All routes are road rides unless otherwise noted. Distances for road rides are measured from either the Flagpole on the Diag or the South Quad/West Quad area. Compiled by Alex Eversmeyer |
Ways to get out of town
Huron River Drive: A left turn off of Main Street, right before the ramp to M-14 East, HRD is a sometimes-busy, sometimes-quiet road that is decently well-paved for most of its length. It follows Barton Pond and the Huron River and passes two state recreational areas, and it is this scenic quality that makes this road the one most often used by cyclists to start their rides. HRD heads northwest out of town. Pontiac Trail: A pain to get to with the Broadway Bridge construction, Pontiac Trail is a decent road that heads north/northeast towards South Lyon and Kensington Metropark. The best way to get there is to go through the medical campus and across the bridge, turn left onto Maiden Lane, and you will be very close to Pontiac Trail when maiden Lane hits Plymouth Rd. Pontiac Trail can be heavily trafficked at times, but features a bike lane for part of the ride in and out of town. Whitmore Lake: Accessed by turning left onto Barton Rd. from Pontiac Trail, Whitmore Lake was recently repaved between North T and campus, making it a very smooth ride. This road heads due north. Platt & State: These two roads head due south, parallel to each other. State Street features a bike lane between central campus and Eisenhower. Platt can be accessed by riding down Packard (which also has a bike lane for a while) past the merge with Eisenhower. Platt is a right turn from that road. Both roads are fairly heavily trafficked, and at times narrow, but both lead to quieter roads south of town. Scio Church Road: A busy road close to town, Scio Church quiets down as you ride further west, especially once you get past the rolling hills to where it flattens out. There is a bike lane on Scio Church to get you from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School to Maple Road. Scio Church is decently paved for most of its length, and takes you all the way to M-52, south of Chelsea. One note: Scio Church is not much fun if you're headed into the wind! Jackson Road: Some people hate this road, but it provides an alternate route west to Chelsea and Waterloo if you're tired of HRD. Jackson Road is Huron Blvd. in downtown, and is quite busy for most of the day. The best place to pick up Jackson is from Seventh Street. Once past Maple Road, there is a bike lane through the outlying business areas, and a little after the intersection with Zeeb Road, Jackson quiets down a bit. Also known as Old M-12 on maps, this road will take you to the southern tip of Chelsea and all the way to Jackson, if you want to ride really far. |