Because the logistics added up and I had followed the Colorado Trail Race like a fanboi and had just read about a guy my age who bikepacked across Michigan and if he could do it, then it was time to get off my ass.
Because I read bikepacking.com everyday and all my stuff was just gathering dust.
Because the first bikepacking trip was shortened because of a mechanical problem.
Because I always wondered how people could put together back-to-back big days.
So it was time to put up or shut up.
I took a left turn. Some guy had created a route that ran along our Up North backyard and followed the NCT to Lowell MI. Seemed like a good idea. I could in find a route from Lowell to Wixom on the way.The trusty old Trek Stache had been giving me some problems lately and I thought it might be time to hang it on the wall. But I got it running and told it that it would just have to deal with all the creaking crankiness, because we were on our way: three nights and four days riding from Manistee to Karen’s place in Wixom. McCarthy Lake, one of my all-time favorite places in Michigan. Got a cell signal and found out that my mother was in the hospital. It all worked out and I was able to continue but it helped that I was also mentally prepared for something to go wrong, The MCT south of the Pere Marquette is beautiful and I feel lucky that I got a chance to keep riding. Just by chance, I passed the Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary, a place Karen and I have meant to visit for quite awhile. Made it to Twinwood Lakes Campground south of White Cloud. A long day that I was expecting, but I was cooked from the 80 miles of mostly singletrack. Twinwood Lakes was close to a gas station and had good cell service but I could hear the traffic from the nearby highway. Next time I’ll stay at Nichols Lake State Park.
Day 2 involved bypassing the sections south of White Cloud closed to mountain bikes. The Meijer family (of the grocery store chain) has created an enormous network of rail trails in the Grand Rapids region, which I ended up using for at least 1/3 of the 70 miles for the second day. Honestly, it was a nice high-speed break from the relentless singletrack of the day before.
Because I’m a big pussy and I like a shower and a soft bed, I planned a hotel stay in Lowell, a cool town winning its struggle to keep up appearances. Having ridden among the mansions of Rockford, as well as the Luton singletrack and Cannonsburg Ski Resort, and the unexpected hills of Egypt Valley, the Main Street Inn felt just right. And on my late evening walk, I looked up and saw the National Headquarters for the NCT, which I knew was in Lowell in the back of my mind, but a cool surprise nevertheless. Not many pics from day three. The game plan was a relatively easy 50 miles to Sleepy Hollow State Park near St. John’s but the weather report called for storms in the afternoon. I ended up at Sleepy Hollow around 1:00 in a rain shower. It was time to see what the whole long-distance riding thing was all about. Karen’s’ place was another 60 miles away, but I was feeling good and decided to see how far I could go.
So when I got a strong enough signal, I let google maps plot a bicycle route and pressed on. The route was a nice combo of pavement and gravel, and the turn-by-turn audio directions kept my wheels moving. I can’t say I ever entered the “pain cave” but I will say that after awhile I experienced a strange dissociation between my legs and my thoughts. Aided by a tailwind, my legs never seemed to get tired and just kept moving, while my head kept an eye on the weather and calculated the possibilities of making it to Karen’s before dark.
I owe most of that 125 mile effort to my chance discovery in a Dollar Store of this wonderful concoction. You see, things got a little heated down around the under carriage during day two. An occasional slather had me thinking I could actually do the Tour Divide Route someday (along with a Brooks saddle of course.). Karen and our dog Little greeted me on the way in, just before a downpour and lightning. My gamble/experiment had paid off. It was nice to have a goal of seeing my wife at the end, probably my biggest motivator throughout the whole trip. Other than waking up to a flat tire caused by a leaking valve on morning #2, my only my mechanical issue was the seatstay connection on my Aeroe Spider rear rack. I lost a strap after having to constantly stop to tighten it on the singletrack. Not sold on the product (I had noticed that a lot of people are using the Tailfin Rack) but I’ll give it another shot, I guess. Felt oddly good the next day. I guess I know how those guys do it – at least for three days!
Travels with Pops 
Epic! I’m very proud of you. Really
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Thanks Dad! I’ll give you a buzz in a day or two and we’ll catch up.
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R A D!
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