Probability of Rain 100%

Day 117, July 27, 2011, Probability of Rain 100%

Route from Iron River, MI to Loon Lagoon RV Resort, Mercer, WI

87.5 miles, averaging 14.4 mph

Worst Moment – Having the rain showers start in earnest around the time that I normally try to get on the road was a little disconcerting.  I kept checking the weather forecast looking for a time that might provide a window of dryness and there didn’t appear to be any, so I decided that I would wait until 9 to give it a bit of a chance to clear up and then leave.

Best Moment – The most laugh-out-loud moment of the trip came early in the day.  Just outside of Iron River, one of the farms had the huge round hay bale with a pair of legs sticking out of one side and a sign that said, “Oops.” Couldn’t help but smile at that farmer’s sense of humor.  As I rode by in the rain, I really debated stopping to get a photo of that amusing sight.  In retrospect I wish I had stopped.

Another amusing sign was a bit later on this roadside restaurant.  It read “Y Not Here, Ron’s Not Here.” I think that was the name of the place.  It’s Wisconsin.

The weather forecast when I checked this morning called for certain rain.  They were right.  It started raining about 7 am in Iron River.  I left Ruby around 9 since it looked like the showers would let up about that time.  After riding in the rain for about ¾ of an hour the rain did stop.  Then I had another hour of riding in the rain around Star Lake, Wisconsin.  Even with the rain gear, I got wet.  The temperatures hovered in the upper 60’s all day, so it was a cool day. 

I traveled from the county roads with numbers in Michigan to the county roads in Wisconsin with letters.  After entering Wisconsin, I rode on CR/A, K, W, and J.  All roads were well maintained and without traffic.  This route was through Northern Wisconsin Lake Country.  It was forested and only a little hilly and there are lakes nearly all over the place.

After all of the angst about riding in the rain, and hills and wind, I have to say that the stem of my bike has it right.  I look at this every day and it reads “Never a bad time to ride.”  So far none of the days has turned out as badly as I expected and I really can’t think of a day that I wish I hadn’t ridden.  Some of the best days are the ones that I’ve worried the most about.

When I got to the campground, I replaced the rear tire.  It was really worn out.  This makes the 5^th new back tire, compared to two new front tires. 

The little mustard colored spots means the tire has worn through. 

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.