Clare, MI to Bay City, MI 54 Miles, July 7

After a delicious breakfast of homemade biscuits, oatmeal and homegrown tomato juice with Merle and Wilma we were ready to start our ride, until we saw the lightning and rain. We delayed our start until 7:00 AM when the skies cleared giving us a lovely ride on the Pere Marquette Bicycle Rail Trail. This was such a treat with no traffic and a well maintained paved trail. It ended in Midland, MI 30 miles away where we enjoyed the riverfront park with the "Trige". This was where three bridges came together over the Tibawasee River, Salt River and another tributary. The Trige is strictly for walking.

Going through Midland we stopped to eat at Sid's, a party store. In Michigan, the convenience stores are called party stores, because that is where they sell liquor. When Carol and I entered the people there were so excited by our cycling adventure they asked if we would stay long enough to be interviewed by a reporter from The Daily News. Carol and I agreed to wait even though we were concerned about the predicted 1:00 PM rain storm. We were interviewed and photographed by Josh, then had another delay in Bay City because our route was closed due to road construction. We had to negotiate quite a bit of traffic before finding Pam at St. Luke's Methodist Church. But we arrived by 3:00 and the storm didn't arrive until after 4:00. We enjoyed meeting Pastor Juanita Ferguson who showed up on her own bicycle. I remarked to the Pastor that of all the churches we had stayed in, this was the first where we could take a hot shower and how special this is for us. She then told us that they have had the shower for years, but they only use it to store "stuff". When she heard we were coming she remembered about the shower and made sure the place was cleared out and ready for our use.

Later we were treated to dinner by Bob and Mary Davidson at Hooligans, the local restaurant. We were joined by others from the church and the waitress knew them all by name. Then Bob Jarve, the Director of Habitat in Bay City took me on a tour of Bay City and allowed me to use the Habitat Computer for this blog, while Pam and Carol decided to turn in for the night.

Bob had quite a story of his own to share. He and his wife were both public school teachers with six children, when two of their children were diagnosed with terminal illnesses. Their medical bills of $500,000. threatened to sink them, when their church raised funds to help them stay solvent. They did lose one son at 21 years old. The younger son, at 11 years old, received a liver transplant and today is 32.

Out of gratitude, Bob began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, in 1988. After 35 years as a special education teacher he retired and the next day became the first paid employee of Habitat in Bay City, Michigan. He said he works harder now than he ever did as a teacher and is loving every minute of it. Bay City Habitat is able to raise a Habitat House in approximately one month, with donated labor, materials and land. Their latest project is making the homes so energy efficient that the families have utility bills of $100. per year. They are really cutting edge on many levels.

Later in the evening, Pastor Juanita Ferguson returned to ask us if there was anything she could do to help us on our trip. She went to her office, at 10:00 PM and contacted the Pastor of the church in North Branch where we will be tomorrow. It is more and more obvious that it is the people we meet on this journey who continue to take care of and inspire us.

The trip through Michigan is going entirely too fast.