Monday, May 31, 2021 (MEMORIAL DAY)

2021 mileage: 3016.4

Yesterday, I had planned to clean my trike chain in the morning—a bit of maintenance which needs to be done periodically in order both to preserve the chain longer, and also to help the trike work more efficiently. But to do this, you to put a special cleaning liquid into a cleaning tool, clamp it onto the chain, and then pedal it backwards ... and something was wrong, causing the chain to keep coming off the front gear wheel. I tried experimenting with quite a few different ways of addressing the problem, but nothing worked, so I ultimately abandoned it in great frustration. Until I can solve the issue, riding is out of the question for me.

So today I got up early and hopped on our stationary bike, riding 30.0 miles in 2:19 (and, happily, exceeding a new major mileage milestone for the year -- 3000 miles), while watching Mary Poppins.

60th outdoor ride of 2021 - Saturday, May 29, 2021

2021 mileage: 2986.4

Last night before going to bed, I told Michelle enthusiastically, "If I can ride to Matthei in the morning, it will put me over 3000 miles for the year!" She then replied, "Yeah, but you might want to rethink that if you're going to visit your siblings in the afternoon!" (My younger sister, Marianne, is visiting Michigan for the holiday weekend, and staying with my little brother, who lives just over an hour drive from our Ann Arbor home.)

Heeding this wisdom, I scaled back, and started late this morning (9:15), and also cut the ride down to a single round trip to Marsh Park, augmented on the way home by loops on Interfirst and in the Bicentennial subdivision, for a ride of 12.4 miles in 1:28 on a beautiful sunny morning, ranging from 47° at the start to 55° when I finished. I did, however, have to once again battle a vigorous wind—16 mph out of the northeast.

Relive video of today's ride

59th outdoor ride of 2021 - Friday, May 28, 2021

2021 mileage: 2974.0

Today it rained all morning and in the early afternoon, too, but finally by 3:00 I was able to go for a ride. However, it sure doesn't feel like May 28! With a 44° temperature, unbroken gray skies, and a stiff 16 mph wind out of the northeast, I needed to draw upon all the mental toughness I could find to go and to keep going. And though I did not wear my gloves, and did not find them strictly necessary, they certainly would not have been superfluous had I had them.

Also, after I got back, and turned on the evening news, I was greeted with the facts that: (1) today's high temperature in Detroit was the coldest in recorded history; and (2) wind-chills (low to mid-thirties) are in play for tomorrow morning.  Note to self - WEAR YOUR GLOVES for the planned 9:00 a.m. ride.

Today I did the Packard/Platt Square (13.6 miles) in 1:38. And near the end of the ride, I saw these flowers, which warmed my heart, reminding me of my beloved Grandma Fida (1897-1999), who told me many times that it was her favorite color.

Relive video of today's ride

58th outdoor ride of 2018 - Thursday, May 27, 2021

2021 mileage: 2960.4

I planned to ride to Matthei today, and it went OK for a while—leaving at 9:15, it was 52° and partly sunny. However, then I began to feel lacking in drive to do that long a ride. I was going along the same route I rode yesterday, but didn't want to do the exact same ride, so I extended it by going up to Washtenaw so that I could ride past the Big House (Michigan Stadium).

This only added less than 2 miles to the ride, but Ann  Arbor is very hilly anyway, and this way had me climbing some really killer hills ... not necessarily steep or high, but very long and unrelenting. These hills were shaped by glaciers, the last of which slowly retreated from Michigan 9,500 - 15,000 years ago.

This gave me a good, challenging ride of 15.6 miles, in 1:46. 

Relive video of today's ride

57th outdoor ride of 2021 - Wednesday, May 26, 2021

2021 mileage: 2944.8

I had to wait today to ride, and couldn't begin until 3:00. Then, however, I made pretty good time, going around the Platt/Packard Square (13.7 miles) in 1:29. The weather has begun to change, though ... a definite cold front has begun to move in, so whereas my ride yesterday was in the low eighties, today's mid-afternoon ride was 72° and cloudy (though very comfortable).

Also, I was pleased to see my friend Doug Franklin again. But it was slightly unusual, in that whereas I frequently see him near the end of my ride, as I'm headed north toward my home and he's going south on the trail, returning to Saline, today instead I saw him at the beginning of my ride, as I was just setting out, heading south, and he was still coming north, not having turned around yet.

Relive video of today's ride

56th outdoor ride of 2021 - Tuesday, May 25, 2021

2021 mileage: 2931.1

I had hoped to do a longer ride today. But early morning errands that I needed to do prevented me from the early ride I always prefer ... and by the time I got out there, at 11:00 a.m., the summery heat (80°) and humidity that had descended on us caused me to scale back and settle for my frequent ride of almost 14 miles.

I rode the Packard/Platt Square (13.9 miles today) in 1:33, and took the above photo on the Lohr/Textile Greenway just a couple of miles before finishing.

Relive video of today's ride

55th outdoor ride of 2021 - Monday, May 24, 2021

 2021 mileage: 2917.2

This morning I set off at 8:15, intending to ride my long round trip to Matthei. Conditions were pleasant (58° when I began, up to 66° when I finished. The first part of the ride went well, but as I neared the Matthei Botanical Gardens trail (which begins at the intersection of Dixboro Rd. and Geddes Rd. and then runs for about 2 miles, roughly parallel to Dixboro Rd., up to Matthei), I began to hear a concerning, unusual sound from my right wheel. 

At this point I made the quick decision to turn around right there and head for home. Had a mechanical issue arisen while I was on that trail, necessitating me to contact Uber for a ride home, I'd have been in trouble, having to do a substantial walk in my awkward cycling shoes with the metal cleats on the bottom.

Returning home, I came through Gallup Park, where I got this picture of a duck near the Huron River (its black head is nearly invisible against the trees behind it).

By the time I got to Gallup, the noise in the wheel had disappeared, which means I could probably have completed my original plans without a problem. But of course I didn't know that at the time I had to make the call.

At any rate, this gave me a ride of 27.2 miles in 3:04. While I am slightly disappointed to have fallen short of my goal of riding to Matthei, I am far from greatly distressed, as I  feel it was still a good, substantial ride, and it also helped me to reach a new mileage milestone for the year today (2900).

Finally, as I was finishing up (about 2 miles from home), I saw my good friend Doug Franklin again on his daily walk from his home—we seem to cross paths every couple of weeks or so.

Relive video of today's ride

54th outdoor ride of 2021 - Sunday, May 23, 2021

 2021 mileage: 2889.7

Nice morning for a ride—when I began at 7:30 it was mostly cloudy and a very comfortable 70°. I did the Platt/Packard Square (13.7 miles) in 1:28.

Relive video of today's ride

53rd outdoor ride of 2021 - Saturday, May 22, 2021 (LIFE DAY)

2021 mileage: 2876.0

Michelle and I observe May 22 as Life Day, because after my life-altering accident on May 22, 1993 (I was in coma for 2 months, and in the hospital for 6), the doctors told Michelle there was a good chance I would not live the night. Needless to say, we are glad they were inaccurate with that diagnosis. This picture of the accident ran in the newspaper (remember newspapers?) the next day - I am on the stretcher at the right, though not really visible.

For my Life Day ride, I had a good solid one, though far from my longest. Twice before I have done 50 miles in a day, and today was not even half that.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a new mirror for my trike at Wheels in Motion. Two days ago it fell off after a rough stretch, and I stopped and scooped it up. As I feel virtually naked riding without the mirror, I rode over to Wheels in Motion today with the mirror and a note, to have them reattach it. The round trip was 20.4 miles, in 2:21. I left home at 9:30, taking my time and spending some early morning time on composition. It was 69° when I began, and warmed to 78° by the time I finished.

Relive video of today's ride

Also, on the way home, while riding through the Silo Ridge subdivision, I remembered a cute incident that happened a couple of days ago and I forgot to record at the time. I passed a house where two brothers were riding their bikes on the long paved driveway. The younger of the two straightened up, beamed a smile at me, and told me with uncontainable pride, "I'M RIDING A TWO-WHEELER!" I grinned back and gave him a hearty thumbs-up ... but what I really wanted to be able to tell him was, "I'm riding a trike!" 😎

52nd routdoor ride of 2021 - Friday, May 21, 2021

2021 mileage: 2855.6

Our midsummer heat is remaining with us, so I got my ride done early today, going at 7:00 a.m. and riding a round trip to Baker Rd. (20.2 miles) in 2:16.

When I began at 7 it was 63°, and when I finished, about 9:20, it was already up to 77°.

Relive video of today's ride

51st outdoor ride of 2021 - Thursday, May 21, 2021

2021 mileage: 2835.4

It's really starting to warm up now. When I began at 10:45 this morning, it was 77°, and that climbed to 79° by the time I finished.

I rode the Packard/Platt Square (though slightly modified -- but not shortened) for 13.6 miles in 1:32.

Relive video of today's ride

50th outdoor ride of 2021 - Wednesday, May 19, 2021

2021 mileage: 2821.8

This morning I pushed myself out the door early, to ride at 6:45 in brisk conditions (54° and mostly cloudy, climbing to 62° when I finished). My plan was to ride to Matthei, capping off my first consecutive days of riding there since last November (9-11).

However, listening to classical music at the beginning of my ride, I found myself highly desirous of getting back to a big composition project I have underway (for full orchestra)—so I allowed myself to scale back my plans, and settle for riding the Platt/Packard Square (13.7 miles) in 1:32.

Relive video of today's ride

49th outdoor ride of 2021 - Tuesday, May 18, 2021

2021 mileage: 2808.1

What a magnificent, quintessential spring morning! When I left at 7:55 it was mostly sunny and 54°—and the few scattered clouds remained throughout the morning, as it rose to 74° during my 3:32 ride (a 31.7-mile round trip to Matthei).

On the way home, I took the route through Gallup Park, and from the Gallup Park Pathway (before I actually reached the park itself) I took this picture of where U.S. 23  crosses the Huron River.

Also, I believe that today was my first-ever ride to Matthei with an average speed of at least 9 miles per hour. I didn't know if I could make it; I was at 9.4 at the halfway turnaround point, and it kept dropping throughout the second half of the ride. But I managed to hang on!

Relive video of today's ride

48th outdoor ride of 2021 - Monday, May 17, 2021

 2021 mileage: 2776.4

What a lovely day for a ride! I left just before 11:00, in partly sunny, 67° conditions. During my ride, the scattered clouds remained, while the temperature climbed to 72°.

I rode the Packard/Platt Square (13.7) miles, in 1:31. And almost 9 miles into the ride, when I stopped at Marsh Park for a very brief break, I was rewarded by seeing my friend Jim Alvey, who was enjoying the weather as much as I was.

Relive video of today's ride

47th outdoor ride of 2021 - Sunday, May 16, 2021

 2021 mileage: 2762.7

It rained quite a bit last night and during the very early morning hours today, so when I rode at 7:15 (51°) both the ground and air were quite moist, accompanied by a cloudy, cool setting. But it was by no means intolerable, and I was glad to be able to ride the Platt/Packard Square (13.7 miles) in 1:35.

Relive video of today's ride

46th outdoor ride of 2021 - Saturday, May 15, 2021

2021 mileage: 2749.0

Usually on Saturdays I try to do a long ride, and this morning I had intended to ride to Matthei. But I spent some of my intended riding time reading instead early this morning, and then I was also eager to get home and begin a new writing project. So I cut my riding plans back, and just did a round trip to Saline (the intersection of Woodland and Ann Arbor-Saline), for a ride of 11.3 miles in 1:18 on a splendid spring morning—sunny, and 58° when I began at 9:15, up to 69° at the end.

Relive video of today's ride

45th outdoor ride of 2021 - Friday, May 14, 2021

2021 mileage: 2737.7

Today, though I did other listening during my ride, I had the song Blue Skies sounding in my head throughout, as that was precisely what I rode under the whole way. When I began, at 9:45, it was 61°, and that climbed to 70° by the time I finished.

Blue Skies (Ella Fitzgerald)

I enjoyed a round trip to Matthei, although I shortened it just slightly on the way home by coming west along Packard/Eisenhower rather than returning all the way south to Textile. This gave me a ride of 26.6 miles, in 3:06.

Relive video of today's ride

44th outdoor ride of 2021 - Thursday, May 13, 2021

2021 mileage: 2711.1

It amuses me now to remember that, at one point yesterday, I had considered doing my 31-plus mile round trip to Matthei this morning. One thing that I didn't record in yesterday's blog was a very unnerving incident: near the end of the ride, I was headed down a hill toward an intersection and the brakes WOULD NOT STOP the trike. I put as hard a death squeeze on them as I could, and I was able to just slow the trike slightly so that I could turn it somewhat, and the car approaching me saw me and turned also, so injury was avoided.

Given this, however, I felt it important to get the brakes checked, so I hauled the trike over to Wheels in Motion this morning, and it took a good chunk of the day to get it over there, have the work done, and then get it back home .... but I'm SO glad to have the work done. The mechanic was quite astonished that I had been riding with the brakes in the condition they were. I knew they were getting problematic, but I had evidently delayed much too long. However, now they are just heavenly in how well they work.

Anyway, I ended up being unable to ride until 5:15, after we got Michelle home, but it was a lovely spring evening, 67° and sunny, and I cut back and ended up only riding a round trip to Marsh Park (10.2 miles) in 1:05.

Relive video of today's ride

43rd outdoor ride of 2021 - Wednesday, May 12, 2021

2021 mileage: 2700.9

I'm happy to have passed another mileage milestone today (2700). I left at 11:00, with a 56° temperature (that climbed to 60° by the time I finished), and rode a round trip to Baker Rd. (18.2 miles today, in 2:09). I enjoyed lovely blue skies, nearly unbroken at the beginning, though with clouds moving in increasingly during the ride.

Relive video of today's ride

42nd outdoor ride of 2021 - Tuesday, May 11, 2021

2021 mileage: 2682.7

I rode at 10:30 today, and for the second straight day declined to do one of my regular, established routes. Instead, I rode downtown (on the sidewalk beside Main St.) and then west along Huron St., and then south along Maple Rd. and Oak Valley Dr. (so I could pick up another book from the library).

As I set off, I had a choral piece sounding in my head—a madrigal (secular a cappella work from the Renaissance, sung by a small group) by Luca Marenzio (1553-1599) (we sang it in English translation: Spring Returns). The windy day made me think of its lyric: "Spring returns with balmy zephyrs softly breathèd ..."

There was, however, nothing "balmy" about today's winds, and they were by no means softly breathèd. I was fighting that wind throughout today's ride.

Marenzio: Spring Returns

Relive video of today's ride

41st outdoor ride of 2021 - Monday, May 10, 2021al

2021 mileage: 2672.8

Today's ride was short, slow, listless, desultory and slow—at 49°, it really shouldn't have been all that cold, but it was cloudy and a cutting wind knifed through me. I survived just fine without gloves, but I certainly wouldn't have minded having them.

I left at 10:30 a.m., and rather than riding one of my established routes, I just sort of meandered, going north on Maple Rd. and then coming home via Stadium, Pauline, South Main, Scio Church, and Oak Valley (so that I could pick up a book I had requested from the library).

Relive video of today's ride

40th outdoor ride of 2021 - Sunday, May 9, 2021 (Mothes Day)

2021 mileage: 2662.4

As Michelle and are leaving late this morning to celebrate Mother's Day with my in-laws, I knew that I'd have to ride early. So I left at 6:30 (sunrise today was at 6:20) and rode the Platt/Packard Square (13.7 miles) in 1:37.

It was brisk but tolerable, falling decidedly shy of what one would hope for on May 9. I began at a reading of 42° under cloudy skies, and that fell to 40° by the end of the ride.

I was glad to be able to get out there, though, as I could not ride yesterday. The morning was unavailable to me because I traveled 90 minutes to Morenci, to meet cousins at the cemetery in order to tidy up the family gravesites in anticipation of Memorial Day. Here is my parents' stone:

And here, my grandparents. (My grandfather, whom I never met, as he died over 23 years before I was born, is my namesake:

Yesterday was cool, too, but it was a sunny and lovely morning:

Relive video of today's ride

39th outdoor ride of 2021 - Friday, May 7, 2021

 2021 mileage: 2648.7

Riding at 9:30 this morning in order to beat the early afternoon rain they are calling for, I set off in brisk but sunny 43° conditions, and my gloves and fleece felt good. I rode a round trip to Baker Rd., though modifying the outbound leg just slightly in order to take me by the library (so I could drop off a book I just finished) and the credit union (to deposit a check I received this week for Finale work I did recently for a friend).

Relive video of today's ride

38th outdoor ride of 2021 - Thursday, May 6, 2021

2021 mileage: 2629.3

I wanted to ride early today so that I could be home in plenty of time for the Tigers' 1:00 game, but complications meant that I didn't arrive until the bottom of the first inning. I was glad to even make that, however!

I left at 10 a.m. in 42° cloud cover, and set off to ride the Packard/Platt Square. It was going splendidly through the first five and a half miles ... but then, after having ridden south on the sidewalk paralleling Platt Road from Packard to Ellsworth (the eastern side of this route), I was stopped, waiting for the light to allow me to cross Ellsworth. All had been fine to that point, with not a hint of any trouble ... but when the light changed and I began to try to move forward, I made it a foot or so and then could go no farther.

After dismounting and wheeling the trike back onto the sidewalk (our of the way of the oncoming traffic), I began to examine it, and it didn't take long at all to discover the problem: the chain had somehow come off the gear in front, and was wrapped awkwardly around the pedal crank.

I worked with it for 5-10 minutes, but could see that it was beyond my ability to disentangle. As I was just coming to the conclusion that I was stymied, a young man came riding by asked if he could help. I whipped out my wallet and showed him my card. Then upon pointing out the problem, I stepped back and let him wrestle with it for several minutes, but he could make no headway either. So I texted my dear friend Dan Cogan.

Dan has helped me on a number of occasions in the past—most often (but not exclusively) with tire issues. This time he told me he could be there soon, and a few minutes later he rolled up.

Although it was a tremendous mess, and I despaired of it being reparable, Dan had it straightened out within 10 minutes. When I told him he was a genius, he laughed, and self-deprecatingly said, "Naw ... just lucky this time."

I later told Dan that, though I don't share his Jewishness, I could say most definitely that he is a mensch, which the dictionary tells me is a Yiddish word meaning "a person of integrity and honor." I was surprised by being able to finish the ride, getting home at a reasonable hour despite the roughly 45-minute interruption.

Because of this break, Relive created two separate videos today ... of the first part of the ride, and of the second part.

Relive video of first part of ride

           Relive video of second part of ride

37th outdoor ride of 2021 - Wednesday, May 5, 2021

2021 mileage: 2615.6

Today I fully intended to ride to Matthei. But when I began, at 10:30, in unseasonably chilly conditions (43°, which combined with a healthy 13 mph wind to bring the wind-chill down into the low thirties ... and here I had thought "wind-chill" was a bit of terminology we had left behind until late this year!), I rode less than a mile before changing my plans so that I rode "just" the Platt/Packard Square. (Or actually a modified version thereof ... I reconfigured the northeast corner of it so that I could ride by Pheasant Run Apartments, where Michelle and I used to live.)

We were at Pheasant Run from the time we were married (December 1993) until we bought our present home and moved into it in the spring of 2004.

The conditions made both my gloves and the fleece I wore over my hoodie feel just perfect! This gave me a ride of 13.6 miles in 1:33.

Relive video of today's ride

36th outdoor ride of 2021 - tuesday, May 4, 2021 (STAR WARS DAY -- MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU)

2021 mileage: 2602.0

Got a new mileage milestone today (2600 for the year!) I went out at 10:30 and rode the Packard/Platt Square under cloudy skies, with the temperature falling from 59° to 57° during the ride. (13.7 miles in 1:33.)

Relive video of today's ride

Monday, May 3, 2021

2021 mileage: 2588.3

Today was cool and rainy all day, so I rode on our stationary bike. Late this afternoon, I did 31.7 miles on it (2:17) while watching Mary Poppins.

35TH OUTDOOR RIDE OF 2021 - Sunday, May 2, 2021

2021 mileage: 2556.6

Today was a HUGE high joy in my riding life. Christy brought her bike over early this afternoon, and we rode together. We did a round trip to Marsh Park (10.0 miles), in 1:12. I told her that it felt like an easy, lazy ride to me to only do 10 miles ... but I'm quite sure that she felt differently about it, not (yet) being a regular rider.

At the park, we asked a man to take our picture together, and I was looking forward to being able to share that—but, alas, it didn't come out.

Relive video of today's ride

34th outdoor ride of 2021 - Saturday, May 1, 2021

2021 mileage: 2546.6

I had planned to ride early this morning, but when I wanted to set off, at 7:00 a.m., it was still only 32°, so I changed my plans and decided to spend the morning practicing piano and composing. Then we had to leave late this morning for an afternoon family function up near Lansing.

Returning home late afternoon, I decided to ride—but, although it was enjoyable riding in the 65° sunshine at 5:30, the significant, swirling winds that buffeted me (23 mph, primarily from the southwest) persuaded me to keep it fairly brief. I rode down to Stonebridge, and did a couple of laps in there, giving me a short but taxing ride of 8.1 miles in 58 minutes.

Relive video of today's ride