90th ride of 2018 - Saturday, 9/29/2018

2018 mileage: 2432,8

This morning I was really aware of our contracting daylight. The sun didn't rise until 7:30, and I began my ride at 7"35. I took this picture about a mile into my ride, while on the sidewalk alongside Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., just before crossing the bridge over I-94. It shows nicely the crisp beauty of the sky at that early hour; it was 41° when I began (but heated up to a toasty 44° by the time I finished). This cool temperature made me aware that the time is not far off when I will have to pull out my gloves for morning rides.

I rode a round trip to Baker Rd. (Dexter), covering the 20.3 miles in 2:33. On the way home I took a break at a gas station, and while I was stopped I checked my phone. A fellow member of the Recumbent Trikes Group on Facebook had posted, "I'm fairly new to recumbent trikes. I know they're slower than bicycles, but I can only do about 9 mph on a long ride. Is this slow?" I replied, "It doesn't seem slow to me! I'm currently wavering 8 mph in the middle of a 20-mile ride!" 😎

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

89th ride of 2018 - Friday, 9/28/2018

2018 mileage: 2412.5

I allowed myself to take the day off from riding yesterday, so that I ould in front of our TV watching the Kavanaugh/Ford hearing fixedly on CNN. So today, I was happy to get out again, and went at 10:00  (57°, and up to 64° when I finished) on a ride of 19.9 miles (2:30) around Ann Arbor. Here are pictures of, first, when I rode by the Big House (Michigan Stadium) as I was just about 2 miles into the ride), and then of the stretch of the Huron River near Gallup Park when I rode south on the bridge along Huron Parkway on my way towards home.

I am still working toward the goal of learning how to change a flat. But, not having reached it yet, I restrict my rides to walks and trails adjacent to streets or roads where, if I need to be bailed out by contacting Uber, I can do so. (I've had to resort to this once already.)

Back in 2013, when I was still riding a regular bicycle quite a bit, my friend Doug Tidd told me of the joy of riding "down Broadway hill." I experienced this joy once—one time only—but today, I had quite a different experience, of riding UP Broadway hill.

Finally, I also passed another mileage milestone today.

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

88th ride of 2018 - Wednesday, 9/26/2018

2018 mileage: 2393.1

What really struck me during today's ride was how firmly we have (FINALLY) turned the corner into fall weather. As recently as two weeks ago, I was still riding in temperatures north of 90°, so that was more than just 'technically' still summer. But today, though enjoyable (sunny and 61° when I began at 10:30, and 64° when I finished) felt definitely like fall— cool, and steadily breezy.

After taking Sunday off, and being unable to ride Monday because of schedule and yesterday because of weather (though I did go to LA Fitness for a session on the stationary bike), it felt great to get back outside today, and I rode a round trip to Dexter (Baker Rd.), finishing the 20.3 miles in 2:30. I made the turn at a speed of 7.7 miles per hour, and did considerably better on the way home, to finish at 8.2. But then, there's quite a bit of hill climbing on the way out, with corresponding downhill stretches on the way back home. 😎

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

87th ride of 2018 - Saturday, 9/22/2018

2018 mileage: 2364.1

Our daylight is constantly constricting sunrise this morning was at 7:22. But I dug out and began my ride at 7:25,  At 51° when I left, my hoodie felt just right, though riding in shorts was fine. since the rest of the day will be busy, and did a round trip to Baker Rd. (Dexter), finishing the 18.4 miles in 2:30—and by the time I finished, it was a toasty 54*!

On the way out, I rode past the Big House (Michigan Stadium), and even though it was still before 8:00, there were already walkers headed for the stadium to meet friends to tailgate before the noon game with Nebraska. With several of them, I exchanged a vigorous fist pump, and a hearty, friendly "GO BLUE!"

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

86th ride of 2018 - Friday, 9/21/2018

2018 mileage: 2345,7

This morning I rode a round trip to the west edge of Saline, where the sidewalk running alongside Michigan Ave. stops (at Marion Rd.). The 16.6-mile ride took me 2:18. I was plagued, however, by a mechanical problem_not with the trike, which was fine after its repair yesterday. My MapMyRide app on the phone, however, stopped working for a half hour or so in the middle of the ride. But then, it isn't reasonable of me to expect perfection from a piece of technology, and it almost always serves me flawlessly—so I'll give it a pass today.

When I left, just before 9:00 a.m., it was 74°, and when I finished, it was 82*. My timing was exquisite, too ... just in the last couple of miles, a light, cooling rain began to fall.

85th ride of 2018 - Thursday, 9/20/2018

2018 mileage: 2329.1

This morning's ride was an odd one in several respects. First, the weather forecast had called for rain much of the day, but a window where it looked like I could squeeze in a ride between 9 a.m. and noon. I set out at 9:15 ... but in a moderately steady and unrelenting rain.

Second, I just got started when a mechanical problem from yesterday came back to bit me. As I was finishing up yesterday, about a half mile from home, I hit a rough patch on the sidewalk that threw my seat off kilter, so that I was tilted uncomfortably to the right. Rather than try and do anything about it at that point, I just finished the ride up, and then allowed myself time to address it this morning. Though I am admittedly pretty much a mechanical idiot, on this occasion I was able to diagnose the problem, haul out my (aptly-named) Allen wrenches, and loosen the clamp so that I could rotate the seat back into position before retightening it. However, I evidently didn't tighten it ENOUGH, and it slipped again just as I was getting started this morning (about 2 minutes into the ride). Having just worked on it a few minutes before, though, it was an easy matter to haul the wrenches out of my pannier (or bag, attached to the rear of the trike) and take care of it.

The rain had already caused me, by three miles in, to decide to shorten my ride to a single round trip to Marsh Park. But, as it turned out, even that was not to be. Heading east along Textile Rd., as I crossed the first boardwalk, my rear wheel began to emit a horrific squeal (not steady, but pulsing). A couple of minutes later, the trike began to shudder, and I decided I'd best head home. And then, shortly thereafter, the trike slowed WAY down, so that I thought at first it was a flat tire. But, upon examination, since that didn't seem to be the case, and I didn't know what was going on, I decided a trip to the dealer, Jack's Bicycle in Dearborn, was in order—even though I was left today with only a nauseatingly short ride of 4.3 miles in 32 minutes.

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

So I chained up the trike to a mailbox, contacted Uber on my phone (I have long considered Uber to be my emergency backup, but have never had to resort to them before), got a ride home, backed the rear end of the car into the garage so I wouldn't have to get down on the wet driveway, put the rack on the car, went back down to pick up the trike, and returned home to type up a note of explanation before setting off for Jack's.

Once there, it didn't take too long. I was helped by my friend Richard Spitler, an older man who first helped me when I was looking into getting a trike in early 2015, then  sold me my first one that May, and has done most of the work on that one and its successor, which is the one I have now. It didn't take him too long to correct the problem (less than a half hour) -- he said that one of the bolts on my rear rack had broken, and gone into the tire, causing the noise, the shuddering, and the slowness.

84th ride of 2018 - Wednesday, 9/19/2018

2018 mileage: 2324.8

Yesterday I did not ride, focusing instead on composing. So today was my first since Monday's disastrous effort when I lost my glasses (after having removed them and set them on my knee when I stopped near Baker Rd. to text). I left this morning at 9:15 in considerably cooler weather (65°, climbing to 73° when I finished) and rode another round trip to Baker Rd. (Dexter), completing the 20.2 miles in 2:35.

When I turned around at Baker Rd. and texted my wife and daughter, per my usual practice, I noted that I was leaving the glasses ON today. 😎

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

83rd ride of 2018 - Monday, 9/17/2018 (the essence of stupidity)

2018 mileage: 2304.6

 Well, I have to confess to pulling one of the all-time boneheaded moves today.

I frequently do an out-and-back ride to Dexter, following Jackson Rd. to Baker Rd. (all on sidewalks), and then turning around and coming back home. When I turn around, I usually sop, pause my Map-My-Ride app, and text Michelle and Christy to let them know how I'm doing.

I am so severely nearsighted that I usually remove my glasses for reading or other close work. So today when I texted, I took them off an put them on my knee. Then when I was ready to go, in a hurry I tucked my phone away and rode off, forgetting all about the glasses. When I realized it, a couple hundred feet later, I went back and slowly rode the pertinent stretch multiple times, and even walked it, too, praying and peering with as much care as I could, while also praying for God's help. But it was not to be -- they evidently bounced off into the overgrown grass and weeds in that unkept stretch.

Fortunately I have ridden that route often, and know it well enough that, riding with all the care I could muster, I made it back the 9 miles to our home without incident. But I was never so glad to see my old (previous) pair of glasses, which I had retained as a backup, though I hadn't removed them from the case for a year and a half!

It made for an 18.6-mile ride, in 2:16. And it put me over a new mileage milestone for the year.

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

82nd ride of 2018 - Saturday, 9-15-2018

2018 mileage: 2286.0

Another hot (relatively, anyway) humid ride today. When I began at 10:15 it was 72°, and up to 79* when I finished, under cloudless sunny skies. I'm going to the Michigan football game this afternoon, and I'm guessing the players are going to have to drink a LOT of water to stay hydrated.

I rode to Marsh Park, and then on the way back towards home, looped down and around Saline High School and then continued to the center of downtown Saline before returning home. This game me a ride of 16.6 miles, in 1:56.

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

81st ride of 2018 - Friday, 9/14/2018

2018 mileage: 2259.4

SUMMER'S BACK! 

Oh, technically it doesn't officially leave us until next week, but I have always made the mental switch after Labor Day, with the advent of the new school year. However, when I began my ride at 11:15 today with abundant sunshine, a 72* temperature (which climbed to 79° by the time I finished), and thick, humid air, it felt more like July or August than September!

I rode a round trip to Dexter (Baker Rd.), completing 18.8 miles in 2:24. But it was an uncomfortable ride: (1) My left thigh was sore again from brushing the brake cable; and (2) my feet were awfully sore from the pressure on the pedals. Oh well ... guess I just need to toughen up!

In the early part of the ride, I rode a wooded path that I used to run (or, as a fitter friend like to kid me about my lack of speed, "run" 😎) back when I was still able to run (that is, pre-2012), and that brought back good memories.

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

80th ride of 2018 - Thursday, 9/13/2018

2018 mileage: 2250.6

I am highly dismayed to have only reached my 80th ride outdoors by mid-September -- but (to use a current phrase I dislike), "it is what it is!"

This morning I left a few minutes before 9:00 and did a big, healthy ride, going first to Marsh Park, and then to the far west end of Saline (a couple of miles west of Wellers, where the sidewalk finally ends as U.S. 12 continues its westward march to Chicago. When I began it was 62*, and up to 69* when I finished my ride of 20.7 miles (2:24).

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

79th ride of 2018 - Tuesday, 9/11/2018

2018 mileage: 2229.9

I checked this morning, and my preferred ride out to Baker Rd. (Dexter) is still partially inaccessible due to blocked sidewalks (construction). So, instead, I did a ride all in Ann Arbor, nearly entirely on sidewalks. I went north on Maple until it intersected with Miller, and then took Miller southeast into downtown. This included a nice long downhill stretch ... but, of course, I first had to climb hills to reach the beginning of this stretch.

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

Then I rode past my old stomping grounds (both where I lived for a couple of weeks, following my May 1993 accident, and where I was employed for a time in 2012-13), the University Hospital, and got onto the part of the Border-to-Border Trail that runs through Gallup Park. Riding this down into the park, I then exited Gallup and rode south beside Huron Parkway, then west beside Packard and then Eisenhower, and home along Ann Arbor-Saline Road and Lohr Road. This gave me an enjoyable ride of 17.7 miles in 2:16.

78th ride of 2018 - Friday, 9/7/2018

2018 mileage: 2202.2

Today I got over another mileage milestone for the year, hitting 2200. I left later than usual, due to schedule considerations, and rode a round trip to Baker Rd., finishing the 19.0 miles in 2:13. (The mileage for this destination fluctuates, as I vary the early part of my route according to conditions, and occasionally my whims.) 1

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

77th ride of 2018 - Wednesday, 9/5/2018

2018 mileage: 2183.2

Today was slightly less sultry than yesterday was, but still most definitely late summer, rather than fall, weather. When I began my ride at 8:45, it was 75° and brightly sunny, rising to 88* by the time I finished. Once more today I rode a round trip to Dexter (Baker Rd.), completing the 20.4 miles in 2:27.

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

76th ride of 2018 - Tuesday, 9/4/2018

2018 mileage: 2162.8

This morning I took my time getting going, not beginning my ride until 9:30. One normally thinks of this day after Labor Day, a day on which many schools begin, in conjunction with Fall -- but that was a pretty ludicrous association today. Already when I began my ride, if was 86° and sunny, and the temperature rose to 93° during my ride. The picture below is from shortly after I had started out, when I reached the intersection off Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., looking down the hill to the north, with the entrance to I-94 visible.

A little further on, where Main St. and Stadium Blvd. intersect, I rode past the famed Big House—Michigan Stadium, the largest football stadium in existence, where the University of Michigan plays its games, and so nicknamed by longtime legendary broadcaster Keith Jackson.

When I reached Baker Rd., and crossed Jackson Rd. to start my long journey homeward, I took yet another picture, looking back eastward along Jackson Rd. to the far-distant Ann Arbor.

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

75th ride of 2018 - Monday, 9/3/2018 (LABOR DAY)

2018 mileage: 2143.4

I was glad to begin this holiday as I always try to start holidays, with a brisk ride, and left at 7:00 to ride a round trip to Dexter (Baker Rd.), completing the 20.3 miles in 2:16. I was especially glad to get in a good ride after having had two days off -- Saturday I couldn't ride, because Michelle and I went to visit her parents, over an hour away, and that took a big chunk of the day (but was also a great blessing); and then yesterday morning I played a piano solo at church and then took the remainder of the day as a rest day.

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

I was caught off guard by riding through some showers in the first half of my ride, but at least there was no thunder or lightning. And this morning I took the following picture as I approached Baker Rd. My safety is enhanced by the fact that there is a sidewalk crossing there (although I don't think they put it in just for my benefit. 😎)