About 1,800 bicyclers from all over Michigan will ride between 283 and 402 miles to Mackinaw City in four to five days, said DALMAC Media Relations Coordinator Katie Donnelly.

The tour offers riders a choice of five routes depending on where the rider starts, she said.

Bicyclers who reside outside of Mount Pleasant can start out by camping at Rose Pond and begin their journey on Thursday morning.

“Michigan can enhance its tourism industry by fostering a bicycle-friendly environment that enables residents and visitors to enjoy our beautiful state at less than 70 miles per hour,” Donnelly said.

The tour began in 1971 by former State Senator Dick Allen to promote a healthy means of transportation and outdoor recreation that minimally impacts the environment, she said.

DALMAC is a recreational tour, not an endurance contest, race, or test of stamina, she said. It is open to all capable, interested bicyclists and is endorsed by the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports.

Business Academic Advisor Annie van de Water said she will begin the ride Thursday morning at the Michigan State University Pavilion in East Lansing and end Sunday at Mackinaw City High School.

“I decided to ride as a personal challenge and an opportunity to spend quality time with a group of great women,” van de Water said.

As an avid biker, she said she rides about 50 miles a week but plans to ride 71 to 91 miles a day in her first DALMAC.

Allison Quast, Motorless Motion manager, said most routes have cyclists riding 60 to 100 miles a day for three to five days in sun, rain, wind and sometimes hail.

“The majority of the roads the DALMAC riders ride on don’t have bike lanes, but if their route takes them through the new lanes installed throughout campus, I’m sure they will appreciate having a space of their own,” she said.

Quast said DALMAC and the Tour de Mount Pleasant benefit the community by encouraging cycling as well as making cycling safer by creating awareness with local motorists.

Donnelly said Michigan residents constitute about 89 percent of riders, while the rest are from 28 other states and Canada.

“Since its inception, the DALMAC fund has granted over $1 million to bicycle-related organizations and causes,” she said.

About 570 of them set up camp outside the Student Activity Center after riding 82 miles on day one of their five-day trip from Michigan State University to the Mackinaw Bridge.

The Dick Allen Lansing to Mackinaw tour, which started in 1971, will travel 256 miles after leaving Central Michigan University to reach the final stop of Mackinaw City.

The tour continues to bring a lot of returning faces and a few new ones.

Ride Leader Chris Harrison first rode the DALMAC in 1978 and rode for the last time in 1992. Harrison convinced her boyfriend and co-leader Dave Pierce to ride in 1994, and he rode the approximately 350-mile route nine times.

“Right now, I’m giving back for all those years of rides. That’s how I see it,” Harrison said of her decision to lead.

While there are five routes of varying distances to choose from, the original five-day trip is still the most popular.

“This is definitely the one that fills up the fastest,” Harrison said.

‘No whining’

Like Harrison, many of this year’s cyclists are DALMAC veterans. Vern Thelen, a Fowler resident, has taken the trip 12 times, starting in 1984.

“(1984) had horrible weather. It was 100 degrees and it had been so dry all summer that you couldn’t get your tent stakes into the ground,” Thelen said. “The stadium wasn’t there yet and we were all over in the field there, but the police came and moved us into the SAC on the tennis courts.”

That night, a huge thunderstorm swept through Mount Pleasant.

“There were tents in the trees and tents against the front of the stores along Mission (in the morning). It was horrible,” Thelen said. “But, hey, it had to get better after that, right?”

It did get better. In fact, Thelen said the tour has had perfect weather since 2002.

Katie Donnelly, DALMAC media relations coordinator, said the weather and atmosphere has been great for the tour this year.

“Everybody’s been doing great,” she said. “No whining.”

Don and Laurie Gilbert, members of a bicycle club from Fowler, are riding the DALMAC for the third time, and brought their niece, Danielle George, along for her first big ride.

“She talked me into it,” said George, pointing to her aunt. “It’ll be a big accomplishment to be able to say I rode my bike that far.”

George, who will be a freshman in high school this fall, said her participation in sports (volleyball, basketball and softball) have helped her prepare for the ride.

“It helped tremendously,” she said. “You need really good endurance.”

Senator Dick Allen started the tour in 1971.

“He said bicycles were a mode of transportation and people (in the Michigan legislature) laughed and said ‘no it’s not,’” Harrison said. “So he decided to ride with Mackinaw and took 12 friends with him,” Harrison said.

The Pleasant Lake sophomore’s dad first introduced her to the bike tour, and now she cannot get enough of it.

“I like doing this bicycle tour because it promotes (events) being safer for the environment, as opposed to driving cars around all the time,” Simons said. “I feel that more students should get involved with this event.”

Central Michigan University will host more than 500 bicyclists on Sept. 2 as part of the 39th annual DALMAC tour.

Riders will depart Wednesday from Michigan State University and will arrive at Rose Arena later that day for their first overnight stop.

More than 2,000 bicyclists are expected to take part in the event this year.

Although one route brings riders through Mount Pleasant, Simons instead will take the journey on the four-day west route, which stops in Vestaburg, Lake City, Boyne City and its final destination, Mackinaw City.

A ‘nice place’ to stop

There are five routes a rider can choose from that range in mileage from 303 to 414 miles, one of those routes stopping on CMU’s campus, said Katie Donnelly, DALMAC media relations coordinator.

“The bicyclists have been coming to CMU for many years, it’s been a nice place for the riders to stop and camp,” she said.

The intention of the event is to encourage a bicycle friendly environment in Michigan and to show how bicycles and cars can maneuver state roads together.

“There are many benefits to bicycling,” said Joe Roggenbuck, a Harbor Beach sophomore. “It provides some solutions to serious problems in the world, health being one of the bigger ones.”

Roggenbuck has participated in bicycle tours in the past, but is not riding in the DALMAC this year.

This event was founded in 1971 by former State Sen. Dick Allen in hopes of providing healthy activity for people, according to DALMAC’s Web site.

Each rider pays a fee depending on what route they take. The fee includes breakfast and dinner, camping, support vehicles, a car to haul their gear and map books, Donnelly said.

Proceeds from this event go to The DALMAC Fund, which funds bicycle-related organizations, including the Mount Pleasant-based Special Olympics Michigan organization, according to the Web site.