It's been 10 years since that ride, and many of the hairs that I haven't lost have turned gray. But it was one of two long bike trips I made in my life. The other was a two-part trip, first a loop in Spain from Avila to Salamanca via the Sierra de Gredos, and then from Gaillac in southern France to Bretagne in the north. Both were great experiences.
Back in '97 I recall tht we first spent a week in Mancelona getting our bikes ready. We took them apart, re-lubed all moving parts and put them back together. Luckily for me, my brother did most of the work ... I'm not the most mechanically inclined person.
Then my dad dropped us in Manistee. The first day we rode only 35 miles or so, down to Ludington. Here we are, preparing to set off.
Here's an image from the Ludington campground at the end of the day. 35 miles on a bike is not that much, but if you haven't really trained, and you're loaded with camping stuff, it's a good day's ride. We ate pizza and drank beer that night, and slept in the park.
The next day we woke up early and rode the ferry over to Wisconsin.
We rode that day from Manitowoc to Green Bay, and decided to sleep in a cheap motel. After sleeping in a bed, we were ready to ride the next day. We made it back into Michigan, crossing the state line at Menominee. We had a nice picnic of smoked whitefish that afternoon, and camped in a park somewhere around Escanaba.
The next morning we ate heartily at some restaurant and hit the road. To be continued ...
3 comments:
I have never taken the ferry across the lake yet. I want to do that some day.
I did sail once from Traverse City to Milwaukee. It took three days and was the first time I had ever experienced no land in sight.
I look forward to more from your adventure.
After the picnic we continued on to "Big Spring" (Palm's Book?). I think that evening we camped at Pig Island campground, where we met my colleague Lisa and her boyfriend Mohammed. We ate chicken with them. Did we make it all the way back to Mancelona the next day? No, I think we camped in Petosky. I remember my knee was just about shot the last day of riding through the Jordan river valley.
Yeah, you're right. I'll investigate and look for my photos. If you have any, send 'em on. In some box somewhere I have the notes I took. Take care, you guys.
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