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Day 25 - August 13

Today was not the most glamorous ride. The geniuses at Google marked a bike path along the shoreline that is actually a snowmobile trail. Google has made that same mistake almost everywhere in the U.P. except in city centers. Just a guess; the teenage gamers in Silicone Valley have not seen nor heard of a snowmobile.  The route change to accommodate this took me through the middle of the U.P. which does not have quite the same cachet as Lake Superior.

So I had a chance to see the guts of this peninsula and am sorry to report that it looks just like home. Every going concern has a help wanted sign. Hospitality business service is spotty up here and I chalked that up to cultural differences. Rethinking that supposition however, it is likely that every business is just short staffed. My friend Todd has this same issue in Elkhart so I don't recommend that he spend any money trying to recruit Yoopers.

The day ended with a call from my buddy Patrick just checking up on me and offering an attaboy. It has been fun to connect with the characters on this trip, like Clem in the pick-up truck who, earlier today, chatted me up while I drank a giant Gatorade in the parking lot of a convenience store. In just five minutes, I learned that he had a triple bypass and a new heart valve in June. Expressing his sentiment that he is happy to be above ground, he also started to explain something they do with the appendix but his son returned to the car and cut the conversation short. Clem did manage to finish with "watch out for them bears just past Soo Corners." When he saw the look on my face, he fortunately admitted "I's just kiddin.". As entertaining as these encounters are, I am missing the company of my peeps. Not to mention Nina & PL.

66 miles today for 1,348 total.  I think I see Marathon Key just ahead.

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