A few months back a plan was hatched...let Corey and Jenelle meet Kirk and Wendy in the pinky finger (aka Traverse City) region of Michigan for some bicycle touring of the area and a sampling of the local wineries. We got a plan together, picked a weekend, and the Leelenau Cycle & Sip was born. The weather pitched in and we had an awesome time.

Friday was a travel day, i.e. work all day and then drive the 4.5 hours to Traverse City. Mom and Dad had set up camp at TC State Park and we met there, sat around the campfire, had a few s'mores, and turned in. Saturday morning we were up early, pouring on the sunscreen, pulling on cycling shorts, eating breakfast and heading out on Hwy 37 up Old Mission Peninsula. The opening 10-12 miles were pretty hilly, so we stopped along the way for a water and photo break:

After showers and lunch, we set out once again - this time by car - for the Old Mission wineries. First was Peninsula Cellars where our favorites were the fruit wines and ice Riesling. Then we moved on to Chateau Grand Traverse where we tasted and then joined a tour of the wine-making process and facility. The last stop was definitely the favorite, upstart Brys Estate. Here sampled some very good wines and even purchased a chilled bottle to enjoy on their shade-covered terrace, sitting in Adirondack chairs and looking out over the vines to East Bay. After the wineries, we visited Mission Lighthouse, took in a motorcycle show happening on the streets of downtown, and made pizza-ninis back at the campground for dinner.

Sunday started with the task of breaking camp, followed by the trip to Leeland for the start of Day 2's ride. The hilly 21.46 miles of Saturday were looming large, so we opted for a relatively flat 14.6 around Lake Leeland.