trophyoftexas

OK, here's the deal....I'm going to be in and around Glen Lake and Traverse City for about 3 weeks in late September/early October. I'm going to have about 2-3 days when my riding partner/sister is going to be out of state and I'm looking to do a ride that I've thought about for a long time....Glen Lake to Saginaw. My Mom still lives there (Saginaw) and my sister will pick me up for the return drive to Glen Arbor so this is a one way ride. I know I said Cadillac-Saginaw in the topic title but I know how I'm going ride to Cadillac as that appears to be pretty straight forward and I know most of those backroads from Glen Arbor to M115 over around Copemish, so it's only from Cadillac to Saginaw that I'm concerned about. I know that I'll probably link up to the Pere Marquette R-t-T from Clare to Midland but not sure about the Cadillac-Clare part of the ride and also the Midland to Saginaw section. I used to live in Saginaw and have made the drive to Glen Lake several times but would really like to do this ride....break overnight at a motel some place in between to make it a 2 day ride...figure it would be about 85 miles each day, totally doable, just need a little route advice(read:smooth backroads when possible, shoulder when not a backroad!)

Anytime I've driven M115 I've felt like it looked fairly safe to bike on, wide shoulder and all, but perhaps some of you that ride around there all of the time will have other opinions about that road...I HAVE to ride a very similiar road down here all of the time PLUS it's a 70 mph speed limit....so 55 mph on M115 SEEMS fairly safe.....right? No? If a 'no' I can always stay up there in what I consider riding heaven and ride M22around the Leelanau Peninsula until my sister gets back to the lake house!

How about it, gotta be a friendly Yankee rider up there that'll be able to help a misplaced Michigander out!?

"Fred"

cherry capital cycling club sells maps that have all the roads and they are color coated to tell you how bike friendly they are. This will keep you off of the hwy and on good roads. Most bike shops in TC sell them and it is worth the couple of bucks you spend. The map does not go that far south but try some of the other clubs south of there and I bet you could find similar maps. Check out the league of Michigan cyclist for other clubs that might sell maps of there area.

trophyoftexas

I thought I might "smoke" you out with this question....I always enjoy your posts here about riding in the northwest Michigan area's and find them to be pretty much spot-on accurate! It a great area to ride, isn't it! I look forward to this trip each September starting as soon as I get back to Texas from the previous years trip!....I haven't ridden in temps below 90 for over 3 months and I'm SO ready to get back up there!

I have the excellant map you've mentioned, great map! I am riding in mid-Michigan in the month of September, too, with the Tri-City folks, I'll ask some of them for guidance in the Clare-Saginaw section. Thanks again!

"Fred"

Wow! Us Northerners don't like heat like that. You will find it much more tolerable up hear, in fact we had the coldest July on record hear in Boyne City. We have not hit 90 this year.

I am about to go out for my morning ride, maybe arm warmers today

Road Fan

Hi, interesting ride! I've driven M115 many times in the past dozen summers, from Clare to Mesick. I've always felt it would be a fine cycling road. At least this summer the speeds seem to be coming down, with 55 or 60 mph being what I've seen. Fred probably has better info, being a local guy.

trophyoftexas

Here where we are the normal range of riding temps from about May 1-Oct 15 or so is between 90-103-4. The older I get (61) the less able am I to enjoy the CONSTANT heat...lower 90's I can handle but when it gets like it has been here the past month or so with at least 95 EVERY ride and like today 102 and more coming the next 3-4 days I just run out of ambition! Yesterday I stopped riding at 20 miles more out of boredom with the weather than anything else....went through two full water bottles in 20 miles and really needed a little bit more but didn't have it with me. I SO look forward to my Michigan trips each year and not getting to come up this summer has really been a downer...3-4 weeks in Sept-Oct are needed right now if for no other reason than to keep my sanity!

Of course, getting to ride here year-round I guess is the trade off for having to endure the summer heat. I'm going to look into some part-time work up there for the last half of next summer, maybe get lucky and find something that'll allow for a little income and lots of ride time!

I've looked at Google Maps views of M115 and it looks like it's 2-4 lane with shoulders all the way down to Clare. What I'll probably do it ask the Tri-city club people about it when I ride their Middle of the Mitten Century and then also look at the route (M115) closely when I return to Glen Arbor after that ride....would be making the Saginaw ride the end of the following week anyway so that would give me a chance to eyeball it in person more carefully than I have done in the past. Any additional/optional route info would still be appreciated.

Oh, Fred, one more thing.....what's the name of that little "one block" street section in Harbor Springs that is one heck of a little climb? Really steep toward the top and a fun one to spring on people after returning from a ride out and back on M119!!!

"Fred"

Watsons Grade!

trophyoftexas

Humm, is that a local-knowledge monicker? The little place I am talking about is where Judd St. does sort of an s curve and at the top becomes Arbor St. I just thought it was one of those two but maybe you local guys have named it something special for some reason......or is Watsons Grade ANOTHER little climb that I need to find when I get up there?

Also, does the Michigan Mountains ride that you are supporting go over many of the same roads/climbs as the Ride the Charx ride I did last summer?.......BEAUTIFUL ride!

"Fred"

Sorry, Watson's grade is on m119 about 5 miles from town. When you said returning from m119 and spring on people this was the first thing I thought of. Sunday there is a race style ride from harbor that runs a slow double paceline (22MPH) out to cross village (22miles). Then we talk some smack and race back (26-30MPH). We start with a group of 30ish and quickly get down to around 10. Watson's grade is were the **** hits the fan and legs are ripped off. There are lots of short very steep hills leading out of Harbor Springs, I don't think I have been on that one.

The Michigan Mountain Mayhem although it starts in the same place as Ride the Charx there are only two climbs that are the same Bunker Hill and The Wall. The rest of Ride the Charx hills were not tough enough for the MMM.

trophyoftexas

Yeah, Watson's Grade (didn't know the name....just always called it that big damn hill) is a nice climb for someone like me, steady rider, not fast, likes distance and climbing. I can just imagine how that one is a leg-lung-killer to a really fast pace-lining group. I also like those little steep climbs coming out of those smallish-hairpins about half way out to Cross Villiage....I can tell you this, if I win the Texas Lottery my first purchase will be a summer place in that area....other one for winter would be in the Texas Hill Country. I'd come up and do the MMM next summer but it's just about impossible for me to miss the June part of the little league season down here, I'm a photographer who shoot's TONS of ballgames and June and early July are my prime time to lay up a little cash....I am going to do a little research when I come up to Michigan in September to see if there's any work in my line up there in late July and into August, although we have already started doing some high school football work here this week. I went to a football game last October up there at the field in Harbor Springs....what a neat little stadium!

The little climb I was talking about is nothing in length at all, only about one city block but really nice and steep at the top.....take Judd going away from the harbor and it ends with this climb then becomes Arbor Street, like I said, not long but a nice little training climb that you can decend and ride over and over.

You should consider coming down here some March and do some training in Fredericksburg...ride the Texas Hellweek rides, nice roads, little traffic, lots of climbing, 8 days, 8 century rides....either metric or true 100 milers.

"Fred"

Those always scare me if I am still with the lead group. We race coming back so you get a short downhill and then hit those hairpin turns in the mid to upper 30's. No one has ever gone down but the thought makes me nervous every time. Fortunately by then the weak/inexperienced riders are out the back.