The closest some people get to nature’s splendor is when they roll down their car window.
Three men from Clarkston recently experienced Michigan’s great outdoors, taking part in the 24th running of Pedal Across Lower Michigan bike tour ? a 215-mile trek from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron from June 18-24.
Along with 751 other riders, Clarkston retirees Fred Irish, Bob Klemmer and Bob Walters wound their way across the state, usually riding around 35 miles a day.
‘You can ride 30 miles one day, but whether you can do it the next day and the day after that is what you don’t know,? said Walters.
For Walters and Irish, this is the second year in a row they participated in PALM.
?(The first time) we weren’t really sure we could do it. We were probably four days in last year before I said to myself ‘I can do it,?? said Walters, who found out about PALM from family members.
Klemmer joined Irish and Walters for this year’s ride after hearing about their experience with the 2004 iteration of the bike tour at Calvary Baptist Church. All three worship at Calvary, and Walters was preacher there for many years.
?(A large bike tour) was something that always intrigued me, but I never bothered to do one until I found out they were going,? said Klemmer.
All three Clarkston riders had a fair amount of bike riding in their past, but the trio made sure they were physically prepared for the six-day journey by training, almost exclusively, at Indian Springs Metropark.
‘When we were training, we pushed ourselves harder than we did on the trip to get in shape,? said Klemmer.
‘When we were training we would either do eight miles, 16 miles, 24 miles or 32 miles. On the trip we stopped whenever we saw something interesting and looked it over. We just stopped when we felt like it,? added Irish.
According to Walters, the trio’s average pace of 12-15 m.p.h. during training slowed to around 11 m.p.h. on the trip. All three riders lamented the strong head winds and hilly terrain which met them on the road.
‘One day we had a tail wind. What a heavenly day that was,? said Irish.
The tour began on Michigan’s west coast in Pentwater and the first leg of 37 miles took the riders to Montague. From Montague, the shortest leg of 29 miles to Fremont followed. After Fremont, the tour pedaled 40 miles to Big Rapids which set up the largest jaunt of the ride, a 47 mile trip to Clare. 32 miles from Clare lay the next stopping point in Midland, which set up the final 30 mile segment to Pinconning.
The route was clearly marked along the roads the tour traveled on and alternate routes provided even greater mileage.
‘What I really appreciated were the smells. When you are driving in the car you don’t smell the barnyards and the trees and the evergreens,? said Irish. ‘You smell the clover, the fresh cut hay and the beautiful flowers; and then occasionally you would get in an area where a farmer was plowing his fields and the winds was blowing and you’d get to eat a little dust.?
The many faces in the crowd were also memorable to the Clarkston trio.
‘There were a number of three generation families with grandparents, parents and their kids,? said Walters.
‘You think that we were really challenging ourselves, and in a way we were, but you look at a lot of young kids on the tour, pedaling their bikes, ages 10, 11 and 12, and the super-senior citizens were really inspiring,? added Irish.
Five participants in PALM this year were over 80-years-old. One rider, whose right side was paralyzed, rode on a custom bicycle.
In the evenings, once the bikers had pitched their tents, the all-volunteer PALM staff put on safety seminars. Once morning came, the many tents were taken down and stowed on trucks which followed the tour.
Even though 751 people rode in PALM this year, there were no traffic-jam problems on the road.
‘You might be in a small group in town, but once you got out onto the road there would be very few people with you,? said Irish.
While the riders missed such creature comforts as their own beds, and at times disliked taking down their tents, the ride was a success. All three are thinking about taking part in next year’s PALM.
For more information on PALM, visit www.lmb.org/palm.