Why Did the Chickens Cross the Trail?

It was chilly when we left the cabin to start the day. After a short ride on the busy road of our lodging, we turned towards the route. We were met with a strong headwind and a hill. Of course. The first several miles were just a repeat. We would ride along, make a turn, be in the wind, and face a hill. Fortunately we were in the country, so very light traffic and beautiful scenery. There were miles and miles of apple orchards.

Outside of Traverse City we got on a bike path- a welcome treat. We rode along for a few miles. We met a fellow at the end of the path, and he told us the road we would be going on, Bunker Hill, was a doozy, and we could take some convoluted route, with extra miles, to avoid the hill. We opted to forge ahead. We were glad we did. While the hill was steep, it was by no means as steep as many we had already climbed, and it was relatively short. Soon we were back on the TART (Traverse Area Recreation Trail) that would take us into the city.

We had stopped at a cafe for lunch and sat outside next to our bikes even though it was chilly. Soon two women cycled up and welcomed us to Traverse City and peppered us with questions. One had done the famed RAGBRAI bike tour across Iowa. It started to rain, so we had to go through the whole routine of covering up the panniers and seats.

After lunch, we mapped out some Traverse City sites we wanted to see. It was still chilly, and lightly raining. This made finding our way a bit more challenging for some reason. We kept getting turned around, as google would tell us to turn when there was no road, etc. We saw the famous modern museum building on the campus of Northwest Michigan College and beautiful Clinch Park overlooking Traverse Bay. We also went to the campus of the old sanatorium which had been converted to condos and shops. For a quaint little village inside a small town, it sure had an endless amount of traffic! We wanted to see a huge old Black Willow tree with a 402 inch circumference but abandoned our search due to the traffic.

Off to our lodging, again on the far side of town. We were supposed to be on the TART still, but there was road construction that made getting to the trail difficult. Finally, after much backtracking we were on it. Then we came to a place where we had to cross the road, but no trail was visible on the other side. A cyclist came up and said, "Follow me." and led us back to the trail. She was in her 20’s with no bags on her bicycle so she unknowingly almost left us in her dust.

We got to our lodging- a micro-cabin even smaller than the other ones. We couldn't fit the bikes inside, so we left them on the porch. We showered and waited for the rain to abate before walking three quarters of a mile back to the only restaurant in the vicinity. Before heading down the road, we checked out the private beach for our lodging. Too bad is was so chilly and damp- it was a great beach! The walk home after dinner was in a steady rain. Our shoes were soaked, ugh!

The next day was still misty and chilly. We packed up and rode back to the TART to begin our journey north to Sutton's Bay. The trail was Cycling Nirvana! It was smooth and beautiful! We did notice that we were increasing in elevation, but only gently and it was so beautiful we didn't mind!

Soon the trail turned into the Leelanau Trail. Suddenly there were sculptures nestled in the trees. It was fabulous! At one point we encountered several beautiful chickens just foraging around. It was fun watching them poke around.

When we got to Sutton's Bay we had to find a laundromat as we had not had laundry services at any lodging for a few days and we were out of clothes!!! Fortunately it was lunchtime and there was a cafe right next to the laundromat- so two birds, one stone!

As we were finishing up lunch a group of four cyclists came in. We noticed they had loaded panniers as well, so we struck up a conversation. They were from Traverse City and were cycling to Lake Leelanau for the weekend. They let us know about the Heritage Trail on the way to Glen Arbor that would get us off the busy highway.

After folding and packing away our laundry we were off. Sutton's Bay was a charming historic town, but we didn't get to see the best of it. The rain moved on, but it was still chilly. We turned east toward Lake Leelanau. We had a long hill that took about 15-20 minutes to climb. Then came the downhill- it was longer. We were so glad we weren't cycling up this side!

This whole area is know for it's wineries. Most of them are off the main road a mile or so and uphill, so we opted not to add mileage. However, in the town we found a winery right on the path, so we stopped and did a tasting. It overlooked a finger of the bay and was scenic.

We then headed south to Glen Arbor. We kept looking for the Heritage Trail the cyclists mentioned, but couldn't find it. We were convinced we had somehow missed it. But soon we saw it. We were thrilled to be off the busy road, and the Heritage Trail was a beautiful way to get to Glen Arbor.

We checked into our bed and breakfast, showered, and on the way to dinner- we saw a huge pine tree growing inside an ice cream shop and the roof wrapped around it’s trunk. Dinner was-you guessed it-Whitefish! There was a live band at the outdoor deck as a bonus. Then we walked to the beach for the sunset. A wonderful day.

Monday Cycling: 33 miles

Hiking: 3 milesist

Tuesday Cycling: 42 miles

Hiking: 3.5 miles