Mastering a Michigan Monsoon

Three Oaks, MI. On Sunday the 25th, I completed the Apple Cider Century here. This is the largest cycling event in the Midwest, with 5500 registered riders. Cars with bicycles on the back streamed in from Chicago and Indiana for this impressively well-organized event. As all large cycling events, this one goes rain or shine. This year it was rain. Rain began about mile five and continued, between heavy showers, drizzle, and a few breaks to about mile 75. It was amazing how many cyclists stuck it out -- at least for the first 50 miles.

There was still a lot to like about this ride. The roads were nice and quiet (except for the crowds of cyclists!). There were several areas of beautiful new pavement -- more than I have seen on many centuries. In fact, in places the rain-soaked road reflected the landscape and sky like a mirror, creating a bit of vertigo. It seemed unsafe, but I never saw a rider down (and there were many riders on these roads blasting across the ice-like surface), so I'm guessing that it was safer than it looked and felt.

And, the terrain was not that challenging. In fact, I did not have to use my granny gear once on this ride! At age 59, I don't have any pride about dropping into the small chain-ring. If I have to, I'll gear way down and tell myself I have nothing to prove. So, the fact that it was not necessary would recommend this as a particularly flat century.

Two other things made this century unique. The countryside in southern Michigan and northern Indiana is criss-crossed with railroads. We were never far from a railroad crossing, and were serenaded by train horns for most of the ride. And, the sheer scale of this event was impressive. The Apple Cider Century has been operating since 1974, so they know how to handle over 5000 riders. Thus, there were marshals at all the right intersections, markings in all the right places, and bathroom capacity to match the size of the crowd at every rest stop.

So, September came between extreme century book-ends. The month started in Tennessee with 100 degrees of bleaching heat, and ended with a 58-degree rain ride. I went from the long days of bright summer to a day-long autumn gloom in which the first hints of fall foliage were appearing at the ends of the tree branches.

This completes my twelfth century of the year and collects state number 34. I'll be taking a short break to vacation with my lovely bride. I'll be back on the bike as early as October 29, and certainly by early November. I plan to finish the year by coloring in South Carolina, Georgia, and possibly Mississippi.