Mission Accomplished

It was a quick drive to Harbor Springs with 2 slightly disassembled mountain bikes in the back of a tiny Mazda 2.  They fit, it was efficient... awesome!  Harbor Springs, MI is a bike friendly place and they allow parking on the streets and parking lots overnight.   We unloaded and left the car in the City Hall/police parking lot.  Very safe and convenient. 

M119 is a bicycle riders dream and leads directly out of town.  Scenic, smooth and quiet.  Generally the hills are rolling and with a little digging you're up to cruising speed again in no time.  Immediately, we were greeted with scenic views of Lake Michigan and Mary Jean even spotted a bald eagle flying very close by.  Unfortunately, I missed the sight as I was viewing the plastic lined porch on a cottage.  Let me tell you though... it was some mighty fine plastic.  This definitely gave us a good laugh to begin our journey.  The smells talked of the approaching Fall season, the weather was sunny and 65... we couldn't ask for more.

Our first notable stop was the Good Hart General Store in Good Hart, MI.  It's very quaint and worth a quick look.  Although a little pricey, that's what you get when it's the only game in town.  Heck, it is the town.  We took about a mile detour down a dirt road to stop at a very old church below M119.  Well worth the stop as it was truly a peaceful place. 

Its only about 20 miles when M119 ends in Cross Village and officially turns into N. Lake Shore Drive.  We have to say though, we liked riding this even better than M119.  It was quieter, more rustic and had impressive views of the lake and Sturgeon Bay.  It was also at a lower elevation so we were able to stop and explore the shoreline on several occasions. 

At the end of N. Lake Shore Drive we came to a little planned variety and it was time to mix things up... Wilderness State Park.  We immediately jumped into some tough mountain bike trails in the Michigan wilderness that would lead us up to the northern shore of the lower peninsula.  With some sandy and overgrown terrain we both rode and walked some parts, but we took the short route and it was only about 8 miles of trails. Eventually, we made it to a two track road which would lead us to the shore and past what the park calls "The Last Cabin".  It lies far back into the park and if we were thinking we were getting close... we were wrong.  Very cool!  Although this added some sweat and time to our journey, it was well worth it.  God's County.

From this point it was "easy" travel.  We say "easy" because we were already at about 40 miles into the day.  Roughly 12 more to go.  But this 12 miles was along Wilderness Park Drive which goes from tree lined gravel to pavement directly on the shore along Big Stone Bay, Cecil Bay and Trails End Bay.  An occasional sighting of the Mackinaw Bridge certainly kept the enthusiasm alive.  Just a note though, it's a big bridge and one can be deceived on how close (or far) it is from a bikers standpoint.  Ha!

What an awesome ride.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at the base of the bridge and after stuffing our hungry selves with a pasty we showered and relaxed.  This had to be the most beautiful leg of our journey.  Completely rewarding and visual.  We have driven some of these roads and it does not do them justice.  Through this trip we actually experienced what they pass through.

We won't bore you with the ride back as it was similar except we did skip the wilderness biking.  We also took some time to just stop and listen.  Awesome silence.  Riding just over 100 miles over the last 2 days, we completed the journey and we are totally stoked to experience a new one.  We have found a calling in "touring".  We are already planning some new touring bikes that will make it easier to carry our gear and make us much more efficient. 

We have continued to simplify our lives, budget and spirits... and the freedom is amazing. 

Take Care.

Lets Finish This

We have decided to finish what we started earlier this summer... complete the ride to Mackinaw.  We had such a powerful journey and its been bugging us since we returned home... we need to do this.  Yesterday, we were talking and Mary Jean pointed to the fact that it was bothering us for a reason and its time to follow thru with "the calling".  Tomorrow we leave.

We will be one person short on this part of the journey.  Charlie has decided to sit it out.  Therefore, it will just be Mary Jean and myself on a couple of mountain bikes with the bare necessities.  We will miss Charlie but are proud of his efforts.  The weather looks like it might cooperate and the route will be taxing but not as difficult as before.  However, having driven some of this route we know the hills will still be talking to us.  We figure it to be roughly 100 miles round trip not including "exploration miles"... lol.  Two days of free spirit fun. 

A portion of the route will on scenic M119 (aka "Tunnel of Trees").  We plan to start in Harbor Springs, MI and hug the coast through Cross Village toward Wilderness State Park.  From there we'll grab the mountain bike trails through the park to Big Stone Bay and follow the northern shore to Mackinaw City.  Eat, sleep, eat and return via the same route.

That's the plan anyway.  Ride on....

Traverse City Bound

After some much needed rest, we left Frankfort.  It was a comfortable town and we had to push ourselves out the door.  (We had to pull Charlie out the door.)  However, we were treated to another tree lined 10 mile trail that skirted Crystal Lake as we left town.  The lake lived up to its name as you can see in the picture.  

All of the towns we passed through were very welcoming although there was quite a distance between them.  Small town America... Very nice and very much our style.  Everyone was helpful and pleasant whenever we asked directions for travel or food.

Pushing 50 miles we entered Traverse City.  Thank God the final hill was downhill because it was about 1 mile in length.  Fyi, whenever we saw the steep grade signs with a truck on them... they were sure to be doozies.  Depending on which way we faced them, we either dug in deep or held on tight. 

Its a small world and we are all connected.  We smiled and were very pleased to see our 3 biker friends from Manistee in Traverse City.  No conversations this time.  They just gave an energetic wave and shout out as they passed by us heading North.  Must be nice to have that early twenty-something energy.   We wonder where the journey of life will take them.  Good luck and safe travels guys.

We have decided to call Traverse City our final destination.  It is clear that the trip would take much more time than we had planned.  Also, there were some scary moments and I have a nagging injury that was not going away.  Instead of making it worse, we made plans to return home.

We are not disappointed.  To the contrary, we are proud and completely fulfilled.  Just shy of 300 miles, this trip did exactly what we had hoped.  On the way home we were trying to find the right words that would convey the non stop hills and the length of some of them from a bikers vantage point.  We couldn't!  At times even 1 mile seemed like an eternity with legs burning and lungs consuming every bit of oxygen they could find.  Add 60 pounds of gear behind each bike and well, nuff said. 

It was an amazing trip and is without question the hardest and most rewarding thing we have done in our 47 and 10 years, both physically and mentally.   There is no question that 100 miles per day of flats would have been so much easier.  But then again, turning all those corners only to find another hill waiting is where the mental strength surfaced.  A lot like life, wouldn't you say? 

We all had our moments of doubt, but we pushed through it.  We may not be aware of it but I am sure we will use this strength in the future for other life struggles.  Charlie will for sure and that was a big goal for the trip.  We are very happy to have taken this on.  We're grateful to God for the health he has given us and even with our life struggles we are very aware of those less fortunate.   We will try to live each day simply and gratefully.  It is a short journey on this earth.

This was a shorter blog than intended but we hope you enjoyed it.  We are now home and resting.  Funny, a day later as we enjoy a coffee looking out the front widow we are already looking back with fond memories.  The trip took laughter, some tears and lots of encouragement toward each other to keep going.  We wouldn't trade it for anything.  We will do more of these. 

We were so fortunate.  The weather was amazing.  The sky was so blue the entire trip that you could almost see eternity.  We looked over wide open pastures of green dotted with cattle and horses.  And the air... crisp in the morning, warm and grassy in the afternoon.  Pure and quiet.

Thanks for coming along.  We are now heading out on a ride.  Life is a bike.  Simple and grateful.

Never Mind

Ludington to Manistee was a good ride.  We left early and had a nice lunch in downtown Manistee.  There, we bumped into a couple of other riders that just graduated from college.  They had left Ohio headed for the West coast (eventually) as they visited different organic farms.  They picked up another guy who was riding part of their leg and were having an awesome ride together.  Wishing them safe travels, we headed North. 

Never mind what we said about hills.  If anyone has ever driven M22 and passed from Arcadia to Frankfort, then you know the scenic lookout area.  Even still, riding in a car does NOT do it justice.  After our bodies were completely spent (and we do mean completely) from 50 miles of hills, we came to the steepest and meanest 3/4 of a mile we have ever seen.  The grade was insane and was 1/2 mile just to the lookout area.  We had no choice though.  We were in a hole and the only way out was up.  It took several stops to climb and we quite literally doubted we could do it.  One peddle at a time, 20 feet at a time in some cases, we made it.  We were so wiped I completely forgot to take a picture.  Add to it, we still had 10+ miles to go before we reached Frankfort.  Now, even the flats were painful. 

We are now in Frankfort and took a day off to rest.  Truly tired.  However, we are enjoying the local restaurants and ice cream and have a nice hotel on the lake.  This is a beautiful lakefront town and the people are great.

We have decided to slow things down a bit since these days are consuming the beauty of the ride.  We have yet to camp and we may not.  LOL.  We are far from avid riders and after these rides and getting done at nearly 8pm at night we want a hot shower, food and sleep.   Charlie rides to swim and his rewards for his amazing effort need to take place or he will certainly burnout. We always remind ourselves that its OK to change the route or plans.  After all, life is a journey.  We can attempt to plan it it, but its going to happen by design regardless.

We are having great family time with the slow down mindset now.  As I said in the beginning, its hard to slow down.  We have been programmed to go go go.  Slowing down is taking effort.  Today we ate, swam and walked the pier.  Perfect recovery.

Wind and Hills

An awesome 22 mile ride on the Hart Montague Trail started our day.  Beautiful farmlands lined the trail but we were surprised to see a Bobcat run across our path.  How cool!  It didn't take long for our bodies to consume the fresh ice cream we ate in New Era and we were looking for lunch in Hart when we asked if we could jump into a customer appreciation lunch at a convenience store.  It was obvious by the bikes and gear that we were just passing through, but they kindly welcomed us in.   After some free hot dogs and music, we were off.

$%#@, or as some folks call it... wind.  We rode almost another 28 miles directly into a strong wind from the North and it was brutal.  We have also now officially entered hill country.  This combination capped our day at 50 miles.  Whatcha gonna do?  Head down and peddle.  At one point I looked across some farmland and the fields blowing in the gusty wind.  It reminded me of a line in a poem I wrote for Mary Jean when I saw her searching for strength after her mom passed.

I am the grasslands in your journey
Quietly alive when winds push you back...
Watch for me.

She was there, I saw it... we made it.

We are leaving early in the morning because it doesn't appear the wind is going to leave us and we need to make up the lost speed in extra hours on the road. 

Onward..

Tired

Long day and 57 miles to Whitehall, MI.  Although there were fewer hills, the legs let us know... ouch.  As Mary Jean reminded us...  Life has hills too.  Put our heads down and peddle.  We will make it and find gratitude on the other side.  And we did.

Charlie hit a mental wall today.  We talked how these days would come to all of us.  These are long days for us.  After some tears, fluids and nutrition amongst the pines of the Fred Meijer Trail, he climbed that wall.  All the "I can'ts" faded into a tired "git'r done".  What a trooper.

By the way, the Meijer trail was awesome.  Smooth and fast.  We are tired, sunburned a bit and sore.  But, in the morning we are looking forward to another tree lined "rails to trails" path called the Hart Montague Trail.  Substantially longer than the Meijer trail and as the name implies runs from Montague to Hart, MI.  Can't wait.

We had a nice lunch in Grand Haven.  We also are talking to more strangers along the way.  Very nice to get out of our box.

Goodbye To Home

After Mary Jean asked the guy checking the gas meter to take our picture, we were off.  We now refer to him as Eddie The Gas Man.

About a half hour out of town we stopped at the cemetery and had a snack with my grandparents.  It occurred to us that our busy lives kept us from showing Charlie where his great grandparents were buried.  Not today,  Life is a Bike.  Another stop to see long lost friends, the McCalla's and we hit the road. 

It was slightly cool, but an awesome ride.  Wind to our backs and cruising.  It was still work but it was a lot easier than fighting the  wind.   We enjoyed talks and ice cream.  Charlie enjoyed ice cream and talks.  

A quiet ride through Saugatuck took us back a few years.  Nice town.  Miss our friend Dave Henderson.  Hey... did you know that even when passing through Glenn, Michigan on a bike... you can miss it if you blink too long?  Good thing to remember... lol.

We pulled 65 miles to Holland.  Not bad.  Pizza, swim and shower.  Good night.