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Thinking about mountains

01.13.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

Back in Austin after six days in the San Francisco area. We were blessed with unseasonably warm weather for January, and were able to get around with just a light jacket or even no jacket at all. There was only one problem: no biking!

It was purely a family visit. We took Mrs. Noob’s mother out there for her 80th birthday, since it’s where she was born and raised, and where Mrs. Noob was born and mostly raised. We spent a lot of time with relatives, but did little sightseeing, and no biking!

That no biking thing really hit home when we went to a family gathering at the home of Mrs. Noob’s cousin and her husband. Their house in Danville, in the East Bay area, backs up to undeveloped land with a view of Mt. Diablo.

diabloMt. Diablo in the distance, seen from the swimming pool behind the house.

I’ve been reading about Mt. Diablo in biking blogs and biking forums for over a year now, and it’s really got me thinking about doing some biking on something more than just hills. The fact that one of Mrs. Noob’s other cousins is training for a triathlon, and he and I talked biking nonstop for much of the afternoon, just whetted that appetite even more.

So you California bikers, keep climbing Mt. Diablo. I’ll do my best on the hills in this area, but I’ll always be thinking about what it must be like to climb an actual mountain on two wheels.  I don’t know when I’ll get out that way again, but the next time I come, you can bet that biking will be on the agenda.

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Categories // Travel Tags // California, climbing

The island of horses and bikes

08.15.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

From time to time, I just get fed up with riding on roads with heavy motor vehicle traffic. Wouldn’t it be great to have a nice chunk of acreage all to ourselves?

On our recent vacation to northern Michigan, we got to experience what that might be like. We took a short side trip to Mackinac Island.

Mackinac (pronounced Mack-ih-naw) Island sits in the Straits of Mackinac, between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas. It was strategically important during colonial times, and was fought over during the War of 1812. But now, it’s a quiet resort, a “theme park for adults” some call it, but not in the sense that Las Vegas is a theme park for adults. Mackinac is much more sedate.

A short ferry ride gets you to to the island. There’s no bridge from the mainland.

The main reason for that placid atmosphere is that motor vehicles are banned from the island. If you want to get around, you ride a bike or use a horse-drawn vehicle. That fact of life makes for scenes that aren’t common in the rest of the country.

Getting around on Mackinac Island — bikes, horse drawn wagons, and foot power.

Pat and I stayed with our friends Brad and Linda at the Grand Hotel, built in 1887. Maroon coaches with liveried drivers carry guests from the ferry docks up to the hotel.

The Grand Hotel. Men are required to wear jackets and ties for cocktails and dinner.

Don’t want to walk? Take a taxi.

Rental bikes are available at a number of places near the ferry docks. The bikes are nothing special — lots of beach cruisers and six-or-seven speed hybrids. I think we saw two road bikes the whole time we were there.

Bike parking lot.

With no motorized traffic, bikes handle a lot of heavy work duties.

We didn’t do any biking on the island. We were there for only 24 hours, and with cocktails, dinner and dancing in the evening, and golf the next morning, we had no time for anything else (The hotel’s golf course has two nines on different parts of the island. A horse drawn shuttle takes you between the two nines).

The island’s main street. Bike traffic was surprisingly light when we walked along here.

If there’s a down side to spending time on Mackinac Island, it’s that some people on bikes are people who don’t ride much otherwise. So they ride with no attention to rules of the road, and little consideration for pedestrians. Many of them show off their lack of biking skills by weaving back and forth, and struggling to keep their balance. But they’re a minority, and the alert pedestrian can see those kinds of riders in plenty of time to move to a sidewalk.

It’s a charming place, with fudge shops every few steps, a Revolutionary War-era fort with period weapons displays during the day, and always, a pleasant breeze off Lake Huron. Members of the slow biking movement will feel right at home here.

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Categories // Travel Tags // car free, Travel

Biking the Old Mission Peninsula

08.11.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 9 Comments

Well, we’re back. A beautiful, breezy 62°F (16°C) when we left Traverse City, Michigan this morning. A face-slapping 100 (38°C) when we touched down in Austin this afternoon. And it appears the air conditioning is on the fritz at home — indoor temp was 85 (29°C), and we’ll be in for an uncomfortable night.

But what a great week we had. We met our friends Brad and Linda, whom we biked with in Chicago several weeks back, and stayed at Linda’s sister’s farm on the Old Mission peninsula of northwestern Michigan.

The red A marks the spot on both maps.
The red A marks the spot on both maps.

The setting is spectacular. The peninsula juts into Grand Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan for about 18 miles. It’s narrow, and from many spots you can see both the West Arm and East Arm of the bay at the same time. A great biking destination.

Just a few miles from the farm is the Old Mission Lighthouse. The ride allowed us to get used to the bikes we had rented and were riding for the first time (more on renting bikes in a later post). Although now out of commission, there is still something romantic about a lighthouse.

Mrs. and Mr. Noob.
Mrs. and Mr. Noob.

We took several rides on the peninsula during our stay, each one covering a slightly different route. The center of the peninsula is high ground, which means riders have plenty of hills to negotiate. The area around Grand Traverse Bay is known for cherry orchards. Grapes grow well, too, and a number of wineries have sprung up in the area.

A cherry orchard.  Look close to see the cherries.
A cherry orchard. Look close to see the cherries.

Despite the name Old Mission, the missionary activity in the area is fairly recent. It was not until 1839 that a Presbyterian minister came to the area to convert Ottawa Indians. A replica of the mission stands across the road from the farm where we stayed.

The old mission was a rude log structure.
The old mission was a rude log structure.

Three roads run up the peninsula. Center Road, the major highway, has the high ground in the middle. Peninsula Road hugs the shoreline on the west side, and Bluff Road runs along much of the east side. A number of connecting roads cross the peninsula, allowing bikers to create routes of varying distances.

Brad and I took off one morning to ride to Traverse City and back. We opted to head south on Peninsula Road, spend a little time in town, and head back on Bluff road. The toughest part of the trip is at the beginning, when we had to cross the hills to get down to Peninsula Road. From there, the going was easy, with a marked bike lane along much of the road, and fresh, smooth asphalt for several miles.

Once down the hills, we rode through picturesque Bowers Harbor.
Once down the hills, we rode through picturesque Bowers Harbor.

Several long paved bike trails cross Traverse City and lead to various locations in the country. We rode the TART Trail along the city’s lakefront park.

Brad's recumbent on the TART Trail in downtown Traverse City.
Brad's recumbent on the TART Trail in downtown Traverse City.

Northwestern Michigan College farther along the trail is home of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.

Bike Noob at the ship owned by the Maritime Academy.
Bike Noob at the ship owned by the Maritime Academy.

Leaving Traverse City on the return leg, bikers must ride Center Road, or Route M-37. It’s fairly busy, but has a wide shoulder for much of its length. Still, it’s good to get off Center and get onto Bluff Road with its views of the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay.

Brad follows Mrs. Noob around a curve on Bluff Road.
Brad follows Mrs. Noob around a curve on Bluff Road.

Our ride to Traverse City and back was 37 miles and change. It’s an easy ride, and the break in town allows for some additional sightseeing.

The Cherry Capital Cycling Club seems to be quite active — we saw them riding in good-sized groups several times during our stay. Their web site features maps of a number of different bike routes in the area.

Perfect summer weather, terrific scenery, cherries and wine — we had a great time. For getaway biking, northwestern Michigan is hard to beat.

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Categories // Rides, Travel Tags // Rides, Travel

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