Michigan Carvers on Mackinac Island
Picnics, parades and a Trikke triple header highlight year’s events.
After the good start to the season in May, which you can read about here, I got a chance to ride with member Tim Hurst in his neck of the woods, as I stopped by Cleveland on the way to (and back from) the Philadelphia Trikke Academy in June (see photos here).
In July, Kenny Mayne of North Shore Trikke in Massachusetts was in Michigan visiting family and carved with some of us in the July 4th Parade (photos). Carol Jennet brought a guest with her to that parade, Becky, who carved well for her first parade, and Denice Shuty came over from Chicago and rode with Kenny and I for awhile after the parade (the 3 of us).
One of our most memorable outings though was our “Trikke triple header” in Northern Lower Michigan, July 12-14. On Thursday, the first day, eight of us gathered at the Best Western in Harbor Springs, Michigan, and after checking in, car pooled around to East Park — just East of Petoskey — and did a scenic eight-mile ride together on the Little Traverse Wheelway, along the shore of the Little traverse Bay.
After showering up, getting the cars back and getting some dinner together at the Sassy Loon — a hidden gem of a restaurant in a nearby bowling alley — we were ready to call it a night in preparation for a big day Friday, carving on Mackinac Island.
At Little Traverse Wheelway were (left to right) Joe Bennett, Sherry Bennett, George DeClerq, Tim Hurst, Carol Jennet, Steve Gilkey, Nancy Fox and Bruce Weston.
On Friday morning, we drove about 45 minutes to the ferry docks, checked in our Trikkes and met up on Mackinac Island. The eight of us were joined on the island by Tom Hurst, Tim’s twin brother, and Leo Van Pelt and his wife Jane, from Toronto Canada — total of 11 Trikke riders.
The island police were there to greet us and asked about the Trikke. They also let us know what I already knew, we weren’t allowed to ride in the downtown area. After convincing them we would simply walk our vehicles upon reaching downtown, we were on our way. Around the island we went, in a clockwise direction on the scenic, shoreline bike path. (Group Picture)
After a great lunch at Mission Point, nine of us decided to go up through the interior of the island, doing some hill climbing to check out Arch Rock, then enjoying picking up some good speed on the two-mile gradual decline across to British Landing on the other side of the island. It was great weather and a great outing!
At the end of the day, the original eight, plus Tom Hurst, drove south to stay in Traverse City to carve in the Cherry Festival Parade on Saturday, along with the United Way of Northwest Lower Michigan (for the third year in a row). (Link to group pic).
The consecutive days were like a mini-Trikke Fantasy Week, lots of fun each day hanging with other riders, and I was especially was thrilled that a good friend of mine since high school, Joe Bennett and his wife Sherry, could join us for the three days.
Michigan Carvers in front of Boardman Lake.
Other Michigan Carvers highlights from 2012 include our second annual Green Parade appearance in August, where Lourdes Schultz, Gerald Jordan, Rick Coppens, and I carved the 22-mile Green Cruise before the parade. Thanks goes to Bill Riley for getting us in again. Jennifer Theisen, her friend Roger, and Nancy Fox joined for the parade, and the 4 mile ride afterwards.
We had the Blueberry Festival Parade in Montrose the following Saturday, followed by our 2nd Annual Carvers Picnic the next day. A couple of weeks later was our 3rd Annual Peach Festival Parade on Labor Day (photos). A new carver, Beverly Walker, joined for her first event at the Wine and Harvest Festival Parade.
Lourdes and I completed a 100k ride on Sep 28th (see photo of Lourdes underneath rainbow), and for the second year in a row, we had great weather for the Kalamazoo Holiday Parade in November. In December, we had a meetup on the new segment of the Kalamazoo Trail (photos).
As for next year, we’re looking forward to a great 2013 season, starting with a Michigan Mini-Skki Inn in February.
Click here for details
