Debrief:
Planning and Prep: This trip was planned and prepared mostly the week of other than the route and time control plan. Sign-ups for this trip went well, sign-ups were originally posted in April by Kathryn Gardner (TL for this trip) so interest for the trip had already been targeted making it easy to get confirmed sign-ups and payments leading into the trip. We had a meeting on Monday the week of the trip, this was to outline the trip and to find a common meeting time for outfitting. Thursday the group met for outfitting and loading all of the cycles into the trailer. Calvin offered both a 12-passenger van and a cargo van with a box trailer. A participant offered their personal vehicle as to provide more spots on the trip for a total of 17 total participants. Food and rations were prepared the week of the trip leading up to the outfitting meeting.Â
Run-Down: We departed from Calvin at 4:00 pm on Friday and with a stop at Qdoba on the way we arrived at Petoskey state-park at 8:30. Hacky sack, campfire, and preparations for the next day were done before sleeping. Saturday Morning, we woke up early and after a short breakfast and a shuttle to a nearby Vernale's restaurant. From here we unloaded the bikes and shuttled the vehicles to the overflow parking at Tannery creek-campground in after dropping the trailer and the two other vehicles, the cargo van, now the support and gear vehicle returned to Vernale's. Bikes traveled in groups of 3-4 drafting and working with each other leaving gaps between each group. Stopping every 10-15 miles we began down Beach Road and through Harbor springs. There were several navigation and bike maintenance difficulties while going through Harbor springs but after a couple extra minutes were spent correcting the route and doing repairs. everyone met back up at the start of M119. From here we followed M119 to Good Hart General store we took a break for Lunch and a more hacky sack. While here the Support and Gear vehicle switched from Josh to Kathryn. After a longer-than-anticipated lunch stop we continued on bikes from Good Hart to Sturgeon Bay and then inland to Mackinaw city with multiple flat tires in this stretch it took longer than expected. 45 minutes were spent admiring the beauty of the straits and then the final 10 miles to Wilderness State Park were done. Arrival at Wilderness was 6 pm. Participants ate more than expected, meaning a trip to get extra hot dogs from the local general store was required. But Hot dogs and good conversation made up for any hunger. Sleep followed closely behind this, few tents were set up this night, most people slept under the stars. Sunday Morning brought for more good weather and great attitudes, after a quick breakfast and reorganization of the van we began biking at 8:00 am. Within .5 miles of the campsite we had two tire problems, which continue to haunt us all the way through sturgeon bay and to Good Hart General store where we once again enjoyed lunch. The last bike difficulty at lunch made for 8 flat tires, along with endless amounts of seat and other bike adjustments. From Good Hart there was a smooth ride back to Petoskey State Park, with a brief stop at Thorne Swift Nature Preserve we arrived back at our vehicles at 1:15 pm with 106 miles for our mileage. After celebrating with Lunch, Swimming, and hackysack we got in our vehicles at 2:00 pm to return back to Calvin. With one short stop for Dairy queen ice cream, we arrived back to Calvin at 5:45 and cleaned and organized until disbanding at 6:30 to complete this trip.
Take-Aways:
Transitions need to be quick, they eat up time.
People eat more food than you think when pushing themselves physically
Electronic maps, and maps that are easily read and distributed amungst everybody make navigation go smoother.
Encouragement, Stoke and Fun are necessary for strenuous endurance activities.
Time Control Plan