The second day of my sixth DALMAC (Dick Allen Lansing Mackinac) ride this summer.
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| Ready to roll out under a hazy sunrise. |
I wake at 5:30 am after a good night’s sleep. It has been a couple of years since I last slept in a tent and it feels so comfortable and familiar, and I wish I could do it more often. My family never camped when I was growing up, and DALMAC was my first camping trip. From that first tour, it became a regular habit, with sometimes 2 or 3 weeks of trips and overnights a year, even as our family grew. I wonder how many nights that now totals; 80? 90, 100? I still look forward to more.
I was up only once during the night, and even with the floodlights around the school, I was rewarded by a sky full of stars. It’s nice to be heading north, away from the city lights, to be under a sky that is so alive with starlight. (I will end up wishing I enjoyed that first my night more, as overcast would dominate the remaining evenings.)
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| If in doubt, try everything, it's 85 miles to dinner. |
I pull on today’s kit; each day is bagged separately in its own Zip-lock bag, and as I dress, the same camping habits kick-in. I reverse the prior night’s un-packing process, working methodically to break camp before breakfast. I soon have everything back in its assigned place, and step outside into the early morning twilight to break down my tent.
I have my tent down and bags packed by 6:30, and Steve and I head into breakfast. It’s a cooler morning than yesterday, and will stay that way; yesterday we rode in the 60’s and low 70’s. Today are starting at near 50, and will have light winds out of the north, with a mid 60's high. Based on the forecast, there is no need to break out the really cold weather gear, and I start out with arm warmers, leg warmers and a vest.
The breakfast line moves quickly, with offerings of scrambled eggs, bacon, oatmeal, pancakes, muffins, and juice. The routes will split later today, so this is the last meal with the larger group. The combined stop seemed to work well, and it was fun to have the extra time to socialize with some long time friends now heading out on the different route. I make a point to say thanks to the students, parents and staff serving breakfast before leaving the cafeteria.
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| Was Team Roadkill on DALMAC? |
It’s a sunny morning, and we are soon on the road at a steady, mile eating pace. Today’s route is unique in that we spend almost 25 miles without a turn, just the road name changing as we cross a county line. After 18 miles we enter Beal, Michigan, a rural four-corner town. Like many towns in the days ahead, DALMAC traffic has been an annual tradition for decades or longer. It’s a stop for a snack, but it has not warmed up enough to strip down yet, and we are soon back on the road.
The riding falls into a regular pattern, the small towns and sags coming up every dozen miles or so. After Beal, Farwell, Lake George, Temple, and Falmouth are between us and our destination, Lake City. The roads are wide, smooth and quiet, and for the most part, our bicycles are the predominate traffic. While it is mostly farmland, woodlots are becoming more common with each mile we travel north. Many of the farm houses we pass are now closed or abandoned, the result of small family farms giving way to larger consolidated operations.
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| The Marion High School ice cream stop - 10 years, at least! |
While a popular lunch stop is an outdoor barbecue hosted by a local resort, with the cooler temps, we opt to ride further down the road for an indoor meal at a tavern in Lake George. Another half dozen riders join us, and it’s another fun reunion. One of the riders is Pat Baughn, who had purchased his first tandem from me 30 years before, and rode it thousands of miles with his wife Becky. Another couple is riding their tandem for their 20th something DALMAC, and they are both in the mid 70’s. (It’s encouraging to know I have so many years of riding to look forward too!) After lunch, they will be short cutting to their overnight on the 5 West route, so we won’t see them again until Sunday.
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| We frequently intersect SBR-20. |
We have been climbing gradually all morning, gaining almost 400 feet, with most of that in the 10 miles before lunch. We have forested rollers for the next few miles, and will spend the night at one of the highest points on the ride. It is nice that it is warming up, since at 60 miles, we have a traditional ice cream stop, a fund raiser for a small local high school. This year it is the cross-country team making sundaes in the large grassy median of a rural intersection. Dozens of riders are enjoying the stop, and I chat with a group of Indianapolis riders who I met at registration. They are new to distance riding and struggling a bit, but still having fun.
Back on the road, it is still 25 miles to our overnight. With 85 miles, this is the second longest day of this route. The riding continues to be a mix of rolling forested hills and farmland, though now it is patches of farmland amidst the trees. At 10 miles out there is the option for another food stop, and though tempting, we actually pass on the chance for pie.
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| Settled in for another night. |
The last stretch of farmland gives quickly away to a town, and then the road T’s at Lake Missaukee and we are in Lake City. Another mile takes us to the high school and the next ad-hoc campground. The ritual of setting camp begins again as my bike is leaned against a fence, my bags are retrieved from the truck, and my tent goes up for another night. It has been another good day on the road, and time to start planning for tomorrow’s ride.
Day 2 by the numbers:
Start: Vestaberg
Finish: Lake City
Mileage: 86.5 (160.8)
Riding Time: 5 hours, 56 Minutes
Lunch: Lake George
Elevation: + 2755 / - 2405 ft
Continues in
2017: DALMAC Day 3 - Touring with Tech
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| Sleep, Eat, Ride, Smile, Repeat! |
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