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