Time to rock and roll.

March 21, 2012

 A beautiful first day, of spring, although it felt more like summer with temps in the 80's.  We headed to Petoskey to pick up my orthotics and my biking sandals.  Such a pretty day for a ride,  when we drove up, 2 weeks ago, there were huge snowbanks, today the trees were practically ready to leaf. What a dramatic change, and very out of the ordinary for northern MI.  We usually don't have buds on the trees until May.  Many, including us,  are concerned about the fruit trees, which are almost ready to bloom.  The bees aren't here yet to pollinate  them, and April, and sometimes May, can bring some pretty frosty nights.  Sure hope the apple and cherry crops aren't devastated by such unprecedented spring weather.  We have already been praying for the fruit farmers.

It didn't take long to get the orthotics, they fit perfectly into my biking sandals, and I will be able to wear them with my regular shoes too.  It felt good to walk around in them, I'm eager to try them out on the trike.   I have to break them in a little at a time.  Starting out with 2 hours and adding an hour each day for about 8 days or so.  I may need to bring them back for adjustment, but I sure hope I don't.  When we were done picking up the orthotics, we headed to Roast and Toast for lunch.  Love the food, and the atmosphere,  there.  It reminds us of some of the places we go when we visit Belligham WA.

Time to stop talking about riding, and dreaming about riding, lets get down and "Rock  n' Roll!"  When we got home, we put on our gear and off we went.  Here is Tony,  patiently waiting for me to get the last of the gear stowed, so we can go.  As hot as today was, we made sure we had electrolytes in our water.  Ddin't take the camelbacks along, because we weren't going very far.

 Winds were about 30 MPH, which gave us a work out, but it felt wonderful to get out on the road again.  Such a feeling of freedom and the warm weather is a real bonus.  I rode in shorts and a sleeveless jersey.  Usually in March, we are dressed in layers.

The self milking barn, isn't complete yet, but it has doubled in size over the winter.  It will hold 450 cattle, and cost over 1 million dollars to build.

 The cows will come in to be milked when they want.  They will be milked by robots, and while they are being milked they will receive a reward of grain.  The first milking takes the longest, because the lasers scan the cows udders, sending the information to a master computer that controls the robotic milkers.  The next time the cow comes to be milked , the robot will"recognize" her and make the necessary adjustments.  All of this is supposed to be less stressful for the cow, resulting in healthier, happier,  cows and better milk production.Not sure how all that will go, but I'm thinking this new self milking barn will be pretty smelly to ride past.  It's on the route that we take to church, and since it is the only paved road that goes there, we have no alternative, but to ride past it.  I feel sad for the neighbors, that will live next door to it.  Perhaps self milking barns aren't as smelly as other barns, but even self milked cows poop, and poop stinks, so I can't imagine that it will smell good.  I'll let you know more about that later in the season.

Coming into Dighton, I couldn't help but notice that the Willow tree on the corner is already leafing.   Quite an unusual sight for the month of March.

     

From there we rode onto church, where we stopped for a bathroom break and a snack.

     I'm not very good at doing self portraits of us, but I gave it a try anyway, hoping the more I practice, the better I will get.

      Last fall we got new  Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires.  This was our first ride with them on the trike.  Our old tires had 90 pounds of pressure and these have 70 pounds, so we weren't sure if we would notice a difference or not.   Maybe it is just our imagination, but it seemed to us, that the new tires were easier and we sure got a smoother ride.   These tires are supposed to be more resistant to  punctures.  They are certainly harder to get on and off, so I hope we really do have fewer flats.

     After our break we started for home.   Many gulls were in the fields, and we saw a Tom turkey, out strutting his stuff.  He was too far away to get a a good picture.  A cow gave a moo as we rode past, and a rooster crowed.  Went past the sheep, but didn't see any lambs.  Heard lots of peepers in the ponds and marshes.   It was so great to be out, experiencing the symphonies of spring. We smelled a skunk, but that goodness, we didn't see it, saw a few dead snakes along the road, already.

T I think he orthotics are going to work out well.  They don't make the neuromas go away, but I  can ride without pain.  It was so worth the trip to Petoskey to get them, I think they will make the riding season, much easier on my feet.  I still had a little bit of numbness, but when I wiggled my toes a bit, it went away.

Wonderful ride today, our first 16 miles of the season are behind us.