We gathered up most of the cycling gear Friday night, and we spent some much-needed time cleaning, lubing, and adjusting the tandems. Saturday morning we finished packing and, after using the van to run some recycling to the drop-off, we loaded the van. We weren't trying for an early start because our only goals for Saturday were to drive the 154 miles to Three Oaks in time to take part in the ice cream social and secure a patch of ground large enough to accommodate our tent. The latter was the only thing we expected might be time-sensitive.
We arrived in Three Oaks around 2 p.m. Saturday. Three Oaks is a small, artsy sort of town with lots of little shops and few restaurants. It was even smaller than we'd expected. Most of the event was taking place in the middle of town where the little art shops, fire station, elementary school, and city park were adjacently located and straddling a well-used rail line. Check-in at the elementary school was easy and well-organized (they used the gym and several classrooms). We picked up our t-shirts and set off to find the park where we could camp.
The ride organizers arranged for free camping in a city park near the edge of town, maybe a mile from the start-line and registration area. We expected the campground to be more crowded, but I guess most people opted for other accommodations. "Free" seemed too good for us to pass up. The city park had a playground and some baseball diamonds, and there tents scattered everywhere. It was a little difficult to tell where in the park we were supposed to camp, but apparently we could pitch a tent anywhere we could find space. We erected the tent in a flat grassy field, hoping it wouldn't become a lake if it rained (although no rain was forecast), and pedaled back to town for ice cream.
It must be a big event when they have such a huge banner at the start line.
We found the ice cream social, which for some was probably the most important event on the schedule. There was a folk band, "Dangerous Folk," singing protest songs in the gazebo. They were pulling no punches, either. They'll probably wind up in some off-shore prison. We sat and listened for a while, but the local editor of the paper harassed us with her camera, trying to sneak pictures of Quinn to post in her tabloid. Abbey was jealous. A little later, Cindy was taking pictures of the kids playing on the Dewey Canon, and someone offered to take a picture of all of us. It looks to me like I might have been helping the kids shoot the thing.
After sitting and listening for a while we set off on a warm-up ride south of Three Oaks. The local cycling club has established many routes, and there are permanent signs, color-coded with mileage ranging from 5 to 100, to guide cyclists through the region. It's very nice. We put in about eight miles, attending to some derailleur maladjustments from my last minute tinkering.
After the ride, we planned find some dinner before heading back to camp for the night. But, as I mentioned above, Three Oaks is a small town. We were looking for a nice restaurant serving high-quality, high-calorie, inexpensive, vegetarian foods. We found nothing like that. Taco Del Mar would have been perfect: a Super Veggie with black beans, please. Even the standard small town traditional Mexican restaurant might have worked. We passed Nelson's Saloon, which, at first glance appeared out of place in Three Oaks. Nothing eccentric about Nelson's. A working class bar. Maybe even a non-working class bar. The sort of place you wouldn't bring your kids. In Washington it wouldn't be legal. The sort of place a guy in skin-tight lycra shorts wouldn't want to venture. After we walked up and down the main drag a few times, each time passing the windowless front of Nelson's Saloon, we were losing hope, so checked the menu posted in front of Nelson's, and noted that it had a few kids meals. Must be legal to bring your kids. There was an "ACC riders welcome" sign, too. So we went in. And for the second weekend in a row, Cindy and I ate burgers made with real beef. From the kids menu, Quinn had a PBJ sandwich and Abbey a grilled cheese. Not sure what it means that Cindy and chose the burgers rather than eat meatless from the kids menu, but we didn't want to start a big ride on empty stomachs. To be sure we were full to the top, we finished the meal with some tasty desserts - extra calories for the coming ride.
We pedaled back to the camping area and our tent. The park had a small, reasonably clean bathroom, that was quite insufficient for the number of campers in the park. The toilet paper supply gave out before the sun had set. Given that the park was filled with about a hundred tents, the atmosphere was pretty subdued. I had expected a bit more ruckus, but everyone seemed pre-occupied. We got the bikes ready to go, leaned them together and threw a lock around the frames, then we settled in and tried to get to sleep in the somewhat noisy and well-lit park.
Abbey read while I tried to get Quinn to hold still. He was wiggling and flopping all over the tent. Too much excitement. When the park lights went out at 10 p.m., Cindy said she was the only one still awake.
The pancake breakfast, cooked and served by the local fire department in the fire station, started at 5 a.m. I was glad that we were still sleeping in the tent at that time. A few of the other riders in the campground were getting ready to go. We waited until 6 a.m. before waking Quinn and getting dressed. Quinn usually sleeps between 9 and 10 hours each night, and we didn't want to cut him short before such a long ride. It was not yet 7 a.m. when we left our tent and pedaled over to breakfast. We had pancakes, eggs, and cereal. Not a bad breakfast, really, although the coffee was really quite bad. We couldn't even drink it.
Notice the variety of bicycles parked by the breakfast tables. A really old Schwinn three-speed, a not-so-expensive mountain bike, and a few more typical road bikes in the background. There was a wide variety in use.
Finally, after a few trips to the portable latrines, we set off on the ride. Since riders were starting over a span of several hours, the start of the ride was not particularly crowded. As we pedaled out of town, however, there were quite a few speedier cyclists going around us. Quinn found this unacceptable. He was really pedaling hard for the first half mile to try to keep up. He kept saying, "Daddy, pedal harder, all these bicycles are going around us!!" "It's OK, Quinn, it doesn't matter. It's not a race." He likes to be the fastest. Someday, Quinn, someday.
The route took us north and east of Three Oaks, where we pedaled through rolling, forested hills and some flatter farmlands. We didn't see as many apple orchards as I'd expected. I think there were more vineyards than orchards.
Abbey often sits upright with her hands off the bars. I don't know how she can pedal that way. Ask Cindy about that. Here Abbey's grabbing a sack out of her kitty bag.
The rolling hills were great. In the picture below we'd just finished flying down a long, winding road. I hoped to catch the girls leaning around the corner, but the picture doesn't really give much feel for speed. 
The first SAG rest stop was at 26 miles, which is a little longer than we usually go in one stretch. But we only stopped to shed clothes. We didn't need to stop to rest. The wind was light, but had been behind us. Quinn is even getting pretty good at drinking and snacking while we're moving, but I have to ride pretty carefully. With both hands on the water bottle, he'd slam into my back and might fall off if I hit the brakes.
You might notice in these pictures that much of the time we were not riding with a large crowd. There were several routes, 25, 50, 62, 75, and 100 miles. All routes left Three Oaks to the north and east, making a counter-clockwise circle - or a polygon. The longer routes had excursions out further from the center of the circle. There were only two rest areas, and all but the 25-mile route stopped at both. I'd say most riders rode the 50-mile route, because the only time the roads seemed crowded were when we were on the route shared with the 50. It was nice when were were mostly alone, but it was fun, too, when we were in the crowds because we had the chance to chat with other riders - especially those on tandems and those who've been through the kids-on-tandems age and are now back on singles. 
The first SAG stop was located at a park where the kids slid down some really tall spiraling slides. We had apple cider, cookies, apples, bananas, and a fruit-nut mix. Once we left the stop, the route turned south and started into an increasingly powerful headwind. It was pretty tough at times.
Shortly before the second SAG stop, we rode through this very nice, old, neighborhood (with terrible roads) that sat along the shore of Lake Michigan. We could often see the lake through the gaps between the multi-million dollar homes. If you're really into seeing the fruits of others' success, I have some pictures of some of the homes. It seemed impolite to post them here.
We hit the second SAG stop, in New Bay, MI, at around 45 miles. By this time the air had warmed from comfortably cool to not-so-comfortably warm and windy. Both Cindy and Abbey wished they had worn a cooler top. Cindy's face was getting red from the heat. Abbey pulled off her under layer, leaving her with just the low-cut long sleeve UPS top that Heather gave her.
This is pretty typical of a SAG stop at a big ride like this. Cyclists of all shapes and sizes and ages sprawled about. A line of port-a-potties off to my right. The food set up in the covered picnic shelter. On my left were bottles of water and sports drinks. Most of the bikes behind me or leaned against sawhorses off to my right. Yellow-jackets everywhere. They love Gatorade. 
The SAG stop was at a park right along the bay, with lots of big boats.
With the second stop out of the way and nearly 20 miles to go, we were feeling a little tired, especially as the route headed right back into the headwind. Quinn was starting to ask, with increasing frequency, "How many more miles until we're finished?"
Somewhere around mile 50, we turned back to the east. The head wind was now a cross wind with a little boost from the west. Straight and flat for miles, it was easier but more open. The camera stayed in the bag as we pedaled through.
As our mileage reached into the upper 50s, the scenery changed again. We returned to the rolling hills, with forests to shade us and block the wind. The hills were some of the steepest we'd encountered. We pedaled through a beautiful, thick forest that was part of a nature preserve. It was very nice. Classic, upper Midwest glacial hills, I think.
Here we have Abbey and Cindy, focused on their task, climbing yet another hill, cranking out the miles. Over the course of the summer, they've really learned to work together. Both have become much stronger.
Abbey sitting up proudly in here favorite riding position as she and Mom near completion of their first metric century.
We did it. We finished the ride. We were all completely exhausted, but we'd accomplished our goal. Both kids were quite proud. Even Abbey admitted that she enjoyed it.
So we dropped the bikes in grass at the elementary school and headed for the spaghetti dinner and apple pie. 
And then there was the tent. After we ate, we climbed back into the saddle and rode to the campground. Few tents remained. We packed camping gear, loaded the bikes, and got into the van. Tick, tick, tick, tick, oh, no. What's that mysterious ticking noise? We think maybe the phone charger had killed the battery. No lights had been left on. After a jump start from a Jeep, accompanied by another conversation about tandem bicycles, we were on our way home. We're already talking about going for the 75 next year.
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