First time?

I am the person who, the the past two years, is answering the PALM phone and responding to PALM emails. In the past few days, we have had lots of anxious emails and calls from folks who will be doing PALM for the first time. As the PALMWebGuy said in his recent post, part of the job of the person answering the phone is to reassure all the worried people. Many of you are wondering just what you have gotten yourself in for. Have confidence in yourself! If you have been doing some riding and are ready for an adventure, you will most likely have a great time. My first time on PALM was on PALM III. Two friends and I signed up for the ride to celebrate one of the birthday milestones. I hadn't ridden much since I was a kid, and I had a rather heavy, somewhat old Schwinn 10 speed. Because I was working full time and had two young children, I had only ridden about 250 miles total that spring, with my longest ride being 30 miles. Like this year, the first day on PALM was just under 50 miles, and I remember celebrating when we got to forty miles -- my longest ride in one day ever! That year's ride was a true adventure, taking us through Kensington Metro Park and past the Pontiac Silverdome. I thought I finished the ride with energy to spare -- and then fell sound asleep on top of my luggage, waiting for the bus to take us home. I also remember feeling very amazed the next time my family drove across Michigan, as I remembered bicycling the same distance, all under my own power. As the years went by, each of my daughters rode PALM with me several times, and one even wrote her college essays about how great she felt when she dunked her wheels into Lake Erie at the end of her first PALM.
This year looks like it will be one of our warmer PALM's, so we will drink lots of water and take our rests under big trees along country roads. We will make friends as we wait in the usual food lines, discover how big the ice cream cones are that we buy in the small towns, and will experience life at a slower pace for a few days. And at the end, many of us will find it hard to return to the real world. But then, there is always PALM 27 to think about! See you all on Saturday!

Ellie, PALM "Mail Granny"