DougG

This was the name of a 3-day event put on by the League of Michigan Bicyclists up in Rogers City, which is along the Lake Huron shore about 50 miles down from Mackinaw. A quiet town in a quiet area of the state. All ages were represented, from families with teenagers up to a great-grandmother I met that was showing off her new Ultegra-equipped, full-carbon LeMond. At 61, I wasn't much over the median age.

Each day had a variety of route options ranging from 20-70 miles. I rode the maximum each day for a total of 187 miles with Saturday's 72 being the longest. That alone was 10 more miles than I'd ever gone in a day, and the roads were surprisingly hilly in places. But at least the weather was perfect: clear skies, lows in the 50s to a high around 70, and no wind to speak of. We rode mainly on county roads with very light traffic. US-23 was the only "main" highway we rode on, and that had 4-foot paved shoulders and not much traffic.

The rest of the ammenities were good, with a couple of buffet dinners and coupon vouchers for some of the breakfasts. There were concerts a couple of evenings in the city park that was also the event HQ, and everyplace in town had a "welcome cyclists" attitude -- this was one of the big events of the season for them.

Anyway, here are a few pictures that I took along the way. The shoreline of a Great Lake is always a beautiful sight on a clear day:



These hills went on for miles:



And I could've done without this one near the end of a long day:



Lots of clear, smooth roads like this:



This was the breakfast spread on Saturday, put on by one of the small local churches:



This is what you call having a small carbon footprint, I guess:



Me, but before I put on the two lbs. that I gained from overenjoying the food on this trip!




Anyway, I would highly recommend this event. Nice roads, nice people, nice surroundings, and the cost of the whole weekend was very reasonable.

Digital Gee

Looks like a great ride with terrific scenery. Great pics!

stapfam

Gained 2lbs---That was you eating correctly and fat being converted to muscle

Sounds like the ideal ride. Milage as you want and 3 days of it. But with a breakfast spread like that- I may have been taking a shorter distance.

And those hills are always in the wrong place. Next year do it in reverse and find the Downhills.

rainycamp

I've been a fan of Michigan all my life -- my grandfather had a small farm there which we visited often when I was a kid. My wife and I and some friends plan to spend a week around Mackinaw in August, and you can bet biking will be involved!

Mojo Slim

I love the first picture: your bike and the lake. It sounds like a very pleasant way to spend three days.

Pamestique 

WOW beautiful scenery and holey moley - look at that food!!!!! yummy yummy!

Beverly

Nice report and pictures.

The League of Michigan Bicyclists has some nice tours. Some friends and I did their western shoreline tour last year. Your pictures of the hills certainly reminded me of the tour One of the riders swears he's never crossing the state line into Michigan again because of the hills