Bicycling in Michigan - June 2013 - Part 3

On the morning we left Paradise we had to retrace our steps 11 miles -- a fact that always aggravates me-- unreasonable but there it is.  I hadn't liked Route 123 to begin with and didn't like it any more on the rerun.  When we made a left turn toward Brimley, however, there was a subtle change in the road-- it seemed to curve and swoop attractively and I found myself much enjoying the ride.  Thus it went along until we reached Bay Mills, a community of Chippewa Indians where there is a resort and casino.  Most interesting to me, however, was the Indian Burial Gound.

We were mystified by the small "houses" scattered through the cemetery and it being obvious that they were too small for bodies, I wondered if they were for bones but with a little research I learned that they were spirit houses.  

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Brimley called "Willabee's" and having a friend named Willoughby I began to wonder how long it had taken from the name to evolve to that iconclastic spelling.  Once at home I took a look at U.S. census records.  I quickly found that there was only one family in Michigan named  "Willabee".  They were Willobee in 1940, Willabee in 1930, and variously Willoby, Willabee, Willobee and Willoughby in earlier census and marriage records.  One of the important lessons of genealogical research.  There is no wrong way to spell a surname.  

The end of the ride found us in a motel a few miles from the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie.  There appeared the most wonderful dog-- a golden doodle named Wrigley.  I requested the dog to come, to sit and to stay and he obeyed without hesitation.  

The next morning we rode to breakfast at a place adjacent to the locks and after eating went off to explore.  The area was discouraging at first-- no bicycles allowed and a high fence that made viewing very difficult.  John discovered a special viewing area, however, and we went up to watch a huge ship pass upward through the lock from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.

We were fortunate indeed to have come upon the locks at that time-- there was not another ship scheduled until noon and the Paul R. Tregurtha is the "Queen of the Great Lakes"; that is to say the largest ship operating. The museum showed a comparison between the ship and the Empire State Building, the ship being only a few feet shorter in length.  It was fascinating to watch "her" slowly steam into the lock, the door closing, the water rising and eventually to watch the ship pass through the upper gate.  

This is a picture of the empty lock.  

Our ride from Sault Ste. Marie to Cedarville was uneventful and unmemorable.  It was a gray day with intermittent light showers and we had a pretty decent lunch somewhere along the way.  The hotel in Cedarville was basically nice but undergoing new ownership and a rehab-- this meant that the ice machine and laundry machines were unavailable and the computer in the lounge was so old that it kept telling me to upgrade to a modern browser.  After a couple of futile attempts to get my email, I gave up.  Cedarville was one of the places we were to spend two nights, the suggested day trip being out to Detour Village.  Poor Detour!  It looked like it was ready for a party to which no one came; flags and flowers and no people or cars.  We speculated that the short high season for the area has not yet begun and that a week or two might bring some activity to town.  In any case, we had lunch and rode 24 miles back to Cedarville.  There was some nice scenery along the way, as the road went closer to the lake than many we had ridden on and we saw a log house that John coveted.  

To be continued (Part 4 ).

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Bicycling in Michigan - June 2013: Part 1

Having gone to college in Ann Arbor, John had heard much about the glories of the U.P.-- the Upper Peninsula of Michigan-- called "God's Country" by some.  Hence when he read about Adventure Cycling's Great Lakes "Inn to Inn" cycling trip, he suggested our participation.  It was only after we had signed up that we realized we had missed an important bit of information.  While the trip was inn to inn, there was no support vehicle involved-- everything we had with us must be carried on the bicycle!  This was not in the fine print, but clearly stated in the ride description-- how did we miss it?  Some small amount of dithering ensued but we decided that we could do it-- after all, we had ridden self supported last fall in Aroostock County, Maine for three days and ten days was not much different as long as we did not have to carry a camping supplies.

So off we tooted, driving both cars down to Greenfield to leave mine with Eliza who is staving off car troubles and with a stop for lunch with Margaret and Nora on the way.  After a night in Greenfield we left in the Outback and had an uneventful drive through Buffalo and into Ontario.  A night in a tacky hotel and we continued on to Petosky.  Our stay there was at the Terrace Inn in Bay View; a community very much like our own Bayside here in Northport.  Both have evolved from Methodist campgrounds but the Michigan version has sustained a more "Christian" culture.  There are said to be 400 cottages, many of them very large and ornate.








The Terrace Inn is old and elegant and enjoyable in the cramped way that old hotels are.  A bathroom has been shoehorned into each bedroom,  leaving not much elbow room for us but the ambiance made up for it and breakfast was super.  Being a day early, John and I rode on the "Little Traverse Wheelway" 18 miles down to Charlesvoix and back before we met our group of 13 riders and Gillian, our leader in the afternoon.  Dinner was together and we all retired early with the general air of anxiety that seems always to precede a group trip.



For most the tension is mild and manageable but the red haired woman in the middle row, despite being dressed in bicycle clothes and participating in the group picture, immediately loaded her bicycle on her car and disappeared-- her jitters about the ride triumphing.

John and I were the only couple to ride separate bikes-- the two other couples rode tandems-- one upright and one recumbent.  Bob, the man in the blue shirt, rode a recumbent tricycle.  Gillian (our leader and in the red coat) and the five remaining ladies rode their own bikes-- including Susan, the woman to my left who is 80 years old!  She is a retired gym teacher and a former bicycle racer whose motivation and strength are great but whose eyes are failing.  She is bravely aware that her days of cycling safely are coming to an end.

The day was misty and gray-- the kind of weather that leaves the sky and the water looking exactly the same and  eclipsing any glimpses of Lake Michigan we might see through the trees.  The first 12 or so miles was on the Little Traverse Wheelway we had ridden the day before-- this time toward Harbor Springs.  It was pretty much a slog in iffy weather but I did get a kick out of this sign-- not one you normally see on a bike path.  I also had time to ponder on a sign that said "Web Cam Day Care"-- imagining the parents taking time from whatever they were supposed to be doing to hover electronically -- their children ideally sharing well with others and eating only healthy snacks.  Our destination was the Lamplighter Motel in Mackinaw City and we reached it without incident.  The claim to fame of this place was "theme rooms" and ours was The Lighthouse Room.  Lighthouses, everywhere-- the bed posts, pictures, bedspreads, curtains, even the shower curtain and the curtain rings!

The next day began with an obligatory ride over the Mackinac Bridge (perversely pronounced exactly the same as "Mackinaw" City).  The "Mighty Mac" is the third longest suspension bridge in the United States and the twelfth longest worldwide.  Sadly when it was built in the 1950's  few sane adults were riding bicycles and there was doubtless no suggestion that the bridge be made wide enough.  Consequently since the bridge opened in 1957 the State of Michigan has been providing shuttle service for bikers (and for many bridge phobic drivers).

This ride brought us to the outskirts of St. Ignace and from there we headed off into the vaunted beauties of the "U.P."  It wasn't long, however, before my inner grouch made an appearance and I started wondering when we would be finished with this long stretch of tedious and monotonous roadway and get to the great scenery.  Turns out, never!  At least not that day.  When I complain about steep hills John reminds me that hills make scenery.  As so often, John is right.  While the straight highway stretching interminably ahead was easy to ride, it looked much the same, mile after mile. The redeeming feature were the thousands of yellow lady slipper's that lined the roadway.  Pink ones common in Maine and my friend Joan and I greet them with delight each year.  The yellow ones are just as lovely and were somewhat effective in silencing my grouch.

Our ride ended in a small village called Trout Lake, more specifically at a place called Birch Lodge and what a place it was!  Envisioned to be a combination summer resort and tuberculosis sanitorium, it was the dream of a Wisconsin physican and his wife.  Before the building was even completed in 1912, however, the doctor died of rabies.  His wife carried on alone but the resort quickly ran into financial troubles and the road has been rocky ever since.  One of the "fixes" along the way was the construction of an eight room motel and it was in this building that our biking group stayed.  The lodge itself has new and enthusiastic owners who plan to restore it and make it attractive to modern tourists-- that is to say guests who don't want to share a bathroom located down the hall and used by perhaps a dozen or more!  

It was a gorgeous place outside and a fascinating one within.  When things finally whimpered to the end in the 1980's, the lodge was simply closed.  The birch bark papered bar/lounge could serve as a movie set with the old stools, bar fixtures, cash register and signs such as "Free gum under the stools and tables".  

Our gracious hostess had coffee, tea and baked treats in this area and was happy to show us around the rest of the building.  I found it spellbinding with many rooms still ready for occupancy as they had been for thirty years and amazingly, the linen room, looking as if the chambermaids were in and out hourly.  

The downside of all this natural beauty and interesting history was that we were sharing it with thousands (millions?) of starving mosquitoes.  Mosquitoes are not fast enough to bother us while riding (and please hope that you do not have to change a tire!) but the idea of communing with sky, water and birch trees came to an immediate halt when the reality of the bugs hit us.  Dinner over we were early to bed and so ended the second day of our ride.  Part 2 coming up.  

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4