Moscow (Michigan) was the destination for last weekend’s bike ride. I hadn’t been there for several years.

It’s on U.S.-12, Black Hawk’s old route, in the northeastern part of Hillsdale County. The militias from Lenawee County and the Detroit area passed through here in 1832, during the Black Hawk war. A hotel was under construction when they came through — a building that was torn down in 1970.

The photo here is looking west. The road has been improved considerably since 1832. Actually, it has been improved since I last rode here. Now there is a wide shoulder to ride on, although that part ends when you get to the top of the valley on the other side of town. It looks like that part may be slated for resurfacing, too, though. When I first rode on Black Hawk’s route in 1997, there were portions that were wretched to ride on, and not that great for driving, either. But now most of it is a decent route for bicycles.

Moscow is at the bottom of a valley formed by the Kalamazoo River, which is just a small stream here. I don’t think I’m the only person to have thought of the village as a Sleepy Hollow sort of place. Sundown comes early down at the bottom.

On my Sunday ride back home, I passed through a small Amish settlement in in the southeast-most township of Calhoun County, Michigan.

I took this photo of what I take to be an Amish business as one to use when I try to explain that the Amish people are not anti-technology. They’re constantly adopting new technologies, but are very deliberate about what they adopt. They consider carefully the effect any new technology will have on family, social, and spiritual life.

There was nobody to be seen at this homestead.

Everyone was at Sunday morning church service.

I first became aware of this settlement on a weekend ride in 1997. From what little I saw of it then, it seemed like a fairly new one, with young families. It still does not have the air of a long-established settlement. The home where they met this Sunday is under construction. There are some that look like older homes that have been renovated into Amish-style residences. That type seems to be common in smaller, newer communities.

I got back tonight from an overnight bike trip, the first one of 2008, and the first self-contained trip since July 2006. My destination was Moscow, 65 miles from home, along Black Hawk’s old road in Hillsdale County.

Yesterday I had a stiff wind at my back, but even so I didn’t go very fast. But after setting up my tent in the evening, I still felt fresh enough to get in a few miles of riding before the sun went down. That was a nice ride without having all that gear to carry around.

The return trip today was very different, as I knew it would be. This time I was riding into the wind, which was blowing almost as hard as yesterday. And I was a bit stiff and tired, as I always am on day 2. The return trip took three hours longer than the trip going. My in-the-saddle time was probably my slowest ever, and besides that I took a lot of rest breaks.

At the half-way point, I found a place to take a nap in the churchyard pictured above, between Homer and Marshall. A few miles earlier I had got caught in some rain — enough to cause me to put on raingear. But I pulled out my groundcloth and slept on that.

It was a successful nap, in that no driver stopped to ask me if I was all right. I was in an inconspicuous spot, but my bike and I were visible from the road.

I’m not sure how long I slept. Usually I wake after 20 minutes. If I let myself fall asleep after that, there’s no telling how much longer I’ll sleep. But I did let myself sleep longer, and it could have been an hour altogether.

It was definitely refreshing. I’m not sure how I would have finished the ride without it.