I wrapped up my first organised ride of the season this past weekend. It was the Dawn Farm Ride for Recovery. This was a metric century, 100 kilometres or 62ish miles. This was the 6th annual run for this ride and it will be one I attend annually. I do a lot of my organised rides up in Michigan since I have a riding buddy up there, and we try to find rides we really enjoy to add to our annual calendar. This one has definitely been added.
We look at a couple of things for annual rides. It has to be well organised, of course. We are looking at things like number of riders, SAG support, food, rest stops, etc. These rides are supposed to be fun and a lot of that fun comes from the organization and effort put into it. This particular ride was really enjoyable. There was a lot of great food, there was support, there was great spirit and camaraderie, and it was a really enjoyable route.
I wish I’d taken pictures, but I was just enjoying myself and didn’t think about it. The whole thing started out just making me feel happy and lighthearted. We started at Dawn Farm, a working farm. Llamas, sheep, and birds everywhere. I like animals, so that made me happy to see. The chickens were walking around laying freakin’ eggs everywhere… in the parking lot, under cars, in fields – I’m not sure why that struck me as so funny, but it did. Checkin was a breeze, there was food and coffee, and off we went after a group start.
The route was nice, some roads had a bit of traffic, some were a bit rough, but nothing too bad. Lots of nice scenery and not too many hills, plenty more animals too. The rest stops were spaced perfectly and we had a nice halfway stop in a metropark. The weather worked out OK, cold and breezy at first, but it warmed up. That’s to be expected early in the season – no real way to predict the weather.
So, for anyone else looking to add rides to your annual calendar, consider this one. It’s up near Ypsi in Michigan and I will be attending it again next year. Frank and I would love to have more riders we know join us. It’s early in the year, often the first ride or at least first organised ride for many, so it’s at a more casual, social pace. No hammerfest this early in the year!
