What we do

The big activity is bike riding, mostly on two lane country roads, and frequently on “two track” dirt roads. Students ride their own multi-gear bikes and carry their lunch and water with them as they go out for a full day of riding. This is Sleeping Bear Dunes country, and hills are everywhere. This is what makes the riding challenging. We are always near water, and go swimming or play on the beach each day.

Our meals are family style, and everyone pitches in to help. Conversation is friendly and games of some sort follow our meals. Each camper has a chance to tend the campfire as part of the evening program. Surprise activities (our traditions) enliven the weeklong experience.

Boys and girls have separate camp dates if they attend the intermediate or advanced camps. The teen camp is co-ed. Ability and experience will determine between the intermediate camps and the more advanced camps. The difference is the number of miles traveled each day. Intermediate riders travel between 10 and 30 miles each day. Experienced riders will travel from 15 to perhaps 50+ miles per day. Each group rides together, and supports each other for safety and unity. Students must have completed grade 5 to qualify for any camp. In general, older students, and those who have attended camp in the past, should enroll in the advanced camp or the teen camp. The faculty will advise on the right placement for a student when questions arise. Faculty requires emergency health cards from each camper and appropriate camp gear. This common sense list does not require cooking gear or food. We provide food, snacks, and beverages. We have emergency phone numbers where we can be reached and require numbers where we can reach parents. Students and parents must sign a contract prior to coming to the camp that explains expected behaviors and outcomes if rules are broken. Faculty members are certified in first aid and CPR.

A Little Moonshadow History

Moonshadow Bike Camp has been in existence for eight years. One never knows what to expect in the way of what nature provides. Heat waves, cold snaps, beautiful sunsets, crashing thunderstorms, the bluest of skies, the whitest clouds anywhere, all perhaps in the span of a week, are the measure of Lake Michigan weather. But we have not lost one day of bike riding, ever. Campers who have attended the camp know that we really do ride our bikes. Experience shows that we gradually build distance over the week, gaining strength in our legs and refining technique with how and when to change gears. We maximize the possibility for what bikes are designed to do; be efficient extensions of our bodies so as to carry us over landscapes that are the most beautiful in the state of Michigan. On occasion someone crashes his or her bike, and that's why we wear certified bike helmets. No one has ever been seriously injured however, because skill and safety is our motto. Everyone learns to be an expert rider and gains strength and endurance. By the end of the week, no challenge goes unmet. Most campers will admit that the most satisfying experience they encounter is pedaling up the mighty hills that surround the area. For speed demons we have straight runs to air it out. For greater thrills we take on the downhill runs with speed that, if we wish, leave us breathless. What fun.

Living in tents in the woods brings respect and awe to the cycle of the day. Sleep takes on new meaning for the campers at night, as does wakefulness during the day, because we are always outside. Appetites increase, water tastes better, and a respect for the natural world increases. Campers take notice of the beauty of our surroundings, and frequently reach an inner calm. This is the calm that is so elusive for many of us in today's culture.