what to expect

[JAYSIN]

my first time, me and my daughter are going to give it a try we both just started riding and dont realy know what to expect? any or all adice would be great. from gear to rout?

[blazingpedals]

That's a pretty broad question. What to expect...

If you have to ask, you probably want the 5-Day Petosky route, not the Quint! Try to have at least 1000 miles for the season by DALMAC, preferably with at least one 80-100 mile ride. More mileage is better. At 1000 miles you'll have to pace yourself each day. At 2000+ miles, you can pretty much do whatever you want each day.

Morning routine on the road is something like this: Get up at 5:45-6:00, dress in your biking clothes, take down tent and pack your bags. Leave baggage while you go to breakfast. After eating breakfast, it should be nearly 7:00. When the truck opens, load your baggage on the truck. Don't forget to leave your wallet in your jersey, not in your baggage! Trucks are available for loading until 9:00 but only the fast riders can afford to wait that long before starting.

I put sunblock on at first rest stop, before the sun gets high in the sky.

When you are hungry, find a restaurant or quick-stop store and buy some food. If you are tired, find some shade and rest a few minutes. Watch the SAG lines and keep the rest stops to a reasonable number and duration, or you won't make it to camp before dark! (And you'll miss dinner!)

When you get to camp, find your baggage, extract a protein bar and eat it along with downing a bottle of water! This will help prevent muscle soreness the next day. (It HELPS, it doesn't eliminate it if you've really overdone it. ) Pick a spot, and set up your tent. Then shower and hang up your towel so it can dry before evening.

Wander camp, visit, trade stories, commiserate, etc. Or take a nap. Go to supper, then do more of the same afterward. Go to bed early so you can get up and start all over again tomorrow.

Look at the route descriptions to see what the average mileages are. Every route is different. Expect hills because you WILL get them. Expect highs of 60-85F and lows of 40-50F. There may be rain, there may be headwinds.

[Trek2200]

buy the best cycling shorts you can afford and get some Chamois Butt'r, if you only have one pair of good shorts you can wash them out every day

[SATMAN4]

Good information above! I've got some supplemental thoughts:
I've been riding about 5-years (I started when I was 50), and average about 3,000 miles and
about (10) 'organized' rides per year, two or three of which are multi-day camping tour's.
We have a group of six, signed-up for that Quint. I don't advise this route for you.

My #1 advice ~ Have your bikes 'fitted' at a good bike shop, and be sure they are 100% in good shape.

#2 ~ Ride together 3-4 times per week; 15-30 miles at a time with a longer ride on the weekend 50+
That will condition your body, and most importantly your bum! Good cycling shorts are very important.

#3 ~ Gather and test your camping equipment. When I camp with my kids, we each had our own tent's.
You'll probably have your bag(s) in with you. I use a three-man tent for myself, and it's not too large.
I bring a fold-up easy chair, a large 6" thick air mattress with rechargeable air pump, and a clothes line.
My bike fits into the 'vestibule' of my tent, but most people bring a tarp for their bikes for the heavy
morning dew (or rain), and some cord to tie it down.
A tent fan is great, especially if you want to take a nap in the (hot) afternoon, and you're camping in the
middle of a soccer field in the hot sun!

#4 ~ bring at least one tube and some tools on your bike. I bring air cylinders, but have rarely used them
because someone always seems to have a pump, which can get the tires into the 120 range.
Two water bottles is a good idea ~ I like water alone, but most like to have some kind of sports drink
cut 50-50 with water. Drinking it full strength, day after day will get to you!

DALMAC SAG is great. Just leave early so that with breaks and minor break-down's you don't fall behind
their support line. Be sure to have some fun in the evenings. Lot's of interesting people.

[blazingpedals]

Packing Tip:

Pack everything in Baggies. Even if it doesn't rain, baggage gets piled in the trucks each morning, and the stuff that's not on top gets all the water from dew squeezed out and filtered down through. Even on a dry morning, water will run out of the trucks. And it goes without saying that shampoo, liquid soap, etc, should all be packed in their own Baggies, just in case! Travel sizes work great, but it's inevitable that sooner or later one of them will leak.

I put each day's bike clothes in separate Baggies, so that I can pack everything the night before and just leave out what I need for morning: personal kit, shoes, and one Baggie for clothes. Makes packing in the morning easy! BTW, tomorrow's clothes can go in your sleeping bag with you, so they're warm when you put them on.

Line your duffel bag with a trash bag, then all the clothes-in-Baggies go in that. Carry spare Baggies in ... you guessed it: another Baggie. My stuff was out in the open the year we got 8 inches of rain in one evening. Nothing got wet except the outside of my duffel bag.