Great Lakes - Michigan Shoreline West Tour

I've been thinking about trying a bike tour this summer, and this 7-day route along Michigan's western shore up to Mackinaw City looks like fun. Has anyone here done this trip in the last couple of years and can tell me a bit about it? Mainly I'm wondering if it's very crowded and if there's enough to do to fill up the days. I assume that you can do some side trips to add to the basic route mileage of about 60 miles per day.

I've toured outlines of both the upper and lower peninsulas. I did the lower peninsula in 2004. The Lake Michigan shore is very nice in some areas. Pretty much everything north of Muskegon is scenic and nice. I always camp, and you can pretty much jump from state park to state park all the way along. I was doing a lot more than sixty miles per day, though, so I didn't spend much time looking for side trips. But as I remember, I never had difficulty getting a campsite, so it probably wasn't crowded. There is almost a complete lack of touring cyclists in Michigan. So there aren't any crowds in that sense either. There are enough vineyards on the Lake Michigan shore to make wine tasting a viable pursuit in some areas, if that's your thing.

Thanks, Dan. This particular event is an organized tour put on by the LMB (League of Michigan Bicyclists). It's one of those where camping is provided at schools along the way, a truck to carry gear, SAG support, etc. I think it's a few hundred cyclists involved.

I'm a bit too old and too late to the sport to rough it on my own. I did enough of that in my younger days of motorcycle touring. In fact, I was a bit concerned about the camping aspect since it's been quite a few years since I've slept in a tent, but there's a service called "Bubba's Pampered Pedalers" that provides tents, setup, camp chair, fresh towels, adult beverages, etc. And some people go so far as to get motel reservations close by the stopovers.

DougG,
I had the fortune of doing the west shoreline tour last year. I also used Bubba's Pampered Peddlers. I highly recommend both the tour and the service.

Bubba is a first class operator. Its nice not to have to worry about the set up when you come in from a long ride. Also, the down time after the rides in the Bubba Pavillion is really nice. I met quite a few interesting people from around the country and really enjoyed the conversations.

As far as things to do along the route you will not be disapponted. There are plenty of things to do and see along the route. Good views, good food, good times!!:)

This was the first organized ride that my husband and I did back in 2000. We had no idea that Michigan had so many hills. In fact I frequently go up to Frankfort, Empire area to train when I do a ride in Colorado. There are many things to do. Speed is not an issue. You should have a rack pack on your bike to put your swimsuit and towel and bottles of wine. One day we went dunebuggy riding, another day we went tubing down a river, we stopped to swim almost every day and a lot of the little towns are fun to visit. I highly recommend this ride. It is not about getting from point A to B, but a fun day and beautiful scenery to boot.