I live in Charlevoix with my wife, Anne.  I have a son, Oliver, who lives in Bloomington, Indiana.  I was born in Indiana and grew up there, in a small town near Fort Wayne.

Anne and I visited the Charlevoix area in our boat about six years ago and really liked the town and entire area.  We purchased a summer home north of downtown Charlevoix and one year later decided to sell our home in Indiana and move to Charlevoix to live here full time.  What attracted us to this area was the natural beauty, the charm of the communities, and the friendliness of the people; but one of the major reasons we chose to move here was the quality of the area bike trails.

For many years Anne and I biked to work and to the stores in Bloomington, which has a long history as a pro-biking community.  Trails were only available in the city of Bloomington, as the state of Indiana does little to build or promote bike trails.  I was so impressed with the quality of the bike trails in Northern Michigan that I wanted to do what I could to help promote and sustain them.  I am involved in the Charlevoix Trail Ambassadors group thanks to Luther Kurtz. Luther submitted my name as a potential board member for the Top of Michigan Trails Council in 2017, and I am proud to serve in that capacity. I believe that it is important for those of us who use the trails to do what we can to support trail organizations like the Trails Council.

As a member of the Charlevoix Trail Ambassador group, I was involved in moving the U.S. 35 bike trail to a safer route through the north side of Charlevoix. I am currently working with the city to set up a bike trail tab on the “Life In Charlevoix” web site.  I may also be working with Mayor Kurtz on a new bike path on the north side of town.

My ultimate dream is for the completion of the Charlevoix to Boyne City trail—sooner rather than later!

I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the Top of Michigan Trails Council.

Bob

Come out and ride the new mountain bike trails in Boyne City! Top of Michigan Mountain Bike Association will be showing off their School Forest Trail (nine miles of trails built by TOMMBA volunteers), and there will be a ribbon cutting for the Avalanche Trail (nine miles of professionally built, sustainable trails with beginner, intermediate and expert trails).  Family friendly — Bring your kids!

Event flyer:

Trail System Greatly Enjoyed by Mother and Son

My 13 year-old son and I embarked on his first bike tour last summer. He called it the “Tip of the Mitt Tour.” We primarily traveled the trail system and patched in a few roads when necessary. Our trip began at our home in Hayes Township. We rode from the maple woods down to beautiful Lake Michigan at Bay Shore where we connected with the trail system. Daniel and I cycled the bike path to Mackinaw City for our first night camping at the KOA which is conveniently close to the trail system.

The next morning we filled our empty stomachs with pasties in Mackinaw City and connected with the North Central State Trail to travel around to the East side of the State through Cheboygan. We pitched our tent for the second night near Topinabee. The next morning we enjoyed a hearty breakfast in Indian River and headed back across the state to Petoskey and back to Bayshore and then home.

Neither my son or I wanted the trip to end. We dreamed out loud of riding all summer from one town to another and we talked about the possibility of riding across the United States. I think my son is hooked. Being on a bicycle allowed us to meet many curious and friendly people that we would not have had an opportunity to talk with otherwise. Northern Michigan became a much larger space and the slower speed enabled us to see, smell and hear things that had gone unnoticed passing by in a car at 55 mph. The most difficult part was dealing with traffic as we threaded our way back across state to Petoskey. It would be wonderful to have a safe cross state connection. Thank you for such a wonderful trail system.

Sincerely,

Trina Fournier

Lake to Lake Ride in September!

The Trails Council is in the planning stages for a September “Lake to Lake” ride on our trail system from Alpena (on Lake Huron) to a yet-to-be-determined location on Lake Michigan. The multi-day tour would take in the entirety of the North Eastern State Trail, portions of the North Central State Trail and perhaps segments of Northwestern State Trail and the Little Traverse Wheelway. The trip will include lodging and SAG support. If you are interested in receiving more information about this tour as our plans progress email Sue Bouwense at admin@trailscouncil.org and simply put in the subject line “September bicycle tour”, and include your name.

I just wanted to tell all of you that I reached a fun goal of mine recently. November 15, 2016, Tuesday, I hurried home after work, jumped on the bike, and rode out 3 miles, and then hurried back home to beat the failing light. It gets dark so early now. When I pulled into my driveway, my odometer looked like this photo.

According to a NASA website, the distance around the world at the equator is 24,902.4 miles. As of this past Tuesday, I have now ridden my newer bike around the world in mileage. That might seem a bit trivial so some, but it means a lot to me. That’s all since March 6, 2010 when my odometer read “0” miles. That’s also the day that I tried out the newer bike and then knew that YES, I can ride again!

I felt really good about that since, due to an ATV nearly head-on collision with me on my former bike back in 2009, the doctors in Ohio “thought” I might walk again, but they didn’t now how well, and also I may not be able to work or ride again. Thanks to our Lord God’s amazing healing power, and thanks to a lot of help from many really great people, I can really ride again, and I’ve enjoyed every mile of it!

I forgot to mention that my bike/computer’s odometer doesn’t give a decimal readout, so I had to ride to 24,903 to know I’d reached my fun goal. My next fun goal is to see when my odometer reads 25,600. That will show when I’ve ridden Three times around the world in miles (74,707.2 miles). That will be the total mileages of all four recumbent bikes combined and that’s all starting out on Sept. 26, 1998. I have a far too high energy level!

I should be hitting that mileage goal a bit early during next year’s riding season, providing I stay out of the way of drunks on ATVs! What to do after hitting that fun goal… keep pedaling and see if I make it four times around the world in mileage.

My favorite day ride is to cruise over to Charlevoix and stop at Dairy Grill. That’s a 30-mile trip. The thing that amazes me is how this planet Earth we live on really isn’t so huge like I’ve always thought. It’s fun to do the math: all I have to do is ride to Charlevoix’s Dairy Grill and back home 415 times, and I have gone around the world in miles! 24,902.4 divided by 60 is: 415.04. It really isn’t so big when I think of it that way. 60 miles is just a nice, pleasant day ride for me, I have ridden over twice that far in a day: 134 miles. And I’ve had lots of enjoyment doing it.

I just wanted to send this out to many who know what I went through in 2009. I also send a special thanks to all who helped me and encouraged me through that time, it was rough. I’m doing so well since all that happened earlier, I have a really long list of things I’m thankful to our Lord God for, and not only on Thanksgiving Day, but everyday!

Greg Wheeler

“Bikeman”