More adventure - 5/31/15

It was raining much of the early part of the day, so I despaired of getting a ride in. But by mid-afternoon the rain had stopped, and though it was still cool, I figured I could still go fine. But a different fate awaited me. I pulled trike out, sat down to go, and the center joint collapsed on me with a loud SNAP as it had at Gallup Park back on May 9.  I was not pleased to determine that, evidently, when assembling it after my return from the park yesterday, I hadn't gotten that joint fastened securely, but I figured I'd just hop back up and take care of it. However, dismay filled me as I witnessed loose parts on the ground, and so, knowing I could not repair it myself, I resigned myself to still another trip to Dearborn tomorrow.

24th ride - 5/30/15

Today's 'adventure quotient,' while not nonexistent, was at least fairly low. I went to Gallup Park early this morning to ride its trails—portions of Washtenaw County's B2B (Border-to-Border) Trail. It was good that I went early (getting to the park at 7:00), because it is quite popular and its paths would soon begin to clog with runners, walkers, and cyclists. And unlike when I went there on May 9, I was able to get it disassembled and loaded into our car fairly expeditiously (15 minutes today vs. an hour then), and at the park I was able to reassemble with no trouble.

I rode the Gallup Park Pathway first northwest, up to Mitchell Field and Fuller Rd. as far as E. Medical Center Dr., and then reversed course and returned to the park, continuing on past the car in the other direction as far as Parker Mill and then riding on the path that follows Geddes as far as Dixboro Rd., and turned around at Concordia University to return to the park. All this went fine; I had been concerned about a mechanical issue when I was miles from the car, and Michelle home asleep (there would have been nothing she could have done anyway). But I committed it all to God in prayer, listening for any word that perhaps I should not do this route, and all went fine, for which I give thanks and praise to our God. It gave me a ride of 10.2 miles (1 hour and 15 minutes).

However, when I finished, and went to disassemble the trike to load it back in the car, I evidently loosened one of the bolts of the seat clamp too much, because when I got home, and went to reassemble it, the bolt was nowhere to be found. I checked the car carefully, in case it could have fallen out in there, and even drove back to the park and diligently searched the area where I had been parked—but all this was fruitless. Since I could not use it without this bolt to hold the seat in place, I asked Michelle's permission to drive to Dearborn, wrote a note of explanation on my laptop, and set off. At Jack's Bicycle, they gave me the needed bolt from a demonstration model, saying they'd procure a replacement from the company. So I drove back home and got everything reassembled (before the rain which is now pelting us began to fall), no worse for wear, except for a little time spent on the issue.

23rd ride - 5/29/15

This morning, I got a moderately good ride in - 4 loops of Stonebridge, for a total of 13.2 miles in 1 hour and 16 minutes.

I'm happy to note that this week, I've achieved the goal I set for myself of memorizing the names and order of the streets branching off of Stonebridge Drive (the main circle within the subdivision). When I turn in (from the east, on Lohr Rd.), if I take the circle counterclockwise (that is, first on Stonebridge Dr. N.), the streets (actually, most of them are Courts, with a few Drives mixed in) are:

Boulder Pond Dr. (R)
Bay Hills Ct. (R)
Doral Dr. (L) - this cuts across the center of the circle
St. Andrews Ct. (L)
Sawgrass Dr. E. (R)
Sawgrass Dr. W. (R)
The exit to Maple Rd.
Pinnacle Ct. (R)
Colonial Ct. (L)
Oak Hill Ct. (L)
Twin Islands Ct. (R)
Forest Dunes Ct. (L and R)
Club House Dr. (R)
Forestview Ct. (L) and Crooked Stick Dr. (R)
Doral Dr. (L)
Oak Tree Ct. (R)
Lone Oak Ct. (L)
Monterey Ct. (R)
Bent Pine Ct. (L)
Inverness Ct. (L)
Cypress Point Ct. (L)
Exit back out to Lohr Rd.

Not only was this good mental exercise, but it also gives me a nice set of milestones so that when I am riding the loop, I have a good picture of where I am at any point.

I would not have guessed this, but the Internet tells me that: "Stonebridge Golf Club is a public 18 hole championship golf course and driving range designed in 1991 by world famous golf course architect Arthur Hills." The course map shows me that the holes are both within and outside of the circle. This connection certainly explains the names of the majority of the streets.

22nd ride - 5/28/15

This morning I did a short ride in Stonebridge—only 2 loops. I had intended to go 6 loops, but when I had to go out early this morning (6:00) for an errand, it was cool (still in the fifties). So I threw on a hoodie for my ride, but should have checked the temperature first (67°), as I was quite uncomfortable dressed that warmly. I hope to supplement it with another ride this afternoon.

Anyway, this gave me a total (so far) of 8 miles in 48 minutes.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON

This afternoon, I kept it pretty modest, just duplicating this morning's ride (slightly slower - 49 minutes vs. 48), but was glad that at least I got out there again, giving me a daily total of 16 miles in 1 hour and 37 minutes.

21st ride - 5/27/15

Once again today I was privileged to ride with my friend Kristian. Kept it to a relatively short ride, however - 3 loops in Stonebridge, for a total of 10.7 miles, in 1 hour and 6 minutes. I had been having the difficulties with my seat wobbling in recent days, but took the L wrench and tightened the seat clamp very thoroughly before starting out, and that seemed to take care of it.

Now Kristian and I plan to ride next Wednesday as well.

20th ride - 5/26/15

It was good to get back to riding today after a rare 2 days off. Michelle has expressed the desire that I not ride in the rain, and both Sunday and yesterday it was raining (lightly) when I went out to ride. It was by no means a steady deluge either day, so I'm sure I could have squeezed it in at some point if I had watched carefully. But I just let it go instead.

Today I rode down to Stonebridge again, and did 4 loops in there, for a total ride of 13.4 miles in 1 hour and 14 minutes. A drawback was that my seat continues to wobble, causing me difficulty in riding a straight line, and I have to get that figured out somehow, even if it means a return trip to Dearborn. But, on the positive side, I saw my friend Bob Cant, whom I have not seen for several years. He lives in Stonebridge, and was walking with his young granddaughter Kelsey. So, a true blessing!

Another positive is that my ride on Saturday put me over 200 miles since restarting. Still a rather meager total, but steadily advancing.

19th ride - 5/23/15

I was thinking I'd try to do a longer ride this morning, with Michelle at home to rescue me if I had mechanical problems. But in the end, I decided to stay home, working on a composition on which I'm well underway, so I went this afternoon instead.

The seat was still wobbling today, so that I could not really ride a straight line—I kept swerving as though I were  drunk. So I did quite a short ride (only 2 loops in Stonebridge) before heading home to see if I could get some assistance from Michelle. She looked it over and tightened up some fasteners, but in the end she said she wasn't certain she had gotten it entirely fixed. However, at least I was able to see what she was doing, so if I need to tighten it a little further in the morning, I can.

This made for a ride of only 8.2 miles, in 53 minutes. The short ride had one benefit, though. With it being Memorial Day weekend, our pool opened today, so I was able to get in a brief half-hour pool session before the 4:00 Tigers game.

18th ride - 5/22/15

Due to a complex of problems today, I had to cut my ride down to much shorter than I intended. I was riding my "Figure 8" route (an old running route), and wanted to do 3 circuits of it, but I ended up only doing approximately 2.

First, sometime in the early part of my ride I evidently knocked the "computer" (odometer) out of its bracket somehow; but I had no clue as to when or where this occurred, and though during my second loop of the route I kept my eyes peeled, I had no luck. So there went $40. The only consolation was that I had never used it yet, anyway—I tried multiple times, but had no luck.

Secondly, I was having trouble with the chain both to the front gears and to the rear. It kept slipping and coming off, and though I tried to fix it, I had no luck. Finally, when nearing the final part of my second loop, I was stymied on an uphill stretch and could go no further. I had to set the brakes, get out, turn the trike around, and go the other way to get back to my home.

Thirdly, the seat was wobbling again. I had my tools with me, but given the gear situation, I elected not to mess with it. When I got home, I checked the seat clamp, and it was secure, so I'm not sure what the problem was.

Anyway, the online pedometer I use tells me that I rode 6.4 miles, and my watch said I did it in 38 minutes. Pretty substandard. But, on the whole, a much better May 22 than I experienced in 1993, when I almost lost my life in the accident that changed it forever. I'm grateful to still be here, and to have been able to do even a modest ride today.

17th ride - 5/21/15

This morning I was composing, and the time got away from me—before I knew it, it was too late to do the somewhat longer ride at Stonebridge that I had intended to do without missing the opening of the 1:00 Tiger game, and I was not willing to do that. So, instead, I settled for 2 loops down there, plus exploring a drive in the complex that I had not been on previously, giving me a ride of 9.1 miles in 56 minutes.

16th ride - 5/20/15

Today I rode down in Stonebridge again. (I'd like to go further away, but am, frankly, a bit concerned because of all the mechanical issues I've had with the trike. I'd hate to get stranded, miles away from home, with the car back home and Michelle teaching, expecting to be picked up at the end of her day.)

So I went down there and did 4 loops in the glorious spring sunshine (55°), and, with memories of my ride yesterday with Kristian still fresh, I tried to push my pace along a little faster. (Or, as he called it, my "tempo.") And thus I rode a total of 12.9 miles in a hour and 16 minutes.

15th ride - 5/19/15

This morning I enjoyed riding with my friend Kristian Frikke-Schmidt. He and his family are here from Denmark originally—I think they hope to stay permanently, but it has not yet been made definite. We met them through church; I was so pleased when he messaged me last night on Facebook to ask if I'd like to ride together.

It is substantially cooler today than yesterday (about 20°) so that a hoodie felt really good. We rode down to Stonebridge, did 3 loops there, and then went down the Lohr-Textile Greenway as far as Silo Ridge before turning around and returning to my home, for a total ride of 13.3 miles in 1 hour and 17 minutes. And, best of all, it was all trouble-free today! I did feel bad for him that I was unable to converse with him clearly, but I think we both enjoyed it anyway.

14th ride - 5/18/15

Well, the needle on the Adventure-Meter jumps back up today! I decided this morning, with good weather and the trike in good condition, to ride to Saline. Keeping entirely on walks, I went as far as Woodland and Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., which would have made for a round trip of 11.6 miles. However, I had to settle for about 9.7, in an hour ...

Fortunately this happened when I was relatively close to home, but about 2 miles before I got back (at almost precisely the 1 hour mark on my watch), the right front tire went flat. Not the way it was "shredded" last week, but rather, a flapping, off-the-rim kind of flat. Thankful that I had put my bike chain on it last week, I chained it to a Stop sign and started walking.

My knee brace had come apart 2 weeks ago, and I haven't yet been able to get it reassembled, so I was a bit concerned about the length of the walk, but it caused me no problems. Sailing along in the 78° sunshine, I kept sticking my thumb out, but no one stopped. However, when I had made it just over halfway, and was approaching Ellsworth Rd., a woman stopped and asked, "Sir, do you need help?" I had already taken my card out of my wallet and had it in my hand, so showed it to her, and we were soon finishing up the last of the way to my home.

Now I'll get the car, go load the trike into it, and set off for my home-away-from-home in Dearborn again!

In all the times I've been to Jacks Bicycle in Dearborn—on March 28 to research prices and options, then on April 11 to test ride one, and May 2 to purchase it and pick it up, and three times since then for various problems—I've always dealt with Richard, a kindly and helpful older man. But when I had to go back yet again today, I got slightly more assertive. He quickly took the tire apart, and then a different employee put in a new tube and aired it up, at no charge to me. But then I asked Richard, "What do you suppose happened?" He merely shrugged and said, "Bad tube, it looks like." Anyway, at least I'm back OK again—for now.

13th ride - 5/17/15

More changes in plans today. At first, I was thinking I'd ride this morning early, but it was fairly cool and raining lightly, so, since the Tigers are on the ESPN Sunday Night game of the week tonight, and thus weren't playing in the afternoon, I decided to ride this afternoon.

After church I was quite tired, and so decided to nap first and then ride. When I finally did get out there, about 3:00, I abandoned an intention I had originally had earlier in the day of doing the long ride over to Baker Rd. that I had wanted to do yesterday. At church, I felt as if I heard a voice telling me, "NO—not today. Do it later in the week." So, instead I stayed closer to home, and went down and rode loops in Stonebridge, that nearby housing subdivision.

There, too, though, my plans changed on the fly. I intended to do 6 loops, which would have totaled 18.8 miles, with the trip down there and back. But midway through the 5th loop, I noticed that the sky was darkening quite dramatically, and rain seemed imminent, so I took Doral Drive (a route that cuts across the middle of the sub), and settled for four and a half loops, rather than six. This gave me a total of a 14.8-mile ride, which I did in an hour and 23 minutes, and leaves me just shy of 150 miles total. And I did have to contend with rain on the way home, but only light sprinkles—nothing substantial.

12th ride - 5/16/15

I had intended to do a new "longest ride" today—there is a sidewalk that runs along the south side of Jackson Rd. clear out to Baker Rd. (Dexter), and this round trip would have been over 19 miles and taken me 2 hours (plus). However, after setting out about 7:00 a.m. on a warm, but damp, Saturday morning, I didn't get too far before detecting that the seat was once more swaying like a hammock as it had on Thursday. The seat clamp must have worked itself loose on yesterday's ride. Foolishly, I had neglected to bring with me the L wrench to tighten the clamp.

So, I felt it would not be prudent to do such a long ride with the trike in that condition, and instead I stuck much closer to home. It had rained during the night, and the ground was quite wet, so my tires threw up water and got me quite soaked. Additionally, the temperature was in the low sixties—cool enough to make a hoodie feel good, but warm enough so that after nearly an hour of riding I had worked up a pretty good sweat. I rode a route I used to run frequently, calling it the Figure 8, and then went down to Stonebridge and did (lazily) only one loop in the subdivision before returning back home, safe and sound, for a total ride of a mere 8.1 miles in 54 minutes.

11th ride - 5/15/15

I did 4 loops in the Stonebridge subdivision—my longest ride down there yet for a total ride of 13.4 miles in 1:23. For mental exercise, I set myself the task of memorizing the names (in order) of the dozen or more various courts and drives that radiate off of Stonebridge Drive I made good progress, but by no means have I achieved this yet.

Today's Adventure Moment occurred about 5 minutes into the ride, when my overly long and flopping right shoelace got caught in the pedal (but, thank goodness, not in the chain itself) and ground me to a halt. However, this caused me no grave difficulties, as it occurred on a straight, clear stretch of sidewalk, with no one close enough to see or be seen.

I did find that I had correctly diagnosed yesterday wobbly seat problem, though—before I left on today's ride, I was able to use the L wrench to tighten the seat clamp quite substantially on one side. And, though it is warmer than yesterday, a hoodie still felt good today (with shorts, of course)—today featuring a maize and blue color scheme.

10th ride - 5/14/15

 Enjoying our splendid stretch of spring weather, I outdid yesterday's "longest ride to date" by going slightly farther today. I had intended to ride down to Weller's in Saline; but when I discovered that the sidewalk ended a few hundred feet short of there, I quickly redid my plans on the fly in order to maintain my goal of staying off-road for now. But I was still able to do a ride of 15.6 miles, in 1 hour and 42 minutes.

Despite the sunshine, it remained cool, so I wore a sort of silly, incongruous outfit - a hoodie combined with shorts! My hoodie was a treasure I was delighted to find on Facebook a couple of years ago: "Team Allen: Lifetime Member."

Today's "adventure" quotient happened right near the beginning of the ride. When I assembled the trike after returning from Dearborn last evening, I was evidently in too much of a hurry to get in and see how the Tigers were doing, as I neglected to secure the center folding joint securely. As I was riding down on the hill on the sidewalk beside Lohr Rd., on a broad, unpopulated stretch, the joint collapsed, so that the trike began to fold up on me (while I was sitting on it). However, this did not cause any serious problem. I was able to dismount and fix the joint securely. As I rode on, however, I did notice that I had evidently failed to tighten the seat clamp securely, as it swayed like I was in a hammock. But I had not brought the L wrench with me, and so could do nothing but ride carefully.

As I headed southward on the Lohr-Textile Greenway, the combination of the folding incident and the swaying of my seat made me rethink my plans to do such a long ride, and I thought I'd pop in to see my friends the Granums instead and show them my new wheels. When I passed Tom, who was riding northward on the path, I took it as an encouraging sign of my chances of finding Doris at home. However, once again I missed her, as I did earlier this week.

One other significant thing about today's ride was that it put me over the 100-mile plateau for the year, since restarting. I hope this is just the first of many such milestones I'll reach this year. In 2013, when I was riding so much, I did over 1800 miles between March and September. But it's a whole new ballgame now!

Finally, after the ride, I was just entering our condo building when I came across our neighbor and friend, Kim McKenzie, out on her patio. I was coming in with my laptop, which I had left in the car trunk during my ride, so was able to have a nice visit with Kim.

9th ride - 5/13/15

Another big "adventure" day. I did my longest ride yet since restarting —15 miles, in a leisurely 2:03. I rode North on Maple Rd. up to Jackson Rd., and then west on Jackson out to Zeeb. I wouldn't have done this had I not been able to ride on walks almost the entire way, except for a brief stretch of Jackson east of Wagner Rd. But this was OK, as there are bike lanes there.

On the way home, when I was almost back I passed a small pond with a man sitting on the bank, fishing. He had ridden his bike there, and when he saw my trike, he called out, "Cool bike, man!" I wished very much that I could have chatted with him a bit, but I merely threw up my hand, and called out, "Thanks!" (Which I think was intelligible.)

Then, however, as I continued on, when I got within about a quarter mile of home, my right front tire blew out. The day we picked up the bike at Jacks in Dearborn, I had asked, "What if I have a flat?" However, I had already been so challenged by learning how to fold and unfold the cycle for transport, Richard merely grinned and told me, "That'll be a lesson for another day!"

I was awfully glad this hadn't happened when I was miles from home. So, I picked up the rear wheel, and began awkwardly walking it towards our condo. A few minutes later, however, an older man pulled up and asked, "Do you have far to go? Can I give you a lift?" As it turned out, he was a fellow rider, and he had a Ford Explorer whose big rear cargo space allowed us easily to lift the trike and roll it in. So, very grateful for his help, I was soon home at our garage.

I figured I'd take the flat over to Dearborn for repair/replacement—but, though I was sure that the wheel must come off, I couldn't see how to do it. So I figured I'd fold the whole thing up and take it over there. I got one of the front wheels ("outriggers") folded, but couldn't get the other one to release. So, in a sequence of text messages with Michelle just now, we agreed to get it after she gets out of school, and then I'll head to Dearborn, as they're open until 6:00.

WEDNESDAY EVENING

I took the trike to the dealer in Dearborn late this afternoon. although getting it there was a challenge. Neither Michelle nor I could get the wheel removed, nor were we able to fold it it up to get it in the car. However, we found by experimentation that we were able to get it in with only one wheel (the other one) folded.

Once I got to the dealer, they were astounded at the condition of those two front tires. They checked, and found that the front end was badly out of alignment, and that, they said, was "shredding" the tires. So they realigned it and gave me two new tires, all free of charge.

Then when we went to load it in the car, Richard, the person who has been helping me on each visit there, could not get that wheel folded either. He worked on it for nearly a half hour, and eventually went into the store and got their top mechanic, and the two of them disassembled the joint and examined it carefully, diagnosing the problem and eventually coming to the solution of taking the pin inside the store and grinding it down slightly so it would move freely. This worked, but by the time they got everything done and the cycle reassembled, it was well past their closing time.

When I got back to Ann Arbor, though, I was able to reassemble it OK, so, it appears that for now, "problem solved."

8th ride - 5/12/15

After an enforced three-day layoff, it felt wonderful to be able to ride again today! My trike broke at the middle folding joint on Saturday morning, after I had taken it to Gallup Park to ride. When I found parts on the ground, I knew that I could not reassemble it in order to ride safely, so I packed it up and came home. Sunday, the dealer was not open, and then yesterday, I took it to the dealer (Jacks Bicycle, in Dearborn) in the morning, where they confirmed my impression that I could not have done it, as they needed special tools and some new parts. But they soon had it fixed, and then I hoped to ride when I got home. But after assembling the trike, and climbing on, I found that it would not pedal. In dismay I noticed that, during the folding and transport, the chain had come off the gears at the rear wheel.

I contacted my friend Doug Tidd, an experienced cyclist, knowing that he could put it right, and he came over at the end of the work day. But by this time, early evening, a light rain was beginning, and, since Michelle had asked me not to ride in the rain, I took a third day off

This morning, I did a 9.3-mile ride, having hoped to go a bit further, but, given the way I found myself huffing and puffing after the layoff, I decided it would be better to reel it in. I rode down into the northern part of Saline (all on walks), and then, on my way home, I stopped by the house of my friends the Granums, hoping to show off my new wheels, since Doris had encouraged me to pop in any time without being expected, and said that perhaps she'd hop on her bike and join me for a few miles. But, finding no one there, I continued back to our home, glad for the MSU hoodie that I had found in our trunk, to wear over my short-sleeve shirt, since today is substantially cooler than yesterday.

Day 8 - 5/9/15

Well, this morning was quite an adventure. One of the reasons we bought TerraTrike's Traveler model was because of the supposed convenience of transporting it—it folds up, and though originally we were told it would fit in the trunk, and this is not the case, at least we can get it in the back seat.

Today I wanted to go to Gallup Park and ride some of the trails at and from the park. To say that I am not mechanically adept is quite an understatement, but after an hour of fiddling with it, I was able to get it disassembled, folded, and into the car, whereupon I made my way to the park. Once there, I got it out, unfolded and reassembled it (in a light rain), donned my helmet, stuck the flag in the bike, and seated myself, ready to ride off. But the middle folding joint collapsed, leaving my seat on the ground. Optimistically thinking I could hop up and pop it back into place, I was quickly disabused of that notion, when I saw several parts from the joint on the ground. Knowing I could not reassemble it safely myself, I sighed and began to disassemble the trike once more so I could take it home.

I got the seat off, and the front wheels folded, so that I was able to roll it into the back seat. But when I then reached in to pop that middle folding joint open, I found that the damage to it prevented that. This left me unable to close the rear driver's side door, and after thinking about it long and hard for several minutes, I finally closed everything up as well as I could, and drove off, hoping I could get the 5 miles or so home fairly early on a Saturday morning (it was still only not quite 9 a.m.), and the traffic consequently light, without incident. And this hope was rewarded.

Once I got home, I removed the trike from the car and began to reassemble it once more so that I could wheel it into the garage. But, though I successfully locked one wheel, I could not get the other to stay in place. So, in the end, I settled on carrying it into the garage and leaving it in the middle of the floor, with the car parked out on the driveway.

SHEESH! Anyway, I guess now I'll try to get to LA Fitness later today for a workout on the stationary bike.

7th ride - 5/8/15

I had to go to my old "home away from home" for the latter half of 1993, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, to have some blood work drawn early this morning, and late morning I had a doctor's appointment for an earache I've developed this week. But between these two commitments I was able to squeeze in a nice ride, going down to that subdivision near us (Stonebridge) and doing three loops in there, for a total ride of 10.7 miles in 1 hour and 9 minutes.

Late this afternoon, I rode the same route as this morning, only instead of doing three loops in the subdivision, I did only one, and rode in the other direction, for a ride of 5.9 miles in 40 minutes, and a daily total of 13.9 miles in 1 hour and 39 minutes.

6th ride - 5/7/15

On an absolutely gorgeous spring morning, I rode 8.4 miles in 59 minutes (relatively slow), going down the Lohr-Textile Greenway as far as Woodland, and then coming back up, crossing Lohr at the first walkway into the Lohr Lake subdivision, rode around a little in there and exited down at Textile, and then came home. In the six days since I was able to resume riding, I've been employing an abundance of caution —and, thanks be to God, I've experienced no problems of any kind so far. Like yesterday, I hope to supplement this morning ride with another in the late afternoon.

Late this afternoon (after the Tigers' victory!) I went out and did a short ride—so short as to hardly seem worth it. But I figured that a short ride was better than no ride at all. However, I was riding for only 19 minutes, to do a 2.4 mile route that Michelle and I call the JewelHeart Loop, because it passes a Buddhist temple named JewelHeart (reminding us that we are in Ann Arbor and no longer in our home towns in rural Michigan).

5th ride - 5/6/15

I wanted to show my new wheels to my former colleagues this morning, so I rode over to Firestone, staying on walks the entire way. (It's nice that the new construction of Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. includes a walled off path where it crosses over I-94.) It was good to see Russ, Reid, Rob, and Kenny again. They approved of the looks of it, and its lower center of gravity. (But then, of course, what were they going to say with me standing right there?)

This 4.4-mile ride took me 34 minutes. Feeling it was pretty sparse, I wanted to lengthen it when I got back home, but the finger-tightened bolts holding the seat together had loosened, making the ride pretty wobbly, and I wanted to use the new ratchet wrench I bought to tighten it up. Having now done that, I may try to push myself out the door and do a few more miles after I get Michelle home this afternoon.

As I had hoped to, I was able to do an additional ride late this afternoon. In beautiful spring sunshine, I rode down to that subdivision where I rode yesterday, and did two laps in there today, then returned home. This gave me 8 miles in 49 minutes, for a day's total of 12.4 miles in 1:23.

4th ride - 5/5/15

Yesterday I expressed my gratitude for Michelle's permission to ride near our home, which is much more convenient than packing up the bike and driving somewhere every time I ride. But I also thank her for simply allowing me to ride at all once again, as I know this has to make her uneasy, given my history. But it really is a different ballgame now, with the new cycle—and I'm doing my very best to exercise caution and conservative judgment at all times.

Today, rain was predicted for some of the day, so I decided to get the ride done early, and headed out about 8:30. I rode the sidewalk along Ellsworth west to Maple Rd., and then came back and went down to a nearby subdivision (Stonebridge) that Michelle has recommended to me, based on her own rides there, for its largely flat terrain and very scarce traffic. This all enabled me to get in a dry ride, albeit a slow one, of 8 miles in 58 minutes.

3rd ride - 5/4/15

I am so grateful to Michelle for allowing me to ride near our home, as it made today's ride MUCH easier. After first successfully negotiating the significant hurdle of reassembling the trike, made necessary by our having to fold in to transport it in the car yesterday, I did my longest one to date, about 11.2 miles in an hour and 19 minutes, riding down to Saline High School -- and best of all, it was completely problem-free, as I was able to do the whole ride off-road (on trails and walks). All, that is, except for a brief portion of about 100 feet when I got down to Saline High and the sidewalk ran out. But, riding there at midday, the roads were deserted, and I was able to quickly and easily turn around and get back on the walk headed home.

2nd ride - 5/3/15

We had a busy day today, but on our way home from our niece's birthday party in Mason, we stopped by Hudson Mills Metropark again, and today I rode twice as far as yesterday (4 loops rather than 2), in 59 minutes. It was lovely weather for riding both days this weekend, and today while I rode, Michelle walked the loop, in the other direction, so that I kept passing her. And whereas yesterday she had to do the lion's share of the work in assembling the trike, today I was able to do the majority of it.

1st ride - 5/2/15

In 2013, I bicycled very devotedly, and kept a blog. However, balance-related issues from the brain injury I received in my 1993 accident led to numerous falls and injuries. I did not ride, therefore, from late September 2013 until May 2014, when I tried to restart, but after about a week of riding, I had another fall, leading to a minor concussion.

Though I would still have liked to keep riding, I felt it was unloving and unfair to my wife to keep subjecting her to the worry. This spring, I set up a FundMe project in order to pay for a pricey adult tricycle.

In the spring of 2014, I had a conversation with Rob Bauman, a colleague of Michelle's at her school, in which he recommended to me Jack's Bicycle in Dearborn, Michigan's oldest bicycle dealer (since 1935). They handle TerraTrikes, a brand of trikes which several former students of mine ride, and have recommended highly to me. So, on Saturday, March 28, I went to Jack's to do a little research and costs and product availability. Then, on Saturday, April 11, Michelle and I went back there so that I could test ride one, having settled on TerraTrike's Traveler model (because of its advantage of folding up for easier transport).

Following the successful completion of the FundMe campaign, Michelle and I went back to Jack's yesterday, May 2, and purchased a TerraTrike Traveler. We experienced mild frustration at the store in trying to learn how to fold it up for transport, and then to reassemble it again, but eventually got it, and later in the day went to Hudson Mills Metropark, north of Dexter, where I enjoyed an inaugural ride, keeping it modest and doing 2 of the park's 2.7-mile loops, for a total of 5.4 miles, in a half-hour. As I came toward the conclusion of this brief ride, Michelle snapped this picture of me.