I don't know how to embed a link here, but here's the roundabout way to view my first recon of a route that I've been contemplating the last few months:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/115796001or you can view today's blog post at teamterpening.blogspot.com
My basic plan was to head north on the North Country Trail from just north of Harbor Springs and Petoskey to Mackinaw City. While I've ridden parts of the trail in Wilderness State Park, I purposely bypassed them on Sunday since bikes are technically not allowed and I'd like to nail down a set route that others would be able to ride/time themselves on. From Mackinaw I rode south on an old rail trail for a little over 40 miles to just south of Indian River. That was about 85 miles in, and I set up camp next to the river for a good nights sleep. My plan for the next day was to continue south on the rail trail to Thumb Lake Rd. in order to hook back up with the NCT and finish the loop heading north. Heavy rains during the night and continuing the next day caused me to pull the plug and slog home due west for 35 miles more in the rain
The total with the bailout was about 118 miles, so I'm thinking the whole enchilada will be well north of 150. The rail trail was probably the hardest part surprisingly. I thought it being flat would really let me eat up the miles, but it was a complete mind f**k. Flat as a pancake so no coasting, and vicious headwind had me a little frustrated. I've been scouring the maps at home trying to figure out a way to bypass at least part of the rail trail, but I'm thinking that would only serve to make a pretty simple route more confusing. So that was my weekend adventure. This was the first long training overnighter, and if all goes well in the next 12 months I'm planning on toeing the line at the Coconino 250 next fall. If I don't ride this complete route yet this fall, it will definitely be at the top of the list come spring.
