August 17 - day 53 Wednesday

August 17 - day 53 Wednesday

We spent the previous evening on Mackinaw Island staying and visiting with Ron Wilber.  This morning we got up and and went to a bakery on the Island which was excellent - Marc's Double Oven Bakery.  Good food and prices too.  After breakfast and some additional computer time we rented some bicycles and rode around the island - all 8 miles on M185 an official highway.  There are no cars on the Island just horses and bikes.  We did see a fire truck and Ron said that there are a few maintenance vehicles. 

We hoped on the 4pm ferry back to St Ignace where our car was parked.  On the ferry we met Jeff Smith from Chicago who was touring around Lake Michigan.  He was on day 7.  It is good to meet and talk with fellow touring cyclists.  After getting back to St Ignace and repacking a few things we drove across the Mackinaw Bridge and on over to Cheboygan, MI (not Sheboygan WI). 

After dinner we decided to get a car wash.  The tough thing with bikes on top of the car is remembering that they are there and that you have to have adequate clearance. 
Crunch...yep we forgot.  After the shock, we gathered our wits called the police for an insurance report.  After the officer came we called the owner, Andy and he came over. There was a person in the other bay who hung out and talked with us for a while as well, Gene.   Everyone, was very nice.  Gene hung out, talked with us and kept us Company.  Actually he talked with Marcee as I fumbled through the glove compartment looking for the registration.  He was very kind.  He even gave us some corn on the cob.  The officer was great and then when Andy came he even asked if our bikes were ok.  He explained that Michigan is a no fault insurance state so his insurance would cover it.  Since his deductible was high he would probably just fix it. The bracket at the base of the pull down door was broken.  He told me not to worry about it. We told him we wanted to pay for it but he said that he would fix it up and it would just take 5 or 10 minutes.   God knows how angry I was when this happened.  I am thankful that Gene was there to keep us company, that the Officer was very nice, and that Andy was very understanding.  Thank you Lord Jesus!

Tomorrow we are taking a rails to trails bike trail from Mackinaw City south to Gaylord about 61 miles.