HELMETS ARE REQUIRED
Ride #1 (Thursday, May 16th) – Darrow Park TC to Farm Club
Overview: This ride will start in Traverse City at Darrow Park (at the intersection of Bay Street and N. Monroe Street) and travel north along the Leelanau Trail, with lunch at The Farm Club on the return route. The Farm Club opens at Noon, so we will have different turnaround points for the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced groups so that everyone can arrive at The Farm Club a little before Noon. Note: In the summer, there is usually a line of people waiting to get into Farm Club before Noon. So we all need to be there by 11:50am if we want to avoid waiting for a table.
Meeting Location – Darrow Park in Traverse City along the Bay Street roadway. Parking will be along both sides of Bay Street.
Meeting Time - Meeting time is 9:45 am. The ride (all groups) will start at 10:00 am sharp.
The Ride: From Darrow Park, we will cycle north on the TART trail to where it crosses M72 (near Tom's Market). From there the TART becomes the Leelanau Trail and continues north as far as Dumas Road in Suttons Bay. We won’t be going that far. It is 5 miles between Darrow Park and the point on the trail where the boardwalk to The Farm club begins (to the right before crossing Lake Leelanau Drive). All outbound groups will cross and continue riding north, later using the boardwalk during inbound return.
NOTE: The trail crossing at Lake Leelanau Drive is dangerous. The auto traffic from both the north and south is typically going 50-60 mph and has the right of way. Everyone needs to stop, look, and wait for a safe break in the traffic before crossing.
The Beginner Riding Group (10-12 mph average speed) will ride another 5 miles north from the Lake Leelanau Drive crossing and then turn around at Shady Lane Road (near the 11 mile trail marker) and head back south to The Farm Club (15 miles of riding before Farm Club, and another 5 miles back to the parking = 20 miles total).
The Intermediate Riding Group (12-15 mph average speed) should ride as far as the trail crossing at Fort Road (this is a dirt road crossing about a quarter mile north of the 13 mile trail marker). A little over 7 miles back to the Farm Club. About 24 miles total riding.
The Advanced Riding Group (16-20 mph average speed) should ride as far as where the trail crosses Richter Road (about 14 miles from Darrow Park) and then turn around. Total distance for the Advanced group will be 28 miles.
Lunch: The Farm Club (10051 S. Lake Leelanau Drive Traverse City, MI 49684) opens at Noon and has both indoor and outdoor seating. To get there from the trail, after crossing Lake Leelanau Drive southbound, turn left (north) immediately on the previously mentioned boardwalk that parallels the road. That leads to a 100 yard somewhat loose gravel uphill bike trail up to the Farm Club parking area. It’s about 0.35 miles from the trail up the driveway to The Farm Club. If the weather is nice we can use the outdoor tables on the lawn for drinking and picnicking with snacks from their marketplace and outdoor bar. Farm Club has their own website (https://www.farmclubtc.com).