The time has come to pull anchor and head to greener pastures. We received a acceptance letter on a home we put an offer on last week up in the thumb. I wanted to something rural but still somewhat close to some larger metropolitan areas, fairly close to a beach (wife and kids are big beach people) and close to home but not too close if you catch my drift. Lol.

So come this June well be headed to the small town of Carsonville which is just a few minutes from Lake Huron. Being a bike nut first thing I did was look to see what bike shops were around. Ummm and I looked and looked. Wow there isn't a bike shop to be had for 40-50 miles and the closest was Bay City and Saginaw. Hmm this'll be interesting and probably a first. Haha! Maybe it's a sign though and could be my calling. Who knows?
I spoke to the owner of a little shop just down the street from me who does repairs and used bikes. He was saying distributors like Seattle Bicycle Supply and J&B don't require much to get an account compared to QBP. Luckily rent looks extremely affordable to possibly set up a small shop.

I've been listing some stuff up here and ebay. Sold my Trek Stache 29'er and my Cinelli super corsa just in the past couple of days. I might be parting out my Paramount and a Nuovo Record group I've been saving for a frame I've got half brazed up.

But wish us luck on the 2400 mile journey in a few months.

Boyne City, here.

Henry, last I saw, you were considering Virginia, but a hearty welcome to the mitten state and congratulations on buying a home for probably a year's rent in the PNW. Anyway, you probably won't find enough people up where you are headed to sustain any commercial storefront on a year round basis unless you cover hunting and fishing too. I hope they have decent high speed Internet! I'm near Detroit in the NE corner of Wayne County.

I pretty much figured closing during winter and helping my wife with her online business.

As for the southeast venture. We looked and looked but could find what we were looking for in our budget. My family all lives in Wisconsin and the U.P. so this is a nice compromise.

I'm an upper Ohioan.
Welcome to Historic Milan Ohio - The Birthplace of Thomas A. Edison

Henry III, best wishes on your move. I hope all goes well.

Anywhere near the Big Lakes is gorgeous. I hope you transition well, it's a lovely state.

I lived in Midland for several years, and my first home cost less than either of my last two cars (and they aren't flashy rides by any means).

When moving to the thumb, bring pictures of some hills with you so you remember what they look like. The thing I remember about riding near Midland was that it was an event to have a curve in the road, much less a hill.

On the bright side, the people there are really agreeable and very friendly if you're ever in a jam/break down on the road. I'd like to get back that way someday, but they went and surrounded the whole state with big lakes.

Hahahaha I got my fair share of hills and mountains here in Oregon and I'm good. Crossing passes and driving on some curvy narrow road on the side of a mountain was never fun for me. I was never a good climber and my bike I built the frame for is still setup with a std crank for flat wisconsin riding. So I'm set and ready for some flat farmland not to mention those classic midwest thunderstorms. Plus the west can keep their scoarching heat, water droughts and forest fires. Gimme a laid back midwest way of life again and cause I'm not looking back. Oh and Christmas with that white stuff not rain and fog.

S/W Michigander here. Welcome to the America's High 5 State!

It's looking like I'll be holding down the thumb for the C&V folks. The bike section on CL is pretty dismal to say the least. Like one or two bikes listed a day...if that. On a brighter note. At least I won't get dropped or told to hold my line in a group ride!

Mid-Michigan here, a little town just west of Lansing.

Welcome to the Great Lakes State...you will love the sunrise side.

If you pine for more action, head an hour straight south.
Below Sarnia, and especially around New Baltimore and Mt. Clemens, you will find a ton of people!

The owner is a great guy, I know him from 40 years ago:

Anchor Bay Bicycle and Fitness - Sales and Service - Home

From the site:
Vintage bicycle repair is one of John's unique service specialties. His vast knowledge and skills make him one of the few specialized dealers in this area who repair and restore vintage bicycles.

I lived 3 years in Ann Arbor and 5 years in Kalamazoo, plus 4 years in the Upper Peninsula FWIW.

Alfred E. Bike in Kalamazoo is a pretty good place for bike stuff, at least it was when I lived there 20 odd years ago.

I see there's like couple in the Bay City/Saginaw area and then down by Bay Harbor but the thumb is crickets. It's pretty bad when you put in bicycle shops and do a google search in the map section and walmart comes up. As Charlie Brown would say "good grief". Hahaha. But hey atleast there's an Orange Julius down the road in Sandusky. I feel a little bit better knowing there's some civilization here. No really I'm excited to go back to something slower place, no panhandlers or tents in the bushes everywhere.

NE Oakland County checking in. I'm not very familiar with the thumb area but I'd imagine it's slim pickins... I know the CL bike section for that area is a joke. Hell the Metro Detroit CL is a Joke.. Good luck and welcome to Michigan!

Good luck, I miss the mitten. If I were lucky enough to be able to move back and got to choose where to go, I'd probably go on the west side of the State as the wife and I have great memories of PJ Hoffmaster State Park (or to East Lansing because I spent 12 glorious years there once upon a time), but the thumb is a nice area too. As others have said, probably not enough clientele to support and LBS, but a nice area. I love the Great Lakes. I remember visiting Cape Cod a few years back and thinking to myself, "psh, the Grand Traverse Bay has everything this place has with out the saltwater and with fewer a-holes". No one with me who hadn't lived near the Lakes could understand that. Best wishes.

Well, perch, walleye are great, but New England steamers, lobsters, and lobster rolls are better!
Craft beer is on a roll in Michigan.

CL isnt all that hot anywhere in Michigan. That is, unless you like Huffy's, MTB's and the like. If you have good internet connections you wont need a bike shop so much. You will be what us upnorth folk call "flatlanders".

Berkley here in Oakland County. Will head north to Lake Superior in a few weeks. Probably still be able to kick some snow. Camping and birding at Whitefish Point. Bikes will left at home. I HOPE the temps will get up to the 50's, expect the nights to be 20-30ish. As the bike shop mechanic sneeringly says I'm a snow bird.

[MENTION=201707]Henry III[/MENTION] My family line (mother's side) is from Filion, up near the tip of the thumb. Family name was Filion, too. The story is my great grandfather and his brother moved down from Ontario and founded the town by opening up a sawmill there. After the thumb had been thoroughly clearcut, they moved out to the PNW, and built another sawmill.

Oddly enough, at one point in the early 50's my grandmother and grandfather ended up buying and building up the local failing plywood mill in Medford, OR, of all places. I think it's the one that is now the Boise Cascade plant.

Anyway, if you end up riding through Filion some day, send me some pics. I'd like to see what it looks like, 105 years after my family left town .

Don't suppose you're related to Captain Malcolm Reynolds then are you?

In all likelihood, yes, abeit distantly. We fondly refer to him as Cousin Nathan when we're watching "Castle."

Best of luck, Henry!

Now, Henry, you are in Oregon. Why should Michiganders be there? Most of them can be found in Michigan. You should know this already. I bet you have plenty of Oregonians there. Michiganders are no different..

Good luck with the move!