I cross posted this in ADV, but figured some of you may never make it over there.The WR250R did great. I'm really loving it more and more.Somecallmetim (Tim, KLX250S), Jbake5 (Joe, WR450F - plated), and I (WR250R) were planning on doing the Hanging Rock 200 Dual Sport in southern Ohio this past weekend. However, the entrance fee of $90 per person; the additional costs of lodging, fuel, and food; and the soggy conditions in southern Ohio led us to seek a different dual sport / off road riding location. We tentatively planned for West Virginia, but late reviews of the weather made it seem that the weekend would be totally wet down there, too.
At almost the last minute, Tim consulted the weather for the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and found that it looked pretty good for the weekend. He and I are also planning on attending the CannonTrek V dual sport ride in Michigan next month, and we figured we could use a few days to hone our sand riding skills. That, coupled with the money we’d save on entrance fees, sealed the deal for us.
Tim spec’d out the trip, and plotted a route to White Cloud, MI; one of the larger trail networks closest to us, and one of the ones we had not ridden before. Even being the “closest” the trip there was going to be 7+ hours… three guys in an extended cab S-10. Joe was the smallest, so he was “chosen” to sit in the jump seat in the extended cab. Surprisingly, we had a lot of fun on the trip up, telling jokes and laughing about the kind of stupid shit only three guys trapped in a 20 cubic foot area with each other find funny.
We arrived at the Manistee NF / White Cloud ORV trailhead at around 1:30 pm Saturday, immediately unloaded, and hit the trails; planning on heading north until dark and then finding dinner and a motel in the closest town. We carried no camping gear or extra clothes, only tools, some food, gas, and water.
We rode the White Cloud / MCCCT trail north, linked up with the Big and Little O ORV trails, and continued on.
We stopped near dusk after about 60 miles in the town of Baldwin, hoping to get fuel, food, and a motel. The streets were packed with hundreds of cruiser style bikes and pedestrians, and every 3 seconds some fool would shake windows with an excessively loud exhaust. Every restaurant had huge lines, and every motel had the “No Vacancy” sign lit. Shit.
We found out the town was hosting the “Blessing of the Bikes” event, which explained the leather clad, scowling Harley riders we had kept seeing on the way up. The community of 900 people was overrun with several thousand bikers, in town to receive an en masse “blessing” at the airport the following day. Whatever. I found it to be a display of douchebaggery at it’s finest. I talked for a few minutes with the under-sheriff of Lake County as I snapped a few pictures, and in conversation I referred to the event as a “goat fuck”. He thought that was pretty funny and agreed. A goat fuck, indeed, which would mean no food and no motel nearby for the three of us.
We decided to take the road back to the White Cloud ORV parking lot and load up, and then head into Fremont, 40+ miles away, in the hopes of finding lodging. The street ride back was quite chilly. Joe was wearing only a jersey and seemed quite miserable.
We quickly found lodging in Fremont, gulped down some pizza (from a joint called Spanky’s), and hit the rack, weary from the days ride and looking forward to the 6:30 am departure for Sunday’s trail riding.
Sunday morning, we hurriedly ate at the hotel’s continental breakfast bar, the “continental” part causing Tim and I to think about a Christopher Walken character on Saturday Night Live and having a few chuckles over it.
We gassed up, and headed to the Holton Motorcycle Trail nearby. We were riding by 8:00 am, chewing up some awesome single track and exploring what appeared to be the remnants of a “sand quarry”, if such a thing exists.
We connected with a series of motorcycle trail, ORV route, and seasonal roads and had a great ride through the area.
We stopped for lunch in Holton, and decided to ride some more nearby trails for a few hours and then ride west, to Lake Michigan.
A series of back roads got us to Scenic Drive, along the lake, and we stopped for a half hour to hang out on the beach and take a break. I found a set of stairs that mandated a trip up and down.
We wanted to see the sand dunes at Silver Lake, so we continued north on Scenic Drive and looped through Muskegon, then followed B-15 along the lake. Silver Lake and the sand dunes were pretty cool. I was surprised to see guys in stock Chevy Trailblazers and 1500 series pickups chewing up the dunes in the ORV area right alongside guys in sand rails with paddle tires; it seems like with nothing more than an orange flag and lowered tire pressure anyone can be a dune rat. We also saw a solitary windsurfer trying to get out there, but the wind wasn't quite strong enough for him.
Darkness was coming soon, and we wanted to get back to the truck before the sun went down to avoid a repeat of the previous evening’s cold ride. A series of neat back roads through some farm country got us back by 8:00 pm, and after loading the bikes and gear up I promptly dozed off, awakened only by the truck coming to a stop near Grand Rapids. Dinnertime!
We all shared driving duties on the trip home, resulting in me being squeezed into the extended cab from south of Lansing the rest of the way home. As tight as it was, I didn’t really find it to be uncomfortable; and I slept most of the way. We got back to my house at 3:00 am, and said our “goodbyes”.
Trail assessment: The type of terrain and the type of forest the trail cleaves through dictates how technical it is. Some areas were flat and wide open, allowing you to really flog the bikes; other areas in the hardwood forests were very tight, allowing you only to crawl along as you swam the bars between trees and negotiated tight turns, knocking foot pegs on roots. The pine forests were deceiving to the eye; the trees are planted in neat rows and the trail jogs back on forth between them, but all the trees look exactly the same. There is some kind of mind trickery that makes it hard to stay focused on the trail as the same pine tree goes whizzing past you every ½ second. There were no true “hills” in the sense that I’m familiar with, but there were some elevation changes to keep things interesting. The trails were in pretty good shape, fairly sandy in spots, but well packed and moist in others. Some sections were whooped out. There were a few water holes, but nothing impassable. Big / Little O, and most of the trails that see use by quads, have a lot of higher speed “banked” turns which were good fun. The single track / motorcycle only trails are pretty consistently just wider than the bike and are challenging without being brutal. Other trail users were polite and friendly, pulling over and signaling the number of other riders with them. Signage was very good. The trails were mostly free of obstructions; but every so often there would be a small stump (worn smooth) in the middle of the trail, or a downed tree, or a series of roots.
Michigan is a cool place. 3100+ miles of ORV trails through some of the most beautiful and enjoyable riding areas I’ve ever been in make it pretty special. Add to that the fact that a yearly ORV permit is $16, getting you in to all that stuff! Contrast it with Ohio; we have about 200 miles, maybe, of state and federal forest riding areas; none of which is particularly spectacular and all of which is overused.
On this trip alone we rode 287 miles; over 50 of that was just single track; probably another 120 of ORV route, with the balance being street or seasonal roads.
Thanks for checking out my report and pictures.
-Mark
Home 
Latest images 
