Frank’s PALM story
When I first met my future wife, I asked if she had a bike, and after responding with a “Yes,” I asked her out for our first date, a short bike ride along the C&O canal, which traveled through our town of Cumberland, MD. When I arrived at her apartment for our scheduled date, she introduced me to her “bike,” a 40 lb. Schwinn Varsity that she had inherited from her father. It had dry rot in the tires, a broken shifter cable, and non-functioning brakes. Apparently, her father had not ridden the bike in about 20 years. Not exactly a quick and easy fix, we abandoned the bike ride plans for a more leisurely stroll along that same towpath. I bought her a new bicycle for Christmas later that year.
About ten years and three children later, we had integrated 10-20 mile bike rides into our family’s summer adventures, mostly with one or both of us pulling the kids in trailers. As they got older, in an effort to instill the love of bikes and traveling in our offspring, we decided to attend a different state’s cross-state bike ride each summer.
Starting with the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA), we towed our kids across the top portion of that state with about 2,000 other riders. It was a great weeklong event that combined tenting and approximately 300 miles of pedaling with a wide variety of fellow cyclists. Once at the campsite, our kids couldn’t wait to get out of their bike seats and play with the other youthful attendees. So far, so good.
Bike Virginia was next on our list. Due to some work obligations, my wife could not attend that week, so my son and I tackled it on a Trail Gator tandem. Once we arrived at camp, we reattached his front wheel and off he went with a cadre of peers. Again, it was a big hit, and my son’s sense of accomplishment bled over to his sisters when he got back home.
Our next event was Pedal Across Lower Michigan (PALM). Unbeknownst to me at that time, the registration for this event had a very tight window. If your registration was postmarked more than three days past the opening date of this 700-limit ridership event, you would not be accepted. Just by blind luck and to our good fortune, I had submitted our application on the opening day of registration.
“Can we do PALM again next year?”
PALM changed our family’s plans to see every state by bicycle, one state at a time. My oldest daughter (age 10) and my son (age 9) fell in love with the event, with the mileage being right at the upper limit of what they could handle. After adding a used Santana tandem to our bicycling repository, the kids traded off stoker responsibilities after each five-mile stretch. You wouldn’t think kids could estimate how far five miles was on a bike, but neither of them missed their opportunity to switch to the tandem when it was their due time.
As soon as we completed the weeklong ride and got back into our car, the kids excitedly asked, “Can we do PALM again next year?” Not wanting to dampen any fragile enthusiasm for bike riding, I responded with the thoughtful, “We’ll have to ask Mom.” When they burst into our Maryland home, the first thing out of their mouths was the request to revisit the Michigan ride. I knew the kids were really hooked when they both proudly wore their PALM t-shirts to the first day of school, hoping to impress their less active friends. My youngest daughter then determinedly learned to ride her bicycle so she could join us the following year.
As a budget-conscious father of three, and husband to a less price-conscious woman, PALM was a blessing to my wallet as well. For the entire week, we only spent around $1,300, which included cafeteria-style breakfasts and dinners, transportation to the start of the event, commemorative t-shirts, camping sites, SAG support, and refreshments along the way. The big hits were the watermelon stands, which supplied endless amounts of the fruit, especially refreshing on a hot day, and the famous “Licorice Lady,” who had stationed her support vehicle approximately five miles before the end of each day’s ride. Needless to say, she was one of the most popular people in the largely volunteer-run event.
The family tradition continues…
For the next seven years, we attended the event with the kids reigniting old friendships and picking up new ones along the way. They rode together between towns as a group of eight to ten riders, but most of their fun was had at the campsites at the completion of each day’s ride. They required minimal supervision with the only requirement being that they must stay on the respective school’s campus and be back to the family tent by 9 p.m. Mostly, they played card games, especially one called “Spoons,” and engaged in art activities supplied by the event’s organizers. It wasn’t until my oldest entered college that the kids no longer clamored to return the following year.
Two years of COVID took its toll on the attendance to this recreational event. Also, unfortunately, a couple of fairly large youth church groups decided not to renew their attendance. Last year, the 700-rider registration deadline had been moved forward to just a couple of weeks before the start of the adventure. After experiencing a lot of family joy during this cross-state ride, it would be sad to see attendance drop to the point of discontinuation. Our kids, as young adults, still refer to memories acquired from PALM, and my son last year asked for a touring bicycle for Christmas. He rides with his buddies, and his girlfriend just asked for a bicycle. The family tradition continues…
Contributed by PALM Alumni Frank Clark.
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MISSION STATEMENT:
Pedal Across Lower Michigan (PALM) is a non-profit group dedicated to encouraging family bicycling and the promotion of bicycling safety.
Pedal Across Lower Michigan 