Had to book it today into the U.P. – some serious gusty wind was on the way, and the Mackinac Bridge is pretty sketchy in high winds (you can pay someone to drive your car across if you aren’t comfortable!)
It’s extra sketchy since usually there’s a paved lane and then a metal grate (aka “cheesegrater”) lane.. but it is under construction, so it is down to a single lane each way and the only choice is the metal.
I’ve ridden lots of metal grate bridges before, especially up in Alaska.. but not 5 mile long ones in gusty wind.
So I got up early and tried to get there before noon. The winds were just starting to kick up when I got onto the bridge, it was not super fun. The metal grate part is pretty worn out and wiggly so you just gotta let things wander around. I would not want to try it in 50 mph gusts.
Since I got across early, I went and had breakfast: Mackinac Whitefish cake benedict. It was pretty good. Then I popped into a random local barbershop and got my crazy man hair and beard trimmed down. It is a tourist area so everybody is friendly and casual.
By this time the winds had really kicked up and it was a semi-sideways ride up to the hotel an hour or so away. Tomorrow might be interesting, as part of wisconsin is also calling for crazy wind gusts around the time I’m rolling through.
Audio book: Return of the King. The ring is destroyed! Still 8 hours of endings left.
Dennis Rides - Motorcycles & Bicycles 