Bay City, MI to Fish Lake Rd (North Branch, MI); 73 miles, 5-8 NE, sunny, 70-80’s
Some days are routine meaning you ride the route according to the directions in a reasonable amount of time without any impediments. Fortunately most days are routine. In Bay City the route followed a bike path along the river. Until it ended at an intersection with no signage. My dead reckoning took over (works two out of three times) and I found the trail after navigating city streets. Then the trail was fenced off due to the tall ships festival underway. It apparently has a pirate theme. Repeat the process of re-finding the trail. Then it was closed due to high water in the river, so more route finding. But once I cleared Bay City things were back on track. We passed through Frankenmuth, MI. It is a tourist town known for Bavarian traditions. The route passed through a covered bridge, the second of the trip. And then east of town, the road was closed with no detour marked. Google Map provided guidance on a reasonable detour that only added a couple of miles to the trip. The remainder of the ride was routine on county roads and two more nice rail trails. The storms of yesterday knocked out power that has not been restored in some of the towns we passed through. The trails had a lot of tree debris on them. Day’s like today are all part of the adventure of course, so not complaining, just reporting.
