Day 5 - Up Up and Away! or... Manistee to Frankfort

Ahh...much nicer today! Sun all the way. After blow drying our clothes and packing up, we headed on our way towards Glen Arbor...or so we thought. Within 1 mile we BOTH had flat tires. My front tire blew out first, then Ryan's less than .5 miles later. After repairing the tubes, we finally started making progress. We arrived at Onekama and grabbed some much needed food and groceries. For some reason, we were extra tired and hungry today. Once on our way, it was an up hill battle all the way to Frankfort. Both of the big climbs were over 1.5 miles long! After reaching Frankfort, it was already 6pm, so we decided to check out Stormcloud brewery for some beers and snacks before setting up camp in Betsie River Campsite. Unfortunately we did not make it to Glen Arbor, but it was still a fulfilling day. Though the pictures do not do it justice, here is a bit of what we experienced. 

Peace through pedals!

-R + L

Being goofy before leaving Orchard Beach. 

 Fantastic beach! 

 Selfie! 

 First flat of the trip. Ryan was able to patch it up. 

 Second flat. This time on Ryan's bike. Here is a flattering shot of me being a team player while Ryan changes his tire tube. 

 As we came to the top of another hill, Ryan dropped his bike and ran into the woods. I thought he just really had to pee, but apparently his ramp senses were tingling, and behold, the woods was littered with them! He harvested a bunch of them to add to our soup mix for dinner! 

After climbing a huge hill, we had the privilege of spending time at this wonderful place. This lookout is just north of Arcadia. If you ever have the opportunity to check it out, we highly suggest you do. We were told that on clear nights, you can see the  glow of Milwaukee from the lookout. 

 Attractive....as always. 

Just getting into Frankfort! Beautiful little town!  

Stopped in the Stormcloud Brewery in Frankfort! Got a brewery tour and two pints on the house! This place is fantastic! If you are ever in the area, you need to check it out. I loved the brie pizza and lemon mead. Ryan loved the hummus and Rainmaker Ale/Handsome Bee/Beach Buddha/He had a lot of beer. Definitely our favorite stop thus far! Soon they will have a Pumpkin Salson on tap! We are tempted to make a trip back here to try it!  

Day 4 - Rain rain go away or... Silver Lake State Park to Orchard Beach State Park

Well, today was the type of day that reminded us of how much we appreciate good weather. It seems that once you get your clothes wet, you never seem to dry off. Luckily, Orchard Beach State Park had well working hand dryers in the bathrooms! Little chilly, but still an amazing experience. In the morning, we crushed the 10 miles to Pentwater (read "wen't slightly faster than 10mph) where we spent some time in VG cafe for scones, cappuccino, and wifi. Later we cruised through the heavy rain to a McDonalds (more wifi, uploading photos takes a while, okay!?) and then onto Orchard Beach. Its amazing how motivated you can get when you are wet and cold! The miles seemed to fly by as we kept going! Even though the conditions were harsh, our spirits and endurance remained high. Here are a few pictures from the day. Enjoy! 

Our little home. Cozy!

 Me, being completely useless while Ryan navigates. 

 Cloudy day, but pretty! See the dunes!? 

Staying positive even though we were wet and cold. 

Ended the day right with breakfast for dinner! Yumm! Pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, and hot chocolate to wash it all down. Slept well with full bellies. 

Day 3 - Grand Haven to Silver Lake State Park

TL;DR: bicycle touring is awesome and you are awesome, so you should give it a try.

A bicycle tour can really make a person think about the sheer size of this world. When travelling at freeway speeds, it is hard to appreciate distance. Towns, forests, lakes, and streams rush by your window with barely enough speed to register their existence, let alone to appreciate them. Everything slows down when travelling by bicycle. There is no "Town so small, if you blink you'll miss it." Even if a town is only composed of the meeting of two roads, it may still take several minutes to coast on by. Taking it slow allows the traveler to appreciate the minute detail in a 20 foot tall carving of Paul Bunyan, or to watch juvenile trout feeding on top water, the ripple of the water with every tiny strike visibly even in the shade cast by the bridge under wheel.

And I think there is something about strapping fifty pounds to a bicycle and pedaling from town to town that draws the attention of others and brings out their talent for both conversation and altruism. Each day on the road, we have met people who have stopped what they were doing to share some advice on places to visit along the way, offered to loan their tire pumps or electric generators, even share exciting life stories over a cup of tea. It seems like everywhere we go, people smile, point, honk their horn (in a kind way... well for the most part) and ask us where we are headed. 

I know that the places we camp during this trip will be memorable in years to come. But what really strikes me about this trip, and what I believe will be the most important part, is the opportunity to view the contour of our beautiful state, the plants and animals that live in each unique niche we travel through, and the chance to watch people go about their days from morning until night. All of these things slowly come into view, focus through time a foot traveled, and linger until they fade into the distance, with always something new ahead. 

Ah well, enough of the wax poetic. What did we really do? In short, it was a good day. Lydia and I took way to many pictures and video, had plenty of beach time, good roads, and finally a beautiful place to rest at the end of the day. We had some tough climbs, (1280ft gained today, several climbs over 10% grade for the cycling nerds reading this) and even better descents. As always, more photos and videos are available at the photos link at the top of the page. 


Enjoy! 

L+R

We started our morning in Grand Haven the way we usually do, searching for wifi, drinking espresso/cappuccino, and uploading photos and videos to the blog

One of the beautiful beaches in Muskegon State Park. Highly recommended route! 

Pit stops in Muskegon State Park. Got yah!

Muskegon State Park has some of the most beautiful beaches, forest, and smooth road that we have come across.

Shameless selfie! 

Pretty paint! 

After riding through miles of agricultural land, we decided to take the road (way) less traveled. It lead us through a few hours of gravel and sand road riding. Definitely gunked up our drive trains a bit! The route took us through several miles of beautiful peach and apple orchard land.

And finally we made it!

See you tomorrow! 

Day 2 - Van Buren State Park to Grand Haven State Park (65mi)

Day 2 

Beautiful riding through residential coastline neighborhoods. It helped us avoid the harsh wind. Some of the more inland roads had a strong headwind making the ride a little more challenging. Met some great people and had a blast. Here are a few pictures from the trip. We arrived late in Grand Haven and were famished! Unfortunately, we learned that all of the campsites at Grand Haven State Park were full! Ryan was going to sprint to the park to try and secure whatever might have been left before that park closed but, thanks to the advice from Bicycle guru Uncle Jay and a cyclist in Grand Haven, we learned that Michigan State Parks are required to provide a campsite to bicycle tourists. So, after learning that, we were able to relax, drink a pint and digest our dinner in a comfortable restaurant downtown. Well that's it for now...Feel free to check the rest out on Ryan's Google+ album (photos link at top of the page) 

Wakey wakey eggs and bakey! Here is a pic of our beautiful campsite in Van Buren. 

Went for a morning hike to the beach with coffee in hand. 

We had the beach to our selves which meant we could be as goofey as we felt and pranced around like children. 

Hi Tom and Heather! Here Ryan is waving to Milwakey from the Michigan side! 

Beeboop! 

Hitting the road after a relaxing morning in camp. 

saddle seflie

Stopped to get a picture with the miniature horses. Dan, their owner, was really nice and we chatted with him for a while. 

Shameless selfie on a bridge. 

We stopped in a beautiful park in Holland. 

The fountain in the back had plants growing all over it! It was beautiful. 

Finally made it to Grand Haven. Treated ourselves to dinner at Dee Light restaurant. Ryan was super excited for a Oktoberfest pint. 

To lazy didn't upload: First view of the shoreline from the saddle on day 1

 Beautiful Park in downtown Holland, day 2

Lydia climbing a big hill

A pretty blue bridge