The Itinerary:

• October 3-4: Williamston, Michigan to St Clair, Michigan.
• October 5: Blue Water Ramble tour, crossing into Ontario and back.
• October 6-8: St Clair, Michigan to Hamilton, Ontario.
• October 9-12: World Road Championship bike races.
  

On our Rans V-Rex recumbent bicycles, my friend Wendell and I departed at 8:00 am on October 3, 2003 from Williamston, Michigan toward Metamora, Michigan. Though I had publicized the portion of our ride between Williamston and St. Clair, Michigan as a club ride, only Wendell and I showed up. That probably had something to do with the weather. Rain, cold temperatures and winds gusting to 30 mph were forecast. As we departed, it was cloudy and only 33 degrees, but traffic was light .

After making an unscheduled stop at Wendell's for the cue sheets, we headed east on Haslett Road and discovered that the wind wasn't bad at all. We had the benefit of tailwinds all day.

Worried about crossing Interstate 75 near Grand Blanc, Michigan, I had contacted Ed Usewick, a Grand Blanc cyclist, for advice. Our early departure was dictated by his recommendation that we cross I-75 before 2:00 to avoid intense traffic. Constant tailwinds enabled us to cross I-75 at 12:30.

We experienced only intermittent sprinkles between Byron and that point. After we crossed I-75, however, the sprinkles turned to drizzle and continued with us to our lunch stop in Goodrich.

I had been in Byron and Goodrich when my daughter was a Williamston High School cheerleader. I watched her at a cheerleading competition in Goodrich, and when the cheerleading coach couldn't attend a basketball game in Byron, she asked me to substitute for her. I had never in my life expected to be a cheerleading coach, but enjoyed my one night stint as one.

Wendell's wife Kathi drove their motorhome to Goodrich and joined us there for lunch. As we ate, the rain intensified, so we examined our overnight options. Only the Hadley-Metamora State Park made sense to us. When I had checked with the park manager a week before, I was told that the park was full as a result of a Halloween/Fall Season event, but seeing the weather, we called the park and Kathy was able to get in.

Pouring rain precluded me from taking any pictures. It rained so much that everything but my laptop was wet. Wet and cold, I elected to stay the night in the motorhome.

After locking our bicycles to a picnic table and covering them with a tarp, we motored over to the Village of Metamora for an excellent dinner at the historic White Horse Inn.