June 29, 2022
Lake Michigan Tour Day 11: Mackinaw City to Charlevoix, MI
Today dawned sunny, crisp and cool in the mid-50s. After a mediocre hotel breakfast (the same one at thousands of hotels around the US – why are they all the same?) I headed out. The first few miles were on a local trail that was cool and quiet.
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Then I was on a road that seemed to dead-end in the lake – I was back at Lake Michigan, after being on Lake Huron all yesterday.
The next 25 miles ended up being on country roads as my route took me inland. There were a few large hills that I had to grind up, but also some long downhills that took me up to almost 38mph!
It took me a while to figure out why my speed was so low – it was the roads. The whole first part of the day was on terrible roads with potholes, broken pavement, and just a lot of bumps. It’s hard to maintain your speed on an uneven surface.
The earlier part of this road took me past some wetlands, where egrets and geese were swimming. Very peaceful!
I think this is Beaver Island to the east of where I was.
The lake views kept coming once I got back to the shoreline.
Just north of Petoskey, I hit a series of lakefront trails that would take me all the way to Charlevoix. There were a lot of starts and stops because the trails and maps didn’t line up exactly the same, so it took a bit to figure out where I was at times, but it was better than being on the highway.
As I approached Charlevoix, this wooden trail appeared. It was over a mile long! I just kept thinking about how much work it took to build.
I reached Charlevoix near 3pm and checked into my B&B.
Charlevoix has a nice downtown, marred by having US-31 run right through it, ensuring a nonstop din of traffic and truck noise. It has a nice harbor with a lot of fancy boats, and I found a local pub with a view of the harbor for dinner.
Best song today: Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin.
Stats: 56.1 miles, 2162 vertical feet, and a 12.9mph average (bad pavement!)
Tomorrow I keep heading south and a bit west to get to Traverse City.
Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 670 miles (1,078 km)
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