It’s Day 0 - from the beach in SW Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario CANADA

miles today: 0 total miles: 0
km today: 0 total km: 0

It’s on! Last night we got a last chance to swim at the sunset with S’more and hang out with the family at the beach.

Waking this morning, we knew today was going to be a fair bit of logistics and it was! But everything basically worked out great. We woke up at the beach to a final dog walk, goodbyes to family and friends who will stay there the rest of the week, and packing up the rental car Chandra and her dad went to pick up.

We packed the bike in the single bike box and a suitcase, and the trailer (already packed) fits in the duffle bag. So….we can ship the boxes to Halifax for the ride home (thanks Ryan!) and get going!

We dropped off the car at Enterprise in Port Huron and then called a cab to cross the border.

The only bummer was, the cab company told us the wait to cross was a couple hours and they would charge us for the wait. They insisted we should wait a couple hours, to that meant stowing all the gear at the car rental office, and doing what any self-respecting Sconnie couple would do - go find a beer and play cribbage!

For those counting at home, we each won one game, had Two Hearted on tap, and then finally convinced the cab company to send a van. Our driver told us the dispatcher was new and didn’t really grok the scene with the bridge. It’s a bummer that the sidewalk is closed to pedestrians and bikes which would have been simpler. But, our driver said there have been too many jumpers (and she told us the harrowing tale of witnessing one a few years back).

We got across quickly in the end and found the hotel by the water that Chandra booked - super close to the customs house. Then it was just assembling the bike and dinner and, well, maybe another beer.

Our hotel neighbor came out and watched/helped. He had lots of questions, including whether we support Biden or Trump. We were honest, and he was disappointed we weren’t Trump supporters, as he peppered the conversation with his worry about “Drag Queen School Lessons” and Govermnet overreach. It did not feel constructive to make a deep dive on these issues, but it was nice to have a real human interaction on things we agree on - like bikes are cool, and Chandra and I are maybe a little nuts. Besides - I got the feeling he was in the hotel as part of being kicked out of or escaping from his home life, so in any case, we made a nice diversion.

The bike assembly was smooth, mostly, and we will give it a good shakedown tomorrow.

So for now, we leave you with a shot of a celebratory beer at the neighboring Irish pub, and some rest before we really start riding in the morning!