Marquette Trip, Day 3 – Still Here

Last night a special guest blew into town to join me for riding today. We ate, drank and were merry longer into the evening than is my way. That, combined with yesterday’s exertions, led to some rubbery legs. Big deal.

We started the day riding the North Trails. They aren’t as “Wow! Holy heck!” as yesterday’s South Trails, but they are cool and different. We began along the Dead River. No marketing guy named that body of water, but it is very lovely.

We rode various chunks of single-track until we came to a dam way up somewhere.

I failed to take a picture of perhaps the most interesting thing about this dam: a wooden pipe running from the dam to I don’t know where. It was an amazing thing with very interesting leaks. Regardless, mountain biking became a bit more intense once we departed the dam. We found ourselves on unimproved trail that led to more than a small bit of hike-a-bike.

Very rocky, tough terrain.

Ultimately we got back down to the river and biked/climbed up a huge rock outcrop.

This is Casey with the Dead River in the background. Climbing up a little higher (so fun in carbon-soled bike shoes!), yielded a shot with Lake Superior in the background.

Today was another incredible day, a bit cooler than yesterday and just about perfect. We’d been biking for a few hours at this point, and headed for lunch. I drank this (and liked it) while I scarfed down some food in preparation for more fun on the South Trails.

While we were eating, the wind kicked up and clouds started rolling in. The contrast became wonderful.

And the trails? Fantastic. I rode for another two hours and saw only three other riders. It was a perfect confluence of weather and location.

And to really just cap off the day, I stopped at a local bookstore while riding from the trail to my lodgings. I was recommended a book (which I purchased) and two or three places to consider for dinner this evening.

What’s next? I’ll leave early in the morning. If it isn’t raining, maybe I’ll take a shot at the Glacial Hills Trails in Bellaire. If it is raining, I’ll be happy to be home a bit earlier to see my wife and kiddo.

What a great trip this has been. Toward the end of the day I kept having thoughts like, “I need to get my family up here. I need to get my friends up here. I should rent a bus and bring customers up here.” And those things may happen in the future. Right now I’m tired, a little hungry and incredibly happy.