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Today was an anomaly. It was perplexing, maybe somewhat disquieting. We had grown accustomed to we three pilgrims having strenuous days, challenged physically and mentally to move our three man train forward. We had the vacation period of the 5th leg, but I expected this 6th leg to bring back the ordeals of earlier days. Today was everything but challenging.

We had 7 riders, traveling 50 miles in relative luxury. Lecy led us out from his home on his final stage of our journey. We were also joined by Bill Rohde, Paul Tilden, Tim Dull and Shootman. There was very little drafting as we rode in social groups of 2 or 3 for most of the day. At times it was “every man for himself” as we cruised through the day. It was a relaxing 50 miles (which my wife Christin says shouldn’t be an actual sentence).

We delayed our start to 11am to avoid rain, then spent the afternoon on bike paths and quiet roads in NW Indiana and SW Michigan. We crossed another state line and entered our last time zone.

Note: For some reason I can’t get any videos to upload, and I have only one photo from our ride today.

I was riding with Dull through Michigan City when he reminded me of when he lived here after graduation from Valparaiso. Later I was riding with Rohde as we cruised past the spot where he was married and the Firefly Resort cottages where his small wedding party stayed. Those days were half a lifetime ago; we’re now gray, balding, grandfathers with creaking joints and sagging skin. But we’re still capable of taking on challenges and making new memories.

We ended the day at the Super 8 motel in Stevensville MI. We walked to a nearby bar & grill to refuel and watch college football. The evening felt more like a normal autumn Saturday than a recovery in the middle of a 3,700 miles bike journey. As the water ran freely from the tap in Super 8, Geeto was on the phone with Chew talking about how easy 50 miles felt today; I immediately thought – our challenges are behind; we’re on vacation from here on. We used to worry about our next source of water, now we can find several sources to hydrate every few miles. We used to be concerned about heat and hills, now everything is relatively cool and flat. We’ve had a lot of laughs in these recent stages, and no real hardships. We need some challenges or we risk tiring of this adventure.

Tomorrow we have another “short” day; Rohde, Dull and Shootman will ride with Geeto and me to our friend Tim Gatz’s home in Kalamazoo. The day promises rain… maybe this is the next challenge we need.Day 38: Stevensville to Kalamazoo

For the Pedaling Pilgrims! Spotify Playlist today, for my friend Mike Anderson, who I wish could’ve joined together with us today: Join Together with the Band