40th ride of 2016 - Thursday, March 24, 2016

This morning, the weather did, indeed, permit me to ride outside, as I hoped. I rode in a cold (45 degrees) light rain. The rain was not particularly bothersome except for the way it rendered my glasses virtually useless. I'd take out my handkerchief and swab them, but within a couple of minutes they'd be obscured once more by fogging and water drops. Finally, for the last couple miles, I slid them down to the tip of my nose and peered over the top. This was NOT an ideal solution for one whose nearsightedness is as severe as mine, but it was quite feasible for an off-road ride on a route I know so well.

I decided to settle for a second straight day of doing consecutive round trips to Marsh Park. This decision was sealed during the second round trip when I awakened to the fact that spray from the trail had completely soaked my gloves and my hands were two blocks of ice. I did the 18.0 miles in an hour and 58 minutes, running my mileage for the year to over 462 miles (an average of less than 6 miles a day). This is a disconcerting total, but there have been an awful lot of days when I couldn't ride due to mechanical issues, weather, or our trip to Jamaica. I am hoping (?) that the bulk of such days for 2016 are now behind me.

39th ride of 2016 - Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Today the temperature has been falling all day. At 5 a.m. it was in the mid-fifties; when I left for my ride at 8:30, it was 43 degrees; and when I finished, at 10:30, it was 42. (Northern parts of Michigan are already getting some snow. Happy Spring! 😡 ) Accordingly, I shortened my ride and only did consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, completing the 18 miles in 1 hour and 58 minute.

38th ride of 2016 - Tuesday, March 22, 2016

After not having ridden since Friday, I was indescribably glad to be able to get out today. As I began my ride Saturday, a problem developed with the right front tire, as the tube worked its way out of the tire. I couldn't get a fixed that day, as Michelle was gone with the car, and Sunday the shops were closed. Yesterday I was able to get to Jack's Bicycle in Dearborn, but by the time I got home it was late and my back hurt, so I let it go.

Today I rode three consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, completing the 26.0 miles in just under 2 hours and 42 minutes. When I began, at 10:00 a.m., it was 42 degrees, but by the time I had finished, it had warmed up nicely, to 55.

I am always highly motivated by numbers, so today as I rode, I hatched a goal. I got my trike last May 2, and I thought it would be fun to see if I could make 1000 miles for the year by this May 2. I can't figure it out precisely, since my mileage records are on my laptop, which is in the shop being repaired. But I believe that today's ride puts me over 440 for the year so far, which means I need to average about 14 miles per day until then. At this time of year that should be quite doable (though it would have been a challenge in January or February.

Yesterday when I was at Jack's, one of the mechanics who is familiar with my frequent trips there, strolled by me, grinned a goofy grin, and (knowing I was there a tire issue), said, "HERE'S what you need!" And he pointed to a nearby model with big, fat tires. indicating a small box on it, he said, "Motorized, too!" I quickly typed out, " 'Motorized' wouldn't help me with my goal of weight loss." He screwed up his face as though he never would have considered this, and finally concluded, "You make a good point!"  😄

37th ride of 2016 - Friday, 3/18/2016

 Today, I was happy to be able to ride three consecutive round trips to Marsh Park. At the decision point, after two, I SO wanted to stop, but managed to push on, completing the 26.0 miles in a slow ride of a few seconds over 3 hours. A milestone, though, as the long ride allowed to eke over 400 miles for the year.

I also achieved a minor mechanical success. Yesterday I noticed that one of the bolts holding the rear rack on was gone. I managed to remove the corresponding one from the other side and take it to Lowe's. I got one with the right threading, but they were out of stock on the length I needed. I gambled with one just SLIGHTLY short, and it worked. Got it put back together today, and, though it hadn't affected performance any, this eliminated the irritating persistent rattle. 😋

36th ride of 2016 - Thursday, 3/17/2016

This morning, I was delighted to be able to ride again, since yesterday's problems with the laptop and with the flat tire on my trike meant that I couldn't. By the time I got the trike fixed, it was late afternoon and I was spent. Additionally, the high winds we experienced all day continued. (Strong steady winds with gusts of over 50 mph.)

Today I was challenged by both the continued high winds (24 mph) and by assembly of the trike. But I finally was able to go, and settled for one round trip to Marsh Park, doing the 10.0 miles in a slow time of 1 hour and 13 minutes. This was a good way to celebrate my 59th birthday on St. Patrick's Day, or, as I like to call it, St. Allen's Day. 😇

I hoped to tack on another this afternoon. But a full day of errands plus even higher winds meant I needed to surrender that hope.

35th ride of 2016 - Tuesday, March 15, 2016

This morning, with no rain, I was able to do the ride I had wanted to do yesterday, completing three consecutive round trips to Marsh Park for the first time since October 22. My time for this 26-mile ride was a quite slow 2 hours and 55 minutes, but I know that it will improve as both the weather and I heat up. Today when I left, at 9:00 a.m., it was 48°, and when I finished, it had skyrocketed all the way up to 50°! With this temperature, under gray skies, both my light jacket and my gloves were welcome.

34th ride of 2016 - Monday, March 14, 2016

This morning I rode consecutive round trips to Marsh Park in less than ideal conditions. Leaving at 9:30, I rode much of the way in foggy conditions accompanied by a light rain. The rain was not problematic for riding, but it was highly irritating for a glasses wearer such as myself. Riding on the trail, it was not dangerous, but it was inexpressibly frustrating to be unable to see clearly.

I had wanted to do three round trips (for the first time since October 22, and could have pushed on to do it, as the rain had abated by late in my ride and we even experienced partial sunshine. But by that point, I was quite soaked and muddy, and had already made up my mind, so I stayed with that plan.

During the second time I was at the park, I was happy to see my friend Leighann Ayers, walking her dog Gracie. Thankfully, when she called out to me she also identified herself, because my distance vision is poor (even corrected), and I don't think I'd have known who it was.

My desire to do a longer ride today was inspired by a story I read last night in the Recumbent Trikes Group to which I belong on Facebook. A fellow member had left her home in Portland, Oregon in early September, and riding steadily, traversing Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, she had arrived yesterday in Key West, thus traversing the diagonal of mainland U.S. in about six and a half months. Doing very rough math in my head as I rode this morning (since I don't know exactly how far her ride was), I figured she had to average between 25 and 30 miles per day.

I'd love to do a similar long ride someday (though not necessarily from Oregon to Florida, or from Maine to California, for instance). So I figured if I wanted to make it even a possibility, one thing I clearly needed to do was to kick up my mileage. If I can make three round trips (26 miles) my usual standard (which I think is quite feasible), I'd be satisfied for now.

However, doing such a lengthy ride would mean confronting and answering a host of logistical questions. The biggest, of course, would be getting Michelle on board with this plan—she currently does not want me to ride on the roads, but I have hoped (and still do hope) that eventually, by establishing a track record of safety (so she no longer has to worry about calls from the hospital ER as she experienced back in 2013, when I kept falling off my bicycle), she may relent and allow me to do this. Other issues include, but are not limited to:

1) I have been unemployed since December 2014, making it feasible for me to devote considerable time to this pursuit. However, I am seeking work, and even though the most likely possibility is a transcription position that I could do remotely (online), this would not combine well with a lengthy cycling journey.

2) I need to investigate whether it is possible for me to generate electricity somehow from the pedaling, that could then be used to charge my laptop and my phone.

3) I'd have to figure out how and where to transport a small tent and sleeping bag, as well as figure out how and what to eat while traveling.

I'm sure there would be other issues, as well—these are just a few basics that have come to mind so far. And obviously, before attempting a major trip like this, I'd build up to it with shorter cross-country expeditions.

So ... we'll see.

33rd ride of 2016 - Saturday, March 12, 2016

This morning I did a ride I've been looking forward to for months now, but couldn't do during the snow and ice of winter, riding the round trip to Baker Rd. (Dexter), which I am able to accomplish entirely on walks and paths (thankfully). Riding in brilliant sunshine (45° when I began, at 9:45, and 56° when I finished), I allowed myself to wonder if, perhaps, the winter is finally done and spring is now here. This 20.3-mile ride took me 2 hours and 20 minutes.

32nd ride of 2016 - Friday, 3/11/2016

Today was mildly cooler than yesterday in terms of temperature (42° when I began, and 48° when I finished today), but worlds better in terms of overall weather. Whereas yesterday I had to ride in a light rain that left me muddy and soaked before long, today brought bright sunshine, and a definite feel of early spring.

I rode my loop down around Saline High School, and then went to Marsh Park, completing a ride of 14.8 miles in 1 hour and 43 minutes. Significantly, this pushed me past another milestone for the year, as I have now ridden 301.2 miles in 2016.

31st ride of 2016 - 3/10/2016

It was a gray, gloomy start to the morning, with light rain. But as the rain is supposed to intensify during the day, I decided it would be best to get my ride done early. (And anyway, I much prefer morning rides, though I haven't done one for several months.) So I went out at 8:45 and rode in the light rain, on a 54° morning.

Before I got halfway to Marsh Park, I was quite wet and muddy. I had hoped to do a longer ride, but under the conditions, I felt it would be more prudent to get home and get dry and warm and launder my clothes before proceeding on with my day. Therefore, I settled for another single round trip to Marsh Park, completing the 10 miles in 1 hour and 5 minutes.

30th ride of 2016 - 3/9/2016

When I went out to ride at 1:00 p.m. today, it was 70°—a marked contrast from the 31° in which I rode last Friday! Despite the glorious warmth, though, I decided to ride only a single round trip to Marsh Park, completing the 10 miles in 1 hour and 4 minutes. Two factors went into this decision. One was the healthy wind that was buffeting me at 15 mph with higher gusts. The second and more important factor, though, was the fact that I have been making good progress today on a new handbell arrangement today, and during the early part of the ride I got ideas of where I want to go with it from here, so I was eager to get back home and begin to work those out.

I did, however, experience the joy of figuring out the problem that bedeviled me yesterday. With the help of a suggestion from my friend Doug Tidd, I discovered that the front derailleur had not completely engaged one of the gears, but was kind of "in between" two of them, and this was causing the rattling of the chain that so unnerved me. With that taken care of, the noise was totally absent once more.

29th ride of 2016 - 3/8/2016

Another glorious day for a ride—68° and partly sunny. I had hoped, in fact, to take advantage of the weather by riding again today consecutive round trips to Marsh Park, which would have been my first back-to-back days of this route since December 22 and 23. But I was challenged by a mild mechanical 'adventure.' The chain was making an extremely loud rattling noise in the front, where it passes over the gear between the pedals. Because of this, I was concerned about pushing it too much, and so settled for my loop down around Saline High School, emboldened by the nice weather to venture off the familiar path I usually take. I completed this 10.3-mile loop in 1 hour and 6 minutes.

28th ride of 2016 - 3/7/2016

WOW—what a gorgeous day for a ride! When I went out at 1:00 to ride in bright 51° sunshine, it was almost t-shirt weather ... but not quite yet. My light jacket felt good against the wind, and the spray from all the melting snow. But by the time I finished, it was 58°! Tomorrow it's supposed to get over 60°, so I should easily be able to do another "longer" ride, barring mechanical problems.

Today I rode consecutive trips to Marsh Park for the first time since February 7, finishing the 18.0 miles in 1:49:20, which is a new record for me over that distance. Last summer and fall, such a ride would have been commonplace and rather easy for me, but now, after the ravages of the winter, I find it to be a challenge, and I will be rebuilding my stamina in coming weeks.

27th ride of 2016 - 3/4/2016

As I hadn't ridden outside since Monday, I was very eager to do so today, and glad to be able to as the weather cooperated. It was a bit nippy, but quite doable, and I've ridden in lots colder weather (18° back on January 20). When I set out today, at 1:00, it was 31° with a very mild wind (7 mph) bringing the wind-chill down to 25°. And the bright sunshine made the ride almost comfortable!

That soon changed, however, as the copious melted snow on the trail had soon soaked my gloves, and riding into that mild wind nearly froze my fingers off! I settled once more for a single round trip to Marsh Park, doing the 10 miles in 1 hour and 9 minutes.

Coming back was much more enjoyable, however, as the temperature had skyrocketed to 35°, and that mild wind went almost still (down to 3 mph). And they're calling for a high in the fifties on Monday, and 60° on Tuesday. Almost t-shirt weather! HA!