We didn’t get to take this trip in 2020, but twice before we’ve made this bike, boat and bike some more trip to Michigan.
Once a year the Lake Express Ferry holds a bicycle donation day here in Milwaukee. Turn in a bicycle and get a free round trip ticket on the ferry to Muskegon, MI.
For years we discussed turning in our old bikes and taking the ferry to the other side. One year we forgot the date, another time we only had one spare bike, or we learned of the donation day too late.
But after years of talking about it, in 2017 we finally turned in a pair of bicycles, including a children’s bike purchased the night before for $10 and got our tickets on the Lake Express Ferry to Michigan.
I had kidded for years that I wanted to bike east out of Milwaukee. So we did.
Waking up at 4:30 a.m. we grabbed our bags and jumped on our bikes. The city was quiet, the ride was quick.
East Town, the Third Ward, Walker’s Point were all a bit eerie to ride through at that early hour, but we were quick and soon zipped through Bay View and arrived at the ferry.
We learned that bikes board first, so jumped on our bikes and rode right on. Then attempted to tie the bikes to the boat while the cars were loading. After a bit of a struggle with the ropes we left our bikes and headed to the cabin.
It was pretty busy, finding seats wasn’t easy.
Then it was time to go up top. The wind was brisk and chilly.
We watched as Milwaukee faded into the distance.
Arriving in Muskegon, things work the other way round. Cars deboarded first, then bicycles and pedestrians. From there we headed downtown.
Downtown is just a couple of blocks, with some signs of recent redevelopment. Though Muskegon clearly has suffered from de-industrialization.
So it was a quick bite at a diner, then to the hotel.
We hadn’t asked, but we brought our bikes into what was the Holiday Inn Muskegon-Harbor at the time so we could store them overnight without any problems.
This trip we never made it to Grand Haven, a beach town south of Muskegon, as we had planned. Instead, we biked to some dunes, got lost on our bikes, rode some roads we shouldn’t have and turned back due to lack of food and water.
We did manage to hit a couple of breweries (check out Unruly Brewing Company if you get the chance), one great beach and a bar or two.
In fact, it was a great time and the trip set us up for our bike and boat trip to Holland, MI.
The boat trip home was wonderful. We sat out back the entire ride home. It was loud but the fresh air and view of Michigan fading in the distance makes for good time, especially with a beer or two.
