trike-ab-trike-2020

2020 mileage: 1190.1 I am grateful to God for the opportunity to get out and do a good ride this morning. But the weather? "Spring" -- HA! When I left at 8:00, it was 40° with a nice cooling breeze of 17 mph from the west-northwest, and both temperature and wind held throughout my ride. It made me exceptionally glad for my heavy winter gloves, despite the fact that they are awkward to put on and to wear while riding. I rode the Platt/Packard Square, 13.7 miles in 1:38, and was glad to finish it up so I could get home and breakfast while huddled under a blanket. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2020 mileage: 1176.4 Michelle and I went on a lovely hour-long walk this morning at Independence Lake Park in 57° sunshine. I had hoped to do a modest ride this afternoon, as well. But it ended up being even more modest than I had suspected it might be. Conditions have changed very dramatically, with heavy cloud cover and a ferocious wind (23 mph from the southwest) having moved in, as well as falling temperatures (currently it is 51°). Consequently, I settled for riding down to Stonebridge and then a single loop in there, for what I believe is my shortest ride ever -- only 5.5 miles, in 39 minutes. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2020 mileage: 1170.9 This morning I rode the Packard/Platt Square (13.5 miles in 1:42) in conditions that were far from perfect but equally far from unpleasant. Riding under mostly cloudy skies from which very occasional brief peeks of sunshine emerged, it was 48° when I began at 9:30, and up to 55° when I finished. And today, no mechanical difficulties confronted me! The MapMyRide app on my phone worked beautifully, calling out time, speed, and distance every tenth of a mile, just as it was supposed to -- and my battery pack stayed plugged in to the phone the whole way, so that I returned home with a fully charged phone. As I rode past, first, Lillie Park on Platt Rd., and then through Marsh Park on my way home, my thoughts were filled with happy memories of my recent walks there with my sweetheart. This picture that Michelle took during our walk there Sunday morning was in the bright sunshine with a temperature or about 29°. Link to (Relive) video of today's...

2020 mileage: 1157.4 Today I was happy to ride a round trip to Baker Rd. for the second consecutive day. It was, however, one of my slower rides -- but in addition to my own sloth, I attribute much of the blame for this to the fact that the MapMyRide app was acting up. It tracked my ride OK, but the vocal feedback was not functioning -- and that serves as a strong incentive and prod to me, calling out my speed and distance every tenth of a mile. In a real head-scratcher, though, it called out the information as the first .1 mile, as I was leaving our complex, so I figured everything was good. Not long after, though, I discovered it was not working, so I stopped and tried every adjustment I could think of, but nothing worked. However, this failure was partly balanced by the fact that both yesterday and today, my battery pack has been almost trouble free. Yesterday it was perfect -- when I got to my turnaround point halfway through the ride, and checked it, it was plugged in as it s...

2020 mileage: 1138.4 With wintry cold persisting even into (technical) spring, I hadn't ridden since last Wednesday. Although LA Fitness is closed because of social distancing (plus, beginning at midnight last night, Gov. Whitmer's Shelt in Place order—which, however, allows solitary walks or rides for exercise), Michelle and I have been getting out and daily daily hikes in various members of Ann Arbor's sparkling collection of parks. So I was happy to be able to push myself to ride today (a round trip to Baker Rd. in Dexter, a frequent desitination of mine during the last three years—I did it 52 times last year—but one which I hadn't ridden since December 23), even though we were skating just below my self-imposed 40° cut-off for outside rides. Under cloudy skies today, it was 38° when I began at 11:00, and had heated up all the way to 40° by the time I finished, accompanied throughout by a nice, gentle cooling breeze. I was able to handle it with my heavy winter co...

2020 mileage: 1118.3 Today was a day of crumbling resolve when it came to riding my trike. I had planned to ride the 20-mile round trip to Baker Rd. But the general malaise lingering over us due to the coronavirus restrictions (Governor Whitmer has ordered a Shelter in Place condition for Michigan, beginning at midnight tonight), along with the lingering cold (now, just past noon, it is not even 40°) has beat down my spirit. As I sat here trying to psych myself up to go, I heard a small voice telling me, "Don't go - you shouldn't today." So I am listening, in hopes of living to fight another day. I hope this isn't just a matter of weakening spirit - but it is what I'm going to do this time.

2020 mileage: 1118.3 Today I waited until 1:15 to ride so that it could "warm up," and it got all the way to 43°. With the unbroken blanket of gray gloom that covered us, it FELT colder than that, and my cloth gloves were highly necessary and nearly insufficient. As the effects of the coronavirus continue to wear on us, Michelle and I wanted a break outside this morning, so we went hiking again at Marsh Park. Because of that modest expenditure of energy, and because of the cold, I kept my ride this afternoon somewhat limited, and just did a single round trip to Marsh Park, augmented by a loop on Interfirst on the way to the park, and, on the way home, loops on Wilson/Bicetennial and Stonebridge. This gave me a nice total ride of 15.1 miles, accomplished in 1:55. Best of all - the mechanical problems and difficulties with my MapMyRide app that best me yesterday did not trouble me today! And I knew I was going to keep the ride on the shorter side, so I didn't even...

2020 mileage: 1103.2 I took yesterday off, as Michelle and I went hiking and exploring at Marsh Park. I had hoped that today, I might be able to ride 63 miles (for my 63 years). But, owing to various difficulties I've been dealing with, I decided a couple of days ago to scale that back. Once I began today, I had hoped to ride to Matthei Botanical Garden in the very northeast part of Ann Arbor. To get there, I would have taken sidewalks up to Gallup Park, through it on the Gallup Park Pathway to Parker Mill, and then back west from there on the trail that parallels Geddes Rd., until I could strike the trail that runs up to Matthei, paralleling Dixboro Rd. I've never found it before, but I'm pretty sure I know where it is. However, as a trifecta of problems beset me today, I cut back even from this plan, and rode the Platt-Packard Square, a ride of 13.6 miles in 1:50. This was a ride about which, I suppose, I don't quite have to be ashamed, even though it is far short ...

2020 mileage: 1089.6 With no in-person worship at church this morning due to the restrictions brought about by the coronavirus, Michelle and I had been home without a break all day, so it was especially nice to get out and ride this afternoon. Bright sunshine made it a treat, and the fact that it was 46° as opposed to yesterday's 36° made an immense difference—only 10 degrees, yes, but I was incredibly more comfortable today. I could have (and perhaps should have) ridden consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, but instead I chose to do a single trip there and then augment it on the way home by two laps around Stonebridge (the residential subdivision off Lohr Rd. just over a mile south of us, surrounding a gold course),. This gave me a total ride of 15.2 miles, in 1:45. I've continued to inch closer to having my battery pack work OK. Today I decided, instead of a single cable to connect the phone and battery (a short cable, roughly 8 inches) to also use the second one ...

2020 mileage: 1074.4 I waited until 2:00 today, hoping it would heat up ... and it made it all the way up to 36°. I thought perhaps I could get by with wearing my cloth gloves, rather than my heavy quilted winter ones which are awkward to both put on and to ride with. However, I was wrong. Also, I continued to have issues with my battery charger, so upon finishing the ride, I checked the manufacturer's FAQs. Finding nothing, however, I submitted a technical support request. However, at least the MapMyRide app stayed on and worked throughout the entire ride today! I did a single round trip to Marsh Park (because of the cold, instead of the two I had hoped to do), and augmented it with a loop in Stonebridge on the way home, for a total of 12.7 miles in 1:34. Then, for a final treat, on the last mile of my ride between Stonebridge and home, I saw my good and longtime friend Doug Franklin, who lives in Saline but was out for a  lengthy walk on the Lohs-Textile Greenway. 😎 L...

2020 mileage: 1061.7 Today is extremely  windy (24 mph from the west), so I thought it might be good to stay in our complex and ride laps, so that the condos could help break the wind, rather than venturing out into the countryside. At 44° and brightly sunny, I figured I could dispense with gloves today. But what I didn't reckon on was the chilling effect of the wind, which quickly turned my hands into two blocks of ice. I forgot initially about the chain problems I had yesterday, and was stymied when I tried to begin. But, although I despaired at first of my ability to figure it out, persistence eventually paid off and I was able to get it sorted out (though I'm still not sure just exactly how). There were still issue with my battery pack and phone not working together, too (even though I had made some minor adjustments), so I will tinker some more over the weekend. Otherwise, my hopes of riding 63 miles on Tuesday to mark my 63rd birthday will vanish. I had hoped (wi...

2020 mileage: 1056.7 Today's ride was both good and bad. The good? Weather allowed me to ride outside (46° when I began at 1:30, and 51° when I finished, remaining solidly overcast throughout)] Plus, the cable I ordered from Amazon to connect my auxiliary battery pack and phone arrived yesterday, so I was able to try it today. The bad? (1) The cable is short (only less than 8 inches), so it kept unplugging from the phone. This happened three times, necessitating each time a stop, fishing the battery out of the pocket of my neck pouch where it resided, turning it on, being sure everything was connected again and repositioned back where it belonged ... and then it would happen again a few minutes later. (2) My MapMyRide app malfunctioned, shutting off entirely for the bulk of the second half of my ride, so I have no video to share. (3) Not long before the end of my ride, I began pedaling rapidly with no resistance. This told me that the chain was not connected, an...

2020 mileage: 1007.7 Riding today was not issue free, but  with the temperature at 58° when I began just past 4:00 p.m., I did not feel I could forgo riding.  though we lacked the brilliant sunshine I enjoyed yesterday, the warmest temperature since last fall more than made up for it. Additionally, I had to battle a bit of wind. Most troublesome is my new battery charging pack, which is still causing me issues. One improvement from yesterday, though - I had thought that merely plugging in the phone was all that was needed, but I found a small, unmarked, unlabeled Power button. However, carrying it in the neck pouch I wear is a challenge. The charger and the phone have to reside in adjacent (back to back) pockets, as both pockets are too small to carry both items.  But the charger shuts off if you don't plug a device into it within a few seconds after turning it on. And it is virtually impossible to turn it on, stow it in a pocket, and then start the MapMyRide app, ...

2020 mileage: 997.7 Even though today was only my fourth outdoor ride of the year, I'm grateful that riding the stationary cycle at LA Fitness has enabled me to build my mileage to the point where tomorrow should put me over the year's first big mileage milestone—1000 miles. In fact, I was at LA Fitness for their 8:00 a.m. opening today, and I would therefore not ordinarily have ridden a second time in the same day. But our brilliant (aypical) sunshine, combined with a temperature in the low forties (42° when I began, a bit after 2:00, and 44° when I finished) convinced me that I could not waste such splendid riding weather. The picture below is on the Platt Rd. Greenway, just south of the intersection of Platt and Ellsworth. I was delighted to be able to ride the Packard/Platt square—13.9 miles in 1:45.  However, one feature of the ride disappointed me. A few years ago, when I was going to try to do the PALM ride (a journey of several days, with tent camping...