Mendon & Yorkville - days 1 & 2

We have traveled 85.5 miles in 2 days. Day one was 54.5, and day 2 was 31. The people at the 

B & B in Mendon were so kind. Lemonaide for us when we arrived and a huge breakfast when we left. The owners, Cherylle and Jeff, were from South Africa, but have been here for 18 years or so. Mendon looks like it used to be quite the tourist spot for those looking for an artsy place to spend the afternoon or weekend. The boardwalk along the St. Joe River was so nice, but as is the case in so many small towns in Michigan, the downtown has been hit hard. There were more shops with "for sale" signs in them than operating businesses.

The first day's ride itself was really nice. We had to significant stops along the way, but were able to keep a very nice pace for us.

Day 2's ride started with a flat tire on my bike, but I just pumped it up and along we went. I will take a closer look at it tonight to see what the issue is. The ride today was short (I found a significant short-cut), but we are limited to making stops where the hotels are. We will pay the price tomorrow with our longest ride - 62 miles! It is supposed to rain/storm too. It will be a long slog if that happens. The owner at the Gull Lake Inn has been really nice, letting me use his computer for this update, and helping with laundry facilities. We also met 3 other cyclists. David was going in the opposite direction, and had stayed at the campground we would have stayed in around Luther if we had stuck to the original plan. He said it was an awful place to stop. I am glad we changed our plans. The other two we saw were getting ice cream across from our hotel. It was a nice chat. You always learn something when you talk cycling with other riders.

One other note...Alex is the man! I am so proud of him for working so hard, and enjoying the experience  we are sharing. :-)