On Saturday I rode from Grand Rapids up to ... a spot about halfway between Manistee and Cadillac, on the Manistee River. About 150 miles. I camped at a little roadside USFS campground that doubles as an access point for the river. While there, my scooter caught the eye of a young man who was there with a friend, doing some hiking. We chatted a little about my scooter and what it was capable of, how much it costs, etc. He was seriously interested, and I stressed the importance of getting a good one, not a cheap chinascoot. Sale made.
I spent Sunday and Monday hiking up a section of the North Country Trail, then back down the Manistee River Trail on the other side of the river. Scooterless activities took place. I missed having the scooter. Especially to charge my phone.
When I got back to the scooter on Monday afternoon, I rode up to Interlochen State Park, where I spent the night. Tuesday morning, I set out for the Old Mission Peninsula, which I'd skipped on my ride through the area 4 years ago because I tipped over my scoot and broke the brake lever, and had to go get it fixed instead. Old Mission was a nice ride, with lots of cherry bushes, blueberry vines, and grape trees to be seen. At one scenic spot another couple stopped and we talked about my scooter. The wife seemed really interested in getting one. Second sale made.
From there I set out on M-22, taking in part of the Leelanau Peninsula, and largely backtracking the route I'd taken on my way up the Lake Michigan coast in 2009. I stopped at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and did the usual tourist sightseeing (at least what I could fit into an hour or so). I continued south to Frankfort, where I'd had the brake lever fixed. I'll post details of that stop in a separate thread.
I spent the night at a state park just north of Manistee. When I woke up, there was a couple lines of rain coming on weather radar, big enough to spread from where I was to where I was going. But I timed it just right, taking the lakeshore route to slip in behind the first line of rain, and getting through ahead of most of the rain (just sprinkling the last hour).
Not as ambitious as some of my previous rides, but satisfying. And I learned some things that will come in handy in figuring out the ride-and-hike trip I'm planning for the western UP next month. I hope.
But today they're saying those days will just be partly cloudy, with a 30% chance of rain one night. Like I said: torture.
