Day 55 Frankfort, MI - Wolf Lake, MI

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Jo Day 55:  Woke up to a stunning orange sunrise at the crowded Betsie River Camp Site, Frankfort, MI, and started the morning with coffee (gulp, ahhh) and $1.09 pistachio nut muffins (what a deal).  Kevin, Alan and John took off for their 86 mile day.  Janut, Bob and I drove to "Gravity Hill" (on Putney Road just south of Joyfield Road) where Janut drove down the hill, stopped, put the van in neutral, took her foot off the brake, and proceeded to roll backwards UP the hill ... what a fun optical illusion!  We did that a few times while the locals drove by smiling at us "tourists".  Our next stop was the Arcadia Scenic Turnout, where the view of Lake Michigan looks more like an ocean...especially with all the different hues of blue.  We stopped at a little beach in Manistee, MI (on Lake Michigan) and soaked up the sun.  It was a beautiful day and Bob was allowed to frolic on the beach with us, so we took advantage of that.  We looked for Petoskey stones, but no luck, however we did collect some more interesting looking rocks.  We're not sure what we are going to do with all these rocks, but we must have them.  We caught up to the boys and ate dinner at Club 37.  Our camp site tonight is on the lawn in front of Alan & John's motel room at the Day Star Motel in Wolf Lake, MI...it's a friendly place...right on the busy highway. By Jo
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Kevin Day 55 Frankfort to Wolf Lake, MI. 86 miles. Another big day, and we have left Lake Michigan.  Leaving Frankfort, we were immediately met with some good sized climbs-they reminded me of riding along the Oregon Coast in length and steepness, with occasional views of the water, in this case Lake Michigan, not the Pacific, although the lake looks like the ocean! Some nice sandy beaches, and some highway viewpoints were nice rest stops.  We had our second breakfast in the town of Onekama at the M22 Cafe.  Michigan state highway 22 apparently has some cult status, and all kinds of things are named M22. This makes the road signs attractive to some, and there's a problem with people stealing them, so the DOT is slowly replacing them with signs that just say 22, in hopes that people will leave them alone.  We took a break at TJ's Pub in downtown Manistee, which looked like a Hollywood movie set-really nice and busy downtown area for a Saturday. Soon after Manistee we finally made the turn heading east and left the lake behind.  Now we will cross the mitt and the thumb of Michigan through rural farmland.  A dinner stop at Club 37, and tonight's stop in Wolf Lake. Tomorrow is planned to be a shorter,sub 60 mile day.

Day 55 - Frankfort to Wolf Lake

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160924-0840
Ride Time: 6:14:33
Stopped Time: 4:18:57
Distance: 86.70 miles
Average: 13.89 mph
Fastest Speed: 39.13 mph
Ascent: 1716
Descent: 1250
Calories: 5419

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 54 Williamsburg, MI-Frankfort, MI

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Jo Day 54:  We all left the Whitewater Township Park in Williamsburg, MI...and headed west, north, west, and then south!  Crazy itinerary for an eastward bound bicycle tour, eh?Janut, Bob and I took off to see the Grand Traverse lighthouse (not so grand, and not so tall...in fact the east/west boat traffic could not see the light until they rounded the bay), close to the lighthouse was an old 150+ year old northern white cedar tree, and there were some nice waves on Lake Michigan.  Just outside of Northport, MI, we stopped at a roadside fruit stand and bought (honor jar) some fresh honeycrisp apples, peaches, and homemade chocolate chip cherry cookies.  Yum!  We strolled through Glen Arbor...we saw a pole with various shoes hanging on it with a sign that said "Lost soles", cute.   Then just south of Glen Arbor, Janut and I did the "dune climb" at the Sleeping Bear Dune National Park...a cool view of Glen Lake and the sprinter van in the parking lot....we got to the top of the first dune but ran out of time and didn't make it to the water (another 3/4 mile or so away).  Tonight we are camping at the Betsie River Camp Site in Frankfort, MI.  It's very crowded...picture tents, trailers and campers all sitting on a grassy parking lot.  But it's surprisingly quiet in such tight quarters.  Today was John's personal best, he rode over 90 miles!  Cheers, way to go John! By jo

Jo video
Kevin Day 54 Elk Rapids/Williamsburg to Frankfort,MI. Today was a personal distance record for John-92 miles!  The day started with nearly 30 miles on the TART-the Traverse Area Recreation Trail. We saw a bunch of old people on bikes on the trail-heck, they were older than us! I think it was a group from the Cherry Capital Cycling Club.  We stopped a great bike shop near Traverse City; Einstein Cycles. They probably were glad we stopped, as we spent several hundred dollars on stuff while we were there. We continued along the waterfront of Traverse City, the the trail cut through farmlands to Suttons Bay where we had lunch at the PrimeTime Pub. Excellent burgers,and they served a Bloody Mary that could be a meal in itself. We saw someone order one-it really looks like the picture! After lunch was back on the road-reasonable riding conditions, and great scenery through Glen Arbor and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. At the end of the day we stopped at the Stormcloud Brewing Company in downtown Frankfort for beer and pizza.  After dinner we rode the remaining 2 miles to camp at the Betsie River Campsite and RV park.

Day 54 - Elk Rapids to Frankfort

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160923-0838
Ride Time: 6:18:33
Stopped Time: 3:51:14
Distance: 93.17 miles
Average: 14.77 mph
Fastest Speed: 30.51 mph
Ascent: 1235
Descent: 1306
Calories: 5644

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 53 Petoskey, MI-Williamsburg, MI

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Jo Day 53: It was a soggy morning for Kevin, Alan and John as they rode away from the Petoskey State Park. Cloudy all day long with a few rain drops here and there. Janut and I walked on the beach and collected what we think are Petoskey stones ... or simply Lake Michigan rocks ... for now we are calling them Petoskey stones until our geologist friends tell us otherwise. A squirrel jumped into the van and just stood there looking at Janut as she tried to shoo him away, she finally stomped her feet and the critter jumped out. Janut closed the van door and the squirrel sat there looking at the closed door...I think he just wanted a tour of the sprinter van like everyone else! Lunch was at the Bob-in-Again, a 50's diner (Bobby burger with American cheese, fries and a raspberry frozen custard). Tonight we are camping at the Whitewater Township Park, Williamsburg, MI (south of Elk Rapids), at a nice campsite overlooking Elk Lake. At camp we noticed that Alan's rear tire was worn through the casing threads...way way beyond repair...yikes...good thing he was able to change his tire before it blew. Still cloudy, so no star gazing tonite...just quiet zzzzzzz.

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Kevin Day 53 Petoskey to Elk Rapids/Whitewater Township Park 71 miles. The morning started off wet and soggy, and for the first time since Washington, we actually rode in the rain! Temps were in the 60's so it wasn't cold, but I was glad I was wearing wool as I was pretty comfortable all day. I couldn't take too many pictures today as everything was too wet to allow the touchscreen on my iPhone to work. For a PNW cyclist, conditions were "normal" ; for those from so.cal, maybe not. A new feature I'm gonna try to include on future postings is a pic of the day's map/route. Petoskey is a tourist town, lots of Victorian homes etc. Very cute. We rode approximately 20 miles on the Little Traverse Wheelway-a bike path from Petoskey to Charlevoix. Lunch was at the Bridge Street Ale house in Charlevoix. Good food and beer. In the afternoon we were back on rural back roads. An afternoon stop at the Oasis tavern in Kewadin, where the people were very friendly, and the beer was cold, but not good. I had a Hamm's Beer. Alan had a Shiner Bock, and John chose a white wine. One of the patrons there sold Uncle Smiley's beef jerky, and gave us a bag of it, because he thought we would need energy. After our stop there, it was an easy 20 minutes to the evening's campsite overlooking Elk Lake. Tomorrow we will ride to the Sleeping Bear sand dunes.

Day 53 - Petoskey SP to Elk Rapids

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160922-0936
Ride Time: 5:08:5
Stopped Time: 2:25:00
Distance: 72.33 miles
Average: 14.05 mph
Fastest Speed: 32.13 mph
Ascent: 717
Descent: 596
Calories: 4319

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 52 - Epoufette to Petosky SP

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160921-0848
Ride Time: 5:39:05
Stopped Time: 3:18:57
Distance: 84.01 miles
Average: 14.87 mph
Fastest Speed: 38.97 mph
Ascent: 1133
Descent: 1089
Calories: 5033

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 52 Epoufette, MI-Petoskey, MI

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 Day 52: Happy Birthday, Carol!!! We woke up to a nice sunrise at the Epoufette Bay campground on Lake Michigan. The morning was very quiet as the waves had subsided. Janut, Bob and I drove to the Bridge View Park (Mackinac Bridge) and hung out there for a few hours to air out and dry John & Alan's tents (condensation and lake fog), prepped dinner in the slow cooker, chatted with sprinter van admirers (during the sprinter van tour the guy kept saying to his wife "this is what YOU want honey!"), and talked to a nice guy named Ken who sold his home and belongings in Oregon and took off in June with just $50 in his pocket (no credit cards) and is riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle to Maine. His blogspot is "Cruising with Ken". He has basically survived from generous handouts from sandwich shop employees, gas station attendants, KOA campgrounds, you name it. A nice guy on an epic adventure with no time limit...a free spirit. We wish Ken the best. After crossing the Mackinac Bridge, Janut saw a guy with his pet chicken. He was carrying the chicken, then carefully placed it in the ground, kissed it on its head, and proceeded to take pictures of his chicken on the beach with the Mackinac Bridge in the background! Too cute! We headed southwest along the west shore of "the mitt" of Michigan, a beautiful shoreline with sand dunes, beautiful homes, and cool "tunnel trees" (roads with tall green trees that form a canopy - feels like a tunnel of trees). Tonight's camp site is in the Petoskey State Park. Kevin had his own little adventure today...he was taking a picture while riding his bike, side swiped an orange traffic barrel, and lost the brake cover on his right shifter (but it still works ... for now). this afternoon we enjoyed the sunshine and chowed down on beef pot roast for dinner. Another good day. by Jo

Day 51 - India Lake SP to Epoufette

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160920-0908
Ride Time: 4:08:04
Stopped Time: 3:12:46
Distance: 67.26 miles
Average: 16.27 mph
Fastest Speed: 23.00 mph
Ascent: 376
Descent: 218
Calories: 4543

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 51 Manistique, MI-Epoufette, MI

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Day 51: Lovely morning at Indian Lake State Park, Manistique, MI. We talked to a man who owed a converted sprinter van, a couple who lived in Anacortes, WA, and a woman riding her bicycle from Detroit, MI to Ironwood, WI. Kevin and John talked to a man who stopped them as they were riding out of the park. There's s lot of nice people everywhere we go. Janut, Bob and I drove up to the Palm Books State Park to see the Kitch-iti-kipi "The Big Spring". It's Michigan's largest freshwater spring (400 feet across and 40 feet deep, and a constant 45*F all year long). It is crystal clear, stocked with trout and on the bottom you can see the water wells erupting from the bedrock of limestone and sand. It was cool awesome! Janut, Bob and I rode on the tow rope raft that had the middle of it open so you can see underneath it (like an observation window, but without the glass). Afterwards we drove into Manistique, had lunch at Big Boy's, and walked to the 35 foot tall lighthouse at the mouth of the Manistique River on Lake Michigan. Manistique has a 2 mile Boardwalk, but we ran outta time to walk it. The boys rode like the wind and beat us to Epoufette, WI, so they hung out at the Cut River Inn until we got there. We got the primo spot at the Epoufette Bay Campground (Lake Michigan) with a shoreline view (we have the campground all to ourselves), a couple of large white swans were swimming off shore. There's also an artesian well where water is constantly flowing out of the spigot. We made a yummy dinner of chicken, chick pea, veggie coconut curry over rice, enjoyed cherry pie, and another beautiful sunset. The waves sound like we're at the ocean and the stars are incredible. A wonderful spot...except for the mosquitoes that came out at dusk...once again we are thankful for Kevin's man sewn screen. by Jo

Day 50 - Escanaba to Indian Lake SP

Explorer Link: http://cyclemeter.com/a0571f7a21831ccb/Cycle-20160919-1001
Ride Time: 3:20:25
Stopped Time: 2:40:12
Distance: 52.08 miles
Average: 15.59 mph
Fastest Speed: 25.60 mph
Ascent: 379
Descent: 415
Calories: 3372

http://www.cyclemeter.com

Day 50 Escanaba, WI-Manistique, WI

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Before Day 50: John's back! Yay! Yesterday (Sunday - Sept 18) John flew into Green Bay from Seattle and I flew into Green Bay from Los Angeles (my niece's wedding in LA was really fun). My LA flight take off was delayed 20 minutes and my Chicago landing was delayed (sat on the Tarmac for 20 minutes after landing waiting for a gate to open) so I missed my connection to Green Bay. The Chicago airport is humongous, I ran ... it felt like I ran a half mile (in 5 minutes) to try get to my connecting gate in time...I was out of breath and upset that the plane didn't wait for me. I had to take another flight out 4 hours later. Kevin, Janut and John waited for me in GB and picked me up at 10:10pm (central time) and then we drove 2.25hrs to Escanaba. By the time we went to sleep it was 2am (eastern time).

Day 50: After organizing gear and luggage, drinking motel coffee and eating yummy 85* pastries from LA, Kevin, Alan, and John took off. Then Janut and I shipped John's suitcase back home (filled with excess gear), bought more pasties at Gram's Pasties, and had an adventure driving out to the Peninsula Point Lighthouse. The one lane dirt road has giant mud puddles, low overhanging tree limbs, and is a lumpy washboard...but we decided to take a chance and go for it. It was going well until we had to stop and turn around when we came upon a fallen tree that was too low for the sprinter van to pass under...we successfully completed a 20 point turn on the narrow dirt road. We parked the van on the side of the road and ran 100 yards to see the lighthouse, take pictures, and then we ran back to the van. Not sure why we had to run, but we did. We hit some tree limbs so Janut assessed the damage...just one long superficial scratch on the top of the van...all is good. We have a nice camp site on the lake at the Indian Lake State Park in Michigan. It was bike maintenance day this afternoon. John's right shifter wasn't working and they couldn't fix it, so they took off Janut's shifter and put it on John's bike. John also put on cushier new tires and a handle bar bag. We made a yummy chicken green chili lasagna (Carol Kautz's recipe - thank you Carol!) and enjoyed cookies from the Torrance bakery. Plus we ended the day with another beautiful sunset! by Jo

Day 49 Green Bay, WI-Escanaba, WI Layover

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