Back From DALMAC

Back from DALMAC and we had a great time. We rode 75 miles the first day from our house to Vestaburg, Michigan, stopping for lunch in Perrinton at a VFW fundraiser. We pitched our tents and hung around tiny Vestaburg for the night. They had a home football game so we watched that (Vestaburg won a close one). Friday morning we took off into pretty thick fog which hung around a lot longer than we expected and kept the temperatures almost chilly for a long time. We rode north through Beal City and Lake George before ending our day in Lake City, Michigan. 84 miles. On the way to Lake City, we passed an 82 year old lady who had ridden from coast to coast when she wasy 76! This was her 18th DALMAC. Whoa! Impressive.

Saturday was the monster. 100 miles. We rode through Kalkaska, then Alden and Bellaire before climbing "The Wall" just out of East Jordan, Michigan. "The Wall" is a hill of about a mile and a half or two miles in length that starts out very gently and gets steeper and steeper, culminating in an 18% grade the last couple hundred meters. Brutal, but I made it to the top. The last fifty miles of this century were very hilly, so it was a real test, but both Cherie and Sue made it no problem, not that their legs weren't thrashed at the end of the day.

Sunday we rode north through Petoskey, Harbor Springs, and Cross City before finishing! and the Mackinac Bridge. 70 miles.

4 days. 330 miles. We loved it. Lord willing we can do it again.