Sweat running, blood pumping, legs going up and down as my wheels spin down the seemingly endless trail thinking, only 20 more miles. The breeze increases as I go faster and faster, slowly cooling me down, and the trees pass slowly as I climb hill after hill. My dad thought we should bike 360 miles from Mackinaw to Grand Rapids, lakeshore to urban center on gravel and paved paths. At first, I thought it was impossible because of the total distance. However, when we broke it down into multiple days, I saw that it was possible and would be exciting. We bought bags for our bikes and stuffed them with lightweight sleeping bags and mats to reduce the weight we were carrying. Then we mapped out our trip to every small county road. We tested our bikes and gear, fine-tuning every component for maximum speed and minimal weight.…show more content… Some days we biked through busy urban centers, cars whizzing by with my dad shouting directions. Other days we traveled on beautiful paved paths shaded by a tunnel of trees, hearing only the wind rustling the leaves and the roaring waves of Lake Huron pounding the rocky shore. Every night we ate at a local restaurant and rested our legs. If we were lucky, we had time to shower after arriving at each campground. Usually, we had a quick swim in the lake by our campground. Midday when the sun was high, we came to a hill that was at least 350 feet tall. We slowly inched up the gravel incline. The bottom of the hill was chaotic, a busy road filled with cars. As we rode, the sound of cars faded away and the sounds of birds chirping grew louder. When we finally reached the top, we stopped. It was a cloudless day, and we could see pine trees extending for miles as it faded to farmland. It was the most serene part of that