trike-ab-trike-2019

2019 mileage: 1656.2 Well, after taking Sunday off, I am now once more begun on a streak of riding round trips to Baker Rd. in Dexter. True, it's only a 2-day streak after today's ride ... but baby steps! And anyway, it also makes 6 days out of the last 7 for doing that same ride. I'm told it's supposed to be spring now, but you couldn't prove it by the temperature: 42° when I began, at 8:30, and up to 45° when I finished, a little before noon. Like yesterday, I found myself wishing that I had worn gloves. On the way out, I listened to my Devotional Music playlist on Spotify, and on the way back I listened to John Denver. When one song came on, it brought a smile, as it is a decades-old favorite which my brother and sister and I used to sing as we gathered around our Baldwin, with me tickling the ivories. (That reminds me of a joke my Uncle Joe used to tell, typifying the wit of my mother's family: "My piano has no hair. It's a Baldwin.")

2019 mileage: 1636.3 After riding the 20-mile round trip to Baker Rd. (Dexter) each day Wednesday through Saturday, I was pretty worn out and decided to allow myself to be lazy yesterday and take the day off. So I was glad to get back to it today, riding another round trip to Baker Rd. I had heard that rain was supposed to be moving in about noon, so I set off early,, leaving about 8:45 in 41° conditions. With the cool conditions and the gray, gloomy skies, I had to "set my face" resolutely and push on anyway. However, the forecast I heard was inaccurate, and instead the rain ... which helped keep me from overheating 😎 ... began just after I turned around midway and started back home. As opposed to the WSW winds into which I was riding last week, today the wind (slightly less heavy, at about 10 mph) was from the east, pushing me on the way TO Dexter but in my face on the way home. Once I got back, I saw that a friend had commented on Facebook, "You may not get m

2019 mileage: 1616.6 Like yesterday, I rode out into the teeth of a substantial wind this morning. But, as it was already up to a toasty 42° when I started at 9:30, at least the breeze helped keep me from overheating. I rode again today the round trip to Dexter (Baker Rd.), marking the first time I have ever done this on four consecutive days. And it put me over another mileage milestone (1600) for the year, too. At 20.2 miles in 2:39, I was only marginally faster today than yesterday's sluggish time; but, given the conditions, I was glad to be able to get it done at all. Link to (relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 1596.4 Today was another cool (49 when I began just before 10:30, and up to 59° when I finished) and gloomy gray day. I  really   did not want to battle the blustery, significant wind (from the NW at 20 mph and above) today. But, offsetting that, I really did want to ride a round trip to Dexter (Baker Rd) for the third consecutive day ... an achievement I've reached only twice previously (most recently last September 3-5). So I did it, even though the wind knocked my speed down significantly. My speed is never good to begin with ... this week I've been riding that route at about 8 mph, but today I could only do 7.4. The only good thing about the wind was that its direction  made for a ferocious battle on my way out, but when I turned around and headed for home, it was largely at my back. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 1576.0 Today I wanted to complete my first consecutive days of riding to Dexter (Baker Rd.) since October 19-20 ... and I did it. However, the conditions were considerably different than either yesterday, or Monday (when I also rode it). At 52° when I began, at 9:30, and 56° when I finished, it was comparable to yesterday (45°-58°) ... but the unrelieved gray clouds today made it FEEL  much cooler. I was comfortable, however, riding in a fleece, and did the 20.3-mile ride in a slowish time of 2:34. Link to (relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 1555.7 Yesterday, even though it was another lovely, sunny, warm spring day, I was disinclined to battle the substantial wind (18 mph from the WSW), so I opted to take the day off and stay home, first composing, and then watching the Tigers, who had a day-night doubleheader in Boston (and, happily, won both games). Hence I was glad to get back in the saddle today, and rode another round trip to Dexter (Baker Rd.). The weather was again, mostly sunny (although clouds increasingly moved in during the ride), and comfortably warm (45° when I started, at 10:15, up to 58° when I finished). It was 20.3 miles, at a little better speed than on Monday (2:22 today). Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 1535.4 On this day after Easter, and after having to go to LA Fitness to ride the stationary bike Thursday through Saturday due to April showers  I was glad to get back to riding, having taken yesterday off. And I enjoyed an absolutely MAGNIFICENT spring day, 61° and mostly sunny when I began at 10:45, and up to 69° when I finished. Only one negative factor appeared. As I was just starting out, riding on the sidewalk alongside Lohr Rd., out in front of Best Buy, I passed a man trimming the right edge of the sidewalk with a power tool. As I passed by him on the left, he sprayed me with copious sizable chunks of mud and turf to decorate my (formerly) white shirt, glasses, and face. He called out, "SORRY!" and I threw up my hand in a gesture I hoped he understood as "No problem!" I rode a round trip to Dexter (Baker Rd.) again, doing 20.2 miles in 2:30. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 1460.3 The past week has been quite weak for me in riding, due to schedule and health considerations. So I was very happy to be able to get out today for a good ride. I rode the round trip to Dexter (Baker Rd.), for a ride of 20.3 miles in 2:31. I left at 8:15 this morning, when it was 45°, and when I finished it had climbed to 52°. Believing that now, perhaps, subfreezing temperatures and snow are history, I am hoping to be able to make this my usual daily ride (6 days/week) for the next 6 months or so. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 1420.0 Thursday I didn't exercise at all, I was so sick with a heavy cold. And yesterday, cold rain all morning led me back to LA Fitness. So I was glad to be able to ride outside this morning, even though briefly. And the conditions were lovely ... when I began just before 8:30, it was 43° with a brilliantly sunny sky, and a bit of wind (15 mph from the WSW). I decided to keep the ride quite brief, for two reasons. (1) We are hosting my younger sister Marianne, who is visiting from Georgia for the weekend. Here is a picture that Christy took of us when we all dined out together one evening last September. (2) My grandson, Danny, has a soccer game this morning at 10:00 that Marianne and I are going to attend. Here's a picture of him atop my shoulders at one of Izzy's soccer games a few years ago. So, I settled for a mere single loop inside Stonebridge ... one of my shortest rides ever, at 5.6 miles in 41 minutes. Link to (Relive) video of to

2019 mileage: 1402.1 I really did not want to ride today, for two reasons. (1) I'm fighting a hellacious cold (the worst in memory). (2) We are experiencing a cold front in advance of the blizzard which is currently pummeling the upper plains, and is supposed to bless us with a little bit of snow tonight. Whereas the temperature exceeded 70° both Sunday and Monday, and 60° yesterday, today's ride was conducted in 39°/40° conditions, which meant I should have worn my gloves -- unfortunately, I didn't realize this until a couple of miles into the ride. However, in an execrable example of timing, I chose to take yesterday as a rest day in order to devote more time to composition. Given that, I really felt that I needed to ride today, and was happy to be able to leave at 10 a.m. and do a single round trip to Marsh Park (10.2 miles in 1:11). Also, it was satisfying to reach a new mileage milestone (1400) for the year. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 1391.9 Today's ride allowed me to enjoy lovely weather conditions -- when I began at 11:15, it was partly sunny and 61°, a temperature which climbed to 65° by the time I finished. The only negative was the need to battle a modest breeze ... 12 mph out of the west. However, this nice weather was offset by a pair of mechanical issues. First, within the opening mile of my ride I twice had problems with my chain coming off. I was able to get it back on successfully, but I was worried for a while that the problem might recur. However, a few miles into the ride, I had forgotten all about it. The other issue was that, about 3 miles into the ride, the MapMyRide app quite working. This robbed me of the voice feedback (which I have set to emit every tenth of a mile) temporarily, and permanently ruined my stats (time and distance for the day). While neither of these issues was a catastrophic fail, they combined to sap my drive, so that I decided to settle for a single rou

2019 mileage: 1381.7 A modest milestone — my tenth ( only  my tenth) outdoor ride of the year was achieved with an embarrassingly modest ride. I frequently take Sundays off as a rest day, so I told myself that whatever I did today was all to the good. Accordingly, after an early piano practice session (I was there waiting for the door to unlock  automatically  at 6:30), I came home and allowed myself to settle for one and a half circuits of a route I used to run, calling it the Figure 8. Doing this all on sidewalks, I ride south along Lohr down to Ellsworth, then east to Oak Valley, up and around on that to Target, and then home via Waters and Lohr. Big change from yesterday's riding weather, too! By going out at 8:10 a.m. today, I rode under cloudy skies, in 45° conditions. Limiting myself as I did, I only rode 5.1 miles, and that in 43 minutes. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 1376.6 Taking advantage of an absolutely GORGEOUS spring day (sunny and 52° when I left, at 10:15, and up to 64° when I finished!), I rode to Dexter (Baker Rd.) today for the first time since October 26. This picture shows (kind of) where the sidewalk beside Jackson Rd. passes under I-94 ... a most helpful feature! Taking a slightly shorter route than I sometimes do (as I'm still breaking back in to outside riding), I totaled 17.3 miles in 2:10. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 1359.3 I didn't ride yesterday because much of my day was consumed by a special activity - my friend Roger Kappler and I (as shown in this picture) went to the Detroit Tigers' home opener for the season, and happily, they beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-4.  So I was glad to get back to riding today. However, it was quite a modest ride -- a simple, single round trip to Marsh Park, and, at that, quite slow, too. The stats were 10.2 miles, in 1:10. I was glad that I could get even this limited ride done, though, as I really did not want to ride today. This was neither the shortest nor the slowest ride I have ever done, but it was close enough to both that I can't really feel accomplished. Like on Wednesday, it was a tolerable springtime temperature of 50°, though absent that day's sunshine ... fairly cloudy today. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 1349.1 Today was a nice day for riding, at 50° and sunny, though it was still clearly early spring. And there was a healthy wind (23-25 mph from the west), though it was tolerable due to the nice sunshine (as shown in this picture, taken just as I was turning into Stonebridge). Anyway, I settled for a single round trip to Marsh Park, augmented by a loop in Stonebridge on the way home, giving me a 13-mile ride in 1:27. Even though it was on the short side, though, I was happy to be able to do only my 7th outside ride this year. I'm grateful for the miles I was able to do on the stationary bike at LA Fitness this winter, and I was able to settle into a fairly comfortable routine there, but now I hope that the time is here when (barring rainy days) I'll be able to ride outside for the next 6 or 7 months. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride