I felt a little silly, paying money to ride an organized ride on roads that I ride solo all the time. But, it was an opportunity to meet some new cyclists and make friends. I didn't decide until the day of the ride which of the SEVEN routes that the Rapid Wheelmen had mapped out, but at the last minute I opted for the longest ride at 40 miles. Coincidentally, that was the route that was closest to our farm just outside Kent City.
The ride started at Grose Park. There is a lake there, Crockery Lake. I had visited the park earlier this year on a solo ride, so I already knew that dogs and bikes are not allowed on the beach. As I was getting ready to start, I heard the people behind me talking about how remarkably quiet the roads in the area are, with little to no traffic. I asked if they were from the city, and they said, yes, south of Grand Rapids. I myself had come up the S-curves of Route 131 the afternoon before (Friday) and gotten stuck behind some traffic. It is typical, all over Michigan, for people to head "Up North" on the weekends, and this is the last weekend before school starts for many students.
The weather was fairly cool early in the morning as we started, but I knew it would get hot later in the day. The route started north from the lake and continued for several miles. I had been lollygagging earlier in the morning, since I knew the park was close to the farm, and I managed to not get on the road until almost 9:00. I was surprised to find the Casnovia Township office so far away from the village of Casnovia, which is only a couple of miles from the farm.
I kept pedalling north until I was on a parallel with the city (or village?) of Grant. I passed many orchards along the way. I find it so striking that in the old orchards, full-sized trees were planted 20 or 30 feet apart to allow room for them to spread. Now, specially-developed trees that grow in a columnar fashion are spaced only a couple of feet apart and trellised on wires. You can almost tell how old the orchard is by how far apart the trees are planted. Someday I will research all the reasons for the new planting arrangement. My guess is that it requires less labor to trim the trees and pick the fruit. It's probably safer if the pickers don't have to climb up on ladders. Then I passed this orchard. I do not know what crop this is, I have never seen this type of trellis before. Another research project!
Heading into the city of Grant, I passed Gene's grocery store and thought about going in to use the restroom. But the thought of my cleats clickety-clacking on their floor gave me pause. The route turned south less than a mile later and took me to the library, where the official rest break was located. The library is a modern, new building. I took a homemade cookie from the selection offered and refilled my water bottle. I chatted with the volunteer. It seems that before the pandemic, the club had several rides throughout the year, but they combined them due to the logistics. Previously, the 100 Grand ride had started in the city of Grand Rapids and come north to Grant before circling back to Grand Rapids. This year, those who want to ride a "century ride" had to combine some of the seven routes to get to the number of miles they wanted to ride.
After the break, I resumed by riding down to Spruce Avenue. This is familiar territoryfor me, as I have ridden several times on my own. The day was heating up and it was in the 90's. I decided to cut five miles off the route by heading down Tyrone Avenue instead of going further east to Red Pine Drive. I stopped in the driveway at the farm. My husband came out to greet me and held my bike while I refilled my water bottle again. Then I cut across 18-mile Rd. to city of Casnovia. Turn south down Kenowa and ride several miles.
I was 3 miles away from the park when the SAG wagon caught up with me and pulled up, to make sure I had enough water and no mechanical problems with my bike. I was fine, but I got another refill on my water bottle. Did I mention that it was over 90 degrees?
Back at the park, the caterer was packing up the tacos, but they made me a plate. I grabbed a diet Coke and sat down to chat. I sat next to a guy in a yellow jersey. His name was Mike Burden, and he was a kidney transplant survivor of 3 years. (His jersey even showed which kidney had been transplanted!) He planned on completing a century ride, by riding the last 34 miles back to his home in Grand Rapids. I was impressed, because I had been done in by my 35 miles in the heat. He said he was almost back to the physical condition he had been in before his transplant. He said his doctor had mentioned that due to his bicycling activity and healthy diet, he had survived longer than he otherwise would have before the transplant. Mike said that his kidney condition was genetic,and he had always known that he had a 50-50 chance of having it, even before being diagnosed. It was like the "sword of Damocles" hanging over his head his whole life, which gave him motivation to keep living a healthy lifestyle. Very inspiring!
You can find the routes for this ride on RidewithGPS keyword 100 Grand. Search within 50 miles of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Or check the
Rapid Wheelmen web site for more information about the ride and the club.
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