Crusher 300 Bikepack 2022

The last long race I did was Unbound Gravel 350 last year which I did not finish.  The motivation mentally to finish it didn't happen, but I did make it around 234 miles. I knew afterwards I needed a break to focus on other things in life.  I targeted my energy to updating our house and also work  I also found out that I was going to be a father, so that made me want to get the house ready.  Roseann is due in November and noticed I have been spending too much time around the house.  She said if I wanted to go do an adventure even though she couldn't, I should.  Is that a great wife or what?

I saw the Crusher posting about a new Bike packing route that was 311 miles.  In 2020 I completed the Michigan off-road expedition route from Pokagon to the Mackinaw Bridge with my friend Jim. I always wanted to do more bike packing..  

"Click any picture for an enlarged version"

Thankfully my boss approved a week off and I started looking for a partner to do it with.  I was unable to locate anyone so I decided to do it completely solo over 4-5 days.  I traveled up to Marquette with my friend Chris and his family.  The 300 route started from Rippling River campground and finished there.  Thankfully Chris was already going to be at the campground training for Marji from Monday until Friday.  My plan was to start on Monday 7/11 and would be back to camp by Friday 7/15 before he had to check out at 11am.  It was great to have such a simple plan and funny at the same time to just leave Chris and his family, and go off to the wilderness.

Like all things that are important to me I agonized over many different aspects.  I made sure I had everything I needed and reviewed my packing list multiple times.  I researched the route thoroughly looking at every mile and finding resupplies.  I added course points on the route using the Garmin connect website and that made it easy to know how far I was to destinations.  I only had two weeks to get ready, but managed to get it done.

Everything I needed for the trip minus my bike (Check Point Photo)

 I staged all my stuff and Todd called me at the campground on Sunday evening 7/10.  He filled me in on the course conditions and that I may run into some sand and other enhanced features as expected.  I knew a group of 3 riders did the route a week before I started so I followed their posts on Facebook and was really excited to get out there.  Even though I was solo I was going to be tracked on track leaders for safety with my Garmin Inreach.  I enjoyed dinner with Chris's family and tried to sleep even though I was in nervous race mode.  It was interesting because it wasn't even a race, but I was nervous about being all alone.  I prepared and had a plan so I knew I would probably be fine. 

Day 1 Monday 7/11/22 Rippling River Campground -> Catching Crickets Campground

I started my ride at about 8am as planned.  Here is a picture of my 2014 Cannondale Scalpel ready to rumble.

Check Point photo 

The ride went out of Rippling river campground on a rough jeep trail that soon turned into single track.  Todd routed me through the muddiest part he could to make me enjoy this ride from the start.  After navigating out of the single track I popped out onto the Iron Ore Heritage trail.  I can't believe I am saying this but the trail lasted for about 8 miles and was enjoyable.

 

 

After the bike trail I turned onto some beautiful gravel roads and double track.  There was some sand and enhanced features but nothing too crazy.  At mile 36 I arrived at Au Train campground where I had to go down a pretty good hill to find the water pump.  I filled up water and climbed back out.

 

 

After the campground I was enjoying the gravel roads which for a majority were in great shape.  The bugs were out and annoying me especially the black flies.  I kept moving so I could enjoy the ride and not be eaten by bugs.  The black fly can move up to 19mph by the way.  If you have a tailwind, so do the bugs haha.

 

 

My plan was to originally go to South Gemini lake campground at mile 92.5.  That was a bold plan considering this year the longest ride I had in the books was about 68 miles on a road bike.  I arrived at the first resupply point mile 66 Shingleton, MI at 2:45pm.  There was a restaurant here and a grocery store. I figured I would eat at the Tanglewood Inn which turned out to be closed when I got there!  I went to the Wright grocery store and bought a huge foot long sub and some other things like pop tarts and bars.  At this point on the day I reflected upon my current situation.  I had 5 days to ride with no agenda and I decided to target Catching crickets campground at mile 71.

I departed Shingleton and knew I only had about 5 miles to go to the campground.  I had this option planned in case I didn't want to go 90 miles on the first day.  However it used a side doubletrack road.  After Shingleton I was on a small pavement highway that went directly to the campground.  I did not want to deviate from the route and have Todd DQ me.  I found a road called Carslon that went right to the campground when i was researching at home.  Its funny how everything looks easy on a map.  So after being on the highway the route took me on some rougher double track and I approached Carlson road.  To my surprise the road was completely closed with a blocked path and a private property sign. 

 

 

 At that moment I was a little frustrated because I thought I was going to have to ride to mile 90ish.  After riding a bit longer on the snow mobile trails I actually saw signs for the Bear Trap Inn and it was 1 mile away.  I knew that was on the same highway for the campground, so that was now my goal. As expected I arrived at the restaurant really quickly and was a happy guy.  I enjoyed 2 root beers, water, pulled pork sandwich, and lots of fries.  Keep in mind I still had a foot-long sub in my backpack 😃

After eating some good food I had about 1 mile to the campground.  I made a mistake and missed the turn and ended up on the Carslon road going the other direction.  So I ended up with 78 for the day and was tired.  The campground was basic and I found a nice site in the shade.

 

Here is another Check point photo. Camp Essence.

 

 

I have a process that I follow when I get to camp.  I try to pick out my tent spot first and setup.  Then I get into my tent and get as clean as possible. I change into my camp clothes.  I setup my rope between two trees and then wash my riding clothes from the day.  I use my revelate dry bag and fill it with water and some biodegradable soap.  I use that to clean my clothes and rinse them.  The clothes then hang to dry overnight and in the morning they get tied to my bike to dry during the ride.  This way you always have pretty clean clothes to start the day. I also try to prep for the morning.

I had cell service so I called Roseann to fill her in on the day and hung out.  I sat and relaxed for most of the evening.  Across the street the campground was on there was someone testing out their sound system to some nice beats.  It was nice to have some music even though I didn't have a choice in the type.  Around 730pm my neighbors arrived in the campsite 2 across.  Lets just say the Mom wasn't too happy with her kids wanting space and arguments continued for hours.  Sometimes you don't need entertainment because it comes to you. :)

Day 2 7/12/2022 

Catching Crickets Campground to Mead Creak State Forest Campground. Elapsed Time 7:42

 I slept okay but I never really do on the first night of bike-packing.  I woke up whenever the sun came up and got ready to take on the day.  It was a bit chilly in the morning so I was looking forward to my coffee. Out of the blue a cat arrives to great me for my morning coffee.  I thought it was funny and the cat was nice.

My goal today was to get to Mead Creak state forest campground and I had a resupply at mile 83 which was only 12 miles from the start.  I packed up my stuff and was moving at 7:47am.  Thankfully I didn't know how enhanced today would be.  Within the first 5 miles I was dropped onto an abandoned road.  I am talking about waist tall grass and 5 huge piles of downed trees you had to carry the bike over.  I was loving every moment of it and when I went over the 3rd pile I heard the largest rustling in the woods.  I turn to my right and I see a bear cub climb up a tree, give it a hug, and stare right at me.  This tree had to be 12 feet away from me.  I wanted to take a picture, but I figured it was better to find one on the internet than die taking a selfie.

 I do enjoy watching Alone and other survival shows.  I used what I learned to just say "HEY BEAR" over and over.  I also blew my whistle because I knew Momma bear was probably close.  I got through the section pretty fast after that encounter.  Here is a picture of the "road" below..... :)

Soon after I arrived at the Melstrand General Store.  There were food trucks setup outside and I learned of a 400 mile road tour going on.  During this week I would encounter the road cyclists every once in a while.  They were supported and I was happy to be off road because most of the highways they were on were busy.  I also left my hanging line for clothes at the first campsite and was happy that the general store was close.  They had a new line for me!

Checkpoint Photo

The owner was nice and opened early for me.  I told her about the bear encounter and she said I was not alone.  I really recommend this store because they have a great selection and outstanding service!  I topped off everything and headed off to my next stop (BP) in Seney.  I felt like Todd was messing with me because the roads were really nice with some sand mixed in.  The deer flies were out like crazy though and if I stopped to take a picture I was attacked.  If you wiped out in the sand, you were also attacked.  The flies were motivating :).

Checkpoint photo (Body of water)....

I planned to have lunch at Andy's bar in Seney but it was out of business.  Thankfully I asked at the BP, and proceeded to stuff myself with an Italian sub.  I topped off with food because I knew i wouldn't have a resupply stop until around mile 238.  The sun was out and I sat right next to a gas pump in the shade.  I talked to a couple on a motorcycle, and they thought I was nuts and impressed.  I also called my Dad and told him about the bear. The roads had more sand and some was a bit soul sucking as I got closer to the Seney Wildlife Refuge.  Todd warned me of this so I tried to hold back my tears.  It was just enough to piss you off but it did pass as all pain does.

Checkpoint Photo (Bike on Bridge)

Mooing

I arrived at Mead Creak state forest campground but had no cell reception.  I hurried and setup camp so I could relax.  I was all alone at this campsite except for mosquitoes.  I honestly have never experienced the amount of mosquitos that were present here.  It was like a nightmare.  I was constantly being bit even with sawyer picaridin on and was sad I didn't have my 100% Deet with me.  I moved camp closer to the creak in hopes that the wind would reduce the attack.  I was suffering and limited my time outside my tent.  Any time I went inside the tent about 20 mosquitos followed me in.  I spent most of the night killing them.  As Todd would say the campsite was "Enhanced".

Essence of Camp (Checkpoint photo) Mosquitos are around...

I caught up with Roseann on my Inreach and I learned that I had turned my tracker off on accident at the BP.  Todd was a bit confused why no points were being sent.  Roseann got in touch with Todd to tell him that I was still alive and being eaten alive currently by blood sucking mini beasts!  In the morning I quickly got my things around and left.

Day 3 Mead Creak state forest campground -> Camp 7 Lake Campground

I happily left the Mosquitos and got on my way.  I didn't think I would be able to resupply today because there were no stores on the route.  The ride today started out fast with a nice gravel road called 436 and I took some pictures by a bridge!  Today I was passing through the rest of the wildlife refuge.

 I remember reaching the temporary headquarters which was on double-track beach quality sand.  I was fighting the sand throughout the day.  This route had a lot of truck trails and you never knew what the next one would be like.  Some were extremely rocky, sandy, or really nice gravel.  I had a variety of riding today.  There were also beautiful forest roads for example.

I had lunch and refilled my water at Colwell Lake Campground mile 180.  It had a beach and a nice caretaker who took my trash when I left.  

There was a store coming at Mile 184.5 called the Stueben D&D store.  Todd said to not count on it being open and if it was they would probably have a snickers bar.  I was happy to say it was open.  I walked right into this store and no one was in there.  I believe the owner was mowing the lawn.  Todd was right, they had nothing that I needed or wanted.  I only had about 20 miles to go until camp so I shoved off.

The route had more gravel and was really enjoyable to camp 7 lake.  When I arrived I was blown away.  The camp was amazing and I had a great spot.  The camp site even had a hanging rope already setup!  I setup camp and hurried to the lake to wash off.  I was getting a little ripe.  Click the video link below from how the day went.

Video from Camp 7 Lake

Even after eating a payday and two dinners, around 8pm I was getting extremely hungry. I had a headache but only riding food to eat.  I noticed that the college kids in the camp site next to me left to go get food.  They came back and started making Burgers with eggs, cheese, and bacon.  My mouth was almost watering and I had to channel my inner bike bum.  I had no fear of rejection and walked over to their campsite.  I introduced myself and offered to pay $5 for a burger or anything they wanted.  They could have charged me $30 and I would have paid.  I was lucky enough that they thought it was impressive what I was doing.  They gave me a burger and we had a nice conversation.  They were all college buddies and were going on a trip together.  I was a lucky guy and that burger was amazing.

I also was figuring out what my next stop would be because the last campsite was Wide waters campground.  This camp was only about 40 miles away and I figured it made more sense to rough it in a hotel in Chathem at mile 272.  I was lucky enough to have cell reception and my Dad helped me book a room at the Village Inn in Chatham.

Day 4 started off with another great breakfast of instant oatmeal with pecans.  Starbucks via instant coffee out of my Crusher 2020 "adapt" mug.  I slept great and didn't mind that my burger buddies were up late having fun.  I already knew today was going to be a good day. It seemed the stars were aligning.

There was a store Forest Glenn at mile 238 off route if I needed things, but I figured I had enough to make it.  Here is the bridge and my bike chilling.

 

SAND that I did walk.  If you can ride this I think you are full of lies.

Lunch stop at Wide Waters which was a beautiful campsite.

Video from Wide Waters Camp Ground

 

 

 

After Widewaters Camp I was on a road that said it was out. As I was riding on this road it had signs saying road out, and I had an idea of what was waiting for me.  The signs didn't lie this road was gone. 

Video from the other side.  If you look close you can see the caution tape was up before the video in the pictures above.  I broke that tape which proves I did indeed cross this.

 

Todd's Enhancement Video

 

 

 

 

After this it was smooth sailing for the rest of the day. I arrived at the Inn and quickly removed as much sand as possible.  This hotel even provided a chocolate bar which I enjoyed.

 

Camp Essence :)

 

Chatham is a small town.  It has the Inn, a pub, grocery store, and Ice cream shop.  Its perfect because really what else do you need.  After getting clean I hurried to the pub.  I rode the half mile there and enjoyed meeting the owner.  I ordered a bourbon burger and a full order of nachos.  The owner thought it was a lot of food for just one person, but she was incorrect.  Everyone was extremely nice.  I have to say it reminded me of:

 

 

Great Food

 

I had some time to kill considering I arrived at the bar at 4pm.  Everyone that came in this bar knew the bartender.  They all knew each other and it was really cool to sit there and hear about things going on.  The highlight of the evening was meeting Dave and his friend.  Dave sat in the stool right next to me and I started talking to him.  He used to be a prison guard and told me some interesting stories about the inmates.  One inmate used to take his poo and make balls out of it.  When people would pass this inmates cell they would be flicked with poo.  I talked to these guys for about two hours just enjoying myself.  I showed them the route and they couldn't believe I was riding this route.  The pub gave me a lot of memories that I will remember for a long time.  Please visit the bar and support Chatham.  The bar used to be closed for a year and the new owner bought it in 2020.  Its going strong now.

 

My next stop was the grocery store to stock up on snacks and then I went to Mama Cows for ice cream.  Everyone was great and I put my ice cream blizzard in my feed bag.  I rode back to the Inn and got everything ready for tomorrow.  I had a goal to get back to rippling river around 10am because Chris had to check out at 11am.  I figured it would be a easy ride by the map and only about 40 miles.

I packed everything up so I could get up and go in the morning.  I ended up leaving at 6:20am.  

Lets just say I was having trouble following the route towards the beginning of the day.  I went back and forth on double track trying to find my way.  I was getting a bit frustrated with my Garmin because it kept telling me to just go in the woods.  Looking back I think the route got confused.  Anyways I called Todd at 7am and he gave me permission to just ride the road until I could get back on the route.

Area of confusion below.  The path was blocked in my mind so oh well on that!

I also learned all about snowmobile trails in the summer.  They close them but Todd says this closure is really a hurdle and just push on.  The trail including multiple fence crossings, 4' tall grass and overall enhancements.  Easy 40 miles lol!!!

"Road"

"Hurdle"

 

 

"I went under this Hurdle"

 

 

After the snowmobile trail I made my way onto the NCT trail.  This was also extremely enhanced with multiple puddles to take a mud bath in.  There was also some really nice logging roads and a small creak to pass.

 

 

 

NCT

 

The finishing stretch took you up a legit 4 mile climb to scream down into Rippling river.  Thanks Chris for the finishing photo below.  Overall I had a amazing time out there just pedaling my bike at a pace that was enjoyable.  I had no agenda other than to finish by Friday.  I did arrive right after 10am.

Total stats for the ride:

326.1 miles.  Somehow I ended up with 15 bonus miles

Moving time of around 28.5 hours and elapsed time of riding 35 hours.

I left on 7/11 at 7:47am and finished on 7/15 at 10:20am. 4 Days 2 hours and 33 minutes

Thanks to 906 for the great ride and adventure.  I enjoyed the rest of the weekend at Otter Lake campground volunteering and hanging out with friends. I graded a lot of checkpoint photos and was critical enough that Todd told me to take it easy.  I even got to go on a drive with the director of pain himself during the mass start race.  Great times.  Thanks 906 and the Crusher family.

Finisher photo.