2007 Tour de Benzie Review and Ride Report

The Tour de Benzie (TdB) is one of the best unknown century rides in the Midwest, and has been going on since 2005 - not along time, but it's must, if you're in town. It takes place the first week in July, usually on Friday, around 7:30am at Standish Road and M-22, which is about two miles north from downtown Frankfort, MI.

Every year the 100 mile route gets more challenging and it's a whole lot of fun. The tour is organized by some friends of mine, Eric and Joel (who are avid bike riders) and they have others that help as well. The route Eric came up with this year included 3,390 feet of climbing, and some nice descents (especially going down Arcadia hill at 46+ mph). Here's a link to the actual route: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/mi/frankfort/438550856

The TdB is open to anyone willing to ride 100 miles. Though this year, as in the past, there are opportunities to cut the ride short for those who are not interested in doing a century.

At the start, we had about 15 riders - all different kinds of bikes and skill levels. Joel even got his kids to ride for part of the tour. After about the first three miles, the eight people doing the century hit the course, and the rest took a shorter option. And those eight were: Dave (the Hammer) from CA, Eric and Joel, Eric's sons Peter & Jim, Shaun, a guy from Chicago, I forgot his name - and Moo.

We all had maps of the route, but for the most part we stuck together, so we didn't really need them. Plus, most of the turns were marked, and the hills were marked for the sprints. Also, the County borders were marked - because the first one over would get extra points. No it's not a race, just something to make it more fun. I should point out the route is designed so you ride to all four borders of Benzie County.

The TdB is more or less a self-supported century. Yes, there is a car that follows us from time to time to video tape the riders along the way. And there are three spots on the route, were the video car will supply us with water/drinks/some food, and has room for two bikes, in case someone can't make the distance - but, for the most part you're out there without SAG. I usually bring enough food with me, and plenty of tubes - but I do appreciate the liquids they supply.

After about 40 miles, one of the riders called it a day, and another one after about 75 miles, if I remember correctly. When we arrived in Empire, the one rider who stopped at 40, came back to ride with us, after resting in the video car. We also picked up two more riders - they were riding a tandem. This was now the home stretch, and we drafted behind the tandem for few miles, then broke away with about three miles to go until our ice cream stop on the Platte River. After the stop we had to ride to Point Betsie lighthouse, in order to make it an even 100. Back on M-22, with less then three miles to go the pace really picked up, with the video car just ahead of us shooting our mad dash to Standish Road. At one point the video car was going too slow, and we almost rode into it.

Everyone who rode the century came back in one piece, and with pretty good stats. Eric had t-shirts made for everyone who rode, and colored t-shirts for those with the most points. After the ride some went for swim in Crystal lake, I went home for a beer. It was a prefect day for a century, and next year I'll be there to it again. When the video is ready, I'll post it - so look for it here.

Ride Stats for the 2007 TdB
Miles: 100.98
Ride Time: 5:30
Average Speed: 18.3 mph
Average Grade: 2%
Max. Grade: 9%
Altitude Gain: 3,390 ft
Top Speed (for me): 46 mph

View the 2006 Tour de Benzie video:




Note: The TdB was my very first century, as well as for those who started the tour. So it's something special for me each year I do it.