Tubing in Ann Arbor

Ahead of schedule, I took a detour into Michigan. My first stop was Ann Arbor, a college town full of vibrant life and great food. An REI employee told me to check out the Fleetwood diner after I asked where I could find a hardy meal. After purchasing a sleeping bag liner, sunscreen, and bug spray, I headed into town to grab a bite. 

The Fleetwood diner’s white and black striped awning and red neon sign drew me in. Checkerboard floor and walls covered with bumper stickers greeted me as I walked through the door. I was ready to eat. I sat at the bar of the diner to look at their menu. Menus always overwhelm me with all the choices, so I asked the server what he recommended. He suggested the Rueben, which I immediately ordered (with a side of fries). I took my time eating my sandwich, trying to enjoy the day's budget I just spent on a single meal. 

Graffiti Alley

After I finished my food, the server suggested I check out graffiti alley, a collection of alleys in downtown Ann Arbor full of graffiti. The walls’ vibrant colors surrounded me as I strolled my bike through the short alleyways. I arrived in town early so I had plenty of time to kill wandering around the city. I slowly headed north, in the direction of my Warmshowers host. I arrived at an intersection. On one side there was the path my map told me to take and on the other side, a wooded track, my choice is obvious. Heading left across a dam, people all around me were inflating tubes to take down the winding river. I passed by a group of four young women in bathing suits finishing up inflating their tubes. 

Huron River

“Hey, where are you going?” the blonde in a blue baseball cap said. 

“Seattle!” I replied enthusiastically. I always took the opportunity to let people know the extent of my trip. “Then I’ll probably head south from there and see how far I make it.”

“That’s so cool! I’ve done a few bike tours across the country, that’s why I’m asking. I also did a tour in South America,” she shared, still inflating her tubes. “My name's Suzette by the way.”

“I’m Shalom,” it was always nice to meet other tourists who have a shared experience to discuss and bond over. 

“Why don’t you join us?” She said while her friends nod in agreement. “We only have four tubes, but we can take turns.” It took little convincing to join as most of my adventure had been solo, and it would be nice to be with other people for a change. Suzette was accompanied by college friends who had not all had a proper get-together in too long. The four friends were meeting in Ann Arbor to start a road trip across the country. Suzette was initially offended I didn’t reach out to her on Warmshowers, as she would have loved to host. I realized that I had recognized Suzette because I had recently reached out to her on Warmshowers, but she must not have received a notification. It was amazing that of the few Warmshowers hosts in the city, we happened to bump into each other. 

We all took turns in and out of tubes as we slowly made our way down the light rapids. This was the type of fun I was missing from my trip. I had the “type two fun” of peddling for hours each day making barely recognizable progress with each hour on the saddle. But I hadn’t been able to spend quality time and have fun with friends, new friends, nonetheless. After an hour of lazily making our way down the river, laughing, and getting to know each other, we said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways on our separate adventures. 

Intuition is a little spider web pulling you from your bellybutton - Joya

Grinning from the delightful and unlikely afternoon, I willfully ‘pretended’ to ignore the subtle “no biking” sign and bike along single-track clearly meant only for foot traffic. I spent the next few minutes blissful of the lack of cars normally occupying my mind. After narrow stops where one misstep would lead to me falling 20 feet off the hill, I only really accepted my mistake when another “no biking” sign preceded a full flight of stairs I needed to haul my fully loaded bicycle up. 

After these two short side adventures, I finally made it to my host, Rod, more than an hour after I had initially planned. We talk about life over takeout pizza that hit the right spots for such a day. Rod had gone on a few bike trips in his day and was currently planning a cross-country trip starting in Maine. We talked about travel stories, mishaps, and unique characters we’ve met on our journeys. Given my obviously Jewish name, he asked me about my beliefs, background, and experiences. We discussed the holocaust and antisemitism, which seemed to be on the rise recently. From my very narrow slice of life, I had yet to experience much antisemitism, so it all felt very distant to me in a way. I happily answered personal and general questions because it is not so often you get the chance to meet people so different from yourself. My trip was about meeting people different from me. Growing up religious and Jewish, I knew I provided a unique perspective and experience not so common in many places in America. What’s familiar to me is likely unusual for others, and vice versa. I was staying at a stranger’s home and having a deep conversation as I had done countless times already on my trip to learn and grow.

Rod, sending me off before I face my first rainy day