Morning After Lake Huron Beach

Alpena, Mich.
July 20, ’77

I'm in a little different mood today. I still agree with Michigan
being one of the best states for camping, but I've run up against some
asshole drivers that take the joy out of biking. Oh well, gotta take
the good with the bad I guess. Except for one particular asshole who
tried to run me off the highway, it was good day for biking today. It
was hot, and I took five swim breaks (yesterday three or four).

Yesterday, when I was peddling through Alpena in the late afternoon,
I ran into an old classmate of mine from CMU. Mark was a musician and
his band had a gig at an Alpena bar. He wanted me to stick around and
hear the band. No problem! After a shower and a short nap, I left his
motel room and moseyed over to the bar about 10:30 p.m. It was a
pretty rowdy crowd and although I knew Mark preferred playing jazz, as
opposed to rock and roll, on that night at least, the band played
passable rock. The beer was cold and before the night was over I
managed to drink more than my share. At last call, Mark grabbed a
twelve pack and we all went back to the motel room. Everybody was a
wee bit drunk, but I managed to sober up when the boys in the band
started to play a game of firecracker your roommates. Mark noticed
that I wasn't really comfortable with what was going on, so he
suggested we go look for the sun. A couple more beers later we found
it, coming up over the Lake Huron horizon. I just wish I could have
appreciated it more. I did manage to get a few passed out hours of
sleep on the beach, though.

When I made it back to the motel, I found everybody fast asleep. I
left Mark a note of thanks and split. An hour or so out of Alpena, my
gear cable broke. After backtracking to the Alpena bike shop, and
getting my bike repaired, the whole morning was shot. It was no big
deal. I was in terrible shape, anyway. By the end of the day, I had
pushed through a strong headwind, and made it to Roger's City. Tired,
and still feeling the effects of my hangover, I managed to find a
camping spot just off the perimeter of the state park. I had a good
time with Mark, but it didn't come cheap.

I expect rain tonight. That's why I chose to hide myself close to the
park. There is a roofed picnic area not far from where I'm camped. If
things get bad, I'm out of here. When I pulled the tent flaps in on
me, it was 8:45 p.m., a little early, but I am just too tired to worry
about getting caught. Goodnight!