Day 105 (8/29): Mackinaw City to Bay View, Michigan

Mileage: 53.5; 3,242 total

Rather than making a beeline south to Bay View, I had been advised to veer west a few miles, to the coast of Lake Michigan, and then take a scenic route south along the coast of the lake. I was certainly glad that I did this, because it turned out to be one of the nicest rides on this trip!

About 10 miles into my ride I met Sean (photo below), a vacationer from Chicago who was out for a ride. It was enjoyable to have some company, and we rode together to the town of Cross Villages. Sean, who is about my age but who had the good sense (and ability) to retire four years ago, was quite interested in bicycle touring. I hope you do give this a try sometime, Sean, and please let me know how it turns out!

I was stopping at Cross Villages to meet cousins Carol and Ken at Leg's Restaurant. This was excellent, a Polish restaurant that has been an institution in these parts for many (75?) years. I had always had the impression that Polish food was "heavy," with an emphasis on fatty kielbasa and sourkrout (both of which I always like, incidentally); the food at this restaurant must have been Polish cuisine of the highest quality, light and flavorable, a real treat!

The atmosphere of this restaurant was a drawing card, also. It was an old, rustic building filled with unusual woodwork and huge pieces of wierd driftwood sculptures. The outside, backing up to the Lake, was a very nice garden area, as seen below in the photo of Carol and Ken, below.

Continuing my ride, I was soon on a scenic route called the Tunnel of Trees. This was one of the nicest rides of my whole trip. A narrow road through hardwood forests, with views of Lake Michigan,. Spectacular, and the great scenery continued all the way to Bay View. Several photos are attached, below .

Day 104 (8/28): St. Ignace to Mackinac Island to Mackknaw City, Michigan

Mileage: 11.8; 3,188 total

You are not permitted to bicycle across the Mackinaw Bridge from the Upper Peninsula of Michagan (where St. Ignace is located) to the Lower Peninsula (where Mackinaw City is located). Your travel options are (a) take a ferry to Mackinac Island and from there take another ferry to Mackinaw City; or (b) have your bike loaded onto a truck and transported across the bridge (presumably this service is provided by the bridge authority at a nominal charge, and presumably they give you a lift, also).

I picked the first option, and am glad I did, because I very much enjoyed sightseeing on Mackinac Island. It is beautiful island, about 8 miles in circumference, with evergreen and hardwood forests. In the 1860's it became the most fashionable summer retreat on the Great Lakes. The thing that really makes the island a special place is that in about 1900 they banned all motor vehicles. The only mode of transportation is by bicycle or horse-drawn carriage, just as it was in the late 1800's. (Skate boards, roller skates, and roller blades are banned, also.) It was curious to ride around the island on the state highway, realizing that this is the only state highway in Michigan that does not allow cars.

There is only one town on the island: it is a bit of a tourist trap, but it is filled with nice old Victorian buildings, including the Grand Hotel, built in 1895, which is "noted" for having the longest porch of any building in the world. And there is Ft. Mackinac, an old fort that changed hands from the French to the British, then to the Americans following the Revolutionary War, then recaptured by the British during the War of 1812 (in the first battle of the War of 1812), then returned again to the Americans. It has been converted into an interesting tourist attraction.

The Grand Hotel, incidentally, was very impressive, especially when you learn that it was built in only four months! Also, it is built entirely of white pine: it is probably a wonderful hotel in which to stay, but I would sure want to know where the nearest fire exits are.

On the ferry ride to Mackinac Island I had a good time talking with Jack (2 years old?), his parents Sarah and Blair, and grandmother (I think) Bonnie. See photo, to be posted below. They were interested in my bike trip, and Bonnie, especially, may be ready to start bike touring herself. Go for it, Bonnie!

Tomorrow I intend to bike down to Petoskey, Michigan, where I will visit for several days with my cousin Carol and her husband Ken. I am looking forward to seeing them and their summer cottage.

Day 103 (8/27): 8 miles west of Naubinway to St. Ignace, Michigan

Mileage: 58.1; 3,176 total

My objective was to get to St. Ignace so that tomorrow morning I can catch a ferry to Mackinac Island. It was a pleasant ride today, on another cool, clear day. I was glad the ride was a little on the short side, because I was slowed by a headwind for the last 20 miles or so.

Below is a picture of Dale and Connie from Cheboygan (spelling?), Michigan, experienced cyclists who were midway into a 100 mile ride, planning to relax for a day or two (?) and then return home. They took a longer ride this summer, around Lake Huron.

There must be a lot of Finns in this area, because today I came across another Lehto family (see post about Day 102). This time, the name was on a store: "Lehto's Pasties." I stopped again, of course, and found out that the "pasties" they were selling are the "pasties" pronounced "poss tees," not the "pasties" pronounced "pace tees"! That'll be a relief to Leslie and her siblings! The Lehto's pasties are concoctions of beef and onions, baked in a crust. (Actually, if my recollection is right, these were also common in the U.K., and were carried in the lunchbuckets of minors.) I ate one and it was pretty good, but for my money I much prefer spicy Jamaican beef patties.

On the ride today I was frequently right along the coast of Lake Michigan. I took a few minutes to wade out in the water, and was pleased to find that it was crystal clear and relatively warm, probably in the mid-70s, about the same as the air temperature. A particularly pretty area had the lakefront on the south side of the road and old sand dunes, covered with trees, on the north side. A number of photos are attached, below.

Day 102 (8/26): Rapid River to 8 miles west of Naubinway, Michigan

Mileage: 72.9; 3,118 total

Hordes of Harleys, literally hundreds, were on the road today. They were headed west to Milwaukee for Harley Davidson's 105th birthday celebrations. There were so many packs of riders that it felt like I was back in South Dakota during the Sturgis motorcycle rally. At breakfast, I enjoyed a conversation with four middle-aged bikers from the D.C. area.

Leslie's mother was Finnish -- her maiden name was Lehto. So, when I saw the name Lehto on a mailbox I mustered up the gumption to go knock on their door and say "hello." I met Andy Lehto, a very amiable fellow, and had a nice talk with him. I passed on his photo to Leslie to inspect for any family resemblances.

I met Matt along the road (see photo below). Matt was bicycling solo, from Toledo to Milwaukee, to raise money for Lou Gehrig's disease. (Trivia for my ex-co-workers: Matt has worked for Marsh since 1980, and now heads their Grand Rapids office. He once worked in Columbus, and knew Jim Inkrott. I gently chided him for not introducing any actuarial services to his clients, and he will be expecting a marketing call/letter. I will send contact information to David F.)


Spent the night at one of those little motels built in the 1920's aor 30's, consisting of small, detached cabins. The owners, in their 80's, were very nice and attentive. I was their only customer, but I think this was more a function of the sparsity of tourists (it was a slow tourist season to begin with, and now the season is over) than of the quality of their little motel. My objective had been to stay in a motel, rather than camp, so that I could watch Hillary deliver her speach at the Democratic National Convention; however, I fell asleep during a preliminary speech, and missed all of Hillary's.

Day 101 (8/25): Escanaba to Rapid River, Michigan

Starting in the 1860s Escanaba was a major port on the Great Lakes,
with iron ore and timber brought into the port by train and then
shipped out to the rest of the country. It still ships out these
products, but seems to be more involved with tourists who come for
recreation. I found it to be a nice, quiet little town.

I slept late, caught up on blogging and phone calls, toured the town,
and then biked north about 16 miles to get a head start on tomorrow's
ride.

Below are two photos of Escanaba's lighthouse.

The third photo is of Jenny and Doug, from Chicago; I think they drove
to Milwaukee, took a ferry to Muskegon, Michigan, and are now in the
11th day of a bike trip counter-clockwise around Lake Michigan,
returning to Milwaukee. Sounds like a great trip.

Sent from my iPhone

Walt Wright
917 783 6540
Walterwright@brooklynny.us

www.walt-fatmanonabike.blogspot.com

Day 100 (8/24): Dunbar, Wisconsin to Escanaba, Michigan

Mileage: 68.0; 3,024 total

This morning I was stiff and tired from the rides of the last few days, and while eating breakfast I was thinking up excuses for limiting my ride to 15 or 20 miles. But once I got started, and had covered several miles, I fell into the pleasant rhythm of pedaling and didn't want to stop. I was reminded (as I have been many times in the past), of a comment that Steve S. made several years ago when talking about the cross-country bike trip he had taken (in about 1990?). He said that no matter how tired he was from the day before, it was always terrific to get back on his bike and start pedaling. I'm not sure what it is -- the clean, fresh air? the trees and flowers and lakes that glide by? the sense of making progress, mile after mile, even though the pace is slow? -- but it is easy to become entranced by these long bike rides.

Today I really felt that I am getting close to home: I passed from Wisconsin into Michigan, the last state before New York State (but of course I have to go through Ontario, also); and I entered the Eastern Time Zone.

I enjoyed riding through the north woods of Wisconsin, full of pine trees and some hardwood trees, and lots of recreation areas on the many lakes along the route. Three photos of typical scenery are posted below. And I really enjoyed eating fried cheese curds (I wish they sold these in NYC), and thought that walleye and whitefish were both very good. And as noted previously the people in Wisconsin have been great!

Day 99 (8/23): Rhinelander to Dunbar, Wisconsin

Mileage: 73.4; 2,955.7, total

A nice ride on a beautiful day.

Maybe Kurt G. can tell me why the Rhinelanders are so obsessed with Hodags. Leaving town, it seemed like every other business had Hodag in its name. I know the Hodag was "discovered" near Rhinelander, but that was 100 years ago and I would have thought they'd have gotten over it by now. (For readers who may be unfamiliar with hodags, check wikipedia.com)

In the afternoon I stopped at the Double Buck Restaurant in the little town of Laona for a light meal -- two ears of fresh, sweet corn. The four young people working there were exceptionally nice. They were interested in my bike trip, and it was fun to talk to them about it.

The young woman that is 2nd from the right in the picture was the most enthusiastic. She lives in Iowa, so I hope she will do some training and then join the annual bicycle ride across Iowa in 2009, with thousands of other riders. She would certainly enjoy it.

The young man in the photo, Cody, has also been biking in the local area, and has been thinking about some longer bike rides/camping trips. If you are reading this, Cody, I encourage you to go ahead and do it! I am sure you'd have a great time, and you may find your trips getting longer and longer -- bicycle camping is a great way to explore new areas.

If any of you guys decide to make your first trip to New York City, I would enjoy showing you around.

I was trying to determine how far I would need to go until I came to a town with a motel, and Cody helped out by putting me on the phone with a friend of his, Taylor, who lives about 18 miles down the road in the direction I was headed. Taylor told me that there was a motel in Dunbar. As I continued my bike ride I had gotten about 18 miles down the road when a car flagged me down: it was Taylor, and he had brought me a bottle of cold Powerade! That was so considerate, and the cold drink really hit the spot! Thanks, Taylor!

These Wisconsin folks are amazing. Taylor's friendly gesture was almost the same as what happened yesterday when I guy gave me a bottle of cold water (see posting for Day 98). Kurt G: Be forewarned - the next time I see you I'll be expecting you to hand be a cold drink! (Preferably with a "head" on it; a Leinenkugel Honey Weiss would be nice).