DALMAC 2006
Bridge Route
Ride Report, "Recumbent Squadron"

Pictures by John Foltz , Wally Kiehler, Don Smith, and Curt Valey

Our first rest stop on Day 1, the general store in Wacousta.

Wally and Bill, westbound. The north wind is just strong enough
 to be obnoxions. See how it's caving in the side  of Wally's
  fabric fairing. It didn't seem to slow him down though; he seemed
able to pull away from the group almost at will.



Don and Bill, ready to leave from lunch in Carson City. Don is
on his NoCom and Bill is on a VK-2. They're both lowracers
but look at the difference in height!
The pool was open at CMU, so I did a few laps. Then I sat
in the jacuzzi for a while! Stuff didn't dry well in the late afternoon,
so I had to hang it out the next day, too.



Day 2, leaving Mt Pleasant...
Lake George Campground, where most DALMACers eat lunch
 on day 2.



More cyclists roll into Lake George Campground
A rare Bilenky recumbent/upright tandem. Unlike a regular
tandem, the stoker gets the best seat on this, leading to
'stoker envy.'



Curtis on the road with me, somewhere north of Lake George.
We took a shade break at a lemonade stand. This was easier
than getting off the bike.



Just outside of Lake City, we went by this private airfield,
where a crop duster was landing.
Day 3: Wally stopped at a friend's cabin along  Torch Lake.

Here is a view of Central Lake campus and camp, from atop a
 nearby hill. The downhill into town saw me hit 49 mph coasting.
Little puppies need a lot of food, but this might be too much for
little Ellie to handle! I'll be she's willing to try, though.


Day 4: The entire group, ready to depart for Mackinaw City.
lined up L-R Curt, Don, Wally, Bill, Bob, Chris, and me.
Some of the rolling terrain around East Jordan Lake.



There was a slight chance of rain for Saturday night, so the
dugout was full at Mackinaw City Municipal Park. The Yellow
Baron is occupying the prime spot against the bench, with the
rear wheel visible just to the left of the center post.
Day 5: Sunday morning there was nothing to do except don
 our bike duds and ride across the bridge, about 9 miles. I wore
 a jacket because I expected it to be cool out over the water.
I was wrong.


Here is four of us: R-L Wally, me, Chris, and Curt. Missing: Bob,
Don, and Bill. Wally did the bridge crossing sans body sock,
because he was worried about possible crosswinds.
Three lowracers lead the way onto the bridge.



Wally and Chris following me on the Bridge. We're not to the first cable yet.
View from almost under the first tower.



Bill and Wally relax at St Ignace High School.

Here is a view of the bikes being loaded for transport
back to Lansing. Very secure and no scratches.



Roger was my copilot taking the recumbent bike truck back.


After a long hot summer, DALMAC this year was comfortably cool - lows were in the 50s and highs in the 70s. We had heavy dew each morning, and it took a few hours for the clouds to burn off; but when they did we were left with beautiful, mostly-sunny skies. The first day's wind was the worst of the trip; gusting from the northeast at up to 25 mph; but on subsequent days it gradually died off. We left late every morning, which meant we were pushing the SAG envelope for the first stop or two; but we had no problems getting to camp by a respectable hour each day.

Favorite quotes:
Anonymous future victim: "It must be awful having to go so slow up hills on those things."
Anonymous past victim: "Don't get behind any recumbents on the Bridge - they go so slow you'll lose all your momentum."
(followed by:) "That was YOU on those racing recumbents? Oh, I didn't mean YOU!"
Curt: "Is that lake natural or man-made?"
John: " Break's over!"
Favorite roads: 5 miles of new pavement on M-61, River Rd between Walloon Lake and Petosky (after the potholes.)
Favorite downhills:  Vandecar Rd, coming into Farwell, Old State coming into Central Lake

This route was the last of the four routes to fill, and got quite a bit of overflow from the 5-day, I think. That meant there were quite a few riders for whom the last day century was an ordeal, and they were still coming into camp as late as 7:30 pm. Considering that this was not the first choice of routes for most riders, I would not be surprised to see the route replaced with something else in coming years.

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