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317 Miles Later, Family Pedals into Fish Creek

By Myles Dannhausen Jr. , Peninsula Pulse – July 1st, 2010

“Can I take off my helmet now,” six-year-old Kristofer Lecy pleads with his dad in the driveway of his grandparent’s Fish Creek home. He’s obviously excited to get out from beneath the shell that had sat on his head for most of the past six days.

Julia, Lauren, Kristofer, Mark and Deana Lecy biked 317 miles from Indiana to their Door County vacation.

“I forgot I even had it on sometimes,” he explains. “I kept wearing it into restaurants.”

Kristofer could be forgiven if he was whining, but he wasn’t. He had just completed a 317-mile bike ride with his sisters Lauren, 13, Julia, 10, and parents Mark and Deana Lecy. Most families try to do something special with their kids over summer vacation, but few would embark on a six-day, five-night trek on two tandem bicycles from Indiana to Door County.

“Our son has always been a little out of the box,” says Mark’s mother Pam with a slight roll of the eyes.

The Lecys spend a month in Door County each summer at a home behind Mark’s parents house. Mark and Deana ran the Door County Half Marathon in May, but call themselves only recreational bikers. So what inspired the ride?

“These guys are the right age and size to try it, so it was the perfect window to do something like this,” Mark says.

So they got outfitted with gear from Nor Door Sport and Cyclery in Fish Creek (“they set us up perfectly,” Mark says) and hopped on the saddle last Friday in their hometown of Porter, Indiana. They made it to St. Joe, Michigan on the first night, then covered 66 miles in day two to get to Holland. Next stop was Ludington, where they caught the Badger Ferry to cross Lake Michigan before hitting the pedals again to make Algoma by nightfall Wednesday before knocking out the homestretch Thursday afternoon to Fish Creek.

What did they learn?

Mark, Julia and Kristofer at the end of mile 317.

Well, they know eldest daughter Lauren is not a fan of the ferry (she got queasy), and they know better than to expect certainty on an uncharted journey.

“There’s no perfect route,” Deana says shaking her head. “We had surprises every day.”

But they also learned something about their kids.

“Who says kids today are soft?!” Mark says shortly after hopping off his tandem with far more energy to spare than makes sense.

“You do!” Lauren replies waiving her finger at her dad.

“Well, not this week anyway,” father concedes. “They were amazing. No whining, no mental breakdown, even when it rained half a day.”

The kids joke about putting the bikes away for the rest of the summer as they sip on cans of Fresca in the driveway, but they’re all smiles. What’s their next challenge?

“We can boogie-board up here behind a car,” Kristofer shouts. Mom’s face says that’s one crazy idea that isn’t happening.