Wisconsin-Michigan Adventure Trail (WMAT - 1100 Mile Dual Sport)

As I mentioned earlier the WMAT is the result of a collaboration. My friend 2TrakR and I are both big supporters of publicly sharing tracks so that more people get a chance to enjoy some great rides. We often work together on various projects exchanging insight and tracks.

In this case, 2TrakR offered up some excellent material for the lower peninsula for the area roughly between Whiskey Creek and Indian River. I have ridden plenty of trails and two tracks in that area in the past, but much of this segment has been mined from previous event files of the Great Lakes Dual Sporters (GLDS). Each time I ride tracks, theirs or mine, I post updates to account for changes.

2TrakR is the President of the GLDS which is a regional dual sport club. The nice thing about mining the extensive GLDS library is that instead of concentrating only on established ORV trails and obvious connectors, people can get some of the best two tracks available for a long dual sport route like this one. GLDS has a great core membership that has done some extensive exploring over the years.

Some time back I wrote about GLDS offering tracks for about 3500 miles of dual sporting in Michigan. I was able to contribute some to the pool myself. Track sharing is one of the best ways to give people opportunities to get some great rides. No schedule issues like with formal events, as people can do it anytime on their own.


GLDS makes many of their tracks available to anyone, whether you are a member of not. But with a membership fee of only $10, who wouldn't join an outfit that offers so much to dual sporters and adventure riders?

Freeflow is right, I do put some thought into the tracks I create to try to mix up segments so you go through a series of changes on a route. Part of this has to do with managing time. People only have so much time to spend on some of this stuff and to cover a long distance, one has to have some travel efficiency. The other is change-ups and rest. For example, I could route a long section via single track. On long trips, extended single track can get old fast, especially with a loaded bike. It is better to route it so that the rider is jumping between the single track and two-track/road to allow for cooling off in the breeze, relaxing the grip on the bars, and making a few miles travel-wise.

There is more to track sharing than just recording a ride. Apart from proper file structure, one wants to make sure that all segments of the ride are legal before putting it out for public use. For tracks that avoid developed areas, indicating fuel stops is also important.

Seems like we dealt with a lot of downed trees along the way.








Nice float on the front wheel.






Lots of oil and gas fields up this way. As prices rise, these wells become profitable.


Some of the MCCCT motorcycle single track has been lost to the widening effects of ATVs. Nonetheless it is still fun to ride.




Open for tours 24/7. Just don't bring a fishing pole.


Besides being great fish habitat, the Jordan River is beautiful.

Glad you got to enjoy the tracks Dave. I saw your lonely single tire tracks in some very obscure places. I figured it was you as it was pretty unlikely someone would be in some of these places unless they were riding the track. Thanks for appreciating the effort that goes into these things.

It was getting dark in the woods.


Chandler Hill is a nice section of trail.




Jeff takes finds one of many Chandler Hill challenges.




Might want to check your headlight aim. Lots of downed trees on the path.


We rolled into Indian River around 2130 after knocking off about 285 miles from Baldwin. We get going on the trail and find it hard to stop. Or maybe we just think it is poor form to get off the trail until it is dark.

Breakfast at Paula's in town on the MCCCT.


Working west toward Lake Michigan.


Drawbridge.


I included a winding paved route called the Tunnel of Trees. It is entertaining on about any bike.










The route runs along Lake Michigan.














Working inland toward the straits.














The old ice breaker is on display in Mackinaw City.






The new (replacement) ultra-modern high tech ice breaker is in dry dock in Sturgeon Bay, WI, right now.




Lots of these in Mack City. Glad I had a closed faced helmet. Big swarms in the air.






Mackinac Bridge. Bigger than the Golden Gate. Five miles long. Twoers are about 550' high. The deck at center span (200' in the air) can move as much as 35' due to winds. Largest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere.




If the winds are too high they close it to motorcycles.


Self unloading ore carrier heading under the bridge.


If you are lucky, you will be able to ride on the pavement instead of the metal grates. Seems like construction often closes one lane.




As luck would have it, we got forced onto the steel anyway. Kind of fun with knobbies - a thriller of sorts. The wheels like to wander and wobble.

I'll publish the tracks and put a notice/link in this thread once they are ready for distribution.

Don't judge your trip by what we did. We do things like continue to ride after dark and take on long miles in a single day.

A reasonable trip would be:
Day 1 - Afternoon ferry to Ludington. Stay near there.
Day 2 - Ride up to around Kalkaska and stay there.
Day 3 - Cross the bridge and stay there.
Day 4 - Ride across the UP to about Escanaba and stay there.
Day 5 - Ride the rest of the loop back to whever you want to quit it in Wisconsin and head for home.

I run across quite a few of these guys in the eastern UP.


Leaving St Ignace on a railroad grade.






If you get caught in a storm, this place is a nice refuge. It is waypointed at the site of an old CCC camp.






We run along the Lake Michigan shore for a bit.


Some sporty woods two track.




















A visit to the old Fiborn Quarry site. At one time this was a booming operation.


















freeflow wanted to show me some caves that Yooper_Bob turned him onto. All this stuff is part of a preserve: http://www.caves.org/conservancy/mkc/preserve_fiborn.html























Loggers put straw on the sand so they can get their log trucks through without hopping the drive axles too badly.


Some more single track.




Pleasant lunch stop in Curtis.