The Great Michigan Bike Trip - PART 3 - Childhood Stories

Grandpa Hill's True Stories

Part 3: Day 4, Day 5, Day 6. Stuck in Marion Michigan.

Grandpa Hill and his friends leave Wilson State Park, where their neighbors had taken them after their highly unlikely and very fortuitous chance meeting the day before. They headed out of the park on what would come to be known as the "disaster day." The road was clear... until it wasn't.

There is a tractor trailer truck in the opposing lane, going 70 or 80 mph. The gust from the speeding truck makes the bikes wobbly and some of them fall down. The bikers are a little scraped up, but even worse Bill's bike is busted. It's 3 miles to Marion Michigan, the next closest town. They'd have to walk.

In Marion, after a catastrophic attempt to fix the bike, Grandpa Hill and his friends don't have much to do, but they sure are hungry. There was not a crumb left of their lunch. The bikers run into a little trouble with the Police Chief and Fire Chief. In their opinions the group of bikers were too friendly with the police chief's daughter. They had their ways of expressing their disapproval. Nonetheless the girls did tell them about the park where they set up camp. Its raining, and the bikers find refuge playing cards in the town hall.

Day 5 Grandpa and Bill hitch hike to Cadillac Michigan to get a new bike wheel, and they come back to accusations of breaking into the laundry-mat, and the bikers agree to leave town the next day. With Bill's bike fixed they leave Marion Michigan behind. Just before they go they witness an exciting chariot race.

Grandpa and his friends met a lot of challenges in Marion. They didn't give up. With rapidly emptying pockets, frequently empty stomachs, and a broken bike they kept on going.

Credits:

Produced by David Richman,
Executively Produced and Recorded by Grandpa Hill

Art: David Richman,
Music: Michael Steele,
Grandchildren in Audience: Caleb, Corbin and Walter.