DALMAC 2016: amazing sums it up

 

Five days on the bike, East Lansing to Mackinaw City, with nearly perfect weather. It was an amazing way to end the summer.

The scenery was stunning.  Early morning sunrises along Elk Lake and Torch Lake Saturday morning.  Truly something to behold; even more beautiful taking it in silently on my bike.  Lunch with a view of Fife Lake on Friday.  Hearing the waves hitting the shore while riding the Little Traverse Wheelway into Petoskey.

There were cookies.  Sweetie-licious cookies.  DALMAC rest stop cookies.  Good Hart General Store cookies.  Lunch stop carrot cake.  And Cliff bars and Gatorade.

Some stiff headwinds day one and two.  Serious climbing days three and four.  And serious downhills:  a max speed of 33 mph for me.  A little outside my comfort zone, but fun nonetheless.

But it’s even better riding with friends!  Early morning breakfasts.  Leisurely afternoons.  Evenings playing euchre.  Losing track of time.

My countdown clock has already started for DALMAC 17.

DALMAC: the bags are packed and I’m ready to go

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.

Solitude, serenity, great views on #ShorelineWest

Seven days off the grid, for the most part.  Taking in some of the best scenery Michigan has to offer from my favorite vantage point:  my bike.  We pedaled past shorelines, sand dunes, sunflower fields, and scenic vistas.

Ahhhhh.

I’ve come to love weeks where I can unplug from everyday life and just … ride my bike.

There’s nothing leisurely about a week-long bike tour.  Everyone is up early, usually 6 am.  Grab a quick breakfast then it’s prep the bike and push-off for that day’s destination.

On the road means watching maps and looking for that tour’s road markings.  Cruising up hills.  Chugging my way to the top of others.  Doing a mental high-five when there’s one gear left on a really steep climb.

Enjoying downhills as fast as my wheels will take me.  That doesn’t get old!

Even with nearly 500 riders, the road isn’t crowded.

It doesn’t take long until I hardly know what day it is, only our next town.

There’s a comfortable rhythm to each day.  Arrive in camp.  Find your bags.  Grab a shower.  Relax.  Casual friendships take shape over the week as we recount the day’s adventures and look forward to what’s ahead.

While #shorelinewest is over, I still have one more end-of-summer biking adventure ahead.  The DALMAC is always a rip-roaring good time as well.  In just a few weeks it will be time to repack my bags and take a different path to the same destination, Mackinac City!

Upping the ante in 2016: first out-of-state tour!

Nearly every vacation day is planned and accounted for this year and it’s only February.  I’ve locked in 21 days of riding with four multi-day tours.  Squee!

Tried and true.  Unlike other rides, the Michigander mixes it up each year with different routes that mean new and interesting scenery.  Options, they’ve got that as well with two-day, six-day, and eight-day routes.  Gotta like that.  Going for the weekend ride that will include:

Starting at Fruitport High School, on the first day, we will ride the trail network to Kirk Park in Grand Haven and loop back. On the second day, we will ride out to the USS Silversides Museum and back.

The Shoreline West.  Make that the 30th Annual Shoreline West Bicycle Tour.  This was my first week-long ride a few years ago.  Crazy hills that test your mettle but breath-taking scenery that makes every climb with the effort.

DALMAC.  The granddaddy of Michigan bike tours.  I’ll be back for my fourth trip from Lansing to Mackinaw City, this time on the five-day west route.  What makes it so special?  Adventure.  Camaraderie.  Veterans and newbies.  For me, it’s always been a home run.

And now for something completely different.  Taking my bike on the road for my first out-of-state bike adventure:

Ride the Fault Line bicycling tour takes you through 4 states in 7 days along the New Madrid earthquake fault line.

-Tour a former home & studio of the literary giant Ernest Hemingway.

-Cross the mighty Mississippi River on an authentic riverboat ferry.

Go big or go home, right?  Michigan.  Missouri.  Kentucky.  Tennessee.  Arizona.  Boom!

2015 in review: Zoo-de-Mack, MUP, Slow Roll, and Silver Bells

It’s been quite a year chock full of new biking adventures.  At the risk of jinxing myself, I rode 2,400 miles without a flat, from the Upper Peninsula to the heart of Detroit.  And I’ve had more fun than you can shake a stick at!

Despite this being my fourth year as an avid (read crazy) road biker, there were plenty of firsts to keep things lively and interesting.

May

My first wild and crazy experience with Zoo-de-Mack.  Nothing like several thousand people biking from Boyne Highlands to Mackinaw City on a chilly May morning!  You can bet I’ll be back.

July

At the Antlers in the Soo!

This year’s week-long ride started and ended in St. Igance with the Michigan Upper Peninsula – MUP – ride sponsored by the League of Michigan Bicyclists.  Have never been above the bridge, with my bike that is, until this trip.  Amazing sights along the way.

August

The ODRAM:  One Day Ride Across Michigan.  Dare I say it again?  I rode 147 miles.  In one day.  Boom!

The Wayne State Baroudeur cruising through Detroit.  It was awesome.  Already penciled in for 2016.

September

Just crossed the Mackinac Bridge!

DALMAC:  five-day east route.  Third time for the DALMAC, first time on this route.  Up and over the bridge.  It totally rocked.  So did the riding crew!  Can’t wait for a repeat.

Slow Roll through Detroit.  An adventure with thousands of other riders for an after-work ride through the Motor City.  Two thumbs up.

November

The Silver Bells Parade in Lansing was a blast.  Who doesn’t love being in a parade?

Better yet, more adventures await in 2016.

Biking over the Mackinac Bridge: DALMAC serves up an incredible experience

In DALMAC years, I’m a relative newcomer.  My inaugural ride was four years ago when I signed up for the four-day west route.  It was an experience like no other when I pedaled more than 300 miles from East Lansing to Mackinac City.  After that, I was hooked on cycling.

Just a few days ago I finished my third DALMAC, this time the five-day east ride that includes peddling over the mighty and magnificent Mackinac Bridge that links the state’s two peninsulas.

The Mackinac Bridge is currently the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world. The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. The total length of the Mackinac Bridge is 26,372 feet. The length of the suspension bridge (including anchorages) is 8,614 feet.

As beautiful as the bridge is, driving can be a bit intimidating because the bridge soars far above lakes Michigan and Huron.  (The height of the roadway at mid-span is approximately 200 feet above water level.) How intimidating, you may ask?

The Mackinac Bridge Authority has a “Driver’s Assistance Program” that provides drivers for those uncomfortable with driving across the Mackinac Bridge.

Yeah, well, I pushed any nagging doubts to the back of my mind.  The fifth and final day was upon us and it was time to ride to Mackinac City and across the bridge.  We dawdled a bit, giving our official photographer time to arrive on the other side.

As we rounded the turn onto the bridge, the week’s SAG drivers were there shepherding riders to the five-mile journey across the bridge.  Game on!

As the ascent began, Lake Huron came into view.  This was spectacular; I slowed my pace to savor the experience.  Soon I was riding on the suspension portion of the bridge and a ferry to Mackinaw Island was passing below.  Filled with excitement and joy, I raised my hand and waved.  And waved and waved to anyone who may have been looking up our way.

Do you see me?  I am riding my bike over the bridge!  Can you believe it?

When we passed the midway point, we kept our speed in check, extending this awesome experience and ensuring our  group of seven would make the crossing together.

We wheeled into the rest area on the St. Ignace side of the bridge and exchanged high fives.  All around us fellow DALMAC riders were relishing their journey as well.  For me, it was the highlight of nearly 2,300 miles of biking this year.

And yes, I can’t wait to return to ride the bridge again.

Counting the days until … One Day Ride Across Michigan

The conversation began last summer, as it does, looking ahead to the 2015 riding season.  A mix of tours and one-day rides came together nicely.  A busy mix of something old and something new.  Some rides are keepers and some, well, are not.

Although I’ve been biking for a relatively short time, I’ve checked many boxes in four years, so to speak.  Among them:

• DALMAC
• Week-long tour
• Century

Let’s focus on that century.  Riding 100 miles.  In one day.  The first time I did it I was whooped.  Beyond tired.  But elated at the same time.  The following year I repeated the same rather brutal 100-mile Tour de Lacs.   In better time, too.  Last year for grins and giggles, I did two century rides in the summer.

The question has been hanging out there.  So you’ve ridden 100 miles.  How much farther could you go?  The last few years I’ve said I had 100 and some change.  Some change meaning about another 10 miles.  Maybe 15.

Next week we will really see what my biking legs are made of when I start pedaling in Montague and end in Bay City.

ODRAM, baby.

That’s the One Day Ride Across Michigan.  It’s literally just days away and I admit there’s a bit of nagging self-doubt.  Just a bit, mind you.  I’m going to ride from one side of the state to the other.  In one day. That’s 147 miles.  I really, really try not to think about that number.

I’m riding with two faster, stronger people who plan to stick with me.  A big thank you, in advance.  That’s key because I will need the company and the encouragement past 100.  At that point it’s not gonna be fast and it’s not gonna be pretty.  But if the wind is at my back, which it likely will be, and it’s mostly downhill for the last third of the course, I’ll cross the finish line.

Here’s to #ODRAM2015.

Riding season is well underway: one bike tour down, two to go!

While I was a bit concerned that rain might dampen the weekend, the Sunrise Bicycle Tour in Alpena was dry and sunny last week.  Not much more a cyclist can ask for on a three-day tour.  When Elvis shows up at one of the rest stops, things are that much better.

Wish I could say the same for this weekend.  The rain is coming down in buckets.  I’ll freely admit I do not like to ride in the rain.  So I ditched the plans for today and opted for warm and dry.  Tomorrow looks like I can get in a decent ride so the weekend isn’t a total loss.

In just a few weeks I’ll be heading to the Upper Peninsula for my second week-long bike tour.  Squee!  Last year was a week riding much of the west Michigan shoreline.  The scenery was breath-taking and so were some of the hills we chugged up.

The “MUP” tour is organized by the League of Michigan Bicyclists so I’m looking forward to another week of great routes and wonderful sights.

At the end of the summer I’ll be back for another DALMAC, this time the five-day east route.  I’ve checked the box for the four-day west route and it’s time to try something new.  This trip will take us up and over the Mackinac Bridge on the final day.  That’s exciting and just a bit daunting.

Looking forward to new bike adventures as well as a return the DALMAC.  And, I hope the rain lets us, just a bit!

DALMAC: I knew I was gonna miss ya

The end of the journey.

In just a few days, hundreds and hundreds of cyclists will roll out of East Lansing and head north on the annual DALMAC – Dick Allen Lansing to Mackinaw – ride.  It was the Holy Grail the first year I started riding, the thing I trained for all summer.

The ride that scared the dickens out of me and kept me pedaling almost daily through one of our hottest summers ever.

I’ll never forget when the day finally arrived and I made that first turn at 7 a.m. onto the route.  How we rode first to Vestaburg.  Then to Lake City.  On to Boyne City.  And finally, Mackinaw City.

Days two and three were long, some nearly 100 miles, and hard, so many steep hills.  But I pedaled.  On and up.

Every night I was beat, with just enough time for shower and dinner.  Up before the crack of down to hit the road again.

There wasn’t a morning I wasn’t anxious and ready to go again.

Finally, I could see Mackinaw City High School.  I had done it.  Four days and 330 miles.

It was an experience like no other.

Come Thursday, I’m sure my mind will wander a bit.  I’ll trace the route in my head.  Forest to Aurelius to Kalamazoo … and on.  I’ll think of my friends on that great adventure.  And maybe, I’ll be back again in 2015.

Oh the hills, hills, hills in West Michigan

Confession:  I underestimated the hills I would encounter when riding the Shoreline West Bike tour.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Means it wasn’t something that kept me awake at night.  But I did dismiss the people who politely mentioned there would be a lot of hills.

Hello, I said in my head, I’ve ridden the DALMAC so I know long days, hills, and plenty of climbing.  I’ve got the jerseys to prove it, after all!

Seems they were right.  This ride really tested my mettle, challenged my ability to charge up hills and chug oh-so-slowly up others.  Day after day after day.

Just because we had fewer miles each day than the DALMAC four-day West route didn’t mean it was any easier.  In fact, my friend and I thought it even more challenging those first days because there was so much climbing.

Steep grades, like 14 percent steep.  Long, slow climbs, miles long.  Rollers that seemed to go on forever.

Let’s take “the three sisters” on day two of the ride.  The League of Michigan Bicyclists describes the stretch of roadway this way:

These three climbs between Onekma and Frankfort provide the backdrop for many stories, some true and some not so true.   The first of the sisters starts at mile 43 when you leave Onekma and turn north.  It is 1.45 miles in length with the grade averaging between 5 and 8 percent with 3/10 mile false flat before you reach the top.  The second of the sisters (located at mile 53) we have named Watermelon Hill.  It is 1/2 mile long with a 12 percent grade. The reward at the top of this climb is a spectacular view of Lake Michigan and cold watermelon.  The last of the sisters is at mile 59 and is 1.25 miles in length with a 5 percent grade.  All three of the sisters reward you with fast sweeping downhills.

The top of watermelon hill.

Thing is, I’m not sure how much climbing we did over the course of the week.  I use an app to track my rides, something called Cyclemeter.  Downloaded it when I started riding and have been quite happy with it ever since.

However, my friend has a Garmin and on some days we had vastly different figures for our climbs.  Then, there was the day I forgot to turn on my app.  Duh!

But using the stats from either device, it was a heck of a lot of climbing.  Meant using both rings on the crank and clanging through all the gears to get up some of the steepest hills.  While we rode up every one of the hills along the way, there were a few times it took everything I had to make it to the top and some time to rest and recover.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the joy of screaming down those big hills, pushing speeds that a few years ago had me braking to slow down.  There’s nothing quite like seeing how far and how fast you can go downhill.

It really didn’t take long to adjust to the climbing.  By the last few days, most of the hills were a relative breeze.  Don’t think I’m ready for a Mountain Mayhem Ride but certainly more confident in my climbing ability.