The Best of Friends

To Grand Haven, Michigan -- 48.8 miles, 12.2 mph, 1500 ft

We did it!  We made it to one of the major waypoints on our way to Wisconsin and back home to CA. When we started thinking about a bike route from Boston to California via Wisconsin, it suddenly became clear that the most direct route would be through Ontario, Michigan and right across Lake Michigan. I suppose a purist might go around, but given the ~4000+ miles of the entire ride, we felt entitled. In any event, this put a bullseye on Ben and Lydia’s house in Grand Haven.

Grand Haven, right on the way to Milwaukee

Ben was one of the early mechanical engineers at Intuitive Surgical way back in 2000-2003. Even back then, things in Silicon Valley were booming and finding an apartment for any sort of reasonable price was almost impossible. I mentioned to Ben that my twin brother, Dan, had recently bought a house in Mountain View and was looking for a house mate. It turned out to be a win-win and they shared the tiny 900 sq. ft. house until Ben decided to head back home to Michigan, where he has since started a consulting business, married, bought a house, and had two children.

For the second day in a row we headed out early. The winds we lighter and more in our favor, but we traded the dead flat terrain of the day before for some short but steep climbs. The knees were once again complaining.

Early stop for breakfast

As we were highly motivated to see our friends, we kept up a steady pace, and finally zig zagged our way along a series of dirt roads to Ben and Lydia’s arriving around 1:30. Yippee. It was fantastic to see them. Their youngest, James (4), ran up to Meg and gave her a huge hug. He had heard so much about us, he felt like he already knew us, and was anxious to make us feel right at home.

Ben and Lydia's house

Suffice it to say, Lydia made sure our appetites were completely satisfied the entire time we were there. We spent the afternoon catching up on all the comings and goings of the last few years.

A couple years ago, Ben and Lydia bought a wooded piece of property nearby where they plan to eventually build a house and move from their current one. They took us out to visit and it looks like a fantastic place to raise the family (the rope swing is already there!) We’ll have to check it out in a few years. In the meantime, our door is open for guests when we’re back at 1744 Fallbrook this August.