Today was a full and challenge-filled morning. I had hoped to do a somewhat longer ride, but the challenges, though none were backbreaking individually, added up to sap my gumption. And two of the challenges include my inability to map the route, and a failure of my watch, so that I can be certain of neither time nor distance. However, my best guess is roughly 13 miles in about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
I looked forward to riding with my friend Kahle, who lives up at Brighton. We planned to ride in the Island Lake Recreation Area, where we have ridden several times before, and perhaps also in the adjacent Kensington Metropark.
I was awake in the night, as always—this time from 2:30 until 4:00, when I slipped back into bed. However, I was unable to get back to sleep. Since I had told Kahle I'd meet him at his house at 7:00, I figured I needed to be out the door no later the 6:00 in order to get the trike disassembled and loaded it into the car, and to drive up there. So I allowed myself to get up at 5:30, knowing I'd be running on short sleep, but then, that is nothing new.
When I got to Kahle's house, everything was dark. After trying to decide what I should do, I sat down on their porch and texted him. In a few minutes I heard him call to his wife Sue, "I think he's been here and has already gone." I called out, "I'm here!" and we were soon talking. It turned out that he had sent me a second email last night, after the first one that I had read, and I didn't see this second one. In it, he noted that he wouldn't have his truck today (into the back of which we normally put our bikes to go to the park and ride). However, Kahle is a problem solver, and he soon told me that he could ride the 8 miles to the park (which would take him about 40 minutes) and meet me there.
We agreed that I would go to Kensington, and where I would park, and that I should then begin riding in a counterclockwise direction around the lake, and he'd come and catch me. This sounded like a good plan to me, since on his bike he's a much faster rider than I am on my trike, so I set off and was soon at Kensington unloading and setting up the trike. At this point, however, I encountered the next challenge. I put my head down and started riding resolutely, and only a couple of miles later did I realize that I had picked the wrong direction, and was going clockwise. (I consider myself a good navigator, but in all fairness it was cloudy, and that particular parking area was somewhat confusing.)
I wheeled about and made up my error, and began going the right way. But this faux pas created my next challenge. By the time I got to the tunnel that connects Island Lake (through which he was coming) to Kensington (beneath I-96), I was afraid our plans to meet up were waylaid. So I exchanged texts with him again, and he concluded by saying, "I'll see you soon," which I took to mean he was still behind me.
I waited a few minutes, and then rode up the east side of Kent Lake, stopping at a picnic and parking area, from which I texted him again after waiting about a half hour. But he told me he was already by my car (next challenge), so I knew he was way ahead of me and figured I'd better get a move on. When I sat down to move off, the center joint collapsed again, as it did a few weeks ago, with a loud crack (next challenge). But, grateful both that this hadn't happened while I was riding, and that it hadn't come apart this time, I was able to pop up and get it securely fastened. One helpful young lady stopped and asked if she could be of assistance, but after showing her my card to explain why I couldn't speak to her, I assured her I was good to go.
A couple of times during the morning, groups of runners passed me while I was using the wrench to tighten the seat (which kept loosening and wobbling every few hundred yards—yet another challenge), and they asked me if everything was OK. I choked out as best I could, "Yes—fine," but at these contradictory words and tone of voice, on both occasions they laughed. I understood, and might well have reacted the same way myself—but the way the morning was going, these incidents did not fill me with happy thoughts.
As I rode on a bit further, Kahle texted me to say that he was coming back my way to ride with me, and so we got to actually ride a couple of miles together, at the end of our journey. After climbing a massive hill that left me panting in a big way (huge challenge), we were soon back at my car, and I assured him that it was fine to go if he wanted, and I'd meet him back at his house to give him the ride to pick up his truck about which he had already asked me.
By the time I got to Kahle's house, I had a wait of a little over a half-hour before he arrived; then he needed some time to cool down, repeatedly proffering heartfelt apologies for having thrown such a wrench in my schedule. But, as I assured him, I had no plans, so he was disturbing nothing, and I was very happy to be able to help out.
Next we set off to get his truck ... but he needed me to run him by a mechanic's first, in order to pick up an item he needed from their other car, that was there. This was somewhat off the beaten track, and then on the drive from there to Ann Arbor so he could get his truck, we encountered detours that took us well out of the way. Finally, though, it was accomplished, and I returned home, arriving shortly after noon (having been up since 4:30 and left home at 6:00). I took my trike out of the car, carefully reassembled it, and came inside to clean up and chill out.
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