DALMAC - Part 2

Day 3

Day 3 our trip was from Lake City to Boyne City and it was 92 miles. Day 3 was the day we began to hurt. This was certainly the most challenging day we faced. My knee began to hurt, Samone hurt all over and Mike's toosh was starting to get sore as well. The ride was very rewarding though, for all of the hurting it did. We had lots of big uphills and just as many big downhills. On two occasions we went through huge long chutes that were exhilarating and beautiful. The scenery was great all day. We passed several lakes and traversed lots of wooded backroads. Samone was very ill feeling in the morning and I was worried that our SAG may have to come pick her up. I'm very proud to say that she toughed through it and was feeling considerably better by the time we took our lunch break. I'm pretty sure her illness was due to dehydration from the day before. I began pushing liquids on her like a crazy person when she began feeling ill and it helped tremendously. This day also included the dreaded "Wall". I read someplace that it is like a 24% grade. Let me illustrate... that means that over 1 mile the hill drops 1,267 ft. I also found this on a biking website and it seems to ring true:

What does this "grade" number mean?

• 0% grade is exactly flat (and a negative grade, less then zero, is downhill).

• 2% grade does not seem very steep, but it's enough to substantially reduce forward speed, and for most riders it will absorb more than half their power output.

• 6% grade is enough to cut speed to well under half, and absorb more than 80% of a rider's power output (leaving less than 20% to fight air resistance and rolling friction).

• 10% grade, and anyone who is not a fit and frequent rider is off their bike walking -- and anyone who is not a racer is reaching for all the extra power they've got.

Hmm... Seems pretty accurate to me! Samone and I made it about half way. I think we both could have went a bit farther but I had two problems. I was absolutely terrified of A. the hill (it freaked me out) and B. the fact that my feet were clipped to my pedals and there was the possibility that I would get going so slow that I wouldn't be able to get my feet out and I would fall flat on my face. So I slowed wayyyyy down because of the hill steepness and ended up quitting earlier than needed because I was scared of spiking my face on the pavement. Samone unfortunately was right behind me and had no choice to stop as well because I was blocking her. Mike on the other hand went all the way up and sat down the whole way (not to be macho, but because he geared down too far and couldn't stand up). It was hard to even walk up the hill after we got off our bikes! We were so releived to be done with the Wall that we underestimated the 10 miles we had left. It was a very hard day! We were so happy to get to the RV and the nicest high school we stayed at on the trip. That night we were all aching and sleepy. Mike and I ventured on foot into Boyne and found some ice cream/sorbet while the SAG crew and Samone went to Traverse for a visit with Mom, Dad and the Swansons.

Day 4

Day 4. Why do we look so excited in the picture? Because we made it to the final day! We were up and out about 7:15am and we were excited that it was only a 70-some mile day to Mackinaw. It was an awful wake-up climbing out of Boyne City. Big hills to get out of Boyne and I went from chilly to sweating in about 15 minutes. My knee was still bothering me to no end, but I was hoping that it would subside. The final day was a very pretty one. We rode along all kinds of lakes, including Lake Michigan. It was pretty. My knee unfortunately, someplace in the tunnel of trees, took a turn for the worse. I was trying very hard not to cry. It was extremely painful at every pedal. We stopped for a break and a kind fella taped me up to try to help. At our lunch break I took drugs and on we went. All of us were pretty uncomfortable in our seats. Our bumms had had enough! It certainly wasn't our best pace day. I was having a hard time keeping up. Again, someplace in Wilderness State Park I had to stop because of pain. Some lady (read angel) was breaking there as well and offered to rub my knee for me. I was crying by now because it hurt so bad, but the "angel's" knee rub helped. I was able to make it the rest of the way, plus one more stop and another knee rub by Mike. We were all so excited to ride into Mackinaw HS and we had quite the welcoming committee when we arrived. I can't even describe how great of a feeling it was to hear them hollering for us; Mom & Dad; Suzzy, Scott, Joey and Lisa; Scott's sister and brother-in-law and Stephen and Ashley; and Scott's mom & dad - 12 people!

WE DID IT! 323 miles in 4 days. What an adventure!

Riding into Mackinaw HS