Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Tubing the Sturgeon

Serene beaver dammed pond en route

our path

Every day they would have one holiday themed sag stop: this was Halloween
This was our easy day: We started at 1370' and dropped to 602" in just 28 miles. However it was the first unpaved path and my friend's rental bike, despite assurances to the contrary, had narrow, treadless tires that easily mired in loose gravel in which there were several pockets notably around road interfaces making this not so enjoyable for her though they had a paved alternate route for road bikes nearby.

It is a pretty path going by beaver dams, through dense forests, through wildflower fields. Temps again were in the 90s by noon. What to do? Tube the Sturgeon which has the fastest current in lower Michigan (though it is very north. 14 feet per minute. It is spring fed so it is clean and always cool. However, there is no free ride. Due to numerous turns and obstacles, one had to constantly paddle with ones hands. There was one stretch though that we could just float. If one became overheated, the cold water was right there to splash on oneself. By this time, my friend had it with tenting and arranged to have a room.

We hot tubbed, swam and drank Melange a Tepid (that's what autocorrect did for me, does not recognize trois). According to our fellow riders, it just never cooled down back at the campsite making sleep uncomfortable. So much for the long range forecasts of highs of 80s and lows of 50-60s. We however had air-conditioning.

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