ABOUT M.O.R.E.
M.O.R.E. stands for Michigan Off Road Expedition, an 1050 mile bike-packing route across the two great peninsulas of the state of Michigan. We wanted to share our lifelong knowledge of riding in Michigan in an easy to access and digest route.
Use the route as a reference for smaller rides, ride it in sections or do the whole dang thing! No matter how you do it as long as you get out to ride you’re doing it right.
LOWER PENINSULA
At over 550 miles the lower peninsula MORE route is definitely a challenging ride. While none of the singletrack is overly technical in nature it can be very rustic in spots and makes progress slow going at times. The southern portion of the route has a lot of gravel and two-tracks which makes for quicker travel while the northern section is heavily singletrack with hilly terrain. The route passes through notable trail systems and you could easily add days and miles along the route by riding each trail system in its entirety. It's totally up to the individual how they'd like to approach the route, but my recommendation would be to plan on roughly one week to complete the ride.
There are ample camping opportunities making this an excellent bikepacking route. I have created a simple riders guide to help with planning purposes and will continue to refine the detail over time. Re-supply is straightforward as well with the route passing very near many 24 hour stores and larger towns. While you could certainly take a crack at riding the whole route in one long ride I would recommend taking at least a few nights to camp and rest. The route travels through so much beautiful country that it is a bit of a shame to ride in the dark and not enjoy the scenery!
UPPER PENINSULA
The final completed route across the UP clocks in at 486 miles complete with nearly 40 miles of singletrack, several miles of bike path, stretches of pavement to relax and over 300 miles of dirt road/two-track/ORV trails. The route is quite diverse starting from the relatively flat, dense and water laden eastern portion to the very hilly, open and rugged western portion.
