LMT Day 17 - 9/1/2024 - Hart to Muskegon to the Van at the ferry packing lot, 44 miles

 One of the reasons we chose to stay at Hart was the campground, and also it is the start of a paved trail system that will take us all the way to the ferry parking lot in Muskegon!    The Hart-Montague Trail starts in Hart, running about 23 miles, which then connects to the White Lake Path in Whitehall for 3 miles, which then connects to the Berry Junction trail for 11 miles, and final connecting to the Muskegon Lakeshore Trail for the last 7 miles to the ferry.

The day started with a fantastic breakfast at the Hart Pink Elephant Diner.  The diner was packed with people and we soon found out why - what a great breakfast!    We sat next to two very nice guys, very talkative of course, who live in the area and have ridden the trails we planned on riding today.  We quickly learned all the details of todays ride.

Two blocks from the diner the trail system started.   It was a beautiful, sunny day with the wind at our backs all day.  What a way to finish!   

Todays route

LMT Day 16 - 8/31/2024 - Manistee to Hart, 45 miles

 Todays ride was highlighted by country roads through huge vineyards and orchards of all kinds.   There were apple, pear, peach, plum, and nectarine orchards and other fruits we couldn't identify.  Very different from the rest of the ride.    Much of the ride was through rolling hills but nothing like the steep climbs of the day before.

We arrived at the town of Hart earlier than expected and found our way to the city campground.   The weather was beautiful and the campground staff gave us a perfect site overlooking the city lake.    We sat and talked to the camp staff for a long time.   We learned that today 8/31 was the last day in the RV park for most of the summer residents.   The tradition was that they celebrated Halloween for all the kids on the last day before back to school and back to work.   That evening we got to see all the kids dressed up, lighting and fanfare.   We walked into town for dinner and got a recommendation for a good breakfast place in the morning.  We did laundry at the camp, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Great last night out.

What a campsite!   Yes, we know, we carry a 3-person tent when there is only two of us.  We like the extra room!

Hart's mascot the Tin Man.    If only I had a …

Last sunset on the road.

Todays route

LMT Day 15 - 8/30/2024 - Glen Arbor to Manistee, 64 miles

After a good nights rest we headed off on what we knew would be our longest day of the trip, but we didn't realize how tough the hills were going to be.   The day started with a short ride back to the Sleeping Bear trail.   The 6 miles of trail from Glen Lake to Empire was all paved and  forested.   There was a fair climb to tackle but not steep at all.

After breakfast in Empire, we have another significant hill on the way out of town.   We were back on route 22 again and the shoulders were very nice and wide.   After a long flat stretch on 22 to Crystal Lake we turned west to ride around the lake and immediately hit the strongest headwind of the trip so far.  The few miles to get to the west end of the lake and turn south again was really challenging.   A few more miles down the road was the town of Frankfort.  While it was a bit early in the day, we had lunch at the Birch and Maple of a view of the small bay the borders the town.

Leaving Frankfort, still on route 22, we encountered a series of hills that really challenged us!   Most of the route around Lake Michigan has been very flat, today was a big change!    The sequence of hills was one shorter 150 foot climb, then three climbs each at about 300 feet each, and finally another 150 foot climb.    Sherri said her Elemnt bike computer read between 8% and 12% steady on all five climbs!  Tough on a loaded tandem.   Luckily after each climb there was a long flat section that helped us recover.  Whew!

It was a long day, and we were happy to see our motel in Manistee.   We needed to do some laundry, but by the time we got in the laundry was closed.  We asked at the motel desk and they graciously agreed to do our laundry for us!  Nice touch.  Have to give these guys a great review!   As night fell we walked to TJ's Pub for dinner.  It was a nice evening so we took a table outside.   Great food and good service.   The pub looks across the road to the city's drawbridge.   Sure enough while we were eating the horns sounded and the bridge went up.   The river is quite narrow but a huge ship made its way very, very slowly past the drawbridge down the river to the Lake.  What a sight to see.

Rest stop at one of parks on the route.

The final descent was incredibly steep.   Good thing we were headed down!

Storm on the water at a Lake front park just before Manistee.

Taken from our outside dinner table at the corner pub.  The ship moved through as if it was just on a city side street.

Todays route

LMT Day 14 - 8/29/2024 - Traverse City to Glen Arbor, 49 miles

The first couple of miles of today was through the heart of Traverse City.   There was a lot of road construction and the bike trail along the bay was closed.  Eventually we found our way out of town an on to the Leelanau bike trail.  The Leelanau was a beautiful paved bike trail taking us through rolling hills with a combination of forest, vineyards, and orchards.  The trail into Sutton Bay had a very nice descent. 

At Sutton Bay we took a long break at a great little coffee shop, Hive Coffee Company, for coffee and snacks and of course, a bathroom.   The way out of Sutton Bay and back over to the Lake side was on route 204, which had great wide shoulders and a very smooth riding surface.   204 took us up and over the hills that separate the Traverse bays from the Lake.  Very nice descent down to the Lake.

The ride along the Lake on route 22 was gently rolling and in the forest, beautiful but no Lake views here.   At about mile 35 we found the only stop between Sutton Bay and Glen Arbor, the Market 22 restaurant.   It was a very welcome break and the food was good.   The place was really busy, we guessed because there was nothing else for miles.

A few miles after leaving Market 22, we connected to Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail.   Sleeping Bear was a nice trail rolling through mostly forested areas with both paved and gravel sections.    The last couple of miles today were on quiet backcountry roads leading us into the resort town of Glen Arbor.

In Glenn Arbor we stopped at a grocery store and stocked up.   Glen Arbor is a very expensive place.  We staying at an AirBnB a couple of miles south of town on Glen Lake.   From our AirBnB we enjoyed a walk out over the bridge that crosses the channel between the two sides of the lake.   On the bridge we have nice view of the Sleeping Bear sand dunes.

One of the lake front houses at Glen Lake.

The Sleeping Bear sand dunes

Todays route

LMT Day 13 - 8/28/2024 - Torch Bay to Traverse City, 37 miles

Today was a pleasant day of riding with easy rolling hills on US 31.   The last 5 or 6 miles were on a nice paved trail, the Traverse Area Recreational Trail.   Google routed us through a cemetery to get us to the hotel.   Once again with thunderstorms on the way we opted for a hotel.  After dinner we walked down to East Bay Park to sit and enjoy the view of East Arm Bay.  Staying at the Comfort Inn tonight.

Todays route

LMT Day 12 - 8/27/2024 - Petoskey to Torch Bay, 38 miles

The first 14 miles of todays route was on a nice paved bike trail called the Little Traverse Wheelway.   Another 4 miles on the road took use to the quaint Lake front town of Charlevoix.   Here we got lunch and filled our bottles because the next 20 miles was through a remote area with no services.  We have a motel reservation at Torch Bay tonight but we are not sure what services we will find there -- Google didn't show much.  No camping available

Part of the ride today was through hill country away from the lake.  We saw some vineyards and a few orchards.  Backcountry roads took us most of the rest of the way, then on US 31 for the last few miles.  US 31 runs all the way down the west side of Michigan.

Torch Bay is mainly a crossroads, but to our pleasant surprise we found a great small market about 2 miles from our motel.   The Eastport Market had a great selection of food and indoor seating.  We had our late lunch here and went back for dinner.   

Riding along the Little Traverse Wheelway.   Yeah, our Samuel Engineering Jerseys are our favorites.

A banana split and french fries! Our favorite lunch too share!

Todays route

LMT Day Off - 8/26/2024 - Hampton Inn, Petoskey, MI

Today is a day off for us.   We were going to stay a second night at the state park, but more thunderstorms are moving through the area today.   A day in the tent today did not sound fun, so off to the hotel!   It was a short 5 mile ride, so almost a day off.  The hotel is up on the bluff above the lake and the city.  Great views!

Yeah, and it did rain most of the day today.  But clearing nicely at sunset.

LMT Day 11 - 8/25/2024 - Mackinaw City KOA to Petoskey State Park, 35 miles

Today we rode the Petoskey / Mackinaw rail trail, aka the North Western State Trail.   The trail was about 30 miles long and took us most all the way to Petoskey State Park campground. The trail was pretty rough, ranging from deep crushed stone to gravel.   With a headwind all day, we were surprisingly tired at the end of what was planned to be a short day.

The state park campground is very nice, in the forest, quiet, and great showers.  It is a short walk to the Lake Michigan shore line, and a short ride to food and groceries.   We met a couple in the site next door who did their own custom van conversion and were touring the country.   They were interested in talking with us because they used to do a lot of bike touring.

Steps and path leading to the beach from the campground.

Water is crystal clear, but cold!

Back to the campsite for an evening snack.  The tent ground-cloth doubles as a bike cover  to keep the saddle and bars dry overnight.

Today route

LMT Day 10 - 8/24/2024 - St. Ignace to Mackinac Island via ferry then to Mackinaw City via ferry, 16 miles

 Today was a beautiful and sunny day.  A perfect day to investigate Mackinac Island.   We had heard about the paved bike path the circles the island and we couldn't wait to try it out. The ferry to the island was very busy but a ship leaves about every 15 to 20 minutes.  The line moved very fast.   When we got on board with our loaded tandem, I started to say something to the crew about strapping it down. They basically said get your seat, sir, we got this.   Yeah, we learned later they transport bikes and tandems hundreds of times a day!

The ferry ride provided amazing views of the 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge.   After 15 to 20 minutes we were docked at the Mackinac Island ferry house.  Wow was it busy!   You off load right into the center of the tourist area.  We were soon on the main street, avoiding the horse droppings, no cars or trucks allowed on the island, and looking for one the famous fudge shops.   With bike jersey pockets full of some of the best fudge we have every tasted, we were off on the Lake Shore Dr bike path.   There were a lot of people biking the path, but the path was in perfect condition very wide.   We had all day to ride the 8 mile path, so we took our time and stopped often.

After the day on the island we caught the ferry to Mackinaw City, on the lower peninsula side.   From the ferry depot we had a short few miles ride to the Mackinaw City KOA where we are camping tonight.  A wonderful day.

Waiting in line with the tandem for the ferry to Mackinac Island.  Mark needs a cup of coffee!

Many beautiful gardens on Mackinac Island.

Todays route

LMT Day 9 - 8/23/2024 - Cut River Campground, MI to St. Ignace, 28 miles

 Wet!  It was a warm night but the dew point and the temperature crossed - everything in the tent was wet!  The rain fly was dripping on us.  Thankfully, soon after we got up and around the sun came out so we could dry out a little before packing up.

We had heard about roadwork ahead on the way to St. Ignace on US 2.  Several people told us they were laying new pavement.   Riding on US 2 has been great so far, and there was not much in the way of alternative routes ahead to St. Ignace.  We set off with fingers crossed.   It turned out that the paving had been completed a couple of days prior.  Whew!  The paving was active on the northwest bound side with long lines of cars and trucks.   On our side they crews left the orange and white striped construction barrels on the shoulder, so our biggest challenge was to dodge all the barrels and stay out of traffic.   

Lots of beautiful views of the lake today.

Staying at the Bayside Inn today.   It was bright and sunny today with a light wind, so we got all the camping gear out in the hotel parking lot to dry out.   The sun and wind worked great, all dry again, and packed up for tomorrows ride around Mackinac Island.  Off to checkout the island ferry logistics.

One of the many lighthouses around the Lake.

View of the Mackinac Bridge as we get closer to St. Ignace.   Hard to get a full frame of the 5 mile bridge!

Todays route

LMT Day 8 - 8/22/2024 - Manistique, MI to Cut River Campground, MI, 62 miles

Today we rode on US 2 all day.  The highway continued to have beautiful smooth pavement and shoulders that seemed to get wider and wider.   The day was bright and sunny and the wind was with us.   Can't ask for anything better on a bike tour!  Today we saw lots of logging trucks - may more than we saw in 2021 out west or in 2023 in the northeast.  They are loud!

The scenery was beautiful with long periods with no traffic.  On the first half of the day US 2 took us away from the lake in slightly rolling hills.   The landscape was like mountain tundra reminding us of the Colorado mountains.   The second half of the day along US 2 took us back to the lake, this time on high bluffs above the lake with great views.   There were lots of islands along the coast.

The ride did have its challenge of the day.   Mark used the postal address of the campground to pin point its location.  Ha!  So the address was in Naubinway, MI.   We rode all over Naubinway, a small town, looking for the campground and could not find it.   Ok, so when in doubt - we stopped and asked where the campground was at the town gas station.   The answer - at Cut River, another 10 miles down the road!   Ok, it’s a beautiful day, the wind is with us and the riding is good.  We ride about 10 miles with no sign of the campground.   We call the campground (why didn't we do that earlier??).   It is another 7 miles down the road!  Ok it’s a beautiful day …    The campground is small and very nice.  The laundry and showers are beautiful and 20 feet from the tent.  The camp store is only 40 feet away with a very nice restaurant next door.

A view from one the many bluffs with an island in the distance.

The campground office and store.  Cool Big Foot carving!

Todays route

LMT Day 7 - 8/21/24 - Gladstone, MI to Manistique, MI, 47 miles

On any self-supported bike tour heading into areas you have never been to before and roads you have never ridden on before, navigation can be challenging.   When all your planning ahead either falls apart for some reason, weather, road construction, or big local events, there are two sources that have helped us.  First is talking to the local residents. That advice has really helped us numerous times.  Second, is Google Maps satellite view.  While not always up to date, the satellite view can tell you a bit about the quality of the road surface and if there are shoulders to ride on.   As we turn east today to cross the remote U.P., several of the bike route sources like ACA suggest back roads that on the satellite appear really rough or are dirt.   What about US 2?   The satellite view suggests very wide shoulders.  So US 2 it is!

The route out of Gladstone on Lake Shore and Bay Shore Drives is very pleasant with no traffic.  This takes use to the intersection with US 2 at the very small town of Rapid River.   We stock up here knowing that there are long stretches across US 2 with no services.   Heading out of Rapid River we find very wide shoulders on US 2, 12 feet at times, and the road is perfectly smooth!   How could that be this far north and in a remote part of the county?   In contrast, the highway has a lot of traffic, much more than we expected.

The ride to Manistique is very pleasant if.  We feel safe along the way, and the pavement continues to be the some of the smoothest we have been on.  Oh yeah,  sunny all day!  Great!

We are staying at the Manistique Comfort Inn tonight.  Very nice hotel and nice room.  With the tandem and all our gear we always request first floor.   Not only are we on the first floor we are right next to the lobby and the front door.

One of the beaches along our route.

Todays route

LMT Day 6 - 8/20/24 - JW Wells State Park, Cedar River, MI to Gladstone Bay Campground, Gladstone, MI, 40 miles

The winds were strong all night and we felt a bit cool again.   The morning was chilly, but the camp Hosts had hot coffee and treats for all the campers.   Wow, did the hot coffee ever hit the spot!   We enjoyed the very friendly and talkative bunch at the hosts' site.   We had a couple of cups of coffee while we delayed going back to our chilly tent site to pack up.

Today we stayed on highway 35 all day to Gladstone.   Our first stop after just 4 miles was at a gas station with a restaurant.   Time for second breakfasts!   All hobbits and bike tourists have second breakfasts.   At breakfast we once again were greeted by friendly UP residents that just wanted to talk and talk.   Highway 35 started with about 5 miles of almost no shoulders and continued to have heavy traffic.   We were worried.  But thankfully the highway opened up and the shoulders widened a lot so we were able to move away from the truck traffic.  Also the views of the bay were much improved.   We stopped at a couple of sandy picnic areas and parks along the way.   All through Wisconsin and now the west side of Michigan it's been flat and windy.

At Escanaba the clouds parted and sun came out and warmed everything up nicely.   We stopped to have lunch at a Culvers.  We had sun the rest of the way to Gladstone - a very nice change in the weather.

The Gladstone Bay campground is another very nice campground with water and power at the site.  Laundry called and that was about a 1.5 mile walk.   Walking after riding is something we like to do.  Respite from the saddle and loosening up tight muscles. Turns out there was a sub shop right next door to the laundry. 

The view of Gladstone Bay, kind of at the tip of Green Bay, is fantastic from the campground.

Just arrived at the Gladstone campground.  What a view!

Todays route

LMT Day 5 - 8/19/24 - Holtwood Campground, Oconto, WI to JW Wells State Park, Cedar River, MI, 55 miles

 Todays ride started on Y road and Bay Shore road along the bay.  After just a few miles we had to divert inland away from the bay, first to go around the Peshtigo Harbor State Wildlife Area, and then later to avoid highway 35, which has high truck traffic and no shoulders on its way to Cedar River.  We were on pretty rough country roads most of the day.  Lots of beautiful farmland.   The towns of Marinette, WI and Menominee, MI lie on the banks of the Menominee River which is the dividing line between Wisconsin and Michigan.  We will stay in Michigan for the rest of the trip.   This side of Michigan is the upper peninsula or the U.P. as everyone here calls it.

A good part of the last 10 miles to JW Wells was on highway 35, which got us closer to the bay with some nice views, but also had heavy truck traffic.   About half of the distance on 35 had very little shoulder to ride on.

The state park is very nice!  Completely wooded.   Our tent site has water and electrical.  The showers are great.  We walked down to the beach and sat for awhile enjoying the bay.

Someone built a pirates ship in their front yard!  The Red Pearl - not the Black Pearl.

Todays route

LMT Day 4 - Sunday 8/18/24 - Devil's River Campground, Maribel, WI to Holtwood Campground, Oconto, WI

It rained all night.  Thankfully it stopped in time for us to pack up camp.   Well, we still packed up wet.   We had brought only the light weight down comforter to sleep under, and we were starting to wonder if we should have brought at least our down jackets.  Happy Anniversary to us!

We were a bit cold and damp and now very hungry.  When a McDonalds presented itself at about 9 miles, there was no discussion about where to eat.   At breakfast there was a nice couple that talked our ears off about Green Bay, the Packers football team, and how the area was growing and changing.  We are learning that Wisconsin folk are very friendly.

Some bigger cities present navigation challenges and take a lot time to safely ride through.   However, Green Bay was an exception.   The route through the city was easy to navigate, there were a short few miles of trail along the river, and we soon found ourselves out of town and headed north.

Once out of town we rode on the Green Bay shore drive with bay views and lots of forest.  Windy , windy, windy,  today.  Very little traffic going to Oconto. We found the Holtwood campground. It was not raining!   The campground had great clean showers and laundry facilities.   The campground was on the opposite side of the river from town.  We walked about a mile to the closest bridge and found a Subway for dinner.   Very thankful for no rain today.

Todays route.

LMT Day 3 - 8/17/24 - Kohler-Andrae to Devil's River Campground, 52 miles

No rain today!  Well, at least not for the bike ride.  It was cloudy and threatening to rain with a headwind much of the day.   We stay on lightly traveled roads into Sheboygan.  In Sheboygan we rode on through town with great lake views.  We continued on the lake shore road all the way to Manitowoc.  At Manitowoc we turned inland, and headed northwest toward Green Bay.  We road on the Devil River State Trail for about 10 miles, which is really a gravel road and a bit rough.  Close to the campground we stopped at a truck stop and got lunch/dinner and picked up some supplies.

Our day ended at the Devil's River Campground where we had a rustic tent camp spot.  We were allowed to walk to the RV camping at the top of hill above us and take showers and do laundry.

We got back to the tent site just in time for the rain to start.

First glimpse of the Lake since Milwaukee.

Lots of Gulls, Cormorants, and Egrets on the route today.

Historic Marker at our campsite.  Our tent is behind the tree on the right.

Todays Route

LMT Day 2 - 8/16/24 - Grafton, WI to Kohler-Andrae State Park, 31 miles

This morning the clouds were dark and grey but no rain.  Navigator Sherri found us a great route from the hotel directly north on quiet backroads that took us back to the Ozaukee trail.   The Ozaukee trail, still paved, took us into the lake shore town of Port Washington with nice views of the lake and the boat docks.  The trail continues north to Cedar Grove and finally to Oostburg where we said goodbye to the paved trail and moved onto country roads.

We were headed the Kohler-Andrae State park where we had camping reservations.   A storm lay in our path, and as we got closer it grew in size and turned black.  We could see lightening and hear thunder in the distance.  We seemed to be catching up to the storm as we rode, so we deliberately slowed our pace to stay out of the worst of it.  Even at a slower pace we caught up.  We were just 4 miles from the park when we came to a Kwik Trip.   We stood under the roof, out of the rain, and took a look at the weather radar.   To our amazement the radar showed a long line of thunderstorms moving from southwest to northeast right across the start park.   The park was in the middle of a storm right now and it appeared it would be all night!   At this intersection there is the Kwik Trip and a hotel immediately behind it.  We bailed on camping and got a room at the hotel.  Vacation is supposed to fun!   And yep dinner was sourced from the Kwik Trip :-)

What would touring cyclists do without convenience stores?!

Doing our best to avoid all the storms

Storm brewing ahead on the route.

Todays route.

Lake Michigan Tour (LMT) Day 1 - Thursday, 8/15/24 - Milwaukee to Grafton, 30 miles

Hello again everyone!  For this years bike tour we are riding around Lake Michigan.  As usual, we are self-supported.  We are carrying our camping gear and plan on camping as much as practical.

We start today by taking the Lake Express Ferry from Muskegon Michigan to Milwaukee.  The ferry company has a lit and secure parking lot on the Muskegon side where we can park the van for just $5/day.    We decided to skip the Chicago metro area, starting the ride from Milwaukee, riding around Lake Michigan, and finishing back in Muskegon.  This will likely take us two weeks plus a couple of days.  The ride should be about 700 miles.

Our day started with the ferry ride and a bad lake weather warning with 3 to 5 foot waves!   Mark gets sea sick but the ferry provides free meds for just this kind of weather.  The ferry has a very nice conditioned passenger compartment  with padded seats, restrooms, and refreshments.   Whew what a bumpy ride!  It was very hard to stand up and walk around.   You can go out on the top deck for the lake view, but it was pouring rain so we just stayed in.  The ferry was slowed down by the bad weather but they were almost on time. 

From the ferry building, Our ride took us from the ferry, thru downtown Milwaukee for the first 3 or 4 miles.  It was pouring rain and about 68f.   The rain felt cold so we put warm clothes and rain jackets.  Milwaukee has a beautiful skyline but the tops of the buildings were in the clouds and we couldn't see much in the pouring rain.  We connected to the Oak Leaf rail trail and rode most of the way to Grafton.

The Oak Leaf/Ozaukee bike trail was 100% paved, thank goodness, as the rain went from heavy to even heavier.   We believe this was the heaviest down pour we have ever ridden in!   Well, some years riding TOSRV, in May, in Ohio, might have been worse.   There was so much rain that Mark's iPhone emergency phone notification was triggered.  Thanks to all our emergency contacts for checking in!

At Grafton we turned off the trail and rode a couple miles east to our hotel.   We walked into the hotel to check in soaking wet.  Good thing the hotel had laundry!  We had to dry out everything!   A long day for just a 30 mile ride.

How in the world are we going to get all that stuff on the tandem!

Ok, well, somehow it fit!  Tandem fully loaded and ready to go.   Waiting for the ferry at Muskegon, MI.

Nice ferry compartment.  We brought iced animal crackers for the ferry ride.

Todays Route (Actual Start was 12:43 PM)