Let’s go meet some Yoopers!

It’s that time of year again, when I choose to leave the quiet confines of my fur-filled home and spend several hundred dollars shipping my bicycle to another state. Yes! It’s time for this year’s cycling vacation!

2019’s totally random selection process, based on how many hills I am likely to encounter, led me to the annual MUP ride. Organized by the League of Michigan Bicyclists, this tour traces a loop through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, an area that geographically should belong to Wisconsin, but somehow was acquired by Michigan. I like to think that two bearded men wearing flannel, a vast amount of alcohol, and a bet was involved. I should Wikipedia that.

All of my teammates (seriously, all of them) up in Detroit seem to have a cabin “up north”. I am still confused as to whether that means just the northernmost part of the contiguous state, or the UP, but no matter. I want to experience the glory of the North myself, especially now, since it’s July and I think the chances of snow are fairly low. Still, knowing a little about Michigan weather, I’ll be packing some warm stuff just in case. I’m not joking. It’s in the upper 90’s and 1000-percent humidity here in sunny Florida, but who knows what I’ll get at night up there. Frost-covered bears maybe.

Once I had the trip booked and started telling my Michigan friends what I was doing, they all said, virtually verbatim, “Oh my gosh, it’s so beautiful, you are going to love it!” I did have one Florida friend tell me he’d once done a multi-day off-road motorcycle race up there, and it rained, and he was the coldest and wettest he’d ever been, but I’m going to call that experience an outlier. I am stoked to see some natural beauty at bicycle pace.

That’s the main reason I love cycling travel. You move slow enough through the landscape to really be a part of it, instead of whizzing through it at 65-plus miles-per-hour inside an air conditioned car, just kind of seeing it. Still, you’re moving fast enough to cover some miles, so you can experience a lot on a week-long tour. If I want to stop and enjoy an area, I just unclip and roll to a stop.

Travelling by myself on these organized rides is the best of both worlds. I have the benefits of being in a group: camaraderie, interaction with new people, safety in numbers, and support, whether it be mechanical or emotional (this form of support featured prominently last year when I was struggling up Georgia “hills” that I had not trained for and had no business being on). Being an independent person though, I’ve gotten very used to doing what I want with no regard for anyone else. Travelling by myself allows me to stop when I want, push through if I want, and eat when and where I wish. We’ve all experienced the fun of taking a trip with friends or an SO and playing the “Well, what do YOU want to do?” game for several minutes before settling on an option that nobody is really wild about. Also, when I’m alone, I meet so many more people. If I want to interact, I have no choice but to bomb up to a new person or group and start talking. And there are so many interesting people out there.

So I’m three days from departure, and it’s time to pack. Bianca is already in Marquette, freshly serviced, reassembled, and waiting for me. I’ve triple-checked all of my travel arrangements, which, let me tell you, was somewhat of a logistical nightmare for Florida girl. The only problem with doing a new ride each year is that I don’t know what to expect at my destination. Ride organizers are very good about providing all the details that they can, but you never know what the real deal is until you get there. With this trip being somewhere that is sparsely populated and providing far fewer resources than I’m used to, I had to do a lot of planning.

Sunday, July 7th, Day of Departure

I fly out of Orlando at 8:30am to Detroit (First Class award travel, whoop whoop!), which will be kind of odd since I usually stop there and go to the office. Instead, I’ll board a 50-seat plane and fly to Marquette, Michigan. There, I’ll get my rental car and seek out the Quick Stop Bike Shop to retrieve Bianca. I want to say, the folks at Quick Stop have been some of the nicest people I’ve ever talked to. They are closed on Sundays, but I’ve been assured that they will either come in to the shop so I can get my bike, or that I can even pick it up at the guy’s house. Accommodating to say the least.

I would normally use a transport service to get to the start point (or back to it from the end) of the ride, but I couldn’t find any of those for this trip, so I had to get a car, which will sit in a parking lot for 7 days while I ride. But, ridiculous expenditures are part of the vacation experience, so, onward!

Once I’ve gotten my bike, I have to drive about an hour and a half down to Manistique, where the ride begins. For this trip, I’ve decided to leave my personal tent home and avail myself of the services of Comfy Campers. I was on the fence about this, as the service is actually more expensive than the entry fee for the ride, but the clincher for me was the promise of a fresh towel every day. No matter how I try to dry my towel completely before putting it back in my bag every morning, while sitting in a hot luggage truck all day, mingling with my increasingly disgusting used riding clothes, my towel is funky by day three. The promise of not dealing with that was just too sweet to pass up.

In addition to the towel, they are also providing me with a tent, a mattress, and a chair. I get the same tent the whole trip, and when I roll in to the day’s stop, my tent will be set up, mattress inflated, chair (and towel) waiting for me. Even more importantly, the next morning, all I have to do is pack my bag again and stride briskly away. They’ll tear it all down and move it for me. I HATE packing up a tent wet from the night’s dew. I’m not a morning person to begin with, and I’m always exhausted from the previous day’s ride, so packing a wet tent, fighting with my self-inflating sleep pad that keeps trying to re-inflate, and struggling to get it all back in my bag is a horrible way to start the day, especially when there may not even be coffee available. This is going to rock, and I’ll probably be ruined forever for packing my own camp equipment, meaning I’ll have to purchase first-class camp services on every trip I ever take. Money is for spending, right?!

Back to Sunday, I should get in to Manistique in plenty of time to settle in to my tent and maybe do a little exploring before the rider’s meeting. Then, it’s off to bed for Day One!

I’ll save the turn-by-turn for my daily posts, but here’s the ride itinerary.

Sat-Sun 7/6/19-7/7/19 – Manistique Check-In
Mon 7/8/19 – Manistique to Escanaba (65 miles)
Tues 7/9/19 – Escanaba to Crystal Falls (75 miles)
Wed 7/10/19 – Crystal Falls to Marquette (75 miles)
Thu 7/11/19 – Layover Day in Marquette (optional 16 or 55 miles)
Fri 7/12/19 – Marquette to Munising (44-54 miles)
Sat 7/13/19 -Munising to Manistique (49 miles)

I’m looking forward to the layover day in Marquette, and not just because that’s laundry day. I’m planning on doing the self-guided bike tour, an easy 12 miles that includes a visit to Presque Isle Park, which looks ridiculously beautiful. I’ll be taking my swimmies for that one.

I’ve also got a ticket for Friday evening’s boat tour of Pictured Rocks out of Munising, which Condé Nast Traveler states is the most beautiful place in Michigan. My friend Jennifer has toured Pictured Rocks by kayak, but I could never out-travel that girl, and plus that’s my off day, so a powered boat tour will be just fine.

So, stay tuned each day for a recap of my travels, cell service allowing. I’ll be posting some pictures here, but also to my Instagram. I’ll provide the link in each day’s post.

Now, I’m off to fret over task of packing.