Sunny and on the cool side with temps in the 50's, when we started our ride to church this morning. It was warm enough to wear shorts, but we each had a jacket on. We were happy to start our week out with the 16 mile roundtrip ride to church. Planning to repeat it, this afternoon, for a graduation, open house. This will give us 32 miles. A good start towards our goal of 100, before next Sunday.
The past few weeks I have been hoping to get a picture of a turtle, it seems like the only time I see one is when it is too dangerous to stop, or when I am in the car, without my camera. I was happy to find this big fella by the side of the road, complete with the pile of mud behind him, that had hitchhiked out of the pond on his shell.
Visited with a few people after church, and then headed for home, thinking we might go down 17 Mile Rd. a few miles, so we would have 20 in, by the time we got home. The NW winds had increased, and were now at the predicted 20- 25 MPH. Our legs would get a work out.
As we head out of Dighton there is a hill, and then we immediately turn on 19 Mile Rd. At that corner, when I went to shift out of low, we threw the front chain. We wheeled Rollin into the grass, and I put the chain back on, but when I shifted, the chain dropped again. Time for a closer look. Tony held the back wheel up, while I shifted, watching to see what the derailleur did. The cage was pushing the chain, past the next gear ring, causing the chain to drop. I couldn't remember how to adjust a derailleur, but we were just past a friends house, so we stopped by there to see if he could help. Alas, he didn't know how to adjust it either. With all the hills between where we were and home, we decided it would be best to have him drive us to our house. We would then hook the trailer up to our car, and come and get Rollin. He would have to go into the bike shop on Monday.
I was frustrated, because I knew that adjusting a derailleur wasn't that hard. I looked on You tube, but the videos weren't speaking my language, and weren't much help. We rode 9 miles. So much for a good start to our high mileage week.
As soon as the bike shop was open on Monday, we headed into town, but the tech had 5 bikes ahead of ours, so Rollin wasn't done until 3PM. We didn't want to wait around that long, so this meant 2 trips into town. Oh well, at least the derailleur was fixed, and I got instructions on how to adjust the it, should the problem occur again, plus he had his new brake pads on the right front brake. By the time we got back from town, it was 4:30, and I still had to make supper. Clients were coming at 6PM, so no riding today.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
We really wanted, and needed to do a 50 miler today, so we planned an early start. If we rode into Cadillac, around the lake, and then headed home, adding about 5 miles, we would have the mileage we wanted. Isolated showers were predicted for this afternoon, so I rearranged the rain gear, making sure we had easy access to it.
Ideal riding weather, temps were in the high 50's when we started, winds out of the NW at about 5-7 MPH, with a high of 70 predicted. It was partly cloudy. Pedaled down the driveway at 8:40 AM. Tony's idea, and my idea of an early start don't always agree, but he's a good sport about it. We would have been riding at 7AM, if he had his way. He does know we will get an earlier start on PALM, however, I don't think breakfast is served, until 7AM. Our plan is to have everything loaded and the bikes ready to go, so we can leave right after breakfast.
Got on the trail in LeRoy and headed north. A big part of our reason for choosing the route we did today was so that Tony can tell if his 175mm crank arms are going to work for him, or if he will have to have his 170's put back on. Both times he has ridden with them we have done mostly hills. Today would give us a mix of trail and road riding, and hopefully be a better measuring stick.
Passed a few cyclers on our way,one in bright neon green, going really fast. But for the most part, the trail was quiet. Glad that they have the port-a-potty set up along the trial in both LeRoy and Tustin, now. Those 2, along with the outhouse at the trail head, near Cadillac, make 3 places to stop. For some odd reason, riding a recumbent bike or trike, tends to make one have to stop and urinate more frequently. Not sure if it is the position the bladder is in while riding, or what, but many riders complain about it and are always glad for frequent bathroom stops. We will all use wilderness bathrooms, if we have to.
As we rode along we marveled at the wonderful weather conditions, decided we wanted 6 days, just like this one, for our upcoming PALM bike tour. Once we got into town, cranked our way along Lake Cadillac. What a wonderful resource this lake is for the area. Many beautiful homes line it's shores, and the combination of the trail and the bike lane, make for a pleasant meander along the water. It' has good fishing, and plenty of room for water sports. Four Winns, a boat building company in Cadillac, tests it's boats there. The state park brings many tourists to our area. Lake Mitchell is popular too, but Lake Cadillac really is the center of the community.
We stopped for lunch at Mr. Fosies.
This establishment is known for it's Pastie's, pronounced "Past" (as in the word past.) "ies" In MI, Pasties originated in the Upper Peninsula, where, years ago, Welsh miners, would bring them, wrapped in newspaper, in their lunch pails, to the mines.
They became popular for tourists, and fortunately, some Pasty shops have migrated to the lower peninsula. The ingredients of a pasty vary, but they usually have ruatabaga, potatoes, carrots, and onions in them, along with beef. Being vegetarians, Tony and I, choose the non meat version. Our Pasties made for a nice filling lunch.
All fueled up and rested, we continued our ride around the lake, intersected with the trail, and headed south. At our first bathroom stop we saw a couple,walking their dogs. His name was Lee, she was Sonya.
They had some questions about Rollin. Having been tandem riders, in the past, the couple had stopped riding that way, partly because Sonya had neck problems. They had tried recumbent bikes, but weren't completely happy with those either. They missed the joys of riding together. They each sat on Rollin, and Lee took a turn at stoker when he and I took a brief spin down the trail. We explained how we liked riding along, enjoying the scenery in comfort, and told them that neck rests were available. I also shared several websites with them where they could find more information, and perhaps find some used trikes. It was nice to be able to encourage them that perhaps their days of riding tandem weren't over, and as each of us went our own directions, we felt good about the encounter.
Again today, we saw several rabbits along the trail. Last season we didn't see any, but this year we have already seen 5 or 6. They are by the tall grass, and hop in for cover so quickly, that I can't get a picture of them. The ones we saw today were light brown with dark brown spots on them.
Making good, time, it seemed we were in Tustin quickly, and a mile past that, we saw a friend of ours who was out walking with 2 other gals. Of course we had to stop and have a little chat. They graciously agreed to a picture.
As we rode past the Amish farm, I saw their pet bunny, tied out, and enjoying some fresh air. It seemed I would get my photo after all. It didn't seem bothered by our presence, so I quickly captured the image on my camera, hoping there was no rule against taking a picture of an Amish rabbit.
We had 4 more hills to go before we were home. We started up the first one, and I told Tony to hit the mountain drive. He did, but nothing happened. He tried again., but couldn't seem to connect the button with his heel. I asked him to try and get it with his hand, but he couldn't find it. I explained that it was on the very end of the crank, but his fingers, couldn't locate it. Finally I unclipped to see what the problem was. I was surprised to find that the button that sticks out from the side of the mountain drive , was completely gone. We figured it must have somehow come loose, and fell off , probably when we hit a bump or a stretch of rough road. Not sure why these things, "that don't happen very often," happen to us, but I'm glad it didn't happen on PALM. Guess this is God's way of going ahead of us.
When we got home, I called the Hostell Shoppe and ordered a new one. $48.00 to replace it, including tax and shipping, making todays ride, a bit costly. The device will be here by Thursday. Comes with a tool to install it. We rode 50 miles today.
By the way, the derailleur is off kilter again, and the front brake is still squeaking. On a trike with less than 2000 miles on it, that "doesn't happen, very often."
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