State of Michigan endorses PALM

The Governor's Council for Physical Fitness, Health, and Sports has made PALM an endorsed event and added it to its website. One of PALM's missions for its 25 years of existence has been the promotion of bicycling as part of a life of physical fitness. We encourage the participation of all ages in our event, not just the 20 year olds. In fact the 20-29 and 30-39 age ranges have traditionally been our smallest. We've kept the daily distances to a level that can be reached by almost everyone in a reasonable amount of time. We teach safety and encourage more use of bicycles in everyday life. That's why it is very gratifying to get this recognition.

Perhaps now that this pesky election is over with we can get the First Gentleman and a son or daughter on the ride. It's not the marathon, but you can share PALM with your whole family.

Twixt the superbowl and spring training

This is the dead time of winter for me. Even though I'm not much of a pro football fan, the Super Bowl is like a holiday. Now it's over. Sportswise all you can find are endless interchangable college and pro basketball games. Hockey you can't find. Don't talk to me about the Pro Bowl. If there were spring training, you would get daily reminders that summer is coming. All you have is the tundra of winter spreading out before you.

Fortunately for me, I work on the PALM registration. I get batches of applications from people that express their hope for summer. Last week I registered an 82 year old woman.

Where I live there is a Gardens Resource Network that is promoting community and family gardens. Yesterday I went to the first meeting for our community garden. It was refreshing to hear people talk seriously about insects and tomato problems and their solutions. And I got a calendar of garden events and workshops for the spring and summer, as if there was going to be a spring and summer. I recommend this for anyone who has my winter problem.

Of course, the best cure ( and the official end of winter) is Ernie Harwell's voice reciting the Song Of Solomon verses about the end of winter and the song of the turtle at the opening of spring training. Until then, please keep sending me those PALM applications. I need all the help I can get.

Why pick PALM to ride?

If you are going to do a week long bike ride, why should you pick PALM?

For one, PALM is within reach physically for almost every bike rider. The average daily distance for PALM this year is 50 miles (last year it was 45 miles), not 75 miles. You don't have to be an athlete to do PALM. You just need to be in pretty good bike shape. We offer longer daily routes (that are SAGed, marked, and for which we have maps), even a century, but you don't have to do them.

PALM is affordable. An adult registration is $95. This is cheapest week long bike tour around. (Meals are extra, but optional: $5 for breakfast, $9 for dinner. You pick the meals you want.) Registration for riders under 18 is even less: $60 for riders 11 - 17, $ 50 for riders under 11. We can do this because our staff is all volunteer and PALM is nonprofit.

PALM is for people of all ages. If you check on our web site you will see that we have people of all ages and in numbers. We encourage families. Last year we had four generations of the same family on the ride, all on their own bikes.

This year will be the 26th annual PALM. While 35% of our riders are doing PALM for the first time, another 35% have done PALM 5 or more times. We must be doing something right.

Why do a week long bike tour?

You've ridden your bike for a while. You've done some organized day rides, maybe even 50 miles. Why would you want to ever do a week long bike ride? Suppose you've started a new job, one that has 2 weeks vacation for the first 5 years and 6 holidays per year. (My position not too long ago). Why would you want to spend a week, perhaps the only straight week off you have in a year, on your bike?

Vacations are about a change of pace, a way to get out of your routine, a way to relax and regroup. A biking vacation gives you a way to simplify. Your life consists of getting up in the morning, eating breakfast, packing up, biking, unpacking, eating dinner, and waiting for the next day. Your only responsibility is to reach the next site. Things move slowly. On a bike, you can see everything, you can pay attention to everything. You have time for anything. There is no reason to hurry: you would only have to wait longer for the next day. If you have a high stress job, this is the perfect vacation. You are forced to slow down. Your mind can wander. You can take the time to notice even the smallest thing.

A bike trip is a classless society. Even though everyone is different, everyone wears the same not very flattering clothes. Everyone has the same goal: get to the next site. You can meet and talk to people and have something immediately in common: the experiences on the ride. A bike trip can give you a chance to step outside yourself. It's like "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" but in a nice way.

Oh, one other thing. Bike trips take place in summer and fall when its warm, not in the winter.

Introduction

Consider this blog a diary of the Pedal Across Lower Michigan (PALM) bike ride for 2007. It will be kind of official since I am on staff (Registration) and I'll have other staff members contributing. However we have 20-30 people on staff and they keep reminding me that I don't speak for them. If you go to our web site you'll see that we've been doing this for 25 years and are the cheapest week long bike tour around. What you may not know is that we are a family oriented ride. There were 192 riders out of 757 that were 19 or under. We have a lot of first time riders: last year we had 345 riders that had never done PALM before. About half of these had never done a week long bike trip before. There are reasons for this. For one, the daily mileages are about 50 miles, within the reach of people who are not training for the Tour de France. (But if you are, we have longer routes available. No Alps though.) Last year we had 60 people 70 and over who did the ride.

While the biking is important, the people are more important. I consider PALM summer camp for adults. Just like summer camp when you were a kid, you know no one when you start and by the time it ends you have friends that you just can't wait until next summer to see.

This blog will also contain the lastest information about this years ride and answers to questions that have recently come up. Some of this stuff may also make it to the web site, but that takes too long. The ride is June 23 to June 29 (so it won't mess up July 4) and this year goes from Spring Lake on Lake Michigan to St. Clair on the St. Clair river. The applications are being printed now and will be mailed out on January 21. Email us to get on our mailing list. See you then!