15th outdoor ride of 2022 - Friday, 4/29/2022

2022 mileage: 2450.5

Today I had considered doing my 20-mile ride of a round trip to Baker Rd. However, when I left our complex, intractable circumstances forced my hand into a much different ride. The pavement on Lohr Rd., which runs past our condos, was all torn up, and they were resurfacing it. At the time I left, the work crew was right in front of us, so I couldn't cross the road to get to the sidewalk I need to take. I could, however, turn left on the sidewalk on our side and go south, toward Marsh Park, and this I did.

Now, to be fair, I was already considering shortening my plans before I saw that I couldn't go that way. In the end, I did just a little baby ride (both short and slow), doing a single round trip to Marsh Park of 10.2 miles in 1:27. I could certainly have pressed on and done a longer ride, but for some reason, despite the sunshine and the temperature in the mid-fifties, I was really struggling, fighting the wind, so I ended up being glad to get in even this little ride.

On the way home, when I passed the pond beside the boardwalk south of Textile Rd. and just west of State Rd., I got this picture of a bird on its nest.

Relive video of today's ride

Thursday, 4/28/2022

2022 mileage: 2440.3

With the cold persisting (it was in the 20s here in Ann Arbor when i ate breakfast this morning), I wanted to wait until this afternoon and then ride outside. But then I remembered that the Tigers have an afternoon game today. (It's the final game of a three-game series in Minnesota.) The final game of a series (or "getaway day") will frequently be schedule as an afternoon game, in order to facilitate travel. (For instance, upon leaving Minnesota late this afternoon, Detroit will fly to the West Coast, where they begin a series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers tomorrow night.)

Squeezed between weather and the schedule, I decided to ride one more time on the stationary bike, and while I rode, I watched Chariots of Fire, the 1982 winner of the Oscar for Best Picture. Riding briskly, this gave me a ride of 32.3 virtual miles in 2:01.

When runner Eric Liddell, a strong Christian believer, recited one of the movie's most famous lines, it really resonated with me.

Liddell explains to his critical sister that he will return to the mission work in China, but first he must honor God by competing in the Olympics. Thus his wonderful declaration that “God made me for a purpose. God made me fast and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

As I mused on Liddell's statement, I thought how a small change makes it apply perfectly to me:

GOD MADE ME FOR A PURPOSE. GOD MADE ME A MUSICIAN AND WHEN I MAKE MUSIC, I FEEL HIS PLEASURE.

Trailer for Chariots of Fire

Wednesday, 4/27/2002

2022 mileage: 2408.0

It remains unseasonably cold here (40° at 3 p.m.), and though I've bundled up and ridden outside in much colder weather (17° is my record), I just didn't feel like toughing it out today. So I rode once again on our stationary bike, while watching Terms of Endearment, the 1984 winner of the Oscar for Best Picture, for a ride of 31.5 virtual miles in 2:09.

Trailer for Terms of Endearment

Tuesday, 4/26/2022

2022 mileage: 2376.5

I wimped out today on a gray day in the forties, and though I had wanted to ride outside, instead I settled for another indoor ride on the stationary bike. During my ride today, I watched a movie recommended to me by an old friend and fellow classmate of Addison High School, Kevin Cain.

Now, let me clarify. I do not mean that Kevin himself is old, because that would mean that I am, and "old" is a word whose applicability to myself I emphatically deny.

The movie, "Adrift," is a taut psychological drama about a couple, Tami and Richard, during their crossing of the Pacific Ocean by sail. As the title suggests, they encounter unexpected difficulties.

This movie was one I would have expected Kevin to recommend, since he spent his career in the Navy, retiring a few years ago.

Trailer for Adrift

Monday, 4/25/2022

2022 mileage: 2352.3

Although the temperature has at long last risen to a level which permits consistent outdoor riding (Michelle and I were amused when we passed the following sign on the way to her school this morning)

a daylong rain today forced me to ride inside. And glad for that option, I picked up an unfinished movie. Last Tuesday, April 19, I watched the first half of the movie Amadeus during my ride, so today I finished it in 1:49, for a ride of 26.9 virtual miles.

14th outdoor ride of 2022 - Sunday, 4/24/2022

2022 mileage: 2313.5

This has been a day of shrinking plans. Originally I had considered keeping the momentum of yesterday's big ride going, and leaving at 6:30 this morning (sunrise was at 6:41, and the temperature, already in the seventies, would have been favorable) and doing my 20-mile ride to Dexter (Baker Rd.).

However, I ended up deciding to spend a low-key morning composing instead. I don't regret that choice, as I made good progress on a choral setting I'm making of the poem Hope is the Thing with Feathers by nineteenth-century Massachusetts poet Emily Dickinson. By cutting out that long ride, I changed my plan to riding the 13.5-mile Platt/Packard Square early this afternoon.

I got started with this plan just fine. However, battling a significant wind (18 mph from the southwest), I was really struggling, and ended up deciding to cut my ride down still further, modifying the Platt/Packard Square into what I'm calling the Platt/Ellsworth Rectangle, for a slow ride of 11.9 miles in 1:35

The Relive video does not show quite that much mileage due to an unusual circumstance. On the way out, I stopped just after crossing State Rd. and paused the MapMyRide app so I could change my audio from the James Taylor to which I had been listening, and tune in the Tigers' game, which was just beginning. However, I forgot to restart the app for about a mile, and thus the mileage and time I reported above are slightly greater than those officially recorded and appearing in the video.

Relive video of today's ride

13th outdoor ride of 2022 - Saturday, 4/23/2022

2022 mileage: 2313.5

On a stunningly beautiful morning today, I left a few minutes before 8:30 in 45° sunshine (but up to 70° by the time I finished, a bit past noon!), and rode a round trip to the Matthei Botanical Gardens for my first trip there since July 24. About four miles into the ride, I got this picture beside the pond south of Textile, just west of State Rd.

About halfway from our home to Matthei, I pass by Lillie Park, a favorite stopping point for me.

Then at Matthei, I always take a picture of this sign, the point where I turn around and head back home, and text it to my dear Michelle, my daughter Christy, and my sister Marianne.

On the way home, i stopped by Dixboro Dam and got this picture.

However, I fumbled my phone, and though it did not drop to the ground, it still managed to shut off the MapMyRide app, so that I had restart it for the last part of the ride, and thus I have two videos from today.

Further on, I eased up on myself just a bit and followed Packard and Eisenhower back west, rather than returning all the way back south to Textile Rd. This cut off a few miles, but I still had a good, substantial ride, totaling 26.4 miles in 3:15.

First Relive video of today's ride

Second Relive video of today's ride

12th outdrew of 2022 - Thursday, April 21, 2022

2022 mileage: 2287.0

Today I knew I needed to finish my ride by 1:00, so I could watch the Tigers' matinee contest against the New York Yankees, in which Miguel Cabrera ("Miggy") will attempt to become only the 7th player in Major League history to reach the dual milestones of 500 homer runs and 3000 hits. (He got his 500th homer last August 22, and last night got his 2997th, 2998th, and 2999th hits).

At a favorite stopping point (nearly halfway through the ride), I took this picture:

When he gets his 3000th hit, Miggy will become only the third player to do it in a TIgers uniform, joining Ty Cobb, who did it in 1921, and Al Kaline, who did it in 1974. Last night as we watched Miggy go for it, I regaled my wife, Michelle, with the reminiscence of having watched Al Kaline, my all-time favorite player, do it on September 24, 1974 (when I was all of 17 years old) with a double in Baltimore, the town in which he was born.

Accordingly, I began at 10:45 in cool (53°), cloudy, and breezy (a west wind at 16 mph) conditions, and rode the Packard/Platt Square (13.5 miles) in 1:34, with the temperature ramping up to 59° during the ride. I rode comfortably again today in shorts, and topped off my wardrobe with a sweatshirt, which felt good. By the end of last summer, I had reached the point where i considered doing this route an easy, short ride -- but after the winter, I have a lot of rebuilding my stamina to do in order to reach that point again.

Relive video of today's ride

11th outdoor ride of 2022 - Wednesday, 4/20/2022

2022 mileage: 2273.5

The weather may FINALLY have begun to turn the corner, as tomorrow's high is forecast to be in the mid-sixties, Friday in the upper fifties, and both weekend days in the upper SEVENTIES! Today I was able to do only my 5th outdoor ride in Michigan this year. At 11:00 a.m., I enjoyed a temperature of 45° and partly sunny skies, with a bit of breeze (though it was nothing ferocious, it was enough to help keep me from overheating). I rode in shorts, and while my legs were fine, the lack of gloves was felt, and my hands at times experienced a touch of pain.

i clearly have some major rebuilding of my stamina to do for outside riding. I had originally thought of trying to do my route of nearly 14 miles; then when I began, I changed that and figured I'd just do the 10-mile round trip to Marsh Park. In the end, though, I caved in even from that modest goal, and just did a loop around Silo Ridge, for a ride of 6.4 miles in 46 minutes.

Relive video of today's ride

Tuesday, 4/19/2022

2022 mileage: 2267.1

As our wintry weather persists, I rode inside on the stationary bike again today, while watching the first half of Amadeus, the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture in 1985. This gave me a ride of 22.7 virtual miles, in 1:28.

Trailer for Amadeus

Monday, 4/19/2022

2022 mileage: 2244.4

After taking yesterday (Easter Sunday) off, I was glad to get back to riding today, And since we enjoyed a lovely April mix of snow and rain, I was glad to have the option of riding indoors again on the stationary bike. I did 23.8 virtual miles in 1:36, while watching Driving Miss Daisy, the 1990 winner of the Oscar for Best Picture.

Trailer for Driving Miss Daisy

Saturday, 4/16/2022

2022 mileage: 2220.6

As our lovely Michigan spring weather persists (at 12:30 today it was a toasty 45° with a 12 mph wind, which, while down considerably from the high winds we experienced most of the week, is still significant), I chose to ride inside today. On this Holy Saturday (between Good Friday and Easter Sunday), while I rode I watched the epic 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, and this gave me a ride of 32.2 miles in 2:07.

Trailer for The Passion of the Christ

Thursday, 4/14/2022

2022 mileage: 2188.4

My friend Doug Tidd is the one who got me into riding.

After reading my blog yesterday and learning about my tire troubles, he volunteered to come over today and help me change it. (When I told Michelle this morning, she remarked [accurately], "Wow—he is really a good friend!")

Doug came over late this morning and got me all fixed up. I was hoping to go for a ride this afternoon, but even though it is a (rare) sunny day here in Michigan, it is cool (currently, a few minutes before noon, it's 49°), and the winds, which have been increasing all morning, are supposed to gust between 40 and 50 mph this afternoon, so in light of these conditions, I'm going to allow myself the day off, and will look forward to riding tomorrow. It'll be a good Friday! 😊

10th outdoor ride of 2022 - Wednesday, 4/13/2022

2022 mileage: 2188.4

After an unusual couple of consecutive days off, I was eager to get back to it today. Yesterday afternoon, while discussing my riding with my daughter, I said that I planned to ride in the evening. When she suggested that it would be OK for me to take the day off, I told her (over) confidently, "Oh, I'll definitely ride. It just depends on how far I go—either my 20-mile round trip to Baker Rd., which I'd like to, or my route of almost 14 miles, closer to home." In the end, though, I was tired and lazy, and caved in and didn't ride at all.

I set off this morning in 61° cloudy conditions, at 9:30, and not very far at all into the ride, I was puzzled as to why my ride was so slow. I pressed on, though, and shortly after taking this picture, when I reached the point where I was almost halfway through that ride I intended to do, I could see that my left front wheel was very low in air. So I stopped, hopped off, and dug my small portable pump out of my bag, I pumped it up the best I could, and though I knew it wasn't as firm as it should be, I believed it was OK to get me home.

While pumping the tire up, an example of what Michelle calls my "angels" stopped by, when a lady driving on Platt Rd. stopped and asked me if I needed help. At that point, I remained confident that I'd be OK, so I thanked her, but waved her off. A couple of minutes later, though, my opinion had changed. I capped the tire back up and began riding, but within a couple of minutes an older man driving a Rav stopped and asked me if I needed any help. I told him, "No, but thanks." He noted, "I just wondered, since your tire is flat." I looked, and sure enough, he was right. So I hustled and caught up to him, and said, "Actually, thanks. Could you give me a ride home?" He asked, "Where do you live?" I showed him my explanatory card (as to why I can't speak clearly) and then pointed and said, "About 5 miles."

He said, "I'm not sure if your bike will fit in my car." But we tried it, and, sure enough, it did fit in. Soon thereafter he was dropping me off at my home. When I got the trike in the garage, I used my good pump to air up the tire; but I thought (though I was not positive) that I could hear a slow leak, indicating that the tube is damaged, and I'll need to change it before I ride next.

He commented on how far I was from home, so during the drive I typed out a note on my phone indicating that I rode just over 6000 miles last year, and was over 2800 so far this year. He was suitably impressed. 😀

Relive video of today's ride

Sunday, 4/10/2022

2022 mileage: 2182.1

I didn't ride yesterday, as most of the day was spent in an ultimately fruitless attempt to try to connect to watch the Detroit Tigers' game on TV. So today I got back to it, but was squeezed by schedule to do kind of a paltry ride.

This morning I did, finally, get an option to work to let me watch the Tigers, Accordingly, I spent most of the afternoon watching their game. And Michelle and I are attending a performance of the musical Hamilton tonight up at Michigan State. With the need to leave in sufficient time to get to that, I cut off my watching of the game in the 8th inning, and hopped in to ride on the stationary bike and listen to the remainder of it on the radio.

This allowed me to squeeze in a ride of 12.9 virtual miles in 47 minutes. "Better than nothing," I tell myself -- but not a whole lot better!

Friday, 4/8/2022 - Opening Day!

2022 mileage: 2169.2

Baseball is easily my favorite sport, and thus I was tremendously excited to be able to get a pair of tickets for the Detroit Tigers's Opening Day today at Comerica Park in Detroit. I'm going with my friend, Tom Brown, and Tom is picking me up at noon, so I knew I needed to ride early today.

Beginning just a bit before 7:30. I rode while watching Godfather 2 (winner of the Oscar for Best Picture in 1975), which has been cited as "the rare example of a sequel which is better than the original (which won Best Picture in 1973)." I had planned to watch it in its entirety; but due to its length, I decided to cut back and only watch its first half. This still gave me a ride of 25.9 virtual miles, in 1:44.

Trailer for Godfather 2

Thursday, 4/7/2022

2022 mileage: 2143.3

I could have borne the temperature (47° at 4 p.m.) today for a ride outside, but we've been dodging rain on and off all day, and it is quite windy as well, so I rode inside again, while watching The Godfather (the 1973 winner of the Oscar for Best Picture). As I had never seen this iconic part of American culture, which is nearly a half century old, I felt it was time to rectify that situation. Its running time of 2:53 gave me a ride of 41.5 virtual miles.

Trailer for The Godfather

Wednesday, 4/6/2022

2022 mileage: 2101.8

Due to cooler temperatures (51° at 3:00 p.m.) and rain today, I was glad for the option of the stationary bike, and did 42.8 virtual miles (in 3 hours 9 minutes), while watching the movie Schindler's List. I watched the first half of it on Monday, but rather than pick it back up from the point where I left off, I decided to start at the beginning again and watch the whole thing, so that I could get its entire sweep.

Tuesday, 4/5/1011 - 9th outside ride of the year

2022 mileage: 2059.0

Today I was able to ride outside for the first time since returning home from our vacation in Alabama—I rode the Platt/Packard Square (13.6) miles on a beautifully sunny day. (The only one we're supposed to have all week—yesterday morning we had cold rain the whole time, and then around noon it switched over to big wet sloppy SNOWFLAKES. Tomorrow the rain is supposed to return, and to stay with us for a few days.

However, my ride today was terribly slow (1:59)—I believe the slowest I've ever ridden that route. This puzzles me, because it was not as though I was trying to ride slowly, and after picking the trike up from the dealer yesterday after its spring tune-up, I expected it to be improved. But instead, it squeaked and groaned, and seemed slower than before I had taken it in.

Guess I just have to get into the groove of riding in Michigan again. Still, I can't help casting a longing glance at Orange Beach, Alabama, where I was riding last week, and seeing that it is 76° there now (whereas here, though it was sunny, I started about noon at 47°, and it climbed to 56° by the time I finished.).

Relive video of today's ride

Monday, 4/4/2022

2022 mileage: 2045.4

This morning I picked up my trike from the dealer in Dearborn, where I had left it for them to do a spring tune-up on it last week while we were on vacation. I could in no way ride outside this afternoon, though -- after we suffered through cold rain this morning, it turned to big, sloppy wet snowflakes shortly before noon.

This afternoon, I rode 23.6 virtual miles in 1:38 while watching the first half of Schindler's List, which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1994. I wanted to watch the whole movie, but my schedule got crunched a bit today.

Trailer for Schindler/s List

Sunday, 4/3/2022

2022 mileage: 2021.8

After being unable to ride yesterday because we were in the car all day, returning from our vacation to Alabama, I was glad to get back to it today. I had considered trying to bundle up and ride outside this afternoon, even though it would have been a dramatic difference from the weather down south, since it was in the low forties for a high here today. But I had forgotten that my trike is at the dealer in Dearborn, getting a spring tune-up ... I figured while we were gone would be a good time for this. So I'll pick it up tomorrow.

Glad, though, for the option of my stationary bike, I rode 33.7 virtual miles in 2:15 while watching Forrest Gump, the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture in 1995. I saw it when it was in the theaters, but not since then. In the intervening 27 years, although I remembered some of its iconic lines (such as "Life is like a box of chocolates"), I had forgotten that he is from Alabama, which seemed eerily appropriate since we were just there.

Reached a big milestone today, too, going over 2000 miles for the year.

Trailer for Forrest Gump

Friday, 4/1/2022 - 8th outside ride of the year

2022 mileage: 1988.1

Today's ride was extremely limited, as we were checking out of our rental condo at 10 a.m. and had to pack up our vehicles before that. So I only had time to ride the 2 miles down to the bike rental shop to turn in the trike I've enjoyed being able to use this week.

I say farewell to Alabama with a mild feeling of regret, as it has been most enjoyable riding down here in the warmer weather. But now it's time to go back to the "real world."

Relive video of todays ride