Mackinac Island

Thursday 6/7 Day 48
I got up early this morning and made some oats for breakfast on the beach. I saw the sunrise, so it was cool to see the sun set and rise in the same location. As i ate I took in the calming sound of the lake moving in. At this point I could also see the upper part of Michigan, just bellow the UP. After a relaxing start to the day I packed up and hit the road. It was also great that no one kicked me off the beach because it was such a great view and so peaceful without anyone else there. 

Bedroom view

Today's goal was to go to Mackinac island, tour around there then finish up at a warm showers location in northern Michigan. The first 40 miles of my ride today was breath taking. All coast riding with sandy beaches and light blue water with light houses here and there to look at. I stopped a few times and enjoyed the view and enjoyed the water.

Light house

Connecting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the mainland of Michigan is the Mackinac bridge, which bikes are not allowed to cross. If on a bike there are two options. One is to go on the ferry to Mackinac Island, from St Ignace, to Mackinac City.  The other is to get a van to transport you across the bridge. I will be going by ferry today from St. Ignace. Coming into St. Ignace I had a little bit of time before my ferry so I stopped at Big Boy restaurant. I don't recall ever seeing these except for in the movie Austin Powers, so I was excited to get a picture in front of the big boy with my bike and eat there. There was nothing special about the food there, just the statue outside the building.

Rush Hour on the island

The boat ride over to Mackinac Island took about 20 minutes and it was great because it gave great views of the harbor, and the hotel on the island. I forget the name of the hotel but it is the largest wooden structure in the world. It looks like something out of the Civil War. Once on the island it was as if I stepped out into a time warp. The island has no cars on it, the only forms of transportation are walking, horses, or bikes! So as i road through the streets weaving in and out of horse carriages and other bikers it reminded me of what some countries do everyday.
While on the island I took the chance to ride up to the highest point, ride on some of the back roads, and take the highway all the way around the island. The highway was about eight miles and it had perfect overlooks on the mainland in Canada and the USA. Oh and while I was there I still had all of my gear with me and I had so many people ask me if I was going to hide away somewhere and camp on the island...Who would ever do that, that is just stupid. Just kidding I would have probably done that if there were not so many signs around saying don't do it. But I was on the island for a good deal of time. I did not go into the fort or the hotel because each one was another 10$ and there was enough for me to see while riding around.  So in the evening I headed to the mainland of Michigan where Mackinac City was.
Once there I asked the dock workers where the rails to trails path was to head south. They told me and I found it.  It was a great path, for one reason.  There were no hills! It was like 1% grade up and down. The downside was that it was a dirt path so it was a bit harder to control my bike on. But I managed. One thing I did notice about 15miles into riding was that I was going south east when I needed to be going straight south. I ended up getting on the wrong rails to trails path and headed down the east coast of Michigan. So I had a few extra miles today getting back on path but I managed.
My destination was a warm showers place tonight. I was excited because the hosts let me stay in there place and they were not going to be there. I was excited because I could have the comforts of home and still decompress by myself! I did have one companion, their cat Libby who ended up cuddling with me during the night.
Oh if you don't know what Rails to Trails programs are I'll tell you. It is where groups convert old abandon railroad tracks to bike paths. This idea is popping up all over the USA creating many paths for bikers.