Tour da U.P. 2013 pix and info

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Another great trip, this time in the beautiful Keewenaw Peninsula

Day 1 (Baraga To McLean State Park): Perfect day for biking - mostly sunny, very light breeze, mid to upper 60’s. Other than missing a turn, the day went great. Plus the concession stand in the park had scoop ice cream (caramel explosion on a waffle cone)

Day 2 (McLean SP to Ft Wilkins State Park): Overcast and cool (low 60;s) didn’t take off jacket for a while. Made it up Brockway Mountain Drive (without stopping) Went into town to find WiFi but it turns out there was a hotspot at the restroom / shower building

Day 3 (Day off in Copper Harbor) : Some light rain this morning - kayak trip was delayed. Eventually got out - harbor was glass smooth, and < 4in waves outside the harbor. Some drizzle, but a minute of sun as well. I won the kayak race. Ate lunch at the place I leeched internet off of, and dinner there as well (my dinner companions ate lunch at the other reasonable place, and didn’t want to go the expensive place)

Day 4 (Ft Wilkins SP to Lake Linden): There was supposed to be rain in the night (70%) but we lucked out. It was foggy, so did get wet. It did get sunny finally. Was behind the luggage truck on the big downhill - the brakes were smoking. Scoop ice cream in town (cookies and cream on a waffle cone)

Day 5 (Lake Linden to Baraga): Actually the wettest my tent has been all trip. Started sunny, but got a few sprinkles at the end. It was 40 miles instead of the 32 in the booklet (the miles are never accurate, but are usually closer)

Here are my pix:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151730119344536.1073741827.785504535&type=1&l=322f26f20e

Brian

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Thanks for the post and pics. Have you done other trips like this?

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Nice. Looks like it’s more scenic than my annual Katy Trail ride in Missouri. If you would want to do the Katy Trail, I recommend this group:

http://mostateparks.com/

Search for Katy Trail and do it on March 1st 2014. It filled up by March 5th this year. Here’s info on the 2013 ride. Not much while change except we will be starting in St. Charles which is closer to St. Louis.

Your Trek 520 would be great with 700x28 or larger tires. I run 700x32s on my touring bike.

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I’ve done Tour da U.P. every year since 2006. They pick a different route every year - this is my second repeat trip (last Did the Keweenaw in 2006. Did the porkies in 2007 and 2012). Next year hasn’t been determined yet, but probably central.

http://www.teachingfamilyhomes.org/events/tour-da-up/

I have 700x32s on my bike, and have considered the Katy Trail for a fully loaded tour.

Brian