Day 75: Ups and Downs to Ann Arbor

This post will be a longer one but it being one of my more wild days I hope it will keep you entertained.

3 am wake-ups are almost always a sure sign of an interesting day to come. This wake up came in the form of raccoons digging into my trash from last night's meal that I was too lazy to throw out. I thought fine, let them fuss with it, at least it's just trash. After 30 minutes I heard a bit of a different noise and realized I forgot my brand new box of oatmeal packets and they were tearing it up. I threw some clothes and shoes on, shooed them off, and cleaned up my mess. With the oatmeal now in the tent I tried to go back to sleep. I heard another rustling, this time right by my head, and shined my headlamp out to see a skunk! I dropped below the tent mesh and slapped the ground and tsk'd a bit until it scurried off. I was sure to follow it with the light to see it off, but pretty soon it came back with a buddy and they wandered the campsite. Getting sprayed by a skunk would be sure to be the worst thing to happen on this trip so I layed there nervously for another 45 minutes listening to skunks patrol and raccoons fight each other.

Thankfully I was able to go back to sleep and get some more rest. I awoke and made some food, then replaced my chain which has been overdue. It wasn't until I left camp and heard an odd noise that I realized I routed the chain outside of the derailler's metal tab instead of inside it so it was rubbing. I stopped to break the links and reroute it when a biker, Todd, stopped to chat. He was excited about my trip and I encouraged him to try it sometime. He tried to help a bit but we realized I would just need to pop a pin out so he headed home and I continued. I was struggling to get everything lined up when reinstalling the pin and after at least 30 minutes ended up breaking my chain tool. When Rick and Cindy stopped in their Expedition during their day of Jehovah appointments I took them up on a ride to the nearest bike shop. They were really nice and made sure the Dexter bike shop had what I needed before leaving.

Jeffrey, owner of the bike shop, was also very nice and got right on the spoke repair and fixing the chain. He gave me a couple discounts on parts and services and it was a great experience. He also pointed me towards Ann Arbor and after a bit I was finally in town. Ann Arbor was 20 miles from my campsite this morning but I didn't make it until 4 and was now starving and mentally drained. More than a couple people recommended Zingerman's Deli so I got a sandwich there and a few samples of the wide variety of cheeses, breads, and treats they sell. The sandwich was fantastic but for $15 I could have gotten two Paseo's sandwiches in Seattle.

Next I found the local FedEx and got the care package Steph sent me. After a rough day this was exactly what I needed to cheer up. There was a beautiful card, photobooth strip of pictures, new toothbrush, snacks galore, and homemade cookies from her and her mom. I dried my cheeks and dug into the cookies, enjoying half of them before packing the goodies away and exploring U of M.

The campus was one of the more beautiful I've seen, especially the exquisite Law School Reading Room. It was here that I took stock of my sleeping options and decided between Motel 6 or some stealth camping. A guy at the local sports store pointed me to Bird Hill saying I could find a good hiding spot there so I decided to go for it, but after a beer. I sat down at Ashley's, widely considered one of the best bars in town, and looked through their 70 taps.

Refreshed with a beer I began talking to the bartender and patrons near me. Rachel gave me a couple Boston recommendations and soon I was chatting with Raul who has been hooked on biking since losing 50+ pounds when he started last year. We chatted through another beer and eventually he volunteered his couch for the night. My chatting had paid off and we rode to his place in Ypsilanti where I showered and we headed out with his friend Gino to a local bar with the best happy hour I've ever seen. 25 ounce microbrews were $3.25 every night from 10-12! We played a card game, Shithead, where there are no winners but one shithead, and made our way through three of the mugs before calling it a night.

Getting back we watched a little women's Olympic soccer and listened to some Black Joe Lewis before my head hit the couch cushion around 3 am. It was a long and crazy day but I was happy it turned around and became a great one. I've had a few days recently that were just so-so and I was starting to really look forward to Boston but today was a good reminder of why I wanted to do this trip in the first place. Ups, downs, highs, and lows, they all make wonderful memories and keep the trip exciting.