806 Miles on Sunday!

I left Minneapolis at 6:55 AM CST on Sunday morning. My plan was to make it to Mackinaw City before the rain hit, and then to ride the last 300 miles on Monday, but things kinda changed. But first, the ride report.

My route to Minneapolis took me through the northern edge of Michigan’s upper peninsula through Marquette, Ironwood and into Duluth, MN, and then south to Minneapolis. The distance for that route was 875 miles and was done in two days.

My route home still took me through Michigan’s upper peninsula, but this time along it’s southern edge. I rode through Wausau, Green Bay, Escanaba and St Ignace.

Both routes had a preponderance of 2 lane roads and 55 mile per hour speed limits, but some of the time was spent on interstates and 70 mph limits. Now, you should know that in Michigan 70 mph generally means 75 to 80, and that, in my humble opinion, safety on a motorcycle calls for exceeding traffic speeds by 2 to 5 mph. But there are exceptions, and Sunday was one of those days. I would offer the following dialog as an example.

Me: Afternoon officer. (Taking my helmet off, reaching for my wallet.)

State Trooper: That’s a pretty fast bike. Been going very long?

Me: Left Minneapolis this morning, so it’s been a while. How bad was I?

State Trooper: 88, but I think you hit your brakes before I got you.

Me: Oh man, sorry. (As I’m digging out my license, which is adjacent to my DOD ID, and then rooting through the wallet to find my registration.

State Trooper: All I need is your license to check something out. What year is the bike? Thanks. I’ll be right back. (Goes off to his car with my license, comes back 2 or 3 minutes later, hands it back to me.) Slow it down, okay?

Me: Thank you sir.

State Trooper: You’re welcome. (He smiles, gets back in his car, does a u-turn and heads west.)

Me: I put my helmet back on, crank the music up and, wearing a big smile, head east, slowing down to 75 in this 55 mph zone!

That all took place east of Escanaba, so I still had a bunch of miles to do. The route I was on took me along the shoreline multiple times in the ride, and whenever that happened I’d enter an almost surreal cloud of moisture from the lake. It was very windy, the lake had whitecaps, and it just made everything feel wet and cold, and just a little eerie.

By the time I reached the Mackinaw Bridge I’d been on the road for over 8 hours, and crossing the bridge again proved interesting. The cross winds were strong, so trucks were doing about 20 mph – and the slow speeds made the winds worse on the bike, so that made my choices interesting. I could do 20 mph in the right lane and fight the wind for a long time on this 5 mile long bridge, or I could go into the left lane, travel at a more sane speed, but have to ride on the steel grating.

With advice from Bob Peloquin earlier in the week I opted for the grate, cranked it up to 50 mph, loosened my grips on the handlebars and rode it out. By the time I got to the southern edge of the bridge I was wide-awake, a little twitchy, and the last thing that sounded good was stopping, so I kept going!

I pulled into my garage at 7:25 PM EST with 806 miles for the day – a new personal best for distance, and a bit more understanding about my riding style and myself. On this trip I had a lot of opportunities to ride with others and on more than a few occasions I did tuck into the back of a group. But I was never able to stay there very long.

I’d get weirded out by how some of them were riding, or how their speeds varied for no known reason, or how often they’d hit the brakes just trying to ride together, so I’d look for an opportunity and I’d pass them, going off again on my own.

At this years leadership summit I was given a hope award for my advocacy efforts. It’s not something Free To Breathe has ever done before so I feel truly honored to be its first recipient. In accepting the award I told a story about a friend’s advice to me when I was first diagnosed – that I allow me to be me, and that I chose my own way of coping. It was advice I took to heart then, and that I continue to take. Realizing that it applies to how I ride too was a little funny, but not a real surprise!

The summit was a joy. There’s an odd community among lung cancer survivors, caregivers and researchers. And there’s a bond among survivors that’s pretty unique. To the 24 fellow survivors in attendance, I love you all. To the caregivers, I’m humbled by your compassion. And for Joan, Sherie, Susan, Mary and all the folks from Free To Breathe I thank you for all your hard work and dedication to the cause.

And for those of that contributed in support of my ride, Thank You! For this of you that haven't contributed, but are inclined to do so now, the site is still up.