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.

145th ride - 10/30/2015

Today was a milestone day. I went out in cool enough conditions so that my gloves felt perfect, as did my fleece worn over a hoodie worn over a t-shirt; but still, it was much more tolerable than yesterday's rides! I rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, completing the 17.5 miles in 1 hour and 42 minutes, to push me over 2100 miles for the year since getting the trike on May 2. I am now wondering whether it is realistic to consider making 2500 miles by Thanksgiving, and perhaps even (weather permitting) 3000 by year's end. The vast majority of the miles I've ridden this year have, of course, been on my own trike; but when we visited Ft. Collins, Colorado in July, I got a trike from the Ft. Collins Bike Library and rode almost 80 miles on it in the week we were there.

And today's portion of 'adventure' came early in the ride. Less than 5 minutes into it, my right shoelace came undone and got wrapped around the pedal crank. Now, this has happened in the past, and it's a sufficient challenge when seated on the trike to lean forward and get it disentangled even while on flat ground. However, today it occurred on an uphill stretch whose gradient was too steep for my brakes to hold. So I had to try and hold it in position as best I could with my left heel, while leaning forward with my right leg outstretched and the shoelace caught, and do my best to fix the mess. About 5 minutes later, I was finally on my way.

144th ride - 10/29/2015

This morning I went out and rode in unpleasant conditions—cold (40° when I finished, at 10:15), and windy (a steady 14 mph WSW wind). I managed a round trip to Marsh Park before cashing it in and deciding to do a second ride later in the day, hoping the weather will be better, and finishing this 9.5-mile ride in 59 minutes.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON

Well, it the conditions did not improve one bit between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. today. It was precisely as cold and just as windy, both according to the way it felt on my body, and to the reporting of weather.com. Nevertheless, I pushed myself out the door to do another Marsh Park round trip, this time a minute faster, in 58 minutes, for a daily total of 19 miles in 1 hour and 57 minutes.

143rd ride - 10/28/2015

I celebrated John's 29th birthday today with a late, short ride. This morning, they were calling for daylong rain, so I went to LA Fitness and worked out on the stationary bike, after dropping Michelle off at school. But then, by late afternoon it had cleared enough to permit a ride, so after picking her up and getting her home, I went out, keeping it short. I rode south on the asphalt trail I ride, the Lohr-Textile Greenway, as far as Textile Rd.; but then, rather than turning east and riding to Marsh Park as I usually do, I turned west on the Greenway instead and went as far as it goes (not very), to Woodland Drive, where I wheeled around and headed back home, completing a 7-mile ride in 40 minutes even.

142nd ride - 10/27/2015

I left at quarter to eight this morning, with a fleece over my sweatshirt, my blessed gloves firmly in place (43°), and my headlight flashing clearly. I had intended to ride three round trips to Marsh Park, but shortly after I turned back during the first one, the noise I was hearing yesterday returned to my rear wheel. I described it then as a "flapping" sound, but it's really more sort of a dull THWOCK  or FWOP that sounds with each revolution of the wheel. Michelle is, of course, at school, and today she has our car for use on an after-school field trip. So, being concerned about having a breakdown several miles from home and having to do a long walk, I shortened it to a single round trip (finishing this 9.5 miles in 58 minutes), and hope to add another ride this afternoon.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON

This afternoon I went out, and, feeling the need for some variety (which is an extremely rare need for me), I rode my Bicentennial loop route, which takes me down around Saline High School, completing the 10.3 miles in 1 hour and 1 minute, for a daily total of 19.8 miles in 1 hour and 59 minutes

141st ride - 10/26/2015

I rode this morning in coolish conditions (53° when I finished, shortly before noon), but brilliant autumn sunshine. I ended up doing 1.5 round trips to Marsh Park—on the second, I rode as far south as Textile Rd., and then, rather than turning and heading east to the park, I wheeled about and headed back home. This gave me a ride of 13.6 miles, in 1 hour and 19 minutes.

My left front and then rear wheels were making a flapping sound that concerned me (not simultaneously). I was worried that it might indicate a looming flat. But I made it home OK, and a visual inspection revealed no problems (at least to this untrained observer).

I may tack on another ride this afternoon, but am not yet fully committed to the idea—we'll see.

140th ride - 10/25/2015

Today was another of those days when I foolishly left my gloves at home. Because it was 43° when I finished, at about 9:00, and I'm sure it was at least a couple of degrees colder when I started, I decided to cut it down to a single round trip to Marsh Park this morning, and then tag on another this afternoon following the Lions' game, when it should be much more tolerable. So anyway, this morning I rode the 9.5 miles in 54 minutes, spurred by thoughts of getting home to warm up (my feet, too—I'm going to have to look into some special warm socks for my winter riding!).

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

I went back out this afternoon in much more enjoyable conditions, and even with the bad taste of the Lions' loss to Minnesota in my mouth, managed to push myself anyway to do another Marsh Park round trip, this time in 58 minutes, for a daily total of 19 miles in 1 hour and 52 minutes.

139th ride - 10/23/2015

Today was a big, big day in my riding, as I went over 2000 total miles for the year. For someone as strongly oriented to numbers and statistics as I am, this is huge. I rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, in 1 hour and 32 minutes (17.5 miles).

After getting the trike on May 2, I completed my first 1000 miles on July 30, or in 90 days. The second 1000 took me 85 days, so it's nice to see that I'm picking up the pace a little as I go along.

I'm hoping I can do much better next year (well above 3000 miles), and it seems to be this should be feasible since I'll have the whole year rather than just a portion of it.

Even though I like to ride in the morning (the earlier the better), today I wanted to devote the morning to finishing up a handbell piece that I just began last night—I was 'in the zone,' and so wanted to press ahead with it while that was still the case. I was happy to finish it completely late morning, and then got my ride started about quarter to noon. But the reward for this delayed start was the opportunity to enjoy a lovely, sunshiny fall afternoon.

138th ride - 10/22/2015

Good ride today—for the second time this week, I was able to break my record of three consecutive round trips to Marsh Park. On Tuesday I did the 25.5 miles in 2:14:28, and today I did it in 2:10:34. Also by forcing myself to do three today, I got in position to top the 2000-mile barrier for the year tomorrow by simply completing two round trips. A few months ago I was thinking I'd aim for 2000 for the year, but now I'm thinking at least 2500, and as much farther beyond that as I can.

Halfway through (at Marsh Park in the middle of the second round trip), I stopped for a moment, and a man sitting there asked me a question about the trike. So I whipped out the card I carry to explain why I couldn't clearly speak with him, but we ended up visiting for a few minutes anyway. He told me his name was Bill Miller, and after I told him I had ridden 2000 miles on it since getting it in May, he told me that a few years ago, he gave up his car for 13 months, and in that one year he rode 3300 miles on his mountain bike. (This had to have been quite a challenge, since he said he also has 3 sons -- 11, 7, and 2, I think he said.)

137th ride - 10/21/2015

This morning, weather.com was calling for showers in our area until 10:45. So I went out for a much later ride than I usually do, and rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, finishing the 175 miles in a new record time for me of 1:29:49. (My previous best, on October 13, was 1:31:33). Conditions were cool but quite humid, and the trail over which I rode was quite wet

136th ride - 10/20/2015

After a virtually unheard of two straight days off, I was happy to get back to riding today, and in beautiful fall sunshine I did three consecutive round trips to Marsh Park. It was cool, but not cold (in the fifties when I started, a bit past 9:00, and 64° when I finished), so that a sweatshirt over a turtleneck felt good. But it was much warmer today than yesterday!

With the rest I had accumulated, I was able to push myself at a pretty healthy pace, and smashed my old record for that route. I had done it on June 26 in about 2:34, and today I turned it in 2:14:28.

135th ride - 10/17/2015

This morning, as a warmup for today's big Michigan/Michigan State football game, I went out at 7:40 and rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, turning the 17.5 miles in 1 hour and 52 minutes. I could barely mash my helmet on and fasten it over the hood from my hoodie, but at 30°, I sure needed it! I was glad, too, to find out it is feasible, as it will be absolutely critical when I ride this winter. On that asphalt trail, away from traffic, it seems to me that it should be feasible to ride many days this winter. I will not ride in heavy snowfall, but I can dress for the cold.

134th ride - 10/16/2015

This morning I rode under brilliantly blue skies, though it was cool—39° at the start, which made my gloves an excellent choice, though it had warmed up to a balmy 50° a little before 11:00 a.m.! And I once again "settled" for a single round trip to Marsh Park, riding the 9.5 miles in 57 minutes. Today's ride put me over 1900 miles for the year! And I hope to do another ride this afternoon.

I was pleased today, when riding on the trail headed toward State Rd., a little before getting there, to pass a man and have him call out in a friendly voice, "Hi, Allen!" Stopping, I went back to him, and asked, "Carl?" This was my new friend whom I met during Saturday morning's ride. Through persistence and repetition, I was able to get him to understand my question, "Do you have email?" And I was then amused when he asked me, "Can you remember it?" I thought to myself, "You're talking to the OCD King here!" and then just repeated it nearly endlessly in my head to lock it in until I could reach home and note it down.

It was a double friend day, too, as I also saw my friend Carole Franklin walking on the trail toward the end of my ride along Textile, before turning north along Lohr.

133rd ride - 10/15/2015

I am making good headway on the Christmas piece I began yesterday, and as I rode this morning (beginning just before 8:00), I felt I should minimize my ride and return to the composition. So I settled for a single round trip to Marsh Park again today, finishing the 9.5 miles in the considerably slower time than yesterday of 58 minutes (vs. 52 then), but still it is one of the relatively few times I have done it in under an hour. (My riding times have improved considerably since a recent tweak that Jack's Bicycle did to my left brake, finding that it was 'catching' or dragging slightly, so they freed it up, and now pedaling is vastly easier.)

132nd ride - 10/14/2015

My composing keeps getting in the way of my riding. I feel, however, that this is a very nice 'problem' to have!

Today I decided to defer my normal morning ride until this afternoon, so that I could work on the choral anthem I was composing. I just began it this past Sunday, and finished it up this morning, and feel quite good about it.

During the early part of my ride today, I was thinking about what I'd like to turn my compositional energies to next, and I decided to begin a simple Christmas piece. Now, knowing first-hand the way choir directors need to plan in advance, especially for Christmas, I realize that the chances of it being used in 2015 are very slim indeed. But still, I felt if there was any chance at all, I needed to get cracking on it, so I cut my planned two round trips to Marsh Park back to a single one, and rode this 9.5 miles in 52 minutes.

I was eager to get back and begin to work our some of the ideas tumbling around in my head. But riding is quite compatible with initial thinking, so I was able to plan out the title, some of the text, the general texture, key signature and time signature, and choice of an obbligato instrument (violin). Now to get to work!

131st ride - 10/13/2015

Today was another gray, cool, windy day. I set off with the idea in mind of doing three round trips to Marsh Park, and what changed my mind was an eagerness to get back to work on a piece I'm composing for our church choir. It's going very well, so I want to continue to "strike while the iron's hot." The anthem is titled How Can I Keep from Singing? This classic hymn text really resonates with me, given the unusual nature of my autobiography, and the muting of my singing (and speaking) voice that I have to endure as a result of the severe 1993 car accident I experienced. 

Anyway, today I rode the 17.5 miles in a new record time for me of 1:31:33. The best time I had for it previously was 1:35:39 two days ago, on Sunday. My good pace made it tempting for me to push on for that third round trip, knowing I'd almost surely set a new record for that distance. But music was calling me ...

130th ride - 10/12/2015

Had a good ride this morning in cool fall sunshine (low sixties, so that a sweatshirt felt good) —I went 20.3 miles (in 2 hours and 14 minutes), out to Baker Rd. (Dexter) on the long sidewalk along the south side of Jackson Rd. Some planner must have borne a lot of incredulous scorn back in the day when the walk was called for, but I certainly bless his or her forethought, as it effectively connects Ann Arbor and Dexter for us older folks (not quite ready to call myself a 'senior' yet!) and is a godsend for me. I do the vast majority of my riding on the Lohr-Textile Greenway, but when, like today, I just have to have a change, this makes for a great option.

On the way out, I had an interesting encounter. I pulled up to an intersection, waiting to cross it, and a man walking did a double-take looking at my trike, and then asked, "Is that thing easier to ride than a regular bike?" I thought, "That's a good question—and one I haven't really considered before!" But I gestured with my forefinger and thumb, and told him, "It's just a little bit harder." It's a complex issue, because some things (balance especially) are definitely easier. But when all factors are considered—the weight of the cycle, its gearing, and the wobbly, sloppy handling of its steering due to the way the two independent front wheel are hooked together by a metal tie rod, I do believe it's  a bit more challenging than a bicycle, and certainly provides a healthy workout.

Also, on the way back, I stopped at Varsity Ford to say hello to Steve Burkett and Rob Worden in the parts department, with whom I became friends when I was driving errands for Firestone 2001–2014. I hadn't seen them for quite some time, so that was nice. Rob is a motorcycle rider, so after I wrote out a note saying that I wanted to show them my new wheels, which I got May 2 and on which I have put 1850+ miles since then, I told him, "But no motor on mine!"

129th ride - 10/11/2015

This morning I went out bright and early (well, actually, not too bright yet!) at 7:20 and rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, finishing the 17.5 miles in a new record time for me of 1:35:29. (The best I had done it previously was 1:41:16 on September 30). And today, in contrast to yesterday's foolishness, I wore my gloves which felt great, even though it was all the way up to a balmy 48° at the conclusion of today's ride.

I'll try to go out for a short ride this afternoon, to put me over my yearly mileage for 2013, when I did 1831.8 on my regular bike. (I'm currently at 1829.2 on the trike.)

And I'm happy to note that yesterday's repairs at Jack's Bicycle did the trick, and everything seemed solid and secure today.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

I went out this afternoon in the nice fall sunshine and rode a single loop in Stonebridge (my first time in there since August 5), and that 5.9 miles (in 31 minutes) put me over my 2013 total bicycling mileage. Now I can focus on my 2015 mileage in a more concentrated fashion—I'm hoping to get to 2000 miles by at least the 24th, and as much beyond that as possible by the end of the year (I'd like to make at least 2500).

This also upped my totals for today to 23.4 miles in 2 hours and 6 minutes.

128th ride - 10/10/2015

Well, today's ride ended with an incident that was more than even this admitted adrenalin junkie enjoyed. This one, however, can be blamed on neither TerraTrike nor Jack's Bicycle.

I went out a little past 8:00 a.m., and it was very cold—we got the season's first frost last night, and I should have worn gloves, but didn't. I had planned to do a longer ride, but the conditions and my lack of appropriate apparel made me pretty quickly decide to just "settle" for a single round trip to Marsh Park.

I got there fine and was headed back, just having crossed State, when I stopped for a moment, and while I was sitting there, a man came by walking, grinned, and said, "You sure put a lot of miles on that thing! I see you out here a lot." I told him (with my fingers), "1800 miles this year." He laughed, "You do really well!" I said, "I try," and he replied, "No—you do it!"

I showed my card explaining why I can't speak clearly, and we visited for just a minute; when I asked him his name, he told me, "Carl." Then before I rode away, he asked, "How old are you?" I told him, "Fifty-eight," and asked, "And you?" He told me he was 56, so I said, "Close!"

Anyway, I left him behind as I continued on toward our condo, and when I reached Ellsworth Rd., just less than a mile before home, I was waiting to cross the road, when a navy blue SUV came whipping around the corner at a high rate of speed and clipped my pedal. Thankfully, I was untouched and uninjured, but the force was sufficient to snap my chain. I was glad to be that close to home, and so locked the bike up to a nearby pole, walked home, told Michelle I was going to Dearborn (she looked up from her pillow and sleepily told me, "I'm sorry"), got the car, went back down there, disassembled the trike, loaded it into the car, and then headed for Jack's Bicycle in Dearborn, my home-away-from-home. I didn't have to be at Jack's too long today, and when I went to leave, I asked, "What do I owe you?" Richard just waved it off—I think they must be starting to feel sorry for me.

127th ride - 10/9/2015

I am told that (understandably) my blog makes for more interesting reading when I experience mechanical troubles that necessitate a return to my friends at Jack's Bicycle in Dearborn, where I bought the trike in May. 

However, after my most recent trip there (yesterday), where they straightened out the problems I was having, I was glad to be able to climb back in the saddle today and experience a problem-free ride, doing consecutive round trips to Marsh Park on a gray, gloomy, cool (58° at the conclusion) and windy day, turning in the 17.5 miles in 1 hour and 43 minutes.

Today's ride put me over 1800 miles for the year; when I told my friend Doug this week that I was thinking of adjusting my yearly goal from 2000 miles to 2500, he grinned and said, "That's what's good about you, Allen—you like to set nice, easy goals." And the other noteworthy thing about today's ride was that a short stretch of the Lohr-Textile Greenway (at Bicentennial Pkwy) was closed off by tape due to construction. However, this was easily circumvented by detouring onto the shoulder of the road for just a very few feet (about 10) and then cutting back up onto the path by crossing the grass.

10/8/2015

After leaving Ann Arbor early today so that I could be at Jack's in Dearborn, unloaded, with the trike assembled, and waiting for their opening at 10:00 a.m., I just got home at 2:30. I am not 100% certain yet, but I am considering allowing myself the day off from riding, as my energy and initiative are sapped.

After a lengthy wait, they finally were able to work on my cycle. And one of the first things they asked me was, "Why did you extend the boom?" (The major front-to-back tube in the frame of the trike.) I said, "I didn't." But it had somehow gotten extended, and this caused the chain to fail to engage properly with the gear, and also caused the derailleur to fail to shift properly. They adjusted that for me, at no charge, and also (at my request) showed me what to do if it should even happen again — it's just the adjustment of two small screws. "But you should be good now," Richard said. "I can't explain why it happened—it was tight—but stuff just happens sometimes. However, I snugged it up real good for you."

This work on the boom was all at no charge to me, and my only cost today was $8 and change for a new bell ... my old one had fallen off and broken, leading to the (humorous) prospect of me trying to call out, "Coming through!" when approaching pedestrians from behind.

126th ride - 10/7/2015

Another high-adventure day ... but with no danger, thank goodness!

I set off this morning to ride two round trips to Marsh Park (wanting to do three, but somewhat constricted by schedule, I figured I'd do more later today). I got there on the first, and was on my way home when, just after having crossed Textile Rd. and while on the boardwalk, about two miles from home, the rear gear locked up and wouldn't turn at all.

I got off the trike, turned it on its side, and was in the process of examining it, trying to figure out what (if anything) I could do, when a man walking his dog happened by, and asked me if I needed help. (I could tell he was a good man, as his dog was named Miggy.) I conveyed as best I could what was happening, and, having more of a mechanical bent than I (but then who doesn't?), within a couple of minutes he had it spinning freely again. I got on and rode, but could tell it still wasn't right—I could hear and feel the chain slipping on the rear gear. Miggy's owner worked on it some more, but still couldn't figure it out. He asked where I lived, and I pointed and said, "Just a couple miles up Lohr. I'll be able to make it home OK. Thanks!"

I could ride, but the slipping of the chain made for a significantly increased number of pedal revolutions, so it ended up being a great workout! And I had made good enough time during the first part of the ride that I got home in an hour even (9.5 miles).

About a mile from home, my pedaling finally took effect, and the chain engaged the gear! I was quite encouraged by this, but it didn't last long (only a couple of minutes), so that made the large hills I encounter north of Ellsworth Rd. quite a challenge. On the uphills, my fast pedaling and slow forward progress were not all that unusual for those stretches, but it was frustrating on the downhills to be unable to shift into a lower gear, and instead to merely have the pedals spinning at top speed without the chain engaging the gear at all.

In the early part of the ride, before my mechanical problems, I think I passed my friend Carole Franklin walking (though my distance vision, even corrected, is poor enough that I couldn't be 100% positive). And then, as I neared home, I know I passed my friend Doris Granum, as she called out to me, asking what round I was on. I held up one finger, and thought, "Oh, Lord, if you only knew!"

So, unless I am able to get it figured out later today (with the assistance of my cycling friend Doug, who is to blame for having gotten me hooked), I guess I'll be returning to the dealer tomorrow—Jack's Bicycle, in Dearborn.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

Doug stopped by this noon to look it over, but he said there's a problem with the derailleur which is beyond him, so back to Dearborn I go. Schedule prohibits doing it today, so I'll have to head over tomorrow morning, and hope I can work in a ride after I get home, tomorrow afternoon.

125th ride - 10/6/2015

Today I rode three consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, happy that I could overcome the mental sloth that lured me with the whisper, Settle for two! I completed this 25.5-mile ride in a quite good time (nearly my best) of 2 hours and 31 minutes.

Now I am rewarding myself by sitting on our patio, enjoying the fall warmth (currently 63°), having a late lunch (a protein bar, some yogurt, some pumpkin mini-muffins, and some blackberries) and listening to my favorite composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, which I will allow to serve as backdrop for reading. I am currently listening to his Partitas (suites, or collections of related movements, most based on Baroque dance forms, for keyboard), and when they have finished (a little over an hour's worth), I'll turn to his French Suites (about an hour) and his English Suites (a little over 2 hours). I kept copies of all three of these keyboard collections on the piano in my studio when I was teaching at Olivet College (1987-93), and if I ever had 5 spare minutes (say, between classes) I'd sit down and read through a movement or two.

124th ride - 10/5/2015

I rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park this morning when my Michigan hoodie felt great. (63°) I had considered doing three round trips, but found myself too eager to get back and spend time on a project that has my attention right now. At any rate, I sped through the 17.5 miles in one of my faster times for it, finishing in 1:44.

123rd ride - 10/4/2015

Today, I decided to forego an early morning ride before church, so I went out at 1:45 p.m. instead. And I wanted to do a single round trip to Marsh Park, and completed this 9.5-mile ride in 55:59. It felt quite good and comforting (I'd be tempted to say 'pleasant,' if not for the fact that a friend teases me about my overreliance on that word) to limit myself deliberately in this way—to ride by an area and not have to think, "I need to go by here again" (perhaps even two or three times). And now I settle in to watch the Tigers' season finale.

122nd ride - 10/3/2015

For the third straight day, I rode in a healthy wind (though today it was intermittent). Setting off at 7:30 this morning, I thought I might try for 4 consecutive round trips, for only the third time (the others being August 1 and last Saturday). But instead, I settled for two, completing the 17.5 miles in one of my fastest times for that distance (1:47:40) under sullen, gray skies.

I see, too, that I am coming up quickly on 200 hours of elapsed time for riding this year, and hope to pass that next week. I may also pass another milestone—the 1831.8 miles I rode in 2013, when I was still on my bicycle. A good week next week will put me over it by the weekend, as I am now at 1723.4.

121st ride - 10/2/2015

I kind of "wimped out" this morning, only doing a single round trip to Marsh Park. I had intended to do three, but riding conditions were far from ideal, with a temperature of 52° and a rather brisk wind from the east. But then, I realize that I was spoiled by all my rides on balmy days this spring and summer. I might as well make up my mind to it, though—for the most part, such rides are long gone now until next spring.

So I settled for the one round trip, doing the 9.5 miles in 1 hour and 2 minutes. However, the day did have one significant feature—my mileage pushed over 1700 for the year! Now I hope to push myself out to do another one late afternoon.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

I saw the movie "Everest" this afternoon, and though I enjoyed it immensely, its intense, dark atmosphere had me pretty much convinced to forgo a second ride today and just go home and hunker down. But when I emerged from the theater into the late afternoon sunshine, I seemed to hear the message, "Go ahead and ride—just keep it short." So I rode on walks in neighborhoods near our home, ringing up 4.2 miles in 33 minutes, for a daily total of 13.7 miles in 1 hour and 35 minutes.

120th ride - 10/1/2015

This morning I went out early (7:15) and rode a round trip to Marsh Park, completing the 9.5 miles in under 59 minutes. The 46° temperature made my long-sleeved t-shirt and the fleece over it feel just right! But it reminded me, too, that soon I'm going to have to switch from riding in shorts to wearing long pants.

Again today, I plan to supplement with a ride this afternoon.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON

I did go out this afternoon, and rode a somewhat new route. ("Somewhat" because almost all of it I had ridden at various times previously.) I rode to Marsh Park, and then, on the way back, I turned south from Textile Rd. onto Wilson Rd. (the walk by it), and rode it to the back of the Centennial Park subdivision, where it joins Bicentennial Parkway and I could then complete the rest of my loop that goes around south of Saline High School (on paths and walks) and comes back up to our neck of the woods. This additional 12.7 miles (in 1 hour and 21 minutes) gave me daily totals of 22.2 miles in 2 hours and 20 minutes, and left me just a bit shy of 1700 miles for the year, which I should pass tomorrow.