Fresh blue sky awaited my after breakfast departure from Howell and offered one of the most pleasant riding days of the trip. With just a little wind and mildly-cool temperatures, the weather was jacket-perfect. Pleasure riding at its finest.
Never having been in Michigan, my assumption had been a state seething in industrial cities, such as Detroit 55 miles to my east. Instead, I rode through a rural landscape between small towns and, farther north, deciduous forests hinted to what must be spectacular fall color. Michigan is beautiful.
My backroads quest led along various country roads, most bearing the familiar snake-shaped patching, America's apparent remedy for its deteriorating roadways. Last night's rain left behind roadside puddles, and bog-saturated pastures stretched between red barns that mark numerous farms between small communities that came and went. Towns large enough to make the map are Byron, Cohoctah and Durrand. Ahead are two larger towns, Corunna and Owosso, where tall brick buildings of a bygone era comprise their business districts.
As much as I prefer backroad travel, I eventually realized it was taking forever to make a dent in today's 300-mile itinerary. I wanted to take advantage of today's calm weather and cross the Mackinac Bridge, a five-mile span between the Great Lakes of Michigan and Huron, which abounds in weather-related horror stories. Fog and wind are said to be obstacles best to avoid and can come and go with little warning. Who knows what tomorrow holds. Best to get across today.
And so, at the town of Freeland, I merged onto Highway 10, a fast four-lane leading west to Interstate 75 where I was soon melting away the miles at 75 mph. Not a good time to see roadside wildlife. I was startled more than once by deer standing at the edge of trees, their reddish coats contrasting with the green. As long as they stayed near the trees and not between my handlebars, life was good. I even saw a wild turkey. Apart from a road-crossing turtle in Florida, today revealed the only wildlife I've seen on this trip. I'm not sure if "road-kill" counts but today I dodged a flattened skunk, a porcupine and a high-velocity kill that was unidentifiable. Amazingly, none of these observations were captured on video. Though I did have the camera rolling when I saw the turkey, the wide-angled view presents objects farther away and thus not discernible.
I had always imagined Michigan flat with low elevation but was soon educated by the constant display on the GPS. I started this morning at 700-feet and a gradually rose to 1300 farther north. A lot of the country along I-75 is 1200-feet. I noticed it slowly descend to the 600 and 700 range by the time I reached the Mackinac Bridge. I wouldn't have noticed the change on my own.
I talked to some "local" bikers in a rest area who'd been across the Mackinac Bridge several times. One told his story of crossing the bridge in a storm, with lightening striking both ends. It was a hair-raising experience he never wants to relive. Another time construction forced him to ride in the “grated” lane where motorcycle traction is not a sure thing. Stay away from that stuff, he warned.
As it turned out, the bridge crossing was just long and slow. Traffic and construction forced a speed less than the posted 45 and though I thought I'd be able to avoid it, cones forced me onto the steel grating due to a significant length of the right lane being "closed ahead". It was a little wobbly but not bad. I'm just glad it wasn't wet and slippery.
I finally reached the toll booth, paid my $4 fee and advanced to the St Ignace exit where I made the momentous "left turn" and took the GPS's advice on lodging at the Quality Inn on Highway 2. From this point on, every mile will put me closer to home.
Today's ride is seen in the 3-part video below.
Howell To St Charles, Michigan
St Charles, Michigan To Interstate 75
Crossing The Mackinac Bridge
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Internet Download of The Mackinac Bridge
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| Howell To St Ignace, Michigan (304 Miles) |
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| Five Mile Long Mackinac Bridge |
4 comments:
As usual great ride I enjoyed it. The music selections were right on. What fun.
Great video.
Superb as usual. I liked all the music, but especially in the third segment. Wow!
I'm so glad I was able to actually ride a teeny portion of the trip with you - and so glad you have done the work that lets us ride much of it with you vicariously. It's getting my throttle hand pretty itchy.
Thanks for a nice trip across the Mackinac Bridge (sp?) Nice day for it Glen and it's probably the closest I'll ever come to it.
Mike Koffler
Subic Bay Philippines
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