The Trip Takes You

A much needed day of no travel. After sleeping in a bit, Nicky B took me along with him on his shift as an Indiana State Police officer. Dude was lookin’ mighty fine in that uniform no doubt.

It was thankfully mostly uneventful, save for a telephone pole down in the street. Nick jumped into action and directed the shit out of the resulting traffic.

It was definitely neat to see what he does, I’m still surprised this is his job. What a guy.

When things were a little quieter we took a ride down some of the backroads in the area to checkout this really sweet train trestle. The scenery around here never ceases to surprise me. If this is any clue as to what going further is going to look like then I’m pumped.

Getting back, we lounged a little with Dr. Who and the brand new little meat nugget Dylan, whipped up some burgers & dogs and ended the night with the Empire Strikes Back in the basement theater.

Since I had a chance to think about some of the little things I’ve learned along the way, I thought this was a good opportunity to jot them down. Here are just a few reflections after almost a week of riding.

• Ear Plugs are Magic
  • I can’t imagine riding without them. They allow for a much more serene ride and allow to cruise much easier at higher speeds. Not to mention it’s great to hear yourself think. Still probably going deaf though.
• Plan to Take Longer Than Expected
  • Everything takes longer on the bike. Strapping gear on in the morning, taking it off in the evening, pulling something out of the bag, putting something in, stopping t see cool stuff.It all adds up too. I usually add two hours to whatever google maps says, even with highways and tolls turned off.
• Don’t Rush
  • I’ve learned that it’s important to never rush. You’ll get there when you get there and most of the time there’s nothing you can do to get somewhere any faster, so there’s no need to worry or rush. Rushing just leads to anger, anger leads to suffering and suffering, well you know what that leads to…
• Nice to Start Early
  • Similarly to the above, its good to get an early start. It really makes getting to where you’re going a lot easier. Or at least, getting there earlier is nice.
• Don’t Eat a Shitload Before Jumping Back On
  • Made this mistake twice now. It’s so easy to indulge in a feast when stopping for lunch, but it makes riding shortly after a total chore. Eating a ton makes you sleepy and sleepy rider makes for not fun riding. I had to stop in the UP for a quick nap on a picnic bench.
• Stop if You Wanna
  • If you feel like you should stop to check something out, even as a split second’s passing thought, then stop. Chances are you wont be coming back through that way for a second chance, and you might wind up seeing something totally awesome. I made the mistake of passing up what looked like a cool scenic outlook in Epoufette, and it haunts me still. But I made up for it with the Sleeping Bear Scenic Drive.
• Rest Easy
  • Stopping often is nice, and getting good sleep is important. Probably obvious but once you learn the hard way it’s an important thing to keep in mind.
• It’s Fun to Talk
  • Don’t be a afraid to start conversations. The time’s I’ve wound up asking some questions along the way have led to either some good convos or really good knowledge on neat things in the area.

Though a day of no travel was a nice change of pace, I’m ready and rearin’ to hop back in the saddle and get back on the road, even though it might be kind of wet these next few days. St. Louis, I’m comin’ for you.

Today was a different kind of hike. I left Ludington at around 10:00AM (plan was to leave at 8, nice) and it was another dark and ominous looking morning. This time though, drizzles in the parking lot at the gas station. I figured it would be best to put on the full face, since digging that out from under the tarp is a whole process. I wasn’t as lucky this morning, sure enough just as I got back to 31 it started to rain. I pulled over, slipped on the rain suit and was on my way.

I was surprised at how comfortable I was riding in the rain. Aside from my hands getting a little wet, it was all good! Ditching that cheapo rain gear and getting this riding stuff was definitely a good move.

I also forgot that wearing the full face certainly has it’s advantages, aside from warmth and rain protection. These being:

• Not getting whapped in the face with giant bugs
• Being slightly more aerodynamic than my face, allowing for easier cruising at higher speeds
• Ability to hear myself talk and assigning dumb lyrics to whatever gas station song is stuck in my head
• Less fatigue as a result of all of the above
• Ability to hear things differently (like engine noises)
• No need to slather on sunscreen at every stop

These things are nice but I still like my half helmet and the openness it provides.

It rained for all of 10-15 minutes on the road before stopping and just looking like it was about to monsoon at any second. Taking off the gear was tempting since it’s not exactly very airy in there, but I decided hold tight, for fashion reasons more than anything else of course.

Eventually 31 turns into a very interstate-like highway, so around Holland I jumped on the Blue Star Highway/A2 for a much more scenic and enjoyable ride. I stopped off in St. Joseph for a quick lunch and some coffee and was on my way again just as the rain was coming through. Very neat little town, seems like a great place to bring kids and have some good ol’ fashioned family fun.

This was the last time I’ll see Lake Michigan for quite a while, since from here it was 63 to 31, almost straight south toward South Bend, which was my ultimate goal for the day.

I was unable to find a couch surfing host in South Bend so things were flexible in terms of where and when I should hunker down. I reached South Bend around 2PM, and with the assumption there wasn’t a whole lot to see there, I decided to push on and see how close I can get to Indianapolis. The shorter the ride in the morning meant more time I could spend with my good friend Nicky Nick and his newly hatched little meatball.

Indianapolis approached quickly. It was funny seeing the workings of a big city again after not having seen one since Milwaukee. Nick and I both sort of figured at the same time I could probably get all the way to Bloomington tonight. And so I did! I was surprised how the landscape changed after Indy, 37 coming into Bloomington was quite scenic and enjoyable, despite the road construction here and there.

And so we enjoyed a delicious pasta dinner and watched the first two episodes of Mr. Robot before crashing. Tomorrow (today at this point) I look forward to a day chilling out before heading back out to St. Louis on Monday morning.

Here’s today’s long ass route:

Today was about a little less bike and a little more hike. And a lot of sand. After hearing some really cool things from Rich and Megan about sites to check out in the area, I couldn’t resist. Following a great breakfast in a little town called Leland, Rich and I parted ways and I began hunting for the elusive Leland Blue, a stone that tends to only wash up in Leland Michigan. A half hour or so of trotting back and forth in the sun with my badass leather boots left me a bucket of sweat, so I decided to walk back into town a buy one from a gift shop.

From here, it was highway 22 until it ended, and I wish it didn’t end because it is by far one of the finest roads I’ve been on. A rider’s dream with trees lining either side providing for cool shaded road, nice gradual curves the entire time and decent hill climbs along the way. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park is right west of Glen Arbor, very close to where I was and a recommended stop.

The first stop in Sleeping Bear was the Dune Climb. You can see it from a ways off and eventually realize there’s a whole bunch of people on that sand mountain. It was definitely a little bit of work to get to the top but was up there before I knew it. In order to get to the lake from here, it’s a 2.6 mile hike round trip that would take around 4 hours according to the ranger. Unfortunately I didn’t have time for that. Going down was a breeze and lead to the first time I emptied a pound of sand out of my shoes today.

A little further down the road there was a sign for a scenic drive. The $10 I paid for the park pass at the Dune Climb got me in here for free. I’m really glad I didn’t pass this up because man, there were some killer views and the road was really cool on a bike. Super windey, only 20 mph the whole time and some of the coolest sights to date.

I met a nice couple who gave me some pointers on where to stop and what to check out on the rest of my trip down 22/31. It was a pleasure talking to them and I’m glad I had some additional places to see along the way.

Betsie Point Lighthouse was the first, just outside of Frankfort. A neat little lighthouse and also where I was able to score a M22 sticker.

Then this really surprising scenic outlook just outside of Arcadia. You had to climb quite a few stairs to get to the top but the view was outstanding.

After a quick lunch stop in Manistee to fuel up on pizza and tea I finally made it to Ludington State park. The ride in consisted of sandy dunes on either side of me (yay more sand!). The main thing I wanted to see was a lighthouse at the end of a 1.5 mile trail. This trail lead to the 2nd and 3rd time I emptied sand out of my shoes.

Finally a quick dunk in the lake to cool off just as storms were rolling in (and 4th time I emptied sand from my shoes). I got back to my tent just as it started drizzling and quickly monsoon like conditions ensued. I’m glad it rained like it did, was nice to chill out and do nothing for a little while.

Ludington was certainly a beautiful place, but the campgrounds were obnoxiously close together. This, and it was more of an RV park than tent camp ground. Seemed like 90% of the place was a camper of some sort. The next time I’m in Michigan, I’ll definitely be booking a place at Sleeping Bear, the area was full of cool things, 22 is right there, the park itself is gorgeous and of course I’d love to play some legos with the little dudes.

I’m pretty sure I’ll have sand with me for the rest of my trip. It’s literally everywhere; inside the tent, in my shoes, on all of my stuff, probably infiltrated it’s way into my clothes bag and who knows what else. Oh well!

Route for today:

Next stop is Indiana-ish area as part of seeing a good bud in Bloomington before I start along the Mississippi River.

It seems like so many things are happening in one day that it’s tough to recount everything! Going to have to start making notes I suppose.

It really looked like it was going to be a rain gear sort of day early on. The air was chilled but heavy, gloom and gray everywhere. I spent a good portion of exiting Marquette stopping every few miles to check to make sure the tarp that was covering all of my gear was secure enough for the highway.

Dylan mentioned using a backpacking cover, which might be a lot more painless than the tarp. It works but its quite the hassle in pulling over and securing it. Not to mention if I needed anything from under there it’d be a whole thing in getting it out and re-securing the complicated network of bungee nets and chords, presumable while it was raining.

The thermal under layer for the jacket really worked out, it was definitely brisk this morning and this little jacket insert made all the difference, totally worth it.

The options for leaving Marquette were back the way I came along 41 or follow Lake Superior coastline for some time until jogging south. The Lake seemed like the better option since I hardly get to see this one and a super friendly gas station attendant was really talking up Munising, home of the Painted Rocks. While I didn’t get to see the rocks since it required getting on a boat and I was short on time as it was, Munising was definitely a neat little place.

I had my first ever pasty (pronounced past-ee, a traditional yooper treat ^_^) after hearing about them for the first time the night before in Marquette. As you could imagine, seeing the words pasty and pasties without context brought about some interesting questions as to what was being bought and sold.

Google maps wanted me to head further down 28 before going south but there seemed to be a road that went directly through the Hiawatha national forest. Indeed there was as confirmed by kind gas station lady #2; highway 13 cut right through and it was an endless row of thick pine-tree-covered forest. Love me some trees. Very few cars on this road, was totally worth it.

Back to Lake Michigan with highway 2, it was good to see the old boy, and sunshine all around once again. Lake Superior is undoubtedly neat, but it also seems like a creepier, mysterious older brother to Lake Michigan. The lake was lined with beach and cars were parked along the highway to take advantage. Among the cooler towns I road through was Epoufette, which had some decently sized rolling tree covered hills.

And then there was this!

Crossing was awesome. It was like entering a freezer at the grocery store. I was surprised at how long it took to get across. On the way down the right-hand lane was closed, which was the paved/concrete one. The metal grate was definitely interesting on the bike, it felt like riding on a worse version of ice.

I think I’m really going to miss the Great Lakes. Aside from the fine-ass breeze that keeps a sun drenched rider cool, they are really majestic. To think it’s going to take me 4-5 days to travel around a single body of fresh water is impressive.

Something to note for future reference. Your cell phone carrier might cut off data if you’re roaming and you exceed your limit. This morning I was bummed to find all of my recent instagramulating capped my 50 meg limit pretty quickly. And it totally sucked not having google maps navigation. I had a physical map with me, and some of the digital map was available in a rudimentary offline mode, but street names were largely missing, and nothing worked aside from SMS. Poops.

After the bridge, forest turned relatively quickly back to farmland, though not very similar to the dairyland. There are lots of berry farms out this way, at many of which you can pick your own damn berries.  I was bummed that I didn’t have a chance to follow the contour of the lake with highway 119, but I was running short on time and a fellow at the bridge view stop mentioned it’ll tack on 2 hours to the trip easy. BUT, once 31 resumed normal lakeside operation, I was pleased with cool town after cool town, especially Petosky and Charlevoix.

Finally, Traverse City. I am staying with some folks who are among the nicest I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. I only met Rich 2 weeks ago during my short 2 day adventure to Newaygo state park, and he was kind enough to offer me a place in his beautiful house in Cedar Michigan, just outside of TC, where he, his awesome wife, 3 amazing children, friendly old pooch and the largest lego collection I’ve ever seen live.

Here’s the route for today.

Next stop Ludington State Park for some Camping. And gotta find me a Leland stone!

Today’s journey started with parting ways. Dylan and I had an awesome breakfast with our couch surfing host, said our goodbyes and went our separate ways; he back to Chicago with a stop at the Harley Davidson museum in Milwaukee and I on the road to my next stop in Marquette Michigan.

I can’t say enough about this idea of taking the road less traveled. The official Lake Michigan Circle Tour road was highway 41 coming right out of Green Bay, but it was fairly inland and resembled your run of the mill highway. I opted to take some roads that were closer to the lake. Lakeview Rd sounded like a good option.  Despite it’s name though, didn’t really have any lake views. Eventually it turned into highways J, S and Y along the way, running just east of 41 most of the time.

This path did have some great features though, including a pretty neat transformation of scenery. Quickly things turned from farmland to fields of untamed grass and seemingly undeveloped land. I was the only one on these roads for most of the time making for a very serene ride.

The towns I was taken through were excellent. Oconto is perhaps the quietest town on the planet. Nothing seemed to be happening, and if it was you couldn’t hear it. Though I might also be going deaf from the noise of the wind. Nice.

Peshtigo was great. I’m not even sure what it was that made it great, and I didn’t even stop, only road on through. Just the quaint, humble nature of the place, it seemed completely friendly.

Eventually these roads lead back to 41 and you cross over to Michigan in Marinette. Now here’s where it get’s really good, Michigan Route 35. By far the best road I’ve been on so far. It’s just miles of road hugging Lake Michigan, sometimes revealing houses along the lake, sometimes natural, untouched lake shoreline, something I can’t even recall seeing ever anywhere else. Grassy fields are becoming tree lined forests and the lake breeze was like mega bursts of AC on full blast.

Toward the end of the journey on 35 I noticed a brown sign with a Camera on it. Sweet, picture time. A decently long road brought me to a gravel parking lot for something called Portage Point. The waves reminded me more of an ocean than a lake. It was an entire little peninsula of nothing but natural shore.

The north is definitely pristine. The farther I went, it seemed like the air was just getting fresher. I eventually made it to Marquette and was surprised to see some hills and rock formations here and there. A good change up to the flat land I’ve been on the last 400 miles.

Lake superior is no exception in being pristine.

I met up with my couch surfing host, helped finish making the largest batch of pesto I’ve ever seen, had some dinner and jumped in the lake just as it was getting dark.

Day 2 complete. Traverse City here I come.

The first stop along the journey was Green Bay WI. We decided to keep next to the lake for as long as possible on or way up, which was definitely the right thing to do. It certainly wasn’t the quickest route, but it took us through winding roads, small towns, old pristine neighborhoods, downtown Milwaukee and offered some excellent views of the lake along the way. It was basically Sheridan Rd and 32 for as long it was near the shore.

 

Once we headed inland, it was picturesque Wisconsin farmland for as far as the eye could see. We couldn’t have had a better day with the weather, it was a comfortable temperature for riding and sunshine the whole way. The smell of good ol fashioned farmtown (read: cow shit) persisted throughout.

At one point we were even riding along a road that didn’t have any lines. It’s amazing what you might find by taking “Riverside Dr” or a loosely marked road that looks to go through but isn’t google’s recommended route.

Once we made it to Green Bay, we of course had to check out the actual Bay.

After relaxing next to the bay for a bit, we decided to check out the nearby Bay Beach wildlife preserve. We are surprised to find an assortment of rescued animals there, including otters, a couger, bobcats and a red fox.

Later on we met up and hung out with our couch surfing hosts and attended a neat seminar on health and spirituality. Couch surfing was excellent and I couldn’t have imagined a better start to the trip (thanks again guys if you’re reading!).

Here’s our route for day 1

Next stop Marquette Michigan. Lake Superior here I come.

 

Tomorrow’s the day, first step in what I’m hoping will be a lifetime of amazing memories, grand sights and picturesque scenery. I was a little nervous all day, but now I’m completely ready and itching to go. I’m glad to have a friend riding along with me to Green Bay to start things off.

43 stops, 4 national parks, over 10,000 miles of road and 45+ days of travel lie ahead, and I can’t wait.

Here’s the bike all packed up from my test fitting earlier. Camping things in one bag, clothes in another. Gear in one saddle bag, jacket and camera items in the other, electronics and miscellaneous items in the backpack.

Oh the places I’ll go! See you on the road.

-Pete

This will be a quick one since it’s getting late and tomorrow is the big day. Here’s what’s coming along in the Electronics and Necessities category:

• 2 Towels; 1 for wiping down Bike and 1 for wiping down Pete
• Big battery pack to keep phone alive cause Pokemon Go drains the shit out of it
• 1 Cami Camera with macro lens and extra wide angle lens
• 1 laptop for blahgin’ and emailin and transferring photos from camera and such
• 1 first aid kit courtesy of a good bud
• 1 book for quiet spots
• 1 bag of ear plugs
• 1 toiletries bag filled with tooth brush, soaps, etc…
• 1 flashlight also courtesy of good bud
• Assortment of cables and such for charging the things
• 1 start wars themed notebook for writing down thoughts
• Advil
• Lighter
• Pens and pencils for writing things
• 1 pair of sunglasses for chillin
• 1 pair of headphones with built in microphone, also courtesy of good bud (he’s really lookin out for me)
• 1 road atlas courtesy of same good bud (what a guy!)
• 2 tubes of sunscreen because my white ass turns to lobster very quickly

 

Here’s whats coming in the Tools category:

• Bungee Cords galore
• Rope
• Adjustable wrench
• small and large socket wrench
• Assortment of sockets
• Assortment of allen wrenches
• Pliers
• Wire Cutters
• Small Flathead and Phillips screwdriver
• Larger Phillips Screwdriver
• 2 Cargo Nets
• Bag of zip ties
• Black tape
• Wire nuts
• Rubber tube
• Super Glue
• Extra bulbs for turn signals (I should have tailight and headlight too, and spark splugs, didn’t get around to getting them)

This list is a little more important than clothing and took me a while to assemble all of the pieces I needed. As I found on my weekend excursion to Michigan, comfortable riding gear is extremely important. Here’s what I’m bringing, links to such things if you’re interested, whats on my wish list and some tips I’ve learned along the way. I’ll have comments below the picture on most of the items.

• 1 Riding Jacket – Spidi Mesh Jacket
• 1 Warm Under Jacket Thing – Spidi Thermal Underlayer
• 1 Pair of Badass Boots – Chippewa Station Boots
• 1 Full Face Helmet
• 1 Half Helmet – Bell Pit Boss
• 2 (maybe 3, game time decision) Pairs of Riding Goggles – 3 pack
• 1 Pair of Fingerless Gloves – Leather Gel Thingers
• 1 Pair of Warmer Fingered Gloves
• 1 Set of Rain Gear – Joe Rocket RS-2 Riding Suit
• 1 Neck Warmer – Comsmart Winter Half Faced Mask (not pictured below)

Some thoughts on these items:

Riding Jacket

I would say the golden rule here is to try it on. I was really hesitant to buy a jacket on the internet and I’m glad I didn’t. I stopped in to a local bike shop and tried on a medium version of this Spidi jacket. Usually I’m a small and that’s what I would have ordered online, but I was surprised to find that this thing fit absolutely perfectly. Apparently Italian companies tend to run small, something I had no idea about.

The jacket itself is awesome. Pockets galore, breathes excellently and has arm zippers for going around your gloves if you choose. This particular jacket has a complementary thermal and waterproof underlayer that snaps in. I picked up the thermal portion after the Michigan trip since it was quite chilly at only 67 degrees. It also works as a light walking around jacket if I needed. Overall very happy with the purchase.

Seeing as I’ll be riding a decent portion in the south/southwest, I really wanted something breathable. This jacket is very much so while still maintaining armor on the inside for some protection. Jackets can get really expensive, but this one was reasonable at 200 bucks. An extra 60 for the thermal layer.

Badass Boots

The boots I nabbed are possibly my favorite Amazon purchase in a long time. That being said, they were also a giant pain in the ass.

I opted for the Chippewa Station boots after reading this gentleman’s write up on them for riding. He does a great write up on boots in general found here.

I took a risk by buying these directly from Amazon without trying them on first, but I noticed them listed at only 100 bucks (regularly like 270) in the size I was pretty sure I was so I jumped on it.

They are rock solid, sturdy as hell, totally badass boots and were a  complete nightmare lacing up. They come with 4 laces, all of which you need to use, and a zipper part that is completely detached in the box. There are two different methods of lacing, tutorials found here were most helpful for me, and it was a whole night’s work in adjusting them to be comfortable and capable of actually zipping up.

Now that they’re all set though (and broken in, super stiff at first), I love em. The only worry I have is with heat. Riding from Chicago to Villa Park on the highway in traffic had them heating up pretty good. We’ll see though, I think it’ll be fine. They also give me an extra 2 inches or so in height, so I’m not constantly tippy toeing on the bike, which is nice.

Full Face Helmet

Probably a necessity on this type of trip. It protects from rain and very nice to have when cold. I used mine during a portion of my trip to MI while it started to rain, and on the way home when it was chilly in the morning. I don’t really have a recommendation on which one here, mine is a Good Will purchase from a while back. Much like the jacket though, I’d recommend trying something on in a store to ensure it’s a good fit and comfortable.

Half Helmet

I originally bought this VCAN cruiser half helmet and quickly learned it was a giant piece of shit. Its OK if you’re cruising around town and keeping it under 40 mph, but as soon as I hit cruising speed on the highway it wanted to lift off. So I had to really strap it down tight on my head. It wasn’t super comfortable after about a half hour of riding.

So, lesson learned. Try em on first boys and girls. I read a lot of good reviews about the Bell Pit Boss and decided to check it out at my local bike shop. I’m glad I did and didn’t just order right online, since I probably would have ordered a small but I turned out to need a medium. Best thing is the hard-hat like adjuster which really prevents that ability to lift off like my first one.

I have only one beef that needs squashing with this helmet – the chin strap is super annoying. It was really digging into my neck on the Michigan trip. I wound up buying this chin strap pad and it’s made all the difference.

Riding Goggles

I grabbed this set of cheapos and they’ve done me well so far. I also have a pair of decent igogs with yellow tint that are much better quality, but they’re starting to get a little scuffed and not great for when it’s supper sunny. I’ll probably still bring them along, with a tinted and clear pair of cheapos.

Glurves

The fingerless gloves are great. The pair I got aren’t super great quality. The little “gel” fabric tab annoyed me and ripping it off yielded a gaping hole in the glove. But having the little bit of protection, barrier between hand and grip and still being able to maintain the dextrous nature of bare fingers is great.

My other pair is just an old pair of winter gloves. They have those little pads that allow use of a phone but they’re too big and bulky for that anyway. They’re not the warmest and definitely not water proof. On my wishlist is a good pair of warm/waterproof riding gloves. I never got around to finding a pair that didn’t break the bank, but it’s something to think about in the future.

Rain Gear

Originally I stopped off at an Army Surplus store and grabbed what I thought was a decent set of rain gear. Little did I know that it was actually a really crappy set of rain gear. It was big in some places, small in other places and would have probably melted right onto the pipes.

After realizing my mistake, I opted for the Joe Rocket RS-2 riding set, and coming in at 20 bucks more than I spent on the shitty pair, it was totally worth it. I never even knew a set of rain gear could be classified as “having features.”

Its fits great, form fitting with elastic bands, has heat shield on legs for protection against engine and pipes, ability to unzip pant legs to fit over boot, bottom boot strap to keep from riding up, reflectors and a decently tight neck hole. Love it, would highly recommend. Hopefully I don’t have to use it though.

Whew, long one, ok that’s it for this time! Lemme know if you have a recommendation on riding gloves in the comments section.

Alrighty, back for part 2. This should be a quick and easy one. It’s decently self explanatory, though there was still some stuff I needed to pick up. The hardest part with clothing is keeping it light and not packing too much. Also figure, you can always stop and buy a t-shirt along the way but you might not want to ditch your favorite star wars tee that you brought along.

• 2 pairs of jeans (One of which I’ll be wearing)
• 3 pairs of long socks (one of which I’ll be wearing)
• 1 pair of super warm long socks
• 3 pairs of undies
• 3 favorite star wars shirts (one of which I’ll be wearing)
• 1 pair of cargo shorts for hiking and chilling out
• 1 pair of swim trunks for takin a dip
• 1 pair of gym shorts for sleeps
• 1  light polyester pullover
• 1 pair of long underwear (tops and bottoms)
• 1 pair of light shoes for when I’m not riding

The long underwear was the only thing I needed buy. I grabbed this from amazon and it fits well. They recommended buying a size larger than you are which is the right thing to do. I almost needed to use it on my way back from Michigan when it was around 67 degrees in the morning. I’m sure it’ll be a good thing to have on hand for the northern states and when I make my way though Montana.

That’s it! Simple enough right? Have a picture: