MOB Michigan Trip

Each year the Mid-Ohio Bikers take at least one trip involving bicycling and camping or other outdoor activities.  This year we decided to bike the White Pines Trail in Michigan. 

Day 0: Arrival. 

Our plan is to ride as much of the Michigan White Pine Trail as we can.  Spoiler alert: we rode almost all of it, except for the sectiono between Reed City and the town of LeRoy. 

 

We arrived in Stanwood, Michigan at Brower Park, a county park in Mecosta, Michigan.  It is the trailhead for a 43-mile mountain bike trail, the Dragon Trail, although our plan was to ride our road bikes on the paved 92-mile White Pine Trail.    I got my tent set up.  We took a ride in the car to see where we would start from tomorrow, the actual trail was about 6 miles away from the campgrounds.  There was not a good trailhead or parking area in Stanwood, the town along the trail.  We later learned that in Michigan the trailheads are referred to as "staging areas". We did find a baseball diamond park south of town with a small area for parking, and tentatively settled on parking there.  However, when we returned to the camp entrance, we asked the young man at the gate about parking, and he said that he and his friends always ride the trail from Einstein Cycles in Big Rapids.  So we had a plan.   I took a ride around the campground and took a couple of pictures of my bike at sunset.  

Day 1:  Big Rapids to Reed City and return  24 miles

There was a modern, new trailhead with restrooms in Big Rapids next to Einstein Cycles.  Einstein Cycles is located in a historic train station.  It was closed when we arrived.  We headed north towards Reed City. 

The trail was very bumpy, with roots, potholes and grass growing up through it.  After a mile or so one of my friends called out "When is the newly paved section going to start?" 

But soon we arrived in Paris.  There is a park with a replica of the Eiffel Tower. 

Keith, Jody, Ruthie and I rode this day.  There was a historic building with a fish hatchery next to the park.  Just north of Paris, the trail was closed, causing us to detour out onto Old 131, a busier highway.  There was a wide shoulder and the detour was not long, before we headed back to the trail. 

Next up was a series of Burma Shave-style signs along the trail, advising us there was a Western Town ahead. 

Sure enough, there was a group of false-fronted buildings.  One was the office of Dr. Ben Dover, and there was a graveyard with the tombstone of  OU812.  

Next up was a group of wooden carvings that were absolutely magnificent, including Sasquatch and some other animals. There were also trail cams and signs warning us to stay on the trail and not to trespass.  Guess they don't want our business! 

Soon we arrived at Reed City.  We asked a couple who was walking along the trail where we should eat lunch, and they told us the best place in town was the Seven Slot Grille.  I had a mental image of Las Vegas-style eatery, until we arrived in town.  

Seven Slots turns out to represent the front of a Jeep. Food was good and low-priced. 

 

There was a historic reproduction of the old train station where the Chamber of Commerce was located, although it was closed for the weekend.  Reed City is the crossroads for multiple trails.  This one going north and south, the Pere Marquette going East towards Bay City, and West towards Ludington.  

On our return, I proposed going south to Stanwood to see how it was, but the rough trail had been exhausting for a couple on road bikes, so they elected to return to camp by car.  Having an ebike with fat tires, I decided to go on to add approximately 18 miles to my day.  

  

One block south of Einstein Cycles, the path was newly paved and smooth as glass.  

When I returned to camp I plugged in my bike and locked it up to a tree.  

Day 2:  LeRoy Michigan to Cadillac and return - 33.5 miles.

 

Andy and her husband Eric rode with us.  They were camping in their camper which Eric had built from a car-hauling trailer.  They were travelling with their cats. 

 

Watching the mileposts count up to 92 was an experience, because when we got to 92, expecting the end, we just saw more trail! But half a mile later the trail turned into a network of city streets.  To find a place for lunch, we stopped a jogger and he recommended the Clam Lake Brewery, just ahead.  We proceeded to the designated spot and didn't find any bike racks.  So we chained up to a fence.  Turned out we entered the restaurant from the back.  After a delicious lunch we found that we had parked in a splash park.  Luckily the spray didn't reach our bikes.  We returned to camp just as the rain started, which lasted an hour. 

 Day 3 - Sand Lake to Comstock Park and return - 42 miles

Day 3 turned out to be our longest day. 

We started by parking at the bike rental place in Stanwood that Einstein Cycles had recommended, eating breakfast at a nearby restaurant, which turned out to be a mistake.  There was one waitress working and probably only one cook.  We waited until she was available to take our order, and then we waited again for half an hour as the cook prepared our breakfast.  After breakfast, we hopped back in our cars and headed to Sand Lake, a bigger community with probably larger restaurants.  We should have just eaten there. 

 Sand Lake is a rural community, and Comstock Park is a suburb of Grand Rapids.  

My neighbor Deb joined us, but her husband Chris stayed in camp with their dog. They were camping in a camper. 

 

There's a beautiful park behind the brewery in Cedar Springs with great restrooms and a nearby mural to take photos. 

We rode through the communities of Cedar Springs and Rockford on the way south.  Rockford sits on the river with a lovely park with lots of flowers and a dam for interest.  The trail continued to be mostly  smooth as glass, unlike our first day.  Riding was a little bit stressful with many street crossings as we got into Comstock Park and crossed the stadium entrance, but there really wasn't much cross traffic along the nearby highway with through traffic.   We ate lunch in Rockford on the return trip at the Toasted pickle.  Dinner was at Eaton Family Restaurant on the south edge of Big Rapids.  

Camp restrooms and showers were functional, but less than optimal, as they were very dated and the walls and floors showed the accumulated dirt and insects.  The fixtures were clean and there was always toilet paper, but the environment was just icky. 

Day 4 - Morley to Big Rapids and return 

I rode a section of this from Stanwood to Big Rapids in the other direction on the first day, but the others had not yet ridden it.  

 

Chris joined us today, while Deb stayed in camp with the dog. 

 

We rode into Big Rapids on a city street so that Jody could purchase some souvenir cherry jam for her neighbors who were dogsitting for her back home.  The town was filled with beautiful floral planters with these bulldogs.  Bulldogs are the mascot for Ferris State University, which is located here. 

 

The change in pavement on the trail occured just south of this sign. 

 

 

We posed for photos near a private sunflower garden adjoining the "staging area" for the trail in Morley. 

That night we ate in Big Rapids and took some time to appreciate the "Pocket park" near the restaurant, Schubergs.   It was a very noisy place catering to students with great hamburgers.  Across the street was an ice cream shop with some non-dairy options. 

Day 5: Morley to Sand Lake and return - 29 miles

 Our last day of  riding had arrived. The four riders who were camping in campers had departed, and only the tent campers remained.  We decided to visit the Hardy Pond Dam before we got started.  

Unfortunately, because of the fog, it was easier to see the signs that the actual dam. I arrived at the parking area first and managed to snap a photo of the van crossing the dam spillway. 

We proceeded to the same parking lot with sunflowers as the day before, but rode the other direction. 

 We rode to Sand Lake and turned around, decided to eat lunch at Howard City.  We had stopped for water at the library along the trail on the way down. 

 The Forager is an upscale restaurant there.  Unfortunately, they do not cater to vegans and the menu was a little big "upscale".  We probably would have been better off in Sand Lake at the Mosey Inn, where I stopped for breakfast the next day on my way out of town. 

They have a deck on the back that overlooks the small dam.  

 

And a really nice view of the pond.  

My next stop is Allegan, but my primary purpose there is sock-making demonstrations at the Michigan Fiber Festival.  I'm not even sure if there are any bike trails there, but I know there some are in nearby Grand Haven. 

2025 Recap

 We are close to finishing the season here in North Central Ohio.   Today is cold and blustery, but yesterday was beautiful!  We woke to a rainstorm and decided to delay our ride until 11:00 to give the roads a chance to dry off. 

We met at the Olivesburg General Store and parked in the small lot kitty-corner from it.  It held 4 of our cars, and someone else's truck. 

We had decided, between a destination of Fitchville or Greenwich, to ride to Greenwich for a total of about 25 miles.

The route had gently rolling hills, nothing very strenuous.  

If it hasn't been a bike club meeting night, and my need to return in time to prepare and print out the agenda, we might have gone to Fitchville instead for a slightly longer ride.

There was a slight crosswind and a chill in the air, but we were all dressed for the weather.  We crossed the Continental divide on this route.  All the rivers and streams flow north toward Lake Erie to the North, and everything south of here flows southward to the Ohio and  Mississippi rivers.   

Safety First

In September, my bike club travelled to Lake Ontario in Canada to do the Circle Tour again.   We visited Niagra Falls. 

We had a great time.   The organizer of the trip had done a great job planning.   

Unfortunately, on the first day, one of our members rode ahead, his phone died, he missed a turn for the first night's hotel, and he rode an extra 30 miles or so before teaching Lake Ontario, having a chain problem, and realizing he had ridden too far.  

I am a slow rider, so I would never do that.  If I rode an extra mile, I would know it.  

Those of us who had arrived at the hotel were counting heads, and when he was late arriving, we began to worry.  First we called his cell phone and it went to voice mail.   So we assumed the battery had died.   We waited a couple of hours and finally called his wife, on the theory that he might not have our phone numbers in his memory, but surely he would remember hers.  She had not heard from him.   As twilight approached, we were discussing our options for getting the Canadian authorities involved to organize a search party,  when he pulled up in a taxicab.  We were so relieved!

For future club rides we have established new policies.

1. All riders to have a "buddy" who will notify the ride leader if their partner goes missing.

2. Highly recommended for each rider to have a cell phone and to carry a charging cable and a battery bank capable of at least one full charge.

3. Highly recommended that each rider be capable of repairing a flat by installing a patch on a their tube, or fixing simple mechanical issues, and to carry the tools and supplies for that on their bike.

4. Hand out printed copies of contact information for the SAG driver and ride leader, as well as the route map, at the beginning of each day's ride. 

Hopefully these policies will avoid future problems!

Grand Tour of Ohio -Dublin

I finally made it to Dublin, Ohio, for the first time in my life.  It's only an hour away.   

I found out on Saturday that it was the home of the Muirfield Memorial PGA golf tournament.   My husband and I had driven down to scope out the tour I had planned for the Mid Ohio Bikers Tuesday Social Ride.  We got involved in a lot of traffic congestion.    Today I rode the route and traffic was much lighter!

I planned the ride starting from Avery Park, heading north in a general direction, and looping around Jerome before turning to the south.

Here's the plan:

 You can access it on Ride with GPS at this link.  But be aware, I have some corrections to make. 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47056226 

When parking at Avery Park, I noticed this large soccer ball skeleton.  It is just one example of art in public places in Dublin.   

After parking the car and getting the bike off the car, I used the restroom and noticed this solar-powered recycling bin next to the building.   We don't have those in our little hometown.

I started out and first passed the high school.  I have an error in my planned route right about there where two control points are reversed, so my GPS was telling me to make a u-turn.  But I knew I was supposed to continue along the path, so I kept going.  

Next big landmark was a winery.   It looked like I had been transported the Mediterranean.  

RidwithGPS said this trail was unpaved, but it definitely has asphalt on it.

Beautiful lake and waterfall on the winery property.

I skirted  through the East side of Glacier Ridge Metropark on my way north towards Jerome.  I saw lots of wildlife including several deer, rabbits, and birds.   Lots of lakes and ponds, as well as grasslands and an area where elm trees are being reintroduced, according to the signage.

In Jerome, I looped through a couple of quiet residential streets before getting back on the paved trail.  On the way back through the  Metropark, I decided to loop into the challenge area (which I had not planned to ride) , and  noticed a lot of kids in blue shirts on a field trip. 

lot of 

There was also a very tame bunny, unperturbed by my passing.  I saw another deer in this area, but it quickly jumped into the woods before I could grab my camera.

I looped through the Honda wetlands Nature Center and admired more wildlife from a distance 

Then returned to the path.  More art along the trail. An mural decorating a pedestrian tunnel.

Boat in a field.  This is one of Dublin's newest installations, and it appears to only be reachable by the "walking" path.   

Everywhere were these dry-stacked stone walls, I guess trying to make us feel like we're in Dublin, Ireland.

At one point the path was edged by formal hedges, making it feel like a maze.

I was admiring the gardens at the Indian Run Meadows park as I passed through.   There was a woman with a dog coming towards me.  A faster cyclist was coming behind me.  I spied a picnic table and thought it would be an ideal place to stop for a snack.   Well, with all this happening, as I slowed down and attempted to dismount, my foot got caught and I ended up falling.   I cracked my (helmeted) head  on the path.  The woman and the dog stopped to help me get up.  She weighed about a hundred pounds and she was trying to pull up on my arm at an awkward angle, so I reverted to downward dog position and crawled my way up.  It was nice of her to stop.  The other cyclist was long gone.   I sat and ate my snack and drank some water, then kept going 

I turned the wrong way and ran into a closed sidewalk.  A pedestrian stopped to chat with me and told me that the city of Dublin is really expanding, he thinks they will reach all the way to Plain City within a few years.  This street project is taking a year.  My GPS had routed me around it, but I guess I didn't believe it.  I turned around and continued through a few city streets before returning to the path 

I took a few more wrong turns on paths that crossed streets.  The cues were hard to understand as they would tell me to turn twice at one intersection, crossing two streets and getting on to a path, so I need to clean up the cue sheets.   

Including one wrong turn almost at the end of the ride, the cues said navigation was finished, but I had turned the wrong way.   

One thing I will say is that Dublin must have spent about a billion dollars in pavement.  There are paths everywhere!   

I rode most of the ride in Eco mode on my e-bike, and after riding over 20 miles I still have 76% battery left.   There were a few small hills but nothing very extreme.   Nothing like my ride yesterday from home to Malabar Farm!