Chidong Zhang's WA2MA Bike Trip

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Leaving Bay City in the morning, I quickly got on the Bay City Loop Trail, which is along the Saginaw River, and then on a biking/walking board above the river. As expected, there are many water birds around. But a bridge closure forced me to backtrack and cross the river from a busier bridge. Continued on US Bike Route 20 E which led to country roads and a well paved rail trail Southern-Links Trailway.

In a small town Millington, I went to the only restaurant that was open for lunch. It was full. As I was waiting for a table, a man waved at me and asked me to share his table. We had our lunch together and we talked about many things.

Roy is a retired welder. He is a Vietnam veteran. After he came back from Vietnam he worked on two NOAA ships. I told him what my lab does and what I do at work specifically.

Roy’s father was a farmer. He told me these days farmers had to expand to survive. When farmland is on sale, the bid can be very high. Neighboring farms form family corporations to cut costs by sharing equipment and labor. Some local nonfarming workers temporarily leave their jobs to help with planting and harvesting, the two busiest times that all farms need extra labor. I was amused when Roy told me that Amish farmers still don’t use motored farming equipment, but they hire contractors who use them.

Most farmers in the region don’t irrigate, which requires deep wells that most farmers can’t afford. Their crops totally depend on rain. The main crops are wheat, corn and soybeans. Now soybean leaves started to dry and turn yellow. When their leaves are completely dry, they are ready to be harvested.

He joked about my coast-to-coast ride: “Your wife let you do this? Or she wants you to take a longer trip?” 

At the end of the lunch, completely to my surprise, Roy grabbed my check and insisted on paying for my lunch. Not knowing how to thank him enough, I asked a waitress to take a picture of us.