trike-ab-trike-2019

2019 mileage: 2898.7 On yet another gorgeous late summer day, I set off this morning at just past 8:30 in 65° sunshine (that climbed to 69 by the time I was done), intending to ride a loop around St. Joseph Hospital for the second straight day. But as I rode out, an overwhelming desire to spend time today on composing instead seized me, and I cut my plans in half, just completing instead the Packard/Platt Square (13.8 miles in 1:47).

2019 mileage: 2884.9 Another beautiful  day for a ride! I left about 8:30 this morning in 61° sunshine (that climbed to 76° by the time I finished), and rode again past Marsh Park on the new part of the trail, over to Platt Rd., then northward on the Platt Rd. Greenway to Ellsworth, and then on sidewalks to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital (which I regard as my "home away from home" since I was a patient there from June-December 1993 as I recovered from my accident). After looping around the hospital, i returned home via the same route, giving me a ride of 27.2 miles in 3:33. I had done a similar ride to this two times last week.' I took this photo because just last evening, Michelle and I were at the Reichert Building. I had an MRI, as my doctor wanted to check out an anomaly discovered during a recent CAT scan. Previously I had been told it was a cyst on a kidney; last night they said it was a lesion on the liver. At any rate, I'm still living! 😎 Link to (Re

2019 mileage: 2857.7 I set off a bit past 9:00 a.m. today in absolutely  glorious late summer weather (brilliant 67° sunshine), intending to ride a round trip to Baker Rd. However, something did not seem quite right from the outset. For one thing, a portion of trail that I ride early on (the west side of Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., from Eisenhower up to Stone School) was all torn up for rebuilding, so I had to backtrack, cross the road, and go up the sidewalk on the east side instead. Also, MapMyRide malfunctioned again, costing me close to a mile near the outset of the ride. Then, too, I knew I'd be pressed to squeeze in the longer ride, as I need to eat an early lunch today. I'm having an MRI this evening to check out a cyst they found on my kidney, so I have to stop eating and drinking by 12:30. I'm not really worried about this, but the shadow of it is hanging over the day, too. So, a little less than halfway out, I turned around and came back home, completing a brief r

2019 mileage: 2828.9 The Weather Channel misled me today, calling for rain to begin around 4:00 p.m. So I went out confidently at 12:30, and then around 1:30, about halfway through the ride I had planned, a steady (though light) rain began pelting me. This left me riding in conditions far from ideal, but on the other hand also far from unbearable. I was quite soaked after a few minutes, but it stopped late in the ride. I ended up riding north to Eisenhower Boulevard, then eastward on Eisenhower (and Packard when it joined in) to Platt, and from there south to Textile, and in through the new portion of the trail to Marsh Park and then home by the familiar way. MapMyRide chose today to misbehave again, though, shutting off for a stretch along Platt, and then shutting off altogether in the last couple of miles. It measured my ride at 10.7 miles, but when I got home and got on my computer, the gmaps pedometer measured it at 13.7 miles, which I believe I did in roughly 1:45.

2019 mileage: 2815.1 This morning I rode, again, a loop around St. Joseph Hospital, as I did on Tuesday, only today I looped around it counterclockwise rather than clockwise. I also got a couple of pictures—the first being of a portion of the newly opened trail extension between Marshview Meadows Park and Platt Rd.: and the other a view of the north side of St. Joseph when I looped around it. The weather was perfect—brilliant sunshine when I began at 9:00, with just a few clouds drifting in during the morning. And temperatures that were breathtakingly lovely for late August: 59° when I began, up to 70° at the end. The ride gave me 22.8 miles in 2:49. This was a slightly shorter ride than I expected, because coming home I elected to cut it slightly shorter, by coming in along Ellsworth Rd. from Platt rather than continuing clear down to Textile and returning through Marsh Park. To do this, I had to ride a short way in the bike lane, and, notably, I had to navigate the ro

2019 mileage: 2792.3 This morning's ride featured unbelievably idyllic weather for August. When I began, at 8:30, though the skies were cloudy, this held the temperature down to a delightful 66° (which climbed all the way to 68° by the time I finished). I rode a route which was a new one to me in total, but all of whose segments I had ridden before. I'm calling it the Lillie Park square, as it goes by Lillie Park (at the corner of Platt Rd. and Ellsworth Rd., several miles northeast of our home). Riding on the dedicated sidewalk alongside Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., north from Lohr, I went up to Eisenhower Blvd., and then east to Stone School Rd. (on which Michelle and I used to live two decades ago). From there I continued south beside Stone School to Ellsworth, and then east to Platt Rd. (where I encountered Lillie Park). From this point (roughly halfway through my total ride), I went south on the Platt Rd. Greenway until I reached Textile Rd., where the new extension of the Lo

2019 mileage: 2778.5 After learning from my friend Jim Alvey last night that the extension of the trail we ride (the Lohr-Textile Greenway) is now complete, through to Platt Rd. to the east, I decided to incorporate it into today's ride, and so rode there (to Platt) and then north and east (along sidewalks) to do a loop around St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, my "home away from home" in 1993, when I spent roughly half a year as a patient there, recovering from my accident. After this loop, I returned home by r oughly the same route, even though I was tiring and was tempted to shorten it slightly by taking a more direct route. As it was, MapMyRide measured me at 24.2 miles in 2:58, and even this shorted it slightly, as I discovered about half a mile into the ride that the app wasn't running, so I had to begin it late, at that point. Also, inexplicably to me, it slipped into pause mode three times during the "home stretch" of today's ride, after I had return

2019 mileage: 2734.0 After a Sunday rest day (these are becoming increasingly typical, as I have not done a Sunday ride since late June), I left about 9 a.m. today and rode another round trip to Baker Rd. (20.3 miles in 2:31). I began at 69°, and the temperature climbed to 76° over the course of the ride, under partly cloudy skies. I was glad to "git er done," although today's ride was not particularly inspired or inspiring.

2019 mileage: 2734.0 With a moderately busy lined up today (including a trip to Lansing to lunch with my son, John - here is a picture of us at a previous such meal together, in June 2017). I decided to get started early, and so left home at 6:45 in order to go practice piano at church at 7:00. This allowed me to begin my ride about 8:00, and I rode yet another round trip to Baker Rd. (20.1 miles in 2:34). Only trouble is, MapMyRide paused itself shortly after the halfway point, where I turned around at Dexter to begin making my way back home. Consequently, I got no video of today's ride. The weather was interesting. The temperature was a comfortable 69° when I began, climbing to 74° by the end. However, while the skies were clear when I began, cloud cover consistently moved in during the first half of my ride, so that by the time I turned around I had a pretty solid layer of overcast.

2019 mileage: 2713.8 It was pleasantly cool today for a ride in mid-August. When I began at 10:00, it was 64°, and that climbed to 76 by the time I finished. I began under a solid layer of clouds, which gradually cleared to mostly sunny skies by the time I was done. I rode again a round trip to Baker Rd., completing the 20.1 miles in 2:35. Yesterday I chose not to ride. A good chunk of our day was taken up by an appointmen t Michelle and I had in the morning—consulting with the surgeon who will be excising the cancerous tissue they found in me during a recent colonoscopy. Then I spent the remainder of the day composing, and contemplating my mortality. 😎 No—that sounds rather somber, but actually I am feeling quite positive and encouraged about things. They say that I am a very good candidate for the surgery, in part because they caught it good and early. The surgery is scheduled for the morning of September 11. As we were leaving, I told Michelle, "How about that? I get my

2019 mileage: 2693.7 After taking the weekend off, and Monday too, and then yesterday being unable to ride because of a CAT scan I needed to have, I felt like it had been FOREVER since I'd been out there. But, blessed with good weather, I set off just past 9:00 this morning in 66° sunshine (which climbed to 77° by the time I finished) and rode another round trip to Baker Rd. (19.9 miles in 2:29) to get back into it. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 2673.8 I cut myself a break today and didn't ride until just past 11:15, when it was 76° and a partly sunny sky. I also took it easy on the ride itself, doing a round trip to Marsh Park. Or, actually, to just past it. They are extending the trail on which I ride (the Lohr-Textile Greenway) along the roughly 1.2-mile stretch east of Marsh Park, over to Platt Rd., where it will join to the trail that runs north to Lillie Park. However, the trail isn't very far yet -- only to about a quarter mile beyond Marsh Park, and then it's blocked off to prevent users from disturbing the work. So,, all in all, I got 10.6 miles today, in 1:10.

2019 mileage: 2663.2 I couldn't ride either of the last two days, as Michelle and I made the hour trip to visit my Mom and help her with some issues. So it felt good to be able to get back to it today, and I rode the round trip to Baker Rd. again. The weather forecast said that it would not be unbearable today, so I decided to relax and "chill out" this morning, doing some composing, and wait and ride at midday. So when I left at 11:45 it was 77°, and up to 82° when I finished. I could not tell my precise stats, though, because although MapMyRide was working fine today, my phone overheated and shut itself down about 15 miles into the ride. This means also, of course, that I got no video of today's ride. And as near as I can figure, I rode about 19.7 miles in 2:20.

2019 mileage: 2643.5 Today's ride was much warmer than I like. I was tempted to wait until the day had begun to cool off a bit, later on, but was afraid I'd wimp out and skip today's ride. So I made myself go anyway, leaving about 10:15, in 77° sunshine that climbed to 84° by the time i was finished, and rode another round trip to Baker Rd. (20.3 miles in 2:37). One incident of note occurred. On the way back, as I was traveling southeast on Stadium Blvd. shortly after having turned off of Jackson Rd., I crossed the intersection of Maple Rd., making sure I checked as I always do to be sure I was clear and safe. But then a man in an old beater car, who clearly has anger management issues and is not overly fond of cyclists, came zooming around me and yelled (or snarled ) out his windows, "Watch it, asshole!" This was somewhat unsettling, but all the more so as I rode away reflecting on it. It occurred to me (not for the first time) that it doesn't matter h

2019 mileage: 2623.2 Today I was able to get back to an early morning ride—the time of day I like best—and, starting at 6:15, rode another round trip to Baker Rd. And today, MapMyRide worked just fine, counting me at 20.0 miles in 2:25. I enjoyed early morning sunshine throughout the ride, and a beginning temperature of 58°, climbing to 64° by the end. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 2603.2 Having gotten up at 4:00 this morning, and since it wasn't supposed to be unbearably hot, I decided to nap at midday and then wait until this afternoon to ride. This plan worked well ... I left a bit past 3:00, and rode another round trip to Baker Rd., in nice sunshine that was 82° when I began and 79° when I finished. However ... MapMyRide is a splendid app when it works. However, all too often—roughly once a week or so, it seems—there is a problem with it. And, wouldn't you know, this happened today, during my first long ride since our recent vacation. I don't know why, but it cut out several times during the ride, measuring me at roughly 12 miles, when I know from extensive past experience that it is just past 20 miles. It also cut out about a half-hour. Because of this, I have, of course, no video from today's ride. I'm counting it as 20.1 miles in 2:30.

2019 mileage: 2583.1 I continue to experience pain and discomfort in my back due to the violent fall I had on July 9, when it was slammed against the concrete curb. IN light of that, even though I had wanted to ride to Baker Rd. on this glorious summer day (moderate temperature—71 when I began, at about 10:30—and brilliant sunshine), I thought it would be prudent to keep the ride short. So I just rode to the library to pick up a book I had reserved (a new—to me, anyway—Jodi Picoult novel, "My Sister's Keeper") and then continued on from there along my former running route that I used to call the Church 10K (because it goes past our former church, Westminster Presbyterian), and in this way did 6.5 miles in 47 minutes. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride