181st ride - 12/31/2015

2015 - THAT'S A WRAP!

This morning I went out under unpleasant, but not intolerable conditions—29° that left the fingers and toes tingling, but thankfully no wind to speak of, and all under sullen, heavy gray skies—to do my last ride of the year. I allowed myself to settle for a single round trip to Marsh Park, and with the concluding loop in our complex when I got home, this gave me 10 miles in a sluggish 1 hour and 8 minutes.

This brought my 2015 totals to 2423.8 miles in an elapsed time of 269 hours and 51 minutes, for a pace of 6:40 per mile, or a speed of a little slower than 9 mph (8.98, to be precise). This is certainly not a good speed—when he first saw my trike, my friend Kristian raised his eyebrows and opined (mistakenly), "Looks pretty fast!" But given the weight of the cycle and the way it is geared, I don't seem to be able to do much better than 10 mph even when I'm really pushing myself. And I know that my average speed this year was dragged down by some pretty slow rides in the early weeks.

Since this year I didn't even get the trike until May 2, I'm thinking that next year, with a full year in which to ride, 3000 miles should be relatively easy. In fact, I'd like to reach that plateau by the end of September, in order to give myself at least a shot at 4000. But, we'll see.

180th ride - 12/27/2015

After taking the last two days off because of family Christmas celebrations for which I wanted to reserve a little energy, it felt good to get back to it today. I planned to ride two round trips to Marsh Park, but, as I told Michelle when I came in afterwards, I "wimped out and settled for one," riding late afternoon after the Lions' game. It was not overly cold, at 37°, but on the final stretch I was riding right into the teeth of a vigorous 15-20 mph north wind, and it was all I wanted to do just to finish the one round trip in that 29° wind chill. Anyway, I still have a chance (though not a strong one) of making 2500 miles for the year, if I can do three round trips (which I haven't done consecutively since October 31) on each of the next three days, and then a concluding 10-miler on Thursday, the year's last day.

179th ride - 12/24/2015

I had hoped to ride two more round trips to Marsh Park today, like the preceding two days. But I ended up wimping out and settling for one. This was in part due to this morning's mechanical troubles, which, though I eventually overcame them, drained my gumption. And in part it was due to the weather. Riding in 45° conditions was not overly cold, but a vigorous wind of 20 mph and gusting considerably higher brought the wind-chill down to 37° and set up quite a challenge for the rider.

At any rate, the 10 miles I did (including the final loop within our complex) brought me across a new mileage threshold, up to 2403.8. This leaves 2500 miles for the year still within the realm of possibility, though I'll have to work for it. It may seem unlikely, since out of the 358 days of the year so far, I've averaged a little over 6.7 miles a day, and I'll need to average 13.7 on the remaining 7 days of the year to make it. However, when you take into account that I didn't even get my trike until May 2, and thus did those 2403.8 miles in 247 days, my average daily ride so far has been 9.7 miles, it makes it seem more feasible.

178th ride - 12/23/2015

Like yesterday, I watched weather.com today to try to find the optimal riding window, and like yesterday I managed to avoid precipitation during my ride. But also like yesterday, it was extremely humid, and the trail quite wet from all the rain we had earlier in the day. I went at 1:15 in temperature of 58°, and again rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, with a concluding loop in our complex, to give me 18.0 miles for the second straight day, in nearly as slow a time, but about a minute and a half faster (finishing in just over 1 hour and 51 minutes). This gives me 2393.8 miles for the year, which keeps the goal of 2500 miles within the realm of possibility (if only the weather holds).

177th ride - 12/22/2015

This morning, I went out at 8:15, and managed consecutive round trips to Marsh Park (for the first time since December 3). With the additional concluding loop I added in our complex, this gave me 18.0 miles in 1 hour and 52 minutes—by no means a good time, but I was glad just to be able to do it.

This brought me up to 2375.8 miles for the year. So if I am going to make 2500 miles, as I'd like to, it means 124.2 more miles, or an average of just under 14 miles a day for the remaining 9 days of the year. (I will only ride 10 miles [I hope] on Christmas morning, so the other days will have to be slightly higher to compensate.) This is certainly doable if our mild weather, influenced by El Niño, holds—but probably not if more seasonal winter weather descends upon us.

Today's ride was in 48° weather—quite mild—but extremely moist. No active precipitation, but we had gotten some overnight, leaving the trail extremely wet, and the humidity was quite high, with the first half of the ride taking place in a substantial fog.

176th ride - 12/21/2015

Today was a challenging day on which to ride. I was watching weather.com in order to plan the optimal time window on a day that contained light rain most of the time. First, they made it sound like early afternoon would be the best time to go, so I was planning to do that. Then, it changed so that it sounded like late afternoon might be best, so I reconfigured my plans once again. But then, finally, the forecast changed yet again so that mid-afternoon sounded best, so I went out a little past 3:00 and rode in a light, cool mist ... no significant rain, but the day-long precipitation had the trail very wet, and, at 45°, I was elated to have my gloves. I had hoped to do two round trips, but by the time the first was drawing to a close, darkness was already beginning to close in, so I settled once more for a single round trip to Marsh Park, with a concluding loop in our complex, giving me 10 miles in a slow 1 hour and 7 minutes.

175th ride - 12/20/2015

Today on the was home from church, I told Michelle, "This is embarrassing, but I'm considering throwing in the towel and not riding today." It was cold, and I was tired. However, smiling, she encouraged me not to be embarrassed no matter what I decided; and in the end, I managed to find it within myself to go out and ride, though I limited myself to what is becoming my cold weather standard—a single round trip to Marsh Park, and that quite slowly. Fortunately, the riding conditions were favorable, as the trail was clear and dry. With the concluding loop in our complex, that gave me 10 miles in 1 hour and 7 minutes.

I was not overheated, however, despite wearing my winter coat over a fleece over a turtleneck, my heavy gloves, and the helmet jammed down over a knit cap. It was 40° when I went, with a brisk breeze making the wind-chill sub-30, and by the time I had finished it had gone up to a balmy 43°. I am hoping I can make 2500 miles for the year, which once seemed fairly certain, but now it is, of course, heavily weather-dependent, and even if the weather cooperates, I need to push myself out there and do it, and will have to do daily rides of more than 10 miles a few times; I am currently at 2347.8 miles since getting the trike on May 2.

174th ride- 12/18/2015

After allowing myself the day off yesterday, it felt good to get back to riding today, though I eased up and only did again a single round trip to Marsh Park, with the concluding loop in our complex to give me an even 10 miles in a slow 1 hour and 6 minutes. This was partly due to the cold (29°), and partly due to some minor mechanical mishaps I experienced early in the ride (balking at the weather, perhaps?), but they soon worked themselves out.

As I rode, the vocal musician in me couldn't help bubbling up, and I found a parody of "Over the River and Through the Woods" beginning to unfold in my head:

Over the trail and through the cold

Unto the park I ride.

The wheels and the like will carry the trike

As onward I will glide …

Over the trail and through the cold,

Oh, how the wind does blow.

It stings the toes and bites the nose

As over the trail I go

173rd ride - 12/16/2015

For a second straight day, I limited myself to a single Marsh Park round trip. I wanted to do more, but, feeling intestinal cramps I thought it unwise to push on. That round trip, plus the concluding loop in our complex, gave me 10 miles in 1 hour and 39 seconds.

It was again today gray and cool, with a bit of a breeze—but still, at 45°, it is unseasonably mild. That's due to end (briefly) in coming days, but with the temperature then rising again next week, it looks like a "White Christmas" will be only a dream this year.

172nd ride - 12/15/2015

After being unable to ride since last Wednesday due to my trip to Milwaukee over the weekend, I was glad to get "back in the saddle again" today. I considered doing multiple round trips to Marsh Park, but in the end concluded that it would be prudent to break back in easy, so I did a single round trip plus a loop in Heatherwood at the end, for 10 miles in an even hour (and 22 seconds). It was gray and gloomy, and cool enough so that a winter coat and gloves felt good, but still tolerable, at 42°.

171st ride - 12/9/2015

Keeping it short again today, because of my focus on another project that's consuming my time, I rode a single round trip to Marsh Park with a finishing loop inside our condo complex, Heatherwood, completing the 10 miles in 1 hour and 2 minutes. The day was cool but not uncomfortable, at 46°. Now I am looking forward to the afternoon. Much of the focus of Michelle's school year so far as been on the annual musical for which she is the music director—they began auditions for it (Seussical this year) on the first day of school. Performances are this weekend, but because I'm going away I'll miss it, and felt quite disconsolate about that, until she told that I was welcome to come to a performance of it that they're giving for the other students his afternoon.

A notable feature of today's ride is that it put me over 2300 miles for the year. I have a shot at reaching 2500 by year's end, but much will depend on the weather, of course.

170th ride - 12/8/2015

This afternoon, I really wimped out, and rode a single round trip to Marsh Park (9.5 miles) in a glacially slow 1 hour and 3 minutes. (I hadn't done it that slowly since late September.) Again today, like yesterday, I spent much of the day working the creative project that has engaged me this week, and I made good progress on that, so I guess that helps to alleviate my disappointment over the ride.

169th ride - 12/7/2015

Today I rode on an unseasonably mild and beautiful day. It was 47° and sunny, riding at 2 p.m. today, so there was no need to think of gloves, and though riding in a fleece without a coat over it was cool, it was by no means cold. Hard to believe it's early December!

I realized that if I rode one loop around our condo complex upon returning (.47 mile), I could justifiably round up the 9.5-mile round trip to Marsh Park to 10 miles (2 round trips will go from 17.5 to 18 miles, 3 round trips from 25.5 to 25 miles, etc.) So I did this today, completing a single round trip plus a loop in Heatherwood after I got back in 56 minutes. I would have liked to have ridden farther, but a project was calling out to me today for work—not composition this time, but work on a Christmas present I am making for a woman with whom I am deeply in love.

168th ride - 12/5/2015

After taking yesterday off because of a relatively long drive I had to make, it was good to get back to riding today. Once again, I composed in the morning, waiting for it to warm up—and once it had gotten about as good as it was going to get today (32°), I went out and rode under gray, gloomy skies. I went to the heart of downtown Saline, by a somewhat meandering route through residential neighborhoods (staying on walks the entire time), and finished up with 13.5 miles in 1 hour and 26 minutes. Now I am definitely glad to be back and warming up my feet.

167th ride - 12/3/2015

Today, on a cool but not cold afternoon ride (43° when I finished), accompanied by a light breeze and largely cloudy skies (with only very rare peeks of the sun), I rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park for the first time since November 4 (!), finishing the 17.5 miles in a relatively slow 1 hour and 46 minutes. Told myself today that I had been making good progress recently on composition, but today it was really important that I do a longer ride than just one round trip.   

166th ride - 12/2/2015

I waited today, as is becoming my pattern on these colder days (39° now, at 2 p.m.), and rode at noon. I headed to Marsh Park, and then on the way home, feeling an uncommon (for me) desire for variety, I cut down to Saline via Wilson Rd. and looped around the high school, nearly replicating the route I rode on Saturday, but just a bit shorter, and returned home having finished 12.5 miles in 1 hour and 21 minutes.

Today's ride had two components of adventure. First, a little over 8 miles into the ride, the center catch on the frame released so that my rear end began to lower to the ground, and the trike began to accordion on me, with the front and rear of it folding up. Fortunately, this occurred when I was not riding fast at all, and I managed to bring it to a halt, release my feet from the clips, and slowly and laboriously struggle up an out of the seat to a standing position. This has happened before, but not since early summer, so I was concerned that it might be some new condition. But I was able carefully to lock it back into proper position, and then, holding my breath for a long time, was able to make it home successfully and without incident.

Second, as I was nearing home (less than half a mile), just before crossing Oak Valley, I had to ride through a thicket of downed branches from a tree the sidewalk passes under. And one of them (about 3/8 inch in diameter) got stuck in my rear gear, bringing me to a halt. Once more I released my feet, though, stood up, and soon had removed the branch from the gear, and was on my way.

165th ride - 12/1/2015

Today, weather.com was calling for light showers to persist up till about 2 p.m. So I waited until that hour and then went out and rode in unseasonably balmy conditions (48°), that were very moist (both the air and the ground).

I had wanted to do multiple round trips to Marsh Park (at least two, and hopefully three) But on the way back home during the first one, I could feel the call of the composition on which I'm presently working (my Requiem), as I've been making excellent progress on the (difficult) sixth movement (a setting of Revelation 21: 1, 3, 4, and 5—John's reflections on the new heaven and the new earth). And I recalled the encouragement of a friend (a former high school teacher) who told me a while ago, "You need to work on your talents. You're not likely to be best known for being a trike rider." So, with those factors in mind, I decided to settle for a single round trip today, completing the 9.5 miles in 51 minutes (one of my better times).

164th ride - 11/30/2015

I decided to wait and ride this afternoon, when it was warmest, and thought I'd try for consecutive round trips to Saline. But as I headed back toward home, I decided to take it easy and just do one (since I am trying to fast today, and could feel that I did not have an overabundance of energy), and finished the 11.5 miles in 1 hour and 9 minutes. It was a cool ride, at 43°, but very sunny and enjoyable weather. Wearing my winter coat, in fact, I was quite comfortable, and almost a touch too warm at times.

163rd ride - 11/29/2015

Today, Michelle went out of town with a friend. For me, that meant bussing to church, and as it is on the other side of Ann Arbor and involves a route transfer, this meant a relatively early departure (9:15) in order to make the 11:00 service. So I decided to wait and ride after I got home today. After church finished (just past noon) I walked the few blocks down to the Cottage Inn pizza restaurant I favor, and after a leisurely lunch there and bussing home, I arrived around 2:30.

I decided to wait and ride at 4:00, and had hoped to do 40+ laps of our condo complex, for a ride of 20 miles. (I wanted to stay close to home, since my 'emergency lifeline', Michelle, was out of town, and I didn't want to have to walk several miles home in my biking shoes in case of emergency.) But I was getting tired of the "gerbil on a wheel" feeling of these .47-mile laps, and it was also cold (though I was not uncomfortable, in my heavy winter coat and gloves), and with darkness descending (before 5:00!) I decided to call a halt to it after 21 laps (9.9 miles, which I did in 58:38).

162nd ride - 11/28/2015

This morning I wanted to ride early so I could get back and warm up for the big Michigan/Ohio State game, so I rode at 7:15. I was awfully glad for my gloves, though, at 31°—despite them, my fingertips were almost falling off. And it was The Day of Turn-Arounds.

I was hoping to do multiple rides to Marsh Park, but when I got there, I rode three-quarters of the way around it, clockwise, and then came to chained gates. Why they would be chained I have no clue—maybe to keep out snowmobilers for the time of year that will soon be on us! At any rate, I wheeled around and headed back out the way I had come in.

Since multiple round trips there did not seem feasible, on the way home I struck off south toward Saline, and did kind of a hybrid route, over many stretches I had ridden before, but not all. However, my second problem area occurred on this stretch down toward Saline, when I rode south on Wilson and then turned the wrong way on Bicentennial Dr., and ended up doing a big circle before I got myself straightened out.

After I had gone past the high school, and came to Industrial, I turned left (south) on it, rather than going north as I usually do. This took me down to Michigan Ave. (US 12), but spying a sidewalk on the other side of it, I made my way across at a crosswalk, thinking this sidewalk would take me up into town. But I could only go about a quarter of a mile on it, and then, cresting a hill, I found that the sidewalk ended in a patch of grass. So my final turn-around occurred there. Making my way back to Industrial, though, I headed back up to where it intersects with Woodland, and then I was on familiar ground and headed home, drawn by the pull of the idea of warmth for my fingers and toes.

So the ride was less than I hoped it would be in terms of both distance and comfort, but nevertheless I'm happy to report that it got me over 2300 miles for the year.

161st ride - 11/26/2015

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!

I was up early today as usual, eager to ride. But weather.com was calling for the light showers we had early this morning to end by around 8:30, so I made myself wait, and worked on beginning the sixth movement of my Requiem.

When I went out just past 8:30, the light showers continued, as they did throughout the first half of my ride. Combined with the 46° temperature, and the spray coming up to me from the sidewalk/trail, I was very soon thoroughly soaked and cold, and relatively miserable (though with thanksgiving in my heart—my devotional reading this week has reinforced the theme of the day, urging us to follow the injunction of scripture to give thanks in all circumstances).

I had hoped to do a longer ride, and, in fact, as I neared the conclusion of my first round trip to Marsh Park, I considered turning and doing a second. But, given the conditions, I thought it would be prudent to keep it shorter today, as I was concerned about it leading to illness. So I settled for a single round trip, completing the 9.5 miles in 59 minutes.

160th ride - 11/25/2015

Employing an abundance of caution, I had not ridden outside (except for the laps I did in our condo complex on Monday) since last weekend's heavy snowfall. (They say we got a little over 9 inches here in Ann Arbor, but much of that fell Saturday night after we were asleep.) But I allowed myself to be lured outside by today's gorgeous weather (and the fact that the walks and trail were quite clear now, as shown in the picture below, looking south along the sidewalk from a ways south of Oak Valley Drive).

I hated to waste the glorious weather—who knows? perhaps it will be one of our last nice riding days of 2015—and wanted to do at least two round trips. But after I reached the park and turned back for home, I felt a twinge of pain in my right knee. I was tempted to 'tough it out' and keep going anyway, but was afraid that perhaps such a strategy might worsen it in the long term. So I settled for a single (58-minute) round trip, and am hoping also to do a good ride tomorrow morning to make room for some turkey.

159th ride - 11/23/2015

Not knowing for sure what the prospects would be for riding outside today, I went to LA Fitness this morning and did a brisk, full hour on the stationary bike. Then, this afternoon, I wished to add a bit to that—and it looked as if it might be OK to ride on the trail (and the sidewalk down to it). But, in the end, I concluded that it would be better to err on the side of caution, and give it another day, so I rode laps inside our condo complex. This was tedious, but safe, and at .47 mile per lap, 20 laps gave me 9.4 miles, or just 1 tenth of a mile shy of a round trip to Marsh Park.  It took me 59:47—not a great time by any means, but I just focused on counting off the laps, glad for this option. And water on the ground sprayed up and soaked my left glove, which made riding quite unpleasant in the 31° weather.

158th ride - 11/21/2015

I went out at 8:15 this morning in 30° weather to ride in my first truly wintry weather of the season. We had gotten a light dusting of snow in the early morning hours, and then weather.com was predicting snow to begin in earnest around 8:15. That's about what happened—there was none when I walked out to the garage, but very early in the ride extremely light flurries began to fall, at first so light as to be almost nonexistent, but steadily and slowly increasing both in size and intensity throughout the ride (though it was still not a heavy snow when I finished).

Early in the ride, I briefly considered riding two round trips to Marsh Park. But the tingling pain I began to experience in my toes and my fingers (despite my gloves) soon convinced me to shelve that plan, and just do a single one. This 9.5-mile round trip took me 1 hour and 1 minute—a little slower than recent rides, but I was taking my time and riding with care, both because of the traction (I wasn't sure how slippery it might be), and also because the light snow was enough to decorate my glasses quite thoroughly and obscure my vision. Late in the ride, in fact, I had to perch them down on the end of my nose and look over the top of them—not optimal for a guy as severely nearsighted as I. But I know the route well enough that, by that point, with only a few minutes left, it was no problem.

Also, on the way home, I snapped a picture of the most daunting hill I have to climb. It doesn't look too bad, but it's a challenge. I am able to pick up speed slightly on the mild downhill (though the trike is not built for speed) before the climb begins, and then keep shifting steadily into lower and lower gears as I climb. The view is along the sidewalk I ride paralleling Lohr Rd., from Rodeo Dr. (which is roughly halfway between Ellsworth Rd. and Oak Valley Dr.), looking northward.

I was glad to get the ride done early, as the snow is projected to continue and intensify most of the day. Now I can just stay warm and enjoy football for most of the rest of the day (Michigan plays Penn State at noon, and then Michigan State plays Ohio State at 3:30, with both games on ABC.) It will feel odd to be rooting for Ohio State, but if they beat Michigan State, it would enhance Michigan's fortunes. Then tonight I'm looking forward to watching a movie with Michelle—after my ride, I went to the library, and picked up a DVD ("The Best of Me"), which is described as "The perfect date movie; the film is romantic in the purest sense."

157th ride - 11/20/2015

Today I again waited and rode at noon—I guess I have to conclude that this is becoming the new 'normal' for this time of year, despite my great fondness for mornings. And thankfully I remembered to wear a hoodie—but nothing either underneath it or over it. And this garb was insufficient for a cold (44°), windy (from the west at 19 mph, gusting to 28) day, despite the most welcome brilliant sunshine. Consequently, I cut my ride down once again today, and did a single round trip to Marsh Park, completing the 9.5 miles in 55 minutes, despite having to fight my way into the wind on the first half of the way back from the park.

Worse weather is coming, though! Tomorrow morning we're supposed to get snow, and I am hoping to bundle up and do a short ride in it (one round trip will be all I'll aim for), while monitoring the conditions, ready to wheel around and head back home if riding seems inadvisable.

156th ride - 11/19/2015

I was conflicted this morning about the length of my ride. I wanted to do multiple round trips to Marsh Park ... but during the second half of the first one, I began hearing a suspicious noise from my rear wheel, and feared getting to the park (about 5 miles from home) and then needing to walk back home. (I have my cell phone when I ride, and could text for help, but Michelle is at work, as is my friend Doug). While a 5-mile walk in my tennis shoes would just be a nice warm-up jaunt, doing it in my biking shoes with the metal clips on the bottom of them would be significantly more challenging.

So, in the end, I decided to scale back and settle for a single round trip, doing this 9.5-mile ride in 58 minutes. It was sunny but cool (50°) with a fairly strong (22 mph) and steady southwest wind that I was fighting. But, according to the forecast, a marked change is on the way! Tomorrow's high is predicted to be 46°, and they're saying we'll get several inches of snow Saturday morning.

155th ride - 11/18/2015

This morning I went out at 9:30, to ride under gray, gloomy skies with a light wind. (At least it wasn't cold, though, at 60°.) I had in mind doing three round trips to Marsh Park, and got started off fine—but after I reached the park and turned back, it began sprinkling. It was never a heavy rain, but just enough to be irritating to a guy who wears glasses. So I changed my plan and decided to just do a single round trip this morning (9.5 miles in 55 minutes), and, weather permitting, try to add to it this afternoon. I continue to make good progress on my Requiem that I'm composing, so I figured the time could be put to good use that way.

On the way home, I snapped a picture, looking up Lohr Rd. (actually, the sidewalk beside it on which I ride) from Oak Valley. It shows the hill I climb to conclude almost all of my rides. It is not too tough, but coming at the end of a 10 (or 20, or 25, or 30 mile ride), it is not a welcome sight. And it's made worse by the fact that I have to climb two larger hills before it, between Ellsworth Rd. and Oak Valley.

It reminds me of the running I did at St. Olaf College back in the seventies. I didn't run when I was a student (1975–79), but the year following graduation my wife Deb and I stayed on as Head Residents in one of the tower dorms (Larson Hall), and I would occasionally run then, especially in the spring of 1980. St. Olaf sits atop a fairly formidable hill (a campus nickname is, in fact, "The Hill")—much more challenging than the one in this picture—and it was always a character-builder to finish runs by climbing that hill. In particular, when my sister Marianne visited us that spring, and ran with me one day, I remember her being not fond of that climb!

154th ride - 11/17/2015

This afternoon I rode a hybrid of my two most frequent routes. I began by riding a round trip to Marsh Park, which is far and away my most frequent ride. But when I had completed it, and turned around to head south again (having another in mind), I decided instead to go to Saline on the route I've ridden each of the last two days. This hybrid ride gave me 19.4 miles, in a pretty good time of 1 hour and 45 minutes.

It was cool enough (at 61°), and cloudy, with a slight breeze, so that a sweater over a turtleneck felt just right! But at least we aren't dealing yet with any snow, as I heard Al Roker talking about for Denver on the Today show this morning—it certainly would not be out of the question for this time of year in Michigan.

153rd ride - 11/16/2015

Today, like yesterday, I decided to spend the morning composing, and ride in the afternoon. This profited me in two ways—I made good progress on the Requiem I am writing, and I got to ride in another day of glorious fall weather, today 61° sunshine. And I rode the same route today as yesterday, also, down to the northern fringe of Saline, completing the 11.5 miles in a time of 1 hour and 5 minutes (just slightly slower than yesterday, but still a good time by my usual standards). And perhaps the most notable aspect of today's ride was that it put me over 2200 miles for the year. The several stretches when I've been unable to ride because the trike has been in the shop for repair have cost me whatever outside shot I might have had at 3000 miles for the year, but I'm still happy with the total I'm racking up.

152nd ride - 11/15/2015

Today I decided again to wait and ride in the afternoon, particularly since I would have had to squeeze in a ride before church. And I thought my rides in a t-shirt were all done for 2015—but going out at 2:45, and riding in beautiful 67° fall sunshine, I was extremely comfortable dressed that way.

I rode a round trip to Saline, going to the intersection of Woodland Dr. and Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., and had originally intended to do two consecutive round trips of that route. But since I have been making very good progress on the Requiem I am composing lately, I became convinced that I should pour the second hour into composition, even though I hated to keep the ride short, given the gorgeous weather. I did this 11.5-mile route in 1 hour and 2 minutes.

                                    

Additionally, by leaving at halftime of the Lions' game, I though I would spare myself some heartache, as they were playing Green Bay, where they hadn't won since 1991 ("Bush I," as various witty commentators have noted). But when I got home from the ride, to my surprise, they were up late in the game, and managed somehow to hang on for an 18-16 win, despite a last-minute Green Bay surge that almost provided them with the victory.

151st ride - 11/14/2015

I had intended to ride three round trips to Marsh Park today. But I have been making good progress on the Requiem I am composing (my biggest piece to date—a seven-movement work for chorus, organ, harp, flute, oboe, violin, and cello), and could feel that calling me to return and work more on it. So I cut myself back to doing only a single round trip, and finished this 9.5-mile ride in 54 minutes.

I usually like to ride as early as possible in the morning—when "all is calm, all is bright." (Well, not too bright when riding real early at this time of year!) But this morning at 8:00 it was still only 30°, so I decided to devote the morning to composition, and wait to ride until early afternoon, and was rewarded for this decision by an enjoyable ride at 12:15 p.m. in 45° sunshine.

150th ride - 11/13/2015

I rode a round trip to Marsh Park this morning, in seasonably fallish conditions—40° and windy (though not nearly as dramatically windy as it was yesterday, or it's supposed to get later today), with quite a lot of water on the asphalt trail from all the rain we received yesterday and last night, and that sprayed me. And they are saying that 'wind-chills' (BOO!) are in the twenties. I am struck by how strikingly different it is riding now than when I got the trike and had my first ride on it, back on May 2 (shown in this picture). 

I had considered doing two or even three round trips, but ended up concluding that after an eight-day layoff, it would be more prudent to break back in more moderately. The several extended layoffs I've endured this year have certainly cost me the outside hope I entertained of making 3000 miles (I'm now at 2171.8), but 2500 should certainly be very feasible unless an unexpected heavy big early snow rolls in

Thursday, November 13, 2015

Today has been a   day. Last evening, Jack's Bicycle called me to say that my trike was ready to pick up, so I went over this morning and brought it back to Ann Arbor. But by the time I began to assemble it, about 11:30, I was dismayed to find that I could not attach the seat, because the posts that extend from the bottom of the seat hook into posts that extend up from the rack on the back of the trike ... and that rack was missing from the new rear end that TerraTrike had supplied.

After a bit of head scratching, I finally decided I might as well head back to Dearborn, since I could do nothing without their assistance. So I loaded it back into the car and headed back there. When I arrived and explained, Richard (with whom I have worked consistently since I first went there to research options back in late March) said that when he put it back together yesterday, he hadn't realized what was missing since he was not the one who had taken it apart. (I took it there last Friday, and Fridays are his day off.) Anyway, a few minutes later, he had me all set.

By the time I got home, though, and got the trike assembled (with all its parts there as they should be this time), it was nearly 2:00 p.m., I was tired and discouraged from all the maneuvering today, and the weather was not promising (47°, with steady 27 mph winds, gusting to 42, and steadily increasing), so I decided to cave in and give myself the day off.

Jack's Bicycle - 11/6/2015

This morning when I went to ride, and sat down on the trike, I heard it SNAP, as the center joint collapsed to the ground, and immediately once I was able to get up I could see that the clamp had come detached. So, thanks to Michelle's schedule flexibility, and the assistance of my friend Doug Tidd who ran me out to Michelle's school so I could get our car, I was able to take it to my good friends at Jack's Bicycle in Dearborn.

I was hoping for a quick repair, since something similar had happened once before—but they quickly took a look and told me this was something more serious. Due to metal fatigue, the frame around the hole where the pin for the center clamp seats itself had broken completely, so the whole rear end of the frame would have to be replaced. They took a picture and sent it to TerraTrike, to set that process in motion.

Following is the somewhat unbelievable list of all the problems that have caused me to return to Dearborn since researching the purchase on March 28, test riding it on April 11, and then actually buying the trike on May 2.

Tues., 5/12/15     Problems with center joint

Wed., 5/13/15      Shredded front tires caused by misalignment

Mon., 5/19/15      Flat tire

Sat., 5/30/15        Getting replacement bolt for seat clamp

Mon., 6/1/15        Further problems with center joint

Tues., 6/2/15        Damaged derailleur—had to replace it

Thurs., 6/11/15    Another flat tire

Tues., 6/16/15      Damaged plastic tubes that encase the chain

Mon., 6/22/15      Need new tires, after front left blowout

Mon., 8/10/15      Several issues (seat, lights, computer)

Tues., 8/11/15      Center joint would not fold out; minor NC adjustment

Sat., 8/22/15        Center joint “broke” after Kal-Haven ride;

                                    Got it back on 8/31/15 with new frame

Thurs., 9/3/15      Flat tire

Fri., 9/25/15         New front tires and realignment

Thurs., 10/8/15    Derailleur issues

Mon., 11/2/15      Clips on pedals, and reworking center joint (which wouldn’t fold; clamp was bent)

Fri., 11/6/15         Frame broke, middle clamp fell out

Numerous friends have told me that they ought to give me a new cycle, given the long number of problems. I don't necessarily disagree, but I don't see any way to force their hand on this issue, so for now I continue to exercise what Michelle calls my "gift of patience," and hope that we are slowly, gradually, exhausting the list of possible problems as we work our way through them. And, to be fair, while TerraTrike (the manufacture) may be culpable, Jack's Bicycle has been exceedingly good to me, doing the work expeditiously and usually at no cost; and when it's working (which is obviously somewhat rare) I like the trike a lot.

149th ride - 11/4/2015

Our unbelievable stretch of weather continues, as today marked the third of three consecutive days of record high temperatures (today 76°). I went out this afternoon and rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park—the first consecutive ones I've done since getting my new pedal setup on Monday. I did this 17.5-mile ride in 1 hour and 33 minutes. (This was a good time by my overall standards, but well off my record of 1:29:49 set on October 21.)

148th ride - 11/3/2015

On a brilliantly sunny fall morning (41°), I rode a round trip to Marsh Park again this morning. I was thinking I'd do 3 or 4, but once I got going I felt the call of composition pulling me back home. I may, however, do an additional ride this afternoon (I hope I do), but for now, I've done the 9.5 miles in 54 minutes.

Since Sunday afternoon, when I attended a lovely performance of the Requiem by John Rutter, a work I have both sung and conducted, I have wanted to start a large multi-movement choral work. I have done a lot of thinking about it, and making tentative plans—but I think now is the time to start sketching some of it out a little more concretely.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON

On an absolutely gorgeous (summery) fall afternoon, with unbroken sunshine and a temperature of 77°, I rode another Marsh Park round trip, in 55 minutes (for a daily total of 19 miles in 1 hour and 49 minutes). I didn't realize it was that warm until I got out there, so I wore the sweatshirt ("St. Olaf College Dad") that I wore this morning, over a long-sleeved t-shirt. (The t-shirt was one I got when I was still running, and ran the Ann Arbor Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving Day 2008, finishing the 3.1-mile run on the North Campus of the University of Michigan, where I used to live during 1981–82, before Deb and I had children, in 30:39.) But it didn't take very long at all to come to the conclusion that I needed to remove the sweatshirt and leave it in the garage.

147th ride - 11/2/2015

I went to Dearborn this morning and got from Jack's Bicycle new shoes ("Specialized" brand) that clip into the cleats they put on for me in place of the pedals. (The old pedals were returned to me.) I was concerned about my ability to clip into them—a blunt V-shaped tongue on the underside of each shoe clips into a groove on the cleats, and you then push down to lock two pegs into place to hold it—so I had Richard take extra care to show me how they worked, and take time to explain the workings to me. But when I got home early this afternoon and put the trike back together, and put the shoes on and went out to ride, I was pleased to discover no problem at all. (Maybe it was just beginner's luck.) The first picture below shows the shoes, and the second, a closeup, shows one of the cleats. They are actually quite small—only about two inches square.

Also at Jack's, they had a second issue with which to deal. The center joint would not fold up, so that I could not transport the trike in the car as usual. But I was able to brainstorm a way to make it work, by putting one of the back windows down and letting the rear wheel hang out the window a few inches. At Jack's, they were somewhat befuddled initially, having never seen quite this condition before. But they gathered several of the mechanics together to brainstorm it, telling me that the clamp had become bent (though they couldn't say how), and soon had it working properly again.

It was an unseasonably warm and gorgeous afternoon, and I had to remove the fleece I'd worn this morning and don a t-shirt instead, to ride in sunshine in the upper sixties. I wanted to ride two round trips to Marsh Park, figuring I'd break the new clips in slowly—I'm certain they will provide a vastly more secure and comfortable ride as I get used to them, but I'm still in process on that. However, the second of two 'adventure' components today made me decide to cut it down to a single round trip, whose 9.5 miles I did in 55 minutes. 

The first 'adventure' was at the park, just after I had reached it and started back toward home. The left leg of my pants caught on my headlight and ripped it off of the bar to which it was clamped, so that it went clattering onto the trail behind me. This necessitated a stop, unclipping from the pedals (you merely turn the foot a bit, "like a ski binding"), and going back to retrieve it. Reattaching it was no monumental task (although anything mechanical is challenging for Dr. Borton,
thoroughgoing musician). But I was able to accomplish it, as well as reattaching my feet to the pedals ("good practice!" I figured), and then continued the ride.

When I got back to Ellsworth Rd. (near our home, and the point at which I turn around when doing consecutive round trips), the second 'adventure' component came into play. I noticed that the seat was beginning to wobble, so I stopped, unclipped my feet, and went to retrieve the large Allen wrench (a special size, that came with the trike) in order to tighten the clamp. But it was not there, in the zippered pouch on the side of the seat, where I keep a few tools. After double- and triple-checking, I decided I'd better head home, because I certainly didn't want to get miles from home and have a problem with the seat and no way of fixing it. When I pulled into our drive, I looked carefully in the area where I had assembled it a short time earlier, after returning from Dearborn, thinking perhaps it had fallen onto the ground. But it was not there, either, so I told myself (disconsolately) that I'd have to head over to Lowe's and try to 'eyeball' the right size Allen wrench, probably making several trips between there and home in order to 'trial-and-error' it to get the right size. (Sadly, without the wrench, I had no way of disassembling the trike so I could take it to Lowe's with me to make checking easier.) But then, when I put the trike away in the garage, and started to head into our home, I spied the wrench sitting on the trunk of our car, where I must have lazily laid it instead of putting it in the pouch where it belongs.

Anyway—the bottom line is that I think that I shall be much better off for riding now, and I look forward to proving that tomorrow morning.

146th ride - 10/31/2015

This morning's ride was fair, but also frustrating. I had wanted to do a record five consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, which would have taken me a bit over 4 hours and set a new distance record for me, at 41.5 miles. I had wanted to do this in honor of my daughter's Halloween birthday, and also to prove to myself I'm up to the 40-mile Five Boro Tour in New York City next May 1 that I'm planning to go out and ride with my friends Eric and Mari Veenstra. But, bedeviled by a technical problem that I need to solve before I take on a long ride like that, I had to cut it back and settle for three round trips, completing the 25.5 miles in 2 hours and 35 minutes.

The problem is that my right foot keeps slipping off the pedal. This usually happens several times each ride (unless I pedal exceptionally slowly and cautiously), and is inconvenient and frustrating and best, and painful at worst. My leg frequently gets thrown back so that its lower portion (just above the ankle) scrapes against the tie rod (the thin metal bar that connects the two front wheels) and the 'outrigger' - the metal cross arm that supports the wheel. When I was riding in shorts this summer, in fact, it wore an open, raw patch that remained for several weeks.

Anyway, it seems to me there must be some sort of solution to this (either some sort of modification of the pedal, perhaps, or of my footwear?), and I shall call on technically minded friends, as well as Jack's Bicycle in Dearborn next time I have to go there, to see if I can work out the solution.