Day 47, Gibsonburg to Cleveland, Ohio (to Lapeer, Michigan)

Ride distance: 100 miles; ride time: 5:53; cumulative distance: 3082 miles; average speed: 17.1 mph; calories: 6136; ascent: 1538 feet; descent: 1438 feet. Today was a day I’d been looking forward to for quite some time. The plan was for me to ride ahead of the group, arrive at the Cleveland Airport, rent a car, and drive to Michigan to visit my mother. All went according to plan. The ride went well despite a couple of detours and a headwind for a good part of the day. I left shortly after 7 a.m. and arrived at the car rental center about 2:45 p.m. I had the opportunity to share with several families about our ride. I loaded up my bike in the back of the rental car and headed for Lapeer, Michigan where I was born and raised. It was good to be home. I arrived shortly before 7 p.m. My mom treated me to my all-time favorite meal of spaghetti and meatballs. She too had been looking forward to my visit. I showed her the trip pictures on my camera (which now number over 800). She is doing very well although it would be nice if we were closer together and could see each other more often. I try to call her frequently and have written her some letters but seeing her in person is by far better. The pictures in today’s blog are my mom Eileen Phillips and her house in Lapeer where I lived until I went off to college. I learned later that the rest of the group arrived in Cleveland between the hours of 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Our host church for this weekend is the Presbyterian Church in Lakewood although we are actually spending the weekend in a United Methodist Church in Cleveland where they have a dorm style facility called the Nehemiah Project.