Yep, there’s an alleycat tonight at 8pm at Hart Plaza. It’s the rescheduled June 18th event.

Don’t worry if you can’t make it, as there are a couple more on the calendar and more planned.

• Sunday,  July 6th at 2:00pm in Hart Plaza
  
• Wednesday, July 30th at 8:00pm in Hart Plaza

They’re fun and free, so there are no excuses for staying home tonight.

I recently spent time in Interlochen, Michigan, just outside of Traverse City. While it’s know mostly for the Interlochen Center for the Arts, it also has one of Michigan’s first state parks and miles of great roads and trails.

We stayed at the state park. Our original intentions were to camp in a tent, until I saw the tee pee rentals for only $30. It was darn cool lodging despite the fact that Michigan Indian’s didn’t live in tee pees, We had a great view of the lake and it kept out most of the torrential rain.

As for riding, the roads around Interlochen are great until you start getting too close to the busier Traverse City area. Many of the major state roads had paved shoulders.

I also hit the trails both on bike and foot. The Lost Lake Pathway just north of Interlochen was a decent, flat, and sometimes sandy trail. Further northwest was the Lake Ann Pathway, which was a lot of fun to ride — more hills and less sand. I’d cross country skied part of this trail back in January.  It was pretty straightforward riding between the two trails and including a rest stop in the interesting Lake Ann general store.

And, I did head to the southwest and briefly rode on the Platte River snowmobile trail (very sandy) and Betsie Valley trail.

I could have spent a week up here exploring.

Cup fever has hit Hockeytown and today’s parade downtown really capped off the celebration.

With a million spectators expected, the newspapers warned about traffic and parking problems ($20!). No problems for biking. In fact, it seemed like a lot of other folks had the same idea.

Fortunately I was able to get around and take quite a few photos of Red Wings, the Cup, and more.

This Saturday is the Milford Trail Challenge. It’s a self-supported mountain bike ride where you choose how far you want to ride. It’s only $20 and is a benefit ride for local charities.

And the Village of Milford is simply a great place to start and end your ride. The downtown has its share of coffee shops and pubs. The relatively new Milford Trail is just around the corner. Proud Lake isn’t far either. The epic trails at Highland Rec. are just up the road. And, one can use the paved bike paths to access Hickory Glen and Island Lake (via Kensington.)

If you add it up, Milford is the center of some great mountain biking trails (not to mention hiking, horse, cross-country skiing, and water trails.) The Milford Challenge is a great way to introduce yourself to what’s available and ride with friends.