Getting the flavor of ... Michigan’s coast by bike

last updated 8 January 2015

Michigan’s coast by bike

Michigan may have put the “world on four wheels,” but the state is best viewed on two, said Tim Jones in the Chicago Tribune. In Michigan, there is “no prettier roadway” than the Tunnel of Trees, which runs along the state’s west coast. The “narrow, twisting” stretch of highway “lovingly hugs the northeastern shore of Lake Michigan” for 21 miles, starting in Cross Village and ending in the “Gatsbyesque land” of Harbor Springs. After a hearty lunch of pierogi and corned beef at the “1920s-era” Legs Inn in Cross Village, we hopped onto our bikes. Shaded beneath canopies of pines and broad-leaf trees, the route winds past nine lighthouses and weaves along 460-foot-high sand dunes, offering “breathtaking views” of Lake Michigan and “touches of rustic charm.” The Tunnel of Trees turns out to be an apt name, but it “doesn’t adequately describe the beauty” of this idyllic ride.

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Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy, N.C., claims to have inspired his namesake television show, said Marshall Berdan in The Philadelphia Inquirer. After strolling down Main Street, you’ll be convinced. Here, “it’s Mayberry time all year round.” This year marks the 50th anniversary of the “folksy, feel-good” 1960s show—as well as the 21st anniversary of the town’s Annual Mayberry Days. From Sept. 23 to 26, “nostalgia-hungry crowds” will visit Mayberry Court House, scour the artifacts at the Andy Griffith Museum (housed in his former grammar school), and take photos with the bronze statue of Andy and Opie en route to the “ol’ fishing hole.” For aficionados, however, the “best way to see the town” is from the back of a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 squad car. A 35-minute tour takes visitors through “both the historical Mount Airy and the imaginative Mayberry.”