Bike to Dinner Features

Feed your have to get exterior — and your fall urge for food — with a simple two-wheel shade tour

By Eric Cox | Oct. 10, 2020

So many individuals lament the top of summer season in northern Michigan, however for those who ask us, the cooler temps and visible surprise of autumn could make out of doors adventures Up North even higher. For these itching to roam on these crisp days, listed below are three sure-to-move you choices for two-wheel shade excursions — refuel cease included — for these with bikes, and people with out.

Petoskey Space
Latitude 45 Bicycles and Health (476 W. Mitchell St., Petoskey, (231) 348-5342) has an array of rental bikes, together with a couple of electrical or “e-bikes.” All the time clear and well-maintained, Latitude 45’s fleet of Large, Cannondale, and Salsa bicycles comprises high-end street fashions, children bikes, mountain bikes, health bikes, and the highly regarded consolation hybrids, which go for $29 a day. A day by day rental at Latitude 45 lasts from the time the store opens till shut. The upper-end bikes are, in fact, costlier to lease, with the e-bikes going for $58 a day. Helmets, locks and some different equipment are included with every rental.

This dog-friendly store is brimming with skilled staffers who like to level out one of the best spots to experience within the space. To keep away from the push and correct bike decisions are ensured, patrons can see bike availability and prices in real-time by visiting www.latitude45.com. Rental bike supply to your private home or resort is on the market, although further charges might apply.

As soon as saddled up at Latitude 45, patrons can drop down simply two blocks and hit the Little Traverse Wheelway, a paved path that stretches from Charlevoix round Little Traverse Bay to Harbor Springs. Whereas components of the Wheelway run alongside U.S. 31 and are slightly boring, different stretches skirt the bay shore providing startlingly immense views, filled with shade. Largely, the Little Traverse Wheelway is flat, however a couple of doable climbs between Petoskey and Charlevoix imply cyclists will get some respectable train. Latest building within the Bay View space noticed the Wheelway detouring in a couple of spots. However, the work is all full now and the path is open once more.

Those that head towards Harbor Springs on the Wheelway will get an opportunity to shoot north on the North Western State Path, which is paved all the best way to Alanson. The place the 2 trails meet — close to the intersection of M119 and U.S. 31 — is a wonderful place for households to cease and seize a brew and a chew at Petoskey Brewing Firm. Only a few hundred ft from the Wheelway, Petoskey Brewing Co., the again of which buttresses the North Western State Path, gives glorious meals and nice suds. Attempt the Sexy Monk Belgian Dubbel with their award-winning olive burger.

Gaylord Space
Up North Paddlesports (4029 Previous U.S. 27, Gaylord, (989) 619-5976) has a wide range of rental bicycles for you and yours. A 24-hour rental at Up North prices $35 and every rental features a helmet and a lock. This can be a good choice for these in search of a real all-day rental as bikes might be returned after the shop closes. Right here once more, consolation hybrid-style bikes are the preferred gadgets. For finest rental outcomes, name forward to make sure availability.

The Belle Iron Path, 2,000 miles lengthy and almost spanning the complete size of Michigan, is barely ft away from the rental store with numerous ample parking at Up North Paddlesports’ accomplice, the Belle Iron Grille restaurant. The path gives miles and miles of paved rail-trail. Which means there are only a few, if any, onerous hills to climb, since outdated railroad right-of-way needed to be flat to accommodate heavy trains. That’s a plus for many informal riders, who discover too rigorous the hills of northern Michigan. Other than its pleasing, flat nature, the Belle Iron Path additionally gives nice views of attractive Otsego Lake.

In the case of biking and eating, Up North Paddlesports makes it simple, partnering with on-site Belle Iron Grille, which gives an out of doors grill, the place you’ll find post-ride dinner choices like sandwiches, hearty ribs and rooster, sides, and extra.

Traverse Metropolis Space
Brick Wheels (736 E. eighth St., Traverse Metropolis, 231-947-4274) is one among a number of bicycle rental outlets in Traverse Metropolis. From street and mountain bikes to cruisers, e-bikes, and kiddo trailers, Brick Wheels has the variability to go well with nearly any want. That includes manufacturers like Trek, Cannondale, and Electra, this dog-friendly store has hourly, day by day, and weekly rental charges. Some bikes might be rented in four-hour increments and prices vary from $10/4 hours for youths bikes to $40/4 hours for fat-tire bikes (trace for winter lovers!). Every day charges vary from $35 for Townies to $70 for e-bikes. Weekly charges are additionally accessible, as are pull-behind kiddie trailers. As with the opposite rental outlets, helmets, locks, and even some instruments are included with every rental. Try Brick Wheels’ web site, www.brickwheels.com, for a whole rundown of their rental fleet and charges.

Traverse Metropolis’s fashionable TART Path runs alongside Brick Wheels, giving rental cyclists handy entry to a paved path. The ten.5-mile east-west path has a median gradient of three p.c, which suggests even the novice bikers can benefit from the surroundings as a substitute of struggling to climb hills. Other than myriad outlets, resorts, and eating places, the TART Path additionally skirts Reffitt Nature Protect and intersects a number of different trails that provide views of different Traverse Metropolis areas. The Boardman Lake Path, for instance, runs alongside Boardman Lake, which is dwelling to The Filling Station Microbrewery, the place cyclists can cease for refreshment.

Oven-fired, flatbread pizza is what the Filling Station pumps out to hungry prospects. Sticking to a railroad theme, the Filling Station named a few of its pies after native rail traces. They embody the Memphis Line, a pizza that includes barbecue sauce, roasted rooster, and different contemporary components; the Burlington Northern, a pie boasting prosciutto, brie, purple onions and roasted garlic; and the Stoker, a mix of the Filling Station’s house-made pork sausage and all of the savory, fire-roasted greens the restaurant gives. Patrons can wash down their good pizzas with a gullet stuffed with the Filling Station’s personal Voss Norwegian Farmhouse Ale, a medium-bodied, gentle beer.

In the case of high-quality food and drinks in Traverse Metropolis: Inside two miles of Brick Wheels, there are at least 11 breweries, most of them that includes their very own meals or tasty meals truck fare.