St Ignace to Mackinaw City
Today, our cycling did not contribute many miles to our Cycle Across America total but every little helps and they were enjoyable miles.
To get to Mackinac City, our destination for the day, we had two choices. The first, to cross the bridge between St Ignace and Mackinaw City but cycling is not permitted on this bridge and so cyclists have to phone ahead and book transport to cross the bridge and this didn’t appeal to us. Alternatively, we could take the ferry to Mackinac Island and then take the ferry from Mackinac Island to Mackinaw city.
We opted for the latter and used it as an opportunity to spend some time on the island.
Mackinac Island was a complete antidote to the previous few days of cycling on the highway. The Island is traffic free. Once away from the bustling Main Street adjacent to the ferry landings, the roads were quiet and I could hear the water lapping against the pebbles on the narrow beaches.
The pony and traps used to transport the noisy tourist groups were also used to deliver goods and transport waste from the various food and shopping outlets. It felt like we were taking a step back in time and the Grand Hotel only added to this sentiment.
What an absolute joy to cycle along the lakeshore without cars and truck whizzing past us. We covered the six or so miles along the shoreline and then headed inland a little.
We enjoyed a cheeky glass of wine on the terrace of the Grand Hotel but felt woefully underdressed to partake of the High Tea on offer inside the grand dining room.
The ferry crossing to the island and the. Across to Mackinaw City was a short, enjoyable way to travel.
On arriving at our downtown motel, we took a short walk down to the waterfront to watch the sunset and grab a bite to eat before checking our route and plans for the next day.
A lovely almost ‘rest day’ .
Challenging Times 
If only those cyclists passing you in the town knew where you’d cycled from! Lovely pics xx
My sister in the UK forwarded a link to your blog, knowing we would be interested in following along.
Makinac does seem to be very special, we have some friends who have done a springtime cycling event there a few times and they love it.
Some of the “cycle routes” you’ve encountered seem distinctly dubious, there’s nothing fun about cycling on a highway shoulder, but the logistics of planning a route around can be very challenging.
Anyway, if you happen to do a little detour through SW Ontario, we have a great local bike mechanic who would certainly be able to sort out a shifter cable, we have oodles of fresh fruit and vegetables and some lovely rural cycle routes, especially along the north shore of Lake Erie.
Oh, some pretty bloody good wineries too!
Glad you took the island tour. The Upper Peninsula is beautiful, and the work being done for PD at the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids MI, along with the Cure Parkinson’s Trust is world class awesome. Cheers!
It’s frightening just to cross the might MAC even by car. Glad you took the island tour. The Upper Peninsula is beautiful, and the work being done for PD at the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids MI, along with the Cure Parkinson’s Trust, is world class awesome. Cheers!
Sounds perfect 😍
You do all look exceedingly relaxed and joyful.☺️ I think I would find this place difficult to leave.🌙 💤
Traffic free. Idyllic!
I’m so happy that you could experience Mackinac Island, one of my most favorite places in the world! We have family living in Michigan and have biked around the island many times. The pictures are gorgeous, you all are amazing!
The island was absolutely beautiful. We had a great day. I reached 3,000 miles today! Our meeting remains one of the highlights of our trip. X