It was time to get out of the house for a few days, so I wandered up north into the Manistee forest while 3 beautiful days were predicted. It's just a 2 1/2 hour drive to Mesick. The weather charmers were right, it was intoxicating to be outside for a few days.
The location was motivated by the green dotted line you see on Google Maps
It's a bike trail I had seen on the map for years but had never heard mentioned by anybody. It's about 45 miles long stretching from Mesick, Mi. to the coast at Frankfort. There is some charming countryside in the area meandering through Thompsonville and the Crystal Mountain area. So I set out to give it a try.
I found it, and never set a tire on it. It may be an abandoned rail line because the gravel is about the consistency of granite slag used for rail beds. It's rough stuff.
my 45mm tires would have made that some real work.
The sign on the intersection forbids motorized "wheeled" traffic so I assume it's a great place for snowmobiles in the winter time and probably a commuter route for some of the locals in January. But, for bikes I'd give it a big thumbs down. Well, I suppose a hyper competitive, masochist on a fat bike could have some fun with it, but I just don't qualify.
That really doesn't matter because there are miles and miles of well maintained gravel roads winding through beautiful forestland with virtually no traffic. Enough to keep me smiling for a few days.
I use the Google Streetview where the path intersects the street to try to look at those beforehand. I also use Satellite view. You really need to beware of those dotted lines otherwise. It's always nice to be outside and w/your bike evenso.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but the streetview doesn't give you a good idea of how coarse the surface might be. And, it's always fun to check out the places you haven't seen. The gravel roads there are great!
ReplyDelete