The Big, Beautiful Summer Car Trip

The summer road trip is an opportunity for us to get out of Hotlanta and ride in some cooler temps. The last few years we have tried to schedule it so that we end up at the Midwest Tandem Rally, which is traditionally over the Labor Day weekend. We spent the past week in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan, the cherry capital of the world.  Sadly, we missed cherry season, but there are still plenty of cherry pies, turnovers and every other imaginable cherry flavored or themed product available for us. We picked up jam, bbq sauce, salsa and whiskey, just to name a few.

Cherry turnover on the left, Birthday Cherry Pie (for Eric) on the right.

Our forever tandem friends Linda and Eric are summering in the cherry capital for their second year (and they DID come for the official season this time).

On the shore of Traverse Bay with Eric and Linda

L and E introduced us to the Cherry City Cycling Club (CCCC) and some really lovely routes.

We had six full days in TC and we had five bike rides. The non-riding day featured a visit to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  We just love using the Senior National Park Pass!

Our first and last rides were shortened by rain and on the day we weren’t expecting any rain, we got soaked about halfway through, but the sun/wind dried us on the return loop.

On our first day we had a delayed start while we waited for the streets to dry.
It was a gray day for our short ride on the TART (Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation) trail.

Our  second ride was probably the best one of the week! It was a glorious day with great friends, a scenic lighthouse, lavender ice cream, and a tailwind to finish. Then we lunched at one of the (over a dozen) breweries in town.

Beautiful skies along the water.
The lighthouse is in the background.
It looks like a small church, but it’s an adorable (no longer used) lighthouse.
The lavender had all been harvested, and was drying in bunches.
The ice cream was yummy, and those pink spoons turned purple in the cold!
Thanks to Linda for this pic of us just enjoying a magnificent day!
Pints from North Peak Brewery. The hits keep on coming.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is the national park you didn’t know you needed to see! For our day off the bike we went sight seeing and did a steep hike up an amazing dune.

This is part of the giant dune we climbed for a view of Lake Michigan. It was a sand-in-your-shoes, 500-foot climb that averaged 10%. Pro tip: step in someone else’s footprints.
In the background you can see a glimpse of the lake, we turned back for the climb down after this pic.

The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive took us to a steep bluff which towers 450 feet above the lake and provides incredible views.

It was actually scary steep, I kept my distance!
On a clear day, you can see forever!

We were lucky enough to share a second ride with Linda and Eric. We rode on the Leelanau Trail which took us to a bakery for our rest stop – did someone say DONUTS?

Linda got this shot of us and the sunflowers!
We enjoyed the flowers along the trail

 

Muffins, a donut, and a cherry turnover fueled our return ride from Sutton’s Bay.

Toasting Eric’s Birthday with beer.
And then celebrating with (cherry) pie!

On a gorgeous day with no rain on the radar, we headed out on our next ride. It was a beautiful route that featured many fruit orchards, an adorable bakery called The Flour Pot and a downpour of rain just as we arrived at our turn-around spot. We were in porta-potties for the heaviest rain – go figure.

Apples! There were also pear groves and naked cherry trees!
We rode into rain.
After the downpour the sky was interesting, but unfortunately, no rainbow 🌈 for us!

On our final ride we dodged more rain, got caught in some, and enjoyed some terrific views of the bay.

It was a chilly ride start.
Rode into rain again, and turned around!
Happier clouds and views of the bay.
These beautifully landscaped areas replace bollards at intersections on some of the trails.

We capped off the week with a lunch that added Sherry and Jose to our group for one day of overlap. It’s the second time this year that we have visited with the Rodriguezes out of state, while we live only 80 miles away from them in Georgia!

Six friends in Traverse City! Thanks to Linda for this picture.
The beers at The Filling Station Microbrewery were the best of the week!

I cannot end this post without mentioning that our condo in downtown Traverse City was around the corner from a soft-serve ice cream shop.

Open 12-11, seven days a week, rain or shine!
I had the thin mint flurrie and Roger had the TC cherry crunch sundae.

Next up, our visit to Indianapolis to ride and see the Indiana Fever.

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3 thoughts on “The Big, Beautiful Summer Car Trip”

  3. Wow! Fabulous pictures! Looks like it was so much fun except for the rain, but you were good sports about that. So beautiful!

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