Lake Michigan Tour Day 11: Mackinaw City to Charlevoix, MI - Younger on Two Wheels 2022: Lake Michigan - CycleBlaze

June 29, 2022

Lake Michigan Tour Day 11: Mackinaw City to Charlevoix, MI


Today dawned sunny, crisp and cool in the mid-50s. After a mediocre hotel breakfast (the same one at thousands of hotels around the US – why are they all the same?) I headed out. The first few miles were on a local trail that was cool and quiet.

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Then I was on a road that seemed to dead-end in the lake – I was back at Lake Michigan, after being on Lake Huron all yesterday.

The next 25 miles ended up being on country roads as my route took me inland. There were a few large hills that I had to grind up, but also some long downhills that took me up to almost 38mph!

It took me a while to figure out why my speed was so low – it was the roads. The whole first part of the day was on terrible roads with potholes, broken pavement, and just a lot of bumps. It’s hard to maintain your speed on an uneven surface.

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The earlier part of this road took me past some wetlands, where egrets and geese were swimming. Very peaceful!

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I think this is Beaver Island to the east of where I was.

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The lake views kept coming once I got back to the shoreline.

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Just north of Petoskey, I hit a series of lakefront trails that would take me all the way to Charlevoix. There were a lot of starts and stops because the trails and maps didn’t line up exactly the same, so it took a bit to figure out where I was at times, but it was better than being on the highway.

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As I approached Charlevoix, this wooden trail appeared. It was over a mile long! I just kept thinking about how much work it took to build.

I reached Charlevoix near 3pm and checked into my B&B.

Charlevoix has a nice downtown, marred by having US-31 run right through it, ensuring a nonstop din of traffic and truck noise. It has a nice harbor with a lot of fancy boats, and I found a local pub with a view of the harbor for dinner.

Best song today: Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin.

Stats: 56.1 miles, 2162 vertical feet, and a 12.9mph average (bad pavement!)

Tomorrow I keep heading south and a bit west to get to Traverse City.

Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 670 miles (1,078 km)

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