May 9, 2017. Adventure on Mackinac Island!

May 9, 2017.  Adventure on Mackinac Island!  George fixed our left inside dually this morning.  It was a loose valve stem.  Simple, huh?  The repair bill was $25.00.  Not bad for jacking Harvey, removing two tires, testing, tightening the stem and replacing the tires.  I like George.  

We decided to go back to Mackinac today because the wind is expected to pick up tomorrow which will make a cool day a cold day.  After we paid George, we had breakfast at a truck stop just off Interstate 75.  We then took the 11:00 AM ferry.  We biked to the fort to look at the American flag displayed there.  We wanted to circle the island in the direction which minimized the wind.  After looking at the flag, we decided to bike counter clockwise.  

We biked with the wind blocked by the terrain for a mile. With a still wind, it was pleasant although the temperature was in the mid-40s.  We were pretty well bundled up.  

Then, the plan backfired.  We noticed what we thought were mosquitoes flying above the road.  The further we progressed the thicker they were.  There was no wind to blow them away.  We were soon meeting bikers coming toward us who were covering their faces with their hands and scarfs.  One Asian woman said something to me that I didn't understand.  I asked her to repeat it and she shouted something which sounded like, "Bugs!"  

Annie wanted to turn back.  I told her it was a probably a small group of mosquitoes and we'd be in the clear soon.  But, the bugs got worse.  And, worse.  Soon were biking through bugs so thick I was covering my nose and mouth with my gloved hand.  The bugs were hitting my glasses and stinging my cheeks.  I could hear them bouncing off my jacket.  I looked at my legs and there were 50 or more on each pant leg.  I peddled faster.  Have you ever driven in snow when it looks like the snow flakes are rising from the road surface and curling over your car?  That what I was seeing, except the flakes were black.

Do I need to say that Annie wasn't happy?  She had her scarf over her nose and mouth.  I think I heard her yelling at me, but I was riding too fast to hear her. The bugs swarmed over us for the next three miles.  It seemed like an eternity.  We finally rounded the north end of the island and found the wind in our faces.  But, there were no bugs.  I found it expedient to continue to bike ahead of Annie.  The wind protected me from her anger.  

  

I pulled over after a mile and she caught up with me.  "Why didn't you check on bugs before we left?"

I had checked the weather, the temperature, the wind, and I had given a lot of thought to the proper route.  And, now she wanted me to do a bug check, too?  

"Who and what should I have asked?" I parried.  

"Well, I don't know, but you should have asked someone if there were bugs on the road!"

I said what all men who stay with the same woman for fifty years says, "Yes, dear."

But she really wasn't mad at me.  She was just sick of bugs and I just happened to be the closest person to her.  Shortly after that, we talked to some other bikers who had been through the same experience.  One of them referred to the bugs as mayflies.  "They don't bite.  They are just annoying," he said.  That was the understatement of the day. 

Tomorrow, we will stay put in the campground.  We have been here three days and haven't seen any mayflies.  Maybe Annie will be safe from the mayflies and I will be safe from Annie.  

Goodnight.