Ann Arbor, Michigan
September 1—5, 2011
Pre-Rally Events (Thursday)
We reached Ann Arbor, MI on Thursday to prepare for the 4-day Midwest Tandem Rally. It took us 9 hours to drive from Minnesota to Michigan. We were happy to reach our destination at the Microtel by 2:30 p.m. eastern time. We drove downtown to find an Irish pub advertising authentic Irish food. We learned later that the pub was designed and built in Ireland and then moved to its current site in Ann Arbor. Following our lunch, we drove back to the MTR staging area to see what action was taking place at the host hotel. It wasn’t long before Kat and Greg Ellyson from Iowa tapped us on the shoulder. They joined us for a few cocktails and conversation. We touched base with a few of our tandem buddies still on the road travelling towards Michigan. Most riders would be arriving Friday afternoon. 
9-2-2011 (Friday)
Rally Day #1: 16.44 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 1 hour 40 minutes, average speed: 9.7
We were very happy to see all our riding buddies from states around the Midwest. Of the first to arrive were Sally and Gary McDaniel from Kansas City, MO—first timers to MTR. Their trip took them 13 hours. I still remember our 1st MTR and how overwhelmed we felt until we were guided by a few seasoned MTR teams that made our event much more enjoyable. We could feel the rally excitement in the air as the registration room opened and the teams began to collect their ride packets. Following registration, we joined a group of 12 riders for a walk to Applebee’s for lunch. We were now well-fed and ready to ride. 
We all gathered again to begin the first ride of this rally which took us up the Huron River valley through many parks towards a refreshing ice cream treat at the Washtenaw Dairy. The route through town was quite hectic with much road construction and vehicle traffic that was not excited to see us on the road. It was clear that football was the only sport of value in this college town. 
Room 201 was a busy place back at the Microtel. We converted our suite into a hospitality room for COWS members to gather for a beverage and pizza. Couples continued to come and go through the evening until we were all socialized out. Lights went out in room 201 at 11:00 p.m. ending rally day #1 of MTR 2011. 
9-3-2011 (Saturday)
Rally Day #2: 59.82 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 4 hours 16 minutes, average speed: 13.9
Our mass start today was gathering in the Hampton Inn parking lot and cueing to leave at 9:00 a.m. We were told there would not be police escorts this year so after announcements, the bikes began rolling out towards their chosen routes. The mile choices for the day were 25, 52 or 60. We chose the 60-mile route and we began travelling north towards the town of South Lyon. 
We rode a combination of trails and roads today and had an opportunity to rest along the route at two designated rest stops. Lunch was served at the Island Lake State Recreational Area and was very well-run. Each rider was given a magnetic badge at registration that included our coded lunch choices for each day. We each cued up to the line matching our code, grabbed our lunch bag and found a seat to enjoy our meal—a very organized way to get 800 hungry riders through a lunch line with minimal complaints. 
A=Turkey Cheddar G=Chocolate Chip Cookie D=Grand Traverse Club P=Picnic
The temperature throughout our ride today was in the mid-90’s—very hot! We stopped often to visit along the route and to check on each other to make sure everyone was hydrating often. We enjoyed our travels through Island Lake State Park and Kensington Metro Park finally ending back at the hotels for a watermelon treat provided by Santana Cycles.
The Sunday evening MTR banquet was replaced by a Saturday evening picnic. The event coordinators took a chance on this outdoor event and it went pretty well. The weather held off just long enough to feed the crowd but forced us all to evacuate to dryer climate sooner than planned. 
The picnic was held at German Park, a 5-mile distance away from our hotels, and began at 5:00 p.m. The cost to attend was $21 per adult and included many food choices served in stations throughout the park—Roast Pig, Smoked Texas Rub Brisket, North Carolina Pulled Pork, Kansas City BBQ Ribs, Memphis Style BBQ Chicken, New Orleans Shrimp-Chicken-Sausage Jambalaya, Farm Fresh Grilled Vegetables…just to name a few. Multiple salads and desserts were also available.
Veerkamp’s room at the Microtel was again offered for a gathering spot to continue to enjoy the company of our travelling friends from across the Midwest.
9-4-2011 (Sunday)
Rally Day #3: 54.44 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 3 hours 58 minutes, average speed: 13.6
Mile choices for today were 30, 52 or 73. Because of the possibility of rain and some hills, we chose the 52-mile route and started out from the Holiday Inn parking lot along with Sally and Gary. We were looking for some sort of mass gathering but since we saw none, decided to begin pedaling at 8:50 a.m. 
We pedaled past some awesome smelling baked goods permeating the air near Dexter, MI and I instructed Dennis to keep on pedaling. Many were stopping for the delicious apple cider and donuts available here.
Our route then led us to Hell (Hell, Michigan, that is) and our second rest stop of the day. We met up with the Johnsons and Solomons here and enjoyed the photo opportunities available at this quaint little stop. 
Lunch was being served on the banks of the Huron River at Hudson Mills Metropark. We gathered our preordered lunches and found a table where the 10 of us could visit while we ate. The weather was more enjoyable today with temps in the 70’s and with only a few sprinkles throughout the day. 
After lunch, we pedaled back towards Ann Arbor via a bicycle trail. We seemed to have missed the big sign at the lunch stop routing around the bike path because of storm damage the previous night. Oh well, we are always up for an adventure and would have missed out on this one if we would have seen the sign. 
An ice cream treat was awaiting us in the Holiday Inn parking lot following our ride today thanks to Co-Motion Cycles. 
We thank the many volunteers we met throughout this MTR weekend. The Michigan MUTS did a tremendous job feeding, entertaining and caring for all riders enjoying MTR 2011.
Dinner was on our own this evening so we made plans to gather with a group following a 5:00 p.m. meeting Dennis and I were attending. The group chose the Conner Brewery in Ypsilanti where we could all sit and enjoy another meal together. 
9-5-2011 (Monday)
Rally Day #4: 14.67 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 1 hour 19 minutes, average speed: 11.0
Dennis and I had company this year as we biked our MTR traditional Monday sunrise route. Kathi, John, Sally and Gary agreed to rise early enough in the morning to bike as the sun was rising over the horizon. The route led us downtown towards the Michigan University campus for a short bike trip before completing this Ann Arbor rally. We found a Denny’s restaurant to stop for a final meal together and it was very good. We were treated well as we were the only group in the restaurant at this time in the morning. 
Back at our hotel, we said our goodbyes then all went our separate ways making the 2011 MTR one for the history books. Thanks again to all volunteers and also to all our biking buddies for again making MTR a very memorable event.
Ride Statistics
Riders of MTR 2011 represented 24 states and Canada
347 teams were registered to ride
Our total MTR 2011 ride miles: 145
MTR 2012—Madison, WI
Tentative Upcoming MTR Locations:
MTR 2013—Ohio MTR
MTR 2014—Illinois
MTR 2015—Fort Wayne, IN
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