Scooting Around Town: The Linden to Ypsilanti Jaunt

A couple of Saturdays ago, I forced myself out of my "sleep-in Saturday" mode to take my planned road trip to Scoot Around Town, a scooter shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I’m perfectly happy with Blu-B, my Yamaha Majesty, but I just felt like test driving a two-stroke Stella, a modern build of what is basically a 1970’s P-Series Vespa scooter made in India and distributed by the Genuine Scooter Company out of Chicago. I’d been there once before—Scoot Around Town, that is—but never on Blu-B and never via back roads.

I had lucked into a beautiful day, with a blue sky and just a slight nip in the mid-morning air. Being early April, the decaying, fallen leaves were competing with the new green growth and most everywhere I looked was either lake, wood, or farm. For those itching to go “Walden” and escape the commercial, this is a perfect route. Outside of a brief business strip in South Lyon and the very urban Ypsilanti itself—not to mention a slight glimpse of the GM Proving Grounds in Milford—this ride offers an escape from shopping, traffic and tension.

My starting point is Linden, a small town in Southern Lower Michigan with a quaint downtown complete with Victorian buildings and a mill that dates back to the 1840s. My route, courtesy of Mapquest’s “avoid highways” option, begins on Bridge Street, the local name for Linden road, which terminates about 30 miles north in Birch Run, famous for its outlet mall and proximity to the chicken dinners at Frankenmuth’s Zehnders and Bavarian Inn restaurants.

After passing Linden’s main drag, Broadway (aka Silver Lake Road), Bridge takes a wide, southeastern sweep of lake and trees before steering me due east along twisty Bennett Lake road. While that first part of the run is just short of three miles, I get another scenic four along the southeast stretch of White Lake, which snakes through a rather thick wood towards Fenton, Michigan.

The first long stretch south is the relatively straight but nonetheless spectacular Denton Hill road, also known as Fenton, Pleasant Valley, and Kensington at various points along the route. Fifteen miles north of where I join the road, it terminates in downtown Flint at one of my favorite eateries, the White Horse Tavern. A lot of lawyers go there; they say the best way to judge a restaurant is by the number of truckers it attracts, but I figure a place that keeps lawyers happy can’t be all that bad, either.

I’d been on Denton Hill before, taking it down to Michigan 59, a major highway that traverses about half of lower Michigan. Last time I was there was at the end of Fall when the colors, though slightly past their peak, still showed vivid orange, yellow and red. Although the route is quite straight, it has numerous hills and some mountain-like views. A little bit south of Fenton, I’m treated to a nine-percent grade that reveals a ribbon of road melting in to the horizon.

Nine miles later, the road becomes Pleasant Valley, where a “Pavement Ends” sign brings a sweeping, tree-lined dirt road that goes on for about a mile. Blu-B, a street bike by design, has always done well on tight-packed dirt and doing 40 is no problem. When the blacktop returns, the eastern side of the road is flanked by a rather high, seemingly endless run of fence. I wonder what someone is trying to keep out—or in—behind the chain-link. No prison in the area; wonder if it’s the Kensington Metro Park, which I have hiked it in the past.

Just as the fencing ends, near the jog at Stobart road, I see a very narrow, high-banked piece of concrete and realize I’ve been riding alongside the western edge of the GM Proving Grounds. Dating back to 1924, it was the first of its type for the industry.  According to Wikipedia, some 4,800 people work among the 107 buildings on the other side of that fence (although probably not on this fine Saturday, as the place seems eerily deserted). The Proving Grounds have eight or so specialty tracks that test performance and safety, including one that supposedly simulates Detroit’s 12 Mile road.

Wishing someone would invite Blu-B and me to sample the high bank, which, if it were orange would look just like a Hot Wheels set I used to have, I press on south past the I-96 interchange where the road becomes Kensington. Another steep grade, this one eight-degrees, provides another amazing vista. To my east now lays the Kensington Metro Park, a popular Michigan recreation area known for its hiking and biking. After a brief eastward jog on Grand River--another famous Michigan road that runs across the state from downtown Detroit to Grand Rapids--I make my way south to my favorite part of the ride, Pontiac Trail.

I know riders are supposed to love nature and nothing beats a scenic view, but my city boy heart stirs at the sight of the strip mall I find about an hour into the ride at Pontiac Trail and 11 Mile.  While I’m not very hungry nor particularly tired, I decide to stop anyway at the Senate Coney Island. While this is not the famous Senate location that lays further south in Oakland county, it’s a clean, friendly place at which I sample the scrambled eggs and, because I have no will power, a cola. The waitresses are friendly to me, the new-comer, but they seem to have a more humorous rapport with the regulars. I considered trying one of their coney island hot dogs, but it’s too early. Being from Flint, I am of the impression that no one makes a better coney than us; the meat in a Flint coney is drier and holds well to the Flint-made Koegel franks. Whenever my best friend, a Flint native, comes home, the first thing he does is get a Flint coney. He’s not the only “Flintstone” that does so. Nevertheless, I remain open minded and am always willing to try a new taste.

Back on the bike, just a mile later, I am sorry I ate so soon. Not that my eggs were coming back up on me or anything like that, but because I have run into the heart of South Lyon, a beautiful community that I immediately fall in love with. Even the MacDonald’s here is cool – I’d never seen one built quite like it. But the place that catches my eye most is Brown’s Root Beer and Sandwich Shop, an old A&W stand from the sixties that I visit on the trip back (more on that later).

With South Lyon in the rearview, I’m back into rolling hills and farmland, the stuff of which Michigan rides are made. After taking a quick eastern jog on Seven Mile, I hit Angle road, the most appropriately named road of this route as it literally angles you towards Six Mile, which I take briefly before turning South on Curtis. At the “T” of Curtis and Six, by the way, is a stunning bright red barn, the focal point of  Three Cedars Farm, which, in the Fall, turns into a farm-based amusement park, complete with a life-size corn field maize and hay rides. Three Cedars is full of retro relics and is an example of what farms must do to survive these days.

I press southward past another five miles of farms, horses and a wonderful sign that thankfully warns,

"LOOK TWICE, SAVE A LIFE, MOROTCYCLES ARE EVERYTWHERE."

History is everywhere, too. At Curtis and North Territorial, west of Plymouth, I find the Jarvis Stone School, which dates back to 1857. Now the home of the Salem Area Historical Association, it was in use as a school until 1967, which means I could have actually gone to kindergarten and first grade there. Judging by the names Plymouth and Salem, the area must have been settled by people from Massachusetts, but that’s just my slightly educated guess.

A jog west down Plymouth-Ann Arbor road takes me to Ford road and down the final leg of the trip, North Prospect street. For some reason, Mapquest chose to send me further west on Plymouth-Ann Arbor, back east on Ford Road, and then south down Prospect instead of having me take Prospect off Plymouth-Ann Arbor. I followed Mapquest’s advice, but avoid the Ford on the way back and find the bypassed section to be another lovely, broad sweeping curve. Ford road (also known as M-153), while not as beautiful, is not without history; it was named for Henry Ford’s father, William, for his civic work in Dearborn Township.  This honor was earned, by the way, in 1905, after his son Henry had started the Ford Motor Company, but well before his world reknown.

On North Prospect I find an interesting contrast. Over the course of its five miles, it goes from bucolic splendor to densely-populated urban area. Just past the Chick-Inn (a cool old 1953 drive-in that I regret I did not stop at), horses and trees give way to people milling about at the local stop-and-shop, kids playing basketball—the thriving city of Ypsilanti.

Finally, I hit Michigan Avenue, part of historic US-12, one of the first near-transcontinental routes that went from Detroit to Washington State. Before it was established in the 1920s, the part of the road in Michigan and Illinois was known as the Sauk route, which itself may have been built on an old game trail. This is a road with a history. The heavy commercialism I encounter on this stretch conjures little of that past. No worry, though, as I’ve made it to Scoot Around Town.

Started by Dr. Mike Friedlander in 2004, Scoot has been at its current location at 1180 E. Michigan Avenue since 2005; the shop’s website boasts that it has one of the “largest selection of scooters in the Midwest.” Looks true enough to me. They have a healthy stock of numerous brands, as well as some vintage Vespas—I am particularly struck by a red, early-60s Allstate, which was made by Vespa for Sears.  At $2,500, which in this economy is probably somewhat negotiable, it seems well priced; my personal economic downturn—coupled with what would surely be a jealous Blu-B—prevent me from even thinking about buying it of course. Besides, I'm here to see Stella.

Scoot has quite a few Stellas in stock, including a used side-car model decorated in Maize and Blue (Ypsi is just east of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor). Jason, the incredibly nice salesman who spends a great deal of time with me, requires that I first ride the side-car version before testing the two-wheeler. “It’s really easy to pop a wheelie on them if you’re not careful,” he says. After signing the necessary legal waiver, I find myself wrestling with keeping the sidecar rig on all three tires. It’s different, I’ll admit, and not very enjoyable, so I’m glad when Jason graduates me to the light blue Stella.

Riding a Vespa, with its right-side, rear mounted engine and left-hand shift/cluch mechanism, is different from not only my mount but most motorcycles in general. Unlike Blu-B, with its even, low center of gravity, the Stella’s engine weight makes the bike want to fall to its right. A disconcerting feeling, but easy to counteract. 
My fear of popping a wheelie, coupled with the novelty of clutching and shifting with my left hand, finds me stalling the bike the first time out. No worries. Jason kicks it back to life (there is an electric starter, but the battery isn’t charged) and the smell of two-stroke oil fills the air as the exhaust whirls about my right leg. I finally get it in gear and take a few laps around the parking lot. Never going fast enough to get it beyond second, I’m loving this all the same. I definitely see a Stella in my future, but don’t worry, “Bloobs.” I’ll never leave you!

After the ride, I stop back to look around the shop, but feel guilty for not buying anything. I pick up a “Scoot About Town” license plate frame, offering to purchase it, but Jason tells me, “They’re free.”

Is there no end to Jason’s kindness and generosity? I eventually pick out a couple of license plate bolts capped with little blue reflectors. Very mod. Four bucks later, I’m headed west down Michigan, north up Prospect, past the Chick-Inn, and back into the country headed for home. But not before making one more along the way.

Brown’s Root Beer in South Lyon.

While common sense dictates I should try one of their award-winning coneys, I go with a tuna salad sandwich and a mug of Brown’s root beer, both of which are excellent. The homemade brew has a certain bite to it that is unlike anything I have tasted, and the experience at Brown’s has become the highlight of the ride.

A couple of weeks later, I did come back in the car with my kids and had a coney. Is it possible I’ve found a rival for my beloved Flint-style? My son, who is very hard to please when it comes to food, loved his hot dog, as well as the tuna melt my daughter reluctantly shared. Their favorite part of the meal, of course, were the root beer floats and the free cake celebrating owner Ed Brown’s birthday. Ed is the son of the original owner, Max, who founded the place in 1960. It’s hard to find a place both my kids love, but they are already begging me to take them back. Needless to say, I’m happy to oblige. Have to make it a Saturday though, because Brown’s is closed on Sunday.

As for the end of my Ypsi trip, I ride back a little more full and a little less rushed. I stop to take a few pictures along the way home, including one of the South Lyon hotel, an upscale restaurant I plan on visiting in the near future. This little jaunt, no more than three hours roudntrip, not counting Stella shopping and restaurant hopping, has proven to be one of my most rewarding back-road rides. I may have missed my "sleep-in Saturday," but this dream of a route proves one does not have to travel very far to find a little adventure, history, taste and beauty.

-MBK-

Click here for the map for this route .