa rozlucili s celou ich pocetnou rodinkou sme sa vratili na cyklocestu a uzivali si skvelu asfaltku (byvala zeleznicna trat, ako obvykle) do Millingtonu. Okrem peknych scenerii okolo, ako jazera ci mokrade, som sa naucil ako dolezite je naucit sa pocuvat ludi a neignorovat co i len jedine slovko, hlavne ak hovori moja zena :-)
V Millingtone sme boli za miestne celebrity, na konci cyklocesty sme sa na chvilu zastavili nad mapou a skoro vsetci prechadzajuci cyklisti sa nezabudli zastavit a opytat sa aspon stopatdesiat otazok o nasej cykloceste, ale bola to celkom zabava a od jedneho chlapika sme dostali mapu vsetkych cyklociest v Michigane. Postarsi manzelsky par, po tom co si vypocul nasu "story" (a ked zistili, ze sme vlastne vzdialeny pribuzny, lebo aj oni pochadzali zo Slovenska) nam dali malu financnu dotaciu pre nasu cestu. Mile...
Zvysok dna sme stravili na ceste cislo 15, vypekajuc sa na pekelnom slnku. Ale vesmir zase pomohol, ked bolo najteplejsie a Baska a ja sme museli na chvilu zastavit a odskocit si na toaletu v miestnom obchodaku, ked sme sa vratili SJ nam dala mrazene Popsicle co dostala od jednej rodinky, co tu byvala.
A to zdaleka nebolo vsetko, ku sklonku dna, raziac si cestu proti protivnemu vetru a v riadnom vypeku, pomaly padajuc z bicykla, uprostred poli bol osamoteny dom a pred nim akurat "nahodou" tetuska, ktora si vysla pozriet nieco na ceste... no a za chvilu sme uz u nej sedeli v tieni jej zahrady, popijajuc chladene drinky, vyborny melon a super-cokoladove cookies. Dozvedeli sme sa, ze putovanie na bicykloch jej nie je celkom cudzie, jej syn presiel napriec Amerikou, ked bol teenager a teraz si stavia kanoe, na ktorom sa chce prepadlovat na Aliasku. Jej manzel nam poukazoval krasnych veteranov co zrestauroval a dozvedeli sme sa aj, ze vyraba vlasne vino. Celkom mi to pripomina otca jednej mojej priatelky, ktory ma rovnake konicky.
Dnesnu etapu sme zakoncili v Mungere, co je vlasne uz sucast Bay City, u priatela SJ otca. Aj ked nas videl prvy krat v zivote, ponukol nam k dispozicii cely svoj dom a uvaril paradnu veceru. Na vecer nas este trochu povozil po okoly a ukazal nam, kde zacina cykloceta, na ktoru sa zajtra planujeme vydat.
Dnes bol den, ktory by sa dal nazvat Dnom uzasnych ludi :-)

Beth with Jeremy prepared another amazing breakfast, it is really amazing how universe work and this was only beginning of wonderful day  :-). Than we biked to Millington on super comfy paved bike trail/railroad and I learned than is very important to listen people, especially if it is your wife.
The end of bike trail in Millington was crazy (in a good way). We stopped here for a while and nearly stayed  there for half of day because another bikers bombarded us with questions about our bike trip. For a while we were like some kind of celebrities :-) One man gave us map of Michigan with bike trails, one married couple after they heard our story (and when they heard that we are from Slovakia) were so amazed that they sponsored our bike trip.
Rest of day we spent on route 15 (with nice safe shoulders for biking) burning our bodies on hot sun. When the heat was the worst, and we stopped  before some shop for the bathroom break, some man and his wife offer us Popsicle, later when we were really tired (all day we had to fight with the wind) and I nearly fell to sleep on bike because of heat, some lady waived on us from side of road and practically stopped us. First she asked, as many before today, about our bike trip, than we asked for water and after a while we were sitting in the shade of her garden, eating water melon and delicious cookies. We found out that her son rode cross hole USA on bike, when he was teenager and now he is building canoe for canoe trip to Alaska... Her husband showed us his beautiful old cars which he restored. He also was making his own wine from their grapes. One friend of mine has father with same hobbies :-)
Today's part we finished in Munger at SJ's father's friend Greg which invited us to his house and made awesome dinner for us and showed us where is bike trail for tomorrow's ride. He also had two cute kittens which Baska appreciate a lot :-)
Today's day was a day of good people.

Pictures:
Morning on Beth and Jeremy's farm
to visit...
railtrail in Bay City

Day 40 - 12th July 2013 Almont to Columbiaville, 43.32 miles

Pre dnes to bolo za 43.32 míľ.
Ráno nás čakajú parádne raňajky u Viki a Tima. Podáva sa praženica, slanina, zemiaky a toasty s domácim lekvárom.
Potom opäť nasleduje cik-cak po poľných cestách a občas šialene frekventovaných asfaltkách (našťastie sme na nich boli vždy len chvíľu). Trochu nám komplikuje plány neexistujúca cyklocesta pri Imlay City (trochu im tu došiel asfalt, tak to bola iba šialene hrboľatá polňačka, ktorú sme radšej rovno odignorovali). Stále sú všade naokolo iba farmy, ale pribudli kopčeky, jazerá (a protivietor). Na okrajoch ciest každú chvíľu stojí auto určené na predaj a voda tu chutí ako v Estónsku. Niekde na Norway Lake Road naberáme ďalšiu várku studňovice, v malom obchodíku na kraji cesty a Fey (pravačka) nám dáva zadarmo nanuky. Pred obchodom stretávame Kipa, ktorý asi hneď pýta náš kontakt na facebooku (je mu niečo cez 50), že bude sledovať náš postup, tak mu dávame link na náš Blog. Zatiaľ čo baby “nakupovali“ nanuky a naberali vodu, v obchode sa zastavila ďalšia tetuška (Janet) a tiež z náš bola celá nadšená a opýtala sa, či si nás môže odfotiť. Za chvíľu pribehla s obrovským Nikonom a spravila nám asi 100 fotiek, takže budeme celebrity pre miestnu facebookovú komunitu. Tiež jej nechávame kontakt na náš Blog (už by sa nám hodili tie vizitky čo sme si nechali urobiť). V podvečer stretávame štyroch hi-tech biker-ov v protismere, na ceste zo štátu Washington do Washingtonu D.C. Sú trochu rýchlejší než my, denne vraj dajú okolo 100 míľ. Začali sme trochu uvažovať nad redukciou našich superťažkých bicyklov. Večer sa nás ujíma rodinka žijúca na farme pri Columbiaville. Majú šesť malých detí, Baška a SJ ich učia ako upliesť náramky priateľstva :-), večeru si varíme na rodinnom táboráku, každý prispeje nejakým životným príbehom a Jeremy brnká na banjo.

Vickie prepared an amazing breakfast for us. We had eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast, jelly and orange juice. Well, really amazing breakfast. Thanks Vickie & Tom.
Finally we said goodbye to them and got back on the road, zigzagging through more farm fields mostly on dirt roads. A few times we rode on main roads, but it was Friday and everybody was travelling to their cottages. Traffic was not exactly bike friendly, but it wasn't life threatening so you don't have to worry! Luckily we didn't ride on these roads for very long and we had cool reflective vests from SJ's father. 
In Columbiaville we met four bikers on their way from Washington state to Washington D.C., they have been on bikes for one month (well one day we will be as fast as they, maybe...).
Night we spent on small farm behind Columbiaville. Beth and Jeremy which live here have six small kids, Jeremy is veteran and teacher and all of them are amazing. Baska with SJ taught girls how to make friendship bracelet, Jeremy made a campfire and played on banjo and everybody shared some life story.


Pictures:
Breakfast at Vickie & Tom 

Day 39 - 11th July 2013 - Back on the bikes

Dnes opäť v plnej zostave vyrážame na cesty, smer severovýchod naprieč Michiganom, cieľ je viac menej nejasný, istý je len smer  :-) Z Harsens Islandu, pokračujeme okolo Anchor Bay cez Anchorville (kde náhodne stretávame mamu SJ) na sever do mestečka Richmond, odtiaľ po parádnej cykloceste do mestečka Armada a potom všakovakými prašnými cestami k mestečku Almont. Michigan je tu  poriadne placatý a po celý deň jazdíme okolo fariem a polí. Počasie bolo vynikajúce, akurát nám dosť fúkal protivietor. Spíme opäť raz na niekoho záhrade (prichýlili nás veľmi milí ľudkovia, manželia so synom, dokopy majú asi tak dvestopäťdesiat rokov, volajú sa Viki a Tom a ráno nás pozvali na raňajky).
Pre dnes sme najazdili 45.8 míľ.
After more than two weeks of rest at SJ's house it's time to get back on the road. So finally, after all preparations (which consumed the last three days), all three of us left SJ's family house on Harsen Island Thursday morning. We rode off the island and then north-west around Anchor Bay. The road was paved by roadkill turtles and snakes, because on one side is a lake and on the another is huge wetland. Before Anchorville we ran into SJ's mother so we could thank her and say goodbye again :-). From Anchorville our bikes headed to Richmond, zigzagging between dirt and paved roads. In Richmond there is an amazing bike trail (again on an old railroad). We followed it to the small town of Armada. During a  snack break, one old hiker stopped to swap his bikes stories about crazy rides down California hills so steep his  bike started smoking. Then we zigzagged between dirt and paved roads through farm fields and small farms. Michigan is nice and flat in this area. Weather was sunny and beautiful but sometimes the wind was against us. In the evening we ended near Almont.
We camped in Tom & Vickie's back yard which was very nice & beautiful. They've been married 62 years, fostered 39 babies & raised 6.
Today we did 45.8 miles.

Day 35 – July 7th 2013

Ráno sme si chceli ísť opäť zalyžovať, ale fúka vietor a všade sú
veľké vlny (na lyžovanie treba takmer úplný plech), tak aspoň oboplávame
Harsens Island, pozeráme si Dvojičky – Twins sisters – majáky, v minulosti
slúžiace na navigáciu lodí plávajúcich do Detroitu. Potom sa pol dňa babrem
s fotkami, SJ balí svoje veci na cestu, Baška balí knihy čo chce poslať na
Slovensko. K večeru sa presúvame do St. Clair-u, potrebujeme už konečne
nejaký prístup na internet.

Day 34 – July 6th 2013

Dnes sa koná u SJ menšia rodinná zlezina. Do obeda sa ideme tub-ingovať s priateľkami SJ brata priateľky a s jej sestrami. Je to trochu väčšia drsňárna než naposledy, niektoré pády do vody v plnej rýchlosti vyzerajú celkom zle, ale nikomu sa nič nestalo. Jedinú úhonu zaznamenávajú moje ramená a Baškine nohy, slnko dnes poriadne páli a Baške ani krém na opalovanie nepomáha (ja som bol lenivý ho vôbec použiť). Teta SJ chytá ryby a rybárčenie chytá celú omladinu, takže za chvíľu všetky decká pod desať rokov postávajú na móle s udicami (aj Baška skúša). Jedinú rybu však chytá ich strýko, chvíľu ju všetci obkukávajú v akváriu a potom ju púšťame na slobodu.

Po obede nasleduje druhé kolo tubingu (s omladinou, takže nejde o život), spojené s kúpanim sa v blízkej zátoke. Do obeda bola zátoka takmer prázdna, teraz je časť z nej plná jácht a lodí. SJ nám vysvetľuje, že to je spôsob ako miestni trávia víkend/voľno – vytvoria toto malé mestečko z jácht a lodí a celý deň je jedna veľká párty s popíjaním, grilovaním,  rozprávaním a tancovaním na lodiach, skrátka Amerika.

Večer robíme pre ostatných slideshow  z nášho bike tripu okolo jazera Erie.

Day 33 – July 5th 2013

Dnes ideme na tradičný koncert Detroitského symfonického orcherstra s kanonádou a ohňostrojom, ktorý sa koná v Greenfield Village v Detroite v rámci osláv Dňa nezávislosti. Predtým sa ale ešte zastavujeme v bike shope, husto pokrytom fishflies-ami, kupujem novú sedanku (dúfam, že pohodlnejšiu) a ešte nejaké súčiastky na naše biky.

Greenfield Village je niečo ako obrovský skanzen vytvorený Henrym Fordom – ten všetko, čo ho nejako zaujalo a malo nejakú historickú hodnotu, skrátka kúpil a presunul na toto miesto, alebo vytvoril toho repliku. Takže tu sú rôzne historické budovy, továrne, farmy, obchody a všetko stále funguje (môžete si vyskúšať prácu na sústruhu alebo fúkanie skla), prechádzajú sa tu ľudia v dobových kostýmoch (okolo roku 1870), jazdia tu prvé Fordy, chlapíci na prvých bicykloch (také to jedno veľké koleso), na trávniku trénuje baseballové družstvo, poblíž si môžete zahrať rôzne hry z dôb viktoriánskych, pod stromom trio pastelovo odetých „švárnych“ mládencov a trio správne vycpaných „švárnych“ dievčat vyspevuje songy zo starých reklám na Ford, pani učiteľka v starej škole nám vtĺka do hlavy Leninom tak oslavované heslo „učiť sa, učiť sa, učiť sa“ (otázne je, kto to vlastne komu ukradol), na plantáži vám párik otrokov porozpráva svoje historky a občas sa v tieni stromov mihne zamračený Ranger na svojom vernom koni Rose.

Dostávame sa sem prakticky zadarmo, bo SJ dedko je v oddiele delostrelcov, čo „hrajú“ na záver koncertu. Trávime tu pol dňa, ale nestíhame prejsť a vyskúšať ani polovicu, Greenfield je naozaj veľký. Večerný koncert je skvelý, akurát zo začiatku je tam trochu moc „God bless America“, ale to sa na Independence Day dalo čakať. Kanonáda je súčasťou Čajkovského 1812, op. 49 (ak poznáte film Vendeta, tak je to ten song pri ktorom vyletí do vzduchu britský parlament) a je to celkom šupa (už chápem prečo sú kanóny tak ďaleko a nemieria do publika :-)). Na záver je parádny ohňostroj a potom nasleduje masový úprk domov, ale ľudia sú tu celkom organizovani a tak to nie je až taký veľký chaos.

Day 32 – July 4th 2013

Od rána nám na dome posedáva Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) s jedným okom. Ideme si vodne zalyžovať. Počas príprav nachádzame vo vode mladú lastovičku, zdá sa, že kúpeľ celkom prežila, tak ju nechávame na záhradnom stole sa trocha usušiť. Vodné lyžovanie je celkom sranda, ale je to hrozne ťažké, Baške sa darí udržať nad vodou na zopár sekúnd, mne veľmi nie. SJ a jej brat nám ukazujú ako sa to má robiť, no zopár rokov tréningu a aj my budeme takí dobrí. Po návrate z lyžovačky opäť nachádzame vo vode tú istú lastovičku, stále ešte živú. Tentoraz ju dávame na balkón. Jednooký myšiak sa presunul zo strechy na hniezdnu búdku pre lastovičky/belorítky. Tie naň stále robia nálety (spolu s drozdami) a snažia sa ho odohnať. Zdá sa, že nášmu Hawkovi to veľmi nevadí. Večer oslavujeme narodeniny mamy SJ, hrajeme „spoons“ a pozeráme na ohňostroje. Chvíľami je celý horizont v „ohni“. Dosť to pripomína nášho Silvestra, akurát tu rachotia ohňostroje od tretieho júla do siedmeho. Dnes je jeden z dní, keď sa roja fishflies (podenky?), sú všade, takmer nevidno cez okná von.

Day 31 – July 3rd 2013

Dnes sa toho veľa neudialo, cez deň sme kompletizovali Flyer (ostrovné noviny čo vydáva mama SJ), večer sme si boli na chvíľu zakajakovať.

Day 30 – July 2nd 2013

Navštevujeme jeden z najväčších antikvariátov v USA - John K. King Used & Rare Books, nachádza sa niekde na okraji centra Detroitu a zaberá celú jednu štvorposchodovú budovu. Tento antikvariát založil John K. King, keď bol tínedžer a funguje už okolo päťdesiat rokov, z toho tridsať rokov v tejto istej budove. Videl som reakciu jedného chlapíka čo sem prišiel a udivene hovoril, že naposledy tu bol ako malý chlapec. Ľudia sem chodia nielen pre knihy, ale zčasti aj preto, aby videli túto nevšednú atrakciu. Pretože to nie je len taký obyčajný obchod, je to viac bludisko/múzeum/obchod s kuriozitami.  Na to, aby ste sa tu aspoň ako tak orientovali, potrebujete mapu. Po dvoch hodinách blúdenia v úzkych uličkách vytvorených napechovanými regálmi s knihami som skonštatoval, že mi stále ešte ostáva pozrieť viac ako polovica obchodu. Pre knihomoľov hotový raj. Jediné šťastie/smola pre nás bolo, že už máme okolo dvadsať kíl kníh/papiera, čo chceme poslať na Slovensko, takže sme žiadne ďalšie knihy nekupovali (teda Baška kúpila iba jednu, malú). Nie tak SJ so svojimi súrodencami, tí odchádzali s plnými náručiami kníh.

Po tomto kultúrnom zážitku sme sa išli najesť do pravého bohémskeho pekárstva, v miestnej rozpadnutej štvrti (Detroit je v podstate jedna veľká schátralá štvrť), a trochu sme podporili miestnu ekonomiku.

Ďalej nasledovala ďalšia návšteva SJ strýka, zväčša som ju prespal v hamake, čo mali na záhrade :-). Po ceste na ostrov sme sa zastavili vo videopožičovni (veľký výber, ale len americké filmy), takže večer sme si ešte pozreli Blues Brothers – veľmi absurdný film, miestami celkom ftipný.

Day 29 – July 1st 2013

Okolo obeda prichádza SJ s Courtney. Najprv vyrážame na menšiu okružnú plavbu na kajakoch a kanojke, potom nás čaká „tubing“ (niečo ako vodné lyžovanie, ale namiesto lyží sa veziete na veľkých nafukovačkách), aj napriek tomu, že je dosť kosa. Po prekonaní počiatočných obáv zisťujeme, že je to celkom veľká sranda, hlavne keď sa snažíte preklopiť jeden druhého. Navečer sa celý dom premieňa na bojovú zónu. Počuli ste niekedy o Nerf guns? Ja tiež nie, je to taká jemnejšia verzia airsoftu. Bojovali sme až hlboko do noci.