The Bucket List Ride You Never Thought Of
I woke in the middle of the night drenched - body and sheets. I took a shower, drank some water and tried to fall back asleep. Tomorrow was another huge day on the bike, a century climb through the Porkies. I awoke soon thereafter to the same problem. My body was covered in water. How could I leak so much fluid through my pores? I must be a desert inside. Another glass of water, another attempt at sleep - only for the same bewildering experience. Morning arrived slowly with close to zero sleep and lots of worrying. What was I doing to my body?
My body was wondering the same thing, and making adjustments on the fly. I had no idea what I got myself into. e you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
I’m not a “biker”. Sure, I’ve done some triathlons including Ironman’s. So yes, I probably bike more than the average person, but it was the first time I biked in a group or did back to back centuries (100 mile rides). Triathlons forbid drafting, so we get used to riding solo. A couple years earlier a buddy asked me if I’d plot a ride around the perimeter of the UP and guide ride it with him. He thought it would take a few days. I kept telling him that it would be hundreds of miles and take at least a week. After persistent requests, I decided to map out a course and prove to him the obvious reality that we don’t have the endurance or time to tackle such a bucket list. 1,200 miles. That’s more than riding from Detroit to Orlando Florida. He quickly changed his mind.
I however became obsessed. I had already hiked through the raw UP wilderness from Miners Beach Lake Superior to Thompson’s sandy shores of Lake Michigan. I canoed through the UP from the mouth of the Autrain at Lake Superior to Lake Michigan’s Rapid River. Why not bike around the Yoop? The route was almost entirely off the main highways, traveling through just about every community in the Upper Peninsula, and although I’m originally from Manistique in the UP, I’d be cycling through areas I had never heard of. I had to do it.
A year later, I’m riding with a bunch of incredible people that thankfully accepted my random Facebook invitation to put UP road biking on the map. Here we go - wearing awesome matching jerseys, 40, 50 and 60 year olds acting like kids again. Riding our bikes on a crazy adventure discovering new lands - and now lifelong friends. It was magical. It was tough. It was exciting. And it was incredibly rewarding!
I had just finished my third day, riding from Iron Mountain to Ironwood. It’s the longest day, with the most elevation. The toughest hills are at the end - it’s by design. If you join us on Tour Da Yoop, Eh you’ll thank me later. You probably had the longest day on your bike ever in your life, and then you arrive in Ramsay. There’s more to you than you realize. You can accomplish more than you know. The intensity was new to me. I hand’t yet mastered the art of hydration and food, but I’d learn quickly after this day. You finally finish the last hill, near the outskirts of Ironwood and there’s this view - a horse farm overlooking miles of the most spectacular sunset. It’s hard to believe a couple call that place home.
By the second half of the eighth day I felt like a rockstar. Two more to go. On day nine we went from Lake Superior to Lake Huron and then Lake Michigan. The wind was at our backs on the homestretch and we flew! Don’t ask me why, but as we finished I felt compelled to climb the stairs with our bikes to the top of Castle Rock.
Day 10. My family arrived in St. Ignace with our two dogs along with some good triathlon friends. I was in the best shape of my life. Proudly wearing the plaid jersey - a badge of honor bestowed those who complete all 10 sections. You can ride it in 10 days, the challenge I completed, or 10 years. You earned it! You know it and so do all the other riders who embark on the journey.
The UP is known for waterfalls, woods, rivers, and pictured rocks. Mountain biking, snowmobiling, hunting, fishing and skiing. Nobody thinks of the UP and visualizes thousands of miles of quiet, empty, gorgeous concrete. It’s a road bikers paradise. You just need to know where to go.
Tour Da Yoop, Eh - translation - come ride around the UP with me, OK!
By James Studinger
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