Riding on the Great loop of Michigan

Morning broke bright and sunny. Jane was giddy with excitement and ready to ride. This was her first bike run and she was hooked.

We showered up and loaded our bags on the bike still not sure of our destination. After everything was lashed down we pulled out the map and decided to shoot across the state to Lake Michigan.

We were thinking about getting a cabin in Cross Village and partying at the Leggs Inn. This was just an idea and not a must do.

We jumped on Rt-68 and rolled west. We quickly came across a town with a bunch of really cool metal sculptures along the way stretching for miles in and out of town. They were so cool we had to stop and play tourist for at least one picture.

Our travels took us through Indian River at the bottom of Burt Lake. It had been years since I partied in that town. I used to spend the summers on Burt Lake and it was my first time to Indian River by road rather than boat.

Indian River is nestled on the river connecting Burt Lake and Mullet Lake along the Inland Waterway of Michigan. Burt Lake is 14 miles long, 5 miles wide and 140 ft deep. It is ice cold all year round and crystal clear.

We stopped at an old hangout of mine on the river. The Inn Between had been remodeled in the many years of my absence. It is a great place to relax and watch the boats and water flow by from the balcony or deck.

We had breakfast and the crew there were friendly and kept us laughing. We headed out before we got too comfortable promising ourselves we would be back again one day.

We rolled further west until we hit the big water of Lake Michigan. The air cooled off near the water and the lake smelled good. This put us on M-31 and back on the Great Loop Route that runs along the coast of the state from Ohio to Illinois.

We took our next butt break in Elk Rapids at a great little place called The Town Club. We grabbed a nice little table in the corner in front of a big round window and settled in for a lazy lunch and a couple of ice cold beers.

From there we ran the coast south to Traverse City and the Leelanau Peninsula. The peninsula stretches north into the Traverse Bay. It's a beautiful piece of land filled with winding roads and wineries.

We took several breaks as we worked our way to the northern tip. We munched on some snacks we had packed and enjoyed the awesome Maine like scenery.

Eventually we made it to the top and started down the backside heading south again.

This stretch of road is incredible. The pavement is smooth (a treat in this state) and the rolling hills provide miles of big long sweeping turns.

I think it is some of the best riding that I can remember in Michigan. High speed corners and great hills made for an exciting ride. The traffic was nonexistent and the road was all ours.

We came across a small hamlet as we came down out of the hills. We found a small ice cream shop on the banks of a lively stream. This was cause for yet another break to absorb the local beauty.

I checked the GPS and the map and decided Frankfort would be our best bet for a room before dark. We wiped the ice cream off our chins and roared off to find our day's destination.

We worked our way over to the Lake Michigan shoreline and quickly found Frankfort. The marina was like a postcard and was full of big ass yachts.

We checked out the small business strip and made note of a few restaurants that looked good. But first we wanted to nail down a place to stay. As we rode a few blocks away a small place caught my eye and we turned around.

It was a small quaint place that was so cool I knew it would be over priced and full. It was the Bay Port Lodge. It was so cute that Jane couldn't stop making cooing sounds as we rode up the driveway...

We found the office and I sent her in to scope it out and find out how much the rooms were.

The rooms were listed on a sheet of paper and the keys were in a basket! Take a key and cross the room off the list the small sign read.

It was a self-serve honor system with the prices listed on the wall. It even met my $50 limit much to my surprise. The owner LuAnn, whose house is right there came by later to collect her monies. She's a happy bubbly person whose energy brightens the room around her.

The room was great! Small, romantic and had chairs under the overhang of the porch to lounge on. The rooms even have hammocks under the trees of the shaded lawn that was so perfect I couldn't stop raving about how cool it was.

We rode the three blocks to the grocery store and picked up some vodka and cranberry juice along with a nice bottle of wine for the evening.

Once settled in and stocked up we headed to the strip and had a great BBQ chicken dinner at Dingy's Restaurant & bar.

We retired to the lodge were we celebrated Jane's birthday in style. Vodka and juice watching the sunset in the hammock!! I think I even saw a tear of joy at one point in her eyes...

The next morning came early and we repacked the bike for our ride home. We had to boogie across the state to Jane's sister's house for a family shindig.

We found breakfast at a small town's no name diner that was packed with the church crowd and later did lunch in Lake City at a cool road house called the Hollywood bar.

The ride home was great cutting across the state on two lane back roads and sneaking through the one stoplight towns and endless corn fields.

We rolled into East Tawas in the afternoon right on time for a crazy day with the eccentrics that make up Jane's family.

It was a great break-in ride that we will never forget. Jane couldn't stop giggling for no apparent reason for days...