USBR 35

Pleased as I am that the US Bicycle Route planners chose to run USBR through Empire, I am startled and appalled at their choice of route between Mackinaw City and Empire. (The maps can be found here.) For example, it takes riders on one of the busiest roads—a commercial artery—in northern Michigan, US-31 between Eastport and Elk Rapids, which has virtually no shoulder, rather than routing it on beautiful quiet roads along Torch Lake. It takes riders on a treacherous stretch of M-22 (Manitou Trail) between Leland and Glen Arbor (again, heavy traffic, no shoulder), rather than routing them on a gorgeous stretch along Lake Lelanau, then through Cedar and Maple City. These are stretches of road that I avoid at all costs because they are so dangerous.

What's the point of the bicycle route system if the routes they choose are unfit for bicycling? If I'm a bike tourist, I want a route that I can trust to be safe, such as the Adventure Cycling routes, which are reliably safe. The USBR system isn't reliably safe, at least not in northwest Michigan.