Great Lakes Trip - 1978

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Soda stop

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End of DAY 1, flat tire, Don't bother to set up tent, sleep in sleeping bag wrapped in plastic sheet on abandoned road with delapidated barn, just off highway.

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DAY 2, June 2, 1978 Hitchhike <1 mile to gas station, change rear innertube (two puncture sites!)

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Bought two inner tubes and a Toronto Blue Jays cap at a Woolco

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2 hot dogs and a root beer at about 16:30

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Slept above a cut through rock, just before Westmeath Rd. 31.

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End of DAY 3, camped near the water, at sundown

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End of Day 4, camped behind an abandoned garage at 20:30

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DAY 5, 5 June 1978

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Took a break at a picnic ground

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Camped in picnic ground by the road -- began raining. Half inch deep puddle in the middle of the tent

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DAY 6, June 6, 1978 Cold (50°F), wet morning, pretty much everything is soaked,

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Rock formations like molten tar.

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Go to bike store, back axle is bent and a ball bearing broken (hence the grinding noise from before), they are replaced for $4. The crank is hammered on the pedal train and has been getting looser and looser. Went to Sudbury welding at lunch time and was told to come back at closing time, but when they saw me just sitting outside, reading a book, they called me in and it was welded in 5 min, for $5. Also dried everything at a laundromat

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End of DAY 6. Stopped at a campground on the banks of the Spanish River. Met a young hippie couple from Montana travelling in a 1955 International Harvester truck with a wood-shingled camper and a small trailer. Stayed up late with them.

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DAY 7, June 7, 1978 Didn't want to go on, but kinda had to.

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End of Day 7, not so depressed, rained a little. Camped in a huge pebbly field a bit after the campgrounds outside Iron Bridge.

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DAY 8, June 8, 1978 Got up very late

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Heavy rain coming in

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End of Day 8. Took shelter in a hay barn, pouring rain and lightning.

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Start of DAY 9, June 9, 1978 Departure, 9:30 a.m. Sky dark, but no rain

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End of DAY 9, Camped off the side of a timber road

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DAY 10, June 10, 1978 Got going about 11:30 after a great sleep.

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End of Day 10 Go off on dirt road into sand-pit area Starts raining

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DAY 11, June 11, 1978 Steady rain, stay in tent all day, reading and relaxing.

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DAY 12, June 12, 1978 Spent the previous day in the tent, but this morning (from original log): "It's sunny! IT'S SUNNY."

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Reached Wawa at 18:00

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End of Day 12 Camped off a dirt road into the woods

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End of DAY 13, Slept of the side of a forest road

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DAY 14, June 14, 1978 Slept in until 11:30

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End DAY 14

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DAY 15, Got up late (11:00) Sky heavily overcast, quite cold

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DAY 16, June 16, 1978

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End of DAY 15 Still very cold, found an abandoned house on a dirt side road, old 1953 Chevrolet wreck outside.

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End of DAY 16. Left the bike for overnight repair at Petrie's bike shop. Went to look for a motel.

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All the repairs to the back wheel (new freewheel, new axle, new bearings, and tune up, total $34.25 (1978 dollars) Left about 11:00

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Fort Motel where I stayed overnight Day 16 to 17 -- the hot bath was soooo great!

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End of DAY 17 Soon after crossing into Minnesota it began to rain, found an abandoned cottage (only 3 walls and a roof) right on the shore of the Lake Superior

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DAY 18: Woke up to sunny weather, with an amazing view of Lake Superior

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End of DAY 18 Stopped at the Manitou Falls Resort, then owned by the Finch family, stayed a few days to work and relax, gorgeous site, with a gorge!

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DAY 19-DAY 33 Worked at the campground, made $100 + free board and food.

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DAY 33, July 2, 1978 Departed at 7:00

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Was still the wooden Arrowhead bridge in 1978

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Started raining

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End of DAY 33 Camped in an abandoned barn

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DAY 34, July 3 1978 Got up late, overcast but not raining

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End of Day 34, slept in the hayloft of a barn. The abandoned house beside it had had a complete wall removed -- presumably by a tornado -- and one could see into all the rooms.

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DAY 35, 4th of July! Nice and sunny this morning

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Got in about 16:30

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End of Day 35. Went 115 miles on odometer. Met a young local couple camping in the park, went into Greenwood, saw some fireworks, a softball game. Went back to the camp ground and had some beers, some strips of pork roasted over an open fire. Wonderfully trusting and nice people.

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DAY 36, July 5, 1978 Woke at 5:30, went back to sleep until 7:15, left about 8:05

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Exactly 12:00 noon

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DAY 37, July 6, 1978 Awoke 5:30, but left about 8:00

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End of DAY 36 Went 112.6 miles according to odometer Camped just off road B, away from the swampy river. Had picked up some pretzels and Olympia beer in Westfield

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Arrived about 11:30-12:00

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DAY 38, July 7, 1978 Woke at 9:00, left at 10:30

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End of Day 37, camped in a barn

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End of DAY 38 Luckily met a man who let me camp in his back yard, showed me League of American Wheelmen magazines.

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DAY 39, July 8, 1978 Woke 5:30, on the road by 6:10 to make soure I could get through Chicago

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Had a terrible hamburger, and was warned not to stop next to a building, by someone who was willing to enforce his opinion with a revolver he began unclipping before I left.

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End of DAY 39. 115 miles on the odometer

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DAY 40. July 9, 1978, Left 11:30 (or is it 12:30 EDT?)

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Camped in woods across from a gas station, it was very dark at 22:00

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DAY 41, July 10, 1978 Left around 9:15 local time

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Put watch ahead 1 hr

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Changed the front tire as the belts of rubber were splitting badly

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End of DAY 41. Had the town sheriff's permission to camp in the park behind the town hall, but some teens came and vandalized the building, so I was allowed to sleep in the town hall.

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DAY 42, July 11, 1978 Left around 10:00 after making a written statement.

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End of DAY 42 Found a nice old stone house, abandoned, slept inside. One of the most humid evenings I can remember, it was like bikeing through a swimming pool.

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DAY 43, July 12, 1978

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Badly twisted the rear wheel to avoid a semi, hitchhiked to Parkman

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Reached bike store in Parkman at 19:00, it had closed at 17:00. Camped behind the Congregational Church

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DAY 44, July 13, 1978 Got to the bike store at 8:10, $5 to true the wheel. First time I ever saw Amish people (thought they were some people dressed up as a tourist attraction)

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End of DAY 45. Thunderstorm coming in, I took shelter on the porch of the old Methodist church in Gageville. The minister invited me to their house for dinner, then we went to a fair in Ashtabula, OH. It was very foggy on the way back. The minister let me sleep in the new church, went to bed at 23:35

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DAY 45, July 14, 1978. Left around 10:00, sky overcast, but not raining

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Road was in awful condition

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End of DAY 45 Met some cyclists who invited me to their home. Had a few beers, talked all afternoon as it was too hot to bike.

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DAY 46, July 15, 1978 Left around 10:00 Road conditions still horrible

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15:00

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End of DAY 46, Camped behind a house of people who gave me some supper.

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DAY 47, July 16, 1978 Left Napoli at 9:00

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End of DAY 47 Pitched tent by edge of dirt road

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Somewhere around here went by the abandoned Sugar Grove-Birdsall School House, 1876

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End of DAY 48 Camped down hill from the cemetery

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DAY 49, July 18, 1978 Left around 9:00

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DAY 63, July 31, 1978 Left by 8:00

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DAY 50-DAY 62 -- Stayed with my uncle and his family. (July 19 to July 30)

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End of DAY 49, reached home of my uncle Pierre, in Groton N.Y.

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Stayed with some people I'd met before on my trips from Montreal to Groton, NY

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DAY 64, August 1, 1978 Left about 9:00

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DAY 1. Departure, 7:15 June 1, 1978