NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN LOOP, Part 2

At South Bend, IN

The Amtrak train we took was the Lake Shore Limited (train # 449) that runs daily between Boston, MA and Chicago, IL. I had been checking frequently over the last couple of weeks the arrival status of the train in South Bend, IN to try and determine how well it kept to the schedule, which was to arrive in South Bend at 8:46 in the morning. If this held true, we would have a good two to three hours to put the bike together, store the empty cases to await our return trip to the train station, and have enough daylight to ride the 58 miles to Mattawan, MI to stay the night with friends. Needless to say, the train was regularly off schedule by the time it got to South Bend which is near the end of the route.  A couple of times it was near schedule. One day it was over seven hours late. Typically it was about one to two hours late. I hold nothing against Amtrak in this regard because they are at the mercy of the freight lines that own the tracks the train uses, and passenger trains do not always have the priority in such cases. With this little bit of information I figured (hoped) the train would arrive in South Bend by about 10:00 or so. I felt comfortable with this as I figured I would need two hours to get the bike put together. A noon departure on the bike, out of South Bend, seemed reasonable.

August 3, 2018

The reality was that the train arrived in South Bend at 11:00. Still, not so bad and I felt comfortable with the timing since the sun doesn't set until almost 9:00 in western Michigan. We were able to quickly get the cases with the bike parts from the attendant, and found a grassy area in the shade of some trees to start putting it together. Thinking back, I don't feel it was too difficult to get the bike together, and it took about two hours, except for one little part that created a very large problem. When I had taken the bike apart at home, I disconnected the timing chain that connects the two cranks together so we both pedal in sync, so it would be easier to pack and not get kinks. I tossed the old SRAM Powerlink (because I have read they should not be reused) as I had several spares. Well, I did have several Powerlink spares, for a 10-speed chain. The timing chain was a 9-speed chain. That means the 10-speed Powerlink was just slightly too small to link through the 9-speed chain (which is slightly wider), and I was not able to connect the timing chain. A person could ride the bike, in the back, but you needed really, really long arms to be able to steer and stop. Or the second person could sit in front and steer and brake, while the person in back did all the pedaling. Not a bad idea other than the 90 pounds of gear that we had to carry, plus the cases we still had to deal with.

Getting ready to assemble the bike

Calling local bike shops to see if they have the necessary parts.

Still calling.

The wrong size Powerlink was problem one, but we found a bike shop that carried it a couple miles away, so we would just walk, or ride, or do whatever we needed to get to the shop before it closed. First we just needed to get the four cases into storage at the train station. Hence problem two. The station manager was happy to store our cases. For six dollars per case, per day. Since we would be gone three weeks that would be over $500 dollars to store cases. We pleaded, and she was sympathetic, but regulations did not permit any other option. Uh, not going to happen. Granted, this falls on us as we did not verify ahead of time with the station what storage costs might be. We naively thought that once they saw we were on a bicycle tour they would be agreeable to store the bags for at most, a nominal fee. So, what to do? By now it was nearing 2:00 and we needed to get on the road. Laura started calling around to try and find a place to store the cases. Hotels, fire stations, police stations, churches, warmshower hosts, all either said no, or did not pick up. We were getting desperate now.

Laura calling around trying to find someone to store our cases.

 

I love trains, but the loud crossing horns and rumble of fright cars did not make using a phone very easy.

 

Still working on a solution.

We came up with a plan B. Rent a car, drive to Mattawan, MI, store the cases with friends, and start riding the next morning. If you have done enough bicycle touring, you will know that plans will typically have to change for any number of reasons. These particular reasons fall into the realm of stupidity and naivety, but all these become learning experiences. Back on the phone to rent a car. Called one company and they quoted a ridiculous price of $300 for a 24 hour rental. Called around some more, and found a car for about $100 a couple of miles away, but we had to go and get it. I started walking/jogging to go get the car while Laura stayed with the bike, gear and cases. About a mile in, I received a call from the local car rental agent (apparently we had rented through the national office). They did not have any cars available. Nobody had any cars available for that day. I stopped, turned around and headed back to the station.

We came up with a plan C. Find a hotel room, rent a car for the next day, get a taxi to get the cases and gear to the hotel, and I would walk the bike. We found a hotel about four miles away (did I mention the South Bend train station is on the edge of town?) and booked a room. We successfully rented a car for the next day. We called for a taxi. He would arrive in about 15 minutes. We proceeded to move all of our stuff to the other side of the station to expedite loading the taxi. At this point we discovered a young gentleman on the other side of the train station dealing with his own issues of getting some place. He was carrying two large suitcases and needed to get south, further into Indiana. None of his friends were willing to come and get him. He wanted to take the bus out of South Bend, but the bus station was a few miles away, and the last bus was leaving soon. We were sympathetic, but not sure what we could do. He was thoroughly unhappy with his friends. At this point, a nice woman riding by on a bike noticed our gear and stopped to see what we were up to. She said there was some fair going on in the center of town, and if we were staying the night, we should stop in. Sounded fun, but I did not expect we would go given the day we were having. The taxi then arrived, and fortunately it was a mini-van. We talked to the driver and offered to share our cab with the stranded gentleman. We loaded our four cases, six panniers, and his two large suitcases into the mini-van. Laura hopped in front of the cab, and I started walking with the bike. As I walked, well actually scooted along with one foot on a pedal and the other pushing on the ground, the woman on the bike came back. She asked if she could help me get the missing Powerlink, but I declined saying I would deal with it tomorrow. She rode off, and came back again, asking if there was anything else she could do. I said I was fine and thanked her for the offer. I scooted along on the flat streets of South Bend towards the hotel. I made good progress too. I arrived at the hotel shortly after Laura and caught her checking us in. We got all the cases and gear into the room and put the bike in there too and headed off to find some dinner. By this time it was about 6:00, and we realized we had not eaten since shortly before getting off the train that morning.

Relaxing in the hotel after a long day.

What we learned after all of this is that there are usually many solutions to a problem, you just have to think it through. It also helps to have the financial means to help make it happen. We are fortunate in that regard. This is all part of what makes these trips an adventure, the good and the bad, and the unexpected. Tomorrow will be a new day and we will see what it brings.

NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN LOOP, Part 1

Getting the Train at Springfield, MA

August 2, 2018

We had decided to do a bicycle tour around Lake Michigan when we were in Chicago back in April 2016. Our 2017 tour of the Canadian Maritimes was already set, so we put this trip off until 2018. Even from Chicago, the Lake seemed beautiful, and having not seen much of Michigan (Laura had never seen Michigan), we thought heading up the east side of the Lake in Michigan would give us an opportunity to visit some nice locations and enjoy the Lake, along with stopping at Mackinac Island, going through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and also include a ferry crossing on the Badger from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI. It all seemed to fall in place.

Par usual, I created a too ambitious distance for us to cover in the 22 days we had allotted for the tour. As mapped, it was going to be about 1,050 miles (including about 75 miles of ferry crossings), which calculated out equates to close to 50 miles per day, with no rest days. It was going to be a flatter route than we are used to, so in my mind 60 mile days should be doable which would allow us a couple days off, or at least low mileage days. My early 50s body might not agree with my mind which still feels 25 (except for the word retrieval issues that seem to be increasing), but time would tell. I did decide on a bailout point, close to half way (that would be Mackinac Island), that if we were not on the Island by day 11, we would turn around and head back in the general direction we had come.

New this year we decided we would disassemble the bike and pack it in cases and take the train. We wanted to test the complexities of doing such to get an understanding of how frequently (or more the case, infrequently) we might be willing to pack the bike and gear for future touring adventures. Our plan was to take the train from Springfield, MA to South Bend, IN, just the other side of the border from southwestern Michigan. From there we would head generally north and west to the shores of the Lake (following a stop at Mattawan outside of Kalamazoo to visit friends) and continue up the eastern side of the Lake following the Adventure Cycling Association North Lakes route. Continue on the route through the Upper Peninsula and down to Manitowoc, WI to take the ferry across the Lake and then south to South Bend to catch a train home.

I will admit I did not enjoy the task of taking the bike apart. Parts of it are very easy, such as disconnecting the S&S couples that allows the tandem to be broken down into front a rear sections, and the three tubes from the middle of the bike. This is great when you just want to get the tandem into the back of a vehicle fairly quickly. But, unfortunately you have to do more than just break the bike apart to fit it into the cases. Saddles need to come off. Handlebars need to come off, Cranks need to come off. Break disks need to come off. The wheels only fit if the tires and tubes come off. The fenders and racks need to come off (which are additional items that did not come with the bike). We also have an Extrawheel trailer that we tow for extra carrying capacity which also had to be taken apart. By now all of these parts will not fit in the two cases that came with the bike when we first purchased it, so we added a third suitcase to carry the extra parts. Besides the bike and trailer, we also had a tent and six panniers full of our gear that we also had to get packed. Add a forth suitcase (for tent and the two small panniers). We would carry the other four larger panniers and the handlebar bag onto the train. The good thing about the train is that we could each check two pieces of luggage, and carry on two smaller pieces of luggage free of charge, so it all worked out, albeit with a few swear words and sweat as I tried to piece the puzzle of bike parts into the cases.

Tandem bicycle and trailer parts packed into three cases (and the cases actually closed and latched).

Cases and panniers all packed into the car for trip to train station.

August 2, 2018

We were dropped off at the train station two hours prior to departure to check the four cases into baggage, and wait for the train. It was a bit of a challenge to haul everything through the station, to the elevator, over the platform, and to the waiting room, but we managed. With the four larger panniers we were carrying, they looked a little odd for luggage, so we began to get questions from other travelers about what we were up to. One traveler was a bicycle tourist so knew we were going on a tour so we were able to swap stories. Other people just started up friendly conversations, and at some point we had one side of the waiting room all conversing with one another about all topics from where they lived, where they were going, music, education, etc. It was all great fun.

With Katie who dropped us off at Union Station in Springfield, MA.

With all our gear.

Making our way through the train station.

The train arrived on schedule and we boarded easily (with the cases already checked). We found two seats together near the center of the car and settled in for the overnight ride to South Bend, IN. So far so good (more or less).

Settled in our seats and ready to go.

Enjoying a morning coffee as we get close to South Bend, IN.