Michigander 2011: The Finish – Holland to South Haven

Sam Kennedy brings in another Michigander 2011 finisher

You gotta say this about this year’s Michigander.

Weatherwise, it was about as extreme as anyone could ever imagine.

From heat indexes over 100, blazing sun and high humidity to today’s driving rain and cool 71 temps, we had it all, including picture postcard perfect Thursday sun and low humidity.

Today’s Holland-to-South Haven ride to the finish line as the week’s shortest distance. But what would have been a leisurely pedal to a great finish after a great week turned into a soggy, splashy float to the finish. Not that we want to complain. It was exhilarating and fun, another part of the challenge of long distance biking, made even more memorable by the driving raindrops which sometimes felt like a million little acupuncture needles tingling our exposed skin.

Me (2nd from right) with some of the folks I rode with: Tim, Lynne, Gary, Anne and John. Missing was Pat, who was eating the victory cake when we took this picture.

Rain started falling about five minutes out of Holland. At first, it was just a light shower. But by the time we wheeled into Saugatuck, it was a downpour, complete with thunder and occasional lighting flashes. Our rear tires sent up seven foot high roostertails and passing trucks on the roads splashed us with small waves of roadspray.

Yet when we crossed the finish shortly before noon in South Haven – where the tour began a week earlier – there was enough of a rain respite for Sam Kennedy to do his traditional finish line greeting.

Recapping the week, the big story was the heat – and how most of us who got our early each morning missed the worst of it, protected by overcast skies that burned away about noon, when we were well on that day’s home stretch.

Biggest complaint this year – besides the unbearably hot tents in the afternoon – was the food. Compared to previous years, it seemed to get pretty much universal thumbs down.

Alas, the Saugatuck Chain Ferry never did run today for Michiganders because of the thunderstorms.

Biggest disappointment was Friday in Saugatuck where the chain ferry wasn’t operational because of the thunderstorms. Claimed to be the only remaining chain driven ferry in the US, it has been in use since 1838. Three pullieys keep it in line as it is being pulled across the Kalamazoo River. Just not today. Riders lined up and patiently waited, and waited until word came that there would be no ferry crossing. We ended up taking an bridg eover the river.

Here’s some more pictures, followed by a video recap and the Garmin route download. Up at the top menubar, I’ll be adding all my still photos over the next few days. To obtain one, just right click it and save it to your disk.

Sunset Thursday night in Holland

As we were riding around Spring Lake Thursday, a huge tree fell right across the road. It happened right in front of a group of riders. We came by soon afterwards. Gary decided to show what could have happened.

Here’s today’s video of the ride to the finish:

Here’s today’s Garmin route download: