Clint:
Y-M-C-A!!!! I'm going to stay at the Y-M-C-A!!!! Okay, this is going to be quick cause 1.) I'm tired, and 2.) I'm going to go chill with a beer and friends on the last night. I'll post a longer report when I have more time...

Things went great today. Weather was more of the same, just great. The tandems were in full force today and they did a great job. We joined up (not by design) with the other group of fast tandem riders and did the normal 25+ double pace line. It was much hillier today but nothing that I would call knee breakers. Some long ones and one or two short ones. The highlight of the day for me was when the 40+ group of riders (6 tandems and a bunch of singles) came up this small steep climb just off a downhill (read: we were cooking!!!) and all of a sudden everyone fanned out in the road. I was left with no space. I went into the burm and planted my wheels in about 6 inches of sand/gravel/small rocks. I was fine, but it was a situation that could have ended the day or the entire ride for me. I jumped back on the bike and cooked it up to my friends who thankfully waited for me for a few miles. I had worked pretty hard to get there (27+ mph) so I just kept the train moving with 2 tandems and a single rider. As I passed my friends I heard one of them ask if I ever wanted to do mountain biking... :)

The first day of DALMAC is always a hammer-fest, the 2nd is the toughest with a slow climb into Cadillac, but the 3rd day is the prettiest and most enjoyable. With one day left everyone sees the light at the end of the tunnel and we all don't want it to end.

Today was an equally fast day on the bike with a 106 miles recorded in 5 hours and 17 minutes with and avg of 20.1mph. There are tons more stuff to mention today, but the fun is yet to come tonight.
More later, and thanks for reading. Clint

Post Ride comments: Well it's been almost 2 weeks since the last days of DALMAC and I thought I would fill in a little more detail before I completely forget. As I mentioned in the nightly report, the highlight other then making the third 5 hour century was being pushed off the road in the big group. Looking back I hardly remember the one or two seconds that lead up to the small situation but I do remember the visual of that burm and the quick thinking I had to make looking at both the road option and the off-road. I still think if conditions were worse, that decision could have ended the day. O'well, chalk up a few more lessons learned (side on the outside of any large group!) and a nice story to mention around the tent in future DALMAC rides!

One thing I didn't put in my report for the third night was the great treat we had as Chris and Mike lined up a long boat ride around Torch lake before dinner. What a treat it was to jump in a very nice boat and driven around one of the largest lakes in Michigan. We saw the sights of the lake from the other side that night!

Robyn:
I've been thinking all day long about how to describe how much I've been enjoying this ride. Make no mistake about it, despite the mechanical troubles on the first day and the missed turn yesterday, I'm having the time of my life. How many opportunities does one have to pursue a sport full-time for four days? To have no other task than having fun? A typical DALMAC day begins with a big breakfast, a full day on the road, setting up the tent in the evening, a big dinner, an hour or two of winding down and relaxing with friends (frequently this involves laughing so hard you think your abdominals will cramp up) and going to bed as soon as it is dark out. Doesn't get much better than that.

As Clint mentioned, we have hit the weather jackpot and today was stunningly beautiful. Clear, blue skies, not too much wind. I started a few minutes after the "Jolly Roger" group as the great repair folks (Tom and Jean) managed to get my bike computer up and running again. Thanks to Tom's jerry-rigging, I had a working bike computer for the first full day yet. Today's route did include some hills, very nice ones, nothing impossible but you definitely had to sit and grind for a while (or stand and grind, as the case may be.) I was loving my gearing today. The miles pretty much flew by, and I opted to not take too many stops. There weren't many food stops along the route, so I ate on the bike for the most part (thanks to my stash of food in my handy-dandy handlebar bag - I learned long ago to keep a supply o hand to stave off bonking). I grabbed some more food in Elk Lake, then headed back out...and lo and behold....as I was pulling out of town, there's Clint with one of the Jolly Roger tandems (Pat and Colleen) and some other single riders. The timing was pretty incredible. I jumped on the back of the train and held on for dear life....and sucked their wheel all the way back to the camp, some 20 miles or so. Wow....very cool!! I hadn't expected to catch up to them, and wasn't sure if I could maintain their speed (averaged about 21 mph), so it was an unexpected treat.

Some say that one gets stronger during DALMAC...I have to say that I feel much better than I was expecting to after 300 miles. Even on our training rides, I felt pretty whipped after back-to-back centuries. But my legs continue to hold out and really there haven't been many problems or injuries. What can I say, I'm hooked. Hopelessly addicted to road biking.

As far as the numbers are concerned, my bike computer read about 110 miles, Clint's read about 106, and the official map says 102.6, so take your pick. My average today was about 17.2 mph if I remember correctly. Tomorrow is the last day (sniff) and has the infamous "Wall", which I have been told consists of a 3-mile steady climb topped by a steep incline, a corner, and more climbing. I'm not sure whether I'll opt for that or for the alternate "non-Wall" route. I'll have to make that decision on the road.

Thanks for reading!