US Bicycle Route 35 through Ferrysburg

Shown above is the route of US Bicycle Route 35 through Ferrysburg. It comes from the south along Lakeshore Ave. and Sheldon Dr. in Grand Haven, eventually crossing the Grand River next to US 31 on the bike/pedestrian walkway, through Wm. Ferry Park, along Pine St., then left on 3rd St., round the turn onto 174th Ave., then left on Dogwood Dr. just before Leppinks Grocery Store. Dogwood Dr. goes North and eventually merges with 180th Ave., then left on Hickory and past Black Lake towards Muskegon.

Ferrysburg City Council supports Bike Route 35

The Grand Haven newspaper today had a nice story about how the Ferrysburg City Council supports the interstate bicycle route that goes along the Michigan shoreline, commonly known as Route 35. This route goes only a few blocks from my house. Nifty! For more details on Route 35, follow this link: http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/nbrn/usbikewaysystem.cfm

Colorburst 2010 - Nice!

Colorburst 2010 was nearly perfect. Temperatures in the mid to upper 50's, no winds, clear skies, great food, good friends. What else could you ask for? They put on a fantastic feed. Breakfast was pancakes, blueberry or strawberry syrup, and hot cocoa, OJ or coffee. Joe, Jan and I rode the shorter 17 mile route today. There were a few hills, but the downhill ride was a good reward for the work going up each of them. The trees were nearly at their peak, with lots of reds and yellows. What else can I say?

Mackinac Island - Part 3

Bikes are all over Mackinac Island. The tour guide told us that there was a fudge shop in almost every shopping area. I think that there is a bike rental shop in EVERY shopping area - right next to the fudge shop. ;-) There are signs everywhere warning bikes to slow down. The tour guide also told us that the local police had speed traps for cyclists. My guess is that the horses and horse-drawn carriages don' t speed much on the island. Guess what! The police ride bikes too.

Mackinac Island - Part 2

The top photo shows the Grand Hotel as seen from our ferry on it's approach to the Island. It is VERY Grand! The second photo shows Gayle and I resting on the front porch of the Grand Hotel after arriving. And the third photo above shows my bike in the largest hotel parking lot on the Island. There are bike racks and bikes all over the Island. You better know where you left your bike or you might have to search through thousands of bikes to find it.

Trip to Mackinac Island

Gayle and I decided to attend a mini-class reunion of her Parchment (MI) High School class on Mackinac Island this past weekend. We stayed in the Grand Hotel for 2 nights, and of course, I brought my bike along, as there are only 3 means of transportation on the Island: walking, horse-drawn carriages and BIKES! The photos above show the Arnold ferry arriving at St. Ignace and my bike on the back of the ferry during the 15 minute crossing. I debated whether to rent an Island bike or bring my own. The Island bikes are either single-speed, 3-speed or mountain bikes. My last experience with a rental wasn't that great, so I decided that $8 for a round trip transportation of my bike was well worth it. Stay tuned for more photos and my commentary on bikes on Mackinac Island.

New Era Country Dairy

Here is a photo of me in front of the Country Dairy north of New Era. Notice that I am wearing last year's Colorburst T-shirt, one of my few long-sleeve cycling tee's. Colorburst was my first organized ride after moving from Nebraska to Michigan last year. It is also one of my favorites, so far. Hope to see everyone at Lowell again this year. Look for the guy wearing the bright red & white NEBRASKA cycling jersey. This weekend Gayle and I are traveling to Mackinac Island, so look for photos from the island soon.