HELMETS ARE REQUIRED
Ride #3 (Wednesday, June 11th) – Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail from Empire:
Overview: This ride will be an out and back ride along the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. We will ride in 2 groups (fast group and an intermediate group) north along S. Lake Michigan Drive for about 1 mile until the street ends at County Road 689 (S. Lacore Street). Then, we’ll turn north and ride about one quarter mile until we reach the Sleeping Bear Trail. Both groups will ride north for about an hour and then turn around and ride back to the Empire Beach Park. We should end up riding between 20 and 25 miles depending on your speed. I’ll ride sweep to ensure everyone backs back Ok. After the ride, we’ll have lunch at Joe’s Friendly Tavern (11015 Front St., Empire).
Meeting Time and Location – We will start the ride in Empire at the Empire Beach Park (at 10484 W Niagara St. Empire, MI 49630 – south end of S. Lake Michigan Drive). We will start the ride right in front of the lighthouse at the north end of the parking lot. Meeting time is at 9:40am. We will start riding at 10am.
Cycling Notes: Once we turn onto County Road 689, stay on left side of roadway. The shoulder is wide and the entrance to the Sleeping Bear Trail is on the left side of the road. That way, you won’t have to cross the county road twice. Most cyclists will ride past Glen Haven, some will make it as far as the Alligator Hill Trailhead near Glen Arbor. It is about 9.5 miles to the Alligator Hill trailhead from the the Bar Lake Road Trailhead (which is about 1.6 miles north of Empire). NOTE: There are some short, but sharp hills between The Dune Climb and the Bar Lake Trailhead. One hill is an 11% grade (but don’t give up).
Lunch: Joe’s Friendly Tavern opens at 8am M-Th. Breakfast is served until 11am, so we will miss that. Try to assemble at Joe’s by 12:15pm. The menu is at https://www.joesfriendlytavern.com/menu.