foggy morning in tent city Petoskey
We awakened to dense ground fog. It was so thick that even
the hard riders like Del and Nancy waited for it to burn off a
bit before starting out.
Since I was riding home from Mackinac City with Del and Nancy,
I was glad they waited.
In my estimation, about 1/3 of the riders don't cross the bridge;
they head home directly from Mac City. Mac City departures present
some difficulty with respect to luggage transport. The Ryder luggage
trucks take the luggage across the bridge to St. Ignace.
I've several times begged a ride for my luggage from private
sag drivers, and everybody else who looks to be heading to MacCity.
One time a rider I didn't know took my bags all the way home and
delivered them to me the next day. This time we arranged for somebody
to haul our bags to Mac City.
From Petoskey, we rode over to Harbor Springs and past some statelyold
victorian "cottages."
In Harbor Springs, most folks stop at the bike store for food
(delights from American Spoon , watermelon, etc.) and bicycle
bargains. The watermelon was great. I also bought a new headband
and hat.
From Harbor Springs we climbed and experienced a couple of really
nice downhill runs. Then we rode through the "tunnel of trees."
I rate the tunnel of trees as THE most beautiful place in Michigan
and one of the best places in the US to ride a bicycle. This is
a "must see" place. The day was the same as it had been
all week: absolutely perfect. It all went by so fast, I felt like
going back and doing it again. I will.
Everybody stops at the store in Goodheart for their wonderful
food. I was no exception. I was so hungry that I forgot to take
pictures.
A lot of folks stop at Leg's Inn in Cross Village (great lake
view and good food), but I felt compelled to pedal my way toward
Mac City where Del and Nancy were waiting for me.
My next stop was Cecil Bay Corners, where I bought some more Gatorade.
At Mackinac City High School DALMAC riders from all routes
(5-day and 4-day) assemble for scheduled bridge crossings at 3:00,
4:30 and 6:00. I got there this year at about 1:15 PM. I was riding
24 mph when I reached the high school entrance drive. On the Century
(100 mile) routes in previous years, I've ridden 100 miles by
this point and still made the 3:00 crossing, so I had a liesurely
ride today.
I didn't cross the bridge this year, but here it is:
This was by far the best DALMAC I've ever ridden. I almost
wonder if I should never ride another one for fear it will be
a letdown.
As every year 1,500+ bicycle riders proved to all that bicycles
and motor vehicles can co-exist on Michigan's highways.
