Adventures in Cherryland

The first day hhad us riding out to a ski resort near Thompsonville and then back to Frankfort

Crystal Lake in Beulah early in the morning. We came back and picnicked on the shore later

Lake Michigan in Frankfort. Somehow the water seemed colder there than the beaches further north we went into later in the week

I liked this old bank in Frankfort

public gardens in Frankfort

I'm baaaaaaack. 275 miles and one week later. Blogger iPhone version lets me load
photos but is real dicey about letting me add text. And bonus, they keep warning me
that if Blogger won't update their app (please Blogger bots take note), I won't be able
to use it at all soon.

They had a different set-up this year. We stayed 2 nights in 3 different towns
(Frankfort, Leland, and Traverse City) meaning 3 less tent take-downs and put-ups
and packing. It made things much more relaxing. Mileage was not as long. W
eather much better. No hot days. We had one impressive storm blow in as we
were going to sleep but it left after a half hour. It drizzled as I packed up yesterday
making my stuff wet. We had tail winds most of the time. Yay! Extra bonus: it is
much easier to haul oneself over 400 foot hills when one doesn't have 70 pounds
of extra weight. I never walked a hill and passed by much younger riders walking
them. And thanks to tailwinds, I was flying between towns as tracked by my iWatch.
Sometimes I seemed like I was huffing and puffing towards the end of the climb
but I would check my pulse and it would never be nearly as high as my average
while running.

I didn't worry about food during the ride and some nights perhaps (perhaps...)
we drank too much. Yep I gained weight but it will be gone by the end of the week.

Most of the ride was in the Leelanau Peninsula full of cherry trees, hops, cutesy
tourists town and boating. Every restaurant had cherry this and that, whitefish
and perch. Even the beer and wine were cherry derived. The interior of the
peninsula was very hilly. I will let myself fly if the hill is straight and I can
see the bottom but I used the brakes quite a bit around sharp turns, sandy
stretches and when I knew there was a stop sign on the bottom.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park is on the Western shore and we spent a half
day riding trails through there. We rode there 3 years ago but it was so cold, rainy
and windy, I didn't stop. But this time, I climbed the highest done.

We arrived the night before in Frankfort heading straight to the bar (Stormclouds)
near the Betsie River. It was actually chilly sitting on the patio and I had to put
on a jacket for the first time since I can't remember. Our riding buddy joined us.
A bald eagle flew over the patio as we imbibed. Food (roasted vegetable salad
with cheddar ale soup) very tasty. Then to camp to set everything up. It was nice
to have a car for the first 2 nights as the town is a mile walk and the beach
even further. My $7 bike rack securely held our bikes though I nervously
looked back every few miles. When I was picking up my bike from its
final tune-up, I notice the same manufacturer sells the same rack for $350.

The first day we took a trail to the ski resort. Although it was very pretty going
along the shores of Crystal Lake, after Beulah, it was rocky and sandy for a very
long time. I took the roads back even though they were hilly. Our riding companion
managed to get lost by not paying attention. I wasn't going to wait another
hour for her to come back (involving lots of phone calls) for lunch. Besides
I made a new friend while riding on the trail., a seventy year old culinary
arts teacher. She is extremely fit having run recently the 25K Old Kent
River Bank run and had just completed a 600 mile hike. I was with Jane
most of the week.

We all made it back to Frankfort eventually and headed to frigid Lake Michigan.
I could not get used to the cold beyond hip level. After dinner, to Stormclouds
again. A nice day