Days 39, 40, and 41

Here's an update on the activities of the Puppy Ride Coast to Coast Team over the past three days. Starting from Wednesday, Day 38, we arrived in Milwaukee late in the afternoon and noticed the weather worsening due to forest fires in Canada and the US. By bedtime on Wednesday, it was hot and smoky.

On Thursday (Day 39), the team took the pre-planned drive from Milwaukee to Muskegon instead of spending $700 on the ferry across Lake Michigan. Day 39 was intended as a rest day to reposition the team in Michigan on the western side of Lake Michigan. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was extremely high, reaching about 680 in Milwaukee as we departed in the morning. We arrived in Muskegon late Thursday afternoon and continued to experience high AQI levels.

On Friday, Day 40, we woke up to an AQI of 440, with no improvement expected throughout the day. After extensive discussion about the hazardous conditions, we decided to proceed by truck and skip the ride for the day. This was the first time on our trip we had to do this, and it was a difficult decision. However, with accommodations already planned for the upcoming days, we felt it was unsafe to ride in such poor air quality. None of us had experienced smoke like this before; it was truly severe.

Day 41 - today - was quite different. The winds shifted enough that the AQI ranged from 50 to 70, increasing to about 150 in the afternoon. We completed our entire route and even added a bit more, covering a total of about 92 miles, mostly on well-paved rail trails. We also rode a few miles from the previous day's missed route and extended the planned route.

Today was a comfortable ride after two days of (somewhat) forced rest. We enjoyed a nice lunch in the town of Evart, Michigan and wrapped up our ride in Sanford.

In the morning we will pick up where we left off with two more days of riding in Michigan before we arrive at the border with Onterio. Tomorrow's weather is not ideal from an AQI standpoint but looks to be acceptable to get our miles in for the day. Fingers crossed!