Written by 
Change can be a good thing – or it can set you slightly off kilter. Day thirty-three was a day of change that was welcome but also set us slightly off kilter.
The day started with breakfast at seven which is usually a little challenging because those of us who are early-risers are hungry by the time seven in the morning rolls around. The service in the restaurant was slow, but the latte was good making the waiting worthwhile. Everything else about the day would be structured slightly differently than usual.
We were to have our bags in the van by 9:45 am to ensure that they would be driven the route around the lower tip of Lake Michigan while we would, instead, ride the ferry across. We didn’t have to leave the hotel until 11 am. Unfortunately, my jeans, jacket and tank top had an accidental run in with a glass of wine last night so I took advantage of the time to zip to a local laundromat before we left to run a load through the machine rather than trust my hand washing in the sink. Nothing was dry from the night before, so washing and having an opportunity to dry would be a good thing. I made it back to the hotel with plenty of time to spare before the suitcases needed to be on the van.
Once we loaded our bags, we still had over an hour before leaving. I took advantage of the opportunity to grab a second latte from the restaurant in the hotel and pulled my things together for the short bike ride to the ferry. We’d been advised that we may want to bring a change of clothes so we didn’t have to sit in our kits on the ferry for the two and a half hour ride. I opted to ride in leggings that I’d keep on while on the ferry, but threw my jersey on before we left as the weather was fairly warm for the late morning.
We rode the three miles to the ferry dock. We were loaded with our bikes with impressive ease and organization. There were a number of wall mounted bike holders around the outside of the level where the cars ride. We placed our bikes on these wall mounts and used the ferry provided ratchet straps to keep them intact in the even of inclement weather or rough waters. Once tied down, we made our way up to the passenger level and found our seats for the ride. I went up to the sundeck level at the top of the feerry for our departure from the port to enjoy the views of the Milwaukee skyline. As we left the protection of the barriers, I went down to my seat and pulled out my laptop with the intention of writing. I was feeling a bit drowsy and thought I’d close my eyes for a few minutes since we had at least two hours on the ferry. I nodded off and managed to sleep for just over an hour and a half. Being able to sleep anywhere is both a blessing and a curse. I had already eaten my bag lunch before we left and was feeling a bit hungry. i could wait, howver, until we were off the ferry and getting ready for our short ride from the port to Holland, Michigan. We were unloaded from the ferry with the same order and ease with which we were loaded and were off very quickly after docking.
One of the vans had set up our pre-ride prep area just outside the parking lot of the ferry terminal. We made our way with our day bags and our bikes and prepped ourselves for the 37 mile ride into Holland. It was unusual for us to be starting a ride at 4 in the afternoon as we were usually finished at this time of day and winding down to ready ourselves for dinner and then our early bedtime. The air was getting cooler instead of warmer and we were riding in the beautiful light of the early evening on the autumnal equinox. It was a lovely ride thorugh dappled light of tall trees starting to change colors with the change of the seasons.
We arrived at the hotel in Holland around 6:45 pm with just enough time to place bags in our rooms and shower and clean up for dinner. Dinner was going to be pizza and salad in the conference room where we’d be leaving our bikes overnight.
The pizza was delicious and in spite of sitting at different tables, we all seemed to converse with one another across the rooms and not just at our respective tables. Robin and Myrna had arranged for the dleivery of challah bread to be eaten to celebrate the Jewish New Year. It was a wonderful addition to our meal, and we also enjoyed the tradition of starting the New Year with something sweet with apples and honey. It was a beautiful way to celebrate with our new friends. I was honored that they would share the celebration with us – the entire group. It was a wonderful way to celebrate our new little famliy that had formed in the last thirty-three days.
We also celebrated another milestone for the day – we were in Michigan, marking the ninth state across which we’d ride and crossing state number eight – Wisconsin – off the list. It is hard to beleive we have ridden this far and for this many days. As we see the number of days getting smaller and smaller, there is a bittersweet feeling amongst us that we are closer to our goal of having ridden coast to coast across the country, but also that we will soon say goodbye and leave our riding bubble, but it also meant being back in ‘real-life’ with our families and familiar surroundings.
With 92 miles on tap for day thirty-four, no one lingered too long after dinner. We have a few long, but fairly flat, days ahead before our final rest day in Corning, New York. The days beyond Corning will bring more elevation with the second-to-last day being another fairly hefty day of climbing before our last relatively flat day riding into Portland, Maine. For now, we focus on just the day ahead and just each rest stop ahead on that day.