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Hilly Rides Mid-Mitten Cycling

A Scenic Hill Ride, or a Hilly Scenic Ride?

42nd Street north of Augusta
42nd Street north of Augusta

This recreation-rich area west of Battle Creek doesn’t have the biggest hills, but the setting is undeniably pretty, with rolling farmland, MSU’s Kellogg Experimental Forest and Gull Lake as a backdrop. It’s also one of the few areas where you can put several climbs together in a loop, rather than doing hill repeats. Thus the conundrum: is this a good hill climbing route that happens to have some nice scenery, or is it a scenic route with some decent hills? I’ll leave that up to you, providing several options for your ride.

The route described here begins in the village of Augusta and heads into the hills just north of town. A double loop of 20 miles will give you about 800 feet of climbing (contrary to the gain reported by MapMyRide, which seems unusually suspect in this part of Michigan). If you want more climbing, you could do another loop. Or you could do up-and-downs on E F Ave. or on one of the steep streets right in town. On the other hand, if you prefer a longer scenic ride with more gently rolling hills, you could throw in a loop of about 12 miles around Gull Lake for a total of 32 miles.

Augusta Creek from E F Ave.
Augusta Creek from E F Ave.
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