UP Bike Tour - Heading Home Highlights

 Lake Michigamme in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan sure is far from home. I'm taking my time driving back. I'm still riding my bike every day, regardless of where I am. This update covers multiple days of my return trip home.

After I got to Lake Michigamme, I spent a day hanging out with family members. 

We took two pictures, so that we would have a picture of everyone. Barry (Steve's father) and I took turns being the photographer.

My brother-in-law Steve's family owns two lakefront cottages. One of them was originally purchased by his grandparents. The other one, pictured below, was where we were staying. It was owned by a woman for decades, and Steve's family bought it from her family when she passed. They have not changed one thing about it, and the hundreds of tchotchke's are as they have been for decades. This is a time warp classic lakefront cottage. Barry says "It's not a house on the lake unless it has knotty pine."

Amy took this picture of me sleeping instead of playing cards with them until 2 in the morning.

In the afternoon, we took a trip to experience "Yooper" culture at the tourist trap 20 miles down the road.

They have "the world's largest rifle" by the side of the road to get your attention.

For dinner, we had "Pasties", which are a local delicacy. A pasty is basically a big hot pocket with ground beef, onions, potatoes, and rutabagas. They were a staple food for miners. I forgot to take a picture until after we had eaten them all.

My bike ride for the day was riding into the small town of Michigamme, which is scenic and on the lake, but there is not much in it.

The next day, I drove to Traverse City, Michigan to visit my friends Dave and Betsy. It was about a six hour drive. You have to go over the Mackinac Bridge, which goes over the strait between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It's the 7th longest suspension bridge in the world.

My daily bike ride was 25 miles out and back on a nice lakefront bike path  north of Charlevoix.

I got to spend the afternoon and next morning visiting Dave and Betsy.

They are spending the summer at Dave's family's summer house on Traverse Bay.

Betsy is on the historic preservation commission in Livonia, Michigan, where they live, and I was on the Howard County, Maryland commission for a few years, so we had a great time where Betsy showed me the weird architectural features of this house and we tried to figure out how it evolved. It was built in the 1890s, and in the 1920s it was given an Arts and Crafts makeover, with distinctive 3 over 1 windows and a large porch added.  I think the original house was an M-roof center hall design that faced south, parallel to the road (which was probably not much of a road then). This has always been a summer home, it has no insulation whatsoever. We crawled around the attic looking for clues. This was very fun.

The next day, I drove six hours to Put-in-Bay, Ohio. I am taking a day off here. Put-in-Bay is a small town on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. You have to take a ferry to get here. The easiest thing to do is park on the mainland and take the ferry over with your bike. The island is only about 3 miles long. Most people leave their cars the mainland and rent golf carts to get around the island.

My bike rides were riding around South Bass Island exploring. I rode on every road on South Bass Island.  

Put-in-Bay was the site of the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Commander Oliver Hazard Perry defeated the British, which gave the American Navy control of the great lakes. Perry had battle flags made saying "DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP" and you can still get T-Shirts with this message all over town!

Here is the memorial to Commander Perry.

My dad used to take my brother and I fishing here when we were little. I remember him telling me that  the town of Put-in-Bay would not allow any old buildings to be torn down and they wouldn't allow any new buildings to be built. As a little kid, I thought this was really cool, and I have vivid memories of the unique historic buildings in Put-in Bay. Like the Roundhouse Bar on the left in the picture below.

Put-in-Bay has much new construction hidden away, and there are many, many more hotel rooms than there used to be. Now it is known as the "Key West of the Great Lakes" and it's a big party town. The historic core of the town on the square facing the harbor is still intact. I'm staying at the Victorian-era Park Hotel, which is the white building next to the Roundhouse. It's very authentic - the bathrooms are down the hall from the bedrooms, which is probably why it's the cheapest place to stay on the island.

Another thing I remember from childhood visits is a pizza place that had a big mural on the wall of drunk Italians trying to make pizza. I actually remember watching the artist paint it. The mural is still there. Every time I visit, I check to make sure the mural is still there.

Apparently the mural was painted in 1970. So I remember this from when I was 7 years old.

The pizza place is Frosty's. It's the brown building at the end of the path on the right in the picture. And the pizza is still good.

I spent two nights a the Park Hotel. My plan for my day off was to take the passenger ferry over to Middle Bass Island and ride my bike around, but the weather was foul and the ferry didn't run. So I hung out around town and took a bike ride in the evening when the rain stopped.

Not much happening at "Key West of the Great Lakes" when it's cold and raining.

I had a great basket of perch for lunch.

I'm glad I didn't go home in a big rush. It's nice to take your time.

Here are the Strava pages:

Riding around Michigamme: https://www.strava.com/activities/15264409034

Bike path by Charlevoix: https://www.strava.com/activities/15278406112

Riding around South Bass Island Day 1: https://www.strava.com/activities/15291631997

Riding around South Bass Island Day 2: https://www.strava.com/activities/15301983889

UP Bike Tour Day 6 - Iron Mountain to Lake Michigamme

 Made it!

It was a scorcher today. I was on the road at 6:30 AM to beat the heat. I stopped for breakfast at 10:30, after getting in 47 miles. After eating, it was brutally hot. I rode 21 more miles, taking it easy with shade breaks.

There was no messing around today. I took the highway with the direct route and the rumble strips on the shoulder most of the way (Michigan 95). It looks like this, mile after mile:

Sometimes there is a giant sawmill. 

At least there was no traffic to speak of because it's Sunday Morning.

Once it started getting warmer, I did 11 miles on a country road that ran sort of parallel to M95. My though was there would me more shade and that would be offset the rougher pavement and extra hills. I didn't take into account that when you are riding up a hill in the shade, the biting black flies come. Luckily I have bug spray.

Lunch was at the Summer Place in Republic, MI. I had French toast and polish sausages on the side.

For I think the third day in a row I had to ride over 40 miles to find a place to eat.

I got in about 10 minutes earlier than expected. My sister Amy was (of course) out on the lake fishing. She came in, with her son Nate carrying a stringer of huge fish (Northern Pike, Walleye, Bass). My dad started stroping his filleting knife, and an hour later, it was tasty delicious time.

I didn't remember to take a picture until we had eaten most of the fish.

Here's the Strava page: https://www.strava.com/activities/15256149987

UP Bike Tour Day 5 - Menominee to Iron Mountain

 This was the toughest day of the trip so far. I rode 68 1/2 miles, with 2200 feet of climb. Most of the climb was in the last 20 miles, and there were some 10% grades. The temperature was mid-80s but the humidity was reasonable. I was pretty wiped out when I got in. Which was at 3:00 PM on the dot, when motel check-in starts.

The motel is the Hotel Iron Mountain Inn and Suites. Based on the electronic key cards, it used to be a Super 8. Now it is independently owned by an older Indian couple. I would give it the Red Dot of Quality, except they have Bible verses all over the place. It's immaculately clean and everything works, although furnishings are worn and dated. But that's fine. It's only $72.

The owners are determined to keep it spotless. There is no coffee maker in the room, there are signs in the breakfast area saying no food is to be brought back to the rooms, and they were very reluctant to let me bring my bike into the room. "Aren't the tires dirty?" "The tires are no more dirty than the bottoms of my shoes." I promised there would be no damage to the room from the bike and I showed them this picture to reassure them.

Notice how there is a hand towel between the handlebars and the wall.

Turns out the other walls in the room are hardly unblemished. Despite the concern with eating in the room, the room has a refrigerator and microwave...

The room is quite nice, though. This is a great cheap motel all in all.

The motel is located far from everything except a Subway in the parking lot.

The only other restaurant anywhere close was an Italian place a half mile away. After a tough ride, do I want to walk in the heat to the Italian place which may or may not be any good and which may or may not have a long wait on Saturday evening, or do I want to make do with Subway? 

<sigh> It was Subway. It was not great, even for Subway.

The morning part of the ride was flat, beautiful, sunny, and cool. It doesn't get any better. With lots of cool wildlife! Here are some Sandhill Cranes!

And some Wild Turkeys!

And Art! It's a miniature Statue of Liberty by the side of the road!

The guy sitting in a lawn chair minding Lady Liberty came up to talk to me and offer me some cold water. He said the statue is owned by a truck driver who came upon it on one of his trips. It was going to be thrown out, so he took it and installed it in his yard here in the middle of nowhere in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He keeps the area around it mowed nice, I was told.

The first opportunity for lunch was 45 miles into the ride, at the Long Branch Saloon in Faithorn. That's "Faithorn", not "Farthorn". People are so nice up here. I did not see one vandalized road sign that said Farthorn.

That's my tractor parked out front too! John Deere 3203.

I parked my bike under a sign on the porch intended to educate me about the Constitution.

Up here in the UP it's the land of Trump. There are Trump signs everywhere. I don't think I've been to a place of business without a Trump sign except this motel. I'm just being chill and soaking up the vibe. Basically:
* It's really nice up here
* People are generally happy and content
* And somehow that means they like Donald Trump a lot.

Go figure.

I got to the saloon about 11:30 and I was the first customer of the day. But just a few moments later, three middle-aged women arrived and ordered Bloody Marys. They were served with every pickled thing imaginable stuffed in the top. These three women plus the bartender quickly formed what was basically a PTA Mom Coffee Klatch, except with Bloody Marys instead of coffee. And the conversation was held in a thick Upper Midwestern accent with many asides about "going down to the lake" and fishing.

Lunch was a winner winner...

It was quite tasty, although the chicken was pretty dry. I'm spoiled by Royal Fried, which is not actually fried, it's cooked in a giant pressure cooker like an Insta-pot. This chicken was deep fried, I watched them cook it from my seat at the bar.

There is an annual bike ride around the UP called "Tour Da Yoop" or something like that. Turns out there was a break stop in the parking lot of the saloon, where guys were handing out snacks and providing special Norway water. "Norway" refers to the town of Norway, Michigan, not the country, and no actual Norwegians were involved.

Can you tell which bike is not like the others?

Hint: The big Yooper tour is supported, and nobody has to carry their stuff in panniers. I spent the rest of my ride being passed by people on speedy carbon bikes shouting "On your left".

Here's the Strava track: https://www.strava.com/activities/15245848872

UP Bike Tour Day 4 - Green Bay to Menominee

I'm at the Econolodge in Menominee, Michigan, which is just across the Menominee River from Wisconsin. 

The Econolodge, while not so cheap, is the cheapest option. I was horrified to discover there are no Indians running this place. When the cheap motel is *not* run by Indians, it's usually a complete disaster. 

It does have a nice view of the bay behind it.

So far, there is nothing at all bad about this Econolodge. It's probably the nicest Econolodge I've ever stayed in.

There was a lot of great Wisconsin scenery this morning. I got on the road at 7:30. It was pleasantly cool, and the route was completely flat. There was a light headwind.

First up was this very cool egret rookery just north of Green Bay.

Most of the day my route hugged the shoreline. There are many little rural neighborhoods clustered around inlets where people tie up their boats.

This interesting decaying farm was just before Peshtigo. At this point, I'm heading inland from the bay, and there are farms. Near the water, it's very marshy, with huge expanses of reeds. Note the asparagus growing wild in the ditching the left foreground.

Peshtigo is the first town with food, and it's 45 miles into the ride. I got here at 11:30 and I was pretty starved. And the Diner Gods smiled upon me. Check it out!

Look at this mess of perch! The sign in front of the Peshtigo Cafe did not lie. It's my last meal in Wisconsin, and perch appears!

The Peshtigo cafe was great. First of all, all the customers know each other. And they have conversations across booths and tables. While speaking in the thickest upper Midwestern accent you can imagine. Wisconsin is great. 

I rode ten more miles into Marinette, Wisconsin which is just across the river from Menominee. Check-in time wasn't for another hour and a half, so I did some bike maintenance. First I went to a bike shop to borrow a floor pump to put air in my tires. It's a good idea to do this every week or so. To my surprise, both tires had 80 psi in them. I filled them to 65 psi before I left. I think my gauge at home is not accurate.

Then I rode into Michigan. There is no "Welcome to Michigan" sign. But the river is the boundary.

i stopped in this park to lube the chain and the derailleurs. All morning the drivetrain was a bit noisy, and it seemed like I was working too hard for how fast I was going. Maybe it was headwinds, maybe it was because the chain needed lube after two days of rain. I think the lube helped.

The bike is now all tuned up, and it's still over an hour until check-in.

I decided to check out "Gino's Pine Knot".

What we have here is a classic dive bar. On tap, there is Bud, Bud Light, and Miller Lite. Cash only.

I asked the bartender, a nice old lady about my age, if she could make me a Margarita. The look on her face said the answer was "no", but she looked behind her at the shelf and said "Oh f*** they bought some Triple Sec, so now I don't have an excuse." With lots of advice from the other customers, she put together a reasonable approximation of a Margarita. She and I concurred that my next one would be a Bud draft. I explained that I rode my bike 50 miles so far today, and I need electrolytes.

While I was savoring my Margarita, some guy with a uniform comes in and has a chat with the bartender, who appears to know him well, and she signs a form he has with him. My guess is the guy in uniform is her parole officer.

Then another lady comes in and orders a Bloody Mary, which the bartender makes expertly with pickles and pickled green beans and serves right up in a red Solo cup. The lady with the Bloody Mary and I agreed there are lots of electrolytes in Bloody Marys so I got one too. 

The lady says if I like tequila, I should get a tequila Bloody Mary, which is what she is drinking. So I ask for tequila in mine. The bartender then absentmindedly starts making it with vodka. 

"Isn't that supposed to be tequila?" I ask. 

She says "Oh no, I f***ed this one up too." 

"That's OK, vodka is fine. I don't want the vodka to go to waste." 

"No I'll make you one with tequila. The vodka won't go to waste."

So she makes me a Bloody Mary with tequila. And she drinks the vodka over ice false start herself.

The bartender said she's been tending bar for over 20 years, and she's never had the need to learn how to make a margarita. Most of her customers at the Pine Knot were drinking shots with beer chasers...

I had a great time. This is not some fancy place that some guy with a business plan opened and named "Dive Bar". It's an actual dive bar. It made me miss Fells Point from back in the day.

Later, for dinner, I went out for a pizza at the Ellie's Pizzaria and Pub down the block from Gino's Pine Knot. I didn't push my luck and try to get a Margarita.

Ellie's puts the toppings on the bottom under a thick layer of super gooey cheese. This pizza has a lot of miles in it for tomorrow I bet.

Wisconsin is really nice. Every place except Green Bay is neat and tidy. Every kid on a bike is carrying a a fishing pole. As soon as you cross the river into Michigan, it looks like Green Bay.

Here's the Strava track: https://www.strava.com/activities/15234966460