‘Tour Da Yoop, Eh’ cycling fundraiser for childhood cancer begins in Manistique

MANISTIQUE, Mich. (WJMN) — The 2024 “Tour Da Yoop, Eh” bicycle tour began early Friday morning in Manistique. The 10-day, 1,200 mile ride around the U.P. is helping to both raise awareness for the U.P. as a biking destination and to raise money for a good cause close to home.

“It started in 2018 to raise awareness for safe biking in the Upper Peninsula,” said James Studinger, the founder of Tour Da Yoop, Eh. “The U.P. has about one or two percent of the accidents of bike to vehicles compared to downstate. It’s really amazing. We’re on rural roads, hardly seeing any cars. It’s just a beautiful time. Our other cause, it’s just really important, is that we’re raising awareness and money for families with kids that are battling cancer in the Upper Peninsula, through U.P. Lions Serve Childhood Cancer.”

Since its beginnings in 2018, the Tour Da Yoop has grown to include dozens of cyclists who take part in some or all of the journey, staying overnight in nine host cities along the route.

“I’ve known James for a bunch of years and I did the first year with him in 2018 and then I’ve done it the last few years,” said Michael Blackburn, a Tour Da Yoop, Eh cyclist. “Back then—and we were talking about it this morning—we were having breakfast down the street and he was like ‘Alright, are you ready to go?’ There were three or four of us, so it was kind of a small, meager start. A small start compared to this, you know, 68 riders.”

“We’ve got bikers that join us from Hawaii, Alaska, New York, Texas, California, Idaho, New Jersey, Virginia, the Carolinas,” Studinger said. “I mean, they’re really coming from all over the country. We’ve even had people join us from Germany before.”

The tour began Friday with a 103.8 mile ride to Escanaba, which helps get the cyclists warmed up for the journey ahead.

“We start and stop in my hometown of Manistique,” Studinger said. “This town is near and dear to me, obviously, but logistically, it’s a perfect way to start this tour. We have our first night in Escanaba. It’s not a lot of elevation the first day. It’s a great way to just get the riders kind of working into what they’re about to embark on.”

“It’s a beautiful day, it should be awesome. At the end, what I always look forward to in Escanaba is at the end we all jump in the lake,” Blackburn said. “So that’s always a lot of fun, but it’s just a beautiful ride. We get out to the lighthouse between here and there and it’s so beautiful here that it’s fun, fun day.”

The full route will take the group to Escanaba, Iron Mountain, Ironwood, Houghton, Marquette, Grand Marais, Sault Ste. Marie, and St. Ignace before returning to Manistique on August 4.

You can find a full map of the route here .

“Each town has been different over the years on how they’re kind of embracing the tour Da Yoop community,” Studinger said. “So we are stopping in Ironwood, Stormy Kromer’s headquarters, where we’re going to have dinner and see their headquarters. In Marquette, it’s 906 Adventure. In Houghton, we’ve got two nights in Houghton, so we’re gonna be having pizza from Ambassador Pizza at the deck overlooking the water. So, each town stop has gotten unique and kind of brings out its own culture and character. Some days are hillier, some days are flatter, some days have more Great Lakes views. They’re all completely different and they’re all unique, and we enjoy them all. The whole U.P. is just beautiful.”

You can keep up to date with the Tour Da Yoop, Eh on Facebook .

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