BRO QUEST 2009

It's been an entire week since our last rest day, and it's been a great week. Stuart and I are in Marquette, MI in the Upper Peninsula (Yooper), and we're enjoying sleeping in beds and not biking crazy distances for the day. We are looking forward to trying pasties (past-ease) this afternoon. We may even go kayaking later this afternoon. Right now we're hovering around mile 2700 which means we're about 2/3 through the trip. In two days, we'll be in Sault Ste. Marie preparing for our siege on Canada. We also have a bag full of fireworks we need to get rid of before we cross the border, so be on the lookout for videos of Stuart and me nearly blowing our fingers off.

It took us 3 days to ride from Grand Rapids to Duluth. We had some late starts but were able to make up for them with later riding. We were really surprised when we rode into Duluth - we spent most of the day climbing hills with few drops. Mildly annoyed by the elevation hike, we were rewarded greatly when we rolled into the city. We hit hills that were so steep, our brakes couldn't bring us to a full stop. Stuart and I had to get off our bikes and walk until we reached more rideable terrain.

We got another late start in Duluth and ate a Hot'n'Ready special outside of a Little Cesar's (not the best idea ever). An owner of a bike shop approached us and gave us some advice on how to cross Lake Superior into Wisconsin without getting killed. We were really grateful. When we got into Superior, WI on the other side of the bridge, we stopped at the Richard I. Bong WWII Memorial and talked to some WWII veterans about the war. Despite all of the obvious jokes, Bong was referred to as the "Ace of Aces" during the war - he flew a P-38 and had over 40 confirmed kills during his service. I shared some stories about my grandpa who was a navigator. He was shot down over Germany and interned in a Stalag Luft POW camp for nearly 2 years before escaping during a forced march. It was really interesting to talk to them and gave me more of a perspective about my grandfathers' experiences during the war.

We celebrated Wisconsin with cheese curds and bourbon flavored bratwurst. Yum! We ended up camping behind a beautiful hotel in Ashland that was on Lake Superior. I really wish we had more time to explore Wisconsin. We had another late start and were planning on making up some more miles when we rolled into Bergland in the UP. We decided to get a beer to recharge and relax at the Bergland Bay Bar before pushing on. The beer had other plans. Between the amazing jukebox selection, friendly locals who bought us more beer, Trivia challenges, and being tired from a mere 80 miles of riding, we decided to call it an early night and not push on to our scheduled destination.

Stuart and I realized we had to make up for lost time. We had about 112 miles to make it to Marquette, so we ate some Poptarts and coffee and got on the road. We had an excellent tailwind and were able to push 60 miles before lunch with minimal breaks. At the end of the afternoon, we biked over 100 miles in close to 6 hours of riding through some gorgeous hills and forests. We were thrilled. Once we hit the outer edges of Marquette, we got sucked into the Yooper Tourist Trap. It was like a Garrison Keeler skit come to life. Everything was really corny and surprisingly funny. We're glad that Yoopers have senses of humor.

Last night we stayed with Stuart and Andrew who hosted us through couchsurfing. They've been super cool, and it looks like we're going kayaking in a bit. Can't wait!

I'm going to have to apologize on the lack of pictures for this post. We're having some technical issues, but we'll resolve them soon for your enjoyment.

PS - guess who has chops and a mustache - THIS GUY.