Day 38. Ironwood to Bergland, 34 miles

What a great day. Being pretty excited to see Andrew, I had to force myself to slow down the morning routine so I didn’t arrive in Bergland so much earlier than he did that the place wouldn’t let me check in. I was, for the first time on the trip, sort of badly in need of laundry, and it turned out there’s a laundromat in Ironwood, so I made my way there around 7:15, got a load in, and used some of the $10 in quarters I had to purchase for a breakfast of weak coffee and pop tarts.

Laundry accomplished, I gather snacks and drinks for what’s turning into a very hot day and head out toward Bergland on a lovely Rail-to-Trail trail called the Iron Belle; I get 7-8 miles with her before I’m back on my old buddy 2, with which I will finally part ways today so I can take the (hopefully quieter) M-28 as my main road through the U.P.

Oh! And I entered my last time zone of the trip! ET from here on out.

I get on 28, and it is indeed quieter, though this is compensated for by the disappearance/disintegration of my paved shoulder for a stretch. I do not despair, because I have learned how such roads work, and the next town or county may take its road maintenance more seriously. The ATVs that appear and then roar and bounce past in a cloud of road dust on the larger, gravel part of the shoulder may be a clue as to the jagged and broken edges of the asphalt shoulder and the gravel strewn across it. I have to remind myself that I am the interloper here: that wide gravel shoulder is almost certainly for them, much like the trail Googlemaps keeps trying to put me on (Snowmobile Trail 8 on maps, it helpfully adds).

And then who cares because I am here at our home for the next day or so!

The owner left the AC on in our (adorable and spacious) cabin because Andrew told her I’d be arriving by bike, and she lets me check in an hour early. I explore the place, get changed, and park myself on the bench to await Andrew’s arrival. He arrives, rolling up on his motorcycle with his much cooler safety gear, and here our story pauses for the moment while I enjoy some time with my guy whom I haven’t seen for six weeks (!!).