Onward

Day 3 June 26 2012

Battle Creek to Leslie

     I doubt anything could have awaken us last night.  Yesterday was a long day.  66 degree temp this morning, not quite as nippy as yesterday, but still needed jackets.   Got going at 7:58 AM.

I love the early starts through these small towns.  We are greeted by people taking out their trash, walking their dogs, loading bikes up, watering flowers and getting the car loaded for camping.   The smell of bacon wafted from one house as we went by.

     Todays course is supposed to be hilly for the first half, then leveling off some.  Took Rollin to the bike mechanics again last night.  More tweaking and mumbling about our 66T gear ring being the problem.  I don't care if they mumble, as long as the issue gets resolved
   
     Battle Creek is the largest community we stop in on PALM 31.   According to Wikepedia,  the city name got it's name  from a skirmish with 2 indians.  A government land surveying team lead by  Colonel John Mullett was several miles from the present city.  It was the winter of 1823  when the indians, intent on stealing provisions, attacked 2 members that had stayed behind in camp.  A fight broke out, shots were fired, 1 indian was seriously injured, and both were subdued.  The survey team left the area and returned in 1824, after Governor  Cass had settled the dispute with the indians.  The nearby stream was named  the "Battle Creek River. "

     The first permanent settlement started in 1831.  It began as a market and mill center for area farmers.  The prairie land  was fertile and easily cultivated.  1832 was the year a post office was established and the first school. a small log building, was in either 1833 or 1834.  The town soon had a brick manufacturing plant as well.  An act of legislature in 1839 established Battle Creek as a township.
 The arrival of the railroad brought much growth to the area.


      The Battle Creek Sanitarium was opened in 1866 and was known as the Western Health Reform Institute.  10 years later John H. Kellogg became the superintendent, his brother W.K, worked as the book keeper.  In 1876 a fire took place destroying new structures that had been built and leading to the rebuilding and enlargement of the facility.   A sanitarium was a place that people went to restore their health.  The new improved place was renamed the Battle Creek Sanitarium and was known for educating it's guests, many of whom were critically ill,   about healthy living and eating.   One of the first to realize that, "you are what you eat," Kellogg incorporated radical dietary changes into the treatment programs at the "San."  Under his hand the invention of cornflakes occurred.  Battle Creek soon became known as the cereal capital of the world.   It was a basic training camp for soldiers during both world wars, and the home of the Percy Jones Orthopedic Hospital.

          At the 13 mile mark, we had another chain jam.  Our friends Dick and Jane from last year came by on their diamond frame tandem, and helped us get the chain loose.  The chain continued to jam., 3 more times.  Once again  Diane, the bike lady was to the rescue, trying to resolve the problem.

      I have my doubts that the problem will get resolved on this tour.  Told Tammy and the rest to go on in ahead of us.  Very discouraging to do our best to get the trike in top shape and then have issues like this.  I still have a felling it has to do with the deraileur.      Diane used her magic, but it wasn't enough.  We knew we didn't want to ride in the middle gear ring the rest of the tour, so we decided to get the chain  on the large gear ring and leave it there for the duration of PALM.  We will fall back to yesterdays plan and use our mountain drive when we need low gearing.

     This high flying motorcycle was a photo opportunity waiting to happen.  I wonder how they got it up there....

     The sun was doing it's thing, it was hot.   We were glad to find a nice shady spots to stop and rest.

     While we were resting we met a lady name Diana that lived in the area.  

  She had grown up attending a one room school house nearby.  After 5th grade she went on to the Leslie Public School.  For someone who was used to feeling as if her teachers and fellow students were family, it was a shocking adjustment.  She kept to herself at first, but eventually made friends.   She  currently lives  just outside of Leslie, was looking forward to a supper at home that night, and sleeping in her own bed.

      Found an unused critter home at the base of this tree.  Wouldn't have seen that if we had driven by in a car.  Another unexpected pleasure of seeing the world slow and close up.

     Very interesting sights across our state, and today was no exception.  We stopped at this library for an interesting bathroom break.

 Passed a fieldstone house as well.  Seeing it makes I think of the whole family gathering stones, wondering if they found them all in one summer or if it took a year or 2.  Next of course, would have come,  the planning and construction of the house.  Again, I envision not only Dad, hard at work, but Mom and the kids bringing stones to him.  Maybe the stones were in piles according to sizes small, medium and large.  Here stands a piece of history.  What stories it would tell, if it could talk.  Stones formed and  left behind by glaciers, now made into a  human abode. 

    There were still some rolling hills ahead of us, and the drivers on this side of the state aren't very patient with cyclists, much honking and some fowl language flung at us today.   Nothing like the welcome waves we had gotten on the western side of the state. We missed a turn and did about 1 mile of unnecessary hills.  SAG found us and turned us in the right direction, which meant we got to do the same hills we had just done, only in reverse order.  

     We arrived at the school in Leslie about 5:30 PM.  Not as late or as tired as the night before, but almost.  We were parking the trike when a couple came up and started talking to us.  Margo and Ken are followers of this blog.  He is a Pastor in Owosso.   Great people, easy to talk to, we had a nice visit.  It has been a nice treat to connect with riders  who read our blog.  Sometimes they tell us right away that they read it, other times we catch on, after they ask us questions about something that I may have written about.  

     At the meeting tonight warnings were given about heavy traffic roads we would ride over the next few days.  They confirmed what we had already learned.  Many drivers in this area don't like to share the road with cyclist.