Miles: 108
Total Elevation Gain (ft): 1525.7
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Mild
Hillbilly Insults: 0
Roadkill: 44 (6 Birds, 3 Possum, 3 Frogs, 3 Turtles, 8 Raccoons, 21 Unknown)
Bugs Swallowed: 1
Mean Dogs Chasing: 0
Animal Rescue: 0
The carnage on the road continues.
Central Michigan's rodents don't fare well along county roads. Too much forest, too many cars. As I pass the twisted remains of someone's furry mom or dad, I say a little prayer for each one of them and smell their evaporating essence. This got me thinking about the olfactory menu drummed up by the pavement day after day.
Here's a list, in order of prevalence, of the stuff I've been smelling over the past seven weeks:
-Good quality hay curing in the mow.
-Freshly turned rich soil.
-Liquid manure slurry from factory hogs.
-Steaming cattle manure.
-Rain on hot asphalt.
-Sweet putridity of rotting animal flesh.
-Dank sweat soaked cycling jerseys.
-Viscous perspiration and sunscreen resin.
-Faint Pine Sol and bleach from long ago filthy toilet cleaning
-Gasoline
-Urine turned syrup in filthy truck stop restrooms.
There's more, I'm certain, but these are smells etched in my memory.
Pretty flat ride on roads with decent shoulders. I was getting close to Detroit and arranged a visit with my friend Richard and his family. It was a wise choice. These people are the most pleasant hosts. They gave me the VIP treatment in their well appointed home. It was an absolute contrast to the Hanoi Hilton I "slept" in a couple of days ago.
After a heavenly shower in an apartment sized bathroom, Rich and Robbyn fed me a steak. Maddox, their charming son, gave me a tour of the toy collection--A bright kid, he should be a plastic dinosaur docent. Even the dog, Dudley, showed me some love after he warmed up.
My mother-in-law accommodations were fit for a spoiled Saudi Prince. I secretly hoped that it would rain so that is be "trapped" here a while. The gods smiled upon me as the thunder clapped late into the night.
RSS Feed