WOMBAT 2026
August 3-8, 2026
"The Lakes Tour" 2026
Day 1 - Petoskey to Cross Village along Lake MI "Tunnel of Trees" and return to Petoskey(50 mi)
Day 2 -Petoskey to Indian River and return to Petoskey(58 mi)
Day 3 - Petoskey to East Jordan around Lake Charlevoix(55 mi)
Day 4 -East Jordan to Torch Lake area and return to East Jordan(55mi)
Day 5 - East Jordan back to Petoskey(26 mi)
We are excited to announce that the 2026 ride will be called "The Lakes Tour". It will begin and end in Petoskey, MI, and will include the "Tunnel of Trees", and many lakes, including Lake MI.
Maps of 2026 with Days 1-5
Prerides for Spring/Summer 2026
(all rides below can be confirmed on Facebook "Wombat" page closer to the ride date. Let those heading up the ride know you are coming.)
May 9 - Saturday - 9 am - Cedar Springs Ride with Russ Atherton and Ron White. This is a bike path ride. You can contact Russ at 616.451.2951 by phone or text. (ride distance 20, 30, 40, you choose)
May 23 - Saturday - 9 am - Richmond To Rochester Ride with Mark Joyce (Macomb Orchard Trail). This also a bike path ride. You can contact Mark at 586.596.0302 by phone or text. (40 mile ride.)
June 2 - Tuesday - 10 am - Millington to Frankenmuth Ride with Wendy Crocker. This is road ride. You can contact Wendy at 517.812.5527 by phone or text. (30 mile ride)
June 13 - Saturday - 10 am - Harsens Island Ride(leaving from Algonac, taking a ferry across St. Clair River) This is a road and ferry ride. (25 mile road ride.) You can contact Randy Bennett at 734.536.8864 by phone or text.
June 27 - Saturday - 10 am - Washtenaw Border to Border Ride(Ypsi area to Chelsea). Details to come. You can contact Brian Gable at 734.377.6714 by phone or text.
July 11 - Saturday - 9 am - Pere Marquette Trail Ride - Sanford to Clair(Cops and Donuts). You can contact Lisa Stover at 734.309.9798 by phone or text.
Again, the best details will be on Facebook.
After February 1st, we will post an overview of our route for the August ride. Each day offers a variety of rides including 50, 75, and 100 mile options. Also, we have groups available for several styles based on your average training speeds. Some cyclists enjoy a social pace, stopping for pictures and beautiful sites. Others like a faster tempo and opportunities to ride in a pace line. For sure, there is a group right for you.
When on the road, no need to worry about flat tires or mechanical problems. There is always a SAG (support and gear) vehicle within a few miles to rush to your aid. Planned SAG stops are about every 10-15 miles. At these stops, our SAGs have ice, water, snacks, cookies, and fruit. They point our riders to needed restroom facilities and have information about local business to grab lunch. They use technology to track every group and know where each riding group is at every moment.
Remember, we ride with a purpose. All riders pay their own ride fee. This fee covers the cost of camp sites and breakfast and dinner at the tenting sites. Although we love to cycle, our purpose for riding is to provide funding for the missions we support. Each rider is expected to raise at least $200.00 per rider for the 5 day ride and $100 per rider for the 2 day ride as a donation to our missions. We encourage riders to seek support from friends, family, their own church, businesses, and any other way to raise as much funding as possible. Often, we have riders raising over $800-$1,000 for our missions. We suggest each rider cover their own ride fee. Then they cn share that ALL collected support goes directly to our missions in Haiti. (100%) We have discovered people love giving to a cause once they see you are dedicated to cover your rider cost, do the training, and ride the miles.