Day 5 - Traverse City to Petoskey MI

Miles - 75.7
Trip miles - 347

Check out my ride on Strava: https://strava.app.link/TOd5Ug8u25b

It was a good choice to stay in the hotel last night as it rained quite a bit. I enjoyed sleeping in a bed and waking up dry. Also easier to get going when I don't have to break camp in the morning. We arranged to meet Mark and his nephew Neil and head a few miles out to Bob Evans for breakfast. The light drizzle ended soon after we left. 

There's a trail out of town and then some great country roads past horse farms,  apple, peach, and cherry orchards. Very rural. The cool temp and overcast skies make for wonderful riding conditions. We went through another picturesque coastal town named Elk Rapids before ending up back on US 31. This is the main route for northwest Michigan in the lower peninsula with trucks and fast traffic. There's a good shoulder and a rumble strip so relatively safe. The 4 of us work together in a pace line to get through it. A good 20 miles. Ugh. 

Neil, Mark, me and Tim in Elk Rapids. 

In the middle of nowhere and time for lunch. The only place around is a farm store. Sadly their power is out. We improvised and shared a whole blueberry pie and made PB and J sandwiches. This was Neil's turnaround spot. We continued up 31, cut over to some rural roads,  and finally pulled into Charlevoix which is Mark's stopping point for the day. Charlevoix  is a busy tourist town. The ferry is loading cars for a trip to some lake islands. And we had to wait for the drawbridge to close in Order to get thru town. 

The 45th parallel 

The final leg was another bike path right along the lake with great views of Little Traverse Bay. Petoskey is a busy regional center. After passing through downtown we stopped for some groceries and checked in to the state park. A light rain started falling while we set up tents, but it's dry now. There's a nice beach on the bay where we snagged ice-cream from the concession stand.

 

Little Traverse Bay 

Petoskey state park beach 

I'm getting my cycling legs. The 75 mile days mostly flat seems effortless. Great to be out on the road again. We are ahead of schedule for Green Bay by Saturday. 

Wildlife spotting so far: lots of deer, a pair of bald eagles, some red tailed hawks, a pileated woodpecker. And a lot of road kill!  

Mackinaw City tomorrow and a rest day. We will take the ferry over for a few hou. Might meet back up with Mark there. 

Comments

  1. Rick St. HilaireAugust 31, 2026 at 5:08 AM

    Tim and you are making great time and covering good mileage. Keep up the good work and never underestimate the value of ice cream 😃.

    ReplyDelete

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