trike-ab-trike-2020

2020 mileage: 3030.1 Beginning to inch my mileage back up, I rode a round trip to Baker Rd. today for the first time since July 18. I left a few minutes before 7:00, in clear 55° sunshine, and 19 miles later (2:26) I finished with a temperature of 67°. Since I'm still rebuilding my stamina, I allowed myself to take a very slightly shorter way home, coming south on Maple Rd. past the Ice Cube and the library. Link to (Relive) video of today'/s ride

2020 mileage: 3011.1 This was an utterly splendid morning for a ride! When I began at 6:45, the sky was bright unbroken blue, and no wind was to be found, with a refreshing temperature of 52°. These conditions held during my ride, except for the fact that the temperature climbed to 60°. I rode the Packard/Platt Square concluding again with a loop in Stonebridge, for a ride of 16.4 miles in 1:57. Oddly, the MapMyRid app, which normally includes my speed in its vocal feedback, has for the last two days been giving me pace rather than speed. This was a bit frustrating, but since I am good with numbers, I decided to work out my brain as well as my body, and figured out conversions: a 6-minute pace = 10 mph (that one was, of course, easy); a 6:40-pace = 9 mph; and a 7:30-pace = 8 mph. (I hope to go no slower than 8 mph). Relive was unable to create a video for today's ride. I did, though, hit a big milestone today, going over 3000 miles for the year.

2020 mileage: 2994.7 This morning I rode at 7:15 (67°) and did a loop in Stonebridge, followed by the Platt/Packard Square, for 16.4 miles in 2:04. Not very fast, to be sure, but I just kept plugging away at it. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2020 mileage: 2978.3 This morning's ride had its challenge, but all ended OK. When I went out to the garage about quarter to 7, I wanted to hire up my tires before beginning the ride, but I was unable to get the valve on the right now to close fully afterwards. After spending quite a while on it, I finally figured I'd have to simply do the best I could with it, and hope that was sufficient to get me through the ride, It wasn't. About three miles into it, that right tire was severely down (nearly flat), and I stopped to get my mini pump out of my gear back on the back of the trike and see what I could do. I had never yet had the pump out of the packaging, but I managed to get it out and figure out how it worked. However, I could not get it attached to the valve.  I had just texted my friend Dan Cogan to see if he might be able to assist me, and was sitting on the ground, still struggling to see if I could figure it out, when a young woman stopped and called ...

2020 mileage: 2964.6 Today I rode the same route as yesterday, but in the opposite direction, Goin counterclockwise, I did the Platt/Packard Square, with a loop in Stonebridge added on to the beginning of the ride, This  gave me 16.4 miles in 1:45 on a sunny summer day. I began at 9 a,m. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

  2020 mileage: 2948.2 Again today, I wanted to honor Michelle's request that I keep my ride short. I had been riding 30+ miles/day frequently in recent weeks, but in her perception, this tiredness this brought about was a contributory cause in several recent falls I've taken, so she asked me to scale back the rides for a while. Accordingly, I rode my Packard/Platt Square, plus one loop in Stonebridge, for a total of 16.5 miles in 1:51. While riding today, I listened to Bach's French Suites. There are 6 of these, and each is a collection of six or seven movements for keyboard, related to various Baroque dance types. I used to keep my score of them (along with several other types of Bach keyboard works) open on the piano in my office when I was teaching at Olivet College (1987-1993), and when I had a few minutes free time (say, between classes, or before a rehearsal), I'd sit down and sight-read through some of them just for fun. The performance I listened to today was b...

2020 mileage: 2931.7 Because of some recent falls of mine, that she attributes to my being overly tired from pushing myself on long rides, my wife Michelle has asked me to scale back my rides for a couple of weeks.  Accordingly, I rode today to the west edge of Saline and back, for a ride of 16.4 miles in 1:56. The weather was lovely—sunny, and 72° when I began (at 9:00), up to 87° when I finished. And I reached another milestone (of sorts) today, exceeding 300 hours of elapsed riding time for the year. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

  2020 mileage: 2915.3 When I set off at 6:45 this morning, it was in calm, clear 59° early sunshine, and I began with every intention of riding another round trip to Matthei Botanical Gardens. However ... having been up since 4:30, I caved in a few miles into the ride, and decided to just settle for my Platt//Packard Square (13.7 miles in 1:37). Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

  2020 mileage:2901.6 After beginning my ride at 6:45 this morning, I was transfixed by this striking sunrise about a mile into the ride, on the Lohr/Textile Greenway, just a bit south of Ellsworth Rd. I had wanted to ride 63 miles on my 63rd birthday last March 17, but an unhappy combination of issues (mechanical, health, and weather) ganged up to prevent me from doing that. So I decided to shift my plans, and aim to do 63.5 miles for my half birthday (September 17). As that would be just over two consecutive of my normal round trip rides to Matthei Botanical Gardens,, I decided to take a slightly longer route today, coming back through Gallup Park, to see how the mileage measured out. This gave me 31.8 miles (in 4:08), so if I do two of them consecutively (63.6 miles), I've got it! Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

  2020 mileage:2869.8 I couldn't ride yesterday, as I was in the midst of prep for a colonoscopy I had to have yesterday afternoon. (They wanted me to have one as a follow up to the  successful  colon cancer surgery I underwent last September 11.) I was eager, therefore, to get back to it today, even though I deliberately kept the ride quite modest—a single round trip to Marsh Park (10.0 miles, in 1:10.) I was so happy to experience the blessed, refreshing cool, too, after some of the ghastly heat we've endured this summer. When I began at a few minutes past 7:00,, it was totally calm, with bright unbroken early sunshine, and 52°! (That temperature climbed to 65° during my ride.) That wonderful air felt like a loving embrace. (Admittedly, though, it was slightly brisk on a couple of occasions when I had to ride through sprinklers. 😎) Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2020 mileage: 2859.8 This morning I went out at 6:30 and rode a round trip to the Matthei Botanical Gardens for the second consecutive day. It was nice to experience a preview of fall cool—when I began, the temperature was 58° (but heated up to 69° during the 3:58, 31.4-mile ride. but Link to (Relive) video of today's ride d it

2020 mileage:  2 828.4 After taking yesterday off, I was glad to get back to it  today—with  a vengeance!— and rode a round trip to Matthei Botanical Gardens (30.9 miles in 3:36). I was tending toward the slower side, but today I did not aim for speed at all—my manta was simply, "JUST KEEP GOING." When I left, at 8:30, it was 66, and that climbed to 79during the ride. I also hit a new mileage milestone for the year today, exceeding 2800 miles for 2020. I experienced a pleasant surprise in the final part of my ride. As I was just over 2 miles from reaching home, coming north on the Lohr/Textle Greenway, I could see (despite my extremely poor distance vision) a very large man in a bright yellow shirt ambling toward me (coming south on the path). I thought, "I sure hope I don't run into that guy!" Then as we drew abreast, though, I could see that it was my good friend Doug Franklin, out for a walk, several miles from his home in Saline. Link to (Relive) video of to...

  2020 mileage:   2797.5 This is the shirt of a group to which I belong: When I set out at 6:30 this morning, it was with the full intention of riding my 31-mile round trip to Matthei Botanical Gardens. But I hadn't ridden it since July 19, the day before my July 20 surgery (following which a lengthy hiatus from riding was mandated). I just resumed riding this week, and could tell as I rode out by both my speed and by the way that my body felt, that I had lost considerable stamina during the long layoff. As I neared St. Joseph Mercy Hospital (my 'home away from home' where I lived June-December 1993 while recovering from my May 22 acciden—I had an initial stint in Intensive Care at University Hospital, but don't remember being there whatsoever, as I was in coma until late July), I realized that it would be prudent to rebuild to that longer ride somewhat more gradually, so I made the decision to settle for "just" a loop around St. Joe's. This still gave me ...

2020 mileage:   2770.5 I fell on Monday (I allowed myself to get going too fast on a downhill curve about a quarter mile into the ride, and couldn't hold my line, so my right wheel got off into a rut beside the sidewalk: This jostled and flipped the trike, giving me (among other things) a nice case of road rash on my left elbow: And, though I didn't discover this until yesterday (since I took Tuesday and Wednesday off to heal), it bent the wheel severely: I had to take the trike back to the dealer (Jack's Bicycle in Dearborn) this morning to have the wheel replaced. Initially they were unsure they had one in stock and though they might have to order it, but then after a brief search, the manager returned with a big smile, held it up, and told me, "It's your lucky day!" And they were able to replace it right then, so I was able to ride this afternoon. Before going I wrestled for a time with the acceptability of doing a very modest ride ... but in the end, of co...

2020 mileage:   2760.3 IAfter my fall on Monday that reopened my surgery incision, I felt I'd better give it a little more rest time, so I took the last two  days  off from riding. But when I had a follow-up appointment this morning with the surgeon from my July 20th procedure, I made it an item of high priority to inquire about when I could resume riding. The surgeon said that actually, in some ways, it may have been a good thing that the incision reopened, allowing accumulated fluid to be released that way so that my body did not have to remove it. At any rate, I was cleared to ride (with the strong admonition: "NO MORE FALLS!" 😎) Therefore, I was delighted to go out and ride this afternoon. Following my 9:00 a.m. doctor's appointment, I came home and took a good healthy nap, having been up since 3:30, and knowing that it did not rule out a good ride since it was not supposed to get excessively hot today. When I went out at 1:00, it was 84° and partly su...

  2020 mileage:   2746.6 I had an outpatient surgical procedure on my groin early on the morning of Monday, July 20. They told me I could not ride for 3 weeks afterwards. So even though I've felt  very  well able to resume riding for some time now, I patiently waited out the three weeks. Today marked three weeks since the procedure, so I set out eagerly at 7:00 a.m., to do a conservative ride (a single round trip to Marsh Park). But it was not adventure-free. About a quarter-mile into the ride, I was going down a hill, and got greedy for speed. This caused me to drift with one wheel just off the sidewalk, into a rut alongside the cement. That flipped my trike over, and even though I was uninjured, the jostling reopened my surgical incision, releasing accumulated fluid that soaked my shorts. (So I was glad not to have to interact with anyone.) The chain also came off, but I was able to get things straightened out, and finish the ride with no further problems. htt...