Revived and Renewed

Our unplanned respite left us ready to tackle the day. The weather was forecast to be much milder, and when we left the lodging we found that it was spitting rain. We were off with promises of an easier day. The rain persisted, first as a gentle sprinkle, and then more pronounced. We followed the bike path out of town and soon found ourselves on a beautiful wooded trail. Cycling Nirvana. We left the woods and proceeded on the journey. But wait! The path ended, and the map wasn’t lining up. We got out Google Maps and realized that the cycling Nirvana was actually the Neshotah Park Trail; a loop within Two Rivers. We were back where we started. We laughed it off as it was so beautiful, but it cost us several miles.

The rainy ride was beautiful and of course hilly. Not hilly like Louisville or the west, but hillier than expected. We rode through Two Creeks before stopping in Kewaunee to have lunch. We had rehydrated some vegetable soup and stopped at a park overlooking the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse and ate. There was a group of gentlemen at the other picnic table having a great time, chatting and laughing. As we finished lunch, one of them came over to ask us to take their picture. Turns out it was a group of high school classmates informally celebrating their 54th reunion at the park where they had dedicated a bench to another classmate. When they learned of our journey, they insisted on gifting us two Stroh’s, which we packed on our bike to enjoy at our campsite.

By now, the rain had subsided, and we had a pleasant ride to Algoma, where we stayed at Big Lake Campground. At first glance, the campground didn’t seem that great, but it was quiet and the showers were great! We had un-pattied salmon and spinach mashed potatoes for dinner, along with the Stroh’s.

Bruce had been having mechanical issues with his bike all day, and once at camp we realized that a bolt was missing from his bike rack which caused his 30 lb. pannier bag to wiggle and generally make his bike very unstable. We didn’t have a bolt to fix it, so we used a zip-tie to rig it together until we could get to a bike shop. Fingers crossed it would work.

The next day we loaded up and headed to Sturgeon Bay. First up was Algoma, a charming town with many quaint buildings. Then we were in the woods and on our way. The hills were there, but manageable, and we had short mileage to get to our designation. It was beautiful. We were there by lunchtime. We were able to check in early and enjoyed a lunch of rehydrated pasta salad with veggies.

After lunch we headed across town to the local bike shop to fix Bruce‘s bike rack. We had to cross the bridge on Madison Avenue. It’s a drawbridge that raises to allow ships through. We were there right at the time the bridge was drawn. Turns out this was the time when Tall Ships were coming through- old-fashioned clipper -type ships that were giving excursions through the area. How fun! We were videoing the ship coming through the bridge and suddenly it shot it’s cannon! Everyone on the bridge, including us, was startled. This was a serendipitous moment!

Once at the bike shop the guy didn’t have exactly what he needed, but was still able to get it fixed and for only $10! We then headed to town to sight-see a bit. First to St. Joseph Cathedral, where a kind woman opened the door and let us look around, and then to Historic 3rd Street shops. We stopped for an early dinner and enjoyed conversation with the bartender, who showed us pictures of her bike with glow in the dark charms that she rides with her niece.

We crossed the Madison St. Bridge again to head back to our lodging. We stopped at a bench overlooking Green Bay and enjoyed the scenery for quite a while before heading up the hill. A glorious day.

Wednesday cycling: 44 miles

Hiking: 2.5 miles

Thursday cycling: 27 miles

Hiking: 3.5 miles

Cycling mileage to date: 290