Mackinac Loop

A must-do on Mackinac Island is a bike rental.

We were looking forward to this ride for a couple of reasons. The first is that we weren't allowed to use our ebikes. These were regular bikes. We wanted to gauge ourselves on strictly pedal power. We generally try to use our ebikes for assistance as opposed to all e-power, but we didn't know how we would do. We are normally riding in hilly terrain and the ebikes are very heavy, so even on slight inclines we need the assistance.

Fortunately, I can report, with the path being mostly level, we did great. We breezed the 8.5 mile loop around the island without a hiccup.

Secondly, this path was absolutely gorgeous. The lake is visible throughout the ride, beautiful homes, the park and trees, and of course, the attitude of the ride.

We pulled off the road several times to take pictures. My Lovely took one photo of the lake shore where the water is so clear that you cannot tell where the rock beach stops and the rock in the water starts. And I took a photo that is so beautiful that Phanie Fae commented "Oh my goodness look like entry to heaven wow".

One stop was at "the arch" formed by wave and wind erosion during the Nipissing post-glacial period when lake levels were higher.

One fun little bit was my little hitchhiker that My Lovely nicknamed Tairn. Tairn was a dragonfly that hopped up on my shoulder along the ride and stayed with me for the last 2.5 miles. When we returned the bikes, he was still there chilling out.

My Lovely decided we should take Tairn to the Secret Garden and let that be his next habitat. Amy led Tairn off of my shirt to let him fly away, but he just flew back to me and landed on my shirt again. The second time she set him down on an Allium flower and that worked for him.Read more