2022 mileage: 4651.2
On this final day of 2022, I rode 27.6 virtual miles in 2 hours even early this afternoon, while watching Star Wars: A New Hope, the 4th movie in the 9-movie series, but the first to have actually been released (1977).
Trailer for Star Wars: A New Hope
2022 mileage: 4623.6
Today I rode 31.0 virtual miles in 2:15, while watching Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, the third movie of the prequel trilogy to the "Skywalker Saga"—the middle three movies are the original three that began the series (1977, 1980, and 1983). So tomorrow, I'll begin with the 1977 movie that began the whole series: A New Hope.
2022 mileage: 4592.6
This afternoon I returned to my survey of the Star Wars series, watching the entire movie Attack of the Clones which I began on Monday but couldn't finish, to ride 29.6 virtual miles in 2:16.
2022 mileage: 4563.0
With my sister staying with us for a time, I was unable to ride yesterday, bur she left early this morning to drive back to her home in Georgia, so I got back into my routine, riding while watching the 2000 Nicholas Cage movie The Family Man for a ride of 26.4 virtual miles in 2:00.
2022 mileage: 4536.6
With Michelle and I having had a very full (and pleasant) Christmas Day, there was no time for a ride yesterday, so it was good to get back to it today. I was just beginning a ride during the next installment of the Star Wars series (Attack of the Clones), which runs at nearly two and a half hours, when Michelle called me away to a more pressing task. This ended up giving me an exceptionally brief ride -- only 4.5 miles in 19 minutes.
2022 mileage: 4532.1
I took a break from Star Wars today so that I could watch the more seasonally appropriate It's a Wonderful Life during my ride of 30.0 virtual miles in 2:11.
2022 mileage: 4502.1
Continuing on my odyssey through the Star Wars movies. today I rode while watching the first one in the series (the Phantom Menace [1999[, in which we are introduced to the delightful—NOT— character of Jar Jar BInks. This gave me a ride of 32.2 virtual miles in 2:09.
2022 mileage: 4471.0
This afternoon, I rode 30.2 virtual miles in 2:12, while watching the most recent Star Wars movie (the only I hadn't seen yet), The Rise of Skywalker.
2022 mileage: 4440.8
On this shortest day (in daylight hours) of the year, on which the winter solstice arrives, I rode 27.7 virual miles this morning in 2:07 whwiwle watching the 2015 movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I realized on Monday that i had never seen the three most recent Star Wars movies: The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). I watched the middle one during my ride yesterday, and will finish up tomorrow.
2022 mileage: 4412.9
This afternoon, I stuck it out for a long ride, pedaling 32.7 virtual miles in 2:25 while watching Star Wars: The Last Jedi. This eighth movie (so far) in the Star Wars franchise is next to the most recent, and one I had not seen. The first one was released in 1977, and I saw that one as a 20-year-old young man (in the theater, of course, as that long preceded the development of the internet with all sorts of streaming media).
I have not seen this one's predecessor either, and hope to watch that one tomorrow., then perhaps the most recent one in the franchise on Thursday.
2022 mileage: 4380.2
This morning I rode while watching a rather simplistic movie .... A Snow Globe Christmas ... and in this way, did 20.8 virtual miles in 1:32.
2022 mileage: 4359.4
This afternoon I rode for a brisk hour, turning in 15.8 virtual miles. I had been planning to watch a Christmas movie ... but instead I listened to my favorite sports-talk radio station, with all the exultation over the Detroit Lions' win today.
After stumbling out to a 1-6 start to the season, they've flipped the script in the last 7 games, going 6-1 to climb back to a .500 record (7-7) and reach the point where they have a reasonable prospect of making the playoffs. There is a lot of national chatter about the Lions, in fact, being one of the most exciting teams in the NFL right now.
All this is rather amazing. The Lions last won the National Football League championship in the year of my birth, 1957, which was a decade before the Super Bowl even began. Their miserable history during my lifetime goes a long way toward explaining why I don't share the passion for NFL football that grips most American men. This is exciting, however, and is more than a little difficult to believe it is really happening for Detroit.
2022 mileage: 4343.6
Today I wanted to do a long ride, and so set off while watching the 1965 epic historical romance, Doctor Zhivago. But the total length of the movie is over three and q quarter hours, and I bogged down and quit at Intermission, only riding 26.1 virtual miles in 2 hours.
2022 mileage: 4317.5
The last two days I took off, preparing for the Dexter school choir concert last night where I was accompanying a ton of music. In addition to the performance, I've been kept very busy with rehearsals at the schools for the last couple of weeks.
Today I was glad to be able to get back to riding, and while watching the movie Christmas at the Holly Hotel (filmed in Holly, Michigan), I rode 19.2 virtual miles in 1:23.
2022 mileage: 4298.3
During another busy day today (with rehearsals at the high school in the morning and at the middle school in the afternoon), I was able to squeeze in a modest ride (while watching the movie Elf)—20.3 virtual miles in 1:31.
2022 mileage: 4278.2
This is another terribly busy week, as I am preparing for the choir concert in Dexter this Thursday night where I will serve as piano accompanist for my granddaughter's middle school choir, as well as three high school ensembles. I begin daily rehearsals with them tomorrow, but I am already very busy practicing the music.
Accordingly, I kept my ride on the short side today, watching the movie Falling for Christmas while riding 21.1 virtual miles in 1:26.
2022 mileage: 4257.1
Having had a frightfully busy last few days, I've not been able to ride since Tuesday. (The busyness included exhaustion yesterday from being at the hospital ER from 12:30 a.m. until past 9:00 a.m. yesterday -- I'm fine now, though.) So I was glad to be able to get back into the routine today (on my 29th anniversary with Michelle) -- I got up early, with a busy day ahead, and rode from about 7:00 onwards, completing 28.7 virtual miles in 2:09 while watching the 2003 comedy Love Actually, which has become something of a Christmas classic in recent years.
2022 mileage: 4203.0
This afternoon, I was pressed a bit for time, as I am accompanying the 6th grade choir in Dexter tonight in a concert, and had a last-minute rehearsal at midday today, with a consequent for a last final touch up practicing. Consequently, I was not able to do a real long ride, but was able to work a ride of 23.4 virtual miles in 1:46.
While I rode, I watched a movie that my daughter Christy recommended to me a few years ago, saying (accurately) that I would like The Age of Adaline as a big science fiction fan. It really is a most remarkable movie.
2022 mileage: 4203.0
After taking my semi-regular Sunday day off yesterday, I was glad to climb back in the saddle and resume my riding routine today. A number of years ago, I learned from Michelle about a Christmas movie of which she is extremely fond—The Holiday. I've come to like it a good deal also, and so watched it during my ride on the stationary bike today, for a ride of 31.3 virtual miles in 2:10.
2022 mileage: 4171.7
Monday morning, at a small devotional group of men in which i participate, we were discussing for a time the 1998 movie Saving Private Ryan. I was pretty sure I had seen it at the time, but not since, and couldn't remember any of it, so I wanted to watch it during my ride on the stationary bike today.
What I found on YouTube was not the full movie, but a chopped up, partial version. It made me certain, however, that what I remembered was hearng people talk about the movie, but that I did NOT see it before. At any rate, this partial version today gave me a ride of 15.1 virtual miles in 1:00 even.
2022 mileage: 4156.6
After a hiatus of a few days to focus more on piano practice for some upcoming accompanying gigs, I got back to riding today, for the first time since Monday. That day, I watched the first half of the amazing science fiction movie (2014) Interstellar. Today I watched the last half of it, riding 23.2 virtual miles in 1:30.
2022 mileage: 4651.2 On this final day of 2022, I rode 27.6 virtual miles in 2 hours even early this afternoon, while watching Star Wars: ...
