Day 33: Bay Biking

Much of today was spent along the Grand Traverse Bay or the Little Traverse Bay. And much of that on bike path to boot.

East Miles

With relatively rested legs, an early start, little wind, and temperatures in the 70’s, today’s miles came pretty easily. Even with bakery, lunch, snack, and brewery stops, I got to the campground at around five.

I left Ann’s at about seven as I wanted to get to the bike path before the traffic picked up too much. I also knew I had a lot of miles ahead of me, but didn’t want to rush through the day. Ann and Izzy saw me off in the morning. Tiger, the cat, even let me pet her a few times before I headed out!

Bakeries make for great coffee stops. The Flour Pot in Elk Rapids had quite the assortment of options. I went with the glazed cinnamon swirl and an iced coffee, which were both very good choices. They also kindly refilled my water bottles and with ice!

In addition to all the bay riding today, I also spent quite a few mikes riding along Torch Lake. It was a quiet, shady road lined with very nice lake houses. I would have happily spent more time riding around that lake.

When I wasn’t on a bay or lake, I was in the hills. Inland == Up. The hills were mostly gentle with the exception of Spook Hill which was not very tall, but was very steep and required me to stand up and peddle in my granny gear to make it over. The inland hills are largely farm land. I definitely spotted a lot of cherry trees today, though I think I’m a little early to see any fruit.