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What’s 30 miles between friends?
By mike | June 16, 2007
And that’s what we all quickly became on our “Ride with Mike” training ride along the beautiful Macomb Orchard Trail in the northern Detroit suburbs. A dozen riders showed up at 8 am in the parking lot of the Rochester library and we made our way to first the Clinton River Trail at the south end of town and then east until it hooked up with the asphalt-paved Macomb Orchard Trail - which is so nice it’s like a super highway for bike riders.
We were going to do 20-25 miles but the day was perfect for bike riding, starting out in the mid-sixties under bright blue sunny skies. So we ended up going out 15 to where the trail ends on a bridge somewhere north of Romeo. The back route gave us an even 30 miles. A big part of the fun was that at the M-53 freeway, where the trail ends, was partially closed for construction. That meant we could squirt across the closed lanes, up and over the median and then, between breaks in traffic, safely make it to the other side, where the trail continues for a couple miles.
Our next ride will be a 40-miler, early Saturday July 7 - a week before the Michigander. Time and route will be announced here. Suggestions welcome.
Rde with Mike - June 16, 2007 from Mike Wendland on Vimeo
June 17th, 2007 at 12:23 am
Awesome ride today! I feel great, but man, my legs don’t like stairs right now.. Been a while since I’ve done a good ride like that.
Anyway, I was thinking that the same route we did today (give or take a mile off of Macomb Orchard), plus Paint Creek, would do quite nicely. On Macomb Orchard starting at 24 & Dequindre and going up to M-53 is about 21 miles round trip. Add the few miles from the library, and you’re probably looking about 25 miles right there. Cutover to Paint Creek (which actually I’d probably do that first) and you’ve got a little over 40 miles.
The advantage to this would be that we double over our starting point. If someone can’t go beyond the first segment (for whatever reason, physical, schedule, whatever the case might be), they’re still a part of the group the entire part of their ride.
Just my 2 cents on it. Either way, I’m looking forward to the next ride..