54th ride of 2017 - Sunday, 4/30/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 806.7

Today was the "Ride for Recovery" fundraiser for Dawn Farm in Ypsilanti. They offer several different lengths of ride from which you can choose, and I did the 25-mile ride. I had ridden the same event back in 2013 (when I was still on a regular bike), and today's conditions were better, but only marginally. In 2013, we rode in rain for much of the ride; today, though we experienced thunderstorms during the night, and they were projected to return this afternoon, we dodged the rain for most of today's ride (it only arrived during the last 3 miles or so, quite lightly). It was, though, colder today, at 46°. Despite this, I was very comfortable riding in shorts; but I was awfully glad to have a coat on!

I had an enjoyable, though brief, visit with my friend Bob Thompson before the race, and after he let me take his picture, he got one of me on my camera. 

Just after this, the day's only (minor) calamity occurred. I had thought ahead to prepare a brief note of explanation/introduction, and had occasion to show it to 4 people in the half hour before the ride. But right after talking with Bob, A fellow with a very nice camera came up, and was wowed by my trike, and asked if he could take my picture with it. I assented to this, but first pulled out my note and showed it to him. After he read it, though, I forgot to get it back, and we were soon pedaling down the road and I never saw him again, so I had to negotiate the rest of the day without it. But that was no big deal at all.

Several months ago, I got new spinners (or "tornadoes" as my Grandson Danny calls them) for the back of my trike, as shown below. But I have become accustomed to riding with only one, rather than both—they too frequently got tangled up in one another. Today it drew many admiring comments from fellow riders—those I heard included, "Your spinner is beautiful!", or "Mesmerizing!", or "Very patriotic!"

Though the ride I had chosen was nominally 25 miles, they had measured it at an actual length of 27.22. But, due to my missing a couple of turns, I tacked on a little bit of extra mileage, to cover 28.26 miles in 2:58, and bump me over 800 miles for the year.

53rd ride of 2017 - Thursday, 4/27/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 778.4

Today when I went out to ride at 8:00, it was 67° and a pleasant mix of clouds and sun arched overhead. Consequently, I had considered a somewhat longer ride. When I neared home, however, and had to decide whether to turn around and extend my ride, the sky had darkened ferociously, and the wind picked up significantly, portending the thunderstorms that were projected to move into the area this morning. Consequently, I chose to truncate my ride, even though I saw and heard no storms while I was out there.

I rode to Marsh Park, and then, on the way back, turned south to take my loop around Saline High School, and after that down to the intersection of Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. and Woodland Dr. This gave me a 15.6-mile ride in 2:12 ... slow, but then I was battling a wind (from the south, at 19 mph). Below is the workout report from MapMyRide that I got upon finishing.

52nd ride of 2017 - Wednesday, 4/26/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 762.8

What a day! One would almost be inclined to call it "summery." When I left for my ride at 11:15, it was sunny and 66°; when I finished, the sunshine persisted, and it had climbed to 73°! And it's supposed to top 80° later this afternoon.

It resulted in rather a slow ride, however. I did a single round trip to Marsh Park, finishing the 10 miles in a glacial time of 1:26. There were two reasons for this. One was that the wind was more daunting than I had expected; coming from the south southeast (the overall direction toward which I am traveling as I go to the park), it ranged from 12 (al the start) to 16 (finish) miles per hour.

The other factor was the temperature, however. This may sound silly, but it's going to take some getting used to. On the whole, I think I'd prefer riding in 40° conditions to 70°. But, just as the beginning of the winter I had to tell myself, "It's going to get a lot colder before this is done!", so now I have to remind myself, "Much hotter days are ahead!"

51st ride of 2017 - Tuesday, 4/25/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 752.8

Today I replicated yesterday's ride, except that I shaved a little distance off by avoiding the Silo Ride subdivision on the way back from the park my third and final time. However, my time was a bit slower, so overall my pace was somewhat more sluggish. Today's ride was an even 26 miles, completed in 3:12.

When I began, at 10:45, it was gray and felt somewhat cool (at 58°) to be riding in short sleeves, though it was by no means intolerable. And by the end, it had heated up to 68*, and most of the clouds had gone away. I'm especially glad to have put together back to back days of three round trips, and tomorrow I'll shoot for three such consecutive days. If I can do that, I'll be within reach of making 800 miles for the year, after just having reached 700 on Sunday.

50th ride of 2017 - Monday, 4/24/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 726.8

Today was a near-ideal day for riding. When I left at noon, in bright sunshine, it was 65°, and when I finished, 3 hours later, it had climbed to 70°. There was a little wind, but nothing daunting—10 mph from the east when I started, and 13 mph from the east when I finished. Ah, these are the kind of days I looked forward to and longed for back in January, when I was toughing out the cold miles! (Most years I could add "and February"—but this year February was exceptionally mild, and almost springlike ... March, however, was quite wintry overall.)

I did three round trips to Marsh Park, but coming back from each of them I cut through the Silo Ridge subdivision, which increased my mileage just ever so slightly, and allowed me to rack up my 26 miles (and a little extra) without my usual concluding lap within our condominium complex.

I took a couple of pictures to show the lovely spring foliage unfolding now. The flowering purple was the favorite color of my maternal grandmother (1897-1999). Grandma Fida (as she came to be known later in life) was a remarkable woman. Widowed during the Depression in 1934, at age 36, with 7 young children, she managed to raise them all (except one who died as a child) to become successful adults.

Grandma was also a pianist all her life, playing for the silent movies when she was in high school, back around 1914, and playing for dances all her life. In her later years, in the nursing home, she'd amuse me when I came to visit by grinning, putting the back of her hand beside her mouth, and saying in a stage whisper, "I've been playing piano for the old folks." This, when she was 95+ herself!

Grandma was extremely proud of her grandson the music professor, and I am delighted to have been close to her my whole life. An indelible memory is of playing duets with her—she could play most any popular song you could name, in any key you wanted, by ear, and I would sit at the upper (treble) end of the piano bench and improvise around her playing.

49th ride of 2017 - Sunday, 4/23/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 700.4

I went out to ride at 6:45 a.m. today into a crystal clear sky, with not a hint of cloud anywhere. The good thing about this was that even though the sun had not yet quite risen, it was plenty light enough to ride. The bad thing, however, is that it had allowed yesterday's heat to vanish quite completely, so that I began my ride at 36°. However, by the time I finished, about 9:15, it was up to 51°. And throughout the ride, there was almost no wind today (3 mph).

I rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, and then tacked o a loop around Meijer and a concluding 4 laps around our condo complex, to push me over the plateau of 700 miles for the year (a milestone I reached on the same date in 2016). Now I need to continue to inch ahead if I'm going to make my goal of 4000 miles for the year, up from 3500 in 2016.

The picture here is from MapMyRide when I finished.

48th ride of 2017 - Saturday, 4/22/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 679.5

This morning I rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, starting at 10 a.m. in 46° sunshine. When I finished, 2 hours later (or actually 1:59), it had heated up to 56°. In this weather, my jacket over a hoodie again felt good (though I didn't need the gloves I had brought, and just tucked them into my coat). It was slightly less windy than yesterday when I started (10 mph from the east northeast), but considerably more by the time I finished (15 mph). The direction of the wind had a strong bearing on my ride. It was at my back on the southward stretch along Lohr Rd. at the beginning of the trail, and this helped me to an average speed of over 10 mph for the first 4 miles of my ride. On a bike, this would be quite modest, if not slow ... but on the heavier and more cumbersome trike, it's pretty good. And then, when I made the turn at the end of the first round trip and started back southward on that same stretch, I really flew, doing the first mile in 13.7 mph! (MapMyRide calls off my overall average speed and my split speed, that is the most recent mile, when I reach each new mile)

That same wind really sapped my strength and my spirit, cutting dramatically into my speed, as I finished each round trip. Coming northward along Lohr, there is a large field to the right (east), adjacent to the Ann Arbor Airport, and as the wind swept across the open field, it gathered strength and then slammed into me noticeably.

All this concern with the wind reminded me of a piece of music I sang at Interlochen. I spent my junior and senior years of high school (1973-75) at the Interlochen Arts Academy, a prestigious boarding school in northern Michigan. It was there, singing under the direction of Dr. Kenneth W. Jewell, that my love for choral music, and my desire to pursue a career in it, was really born. In our Chorale (a smaller, more select choral ensemble), we sang numerous madrigals. (A madrigal is defined as a part-song for several voices, especially one of the Renaissance period, typically arranged in elaborate counterpoint and without instrumental accompaniment. Originally used of a genre of 14th-century Italian songs, the term now usually refers to English or Italian songs of the late 16th and early 17th century, in a free style strongly influenced by the text.) One of these was Spring Returns by Luca Marenzio (1553-1599). Its text speaks of the spring winds that so batter me on my rides these days.

The more I thought on this music, though I had not considered it in over 4 decades, the more of the music crept back into my brain ... the text, musical motifs or figures, rhythms, and even the contrapuntal interplay between the various parts. It was written in Italian, but we sang an English version, whose text (though I can't yet recall it entirely) included:

Spring returns, with balmy zephyrs softly breathed

April, the young and gay, with flowers wreathed.

The waves are stilled.

The clouds in showers descending.

While nymphs and jocund shepherds

Songs are blending ...

It was nice, too, as I was just getting started, not yet a mile into my ride and headed southward on the trail, to see my friend Doris Granum who was biking northward on the trail. Evidently my trike is pretty recognizable, because she grinned widely, waved, and called out a cheery, "Hi, Allen!" when still a good way off.

47th ride of 2017 - Friday, 4/21/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 661.5

The riding conditions today were very far short of enjoyable. It was cold (48°), gray, and windy (from the west at 17 mph), and on top of the weather conditions, my lower back was hurting. I had wanted to do three round trips, in order to put me within striking distance of 700 miles for the year if I could do three more tomorrow. Given what I was dealing with, however, I settled for a single round trip to Marsh Park, covering the 10 miles in 1:09, and was happy to be able to ride at all. (I could not yesterday due to rain and thundershowers.) With the cool temperatures, my cloth gloves (pictured below) felt just right, even though I had foolishly hoped I was done for them until late fall.

The highlight of today's ride was easily the chiming of my phone when on the way back from the park, to identify a text from my daughter Christy, replying to one I had sent her this morning.

46th ride of 2017 - Wednesday, 4/19/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 651.5

They're calling for thunderstorms here later this afternoon, so I'm terribly glad I was able to get a good ride in early today. I went out at 8:30, on a 60° spring morning, and rode three consecutive round trips to Marsh Park in 3:13. By the end it had warmed up to 71°, rendering my hoodie quite superfluous.

In recent days, I've been pushing for speed. Today, however, I made the deliberate decision to avoid that issue completely and just ride easily, for pleasure. This resulted in quite a slow average speed (8.1 mph), but I was grateful to be able to find the mental fortitude to go the distance. It was tempting to throw in the towel early and come home and compose, but I reminded myself that if I'm going to do that 250-mile PALM ride in late June, I need to begin building my endurance now, rather than waiting until the last minute.

45th ride of 2017 - Tuesday, 4/18/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 625.5

Today was another resplendent spring day for riding—54° and sunny when I began, at 11:15, and 64° when I finished. Again today, too, even the wind was tolerable—a mild breeze from the southeast at 12 mph.

I did consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, completing the 18.3 miles in 2:13. I had planned on doing three, but I have been making great strides the last couple of days on the choral "Alleluia" that I began on Easter, and I was overwhelmed with the urge to get home and began working out ideas that occurred to me during the early part of the right. So I wrestled over the decision—but neither too long or too hard.

My ride today was considerably slower than yesterday's (an average speed of 8.2 mph today vs. 9.2 yesterday), but I'm not going to beat myself up over that.

44th ride of 2017 - Monday, 4/17/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 607.2

Today was another postcard-perfect spring day for a ride: beautiful sunshine, and 56° when I began at 9:45, and up to 64° when I finished. Even the wind cooperated—there was some, but very little (a light 5 mph breeze from the west southwest).

I did what I believe is called a "sprint" in any kind of cycling or running training—a deliberately shorter ride than usual, in which one pushes for speed. I rode to Marsh Park, and then on the way back I turned south on Wilson Road and did my loop around Saline High School. MapMyRide showed my total ride to be 13.02 miles, in a time of 1:24:54, for an average speed of 9.2 miles per hour. This, while still not good, is nevertheless significantly better than I usually do, as it is one of only 2 or 3 times I've finished with an average speed higher than 9 mph.

It was another 'milestone' day, too, as I went over 600 miles for the year. Despite the weather and health issues that have bedeviled me, I'm nearly on a pace with last year, as I went over 600 miles in 2016 on April 16.

43rd ride of 2017 - Saturday, 4/15/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 594.2

What a glorious day today was for a ride!

I went out at 11:00 in beautiful 63° sunshine, hoping to ride four consecutive round trips to Marsh Park for the first time since last July 9. It was my first opportunity to ride in t-shirt and shorts during 2017. One reason for the desire to ride that far is that it would have put me over 600 miles for the year. But, listening carefully to my body, I could detect some mild discomfort in that left knee again about halfway through the third round trip, so I decided to settle for three, and completed the 26 miles in 3:05.

Another factor in my decision was a couple of minor mechanical/logistical issues I battled. First, my water bottle cage sits horizontally on the trike boom (the major front to back tube of the frame), as shown in the picture below (I have a picture of it empty, and also one of it containing the water bottle). Sitting horizontally as it does, gravity does not help to keep the bottle in place, as it did on my former regular bike, where it was mounted on a diagonally positioned tube. Occasionally, the water bottle works its way back and drops out, and at those times I am thankful for my good hearing, as I hear it clunk onto the ground, stop the trike, and go fetch it. Well, this happened today, on my third trip toward the park, as I was crossing over one of the boardwalks. But by the time I could go back for it, it had rolled off, over the side, and was no longer visible. After a moment of searching, I was able to locate it, and I took note of where it was and decided to wait and retrieve it on my way back from the park.

It had fallen off on the side facing the road, and while I could get it easily from the road area, I could not retrieve it from the boardwalk. So I checked carefully and waited until traffic was clear, and then rode the short stretch of road down to where it was, pulled well off the pavement, and retrieved the bottle. As I was headed back to the trike, a driver breezed by in a silver mini van, a young man who was evidently not kindly disposed toward cyclists, and leaned on his horn to show me his displeasure that I should have stopped there (even though I was in no way impeding traffic at all), extended his left arm out the window, and flashed me a generous one-finger salute.

Anyway, that was one issue. The other was that during my third time at the park, I stopped the trike, set the brakes, and went to sit on the bench for a moment so I could text my family to let them know how it was going.After I got up, though, and went back to where I had left the trike, it was gone. I panicked, thinking that someone must have made off with it during my very quick trip inside to use the restroom (which was unlocked today for the first time since October). But, whirling around, I quickly spotted it, some 40 feet away. The brakes have not held consistently for several months now, and they had chosen this occasion to give way, allowing the trike to roll backward down a small hill.

Anyway, it was still a good ride, for which I am grateful, and now believe I will probably be taking tomorrow (Easter) as a rest day, since we have a very full day planned.

42nd ride of 2017 - Friday, 4/14/2017 (Good Friday)

Total mileage for 2017: 568.2

This morning I rode only a single round trip to Marsh Park, and at that, rather slowly, completing the 10 miles in 1:17. I hope to supplement it with another round trip, somewhat quicker, late this afternoon. When I began this morning, shortly before 9:00, it was 45°, and when I finished, 51°.

41st ride of 2017 - Thursday, 4/13/2017 (Maundy Thursday)

Total mileage for 2017: 558.2

It may be clearly spring now, but winter is releasing its grip on us only reluctantly. This morning's cool ride began at 8:45 in a 44° gray chill (that climbed, however, to 47° when I was done), and the temperature made me glad for every bit of warmth provided by the jacket I wore over my t-shirt and hoodie. At least there was virtually no wind today, but an intermittent light drizzle helped keep me from overheating.

I did consecutive round trips to Marsh Park again today (in 2:06), once more without any discomfort whatsoever, and as of now I'm planning to ramp up to 3 round trips tomorrow.

40th ride of 2017 - Tuesday, 4/11/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 540.2

I had wanted to ride three round trips to Marsh Park today. But after my leg pain yesterday, my friend Doug (the guy who got me started on cycling a few years ago) recommended that I back off a bit for a few days. I figured if I was not 100% certain, it would be better to err on the side of caution, so for the second straight day, I did consecutive round trips, completing the 18 miles in 2:09.

The great news was that I felt no pain or  discomfort whatsoever at any point today. And I rode in quintessential spring weather—58° when I set out at 9:30, 63° when I finished, with a nice mix of sun and clouds, and no precipitation at all. Weather.com told me that when I finished, the wind was from the west at 15 mph, but I didn't feel it today.

39th ride of 2017 - Monday, 4/10//2017

Total mileage for 2017: 522.2

Today I had hoped to ride three round trips to Marsh Park. But, as I wrote recently, each day's ride seems to have a unique or peculiar aspect, and that held true today, too. Shortly after the midway point of my second round trip, I began feeling pain/tenderness in the inside of my left leg, just below the knee (though no traumatic incident caused this). Given the situation with the leg, as I thought on it, it seemed prudent to me to push myself for neither speed nor for distance, so I scaled back and settled for two round trips, finishing the 18 miles in 2:16. (Grammar note: I was taught that one should always pair either-or /or/ neither-nor.)

Cutting it short may have been providential guidance, as the forecast once I finished was for scattered thundershowers to begin any time, and as I sit here now, writing, I hear thunder rumbling. When I began, at 9:30, it was 63°, and by the end it had heated up to 70°. Once again, I fought a healthy wind today—when I finished, it measured at 22 mph from the southwest.

38th ride of 2017 - Sunday, 4/9/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 504.2

The Detroit Tigers have for years—if not decades—been characterized by the glaring weakness of a terrible bullpen hindering an otherwise respectable, even good, team. Today's game showed clearly that 2017 looks to continue that trend. We took a 4-3 lead into the 8th inning; but then after Boston's offensive fireworks ceased, we trailed 7-4, and lost 7-5 after an unsuccessful attempt to mount a comeback..

So, with a heavy heart (hanging somewhere down around my shoes), I went out to ride after the game, leaving a bit before 5:00 in resplendent 75° sunshine. I rode to Marsh Park, and then on the way home, I turned south on Wilson Road, looped down around Saline High School, turned on Woodland and took it down to Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., and then when I got back up to Ellsworth, followed it west (on sidewalks, of course) as far as Maple Rd., and then went south a short ways and cut through subdivisions to return home. This all added up to a ride of 18.4 miles, accomplished in 2:02. I once again fought a significant wind (by the time I got home, it measured 10-20 mph, from the south), which seems to be a commonplace springtime occurrence. The good thing about today's ride, though—I passed a significant milestone, exceeding 500 miles for the year.

37th ride of 2017 - Friday, 4/7/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 485.8

I am an absolutely HUGE fan of the Detroit Tigers major league baseball team.This is a passion that was forged in the mid-nineteen-sixties, during my boyhood, and really cemented in 1968 when they won the World Series. Today was their Home Opener—an event widely regarded as a civic holiday in Michigan. The Tigers won in dramatic fashion, having taken a 4-0 lead into the 8th inning against the Boston Red Sox, then gave up 5 runs in the 8th inning, but then managed to come back to win a heartstopping late contest.

I wanted to wait until after the game to ride, and this meant beginning at 5:00 p.m. (with my heart singing.) I rode a round trip to Marsh Park, and then on the second trip to the park, on the way back I turned south onto Wilson Road and took my loop down around Saline High School. My total ride ended up being 20.5 miles, in 2:21, all ridden in cool and pleasant sunshine (50° when I began, and 49° at the end). There was again a significant wind today; when I finished and could measure, it was 12 mph from the west-northwest, but like earlier in the week, I am certain that it was considerably higher at several points during the ride.

My dear friend Len Gadja has been aware of the difficulties I've endured with transporting and hearing my phone. Yesterday he gave me a gift—precisely the sort of thing I was hoping to find. It is a small cloth pouch that you wear about the neck; he had it for carrying his passport while traveling, but said he hadn't used it in years, and would be delighted to give it to me. During today's ride, I took a picture of it, but it appears larger than it actually is due to the positioning of the camera.

36th ride of 2017 - Wednesday, 4/5/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 465.3

It seems as if each day's ride is unique and unusual in some way, and the long empty stretches of trail where I am encountering no other riders or pedestrians afford me ample opportunities to reflect on the day's ride and to begin composing my blog entry in my head.

Today I had hoped to ride several loops of the route that takes me past our former church, Westminster Presbyterian, as shown here.

However, riding in a counterclockwise direction, when I was coming down the second half of it, construction adjacent to Oak Valley (near the library) had a stretch of the sidewalk blocked off and unavailable to me. I was able to get around it, but decided that for the rest of today's ride, I should go on my old familiar trail (the Lohr-Textile Greenway) to Marsh Park.

When I began at 9:20, it was a gray and chilly 42° morning; by the time I finished, though, it had warmed up to a balmy 45°! My toes were tingling until the became numb, and, though I suspect that in the forties I was in no danger of frostbite, I decided to cut the ride shorter than I wanted to anyway. I could have (and perhaps should have) forced myself to go farther, but instead fell back on my tried and true motto: "Well, it's better than nothing, anyway!"

So, the one early loop I did, plus the one round trip to Marsh Park gave me a day's ride of 14.8 miles, in a slow time of 2:00. (Actually 1:59:48.) The cold was one reason for the slow speed, as was the sidewalk obstruction; still another was additional difficulties with MapMyRide on my phone. Whereas both yesterday and Sunday, it worked beautifully to have the phone in the front pouch of my hoodie, today that approach did not work, as the coat I needed muffled the sound. So then I moved it to the mounting bracket (which I had placed on the bar at the front of the trike). But that did not work, either, as the sound was just barely audible ... I am quite certain that it is not a matter of my hearing failing, but rather, of the phone being too far from me when it is in that position.

35th ride of 2017 - Tuesday, 4/4/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 450.5

Riding conditions this morning were WAY shy of enjoyable. When I went out at 8:00, it was 52° and extremely damp (both the ground and the air) from the rain we experienced all day yesterday. The temperature is to fall all day today—by the end of my ride it was 47°. And I battled a significant, blustery wind throughout—by the time I got home and could measure it, the west-southwest wind was at 17 mph, but I know it was considerably higher at points during my ride.

Anyway, the conditions slowed me down quite a bit. I rode 16.9 miles, going to Marsh Park and then to Saline by a new route, in a slow time of 2:12. Fulfilling my vow to Michelle to stay off roads, this was all on trails and walks except for a short stretch of a few hundred yards in Saline where the sidewalk ran out and I had to ride on the road. But in good daylight, and with my colorful spinner flying from the back of the trike, I was careful but not overly concerned.

I learned something new about MapMyRide, too. When I got to where the first mile point was (which I remembered from previous rides), and the voice had not called it out, I thought I'd better check my phone. I discovered I had inadvertently paused it shortly after starting ... but it continued to record distance, just not time. So, while my distance was just over a mile, the time was only 9 seconds, and when I started it up again, this gave me the humorous result whereby it called out an average speed of a little over 449 miles per hour! By the end of the ride, the average speed had come down to a still slightly skewed, but much more realistic, 8.2 miles per hour.

34th ride of 2017 - Sunday, 4/2/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 433.6

Today i was happy to ride three consecutive round trips to Marsh Park for the first time since November 14. Riding with my phone (for MapMyRide) in the front pouch of my hoodie worked beautifully, as I could hear nicely the voice calling out the various miles and times as I passed them. And on the 60° day, the hoodie felt awfully good! But I'm going to have to figure something else out before summer arrives, or even late spring.

Before the ride, I moved my phone mount from the left hand grip to the front bar, so the ride was much more comfortable than yesterday. I could have put it onto the mount, but decided to keep it on me today. What I hope to be able to come up with it some sort of pouch or envelope that can hang from a lanyard around my neck, and hold the phone.

Anyway, with the MapMyRide app calling out my split times for each mile, it induced me to a faster ride, as well, completing the 26 miles in 2:54:42.  It was nowhere near record time (2:27:05, last May 30), but it was nevertheless a faster speed than I have ridden in some time. I'm sure that airing up the tires before I ride tomorrow will help, too. I'm glad to be done, too -- my feet are just killing me, and it will feel good to rest them tonight.

I don't know how I ever rode 6 round trips last July 2 (50 miles, in 5 hours, 40 minutes). Actually, I do know how—it was on a Saturday, and I started before 6 a.m. and just told myself that speed was not a goal or a consideration at all. The only important thing was to keep going and grind out the distance.

33rd ride of 2017 - Saturday, 4/1/2017

Total mileage for 2017: 407.6

I had mixed feelings about today's ride. The gorgeous weather (sunny at 45° at the start [11:15], sunny and 52° when I finished) made me want to do a longer ride, and it was frustrating to have to settle for a shorter one.

On the positive side, however, today's ride was another "milestone" ride, putting me over 400 miles for the year, and it was the first ride where I've successfully used MapMyRide on my iPhone.

The design of the trike, though, with its split handlebars, severely limits my options for placement of the phone mount. Today I had it on the left handlebar grip, as shown in the following photos. But this adversely affected braking, shifting, and comfort, and so certainly I'm going to need to find another option. I plan to devote considerable thought to this issue, and also consult with my fellow trike riders (with whom I am connected in several Facebook groups. It seems to me at this point that the best option will be to mount it on that horizontal bar that is visible above my water bottle. The problem is, that is where my headlight (temporarily removed) is mounted ... but I think that the bar is big enough to let me mount both items, side by side.

So, at any rate, today I rode a single round trip, covering the 10 miles in 1:12 (or, as MapMyRide tells me, 1:11:44).