Cycling the Underground Railroad

Along some of our route this morning we saw these signs.  I never saw any Underground Railroad signposts (except once on the Little Miami Trailnear Milford, OH) in the 2,000 miles I cycled on it in the United States! Our morning  "adventure." The detour took us on several miles of gravel roads, which we managed to navigate successfully.  Harvest season in Ontario! The highlight of our day.  An excellent exhibit, including a short video, interpretive displays, outstanding guided tour and restored 19th century buildings. The Dawn settlement (now the town of Dresden, Ontario) was founded by Josiah Henson for the purpose of educating and training those who escaped slavery in the U.S.  Ontario had outlawed slavery in 1793. Josiah Henson was the inspiration for Uncle Tom in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin (which was the most read book besides the Bible in the 1800s). Canada has recognized Henson as a significant person in its history.  "Uncle Tom...

KINCARDINE TO OWEN SOUND, ONTARIO   Nephew Bryan and Mark bundled up for the last leg of the Underground Railroad Route. Museum in Grey County, Owen Sound, Ontario. Part of the bicycle exhibit at the Museum. 1880's tricycle, with rack and pinion steering. Black History Cairn at Harrison Park in Owne Sound, designed by a descendant of an escaped slave who settled here. The Cairn, exquisite in its simplicity, extradordinary in its symbolism. Brother Kent, the author Mark, and newphew Brian at the end of the route.

 For anyone who is interested, I've consolidated all the posts of the trip from Louisville to Detroit into a single document.  You can access it with this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XqGs3Igqyqk15qekoCVHECAT6K5NVd19/view?usp=sharing

  DAY 21: ROMULUS TO DETROIT, MI Gateway to Freedom Sculpture on the banks of the St. Claire River, looking across to Canada.  This morning the rain was gone, the sun was shining, and although the temperature was 57F on departure, it quickly warmed to 70. A strong wind was blowing, but most of the time it was favorable.   A beautiful day for riding the last U.S. section of this Underground Railroad route.  The goal of many of the freedom seekers was to get to Canada.  The British Empire had outlawed slavery in 1834, and fiercely protected anyone who entered their country.  Canada was "The Promised Land." As I neared the end of this part of the journey, I enjoyed pedaling on the Detroit Riverwalk.   From this vantage point, one can see both countries separated by the mile  wide plus St. Claire River. Heading north along the St. Claire River, Windsor, Ontario, Canada is on the right and Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. is on the left. More than a...

  DAY 20:  BRITTON TO ROMULUS, MI I discovered this mural on the building where I found the marker for Elijah McCoy and the statue of Harriet Tubman in Ypsilanti.  It would have been easy to miss,  as there was a parking lot between the historical plaques and this art.   But the colors drew my eyes to it. The painting seems to depict the migration of blacks, both slave (notice the broken chains) and free (the well-dressed people at the bottom right). In some ways, it's a picture of the Underground Railroad. It was 50 degrees, windy and rainy when I pulled out of Kyle and Amanda's driveway--and it remained that way throughout the duration of the ride.  I had brought warmer cycling clothes and rain gear with me, but this--the second to the last day of the United States part of this adventure--was the first time I used all of them.  I've been blessed with nice weather for the last 3 weeks.           The Huron River, east...

  DAY 19:  BRITTON, MI (REST DAY) The first paragraph of this plaque by the gifted Black novelist Toni Morrison, found at the Lenawee County Historical Society in Adrian, Michigan, captures so much of the spirit of my Underground Railroad experience.   Pieces of this intriguing period of our history can be found if one looks, but we'll never know the entire story,  including the countless number of human tragedies that resulted from our dark legacy of human bondage. Today Amanda took me to this Historical Society in the nearby town of Adian, Michigan.   Although the museum was closed, there was lots of interesting information all around it. The Lenawee County Historical Society archives and museum is housed in this amazing 1909 Romanesque building. Adrian was strongly anti-slavery and was active in the Underground Railroad.  The quote by Toni Morrison at the top was placed by a commemorative bench in honor of those who vanished trying to escape sl...

DAY 18: BLISSFIELD TO BRITTON, MI David Carpenter Home, Blissfield,  MI with Amanda (Shelley) Boils. My youngest daughter, Amanda, who so graciously pick me up at the end of my ride yesterday, delivered her husband Kyle and I back to Blissfield for today's excursion.  Though overcast and threatening rain all morning, we stayed dry the entire ride.  Kyle Boils and I ready to depart from Blissfield.  Storm moving in near Blissfield. Blissfield is the first of a series of southeast Michigan towns--along with Adrian, Tecumseh, Saline and Ann Arbor--that were very active on the Underground Railroad. The house at the top, built in 1851, belonged to David Carpenter, a prominent and successful businessman who moved from from upstate New York in 1838.  There is little doubt that he was active in aiding fugitive slaves, and may well have hidden them in this very house. The route from Adrian to Tecumseh followed the 8 mile Kiwanis Trail, a paved rail-trail between the two ...