For the third time this summer, I’ve packed my biking and camping gear for what is my final multi-day ride of the year: the DALMAC. (That’s the Dick Allen Lansing to Mackinaw ride.)
This ride is always special. It was my first multi-day bike tour. Foolishly, I thought it would be a piece of cake, given my ability to go all-out on the spin bike for a whole 60 minutes! The ride where I discovered I really, really like riding my bike. And cyclists, well, they’re some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet.
The DALMAC has grown to be an event I can enjoy with a pack of my bike-riding buddies. Last year we were a group of seven hearty souls. This year the friend-pack numbers five, and I can hardly wait.
To get up before the crack of dawn. To pump my tires, fill my water bottles, and hit the road. To savor the straight stretches, to power up the hills, and feel like a kid when there’s a long downhill in front of me.
I’ll break a record for nights tenting in one summer when this is done: 18. As much as I don’t like sleeping in a tent, I love my bike and riding so much that I grin and bear it. Admittedly, I approach the tent thing much like Tom Hanks on Castaway, mentally ticking off each night.
As I pedal north, I am anticipating some cool nights ahead. Any normal person would be perfectly fine in my 40 degree sleeping bag. I am not normal. I have: cold weather wicking base layer clothes, wool socks, flannel pajamas, a long-sleeve Smartwool shirt, and a fleece blanket to put inside my bag. Still, I worry, it may not be enough. If need be, I’m putting on the fleece jacket, too.
I know I will laugh. Over and over again. I’ll meet loads of new and interesting people. I will push myself hard.
And on Sunday, the final day, it will be the bittersweet end of DALMAC. A lovely trip down M-119 through the Tunnel of Trees. That never gets old. There will be high five’s all around when we finish in Mackinac City. Pictures. Hugs. And promises to do it all over again next year.
That is DALMAC.
BikingAnne 