M-185, a car free highway in Michigan

[Emm]

A few more pictures…
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[Emm]

And the last batch from Mackinac, plus one of our wedding favors–a set of bike themed coasters.

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[jrenaut]

@Emm 124015 wrote:

Our road bikes didn’t fare too well on the wedding trip sadly. My Felt had its back tire blow out while on top of the car going through the mountains in PA, which was likely an air pressure issue as it occurred during a quick descent. My husbands carbon cervelo flew off the top of the car when our Thule rack snapped. We’re still waiting to see how Thule responds–one of the bolts that attaches the rack to the car failed causing the bike flying off the car at 70 MPH . If they don’t cover the damage, I’m hoping renters insurance comes through.

Whoa, I’m glad no one was hurt. Were you on the PA Turnpike? That place is just bad news all around. The biking in Michigan sounds awesome, though. My brother- and sister-in-law live in Ann Arbor and I think Mackinac is one of their favorite getaway spots.

[Emm]

@jrenaut 124018 wrote:

Whoa, I’m glad no one was hurt. Were you on the PA Turnpike? That place is just bad news all around. The biking in Michigan sounds awesome, though. My brother- and sister-in-law live in Ann Arbor and I think Mackinac is one of their favorite getaway spots.

Ohio turnpike for the bike flying off the car. We were VERY lucky–we were in the left lane with no one close behind us, and it was daytime. Bike flew off (still attached to the rack), and landed 80% in the median. It was scary running back and picking it up, but luckily my husband didn’t get hit doing it and we were able to get it into the back of the car.

The PA turnpike is where my bike blew out it’s tire though. That was scary since it sounded like a rock hit the top of the car when it happened, but luckily it wasn’t a major issue since all it required was a new set of tires to fix.

I love Ann Arbor–they also have great biking there. I biked alot in college until my brakes stopped working and I decided to give up

[jrenaut]

I’ve turned the engine off in a traffic jam maybe four times in my life, and two of those were the PA Turnpike.

By the side of the Pennsylvania Turnpike by Jon, on Flickr

Also a middle-of-the-night snowstorm while my wife was driving and we couldn’t drop below 45mph or the truckers would run us off the road. the Turnpike is one of the worst places on earth.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Emm 124019 wrote:

Ohio turnpike for the bike flying off the car. We were VERY lucky–we were in the left lane with no one close behind us, and it was daytime. Bike flew off (still attached to the rack), and landed 80% in the median. It was scary running back and picking it up, but luckily my husband didn’t get hit doing it and we were able to get it into the back of the car.

That’s my worst nightmare. Once on a road trip to Florida, I discovered one of the bolts holding the front half of the bike rack to the cross bar had rattled loose and fallen out…thankfully I noticed it while at a truck stop that had a nice stock of zip ties.

Mackinac Island is on my list of U.S. places to visit, but it sits in that geographic space of too far to drive, but a little too inconvenient to fly…so we’ll see if that trip ever happens.

[jrenaut]

Closest I’ve come to losing a bike is when the bike rack actually saved the luggage carrier. We have no roof rack, but have a soft luggage carrier that just clamps to the roof. It clamped just fine through the city until I hit 50mph once NY Ave turns into Rt 50. Then the wind got underneath it and it flipped over backwards. Luckily it landed on the bike rack, didn’t damage anything (including the contents) and I was able to pull over before anything terrible happened.

[Crickey7]

Thankfully, that never happened to me. The closest was when I stuck my head out the window to check on my brother’s dog in the bed of his pickup, and watched my glasses recede into the distance.

[creadinger]

Wow, very cool!

I’ll have to add Michigan to my list of places to visit to escape DC summers. Next year I think we’re all set for Maine, but Montreal, Ottawa, Adirondaks, Wisconsin, Minnesota and now Michigan are all on my list.

[Kitty]

Yay! I am so thrilled to see this Michigan love! The photos from Mackinaw bring back really fond childhood memories. I think I was in middle school when my family visited and rented bikes to ride the circumference of the island. Leading the pack and finishing the loop in less than an hour was exhilarating and made me think “Wow! I’m good as bicycles!” (Horse droppings are a major road hazard though…”

My bike was my car at MSU and I could get anywhere I wanted to within East Lansing, but then you run into the problem of Michigan cities largely not being built bike friendly. Businesses and neighborhoods are spaced such that you need to take hi-speed arterial roads to reach them.

However! For all of you tourists the cool little towns along the Great Lakes would be great for leisurely cruising and exploring, especially since there are usual nice parks and beaches along the waterfronts. And depending on where you are, a few minutes of riding on the right state road (The “M” ones, such as M-185) tend to have palatial shoulders, making flatland farmland and wine country rides a snap! Even car-capital Detroit is installing bike lanes in some neighborhoods (though largely in self-contained pockets of the sprawling city).

The funny thing is, despite these nice bike-friendly benefits, the idea of cycling for more and a neighborhood ride is so foreign in many parts of the state that they aren’t used! In June I went home for a visit with my bike and did my childhood dream of riding from my hometown (Port Huron) to the next town up the coast (Lexington)-about 40 miles there and back, straight shot, on M-25. Well. My family and friends all thought: A) you’re nuts, you’re gunna die, C) you’re serious aren’t you? Well call from Lexington and we’ll drive up and pick you up when your legs fall off… :rolleyes:

Anyway, I digress.

Thank you so much for sharing these photos! Let’s get more folks riding in Michigan!

[Emm]

*happy dance*
the bike that was thrown off the roof of the car when our roof rack snapped is fully covered by renters insurance. The insurance company is sending us the depreciated value now, but will send us a check for the entire value (including taxes and fees) if we buy a bike that cost the entire original value of the cervelo (minus our deductible of course). No need to send the bike to anyone, or get it professionally examined–their estimators agreed that being thrown off a car at 70mph totals a carbon bike.

*happy dance*

[eminva]

Congratulations and best wishes! Thanks for the photos.

[And obligatory plug for the ELITE-ist of bicycle transporting vehicles — a minivan. No need to even remove the front wheel — just wheel up to three of those babies right in the back hatch. Maybe more; we’ve never tried, being a family of only three.]

Liz

[Author]

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