Thursday, July 8, 2021

 2021 mileage: 3388.2

Today's weather forecast has called for a strong chance of thundershowers all day. As I write this at 1:15 p.m., I think that perhaps I could have snuck in an outdoor ride, as I've heard no  thunder or rain so far today.

However, I chose to be safe, and rode on the stationary bike in our Blue Room, while watching my beloved The Sound of Music. I didn't watch the entire movie, as I need to rebuild my stamina for the stationary bike, but I did watch the first 100 minutes of it, riding 23.1 miles.

85th outdoor ride of 2021 - Wednesday, July 7, 2021

 2021 mileage: 3365.1

Today I was lazy, as opposed to the early starts I much prefer in this summer heat. (Yesterday, for example, I rode 26.6 miles beginning at 5:45.) This morning I spent some early morning time composing, and didn't get started with my ride until 9:00, at which point it was already 78° (and climbed to 83° by the time I finished).

I rode the Packard/Platt Square—13.6 miles, in a sluggish time of 1:44.

Relive video of today's ride

84th outdoor ride of 2021 - Tuesday, July 6, 2021

2021 mileage: 3351.5

Again today I was eager to get my ride done early in order to beat the heat. I set off at 5:45 (already 75°) and rode a round trip to Matthei Botanical Gardens (26.6 miles in a slow time of 3:37). It was a few miles shorter than my usual ride there, because on the way home I came west along Packard and Eisenhower rather than going all the way south back to Textile.

At the halfway point, when I turned around at Matthei, I texted a picture and note to my wife, daughter, and sister as I always do, and Christy answered quickly, "Good for you - too hot! Hope you brought water." I answered, "Nope," but then as I headed toward home, I thought about it and this seemed like a prudent reminder. So I stopped at a gas station a little more than 21 miles into the ride, and picked up some orange juice and water. I sat and drank them before starting off, and then, well hydrated, pushed on for the remainder of the ride.

Relive video of today's ride

83rd outdoor ride of 2021 - Monday, July 5, 2021

2021 mileage: 3324.9

Wanting to get in a substantial ride today before it heated up too much, I left at 7:00 and rode a round trip to Baker Rd. (20.3 miles in 2:36).

It went well, but I'm glad I didn't wait any later: 69° when I began, and already up to 79° when I finished, with noticeable humidity.

Relive video of today's ride

82nd outdoor ride of 2021 - Sunday, July 4, 2021 (Independence Day [Dad's 114th birthday])

2021 mileage: 3304.6

I reached a couple of milestones today, exceeding 3300 miles for the year, and also over 300 hours of elapsed riding time.

I waited until after the Tigers' victory, and began my ride just before 5:00, in sunny 88° conditions. I hear from many people who profess to love summer, but I can't understand it. Give me spring or fall any day, or even winter much of the time, rather than this inferno! Still, I can tolerate it, and am glad I did today.

I rode a round trip to Marsh Park, keeping it short and simple -- 9.9 miles in 1:12.

Relive video of today's ride

81st outdoor ride of 2021 - Saturday - July 3, 2021

2021 mileage: 3294.7

My grandson, Danny, gave me a Dairy Queen gift card in 2018, and I had never used it yet. Today felt like it would be a good day to do so, and thus I rode down to Saline and stopped by DQ on the way home, enjoying a Thin Mints blizzard on his largesse.

Here is a picture of the two of us on my sister's deck, when we made a family trip down to her home in Georgia in the summer of 2016.

My ride today was 15.8 miles, in 1:51, in decidedly cooler weather than any we have had lately—62° when I began (just before 8:00), and up to 66° by the end.

Relive video of today's ride

80th outdoor ride of 2021 - Thursday, July 1, 2021

2021 mileage: 3278.9

Today I had a library book that was due to be returned - so I did a relatively short ride (12.6 miles, in 1:36) that took me by the library, first putting the book in my pannier (the carrying bag on the back of my trike). It was a gorgeous sunny morning - 68° when I began at 7:45, climbing to 74° by the time I finished.

I just rode slowly, with an especially abysmal start (dropping to an average speed of 6.9 mph at one point), though I pushed myself more in the latter part of the ride, and was able to raise that average to 8.2 mph a couple of miles before the end. But several notable uphill stretches in those final miles made me finish up at 7.9.

Relive video of today's ride