trike-ab-trike-2019

2019 mileage: 3051.8 Again today, complying with Michelle's request, I kept my ride short, just doing a round trip to Marsh Park. The 65° skies when I began at 7:30 were spitting light rain at me intermittently, and that continued throughout the ride.  Once again, the MapMyRIde app malfunctioned. It seems to have settled into a fairly consistent pattern in recent days, slipping into Pause mode sometime during the first mile of my ride, and costing me roughly a quarter mile on my stats. But I figure I did about 10.1 miles again (I know this from having ridden it so many times), in 1:15. There was a bit of adventure today -- nothing overly dramatic, but on the way out there was an electric company doing some work beside the trail. They had their big fat truck parked smack in the middle of the trail, at a point where I had no other options. I tried to make my way carefully around it, but couldn't quite, and ended up going down a side hill and into a ditch. My shoe came off,

2019 mileage: 3041.7 Once again today I followed Michelle's wishes and limited my ride, just doing the single round trip to Marsh Park again (10.1 miles in 1:10) on a lovely fall day—66° sunshine. I did reach a milestone of sorts, however, exceeding 300 hours in elapsed riding time for the year. 😎 Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 3031.6 Complying with Michelle's request, I kept my ride short again today, just doing another round trip to Marsh Park. However, for the third straight day, my MapMyRide app malfunctioned again, inexplicably slipping into Pause mode a couple of times during the opening minutes otf the ride. (For instance, it measured the ride, which I know from experience to be 10.1 miles, at 8.9 miles.) It has cooled off a bit today towards more seasonable levels, though I still rode comfortably in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, in partly sunny 68°-70° conditions. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 3021.5 Today I had hoped to ride the 20-mile round trip to Baker Rd. However, as I just began riding again yesterday following my September 11 colon surgery (for cancer), Michelle asked me to please keep my rides short this week, and then if all is going well I can begin to inch them up longer next week. So, complying with this request, I rode another round trip today to Marsh Park -- 10.1 miles in 1:15. My calendar reminds me that today is the sixth anniversary of an incident that occurred when I was still riding a regular bicycle, before switching to the trike because of the balance issues resulting from my 1993 Traumatic Brain Injury. I was riding home from work at Briarwood Firestone, and fell in State Rd., half a mile or so south of Ellsworth. I have no memory of any specific incident that triggered it; I just remember losing my balance and going down. Fortunately I was not hit by any traffic, but upon striking the ground my clavicle (collarbone) was fractured, a

2019 mileage: 3011.4 Today I had an appointment as part of the research study my surgeon from my September 11 surgery is conducting, and I was pleased to be cleared to go out and do my first ride post-surgery. After last having ridden two weeks ago today, and had my surgery on September 11, I was delighted to be back out there again, despite a couple of mild challenges. One of a bit of breeze, though not a heavy wind. And the other challenge was that the MapMyRide app malfunctioned again, inexplicably shutting off for a few minutes near the beginning and costing me nearly a half mile in my stats. I rode EXTREMELY slowly and deliberately, finishing the 10.1 miles in about 1:30.

2019 mileage: 3001.3 After taking my frequent (though not inevitable) Sunday rest day yesterday, I got back at it today, leaving about 2:00 in cloudy 69° conditions. It is a big week for me, as I'm having surgery early Wednesday morning, and in preparation for that, Michelle asked me to avoid my longer rides today and tomorrow. So today I just rode to Marsh Park, doing 10.1 miles in 1:09. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 2991.2 This morning I left just before 7:00, under cool (61°), cloudy skies. I was contemplating replicating yesterday's big ride (30 miles, which took me just over 3:45). But as I rode out,  I became convinced that I ought to use that big chunk of time for other pursuits, so I turned at about the midpoint (Packard and Platt) and headed back home, completing this big square (14.0 miles) in 1:52. One mild catastrophe today -- about a quarter mile before finishing, as I was rounding the corner in front of Kohl's, my flag  snagged on a tree, and the top section of pole was pulled out and away, snapping the thin cord that  joined the multiple sectins. When I went to order a new one, I found that my supplier has now gone ut business. However, with the aid of  Google, I was able to find a new one (The Recumbent Trike Store), so I should have a new flag within days. Next I'm going for a good session of piano practice, and late morning (before Michigan's noo

2019 mileage: 2977.2 This morning I did my longest ride since June 16, 2017, when I rode six round trips to Marsh Park for a 50-mile ride. Today I rode to Gallup Park and then along the Gallup Park Path, which goes eastward, following the Huron RIver, to Parker Mills Park and then looped around St. Joe Hospital  before returning home. When I got home, I did a loop in our complex, too, in order to bring me up to an even 30 miles (which I did in 3:46). Conditions were pretty fair—when I began, at 8:45, it was 60° and partly sunny. During the morning, clouds moved in, and during the middle part of the ride, the sky spit light, intermittent rain on me (and that returned in the last couple of miles of the ride). Temperatures were in the sixties throughout, so that I rode very comfortably in shorts and a short-sleeve shirt. I think, too, that while riding today, I formulated a goal for my next birthday, in March. I want to ride 63 miles for my 63 years. This i

2019 mileage: 2947.2 I enjoyed another big ride today, doing a loop around St. Joseph Hospital as I have done several times in the last couple of weeks. This picture is of the hospital on the north side (the far side of my loop around it). This was just over 27 miles, in 3:22. I left at about 10:00 a.m. in a 63° mix of clouds and sunshine (though leaning towards clouds), and that temperature climbed to 68° during the ride. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

2019 mileage: 2920.2 Well, it feels like New Year's Day to this old academic at heart, as Michelle has her first day of school for the academic year on this day after Labor Day. I had not ridden in what feels like forever, as on Saturday I took the day off to compose, Sunday we traveled to be with my family to celebrate my sister Marianne's birthday, and yesterday we had a pool party at the home of one of Michelle's teaching colleagues, to close out the summer. Today I rolled out about 10:15 to ride the round trip to Baker Rd. I thought it would be relatively easy, after the several times in the last two weeks that I've ridden a loop around St. Joe Hospital (roughly 27 miles). But I had all I could handle "just" doing the ride to Baker Rd., and even at that I shortened it just slightly by coming south on Maple Rd. rather than riding around and past Michigan Stadium as I usually do. I needed to do this because I noticed on the way out that the path on the w