trike-ab-trike-2020

2020 mileage: 4139.3 Today's ride was challenging in several ways. I was not entirely convinced that I wanted to ride, and as I am currently experiencing considerable lower back pain, I could have easily justified taking the day off. However, the seat on my recumbent trike is sufficiently comfortable that this consideration  was  not really a big issue. A few summers ago, a regular who I passed on the trail laughed and told me, "There you go in your La-Z-Boy again!" This picture is one that Michelle took in August 2017 -- NOT today. 😎 After allowing myself to climb in for a midday nap, I had to scramble once I got up. I wanted to ride the Platt/Packard Square, which usually (in good weather) takes me about 1 hour and 45 minutes, give or take. And with daylight ending so early at this time of year (today's sunset was at 5:05), I figured I'd need to be away by 3:00 at the very latest in order to give myself a chance, since I have no lights in the new trike yet, and...

2020 mileage: 4128.3 Chilly ride today! When I began (just past 11:00), it was 31° and very humid, making the air feel quite raw.. There is also a significant amount of snow remaining on the ground, so that I had to be quite careful with my riding lest I should have to stop suddenly and be unable to.  Most of the time, this caused me no problem (other than slowing me down significantly), but on the final stretch, as I was coming up the hill on the sidewalk from the intersection of Lohr and Oak Valley towards our complex, I hit a patch that utterly stymied me, so that I had to get off and walk it 40 or 50 feet, cutting my speed from 8.5 mph (already slow) to an abysmal 8.1. My new battery-powered heating socks arrived yesterday afternoon. By that point I had already decided to take the day off, so I had to wait till today to inaugurate them. They helped, though not as much as I had hoped they would ... they definitely take the edge off. I solved the issue with my battery by putting ...

  2020 mileage: 4118.0 This morning's ride was refreshingly brisk! I began at 9:00, with a 27° temperature and a nice 11 mph breeze from the east northeast to help keep me from overheating. A few miles into the ride, a nice light snow began falling -- the first wave of what they say will be about 2 inches for us here in Ann Arbor. I look forward eagerly to my appointment at the Apple Store tomorrow to have my phone's charging problem addressed. Since yesterday I just finished my ride seconds before the phone would have died, I was concerned about not making it today, so I shortened my route and did not even ride to Marsh Park. I rode down and did a loop through the Silo Ridge subdivision, and then on my way home did a loop in Stonebridge, giving me a total ride of 9.2 miles in 1:08. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2020 mileage: 4108.8 When I went out to ride this morning just past 11:00, it was 25° (moderately colder than yesterday's 32°). But it was almost calm today, and without fighting that significant wind that I battled yesterday, it felt warmer today. As I am still having issues with the charging port on my phone (I'm looking forward to my appointment Thursday at the Apple Store), I needed to keep the ride fairly brief, and settled for a single round trip to Marsh Park (10.0 miles in 1:11). As it was, I just barely finished the ride, before the phone blinked off. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2020 mileage: 4098.8 today was a tale of me vs. the elements. When I began, at a bit past 1:00, it was 31°, with a sporty 20 mph wind out of the west northwest bringing the wind-chill down to 19°. However, as I told Michelle, it is not so much the cold that bothers me, but fighting that darned wind. Given the conditions, I could very easily have justified taking the day off. But if I want to ride in much more extreme conditions this winter—and I do—given that LA Fitness is not an option for me right now with the pandemic going on, then I certainly could not justify caving in today. And, in fact, now that I'm done, I'm glad that I pushed myself to do it. I limited myself to a single round trip to Marsh Park (10.3 miles), in 1:15. I would also have liked to tack on at least a loop in the Stonebridge subdivision on the way home (in part because this would have put me over 4100 miles for the year). For a while, early in the ride, this seemed feasible—with the wind pushing at my bac...

2020 mileage: 4088.5 A nippy ride today! I went at 12:30, and it was only down to 34°, but with solidly overcast skies and moist atmosphere, it felt colder than that. In light of the conditions, I allowed myself to ride just a single round trip to Marsh Park, about 10 miles in 1:20. MapMyRide measured it at slightly less than that, due to a malfunction ... early in the ride, it went inexplicably into Pause mode, and I didn't discover this for a little over half a mile, when I realized I was no longer hearing its vocal feedback. I also saw my good friend Doug Franklin again today, out on his daily walk. In his bright yellow coat, I saw him coming from a good distance this time. With my trike, on the paved trail, it's safe to take my hands off the handlebars momentarily, and I did this today, giving him a gesture of shivering—but he replied (accurately), "Oh, it's not so bad out here!" Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2020 mileage: 4078.5 The weather conditions for today's ride were what I would describe as schizophrenic. This morning featured a cold rain that kept me inside, snuggled in my recliner and composing. Then the rain seemed to ease up enough to convince me that I could squeeze in a ride, so I set off at 12:30, in 52° cloudy conditions, with a significant wind (about 14 mph from the west southwest). I rode down to Stonebridge for a loop in there, and then continued on the Platt/Packard Square (16.4 miles total) in about 1:57. The first 10 miles or so were tolerable, but far from pleasant, with a steady (though light) rain. But then, during the last few miles the sun came out, making it seem like a nice April or May day and eliciting my forgiveness for Mother Nature. However, not long after my return home, the clouds moved back in. One technical issue is concerning. About 13 miles into the ride, my phone died. This was a recurrence of an issue I've had several times before—even thou...