Day 11. 43 years ago…this bicycle union began!

9/2/2025 Thursday

Traverse City to Glen Arbor MI

Stats: Miles: 50! AIS: 4:37, 10.8mph MElev: 1246

1 friendly honk

1 friendly motorcycle wave

1 angry honk

0 dogs chasing

1 hill walk (Suzy)

Our host John made us an over the top deluxe breakfast this morning! We had coffee, fried eggs, Canadian bacon, English muffin and a biscuit and gravy!! So good. Katy is a high school Spanish teacher so she was up and out as we were about to eat breakfast. They were so kind to take us on such short notice. People are kind.

Reroute #1….

We actually headed out at 8am. Earliest start yet. It was chilly this morning… high 40’s. We bundled up and headed down the road into Traverse City downtown with the rest of everyone heading to work. There was some major construction leaving TC going north… cars were backed up for blocks. Consequently we missed our trail transition from TART trail to Leelanau Trail. We found a road we could take and meet up with the trail… reroute… it just required going up a road called Lakeview Hills Dr! You guessed it… we were going to have to climb up and over to the trail. Eventually I ended up walking the last pitch. I wasn’t cold anymore but the descent to the trail fixed that temperature regulation. Back to chilly! Once we were on the trail the next 10 miles flew by to Sutton’s Bay. These little towns near Traverse Bay are pretty cute. I imagine they’re swarming with tourists all summer.

We found a great spot for lunch in Lake Leelanau at the St Mary’s Auditorium on the steps. It was on the leeward side stairway and a we had a bit of sun to make it comfortable.

After lunch we headed west and had a long climb toward Lake Michigan. Then we would be heading south to Glen Arbor. It was a mix of highway and bicycle trail. The bicycle trail was along the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. That section of trail was gravel… but it was small and pretty firm for us.

Reroute #2:

We were 3 miles from our destination of Glen Arbor and we got off the trail for a quicker road into town. First clue… there were big orange cones blocking the road but we ignored that and headed down the road. First mistake! We got to the construction section and they were rebuilding the bridge. We had to turn back and go the long way around to town. It wasn’t much distance added on … maybe a mile out and back!

We reminded ourselves to check the map immediately when it seems we’ve missed a trail, As opposed to continuing to ride several miles and realizing it’s wrong!

Glen Arbor is a busy little town even after Labor Day. I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like in the high season. There’s a huge kayak rental for the little river on the edge of town and bicycle rentals too. We are staying at a bed and breakfast tonight.

Our bed and breakfast is also occupied by a cycle touring company with 12 clients. The company is called Wilderness Voyageurs. They are based in Pennsylvania. This tour group was 6 days starting in Traverse City going north to Mackinac Island then back the way we came through several of the same towns. They don’t ride it all… they ride parts and shuttle van fast forward parts. They all seemed quite pleased with the whole trip. Tomorrow is their last day.

We found a great place for dinner tonight. Small cafe with lots of fish, bowl of salad loaded with extras to share for the table and topped it off with fresh peach shortcake and ice cream (to share). Peaches were local too!

43rd Wedding Anniversary today. Wow! It’s hard to believe. Time flies when you’re having fun (they say). Anyway it has been fun. I’m feeling pretty lucky to have Jim and the wonderful, loving relationship, our children and families we both share.

Tomorrow we start south along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Really looking forward to the Sleeping Bear Dunes Park. The sand dunes are supposed to be dramatically huge! Not looking forward to the rain and strong winds tomorrow…and the high of 58’ (chilly again). We also do not have a designated place to stay/camp tomorrow night. Hmmm….Wild camping??? Maybe