Sunday July 10, 2005 was an absolute perfect day for a bike ride, and that is exactly what we.  Joining me on this ride was Pete and last minute addition Steve. I called Bob and he had too many things going on to ride and Pete couldn’t get a hold of Steve so when I left my house to ride over and pick up Pete I thought it was just going to be the two of us. 

When I got to Pete’s he told me Steve was in and we just needed to give him a few minute to get ready.  Steve hadn’t ridden with us for a while, so it would be good to have him join.  Pete and I previously decided our next ride should be north to Lake Orion.  We stuck to our plan of taking Paint Creek Trail (PCT) all the way to Lake Orion. 

Steve was almost ready when we showed up.  Steve’s better half Cheryl got a new bike, a Trek 7200.  Her Trek is the same model as mine, she just got the female version in a bit smaller size than mine.  Now we just have to talk Steve into upgrading to a nice hybrid bike.  It was a hot sunny day and when Steve came out of his garage he had his camel pack on his back.  I think Steve was glad part way into the ride that Cheryl was looking out for his well being and convinced him to take the camel pack. 

Steve forgot his camera so we don’t have the whole slew of pictures we normally get when Steve attends.  He did take a couple pictures with his phone camera of the unique grave stone at Biggler Cemetery, which I will post at the bottom of this story.  More about the cemetery later. 

We headed down Dutton hill on our way to the trail.  Once on the trail Steve led for a little while and then Pete took over and picked up the pace.  We were actually riding at a decent pace for quite a few miles heading north on the trail.  Because the trail is crushed limestone it is not easy to maintain as fast a pace as we could if it were a hard paved surface.  The trail was busy and relatively crowded on this beautiful day.  At the end of the trail we cut over to Lapeer Road and headed for the old business section of Lake Orion.  Steve and Cheryl recently had dinner at the Sage Brush Cantina in Fenton and were told by their waiter that the foundation has been poured at the original location in Lake Orion.  We decided to check out the site to see if this was true.  It was true they have finally started working to rebuild this restaurant and the foundation is in place.  Rumor is they are going to be open for business again in November 2005. 

We were all hungry and ready for lunch.  After talking about our options for lunch we settled on Hamlin Pub which is located right on Lapeer just south of where we got off the trail.  It was 11:45 am when we got to Hamlin Pub, and we were surprised to find they were closed.  Even though it was a Sunday we thought this place would be open by 11:30.  Instead of waiting around to see if they open at noon we continued on further south down Lapeer to see if we could find somewhere else for lunch.  The Ruby Tuesdays was also not open and a few other restaurants we passed were also closed, it was beginning to feel like a holiday.  Finally we decided to head to the Wooden Eagle which is even further south on Lapeer at the intersection of Kern Road.  We were on the west side of Lapeer when the sidewalks ended.  It turned out the shoulder of the road was paved and wide making for a nice safe area to ride along south bound Lapeer.  

As we approached the new Home Depot on Lapeer Steve suggested we stop for hot dogs at the stand in the entrance to the store.  Little did we know that this was a good idea because when we got to the Wooden Eagle it was closed as well.  We just kept riding east toward home on Kern Road with the intention of stopping at the shopping center on Silverbell and Adams to find a place to eat.  I knew Herman Moore’s  place Ah Morre’ was in that shopping center, so if necessary we could eat there if they were open. 

We came across Biggler Cemetery and I stopped and directed Steve and Pete to follow me into the cemetery.  At first they weren’t sure why I was stopping, I had to yell at them that there was something I wanted to show them.  Finally they did get off their bikes and walk into the cemetery.  There is a very unique grave stone in the shape of a tall tree stump with a book attached to the front of the stump.  The entire thing is made of cement or some kind of stone.  It was placed there in the late 1800’s.  I believe I wrote about this headstone in a previous story many weeks ago, but since this was the first time Pete and Steve had seen it I thought I wound mention it again in this story.  See the bottom of this page for the two pictures Steve took of this grave stone.    

We took Gunn Road all the way to Adams and then Adams down to Silverbell where a small strip mall is located.  Ah Morre’ was open and we were desperate for lunch, so we all ordered sandwiches.  The food turned out to be very good.  I got my meal first and I started eating as soon as I sat down with the hope that I might finish about the same time as Steve and Pete.  Steve and Pete both eat incredibly fast.  I still had about a quarter of my sandwich left when they were both done.  They decided to go to the drug store in search of an ice cream bar.  I knew the drug store didn’t have individual ice creams, but I didn’t say anything.  I figured this would be a good way for me to be able to finish my lunch without being rushed.  I finally finished and I left the restaurant and was starting to put my on my helmet while standing outside next to my bike.  Steve forgot his camel pack, he left it hanging on the chair in the restaurant.  The guy cleaning up the table knocked on the window and pointed at Steve’s chair.  I went back in and picked up the camel pack.  The guy said it was the strangest looking back pack he had ever seen.  I told him it was a camel pack full of water and I could tell by the expression on his face he had no clue what I was talking about.  After I left the restaurant for a second time carrying Steve’s camel pack I saw both Pete and Steve walking back toward me empty handed.  They both had the forlorn look of a child who had been denied their desert for misbehavior.  I handed Steve his camel pack and we all headed off on our bikes.  Our next destination was Pete’s house for a quick dip in the pool.  

Apparently Steve hadn’t ridden the bike path along Silverbell and Brewster where much of the path is long suspended wooden bridges.  It is kind of cool riding on the narrow wooden path above the wetland below.  The riding surface is wooden 2 x 4’s laying horizontally across the narrow width of about six feet.  When you ride on these wooden planks your bike tires make a very unique rhythmic humming noise that sometimes remind me of a train passing by. 

As we traveled south on Brewster toward Dutton we passed the very large estate on the east side.  Rumor is this is the house of the president of Flag Star Bank.  It took a couple years to build this place and it is absolutely huge.  The land around the house now has a beautiful huge lawn that was created by laying sod.  I can only imagine how mush sod they had to use.  If your are ever in the area of Brewster between Dutton and Silverbell I suggest driving by to check out this house, you don’t see private homes this big very often.    

Once we got to Pete’s house we went directly to the back yard to cool off in the pool.  Pete brought out ice cream sandwiches for all three of us, so Steve and Pete finally got their ice cream.  Elaine came out and sat with us for a few minutes and we had a nice conversation .  The pool was very clean and it looked almost perfect.  I guess Elaine is doing a good job of maintaining the pool while Pete is out riding his bike.  As expected Pete and Steve inhaled the ice cream and were in the pool before me.  I joined them right after finishing my ice cream.  The water temperature was right around 80° which felt quite refreshing on this very warm day.  I’ll bet they had to put a little extra chlorine in the water after our three sweat dripping bodies cooled off in the water.  Thanks to both Pete and Elaine for allowing us to cool off in the pool, I’ll bet I lowered my body temperature by a degree or two and I felt much better on the 2.3 mile ride back to my house.  

Following are the statistics from this ride, 23.0 total miles, 26.5 max speed, 11.0 mph average speed and 2 hours and 5 minutes on bikes.
David Lindquist