68th ride of 2020 - Friday, 6/12/2020
2020 mileage: 2161.0
Another SPECTACULAR June day for a ride! It wasn't supposed to get too hot today, so I got some good composing done this morning, and waited till midday to ride. When I began at 11:30, it was in 69° sunshine (that rose to 72° by the time I finished).
I rode again a round trip to Baker Rd., and today augmented it slightly by two additional brief stretches. On the outbound leg of my trip, when I reached Zeeb Rd., I turned right (north) and rode the sidewalk and trail until it ends at Ann Arbor-Dexter Rd., and then turned around and returned to Jackson Ave. After continuing on to Baker Rd. as usual, I turned around and came back, and this time when I reached Zeeb I also turned right, although this tie of course it took me south. I could only go a shorter stretch in this direction before the sidewalk ended,,but before i got there and turned around, a blue vehicle that I recognized pulled in front of me at a crossing, blocking my way and necessitating a stop. It was my daughter Christy, who had recognized me, and she evidently felt I looked rather uncomprehending, as she removed her sunglasses, looked at me, and said, "Dad, it's me -- Christy!" We had a nice, but relatively short, chat, and then I resumed my ride.
Four things stood out about today's ride.
(1) On the way out, about half a mile before reaching Zeeb Rd., as I was passing in front of the IHA medical building, my mirror fell off. This was most discncerting ,... after it had broken off in a fall in early May, and I had the dealer put a new one on for me, and was just getting used to it. But it must not have been fastened on very securely, because today it just fell off, with no triggering incident. I was quite sure I heard the glass smash when it hit the sidewalk, but it wasn't a convenient spot for me to stop for it, so I went back by there on the way home, just to confirm that the glass was broken—and someone had already scooped it up and removed it.
(2) When I turned around at Baker Rd., I texted, Michelle, Christy, and my sister Marianne as always. Upon opening that app, I found a text informing me that the digital piano Michelle and I just bought this week from a dealer in Manhattan (free shipping) was in town now, and we'll be contacted soon regarding its delivery to us.
(3) Seeing Christy was quite a nice surprise. I was amused, though, that she found me so stony faced that she felt she needed to identify herself to me. 😎
(4) Today's portion of adventure! On the (relatively new) sidewalk I ride along the north side of Scio Church Rd., about halfway between S. Main and Seventh St., there is a fairly sizable tree branch that came partially down a few days ago. Earlier this week, and in the early part of today's ride, I was able to ride under it fine, reaching out with my arm and sweeping it aside. Perhaps this success led to overconfidence—I'm not sure—but on the way back today, when I rode under it, it caught and flipped my trike, throwing me out and giving me a nice patch of road rash on the inside of my left elbow.
This was a relatively minor incident, thankfully.
Another SPECTACULAR June day for a ride! It wasn't supposed to get too hot today, so I got some good composing done this morning, and waited till midday to ride. When I began at 11:30, it was in 69° sunshine (that rose to 72° by the time I finished).
I rode again a round trip to Baker Rd., and today augmented it slightly by two additional brief stretches. On the outbound leg of my trip, when I reached Zeeb Rd., I turned right (north) and rode the sidewalk and trail until it ends at Ann Arbor-Dexter Rd., and then turned around and returned to Jackson Ave. After continuing on to Baker Rd. as usual, I turned around and came back, and this time when I reached Zeeb I also turned right, although this tie of course it took me south. I could only go a shorter stretch in this direction before the sidewalk ended,,but before i got there and turned around, a blue vehicle that I recognized pulled in front of me at a crossing, blocking my way and necessitating a stop. It was my daughter Christy, who had recognized me, and she evidently felt I looked rather uncomprehending, as she removed her sunglasses, looked at me, and said, "Dad, it's me -- Christy!" We had a nice, but relatively short, chat, and then I resumed my ride.
Four things stood out about today's ride.
(1) On the way out, about half a mile before reaching Zeeb Rd., as I was passing in front of the IHA medical building, my mirror fell off. This was most discncerting ,... after it had broken off in a fall in early May, and I had the dealer put a new one on for me, and was just getting used to it. But it must not have been fastened on very securely, because today it just fell off, with no triggering incident. I was quite sure I heard the glass smash when it hit the sidewalk, but it wasn't a convenient spot for me to stop for it, so I went back by there on the way home, just to confirm that the glass was broken—and someone had already scooped it up and removed it.
(2) When I turned around at Baker Rd., I texted, Michelle, Christy, and my sister Marianne as always. Upon opening that app, I found a text informing me that the digital piano Michelle and I just bought this week from a dealer in Manhattan (free shipping) was in town now, and we'll be contacted soon regarding its delivery to us.
(3) Seeing Christy was quite a nice surprise. I was amused, though, that she found me so stony faced that she felt she needed to identify herself to me. 😎
(4) Today's portion of adventure! On the (relatively new) sidewalk I ride along the north side of Scio Church Rd., about halfway between S. Main and Seventh St., there is a fairly sizable tree branch that came partially down a few days ago. Earlier this week, and in the early part of today's ride, I was able to ride under it fine, reaching out with my arm and sweeping it aside. Perhaps this success led to overconfidence—I'm not sure—but on the way back today, when I rode under it, it caught and flipped my trike, throwing me out and giving me a nice patch of road rash on the inside of my left elbow.
This was a relatively minor incident, thankfully.
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