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| Today is all about Big Mac! |
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| Checking your baggage. |
We move quickly along with breakfast, as is everyone else. Once outside, we gather our bags and load them on the baggage truck, and then we are the on the road again. The normal route from Pellston has been to go straight north on US31, but due to construction, this years route adds an extra 10 miles before we reach the bridge. All the riders must be on the bridge by 10 am, otherwise you will not be allowed to cross. Leaving town, we notice a few riders heading north on US31 and taking their chances on the construction zone. Not a choice I would make, and I wish them well.
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| Heading North, hoping for sun. |
We are riding through some open farmland, which soon give way to trees as we get closer to the shoreline. It is mostly pines now, and with only random bursts of color from turned trees and brush. We had been warned about some rough pavement, but the roads seem fine, and the miles are falling quickly behind us. We finally break through the trees to the sound of water, and ride for a short way on small sheltered inlet of Lake Michigan. It is a wide expanse of water looking north west, with just a shadow of the UP visible across the water. We ride east along the shore briefly before we turn inland again. After cresting a low forested dune there is short view of the south tower of the Mackinac Bridge, still almost 5 miles distant.
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| More Bike Route Sign south of St. Ignace |
This brings another wave of recollections, draining any fatigue in my legs. This will be my fifth time crossing the bridge by bike. The first was in 1974, and was made under some very strange circumstances. My then new bike had a poorly made rear wheel, which began breaking spokes during the 100 mile ride leading to the Mackinac City. My wobbling rear wheel meant my rear brake was unusable as we started to cross the bridge. I was able to finish the crossing, but then two more spokes “popped” as I rode down the span, and I limped into St. Ignace at 10 miles per hour, hoping to make the campground before the wheel collapsed completely.
For my second DALMAC in 1975, the crossing was washed out by wind and rain, and was made in the back of a baggage trucking, holding my bike upright as the truck swayed in the wind. I did get a consolation prize, as the next morning we walked across the bridge, before starting the bike ride home with 3 friends from Jackson. (In all, my 1975 DALMAC was an 11-day, 1,000 mile trip.)
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| 1979 Crossing: Beta Bikers, Suspenders, Short Shorts and a Bell Biker Helmet |
We soon enter St. Ignace, and the traffic picks up as we approach the bridge. Tomorrow is the annual bridge walk and thousands of tourists are arriving in town. We are also being joined by DALMAC riders coming in from the East route, who have been riding along the shoreline of Lake Huron from Cheboygan. We pull into the staging area, and while Steve checks in with the event director, I ride across the parking lot to the bridge view park on the waterfront. There is still a light overcast and the far side of the bridge is slightly obscured. I should have asked someone to help with a picture, but I settle for a selfie, set my GoPro up on handlebars, ride back to connect with Steve, and we start across Big Mac.
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| Looking north, about to cross. |
Unless you have driven or ridden a mountain side road, you won’t have a frame of reference for a bridge this high and this long. The impact of the shoreline and water falling away as you ascend is magnified from the the point view of a bicycle, especially when you consider most bikes are taller than the bridge’s guard rails. Though they came after my first DALMAC’s, I am reminded of rides in the Cascades and along Chuckanut Drive in Washington state.
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| Just soaking it all in. |
The right hand lane has been reserved for DALMAC riders. A light but steady flow of vehicles are traveling beside us in the left lane, along with two lanes of southbound traffic. Steve and I are riding among a group of about 100 riders, all with in about a 1/4 mile of roadway. We carefully pass a few them as the grade slowly steepens.
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| From my 1979 crossing, the stoker took my picture earlier. |
From the anchorages, the massive 30” main cables that support the vertical stays begin their graceful climb to the to the top of the first tower, still over a ¼ mile away. As we are riding along, you can’t help but notice the low guard rails, just beyond the 6” curbs. It tends to encourage riding away from the side of the road, especially as you glance down through the bridge to water now 150 feet below. It is soon difficult to see the entire south tower, and the we cross another mat covered expansion joint as we pass through the massive columns.
The south tower falls behind and we are now riding the ¾ of mile long center span. The main cables are now curving down to meet the center of the span. At 200 feet above the water, you can truly understand how great the Great Lake are. A this height, the horizon is over a dozen miles away, and you are overlooking almost 500 square miles of Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and the two peninsulas of Michigan. The morning overcast is finally breaking up, and bands of sunlight can be seen flashing on the blue waters to the east.
As soon at the main cables begin to rise to the next tower, you can feel the road begin to drop, and you are now descending to the the north shore. The pedaling is now easier, and for the first time on the bridge you are free to coast. We pass through the north tower and over the third of set of covered expansion joints, and now the grade is even steeper, and you are almost touching the brakes, as you quickly roll down to the north anchorage and across final set of mats. From that point, another section of truss bridge brings you down to almost a water level, and the final half-mile runs on solid ground, a causeway on the water that brings you to the north shore.
Steve and I reconnect, riding along side for the post crossing picture (unfortunately we have not heard from the photographer, yet?). We ride together into the rest stop gathering area, taking our first real break after 35 quick miles. We ask someone to take a picture, and and then head into town for breakfast. Our riding will soon be done, but we still have a long day ahead of us.
Concludes in 2017: DALMAC - Wrapping Up
Day 5 by the numbers:
Start: Pellston
Finish: St. Ignace
Mileage: 39.3 (368 Total Miles)
Riding Time: 2 hours, 50 Minutes
Lunch: St. Ignace
Elevation: + 1596 / - 1699 ft
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| Finishing with a friend, the best reward! |
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