To 8th Lake State Park - N of Inlet

Ten miles into today's ride, I had a flat tire. I was determined to fix it myself, but I knew Dick would be along shortly. I did pretty good even though there were swarms of bugs flying around my head and it was hot! I had some trouble getting the tire back onto the bike, but Dick showed up just in time.

Beautiful lakes and streams, but more challenging hills to climb.

At the intersection of Moose River Road and SR 28, I met Henry Scott, a physics and geology professor at Indiana University - South Bend. He rides 70 miles/day. I unfortunately took a rather unflattering picture of Henry. You can see much better pictures and read his blog at http://hpscott.wordpress.com/.

As Henry left, I discovered I had flat tire #2. I called out to Henry and asked him to deliver a message to Dick who would be at the Muffin Patch Cafe in Old Forge: I was fixing the flat myself and would be there shortly. However, Henry was not able to deliver that message because Dick had taken a wrong turn and was about to add 18 extra miles to his day's total. I was struggling with pumping up the tire to 60-80 psi when Dick rode up - perfect timing in my opinion.

Moose River:

After lunch at the Muffin Patch, we were ready for get back on the road, but guess what? I had flat tire #3 (many expletives deleted). While Dick got groceries, I walked my bike to Mountain Man Outdoor Sports and met Ron, the mature and soft-spoken bicycle mechanic. I asked him to please fix the flat (and spare both Dick and I the frustration). As he worked he explained the process he uses to check for flaws, problems with the rim or tire, how he puts it all back together again. I paid close attention. Dick came into the store and there was visible relief on his face that he didn't have to fix another flat.

There are lots of resorts along the Fulton Chain Lakes. Each lake is numbered. I think this is 3rd Lake east of Old Forge:

We camped at 8th Lake State Park. Flat tire count: Arlete=8, Dick=1, Bob=1

Miles completed = 3958