Happy Trails

Muskegon to Kentwood – 53 miles
Average Speed – Well, we walked a lot today

We had a nice breakfast at our bed and breakfast and chatted with the guests who were taking sailing lessons and the couple from Germany who were in the US for a family reunion. Breakfast started late as did we, but we really had no pressing issues in Kentwood.

We stopped at the e Bicycle Rack Bike Shop in search of a Bike GR map. The online one crashed our laptop because it is so huge. One guy kept his personal copy in a special place, but he wasn’t able to find it. Oh, well. We would hit the library that was right on our route and tried to find a copy since the website said they were available from both libraries and bike shops.

Ice Cream Stop on the Trail

The Musketawa Trail proved to be a quick route to GR. We met Alice and Dale on the trail. Dale offered his Florida map, which he had with him. That wouldn’t help us too much, but their suggestion of the Interurban Depot Diner in Marne proved very worthwhile. We deviated from the last few miles of the trail and beelined into Marne to try out this place.

We left lunch and found a library, which didn’t have the Bike GR map, but which did have two extremely helpful librarians who gave us a GR map(not the bike map) and called to find a bike shop that did have the bike map. It’s too bad that the city doesn’t make sure that all libraries have a copy of the map. Then again, after following the recommended routes on the map, maybe nobody should have a copy.

To put it bluntly and omit all the gory details: Getting across GR to Kentwood was not pleasant at all. It took us longer than it did to get from Muskegon to the outskirts of GR. I certainly wouldn’t recommend the routes that we followed, which were recommended in the map.

We thought that we were booked at the Holiday Inn Express on 28th St. in Kentwood. The idea was to get beyond the city so that we could head southeast toward Toledo tomorrow.
28th street is totally unsuitable for cyclists or pedestrians. We were each today. We rode through as many parking lots along 28th as we could and then walked where the pavement ended. There is absolutely no shoulder on 28th and the traffic definitely isn’t calmed.

When we arrived at the hotel, the desk clerk could not find our reservation. She finally checked the chain-wide system and told us that we were at a different hotel that was two-miles back in the direction that we had so carefully navigated to avoid the traffic. Fortunately, the hotel had a shuttle, which we took to the correct hotel. No way were we going to retrace our steps(and take that literally because we walked along the busy road) in the opposite direction.

It’s amazing how the Holiday Inns have improved since those soccer traveling team days when the brand seemed the worst option. Our hotel doesn’t compare to that Kentucky hotel in the least. We are very comfortable and could easily stay here a few days. Our few days off will come in just a few days when we reach Toledo.

We will try to get an early start to avoid some heavy traffic on Route 37.