The Bauer Family

It is 6:30am and everyone else is in bed.  A quick check of the weather shows that it is 61 degrees and the radar is clear.  Forecast is a high of 69 degrees with a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, calm wind becoming 5 to 10 mph out of the east.  Looking like a great day. So I met Raymond for breakfast and then we headed to the starting line of the Soft Rock.  Weather was perfect for the race.  There were some wet spots on the trail from rain over the previous days. Ready to race! Anxiously waiting the start. From the first turn of the pedals I knew it was going to be a good race.  I started mid pack and ran into a few traffic jams.  I started passing riders as space allowed and quickly moved up.  I finished 18th in the Single Speed class and 322 overall.  There was a total of 922 riders in the Soft Rock.  I topped my previous best time from 2009 by 3 minutes, 1 hour 53 minutes. 28 miles later. I was back to the hotel for...

We headed to the spaghetti feed at 5:00pm at the Arena.  The Lions Club again put on an excellent carbo loading feast.  I especially liked the cake this year!  After eating we got in line to get our race packets.  First time that I have been there so early and the process was very quick.  The boys each got additional t-shirts from races past and we toured the vendor areas.  I really enjoy looking at the bikes on display.  Below are some samples. SISU Hardtail SISU Full Suspension 650b Giant XTC Composite 29er Next in store is a good night sleep and I will be up early for the race tomorrow.

We started off our day with Breakfast at the hotel restaurant.  We were leaving to Sugarloaf Mountain when the Leach Family arrived at the hotel.  We spoke to them and they said they may meet us at the mountain.  So we took a detour to Walmart, got Brendan's hair cut and picked up a few things while we were there.  We ran into the Leach family in Walmart and they said they would probably skip the mountain trek.    So we started the climb up the mountain with Michelle and Brendan taking the route marked easy, read longer.  JJ and I took the route marked difficult.  We all arrived at the top to enjoy the view and what a view it is. Lake Superior Memorial to Bart, killed in France during WWI. We then retreated to the hotel for sandwiches and time in the pool.  Next up the spaghetti feed and packet pickup.    

Day 3 actually started before we got to bed.  So with a late night came a late morning.  We were out of the hotel in time for lunch.  We then met Raymond, Alexander and Madilyn for a ride on the North Marquette trails. The trailhead. The crew ready to depart on their adventure. We headed out on what was one of the last sections of trail for Saturdays Ore 2 Shore.  We rode out a ways and then Michelle and the littlest ones headed back.  Alexander, JJ and I split onto some single track.  After about a mile we ran into some real technical riding and headed back.  We returned to the trailhead and decided to ride the last part of trail to the race end at the arena.  We met back up with Michelle and returned to the hotel. We cleaned up and went to Bonanza for dinner.  After steaks and all you can eat salad bar/buffet we waddled out.  We then headed to Presque Isle.  Michelle and the boys got a lesson in rocks and we watched the cl...

We woke up around 8:00am at the Holiday Inn in St Igance and headed down to the breakfast bar.  Very nice breakfast, anything you could ask for they had.  Very good coffee too!  After loading up on breakfast and stopping for gas (surprising that gas is nearly the same here in the UP as back home) we departed St Ignace around 12:00pm.  We headed west on Highway 2 then north on 117.  We had planned on stopping for Pasties at some point.  However, we had packed a great deal of food and snacks so we decided to just have them and made a stop shortly after turning west on to Highway 28. Road Side park on 28, our first stop. So we started to make sandwiches and stretch our legs.  There was another family there and to our surprise they were the ones that JJ played soccer with the night before in St Ignace. So they played soccer! They are from Minneapolis and were on the final leg of a trip around Lake Superior.  Their next stay would also be in Marquette...

We successfully crossed the Mighty Mac this afternoon around 5:00pm.  One lane closed in the north bound lane and high winds had semi's and trailers traveling at only 20 mph.  Making the approach to The Mighty Mac So we rolled into the Holiday Inn and checked in.  Then we headed for our annual climb of Castle Rock. Michelle, my lovely wife at the first stop on the Rock. Michelle and JJ at the top. Brendan and Michelle looking to the horizon. God Bless America! We bid farewell to the rock after the mandatory souvenier shopping and headed out to eat.  So that means BC pizza.  The place was packed.  The reason being half off Large and X-Large pizza and $1 draft.  After ordeing we sat out on the deck and had pizza and cheese bread.  Best pizza around. Back to the hotel and we went out to the beach.  The boys like to look for minnows and spend some time in the water. The minnows have to be here? JJ got into a beach soccer game. Brendan ...

It is Tuesday morning, August 9, 2011 and we are preparing to leave for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the Ore 2 Shore Mountain Bike Epic.  We will be staying in St. Ignace tonight and then heading for Marquette on Wednesday.  Weather looks very good for the week.  Stay tuned will post up photos and updates as we go along.