Memoirous

  Leelanau Trail and Old Mission Peninsula (east arm of Traverse Bay) Tuesday September 10, 2024, 60 miles (97 km) - Total so far: 99 miles (159 km) I did A LOT of riding today and am seriously tired. I haven't done this many daily miles in about 3 months, plus temps climbed to 84 this afternoon. All this to say I did a killer couple of rides in one day. First, I started at 8:30 again at the BATA station taking the route 10 bus up to Sutton's Bay. I quickly got sorted to a public restroom, a trail map, and the actual start of the trail. It was a relaxing, event free 17 miles. Very pastoral, no big climbs, but also no views of the bay. You had no idea you were on a peninsula surrounded by water. It was mostly orchards, honeybee meadows, and forest. I certainly didn't overheat with so much nice shade. Then I made my way through Traverse City. The waterfront street and accompanying bike trail are torn up due to construction. So I had to follow detour signs and use a combinati...

We’re about to turn a page in the calendar—August to September—which always leaves me wondering: Did I do enough? Did I wring enough summer out of summer? They’re already offering pumpkin lattes at the coffee shop. I’m seeing candy corn in the candy aisle. Despite the fact that meteorological summer is not over, for all other purposes, we’re moving on. In two weeks I will make a trip to Sleeping Bear dunes, something I’ve wanted to do even before moving to Michigan. When in Chicago we used to visit Indiana Dunes (now designated a national lakeshore) frequently. I loved climbing the steep hills of sand and hiking the trails that wandered between woods, scrub oak and sand, and then disappeared into the dunes. Sleeping Bear was a destination for me, but seemed out of reach either because of work schedules, the fact that it is an expensive area for accommodation etc, and getting there. I’ve worked out some of these difficulties. Indian Trails bus can take me and my bike all the way...