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DALMAC 2003 Ride Report
ST.
IGNACE, MICHIGAN AUGUST 31,
2003
The
crew of Ron Dooley, Sr., Greg Dooley
and Lew Popoff successfully
completed this year's version of the
Dick Allen Lansing to Mackinaw
(DALMAC) cycling ride. It was
Lew's first DALMAC and he rose to
occasion. Check out a recap of
each day on the ride:
Day One: Okemos to Mount Pleasant
We left around 7:20am from the Dooley's in Okemos and met up with several riders
in Haslett. Right away we knew it was going to be a good ride: we
had a good breeze at our backs and were cruising along with little trouble.
We made a brief stop in Dewitt to take inventory, check brakes, bag balm, Advil,
etc., and kept on cruising. We hit the usual lunch spot at the VFW Hall in
Perrinton. Props to the Lunch ladies who served us the sandwiches, soup,
cookies and of course the Sloppy Joes.
The highlight of the first day is always the stop at the Shepherd bar to crush a
few beers after a long day. Shepherd is only about 8 miles from the finish
so a few cold ones never hurts much.
The only problem we had on day one occurred as we approached the CMU campus.
One of the fellers noticed that my back wheel was getting a mean wobble.
It turned out I had a broken spoke (not unlike
Pops' spoke on Day one last
year). We think it busted somewhere on the last few miles.
Anyway, I dropped it off to Eric in the maintenance truck at the end of the ride
and he took care of it for a mere $10.
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| Lew at the second stop
on Day One. Looking sharp next to his new Giant road
bike. |
Doc James chilling
outside the VFW Hall. |
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The Lunch Ladies
dealing out sandwiches, sloppy Joes and navy beans. |
A toast in the
Shepherd bar. |
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Day Two: Mount Pleasant to Lake City
After a small delay picking up my repaired bike, we headed out under warm
conditions but with a tough wind blowing from the Northwest. Overall
the day was a struggle. After stops in Beal City and Farwell, we had a
great lunch in Lake George. Lew started to notice some pain in the
outside of his right knee during the day, and we all worked hard to keep moving
at a good pace. There is nothing more demoralizing then feeling like you
need to pedal downhill to keep moving, but that's what it was like at times.
Was is as bad as Day 2 in 2001? Tough call, but it was certainly
comparable. Many folks who rode DALMAC's for years said it was one of the
toughest days on record.
We eventually made it over to Duane's restaurant in Falmouth where Lew and I had
a second lunch, and then headed to Lake City. Fortunately Mom was there to
pick us up and take us to our next hotel.
That evening we stopped in Onekama to check out the beach house and some pizza,
and headed back to Cadillac. Lew attended to his knees with a few bags of
ice; Greg worked three thin layers of Theragesic into his aching neck.
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Setting up tent City. |
Greg ready to attack day 3 |
Lew, Dad and Greg gearing up |
Day Three: Lake City to Clam River
We were met by a very cool morning as we hit the road around 7:45am.
The wind of Day 2 was gone and we took off at a good pace as we left Lake
City. We cruised 22 miles into Fife Lake where we tore into a
few slices of morning pizza and drinks. We start seeing our
first hills on Day 2, but it is on Day 3 where the big rollers kick in.
After we climbed out of Fife Lake we made our way through the big hills and
eventually onto the "rollers", where you can basically glide up and down for
several miles into the next stop, a church in Williamsburg. We wanted to
get to the Dockside bar on Torch Lake for the start of Michigan vs. Central
Michigan game sometime just after kickoff, so we kept moving.
We actually rode the last 30 miles with only a brief roadside stop. The
ride today was outstanding: great weather, little to no wind and great
scenery around Torch Lake. We were one of the first set of riders to hit
the Dockside and had a great time watching the mighty Maize and Blue crush the
Chips. Meanwhile, we crushed several pitchers of beers, a few burgers and
apps.
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Lew and Kathryn
chilling
at the Dockside. |
Mom making conversation
with the locals. |
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Day Four: Petoskey to St. Ignace
Lew and Greg took off alone Sunday morning and headed to the Bridge.
It was a perfect day with conditions that were clear & mild, and we had a
slight breeze at our backs. We had an epic ride that including an
excellent brief stop at the bike shop in Harbor Springs where they provided
cider, bagels and bananas. We continued out of town, through the
"Chute", which is basically a four mile cruise down winding hills lined by
thick trees, with a severe climb at the end. This is always a
highlight for me.
We continued to Goodhart, where they have probably the best stop out of all,
with brats, kraut, burgers and dogs on the grill waiting for the riders. I
tore into a healthy brat before heading out. We eventually made our way
through the tunnel of trees and into the finish line at Mackinaw City High
School.
Lew and I immediately queued up for the line waiting to cross the Mackinac
Bridge. We figured we were about the 50th or so rider in line waiting to
go.
After a couple hot dogs and Mountain Dews, 1pm approached and we headed out with
approximately 400 riders to the bridge. Crossing the bridge was
truly one of the coolest things I've ever done; I think Lew agrees. It was
absolutely epic. I can't wait to get at it again next year.
That evening we headed back to Onekama to enjoy a great dinner along with a few
brews, wine, cigars and a some laughs. The evening was great and we were
treated to a wild sunset. Here are some photos from that last day and
evening:
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Jess and G in
St. Ignace. Kathryn and Jess
were waiting for
us at the finish.
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Lew and Greg
looking
lean and mean. |
A shot of the
bridge on the way
back over to the
good side. |
Check out the
deer on the dunes outside
our bedroom that
evening. |
Jess took this
shot of the crazy
red sky that
night over lake Michigan. |
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Related:
DALMAC 2001
DALMAC 2002
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