NEW TRAIL-OLD FRIENDS

July 14, 2013  PEDALS adventure:  Pere Marquette Rail-Trail- Midland, MI

Having located as an adult over 300 miles from my “growing-up city” of St. Louis, it is rare to spend time with HS friends, unless I travel back to Missouri.  This is in direct contrast to most people I know in the FW area who can name many people that they see (although not necessarily spend time with) that knew them “back when.”  It is therefore a great treat to have my longtime school friend, Barb and her husband Dan, only 4 hours away in Midland, MI.  And, it’s a bonus that a Hall of Fame Rail-Trail starts in Midland and we were able to combine the two.

 

 

 

Our car,  ready for a week of
biking and paddling adventures.

The trip to Midland was the first leg of our week long Paddle and Peds vacation to the Michigan Upper Peninsula. Although not bikers themselves (they have a darling mini-farm named Hope with chickens, crops and alpaca!), they were game to ride the Pere Marquette Trail with us.   

 

 

 

We met at The Tridge, a wonderful 3 bridge structure that spans the Tittabawassee and Chippewa Rivers. The trail’s park is clearly the heart of Midland as there were people everywhere, running, biking, strolling, and even kayaking the rivers and enjoying a splash pad. 

Tom on The Tridge in Midland

 As was expected from a rail-trail, the path was nice and level and began by going through a bit of suburbia.  There was still plenty of greenery, but quite a few cross streets which were easy to cross on a Sunday afternoon.  On one side of the trail are evidences of modern vehicle travel, while the other is the peaceful, although unusually coppery colored river.   Dan informed us that the unusual color was because of the high copper levels in the area.  Midland is the headquarters of Dow Chemical, which settled in this area because of the high concentration of naturally occurring chemicals in the area.

 

 

Can you really read all this while
flying by on your roller blades?

I am enjoying my quest this year to find unusual signs and am amazed that every path seems to deliver another entry.  The sign that caught my attention on the Pere Marquette said, “Detectable warning surface ahead/ Roller bladders use caution.”  Thinking that it was some type of sensor that triggered a warning signal for cross traffic (there’s one of those on the Pufferbelly Trail back home) I laughed to see that the detectable warning surface was just speed bumps!  To be sure, these would be dangerous for roller bladders, but if one were flying along on rollerblades, the chance your could read all those words and then have time to react before hitting the bumps and spilling into the roadway seemed remote.  We decided the sign should say, BUMPS AHEAD, ROLLERBLADERS WATCH OUT. 

 

Here is the "DETECTABLE
WARNING SURFACE"
aka SPEED BUMPS!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am learning that the best rail-trails are ones where vestiges of their former life can be found.  The most common are old mileage markers that have remained and endured.  There were a few that remained, indicating the mileage from Saginaw, the original start of the railway.   Midland has mirrored that idea with mileage markers of their own indicating the distance from The Tridge trailhead.

Original Mileage Marker

 

New Mileage Marker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love the tunnels that bike paths use to cross under a busy road, as they are a testament to the secret slower life that goes on beneath the busy travelers above.  Several pictures on other blog entries are evidence of that!  The Pere Marquette has one of the prettier ones we’ve seen and Barb was surprised to see where trail crossed the busy M30 road above.   She noted that she travels that road often and never knew the bike trail was beneath.

 

In the early days of Michigan’s history, logging was king and entire areas were heavily logged, forever removing the heavy native tree stands.  A small nature area along the rail-trail has been set aside to commemorate the role of this area in Michigan’s history.  Again, signs along bike trails are great ways to expand one’s knowledge of the hidden history of an area.  Besides, it was another chance to get off the bike seat for a bit of a rest!    

Riding bike trails is not only healthy, it is also educational!

A great asphalt surface and beautiful
scenery make this a great trail



A welcome sign for hot and hungry riders,
Barb, Dan, Sue and Tom

 Our destination goal was the town of Sanford, approximately  8 miles from Midland.   There we would find Alex’s Railside Restaurant, a diner serving good diner type food.  We (especially biking novice Barb) were happy that the restaurant was just this side of Sanford, and we gladly dismounted, removed our helmets and went inside…hopefully to cool off while we ate.   It’s always good to bike with the locals as Barb’s suggestion was spot on…good diner food and an atmosphere that embraced our biking attire.  (see Nature Sightings below for a "wild" story about Sanford)

 

 

 

 

As we started back towards Midland, we began to plan our next stop….it was the Ice cream shop along the trail that was closed when we passed it the first time.  We speculated whether it was closed because it was Sunday or if it just hadn’t reached its scheduled opening time (it was after 12 noon when we passed it the first time).  We anxiously approached the flowers and flags that marked its location on the trail and found…it was OPEN!  We got our cones, sat under some large trees and enjoyed the break.  Barb announced that she would remain here, firmly planted in the Adirondack chair, and wait for our return with the truck to pick up her and her bike.  She had been a trooper, having not been on a bike for quite a while, and we had, by this time biked over 10 miles….she earned spot there in the shade.

We were not too far from Midland and The Tridge trailhead and we picked up the pace as the traffic on the trail had slowed considerably.  I was struck by some areas of wildflowers that seemed to be a bit intentional…a scattered display of blanket flower and other perennials.  A glimpse of the river again and soon we were back at the trailhead, reloading our bikes and setting off to pick up Barb at the ice cream shop.

 

 

Love this wildflower...
whatever it is!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Benches like this, dedicated  for lots of reasons by
supporters of the trail, dot the path, making it a
very personal experience.

        

 

 

 

 

We loved our ride on the  Midland section of the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail and deeply appreciated the effort that our friends went to in order to join us (dusted off their bikes, purchased new bike seats…and ultimately had to borrow a bike when it was discovered one bike was missing a pedal!)  We look forward to future rides on the Pere Marquette (it is a much longer trail than what we pedaled) and hope that we again will be joined by our friends, Barb and Dan. 

 

End of the ride at The Tridge...the only 3 legged bridge I've seen!

 

The stats: (RT)15.53, Time: 2:00 hr  ODO:564                                                                                                         

Notable Nature Sightings:  Nothing for us besides the rivers, wildflowers, and trees.   BUT.....SIX DAYS later,  the Midland Daily News reported that a woman and her dog came face to face with a threatening bear along the trail near SANFORD where we stopped to eat.   Follow the link below for the entire story!

http://www.ourmidland.com/news/bear-on-rail-trail-threatens-woman/article_12fff127-72aa-5310-9b58-a626c4aae19d.html

Interesting Signs Sightings:   A warning sign with TOO MANY WORDS to read, vintage RR mileage markers, logging information sign, bike signs that mimic highway signs...I think not!!

Just a little intense for me...bike path signs
that mimic road signs are intimidating!