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It was so nice to wake up and be able to just stand up without unzipping the tent door and crawling outside. It was a cool morning and we got our jackets on and went through the tent door to the bathroom. Made some coffee and breakfast, and greeted Mike again as he came to work and thanked him for all his help and the gracious use of his tent.
Today’s ride also featured two climbs and the first one was almost immediately outside of Grand Marais. It wasn’t steep just a bit long and we did it with no problem. Once we got over the hill it was a pretty nice ride from there to route M28. Traffic was light, we had a tailwind and though there were big rumble strips, the shoulders were wide enough to ride on if we needed to, but most of the time we didn’t.
It wasn’t the same story on the M28. The rumble strips were cut into the middle of the shoulders, leaving us 6″ to 12″ on the berm side of the shoulder, away from the traffic, or riding right on the white line. There was a lot of camper, car, and large truck traffic and we hugged the berm as much as we could. We were very glad to finally get off of the highway onto a well packed dirt road that led us into Newberry where we were going to stay the night.
Newberry’s claims to fame are moose and snowmobiling. All the motels had a sign said “ride right from your door”. Today’s high temp was 60° and we had our jackets on all day. Everything is relative: 60° in August, when you are used to 70s and 80s, is quite chilly, especially with Superior’s winds.
From the dirt road we had to head due North to get into Newberry and we were riding straight into a headwind which made it even chillier. We stopped at a local grocery store and then rode through town trying to figure out which motel (of 8+) we were going to pick for the night. We actually ended up in a laundromat where we got Wi-Fi and some warmth and protection from the wind. We settled on a couple hotels and went back to figure out which one was going to be the one. We ended up at Berry’s Cabins and Motel. The proprietor’s name was Kathy and she and her husband had run this motel for 40 years and it was up for sale. She was a great hostess, though, and got us into our room, brought us blankets since the heat wasn’t on yet, and gave us some hints about dinner and drinks.
Post showers we rode to Timber Charlie’s tavern and met a couple from Wisconsin and a quirky elderly retired doctor who was selling his children’s friendly joke book. They were very nice and he was a hoot! We had a drink at the bar and talked with another couple, Shelley and Bob.
Back at the hotel, we made pasta in the microwave and had our dinner. After that, I set about changing Dana’s rear brake pads which were dangerously worn and causing her troubles. That task finished, we got under the covers and started planning tomorrow’s ride and stay. There was a TV in the room but the only thing we found was worth watching was absolutely nothing. Just tons of garbage. So glad we cut the cable a few years ago. Except for the weather. That’s useful. Gnite!
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