Day 9 - 74 miles - 394 miles total

Keith and I got up and prepared to ride out to Sleeping Bear Dunes. We headed out and stopped at Bubba's in Traverse City for breakfast. We both had the baked oatmeal and it was very good.
We headed out for what we expected to be a long ride. As soon as we left the bike trail in Traverse City we began to climb. It was a long hill and we rose up to around 900 feet from about 600 feet. We just sat down into our lowest gears and grinded it out. Of course after a few miles we had a down hill ride for quite a while. But what goes down must go up and we started climbing again. We got to the town of Solon and took a wrong turn. We were heading south for about 2 miles into the wind. We realized that we were heading the wrong way and turned around. Now we had a tail wind and we flew back along until we reached the town of Cedar. We found a tavern and went in for lunch. It was really good.
We kept going towards Sleeping Bear Dunes.
As we approched the town of Glen Arbor, I saw some kayaks in the river. They sounded like they were really having fun!

Kayaking on the river

Although It Was Cloudy, It Was Apparent That This Is A Beautiful Area.

We finally got to the Sleeping Bear Dunes and went to The Marine Museum. They have an old Life Saving Station With all Of the Boats And Buildings. It Is Very Interesting To See.

It was starting to get late and we had 40 miles ahead of us on our journey back. We passed the Climbing Dunes as we circled around.

Sleeping Bear Climbing Dunes

We started back on a more direct route. It had a little more traffic but less climbing. Once we turned east, we picked up a tail wind out Of the southwest. It was a lot easier going back. The ride Culminated with a 3 mile descent into Traverse City. We were happy to be back.

This ride concludes our Michigan Ride About. We have decided to get a rental car and ride over to Alpena and get my truck. The thought of two  back to  back 65 mile rides does not appeal to us, so we are calling it quits!



As a followup, as we rode over to Alpena we started to congratulate ourselves as the route we would have had to follow was heavy traffic and little to no berm. The only place to stay along the whole route would be in Gaylord. A nice little town, a lot of swiss chalet type of structures.  All and all it was a good decision.

Downtown Gaylord

Day 8 Mission Peninsula 39 miles - 320 total

Today we explored the Mission Peninsula and it's wineries. We started off by trying to find breakfast at some place other than Bob Evans. We went to a place a couple of miles up the road but it was closed. We went back to the Bob Evans and had breakfast. We decided that this area needs a breakfast and lunch only restuarant. We noticed an empty chinese restaurant that had been a fast food restaurant in a previous life and think it may fit the bill. If only we had real ambition!

View of the Traverse City Harbor

We headed out for the Peninsula. The first few miles were a little hectic because of all the traffic, but then we left the main route and headed up the shore route. It was pretty easy riding as we had a nice tail wind. The first one of the trip, plus we were not carrying luggage so we flew along. Eventually we came to the first winery, Hawthorne Vineyards.

We enjoyed our first tastings of wine. This vineyard is only a few years old and they had parasols that they let you use in case it was too sunny on the deck.

I think that I look very stylish!
We went on up the peninsula enjoying the views. There were beautiful homes and boats along the beach all the way up.

This may be a picture of my next boat! Our next stop was for lunch at the Jolly Pumpkin Restaurant. It was very good. After lunch we went to Another winery called Bowers Harbor Vineyards. We enjoyed our stay and continued on our way. We stopped again at Brys Estate Vineyard And Winery. I stopped to take a  picture of the owner's house on the way up the drive. As I was parking my bike a group of folks who had been at the last winery came in. One of the guys asked where we were going next as he said he would tow us!

Winery owner's house

Keith and I had a glass of wine instead of a tasting. We sat on the deck overlooking the vineyards and the bay. It was very nice with a cool breeze. The wine was pretty good and we got to keep the glasses.

Beach at Travers City

We headed back to our motel along the East Shore. We passed a few houses being built and noticed that they were only digging up sand. The entire peninsula is a built up sand bar. It was a very nice ride. Very enjoyable day all around.

Day 7 Charlevoix to Traverse City - 52 miles - 281 total

We enjoyed our night at the cabin. It felt like fall because we had all of the windows open and it was cool. We got up, took our showers and were headed out for breakfast by 8:00AM. We stopped at a nice restaurant overlooking the harbor in Charlevoix. The food was very good, I had a bacon and cheddar cheese omlet and lots of coffee. We were back on the road by 9:30. We were on Rt 31 which had a lot of traffic for a Sunday morning so we took the Bike route when it branched off Rt31. Now the traffic was light and we could enjoy the ride through rolling hills  and mostly farmland.

Nice morning ride!

We Continued along the rt 31 bypass route until we came out again on Rte 31. We were riding along without too many problems as we had a pretty good berm to ride.The only problem we had was the wind was out of the South which again meant we were riding into a headwind! You can see the flag blowing against us.

Another Head wind!

 We were making good time when a biker came up behind us and told us to again get off Rt31 and onto Barnes road. He said it was a bit of a climb out of the valley but it would be better than Rt31. The berm Gave out so we made the turn. The route took us along Torch Lake. We saw some beautiful homes along the way.

Nice house

We eventually turned back to Rte 31. We had  really tough climb to get back up to the road towards Rte 31. We began to See the cherry orchards that we had heard about.

Cherry Orchard

We eventually came to the town Of  Kewaden and stopped for lunch in a little biker bar! There was no one in the place except the bartender/cook. We ordered chicken sandwichs and they were very good. Much better than we expected. He told us that the bar was made in the 1880's and put into this bar in 1930. It is made from maple and is very beautiful.

1880's maple bar

We rode along coming again to Rte 31. Just as we got to the Intersection, a biker came along and told us about a trail that would bypass all the traffic on Rte 31. We took it and were very glad we did. We found the motel 6 and saw another motel next door. Turned out that Motel 6 had bought it and were re-modeling it. It was $25 cheaper than the motel 6 and we have a lot more space!

Doing laundry and then dinner. See you tomorrow.

Day 6 Petoskey to Charlevoix - 22 miles - 229 miles total

We knew we either had short milage or no milage today today so we didn't plan to get on the road until 11:00AM. The Holiday Inn express was very nice and had a great breakfast so we relaxed and enjoyed ourselsves.

Leaving the Holiday Inn in Petosky

Lake Michigan

I checked for hotels in Charlevoix but could not find any. We resigned ourselves to staying another night in Petosky and wait for vacancies in Traverse City on Sunday. I made a reservation at the Odawa Casino Hotel and we were going to move to that hotel when I tried another search, looking for anything in the Charlevoix area. If we had to ride the whole way from Petoskey to Traverse City, it would be over 70 miles. Luckily, a camprground came up and they also had cabins in Charlevoix. They are tiny cabins built in the 1920's.

Our little cabin at the Lincoln Log Motel!

No air conditioning but who is complaining.
It was a leisurely ride down the Little Traverse Wheelway to our motel, The Lincoln Log Motel! There are Lincoln log cabins but we didn't Get one.

We went into the town of Charlevoix and enjoyed the afternoon. Great scenry and food! We met a foursome in the restarurant where we were having dinner. We started talking to them about our bike ride. They were on a boat and traveling from Harbor Springs to Traverse City by boat.The owner of the boat said to come to the marina in the morning and they would take us to Traverse City on the boat. Immediately, his wife began shaking her head no. No way was she going to allow us on the boat! Pretty funny.

We had dinner and made our way back to the motel. We are going to leave early in the morning as we have 50 miles or so to go.

Harbor in Charlevoix

Pg 2 Mackinaw City to Petosky

View of Lake Michigan

We left the Lego Inn and continued towards Petosky. We stopped for a break at the Good Hart General store. Bob Dylan has a summer home in Good Hart. The general store is very quaint and the proprietor is quite a character.It is also the only thing for miles in either direction.

Good Hart General Store

After we left the General Store we continued on towards Harbor Springs. The Tunnel of Trees continued to impress us.
Finally we left the Tunnel of Trees and started up a brutal climb. It was very difficult but we made it. The reward was a nice several mile down hill run. It was basically all down hill until we reached Harbor Springs

We enjoyed a couple of beers at the harbor and then headed for Petosky.

Harbor Springs harbor

We arrived in Petosky and could not find a hotel. We kept calling around until finally we found a room at the Holiday Inn Express at a price we didn't like but it was the only room we could find. It was located 2 miles up a steep hill. A very tiring end to a long day. The room was actually a suite. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a living room. Pretty luxurious compared to the motels we have been staying at.

Modest vacation home!

Tomorrow we head for Charlevoix or stay another dayin Petosky and then go all the way to Traverse City. We really don't want to do that.

Day 5 Mackinaw City to Petosky 61 miles - 207 miles total

We woke up to bright sunshine. We left the hotel around 9:30 and headed for a restaurant in Mackinaw for breakfast. We enjoyed breakfast and the funny waitresses and got on the road about 10:30 AM.
We were traveling back roads today on our way to the shore highway and the Tunnel of Trees. It was pretty easy going and we only missed one turn which added a couple of miles to the trip. We were traveling along and I commented to Keith that I wished we sould see one large animal so I could get a picture, you know, a bear, a moose, an elk, anything. Almost immediately, we saw one in the trees and I stopped to get a picture which you can see here.

A unexpected sighting

Not sure what he is doing in the wilds of Michigan but there he was!
We finally made it to the coast highway and stopped for lunch at a  restaurant in Cross Village called Leg Inn. It is a very interesting place to visit plus it is the only restaurant for about another 20 miles. The owner immigrated from Poleland and built this place with the help of the local indians. It is a very unique place. Supposedly Bob Segar hangs out in the bar.

The Leg Inn

Inside the restaurant

We continued down Michigan Rte 119 as it turned into the tunnel of trees. The trees go on for about 10 miles and it is very pleasant to ride through them. The vehicles are used to seeing bikers on this road so they pass very safely.

Tunnel of Trees

Day 4 - Mackinac Island ride 30 miles - 146 total

The Arch on Macinac Island

Keith and I were up and ready to ride by 8:30. We were coming back to the same motel so we didn't have to pack up our gear. It felt good to just get on the bikes and head out. We stopped first at the Starbucks and got a coffee for the ferry ride to the island. The ferry ride was nice although it was cool enough to keep us inside instead up on top of the ferry. The ferry went under the Mackinac Bridge on it's way to the island. They usually don't do that, only a couple of trips a day go under the bridge.
We landed and headed off to find a restaurant for breakfast. We found a nice restaurant and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. After breakfast, we started out for a ride around the island. We noticed the rock cairns that have built along the shore. The tradition is that everyone builds one and nobody knocks them down.

Rock Cairns

We were amazed by all of the horse drawn equipment and also about the amount of horse poo that we constantly had to dodge. Keith talked to several of the drivers and found out that the horses spend about six months on the island and then they are shipped back to the mainland. That must be quite and operation to get all of these horses loaded onto the ferries.
We rode around the island and then headed up over the top to see the airport, golf course and British fort that are located on the highest elevations of the island.
We then headed back down to town to have lunch.

View from on top of the island

Cemetary on the island

We found a nice patio bar and restaurant overlooking a minature golf course and of course Lake Huron. We spent a couple of hours there just enjoying the day. After lunch we took another ride around the island. This time we stopped and added our personal touch to some of the rock cairns. We decided to go back to the same patio bar and have another beer/hard cider. It was a lot of fun watching the kids playing miniture golf. One little boy was playing in the lake with his putter and it slipped out of his and into the water. We laughed and the dad just shrugged his shoulders and said what can you do!
We went for another ride around the island and wound up back in town. We watched them making fudge for a little while and then caught the ferry back to our motel.
We had dinner just off the dock and went back to the motel. The sun was still shinning at 9:10PM.
Tomorrow we head out for the town of Petosky Michigan. More good weather is in store!


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Ceyboygan to Mackinaw City - 20 miles - 116 miles total

We woke up to bright sunshine today which was a thousand times better than it was yesterday. We packed up and headed for breakfast about 8:30AM. Breakfast was very goood, we both had the crazy oatmeal. Oatmeal loaded with apples, raisens and brown sugar. It was very satisfying.

We headed out into the brilliant sunshine into a (wait for it) headwind out of the north. It really wasn't too bad this morning only gusting to 9mph but it was cool. None the less, we were very happy to be rolling without a cold spray of rain in our face. We rode along side of Lake Huron for most of the ride, stopping a couple of times to check out the view of the lake.

We made it to Mackinaw City in about an hour and a half of riding. The first order of business was to have a cup of coffee at the new Starbucks in downtown. We then went to the welcome center to find out about some inexpensive motels. The lady there asked me what where we were heading and I told her that eventually, we would be in Traverse City. She asked me if we were going to visit Fishtown and then proceeded to tell me that we should not miss it. She and her husband were going to spend a few days there in a few weeks. She made it sound very attractive so we put it on our list of things to do.

Mackinac Bridge

Lake Huron

We spotted a motel across the street and went to see what they had to offer. The manager, who we decided to call Skippy, gave us a pretty nice room for $50. Keith and I could not believe all of the gyrations he was going through to assign us a room. Then when we said we were staying for 2 nights, he said we could not stay in that room but would have to change rooms in the morning. We said OK and went to our room. He came by a few minutes later and said if we moved to another room we could stay in for both days. Keith and I just kind of looked at each other and said what is up with this guy. But the bottom line is we get to stay for two nights.

We went and did out laundry before we headed out to Mackinac Island. We decided to not take our bikes over today and would just walk around. The shuttle came to the motel and took us to the ferry. We walked around to see some of the sights and then had a pretty good dinner at GoodFellas restaurant. We had a glass of wine watching the harbor and then headed for the dock but not before stopping for some ice cream for dessert. We took the 10:00PM ferry back to the mainland. It was still a little light out which hi-lighted the Mackinac Bridge as we went by.

Tomorrow, we are taking the bikes back over and we will explore the whole island.

Light House at the entrance to Mackinac Island harbor

Mackinac Island

Carriage from Grand Hotel

Day 2 - 33miles - 96 total

My grandmother always used to say, "today is Tuesday unless it rains, then it is a rainy day!". Well today was a rainy day.

Keith and I woke up to rain. We got up and went to breakfast. At breakfast we discussed our strategy. We decided to wait until checkout time and hope that the rain would ease up. Fat chance, it was raining hard when we loaded up and headed out for Mackinaw City. We rode west on rte 68 for about 11 miles then turned to the north for Cheboygan. When we turned north, we turned into the wind so it made it tougher going. The berm of the road was wide with nice pavement so we were making decent time. We hit a series of rolling hills that were a lot of fun to ride even in the rain. We could get up enough speed to almost coast to the top of the next one. It was like riding a roller coaster!

Eventually we came to where the Northeastern trail crossed rte 33. There was a sign that said rough pavement. I thought they were talking about where the road had been repaired after the railroad tracks were remove but no, they meant for the next 9 miles into Cheboygan. We had to watch for rough pavement, try to avoid pot holes and watch for cars passing us. It was a little stressful.

Finally, we came to Cheboygan. Keith suggested that we might consider stopping in Cheboygan and go to Mackinaw City tomorrow. He pointed out that we were cold and wet and it would be a miserable 16 more miles in the rain. We agreed to discuss it over lunch. We stopped in Johnny's bar. All of the patrons turned to look at the wierd crazy guys riding bikes in this rain. The bartender came over and took our food orders. It turns out that he was multi-tasking as the bartender, waitress, cook and as one patron put it, therapist! The food was very good! It really hit spot!!

We were so wet that huge puddles were on the floor from our dripping clothes. My shoes were full of water and everything I was wearing was dripping wet except for my Showers Pass rain jacket ( I love that jacket).

We decided to find a motel for the night. As we realized, we don't have an itenary so we can change our plans without affecting anything. By now we were both so cold we were shivering. No way we could go another mile!

As we were getting ready to leave, another kid got up from a table and started to put on his weather gear and a large packpack. He stopped to talk  us and said that he was hiking from Mackenaw City to Traverse City. He had started from Traverse City 16 days ago. He may be the only one crazier than us.

We left Johnny's and rode to the motel. It is $60 and bigger that the one last night. Another bargain!! The owners were a little strange. I was reminded of Lurch from the Adams family.

We walked back to town for dinner and saw that the Army Reserve Band was giving a concert for the town folk. It was pretty good. It looked like everyone was having a good time.

Tomorrow promises to be dry and sunny! Can't wait.