Greetings all,
This is a note about our ride to County Clare during the Memorial Day Weekend (I know it's a bit late but...)
I had been checking the weather predictions during the preceeding week and most areas of Michigan looked to have cool and wet weather, except for mid-state. So we rolled the dice and decided to go to Harrison in Clare County.
We rode up US-127, not a great ride for scenery but quick and not too bad if you like rolling hills and pastoral farms scenes. The weather was cool and damp but as we rode north we could see the break in the clouds. Once north of Lansing the sky cleared and 'Ol Sol came out to greet us.
Once we arrived in Harrison, we checked into the Acorn Motel (45 per night for Janet and me). It's a nice clean place owned and operated by a nice little old lady who has a lot of knowledge of the area. We stayed here all three nights.
We spent the next 2 1/2 days riding around that part of central Michigan, riding routes M61, M115, and M55 through Cadillac, Lake City, Houghton Lake and on back to Harrison. All we very pretty rides and on good roads, M115 especially was very scenic. There are many lakes in this part of our state, especially Houghton, Lake Cadillac, Lake Mitchell, Lake Missaukee, etc. All are quite large and each area is a nice drive.
We have stayed in Harrison before and have always enjoyed the area.
I especially like Harrison because it is reletively inexpensive for food and lodging and is central to visiting other areas. Lakes Michigan or Huron are within 90 minutes, Traverse City or Mackinaw Bridge area is only about 2 hours away and we can get from Ann Arbor to Harrison in less than 3 hours. A bonus for us was gas prices in central MI were about 20 cents less per gallon than in Ann Arbor.
We had a great and easy-going trip, met a few other bikers and, with the exception of a bit 'o rain Saturday evening, stayed comfortable and dry all weekend.
So....KZer's and lesser bikers in the Great Lakes area take note. This is a reletively easy ride on good roads and is a fairly cheap mini-vacation.
Dave and Janet
