A Social Ride

Monday, April 29, 2013

Spring is really here and we have good riding weather to prove it.  Starting temp at 10 AM  was  52 degrees, when we finished our ride a few hours later it was 71 degees.   Our route of choice today was to head to LeRoy and then ride the trail.  Rain was predicted for later this afternoon' so we were hoping to complete  this ride with out getting wet.

With blue skies as a backdrop, we pedaled our way into LeRoy, and got on the White Pine trail.  The trail was in good shape.  Glad to see the snowmobiles didn't tear it up too bad over the winter.

Before we hit the trail we stopped at the library, had a nice little visit there.   On the way  back to the trike we encountered a "looky loo" who had lots of questiobns about Rollin.  "Yes, it is comfortable to ride., "The shifting is here, and I steer like this."  "Yes we both pedal at the same time, but they do make tandems where each person can pedal separately. It's called  an independent peddling system or IPS "  We bought ours used in WI, but there is a company called Terra Trike that makes them in Grand Rapids MI.  They make single tikes too.""Bye,  you have have a good day too."  The trail was calling,  so off we went.  Rollin was glad for a flat  place to get rid of the  rest of his winter cobwebs.

My knee was bothering me, both of them actually, but nothing unbearable.  Warm enough to wear  shorts today along with sunscreen,  and after a few miles we shed our jackets.  Blue knee sleeves,  adorned my legs,  inviting a tan line.

Rode through Tustin  and beyond.   We are getting used to the sound of the new tires. At a good clip, the hum starts and Tony says,  "The engine is revving up." Nice  to have the steering so responsive once again.  It really needed greasing.

Found evidence of the beavers labor.   Looks like they got interrupted before they finished getting this tree down.   They are so programed to build.

 Had a beaver pond and a lodge, to prove it.

With an occasional cloud scutting across the sky, it didn't look like rain, even though Tony's I-phone said there was a 30 percent chance.   We were debating which route to take home.  18 Mile has more hills,  and would take us longer, so we decided to stay on the White Pine.  Met a couple on the trail,  strolling along, enjoying the nice weather.  We stopped to visit a bit, and put the camera to use..

 A few miles further we met another triker named Mark.  He is a retired teacher.   It's pretty unusual to see other trikes on the trail, so a chat was in order.  He zooms along at a good clip, due to his speed drive.  Has his brakes and shifter on one side of his trike because he has physical limitations with an arms and shoulder.  Great set up.

He hadn't ridden a tandem before,  and I had never experienced a speed drive, so he went for a little spin with Tony, while I took his trike for a ride.   The speed drive really gives his trike some juice.  Going as fast as he does, he can cover greater distances than we do on Rollin, and in a shorter time period.  He rides mostly paved rails to trails paths.  I can see why he likes the speed drive.  It kicks in and out, the same way our mountain drive does, very easy to use.  When he and Tony took off, he said he could feel the power of having a stoker right away.  On a tandem, a stoker is the one that starts the trike.   Having that power behind me,  I'm not used to doing the power pedal push it takes to get a single trike started,  so Mark gave me a little push and off I went. Even though he was taller than I, the pedals on his trike felt too close for me.  My bum knee, along with the other one, didn't like the set up.  I think we were all glad to get our own ride back, but it was fun for all of us to experience something different,  the enjoyment of talking trike with someone, made it all,  better yet.

My experiments at self photography continue.  Tony wasn't ready for this one.  More laughs to follow in future blogs.

A few miles past Tustin there is a country house with a nice little pond.  It's hard to get a good picture when the trees are fully leafed, so I took advantage of leafless foliage, and stopped for a Kodak opportunity.

By the time we got home, my knee was very unhappy.  I've experienced more pain,  but it sure took my knee a long time to forget that it had been asked to put in some riding today.  It knows how to hold a grudge.

There was no shortage of people to talk to on this adventure, and each visit made our 23 mile ride, more memorable. Hoping the trees will be leafing by our next ride.  They are ripe with buds, just waiting for a  few warm days in a row, to begin unfolding their  new spring leaves.

A few days after this ride I got a call from my sports medicine doctor, telling me not to ride until I get into to see Dr. Danielle for a 2nd opinion.  He said riding with the sleeves will only make my knee worse. I told him that I couldn't get in to see Dr. D until May 29.  He said he will do his best to get that appointment moved up.

Things aren't looking very promising for our PALM ride. It feels so wonderful to ride again, my feet feel good, if only I could get my knee to settle down.  At this point I'm not sure it can do 50 miles, much less 50 miles day after day.  Such a disappointment if we can't ride. Especially since our BROL friend from WA will be coming to ride PALM.    In order to get a refund for our tour, we have to have a cancellation letter in by May 15th. We have given ourselves until May 10, to make the decision.  If our niece and great niece ride, than we will still go and drive the trailer.  We just won't ride. That will be hard, but  we will still have the pleasure of  seeing everyone and spending time hanging out with Tammy and Ariann.   We keep trying to remember that in the end, it is in God's hands.  He is the one that will decide.