Hello all, planning a trip around Lake Michigan this weekend Friday thru Monday. Leaving the Dayton Ohio area and headed to Wisconsin for day one, the. To the UP and across the Mack Bridge and then to the homestead. For those of you with idea please share for stops and attractions, this is our first long ride. I race GNCCs and Hare Scramble semi-professionally, but just getting into the adventure riding. Thanks in advance.
Excellent ride that for sure. UP in a town called Harbor Springs, before going over bridge on Mi side is a great polish restaurant called Legs Inn (very cool spot). Going up the like side and doing tunnel of trees is very cool. Ludington Michigan - Holiday Inn is nice A) good food at James Street Station Escanaba Mi Comfort Inn Great place to eat is Bucks Inn Town of Leland is very neat place but small I'm leaving in this Saturday with another couple and were going Wis side to Mich side. If you have any questions or have an idea on how far you want to travel I can advise you on what I know. Have a safe ride
That's a lot for one weekend. After riding thru the UP and crossing the Mackinac Bridge you MUST head west out of Mackinaw City at the Headlands on Wilderness Park Dr, S on Cecil Bay to Gill then continue on West as the road changes names Lakeview to LakeShore and turns into M119 North of Cross Village. At Cross Village stop at Legs Inn, at least to check it out and see the view from the garden. Food is good. Much of the staff comes from Poland for the season. There is a gas station in Cross Village, the last one on the way for 25 or so miles. The Tunnel of Trees starts just South of the Legs Inn. One of the "best rides" sites rates this ride #1 in the US. So if you have come all this way you MUST NOT MISS riding it. About 10 miles down the road stop at the Good Hart General Store for your stickers and get some sandwiches or a pot pie. Ride the rest of the way to Harbor Springs where you can connect up with US31 to continue your journey. If you can allow the time, pick up M22 out of Traverse City and ride around the peninsula to to Sleeping Bear Dunes on the Lake Michigan shore. It is a National Park but they let us in w/o stickers to ride the scenic drive last year and see the dunes. Remember, last year this place was called the Most Beautiful Place in America - so you ain't gonna see anything like it around Dayton! Good Luck on your Journey - weather looks ok as of now and the leaves haven't turned so the leaf peepers won't be out slowing you down.
Thanks a lot Hollywood and Dan. The rain percentage keeps increasing but we will ride either way. In our group we have 4 bikes. I've heard of The Tunnel of Trees, I will for sure lead our group that way. 2 of the bikes going aren't offroad friendly.... Harley's.... We are planning 300-500 miles a day, the one Harley fellow is worried about crosswinds the the Mack bridge is this a concern? I can't imagine it being a problem. Thanks again, this was my first post, I've just lurked since 2010, and with racing and my other hobbies haven't took time to go on long rides.
Tunnel of Trees is all paved, no off-road worries. Best advice for the Mighty Mac is just to relax your grip. If it is extremely windy sometimes the Bridge Authority provides a sort or escort service across.
The bridge is 4 lanes. Between the towers the road is grate on the outside, paved on the inside. As I recall, the speed limit is 45, but trucks are slower. You could follow a truck, or see about an escort if it is really windy. I was in the Coast Guard at St. Ignace for 3-1/2 years, and no vehicles went over in that time . As far as I know, the only car that ever went over was a Yugo, and It was never determined if that was intentional. Speaking of St. Ignace, Clydes Drive In - just before you hit the exit for the bridge is well known for its cheeseburgers and onion rings. Mmmm.
I highly recommend The North Country Lodge in Grayling MI. It's a Mom & Pop and they treated us very well on a recent ride from PA to Duluth for the Aerostich Rally. Off Exit 259 or 254 of I-75. (866) 706-0098 or (989) 745-6231 Tim
Thanks Tim, I'll take note and if we are at a stopping point I'll make a stay their. Thanks again. Jake
The bridge is grate on the inside lanes not outside. I have rarely ever crossed the bridge when they didn't have a lane closed off in either direction so be prepared to ride the grate and deal with the winds. I am assuming the wind would be easier to deal with on a low heavy Harley vs. a tall adventure bike. Just relax and enjoy the view it is really not that bad. I notice the drop in temperature when out on the bridge more than the wind. It can feel very cold when crossing even on a warm sunny day. There is a bridge view park on the North side of the bridge you can exit to right before the toll gate. Check it out if you have never been over the bridge. Here is a pic from a few weeks ago when I crossed. Watch the signs they will tell you the bridge conditions.
What are typical wind speeds are we talking here on a routine days crossing? I've crossed several times w/4wheels but been awhile.
Wind speeds can vary from hour to hour on the bridge depending on the weather. It could be very calm or blowing like stink. Crossing is not difficult if you take you time and ride within your comfort zone. The grating seems to get a lot of people nervous but may not be an issue depending on construction (usually painting work). You might be able to ride on pavement all the way. As mentioned by Dan V. the grating is in the center between the main support sections only, about 1/3 of the distance. Ride the bridge,it's what makes it part of the adventure.
I went there this summer. My daughter graduated with a Masters. The ceremony was in Detroit. I left from Western NY friday morning. At dinner time in northwest ohio. A gentleman asked if he could join me. We had dinner and were both headed towards Port ontario. We took off together. He was on a Tiger 1050, I was no my R1200R with camping gear etc. I followed him for 30 minutes just barely keeping up. He was flying. Finally we split up at 75/94 so I waved and slowed down. We covered 46 miles in 30 minutes right through detroit. An adventure in itself. Crossing the state was not too exciting. The ride to harbor springs once I got on the west side of Michigan was better. I stayed in a camp ground. OFF I went to harbor springs and rode the tunnel of trees. It was a nice narrow road but not a twisty road you could haul ass on like in PA or the Adirondacks. Don't get me wrong the scenery was good, lake always on my left as I went north. The ride was nice and relaxing thorugh the woods. I stopped at a Coffee shop/boutique in the middle of no where. They had some cool stuff and fancy coffee. I talked to some folks from Wisconsin while there. As I left,, I spotted this. It has porcelain and running water. Clean as can be. Not at all what it looks like. A good relief because I had some kind of fancy coffee. At the north end of the road is a hang out that was packed with motorcycles when I got there. I did not go in, instead I headed back south on the road east of the one I was just on. This too was a nice ride. After that I flew down the interstate to ohio to see some family. It was a 2,000 mile week. I only saw a few cops all weekend in MI. I spent 5 of 6 nights like this. One night in a hotel to do laundry and relax. Sunday morning I crawled out of the tent. The guy across the way in an Airstream said "you are doing what I always wanted to but she won't let me" I just smiled and rode off for coffee. Enjoy your ride David