Total mileage for 2017: 2955.5
Today, while as brilliantly sunny as yesterday (as the following picture shows), was significantly cooler. Yesterday's ride ranged from 58° to 63°‚ while today held at 46°. The riding was not unpleasant or uncomfortable, however, and I planned to ride consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, and am quite sure I would have done it, too. Except ...
On my return from the park, I carried on an exchange of texts with my younger brother, John (JB). After I had texted out the above picture, he commented with his typical waggish humor that he loved the high-rise helmet, and that I should rent out some apartment space up there. He later added that with the hat in there as well, he thought the helmet was a skyscraper yarmulke. As he is an Editor (and a darned fine one), I drew amusement out of being able to tell him that I thought (correctly) that he had misspelled yarmulke. But a later Google check showed me that I had it wrong, too—so I guess it all evened out.
Anyway, constrained by time, this exchange of texts slowed me enough that I figured I'd better settle for a single round trip once again, and did the 10.2 miles in another slow time (1:13 today).
Total mileage for 2017: 2945.3
Today may very well have been my final time in 2017 to ride in shorts and t-shirt. And the strong wind (15 mph from the southwest) batted down my hopes for a longer ride. But I simply had to get out there for at least a little while in the brilliant sunshine and unseasonable temperature (58° when I started, at 12:30, and 63° when I finished!), so I gladly did a single round trip to Marsh Park, completing the 10.2 miles in 1:14.
While at the park, I was able to persuade a fellow user to snap this picture of me, wearing my bright Michigan Recumbent Trikes shirt.
Total mileage for 2017: 2935.1
After having been indescribably slack in recent days (with Thanksgiving last Thursday, and me playing a piano solo at church yesterday and cutting myself all kinds of slack to prepare and play that), it felt great to get back at it today, as I rode a round trip to Baker Rd. (Dexter). This 19.4-mile ride took me 2:27 (another slow pace). It was 40° when I left at 10:30, and 46° when I finished, all under mostly sunny skies.
This ride was unusual for two verbal encounters. I hardly ever try to talk to anyone, and especially when I'm riding. But on the way home from Dexter, I rode past Culver's on Jackson, west of Zeeb. It was a bit past noon, and I had not eaten, so I felt up for the challenge. To my great good fortune, the young man behind the counter turned out to be quite good at deciphering my 'speech.' And then, a short while later, a woman a bit older than I, with her head all wrapped up in a scarf, looked at me riding towards her, broke into a smile, and said, "Sire, would you mind if I asked you where you got your bike?" I held up a finger, fished the explanatory card out of my wallet, and then stood and pointed to the manufacturer's name ("TerraTrike") on the seat, and told her, "Grand Rapids." "Oh, thank you so much," she replied. My husband has Parkinson's, and I think that it would be just ideal for him!"
Total mileage for 2017: 2916.8
Today's ride was good, but nippy, as I rode a round trip to Baker Rd. (Dexter) in 33° conditions, covering the 20.2 miles in 2:46 (for a terribly slow pace).
I wore my heavier winter gloves, and although they are unwieldy compared to my cloth ones, I was very glad for them!
Michelle and I traded texts midway through the ride. I heard hers come in, but waited until I turned around at Baker Rd. to answer her. She asked how I was doing, and I told her, "Chilly but fine" ... in reality, my toes felt nearly ready to fall off! But it was my own darned fault, as I was riding in cotton socks, having forgotten to put on wool ones before I left home. And then I was absolutely delighted to return home from my ride and find her sound asleep. I hope that this holiday break from school is a very restful one for her. Blessedly, she has today off, and of course tomorrow (Thanksgiving Day), but also Friday and Monday. We joke frequently about me giving her doctor's orders (since I have my Doctor of Musical Arts degree), and I just told her, "Doctor's orders for you to sleep extra on Monday!" 😇
Total mileage for 2017: 2896.0
Today, is a big, big day—it's Grandfriends Day at Emerson School, where Michelle teaches music and where my granddaughter Izzy is a second grader. (The picture of us below is from after the Memorial Day parade this past May.)
There will be a program at the school this afternoon, as well as an opportunity to visit her classroom, so I wanted to make sure and leave plenty of time to get there by 1:00, as well as to practice piano first. So I rode early, beginning at 8:45 in brisk conditions—partly sunny skies, and 40°, with a nice 😎 cooling breeze of 20 mph from the southwest.
Again, I was happy to settle for a single round trip to Marsh Park, completing the 10.2 miles in 1:17. Since, like yesterday, my ride was quite slow, even though I have not been aware of any slacking off in my pedaling, I've formulated a hypothesis—I suspect that the colder weather has caused me to need to air up the tires. I've been doing it on a weekly basis, even though right now I'm just over a week, having last done it on Monday, Nov. 13. So that goes at the very top of my must do items before tomorrow's ride.
Total mileage for 2017: 2885.8
Today was definitely not an unpleasant riding day for late fall. The brilliantly bright sunshine made up for the healthy wind (17 mph from the southwest), and the 45° temperature was cool, but tolerable. It even allowed me to wear my cloth 'fall' gloves (shown below), as opposed to my bulkier, warmer, but less enjoyable, quilted winter gloves.
I have mentioned before that I frequently ride through the Silo Ridge subdivision in the northeast corner of the Lohr/Textile intersection. Yesterday I noticed while consulting the map that Evergreen Ct. connects Silo Ride and Waterways, which also comes out to the bike path. So today I rode Waterways, Evergreen, and Silo Ridge, thinking it would add slightly to my distance. But instead, it was actually slightly shorter. I rode a single round trip to Marsh Park, 9.9 miles in an inexplicably slow time of 1:17.
Total mileage for 2017: 2875.9
Michelle and I left our home at 10:30 this morning—she to go on her errand of helping a friend, and I to go ride. When we got out to the garage, the small snowflakes caused her to exclaim in glee, "How exciting! Your first snow of the year!" I replied (with considerably less enthusiasm 😎)," 'Exciting' isn't exactly the word I'd use for it."
I last rode on Wednesday (Thursday was very busy with shopping and cooking, and Friday with working to submit my application for a composition competition; yesterday it rained all day, so I went to LA Fitness and worked out first thing in the morning), so I was glad to be able to ride today, and had hoped to do two round trips to Marsh Park for my first time since October 25 (before my trip to Iowa). I knew it would not be a fun ride, in 35° gray gloom, and battling a 'refreshing', blustery wind (20 mph from the west-northwest). But it was more challenging than I had expected, and by the time I had reached the two-mile point, I had decided to scale back my plans and settle for a single round trip to the park. This decision was inspired by the tiny ice crystals bouncing off my cheeks, but even more so by my frozen hands, as my fingers felt about ready to fall off. Anyway, I rode that 10.2 miles in 1:14.
When I got home, though, feeling the inadequacy of my cloth gloves for this weather (comfortable, but ...), I dug out my heavier winter ones.
Total mileage for 2017: 2865.7
My moxie, or gumption, seems to be evaporating as the year dwindles. It grows increasingly difficult for me to push myself to do more than a single round trip to Marsh Park. On this cool (38°) gray morning, I rode the 10.2 miles in 1:09. An additional factor was that rain was forecast to begin mid-morning, so I needed to get my ride done early, after beginning at 8:20.
Already this atrophy of my drive has cost me my goal of 4000 miles for the year, as I'd need to average 24.66 miles/day for the remaining 46 days in the year to make that goal. In summer weather, it might be thinkable ... but not now. If I can do the much more workable goal of 13.79 miles/day, I'd get back to last year's 3500 ... but even that will be a challenge, as I haven't done more than one round trip since October 25, when I did a whopping two.
Oh well, though. I guess I need to be glad for what I have been able to do, instead of pining over what I have not.
Total mileage for 2017: 2855.5
Today I rode again a single round trip to Marsh Park, completing the 10.2 miles in 1:11. It was cloudy and cool, but not unbearable—39° at noon when I began, and 42° when I finished.
I experienced a new situation today, however. I do not feel it is safe to ride with headphone or earbuds, so I have never ridden while listening to music, even though it such a vital, essential, and constant part of my existence. But I realized today that, as I always carry my phone in that pouch about my neck (hanging on my chest), in order to hear the verbal cues from MayMyRide, I could listen to the online music streaming service Spotify, and this was a pleasure, listening to contemporary Christian music. I had the best of both worlds, too—while enjoying the music, I still had my ears available to listen for ambient noise of traffic of other conditions with which I might have to interact.
I only knew a few of the songs or artists, but I was able to catch enough random phrases of scripture that it was still a positive experience.
I didn't know how running both apps simultaneously would do for battery life, but I began with it fully charged, and finished with 54%, so it looks as if I could do two round trips. (If I'm only using MapMyRide, I can easily get four, and perhaps even five.)
When I was up in the night (as I always am), composing, I was very excited about the progress I'm making on a particular composition. And as my "awake-while-the-world-sleeps" time stretched longer and longer, I hatched the idea that perhaps it would be OK if I took Saturday off from riding and devoted it to music. So I'm thinking (at least now, at 1:38 a.m.) that that's what I will do.
Total mileage for 2017: 2845.3
This is a special day—my Mom's 94th birthday! And, as I am blessed with an excellent genetic heritage, I hope to still be riding when I am her age!
Today I rode a single round trip to Marsh Park, with a loop on Interfirst Drive added on as I returned home. When I left, at 12:30, it was 26°, and though I know that much colder weather lies ahead of us, it will take some getting used to. I have ridden the vast majority of days since early April with temperatures in the fifties and sixties with occasional unfortunate forays into the seventies and eighties, and occasional dips into the forties. For this ride, I dug out my wool socks from R.E.I., and wore my gloves, but still it was a challenge. At least, though, as the following picture shows, we were blessed with abundant sunshine.
At any rate, my ride gave me 11.2 miles, in 1:18.
A few years ago, my brother completed a significant athletic achievement. He golfed in 33 consecutive months—impressive, considering the vagaries of Michigan winter weather. Since breaking that streak, he is now embarked upon another lengthy one (20+). I got to thinking—as I try to ride as consistently as possible during the winter (assisted by the paved asphalt trail I ride, and relatively mild winter weather in recent years), I wondered how I'd done in terms of consecutive months. Upon consulting my records, I found that, since getting my trike on 5/4/2015, I've ridden every month since then (31 and counting), for a total of 8841.5 miles.
Total mileage for 2017: 2834.1
This morning's ride sure woke me up! It is supposed to get increasingly windier throughout the day, so I decided I'd rather deal with the cold than with the wind, and I went riding at 8:20, when I got home from dropping Michelle off at school. The 33° conditions under gray skies certainly made me feel the approach of winter—but (1) it had heated up to a toasty 38° by the time I finished, and (2) I know that much colder rides await me in coming months. Again, though, I was very grateful for my gloves, as well as my St. Olaf hoodie. I chose once again today to limit myself to a single round trip to Marsh Park, completing this 10.2-mile ride in a slow time of 1:11.
Total mileage for 2017: 2823.9
This morning I left at 11:30, and rode a single round trip to Marsh Park, completing that 10.2 miles in 1:08.
I have spoken often of my fondness for riding in cool/cold weather. But today, when my ride began at 43° and finished at 47°, though I know that much colder weather lies ahead, it was plenty cool enough for today.
It was a beautiful clear sunny day, however. The following picture is from the finish of my ride, just as I was coming up to turn in to our complex.
That colder weather that's coming isn't far off, either. Weather.com calls for a high on Friday of 31°@
Total mileage for 2017: 2813.7
Today I settled for a single round trip to Marsh Park. This ride of 10.2 miles took me 1:10. When I left at 11:30, it was 45°, and it didn't get much warmer during the ride, despite the welcome bright sunshine.
The weather didn't bother me, but I'm finding that since I concluded a few weeks ago that I'm not going to make my 4000-mile goal for the year, it's increasingly difficult to push myself on to a longer ride ... to tack on that extra round trip to go from two to three for the day (or even one to two).
Total mileage for 2017: 2803.5
I'm a big, big fan of Christian novelist Karen Kingsbury, and am currently reading her Love Story, which describes the beginning of the Baxter family, central characters in many of her books. As a youth, Karen lived for a time in Ann Arbor, and a key incident in this book is set at Independence Lake, outside of Ann Arbor. So I googled this, not really expecting to find anything ... but there is, in fact, a Washtenaw Country park at Independence Lake. I said that it had a couple of miles of paved trails for hiking and biking, so I figured, "Well, I'll have to do numerous laps—but I think I want to check this out." So I loaded the trike onto the rack on our car and took it up there (near Whitmore Lake).
It was a confusing time at the park, however. First, the online description said it was open year-round, with a daily admittance fee of $6. I found this curious for late fall, but I was prepared. However, when I drove in, no one was manning the shed at the entrance, so, after sitting there perplexed for a moment, I finally drove on in.
Without a map, I was kind of navigating blind, but I found a trail and began riding. However, I had not gone far before encountering a sign: "NO BIKES ON TRAILS." This, of course, went directly counter to what I had read online ... but, as the park was nearly deserted, I decided to push on. A short time later, though, I passed a couple of groups of schoolchildren—and not wanting to set a bad example, I decided to terminate my ride quite briefly, ending up doing 4.3 miles in 31 minutes, in chilly, gloomy conditions.
Total mileage for 2017: 2799.2
Today's ride was an adventure! I rode to Baker Rd. (Dexter) and then just after I turned around to head back home, I noticed that I had no left brake. Glancing down I could see that the cable had broken (perhaps from my leg hitting it on pedal upstrokes?), but by riding carefully I was able to make it the nearly 10 miles back home with no incident. And then I was able to take it immediately over to Wheels in Motion, where they quickly repaired it with a new cable, so now I'm 100% once more.
I had hoped to tack on a round trip to Marsh Park after I got back from Baker Rd, but given the situation with the brakes, I thought it better to hold off on that, so I had to be content with a ride of 19.8 miles in a slow time of 2:38. The entire ride was gray and gloomy, and when I left, at 8:30, it was 39°—making my gloves (for the first time this fall) feel good.
But when I finished, it had heated up to a toasty 49°. 😎
And finally, I set one milestone, going over 400 hours of elapsed riding time for the year ... but fell just shy of another (2800 miles, which I should reach tomorrow).
Total mileage for 2017: 2779.4
Not having ridden since a week ago Wednesday, I was very glad to be able to out there again today, even though it was a short ride of only a single round trip to Marsh Park. (I left early Friday morning on a trip to Iowa to hear the performance of music I had composed; I returned Tuesday; last Thursday I was busy preparing for the trip; this Wednesday I was wiped out from a long day of train travel [having left with my host to drive to the train station at 6 a.m., and arriving in Ann Arbor at 11:30 p.m.]; and yesterday it rained all day.) I did the `0.2 miles in 1:08, steadily slowing (bogging) down in the second half of the ride.
