Ride to Hope and Beyond Journal

Ride to Hope and Beyond 2023 Journal

We have had great support for the Dayspring Center through The Ride to Hope and Beyond.? Rich Farkas and I rode from Indianapolis to Lake Leelanau, Michigan in the middle of September, to raise money for the temporary family shelter in Indianapolis.? At this point we have raised over $10k for the organization and are grateful to those of you who have donated. Please support Dayspring if you have not already at https://dayspringindy.org/dayspring-ride-to-hope-and-beyond

Seven fifteen a.m. Rich and I took off from my house, south of Broad Ripple, in Indianapolis.? Our destination that day was Plymouth, Indiana and the Choice Hotel which turned out to be 120 miles by bike.? The weather was great and our colleague and friend Dan Chillemi joined us until we got north of Kokomo. ? Twenty five miles into the ride and hammering up Six Points road in northern Hamilton county we passed a car, going south, with a couple bikes on a rack. ? As soon as we passed him we heard the unmistakable sound of metal dragging on pavement.? I looked in my rear view mirror and he was no longer carrying them he was dragging them and they were in the lane we had just traversed.? Bummer for him, close call for us.? Secure those bikes safely, everyone!??

We departed from Dan at the Nickel Plate trail north of Kokomo after he shared some of his foodstuffs with us. ? Dan hadn’t biked a lick this summer but hung with us for 40 miles as we maintained the cruising-speed we would throughout the Ride of 13.5 mph or so.? The Nickel Plate trail goes all the way from Kokomo to Rochester, Indiana and is a great part of the route.? No cars for 40 miles or so.? It goes over the Wabash River in Peru, Indiana and cuts through corn and bean fields and small towns like Denver and Bunkers Hill.? Joyful rail to trail cruising.? We got through Rochester and then were back out in the country heading the 25 additional miles to Plymouth.? If you have ever experienced the perception that it takes a really long time to get to a place that you have not been before, since you don’t exactly know when you will arrive, that is what happened to us as we approached Plymouth.? “Where the heck is it?”? By then mental and physical fatigue were setting in, legs were spent and we had to double check the route.? Finally, we got to the north side of town after battling traffic on a four lane main street and braked at the hotel.? One down, three to go.

Leg two started at about 7:15 the next morning and it was great to get out early.? Mid-September is a great time for these long biking days for it is still lighting up early and staying lit late. ? It would prove to be the chilliest morning of the four but with the sun coming up you knew your fingers and toes would eventually no longer be numb.? As we navigated through previously uncharted roadways we were in awe of a fog bank that hung over the wooded countryside. ? You are always looking for positive omens when you are parked on the saddle for hours, and a young six horned buck crossed our path 50 yards up an hour or two into the ride.? Good omen-much better than a black cat.? Later we turned a corner and started going west, spooking some fenced in cows who started running with us and then joined by their horse friends.? Adrenaline surge…

The motivating part of that day was knowing that within a matter of hours we would cross the Indiana Michigan border.? We would be fresh and taking a direct route back to US Bike route 35 which we would? then ride over the course of the next three riding days, over 300 miles up the coast of Michigan to the promised land.??

State Line Road

We only knew we crossed the border when we started seeing cars parked at homes with Michigan plates.? We had taken State Line Road but it had no markers at the border and it was not clear if we crossed it or if the road just took us to the border crossing. .? We’re in MIchigan baby!!? Let’s head for the coast.??

Before we knew it we were approaching St Joseph and looking out at Big Blue.? Let’s keep going.? Bring on Holland.? Bring on Hope.??

Riding along the coast of Lake Michigan makes you feel like Lou Gehrig-the luckiest man on the face of the earth.? Seeing the Lake from a 200 foot bluff grabs your breath every time.? It kept us going and enthusiastic, which we needed for we were to ride almost 130 miles that day.? We were making good time going over and under highway 94 and later 196 on the Blue Star and Red Arrow highways (bike friendly).??

Making up some time

With 13 miles to go we approached a bridge over 196 that showed no possibility of crossing.? An operating backhoe was in motion and the bridge was blocked.? We had gone over 100 miles that day at that point and I was in no mood to figure out how to turn back and get around it.? “Rich we gotta go on the highway!”? Rich had no argument and away we went.? “I drive this all the time I know there is an exit soon” (fingers crossed).? Adrenaline, wind tunnels from cars and trucks going 85 miles an hour and a 12 foot wide berm helped us get through the five miles quickly and successfully.? I was hitting 20mph plus which was great except when considering everyone else was going by at 80 plus.? The highway crossed the Kalamazoo River on our stretch which narrowed our passage.? Stay to the right-get over it.

Arriving at the exit I could not see Rich behind me.? I got to the top, said a prayer and waited.? No calls no texts please Rich-I hope to see you soon.? Two minutes later Rich is coming up the exit ramp shaking his head.? I was cheering!

Welcoming a day off

Our detour took us around Saugatuck and we had 8 miles to go until our rendezvous with our brides at the Hope College anchor.? After the interstate sprint we felt like nothing could stop us and nothing did.? We hit trip mile 248 on the Hope College campus and our cheering section arrived shortly thereafter.? The campus of the college is beautiful, with Dutch influenced architecture, multiple breweries and pristine flora.? Rich went there, not long ago, and talks about the bonfires on Lake Michigan that were popular in the day of 18 year old legality.? Did you have any fun there Rich???

The day off was great for our last push on day two, from a psychological standpoint.? The weather was beautiful in Holland and after catching up on emails and such Friday morning we planned nothing but dinner. ? The Haworth Hotel is right on campus and we will stay there if we ever stay in Holland again.?

Holland to Ludington (Saturday)

Back in 2021 we were scheduled to ride this leg which goes through Grand Haven, Muskegon, Pentwater and on to Ludington.? That morning we looked at the satellite and there was a swirling storm coming off the big lake.? Abort!? With heavy hearts we drove the route and in the battering rain found it to be a twisty complicated leg.? So for the Ride to Hope and Beyond 2023 we were facing a leg we had never biked and were concerned a bit about navigating it and were not feeling familiar with the potential elevation changes.? Not to worry.? This leg, which turned out to be 114 miles, was actually the easiest of the four.? It included 26.2 miles on the Hart Montague rail trail so no traffic and chill city.???

Right out of Holland, we rode along the coast with little or no Saturday morning traffic.? This was one of the most pleasant and impressive parts of the ride.? We passed dozens of Lake Michigan homes set back on four or five acre lots with old growth trees.? These properties have to be some of the finest on Lake Michigan.? Riding the residential road I looked at a Lincoln SUV as it honked its horn.? The noise scared the living, you know what, out of a deer that had meandered into the road and it took off with its legs parallel to the road, just getting past the now stopped vehicle.??

Grand Haven was quaint and a place we would have like to hang around but our objective drove us.

Muskegon had part of Bike Route 35 closed but we were able to find our way around and were not tempted to stop at the Irish fest, for we had a mission.

Muskegon is old industrial lake town that had a lot of old industrial buildings which is quite the contrast to a lot of the lake towns we went through along the coast.

We hit? the Hart Montague trail and were glad to be there.? This was part of the route we could not drive back in 2021 and when we realized we were there our morale got a bump. ? Rail trails are one of the great transportation assets in the country.? More and more are being developed in the US and after riding on a lot of berms they served as a sanctuary for the time we were on them.? ? After reaching the end of it, in Hart, Michigan we were on to Pentwater.??

Pentwater is a lovely marine town on Pentwater Lake which connects to Big Blue.? It was Saturday afternoon, sunny and the town was lively. ? We took a break there by a public fish filet station.? Chewed on a couple bars and gulped some GU.? Ludington and our hotel was about 25 miles away and the whole day had been fueled on this stuff, Rich’s beef jerky and H2O.? We were feeling fairly elated knowing that we were close to our hotel and just one more day..??

Our hotel was on the east end of Ludington and we were able to get there over some beautiful country roads avoiding town traffic.? We pulled up as Theresa came out of the hotel, timing purely coincidental, with two beers for the calorie deprived riders.? Wedding revelers were there too getting ready to get on a big coach bus looking like they were ready to drink too.? Feeling slightly dazed I quaffed my brew trying to comprehend that we had just one day of riding left.

Ludington to the Promised Land

Let’s get to the lake!? On our bikes at 7:30 we started the route and leg we had biked in 2021. ? A certain climb was seared in our brain from that trip and we knew we were in for the hardest climbing of the journey.? We would end up gaining over 4,000 feet and average our lowest mph at 12.5 that day but with the finish ahead of us that day, we were motivated to keep grinding. ? Coming out of Manistee we were bracing ourselves for a climb.? We had one and it kept going and going but it was not the one seared in our brain.? That one would come along later.? It did and we gutted it out. ? You turn a corner and you see the yellow double line staring back at you from a road that looks almost vertical to where we were.? Gulp.? Granny gear time and I used it.? Fifty yards from the top there is a scenic pullover and that was our rest stop.? I had the opportunity to go diagonal across the road approaching that but then when i had to go straight I had no momentum.? Off the bike I was.? Rich stayed on the shoulder and made it parallel with the pullover.? We were huffing and puffing but glad to be where we were. ? A drone appeared 20 feet about our heads, looking right at us.? I gave it an obscene gesture. ? We recovered quickly I am glad to say and kept on trucking, uh biking.

Now we could set our sights on Empire and the Sleeping Bear Dunes.? The downhill approaching Empire is a blast and shortly after leaving town you catch 109 off of M22.? This takes you through the Sleeping Bear National Seashore.? It is the largest fresh water dune complex in North America and having biked to it from my house in Michigan, Rich pointed out we were now on my home course.? That felt good.

We stopped at the dune climb for natural requirements and were giddy.? Soon we would be down to single digit mileage remaining. ? It had been overcast and dark looking, for a bit, so we felt some urgency to get to the house where we could get off those bikes and relieve our posteriors. ? Even knowing we were that close, part of my brain was resigned to the idea that we would be riding forever and never get to a final destination.? This is some type of defensive mechanism that made it really hard to believe that, as we pulled in my driveway, we were about to be done.? We pulled around the house on our bikes, got down to the lake to the hoots and hollers of Theresa, my cousin and his wife and my Aunt.? ? We kicked off our shoes, grabbed our bikes, walked into the lake and held them high over our heads.? 475 miles, 35 hours in the saddle and? metabolism high we were in disbelief and super relieved.? What a blast it had been.??

?