DALMAC Day 2 was the training check. I clocked 78 miles today, from Vestaburg (near Alma) to McBain (near Cadillac). This will be the longest day of the tour.
The mileage and almost 2000 ft of elevation gain wasn’t the biggest struggle though: the biggest hurdle was the weather. I managed to miss the morning thunderstorms (see photo comments below), but the afternoon ones were unavoidable. I was riding in rain and thunderstorms for over 3 hours. The rain gear kept me dry for awhile, but it eventually saturated through (and even just dripping off my helmet down my back). It was a wet slog for about 40 miles. Tonight, I’m trying my best to dry out my cycling shorts, shoes, and everything else.
Looking forward to knocking out an easier 50 miles tomorrow, if the weather holds. The last two days look much nicer.
This morning it was beautiful out. The DALMAC route goes right by our neighborhood. I ended up stopping off at home to pick up a few things I forgot. Fortunately, the timing was perfect. Not 5 minutes after walking in the door, it started pouring outside. I waited it out before rejoining the ride.Shout out to Beal City!Made it to Farwell and the afternoon didn’t look good. I had shelter at the time, but if I stayed I risked not finishing the route before dark. I decided to keep going and trying to make it to the north side of the storm that was less intense.Ate my first lunch and changed into rain gear in anticipation of the storm.I made it to the northern edge of the storm, so the rain wasn’t as bad, just “medium”. The lightning still made me nervous as I was biking up hills surrounded by trees sitting on a metal bike.Stopped at Lake George for my second lunch around 2pm. Still raining.The ride into Marion was an uphill battle for miles. Felt good to make it to the town though. It had finally stopped raining, so that was something.Made it to a school here in McBain. I hung my clothes and tent rain fly on the playground equipment, since all the fences in the area were taken.Home sweet home for the night.The route for today. I burned 3200 calories during the 9.5 hour ride. Next stop: Kalkaska.
