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Clint:
Howdy folks,

Had a great first day today. Weather was fantastic leaving Lansing and all the way up to Morley Stanwood. Temps in the low 80's and sunny all day long. The best was the wind - a nice cool wind out of the south-east that really helped all the way up. As promised we had 4 main tandems including us, and everyone has up'ed the training this summer so legs are strong and healthy. Along with the tandems are a great group of "half bikes" (single riders) that are doing a great job of helping out at the stop signs (read last years reports). Chris in particular (who was planning on being on a long bike, but his stoker had to miss the ride due to work demands) did the majority of the work helping us through the traffic.

Robyn and I felt pretty good today despite more shorter-distance (up to 50 mi) races under our belts than century training. I knew we could go relatively fast for shorter courses, but the distance and speed worried me a little going into the event. What I didn't realize was the tremendous advantage having 4 tandems in the group. When we get tired, we just pull off the front and the other tandems come up and pull for a while. Nice to have on a hundred mile ride!

Other then the speed and great tail wind, about the only other thing that happened today was about a 5 or 6 mile "chase" back to the main tandem group. Pat and Colleen had some mechanical issues resulting in a quick pit stop... The other tandems went on, and Robyn and I hesitated just a bit to think about waiting for Pat and Colleen or ride on... that briefest of moments resulted in a pretty large gap between us and the 2 other tandems up the road. Robyn and I worked pretty hard (read: too hard) to try and catch back up. In the end we eventually met back up with them, but burned WAY too many muscles trying to get there. Now Robyn and I are both pretty fried and feel like sleeping NOW, but I suspect a good night's sleep will recharge the legs and get us going again. :-)

In the end I think we had our fastest century. We finished 98.5 miles in about 4 hours and ~30 minutes resulting in about a 22.1 mph avg.

More tomorrow from Manton, MI and thanks for reading!

Robyn:
I'd like introduce our wonderful group of friends in the "Jolly Rogers" group, as the reports over the next few days will doubtless recall their many antics. Here are a few of the folks who we are riding with this year:

Dan Carey is doing his first-ever DALMAC ride. Reason for wanting to bike 400 miles in four days: "'Cause Pat said I should." He is riding a single bike.

Doug Derdowski and Aaron Derdowski (brothers) are also doing their first-ever DALMAC ride. Reason for wanting to bike 400 miles in four days: "'Cause it was the only route that was still open when we registered!" Doug and Aaron are both riding single bikes.

Chris Lawless has completed 14 DALMAC rides. Reason for wanting to bike 400 miles in four days: "Because it's so much fun. It gives me a goal to train for." Chris rides a tandem with John Langlois (below).

"Bubba Mike" Lawless (Chris' husband), who provides food, beverages, and great support to all of the Jolly Rogers group, has done SAG for our group for 3-4 years. He keeps returning "because it's fun, I enjoy it." (We love you, Mike!)

Colleen Deatsman-Kelly - has completed 10 DALMAC rides. She keeps coming back "because it's a really awesome vacation from regular life - no phones, kids, clients, nothing but biking and friends. Oh, and I get to meet guys with really sexy legs."

Pat Kelly (Colleen's husband, who has very sexy legs) - has also completed 10 DALMAC rides. He keeps coming back "'cause I have a wonderful stoker and wonderful friends. We've developed a lot of friendships over the years and it's a nice group with common goals." Pat and Colleen ride a tandem.

Chris Lonsberry has ridden 18 DALMAC rides (in a row!!) He keeps returning every year "just to be with a great group of people - it's so much fun." He would like to note, "Linda - I miss you." Chris is riding a single bike this year.

Tom and Kay Erb have ridden 3 DALMAC rides and volunteered to help with support and organization for 6. He likes the Quad century route "because it's the hardest and most challenging - it's a macho kind of thing. I also love to make new friends and ride with all the great people." Tom is riding a single bike.

Tama Snider has ridden 10 DALMAC rides; this is her third Quad Century route. She likes the Quad Century because "it's more of a challenge, with more experienced riders."

Tom Snider (Tama's husband) has also ridden 10 DALMAC rides. He keeps coming back "now, for the social interaction - it's also motivation to get out on the bike. I'm using the bike training to fight the aging process (and it's working!)" Tama and Tom ride a tandem.

John Langois has completed 12 DALMAC rides. Reason for wanting to bike 400 miles in 4 days: "'Cause I'm an idiot. Also, this is where all my friends are." John rides a tandem with Chris Lawless (see above).

Scott Violetta is doing his first DALMAC ride. He wanted to do the ride "because I had always heard about it and wanted to. I broke my collarbone last year, which held me up, but I made it this year." Scott is riding a single bike.

Janeen Licatovich is doing her first DALMAC ride. She wanted to do the event "because all our friends did. We'd rather have gone to Nova Scotia! (our original vacation plans.)" Janeen is riding a single bike.

Dave Licatovich (Janeen's husband) is also doing his first DALMAC ride. He decided to do the ride "'cause I had nothin' else to do. It got me out of work!"

Clint Thayer has done 3 DALMAC rides. He keeps coming back "because it's a great way to start to wrap up a great season and it's more fun than basket weaving."

I'm Robyn Perrin, and this is my 2nd DALMAC ride. I find that events like DALMAC emphasize all the important things in life: friendship, laughter, self-discipline, teamwork, and peace of mind. Also...when you bike enough, you can eat WHATEVER you want!! Clint and I ride a tandem.

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