Ride at Dawn

Bay County Railtrail, Hampton Twp, MI

Wheat Stubble

Great Lakes Bay Regional Trail - A Rail Trail in Progress

Bay County to Saginaw County Connection

Bridge over a Saginaw River tributary near Stony Island.

The Bay County to Saginaw County Connection, part of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Trail, starts from Bay City's west side along the Saginaw River toward Zilwaukee, or Saginaw County. The trail begins as an overgrown two track path instead of the expected abandoned railroad bed with an occasional railroad tie poking up through the dirt. Bushwhacking through the thick weeds, branches and mosquitos finally takes you to a river crossing over a refurbished trestle. After the trestle, the trail continues over freshly laid gravel and on to a second river crossing near Stony Island where the historic Skull Island Massacre took place just to the north.

The beginning. A rail trail?

The connection transforms through various stages.

Or a path?

Two track. And plenty of Stealth Camping opportunities...

Freshly laid and rolled stone. Progress.

Turns back to two track.

Wildlife abounds.

Approximately halfway through the connection the trail peters out. From here the trail is incomplete and I followed the alternate route - if the proposed rail trail along the river is not secured. Hopefully the alternate route won't be used since it is simply a utility road through a wildlife refuge. While riding on this straight two track I came upon two hunters who were sighting in a rifle along the path and I feared getting a stray bullet in the head...

Alternate route through Crow Island State Game Area.

The alternate route isn't very scenic - hopefully the connection will follow the rail line along the river. 

The connection ends near the Zilwaukee Bridge seen in the far distance.

What I Did on My Vacation

More Bike lane issues

Two days ago, December 9th, I received confirmation from The City of Bay City that they completed my request to clean the bike lanes which I submitted on, wait for it... November 13th.

So yesterday I decided to check up on this progress, since I use the bike lane four or five times a week, and saw what is seen in the top photo.

Bike Lane Issues

The Saginaw River separates my hometown of Bay City, Michigan and four draw bridges allow access to the east and west banks of that river. Problem is, only one of those bridges, Liberty Bridge, has a bike lane and the city has a very low priority of keeping those two lanes clear from snow, broken glass and all other sort of debris, despite the growing number of year-round cyclists.

Although the city has a webpage to report such issues within the community, it took exactly one week and three separate requests before the city responded to clean the bike lanes.

Overnight Bikepacking to Big Mud Lake

"Pics or it didn't happen" is a popular catchphrase these days. Well, that may or may not be the case, simply because I didn't make any new images after shooting much of the same route two years earlier.

Leaving U.S. Bicycle Route 20 (USBR 20) northward, I traveled about five miles over gravel roads to the Mud Lake rustic campground as a destination for an overnight bikepacking trip

Located on the wooded shore of Big Mud Lake in Clare County, the campground overlooks the 230 acre lake featuring eight camping sites, potable water from a hand-pumped well, vault toilets, and fire rings.

With roughly equal hours of day and night this time of the year, I forgot to plan on coping with a solid 12 hours of looong tent time. Don't get me wrong, I was plenty tired after carrying all of my gear 75-miles from home, but I wasn't 12 hours of sleeping tired if you get my drift. After arriving all I wanted to do was to hop off the saddle, eat and drink something, and walk around a bit to try and soothe the monkey butt before setting up camp.

Looking back, Mud Lake isn't a "destination" for a solo bikepacker in my opinion.  If I'd brought along some fishing gear I'd definitely try my luck for the bass, bluegill, crappie or northern pike. A boat would be a nice thing to have here. For other recreation there is the Green Pine Lake Pathway to consider, but after seven hours in the saddle, a nine-mile hike to Pike Lake probably ain't gonna happen. For these reasons I found little to do.

For a cyclist traveling USBR 20 from A to B, I think a better option may be to find a spot alongside the route and "wild camp." My visit took place after the summer's school vacation ended and before the deer hunting season began and I had the entire place to myself, so I can't comment on the campground's atmosphere during peak times. The water well is definitely a plus for the campground since the nearby towns are small and water and food not always available.

Highlights of the trip include near peak fall foliage, plentiful wildlife including deer, turkey, and howling coyotes at night. After straying from USBR 20 west of Clare (that's code for making a wrong turn after attempting a shortcut) I rode past a family of Amish girls playing a game of baseball in their front yard with a tennis racket instead of a bat while their parents watched from chairs behind "home plate" - it was a Sunday after all, so no work was to be done.

Chain Break

One of many broken plates.

Once again, winter takes its toll. After five inches of snow fell this weekend I rode down the unplowed backstreets that have three to four inches of packed snow instead of riding in the salted wet mess of the main streets. At the end of each day I took the bike down into the basement to hose off the salt and lube the bike's vulnerable parts. Then I noticed a broken chain link and figured no big deal since I'd just replace it with a Quick Link. While wiping down the rest of the chain about a half-dozen more links show similar damage.

Even though it was a real workout trying to pedal through that frozen oatmeal-like snow, I can't believe a chain couldn't handle the stress. I picked up the bike used for a song so who knows what the previous owner did.

Tomorrow, a new chain and a Quick Link.

Winter Takes its Toll

Each year the mixture of road salt and slush eats away at my beater.

Last Tuesday

Another gravel grinder in the Thumb. I had a bit of a lot of trouble with wind noise in the audio and will either try to attach some sort of wind filter to the camera body, or just put an audio track over it in the future. Or maybe do both.

Experimental Video

I'm weary of posting the same old bike in a landscape photo so here are a few videos.




They're just snippets and eventually I'll to learn how to tweak the audio as I fiddle with the video software.

My Favorite Time of Year

Despite the many signs of spring - birds and waterfowl returning to nest in the north, trees greening and blossoming, farmers preparing their fields - temperatures were still in the thirties when I left home Saturday morning for a 30-mile gravel ride in the Thumb. Had the winter riding gear on starting off and should have planned for the warmer afternoon temps, but that's okay, the extra layer helped sweat off a few of those added winter pounds.



It's still hard to believe that everything growing is about a month ahead of schedule, and I haven't heard anyone complaining about the early warmth. Shoot, I even enjoyed getting chased by a yapping little ankle-biter that tried to take a hunk outta me - must be the weather.

So it's all good for the next five months as we break into my favorite time of year. That said, Old Man Winter can kiss my lycra-clad butt good-bye!

Vernal Equinox and Vernal Pools

Ah, spring! Renewal, a fresh start! Leaving dirty ol' winter behind - I love it!

Not that we had much of a winter, but signs of spring are about a month ahead of schedule. This past week temperatures reached into the seventies each day and the forecast for today and tomorrow are in the eighties - no way this could be global warming.

So I decided to take advantage of these summer-like temps with a ride to Tobico Marsh. Pedaling along the 3.5-mile trail that crosses and skirts numerous vernal pools, I'd occasionally catch an earful of croaks and peeps - the mating call of Wood Frogs and Northern Spring Peepers.


Who knew frogs could make such a racket?

In the video you can see ripples made from the frogs croaking and searching for a mate. I wasn't able to get close for video so I used a long lens to capture a solitary Wood Frog.

South End Rail Trail

A friendly reminder and not too subtle warning to hooligans using the rail trail.

The Winter that Wasn't

Just had to get out today and take advantage of the 50˚ temperature in January. That's right, January, as in winter. We've had a few flurries here and there, and I've even shoveled snow once after one or two inches fell in December.

Don't get me wrong, I ain't complaining.

Trash Talk

I see quite a bit of trash during my rides I'm sorry to say.

Discarded lottery tickets, furniture, cigarette butts, plastic water bottles, refundable beer and pop cans - you name it.

So much junk in fact, it makes me wonder what people are thinking.

But yesterday, while heading to the store to turn in a few cans and pick up some groceries, I spot an empty beer can in the ditch. What the hey, another ten cents in my pocket, so I set the bike down and add the can to my collection. As I hop back on my ride a motorist slows to a stop. Usually when this happens it's someone asking for directions.

A smiling woman asks if I'm picking up trash. And she wants to give me a candy bar for being a good citizen.

Somewhat embarrassed, I thank her and decline the candy bar explaining I'm just heading to the store. She smiles and waves while pulling away.

Sometimes you meet the nicest people out on the road.

Indian Summer Gravel Ride

Got out for one more gravel ride in the Thumb as temps hit the low 60's. The snow will fly soon and we probably won't see weather like this for another five months, so this post is a lil' something to help get me through the cold winter...

Pere Marquette State Trail - West from Clare

I picked the perfect autumn day for a color tour on the Pere Marquette State Trail west from Clare. While the course is not yet complete and the pavement ends at Baldwin, the portion I rode was awesome.

Corn Ride

Three counties, five hours, much gravel, and only three cars.

A Shortcut?

The other day I found a potential shortcut.

With the help of an online satellite I spot a road that doesn't exist, despite knowing where the road supposedly ends. Or does it? Zooming in displays a path I'm not familiar with, so I just have to go see for myself.



After finding an open gate and no "NO TRESPASSING" signs, the first thing I notice is a lot of spent shotgun shells. The last thing I want to do is surprise some gun-totin' dude who's tending to his patch. I also know this is a popular hunting site, and I didn't hear any banjos playing so I relax. The only things I manage to spook are a deer, a fox, and a few turkeys along the two-mile route. It's hard to believe that this is considered a road since it's barely a path in a few areas.

As it turns out this is a legit route, so to speak. There are a few deer blinds along the way but mostly this is simply an access to farmers' fields. Not sure if it's legal, but hey, it beats riding beside a state highway.