26-Manistee-Glen Arbor

64.2 miles/ +2483.0 ft./ Total miles 1,208.7. Flat tire: 1

Today I rode along the Lake Michigan shoreline (although I rarely saw the lake) and also along various other lakes just inland. The “flat” Michigan has now disappeared. I had one big hill to climb between Onekama and Arcadia, and lots of rollers almost everywhere else. I never got more than a few hundred feet above lake level, but I had to do it many times!

Swans on Portage Lake at Onekama:

After Frankfort, I entered the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The road is on the inland side of the dunes, so I saw them only at the “Dune Climb” near Glen Arbor. (I had had enough climbing by then, so declined the opportunity to climb the dunes.)

The weather has continued to be favorable (70s). I hope it will continue for the next few days. Tomorrow I head to Traverse City.  

Flat tire today in Frankfort. I had stopped at the grocery store, and when I parked the bike, the rear tire looked a little soft. By the time I returned, it was definitely flat. I had a shady spot next to the bags of fertilizer and compost, which made a good work order, and in short order I was on my way.