Petoskey to Mackinaw City - Day 11

Alex and I were so excited for this day to arrive. We would be getting to the bridge and the rest of the family was coming to meet us. Unfortunately, I was still feeling less than my best from the previous 2 days of riding in the heat and extreme hills. We made a plan to ride the first 14 and the last 11 miles of the scheduled 50 to the bridge. Robin and Emily picked us up in Harbor Springs and we drove through the "tunnel of trees" along the lake shore. We stopped for lunch in Cross Village at a great Polish restaurant called the Legs Inn. What an interesting place! It had cool wood carvings, great food, and a patio with a great view of the lake for those who like to eat outdoors like we did. I guess Bob Seger has a second home up there and frequents the place often. No sighting of him this particuliar day.

After lunch we drove for a bit before Alex and I got back on the bikes for the last 11 miles. I told Robin to meet us in an hour, and that she should have time to check in at the hotel. Was I ever wrong...We rode those 11 miles with a very brisk pace. Alex was saying that he'd never been as excited as he felt then. We averaged 16.5 mph which is considerably higher than our normal pace of 12.5-13.2 mph. We got there before the girls, and called them to come meet us. We took a lot of pictures, shared high fives and hugs. Yes, we cheated a little on the last day, but riding 440 miles is pretty darn good if you ask me. We were only about 1.5 miles from the hotel, and decided to ride that too. It was a good trip, and I am one proud father of an amazing 13 year old boy!

We capped the big ride off with a day on Mackinac Island. We did something we had never done there on our previous 2 trips...explored more of the island on rented bikes!