Palm Ride 2009 June 20th - 26th

Last year, Marvin and the boys rode their bikes across Missouri. They knew that they wanted to find another state to ride across this year. Missouri was so hot last year, so they decided to pick a state that would have much cooler weather and no humidity. Marvin did his research and found out about the PALM ride. PALM stands for Pedal Across Lower Michigan. When they rode across Missouri, it was just Marvin and the 3 boys. The PALM ride is an organized ride that has about 700 riders. There are lots of families that participate in this ride, so therefore, we decided that this would be the ride to do! I (Karen) would participate, but not on a bike. I participated by driving the Suburban from town to town and getting our tent set up everyday.

We headed out for our trip on June 18th and drove to St. Louis. We stayed with our friends Tom and Lisa and their two kids that night. It was great to visit with them and get caught up with their lives. It was so much better than staying in a hotel. We awoke to a wonderful breakfast that Lisa had prepared for us. Caleb cracked us up by telling me that I needed an oven like Ms. Lisa's because you open her oven and pancakes come out!!! That boy is always making us laugh!!

We left Tom and Lisa's that afternoon to head on up to Michigan. We ran into some rough weather in Michigan and had to pull off the road for a while. I thought the Suburban was going to roll over in that storm. Later on that night, we had to make a detour through a small town due to the interstate being flooded. The town we went through was flooded as well. We saw cars floating down some of the side roads. We were very thankful for Samantha (that's what we call our GPS system)!!! We finally made it to our destination, Muskegon, about 1:30 in the morning. Needless to say, we slept in on Saturday morning.

After breakfast, we told the boys that we were taking them to the beach. Matthew and Caleb had never seen a beach before, so they were so excited. We didn't have the heart to tell them how cold Lake Michigan would be, even in June! That did not stop the boys from having fun. They still got in the water and played even though the water temp. was around 50 degrees!!

After the beach, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for registration and the informational meeting for the PALM ride.

Enjoying the cooler weather at Lake Michigan!

The boys played in the water even though it was about 50 degrees.

Zach - soaking up some sun.

Zach burying little brother.

What a happy couple.





Caleb thought there would be snow in Michigan. He was plenty happy with a "Sand Angel" !






I think they were shivering when I took this pic!!









Ready for the big adventure!











Registration - worn out from a long day at the Beach!

On Sunday morning (June 21) we drove to White Hall. This was the starting point of the ride. The riders do not leave at the same time. Some were heading out really early, but the boys headed out at about 8:30. I sent them on their way and then I headed out to our next stop in Grant. The boys rode about 37 miles that day. When they arrived in Grant, I had the tent ready to go. We did not use campgrounds, instead we stayed at schools. All of the PALM riders would pitch their tents on designated areas of the school grounds. We were able to use the schools showers and bathrooms. That was probably the only downside to this ride, was having to shower with all the strangers. There were no individual stalls to shower in - just one big community shower!! Well, I guess two - one for the girls and one for the boys!!!

Every night on the trip we would go to the informational meetings to learn about the next town and the stops along the way. They would also have entertainment for the PALM riders, too. It was a great way to meet the other riders. The first night was a hypnotist and Marvin volunteered to go up on stage. It was so funny. The boys got a kid out of their dad being hypnotized!!

Our first rest stop.

Caleb - Moving down the road!

We had the most wonderful breakfasts every morning while on this adventure. The organizers of the PALM ride hired people to come cook us breakfast at the different schools that we were staying at along the way. You could also eat dinner at the schools, too, but we opted to support the Ma and Pa places in these small towns. We had an advantage of having our car with us, so we were able to eat at some great restaurants along the way. We also had lots of ice-cream. We noticed that ice-cream was everywhere in Michigan, but we did not see one snowcone/shaved ice place! I also learned where all the laundry mats are in these small towns. I would go and wash our clothes every day while I waited on the boys to get to town. It was also neat to see the signs that people had posted welcoming the PALM riders. This was the 28th year for the PALM ride. They change up the routes from year to year. I was amazed at how many people come back year after year to do this ride. The majority of the riders were from Michigan. I was also amazed at the age of some of the riders. There were two 90 + year olds that completed the ride. We met a man named Kevin that has Cerebral Palsy and has participated in 26 of the 28 PALM rides. Kevin has only the use of his left arm and left leg and uses a special made bicyle that Toyota designed for him. Kevin not only does the assigned miles of the PALM ride, he does all the optional rides everyday to get in more miles. We were all amazed at Kevin. He has such a heart, too. Each year he raises money for different charities. Marvin said that Kevin kept he and the boys going each day. Every time they would think how hard it was, all they had to do was stop and think that if Kevin could do it, so could they. Kevin celebrated his 50th birthday while on the trip. Kevin was an inspiration to all of the PALM riders.

Matthew - racking up the miles.

Hey, you Cows wanna race me?

From Grant, the boys rode to Stanton. They had to ride 43 miles that day. It was so funny to see all the tents set up on a school property. I kept calling it Tent City. On the second day, we met a sweet young couple from Michigan. Their names are Andy and Jenn. I sat and visited with them while I waited on the boys to arrive. They had left their 10 month old at home with Grandparents. This was Andy's first time to do the PALM, too. Jenn has done the ride several times. The boys just fell in love with Mr. Andy and Ms. Jenn, as did Marvin and I!! Andy had quite a few stories to tell our boys. He grew up with 4 brothers!! Andy and Jenn ended up being our camp mates at the different "tent cities". I would save them a spot at our next destinations. Since I had the Suburban, I could get to the next town and have first pick at the prime locations! I think there was only one school that we stayed at that did not have any shade. Of course, this had to be the hottest day on record! I think we brought the Arkansas heat with us. Everyone kept telling us that it is never that hot in Michigan. The big difference is Michigan heat and Arkansas heat is the humidity. Even when it was 95 degrees there, you could actually sit in the shade and not break a sweat!!

Caleb made a new friend, Daniel from North Carolina.

This hill was really steep - notice Caleb hammering up the hill and all the "Adults" walking their bikes!

We had a "Fruit Stop" every day at 30 or 40 miles. Something to look forward to.

Zachary loves the Watermelon.

Our longest day was scheduled at 54 miles but we "decided" to take a more scenic route of 63 miles. Their first metric Century, almost 6 hours in the saddle!

There were lots of small kids. Here were two with Dad on their Bike Friday Triple.

Zach - loves his new shades!

Shade!!! 96 Today - at least there was a little wind.

We found Ice Cream almost every day! This was a small size.

Caleb said "Dad, it is as big as my head"

15 minutes later.

Karen met us for lunch one day.

Another rest stop - beautiful day.

We tried to start out early to avoid the "Heat"

It was funny to hear everyone complain about the heatwave!

I think they would all die if they had to ride in Arkansas during the summer.

The boys found a pond to jump in and cool off.

There must be a story behind the naming of this intersection.

Crapo and Government!

A little windy today!

I just can't get him off the bike! Where does he get this from?

Did I mention it was windy? No, this is not a tailwind.

ROADKILL!
Ok, what is this? We saw several - Wolverine?

Zach takes a dive after Matthew comes out for a break.

We had a nightly meeting at each school to go over activities tomorrow and entertainment for the kids.

We all wore our "PALM" shirts on the last day. A short 35 miles before the Parade.

No, Caleb we don't want to race!

We were all kind of sad for our Michigan adventure to come to an end.

It was hard for me to get ahead of all 3 at once to get this shot.

I don't think any of the kids missed this stop on Friday!

Future Pilots?

Our new friends, Andy and Jenn Holt. We can't wait to meet Austin!

The Parade - 700 riders all in Orange!

We spend the Saturday at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH.

This was the highlight of the trip for the boys. We rode everything we could in 12 hours we where there. We did not take too many pictures but had a blast.