Day 3 — Ferry and Rest Day (MI to WI)

For many logistical reasons, including resting our legs after 2 days of 7+ hours of riding — as well as getting the large RV back around Lake Michigan as a support vehicle, we did not ride a third consecutive century today because the journey across the lake on a ferry takes 2.5 hours, not offsetting the time zone difference.

We did however meet in the lobby to load our luggage before 8:30; we rolled out on our bicycles at 9am. The ferry terminal was a little over 3 miles from the hotel.

If you board the ferry on a bicycle, you get to board first but you have to have a separate ticket and pay $8 per bicycle in addition to your person crossing fee.

Once we were on the ferry, we left the harbor and the boat powered up it's four 3,000 horsepower, MTU engines and Swedish-made turbojets. Despite having over three dozen vehicles and at least 100 passengers, the boat cranked up a significant wake and appeared to be going at least 35 land miles per hour. 

After several of us viewed the deck, we went back inside and ordered breakfast from the galley. After that we asked if they had a deck of playing cards because none of us remembered to bring any. We work through the rules of euchre and it helped us get across the lake.

Once we deboarded the boat, we all gathered in the parking lot to discuss Logistics and travel to the nearby town of West Allis. I didn't have a route loaded in my watch or my head unit so I turned on My Suunto Wing headphones and used turn by turn audio directions via Google Maps. After weaving a few miles from the ferry port, we took 3 miles of riding on the Hank Aaron State Trail which drove us past Miller Park. From there we exited and went through town to our hotel. After we checked in just a bit before 1:00 p.m., we all agreed to freshen up and meet in the lobby — to play bags, to work on a repairs we may have needed for our bike, and to head into Wawautosa to meet other colleagues who were visiting but are native to the area. 

I was pleasantly surprised when we were able to meet an old colleague of mine who lived a few miles away in Oconomowoc, for dinner.

Today was a day about rest, reflecting, and recuperation, as we prepare for another two centuries starting in the morning.