Touring - Anyone independently bike across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

A tour I would not mind doing is to cross the L.P. of Michigan. ANyone done that. I know there is a popular ride about Labor Day. Anyone completed the ride alone.? How long did it take. One, two days?
I think the route from Like Ludington to Tawas paralling the Au Sable and Manistee Rivers would be fun..If you have completed this ride what were the roads like.? Traffic, etc? thanks..

I haven't done it, but I know people who have. I can get the route for you. Another ride/route of lower Michigan is called PALM. The route changes each year. I haven't done that one either but know club members who have done the ride. I have a copy of last years Dalmac ride which is north-south. Starts in Lansing and goes to Mackinaw. I do have a copy of that ride. I also have a copy of Shoreline West which goes from Spring Arbor/Grand Haven along the west shore of Lake Michigan up to Mackinaw. You may be able to buy (around $10-12) a copy of the map of ODRAM (One Day Ride Across Michigan) from lmb.org.

I have canoed most of the AuSable and Manistee Rivers..
I really like the idea of cycling adjacent to these two river systems... Roads there are pretty isolated as I recall. So many bikers I have run into who do a lot of touring bad mouth Michigan as biker unfriendly..Roads , bike lanes, traffic, road conditions, pot holes. Hope this is untrue..
What Ludington across to Lake Huron is something like 150 miles.? Two days.

I rode from ludington to Port Huron. I think it was 3.5 days. I would not recommend the routhe though.
I was riding from colorado through nebraska, iowa, wisconson, michigan and ontario. michigan roads were the worst.

Someone from Michigan..Sure would like to find out which road from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron is the best for cycling? It sure seems M 32 or M 72 running west/east through the Grayling or Gaylord areas is pretty remote and untraveled.. Might see a Moose standing in the middle of the road..Those roads come to mind..It has been years...
. Rob.,. Ludington-----That route you may have taken US 10.. That is a pretty busy road.

I'll be riding with the club on Sunday and will ask the guys who rode on ODRAM what route they took. The only problem is that at least 3 of the guys don't ride in the winter.

Thanks..Michigan my native state.. This is a high priority ride to me..Maybe cross two states this year....Nevada again... I visit Michigan each year, just after Labor Day..Family.. Hope they would like to see Mio...

CZ, I've attached a pdf file of the 2003 route. It looks like they take all back roads. They usually put markings on the pavement that stay there for a couple of years. On a lot of rides, I'll see 2-3 different colors for previous year's routes. I didn't talk to anyone who rode on ODRAM, I had my cycling buddy, get me the routes so I don't know about food stops.

I was going to visit my daughter who works at Boeing by you this spring and I was hoping to get some hilly routes from you. This idea has been nixed for a vacation in the sunny Caribbean. OH darn.

Oops, the file is too large to attach. E-mail me at kornakdlk@excite.com

I have done the One Day Ride across Michigan ODRAM X3 from Muskegon to Bay City, my quickest time was under 10 hours, about 160 miles. If you can get their map, it’s a nice scenic route. In February, I plan to drive to the Everglades National Park, camp and tour for a day or 2 then spend the rest of the week touring from Key Largo to Key West and back, looking for laid-back companions to go with me. Plan to leave after Feb-14th

Bykemaster.Is that average time it takes most to cross Michigan or a more relaxed enjoy the ride kind of tour...Here in the west with our mountains; maybe it makes the flats seem easy. Having to ride the steep grades makes it easier to get stronger? The average time for the Death Valley ride ( 105 miles) with 3,000 feet of climbing..6-7 hours.
An extra 45 miles with no appreciable climbs- a race should not be much more than 7 hours.
I don't mean to disparage 10 hours..I am one to slow down and enjoy the ride/scenery;but I just expected the time to be less than 10 hours.
Is the Odram very well forested..That is what I love about the north of Michigan..Miss the White Pines covered with snow, even...At least once in awhile.

10 hours included stopping to eat twice, and a short nap. plenty of forest and rolling hills

The labor day tour you are thinking of is DALMAC - Dick Allen Lansing to Mackinaw put on by the Tri Couty Bicycle Association based in Lansing MI. It goes from Lansing to St. Ignace. I have done their summer version three times. I have also done the Shoreline Bicycle Tour three times. That used to run from Buffalo MI to Traverse City and now runs from Holland, I think, to Mackinaw. PALM which is Pedal Across Lower MI is also run. Each tour has its own subculture. PALM is very laid back - lots of familys with children. Shoreline has many people who are sight seeing and not too many performance cyclists. DALMAC has a split. It has a bunch of performance cyclists and some racers. It also has people who make a science of riding at 12 mph and stopping at every possible opportunity and eating an ice cream cone. You also have significant numbers of riders filling in the gap between the two extremes.

Riding across the lower peninsula is not that hard. Michigan has a good rural road net with many paved roads out in the country. Most of the roads go north-south or east-west on a grid system with a road every mile (but not always and not always paved). I used to ride up there and just ride in areas I was unfamiliar with with the notion that I could always use the grid to get back. It was well I have gone 15 miles north and 20 miles east so to get back home I have to work south and west. Sometimes I didn't really know exactly where I was, but I always found my way back.

The Lower Peninsula varies in width. Farther north, the road net is far less so having a good map would be a really good idea. In the south, the road net is extensive. The width is about 250 miles in the south and less in the north. The lower peninsula is about 500 miles north and south. So depending on how many miles you plan to do in a typical day, you can plan your distance.

Now, when I lived in MI, it was rumored that if you showed up at a state park that had camping on your touring bike and camping equipment, that the state had a policy that they would find you a camp site for bicycling tourists (using the bike only) no matter what. If you are thinking of using this method, I bet this would be easily verified by calling a few state parks.