Bike Paradise

Day 113, July 23, 2011, Bike Paradise

Route from campground to Mackinaw Island via Rocket and Ferry

0 miles, averaging mph

Worst Moment – Today was so nearly perfect the only thing that caused any anxiety at all was the thought that tomorrow I have to ride nearly 110 miles and there’s a 50% chance of thundershowers. (But there’s only a 50% chance and it isn’t all day.)

Best Moment – I’d called the Mackinaw Bridge Authority to find out more about crossing the bridge for tomorrow.  All I have to do is to call them when I get to Audie’s Restaurant, and they will pick me, and my bicycle up and take me across the bridge for $2. 

Since I wasn’t sure where Audie’s was, I suggested that we go there for dinner and checked them out – online.  The menu looked okay and they had lasagna. We went there and had one of the most enjoyable dinners out of the trip.  The food, the ambiance, the server, the wine, the dessert, everything was great.  And their strawberry rhubarb pie was as good as mom’s used to be. 

Audie’s has three different restaurants all in one place.  There is a banquet room, (where a wedding reception was taking place); a family dining room, (where much of the same food was served but with paper rather than linen napkins); and the Chippewa Room (where we were – a little higher end and perfect pacing with linen napkins and table clothes.)

Today we took the ferry to Mackinaw Island.  It takes about 30 minutes to cross Lake Huron to the island.  There is no motorized traffic on the island.  Everything has to go by bicycle, foot, or either horse or horse drawn.  THIS IS A BICYLIST’S PARADISE!!!

Walking up and down Main Street made me feel like I was in a different country, or a different century for sure.  There were no cars.  The taxies were horse drawn, the garbage trucks were horse drawn and the tour busses were horse drawn carriages.  And there were bikes everywhere of every kind.  Even the hotel bellhops had to use bikes or carts (either push or horse drawn) to claim guests’ luggage from the ferry dock to take to the hotel.

Of course there were fudge shops at every other store.  We found out later that tourists here are called “Fudgies,” since they come for a visit and buy fudge.  We bought some too – a slice of coconut fudge that tastes like a Mounds Bar and a half slice Snickers fudge that Neita got.  We’re Fudgies!

We took a horse-drawn carriage tour of the island.  We went past the Grand Hotel, where in the evening men are still required to wear a coat and tie and there is dancing on the balcony.  It looked like an amazingly elegant place to stay at.  During the day, there is a $10 charge to go into the hotel unless you are a guest (and probably pay a whole lot more.)  We also got to see Main Street and some of the historic buildings of the town.  There is actually a school on the island and some brave folks live there year round.  The graduating class this year was 6. 

The first half of the tour ended at a carriage museum and butterfly exhibit.  We didn’t get the tickets for the butterfly exhibit, but walked through the carriage museum. While they do now have modern fire engines on the island, they still use a horse drawn hearse.

We also went past Fort Mackinaw, Arch Rock and through much of the state park.  There was lots of bicycle traffic and lots of folks struggling on some of the hills.  (There were some folks struggling with bicycles on Main Street, which is flat.)  Through the arch, you can see the road 400 feet below along the coast with bicycles. That looked like an amazing ride, but will have to wait for a return trip.

  

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.