Day 44 Ludington MI to Farwell MI

 It was a rainy ride today. Not a hard rain but enough to keep is wet most of the day.  The roads were great and would have been scenic on a sunny day. Terri was disappointed that it wasn't a better day to showcase her beloved home state.  Our lunch stop was in the town of Idlewild. It has a very fascinating history and was known as Michigan’s Black Eden. Check out this website for more information  https://interactive.wttw.com/chicago-on-vacation/destinations/michigan/idlewild-michigan-black-eden 

After lunch we traveled to “Reed City” where we picked up the  Pere Marquette Trail. It was a beautiful paved bike trail.  Unfortunately,  about 10 miles down the trail Terri got a flat tire at a time when the rain was coming down hard. Luckily Terry stopped to help us change the tire so she was back in business fairly quickly. 

By the time we rode into Farwell, our bikes were so filthy that we knew we had a good hour of cleaning to do on them once we arrived in camp. We were so excited to see a car wash just as we exited the trail and a few others were just pulling in to hose their bikes off!  So we jumped in with them and just like that our bike’s were much cleaner!  It was genius!  I don’t know why I didn’t think to take a picture!

Tonight we are staying in a very nice school with great AC!

Stats:  93 miles, 2,310 feet of elevation gain 


Lunch stop in Idlewild
 


The Flamingo - famous dance hall in the 50’s


Reed City Station

Trail Information 


Our mascot for the night


Comments

  1. DaveAugust 2, 2022 at 3:02 AM

    Go Go honey!! Looks like you killed 1/2 the state of Michigan in a single day!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 56 Star Lake to Lake Placid

Image
We started our day with breakfast at the same restaurant we had dinner at last night. It was great service!  It was ready when we showed up, no waiting in line and they had both french toast and pancakes along with eggs, bacon and other good food. Definitely two thumbs up!   Our ride today was along route 3 which is a bike route with very wide shoulders. Again, pine tree line, rolling hills, scenic  and we passed several lakes along the way. The skies were blue, sun was out and temperatures were cool. You really couldn't ask for a better day of riding.  Picnic was at mile 39 in Tupper Lake a beautiful stop.  Then on to Lake Placid from there.  We stopped several times today for pictures, coffee, explored a bike shop with our final destination being the Crown Plaza for 2 nights.  We ate dinner at the hotel with about several others group our group.  It was definitely not up to the same quality as Niagara Falls but we enjoyed the company!   Sta...
Read more

Day 58 Lake Placid to Plattsburgh

Image
 We are getting used to these late starts. Today, we had breakfast at our hotel.  It was really great!  Made to order omelette, potatoes, french toast. So good!   Then, we finally hit the road at 8:15 our latest start yet!  Today’s route was in general downhill with some fun rollers mixed in. Kim rode with Terri and I because Scotty and Barry her usual riding buddies decided to do the optional whiteface mountain climb. It was an 8 mile climb with 8-12% grades. Those that did it said it was the toughest climb to date but very beautiful!   Even without that climb, today’s route was stunning!  Couple of waterfalls, a covered bridge, rivers and Ausable Chasm to name a few!  Again, the roads of NY were great and the weather just like a perfect fall day. Definitely, a very memorable and fun day!  We made it to our final destination of Plattsburgh NY by about 1:00. Tonight, we are staying in the doom rooms at SUNY.   Stats: 57 miles, 2,146 feet...
Read more

Day 63 Durham NH to Gloucester MA

Image
 Last day of riding!  Just doesn't seem real. We ate our last breakfast together at the college then spent the first part of the morning on New Hampshire backroads before crossing into Massachusetts.  It was a little warmer today and we faced a bit of a headwind today. I guess that was Mother Nature’s way of slowing us down so we would cherish this last day together.  Our first destination was the High School in Gloucester where we waited for everyone to to arrive. Then we did the last mile with police escort to the Harbor for the ceremonial wheel dipping.  Ride stats:  65 miles, 2,887 feet of elevation gain   The evening was spent on a harbor cruise drinking margaritas and reminiscing.  This was such an amazing trip thanks to the Cycle America staff!   As always, these endings are bitter sweet.  You are ready to be home with your family but hate saying “see you down the road” to your new friends!  Never say goodbye as we all promis...
Read more