Blue skies and smooth pedaling

Sunday Aug 12, 2012

     Blue skies, with white, cotton ball clouds drifting through, started off our afternoon ride.  With light breezes to cool us on our way, we couldn't have engineered better biking weather than we had today.

     Rollin is scheduled for an appointment at the Hostel Shoppe in Steven's point WI at the end of the month, until then we are kind of taking it easy on him.  It would be great if we had a place like the Hostel Shoppe closer, they do such a great job and really know about trikes.  We are still riding in our largest gear ring in the front, but hope to have that resolved by the time we return.  We aren't making a special trip to have Rollin taken care of, but we will be driving right past the Steven's Point exit, so figured we would stop and have the issues he is having taken care of.  Then we will be set for next year too.  We don't want any more chain jams.

     Todays route was nothing new.  Rode the hills into LeRoy, then connected up with the White Pine Trail and rode to Tutsin.   Last week, Tony saw Rex, the guy who is the trail monitor between Leroy and Tustin, Rex said there were 8 trees down on that section, but they have all been cleared.  Although we do more road riding than trail riding, we are grateful for the efforts of all  the volunteers.  They help keep the trail in good shape.

No sunny, Sunday ride is complete without an ice cream stop, so when  our bodies started saying,"ice cream, ice cream,"  we complied and stopped at the Dairy Station,  our reward was Chocolate Moose Tracks ice cream.  Yummy!

     Although many places are very dry, the farmers in our area, say the rains have come at just the right times.  The corn is standing proud and tall, bearing many ears.

      Last week the grandkids, along with our daughter, were up for Vacation Bible School.  The days were filled with activities, including a trip up the Leelanau Peninsula to the charming little village of Northport.   So many intriguing places to ride up there, spectacular views of the bay on one side of the peninsula and views of Lake MI on the other.  Not sure what the widest point of the peninsula is, but in the Northport area, it is about, 12 miles across. At lands end, the Grand Traverse Light House stands on regal guard.  We really need to return, and ride with Rollin.

      White sand beaches and turquoise waters would make one think they were in the Caribbean, rather than northern MI.  The only thing missing were palm trees, swaying in the wind. Such a beautiful area, these pictures, don't do it justice at all.

The grandkids played in the water and the sand on the edge of Northport Bay.

  I'm surprised they each had such abounding  energy,  as we headed off to church and back home, each night. After staying up each night watching the olympics, Tony and I nearly collapsed into the bed at the end of the day.  We were greeted by giggles and kids wanting to come and cuddle by 7 AM each morning.

  On the other days, there was frog hunting, swimming, and much throwing of mud bombs at the little toy boats that floated in the swimming area of the lake we live by.  That lake provides hours of entertainment for the kids, and the frogs that are caught and brought up to the little pond by the house, manage to find their way back to the lake, just fine.  Who knows what stories they have to tell upon their return.

   Something about  a small town war memorials touches my heart.  A reminder that men from all across America set there lives aside, some of them forever, to fight for our freedom. With these flowers standing guard,  this one in  LeRoy, is no exception.  It brings to mind my Grandpa, Dad, Uncles, cousins and other family members who have proudly served this great country of ours.

   Along the trail we had a nice chat with a  friend of ours from church.  Not only did she agree to have her picture taken, but she also took ours.

        This farmstead is along the way. It probably gets pretty noisy  around here in the winter when the snowmobiles go flying past.

   Wild flowers are gracing the roads,  like many colored jewels, sparkling  in the crown of summer.

   

     We rode 20, lazy,  miles today, enjoying every little bit of God's creation that we rode past.  Thanks Lord, for such wonderful day.

A Summer Ride

     After all the hard rain we had, our driveway was a mess.  Tony worked on it yesterday and again today,  filling in the gullies.  Living on a hill has it's disadvantages.

     I finished catching up the blog, and before we knew it it was noon.  Leftover taco salad hit the spot, then I tackled the task of cleaning and lubeing Rollin's chain.  I am trying a new lube called Pro Link.  It is the same ones some friends from PALM use.  I'll keep you posted on how it works out.   Rollin hasn't had a really good one since the rain storm we got caught in last week,  so I set about getting him cleaned up.  If a trike could smile, I know he would have been.

       Tomorrow, after srvices, there is a welcome potluck for our new Pastor and his family.  I'll make my salad today and put it in the fridge at church so we can ride there in the morning.  It will probably be warm riding home, but it is only 8 miles, one way.  After riding for 10 hours in heat, on PALM, 8 miles should seem like nothing.

      We decided to ride into LeRoy in the late afternoon, and then take the trail.  Even at 4:40, PM the sun was still pretty intense, and there will be shade on the White Pine.   I would have preferred to wait until it cooled down a bit, but Tony was antsy to ride, so off we went.

     We weren't even a mile down the trail when we saw a small tree down, blocking part of the trail.  We were just wondering if there would be more, when we came upon this.

   
     Guess we better be picking a different route.  There is no moving this one, or going around it.

     We haven't ridden to the end of LeRoy Rd yet this season, so we decided to give that a try.  There is lots of hills,  but that is pretty par for the course, around here.  Got a wave from a man who was out n his riding mower, but the lady who was using her push mower was too focused on her task, to notice us.

    A group of folks sat around a picnic table in the shade, while the young ones were busy setting up a volley ball, or bad mitten net in the front yard.  A family gathering on a  July day.  They all gave us a hardy wave as we passed by.

     The rain came at just the right time for the corn.  It is looking good.  Most fields are full of tall tasseled corn.  Hope the farmers continue to get the weather they need for a good crop.  Many counties are already saying the corn crop will only be good for silage.  This is the hottest, driest summer we have had in many years.  Other states have had it worse than we have.

     The smell of fresh cut hay lingered in the air,  not sure if this is the 2nd or 3rd cutting.  A dog barked in the distance and a Blue Jay gave his "jay, jay, jay," call, while a wood pecker did his "rat-a-tat-tat," drum on an old tree.  Tall grass along the road held the rustle of an animal and wild flowers swayed in the wind.   I love the sounds and smells of a mid summer ride.

     These flowers were to pretty to pass by, without taking a picture.

     As we rode along we talked about what a great time we had camping with  4 of the grandkids last weekend.  I think the Trail Mate  banana trikes and 4 wheel bikes they got to ride were as big of a hit as the pool and fishing were.  The Trail Mates have a pivoting front wheel and the trike is steered by leaning and by using the legs to steer the front wheel.  It didn't take long for them to get the hang of it.

   
     We had as much fun watching them ride, as they did riding.  I think we'll be going to this campground, again.

     Mr. Pibbs ice cream was calling our name,  and we were happy to oblige, once we got back into LeRoy.

      We often wonder what we will see at the 2 Amish farms we pass.  No bunnies tied out, or chickens in the ditch, to greet us today.  A  young girl,  maybe 11 or so, sat under a canopy selling baked goods, while her younger sister, clad in a blue dress with little white flowers on it, and her white starched cap,  sat bareback on the pony, her tanned,  bare feet, sticking out to the sides.   The older brother came out of the barn to lead the pony, giving us a wave as he picked up the reins.

     The air was starting to feel like evening, as we turned our last corner towards home.  We rode 16 hilly miles today.

   

   
   

Some days

      July 14, 2012  

 After not riding for nearly 2 weeks we were more than ready to take Rollin out today.  Temps were predicted to go up to 86 with humidity building throughout the day, and isolated showers this afternoon.  We got up at 7 AM, wanting an early start.   Putting on sun screen, filling the water bottles, getting snacks, moving the car and checking trike tires, seemed to take longer than planned. We were on the road at 8:30 AM.  It was a bit overcast which was fine by us.

     We are still riding in our big gear ring, and using mountain drive for the hills that require downshifting.  I emailed some pics to the Hostel Shoppe yesterday.  Hoping Scott will get back to me on Monday with some suggestions.  He did assure me that yes, a 66T gear ring is standard on GreenSpeed Tandems.  Also suggested that we bring his business card along on our next tour, so if the mechanics have questions or don't believe what I am telling them, ( a 66T gear ring is standard on our trike.)  they can call him.  He will give them some suggestions on the best way to fix whatever the issue is.  Love doing business with the Hostel Shoppe.

   
     This idilic small town scene is what I was looking at while Tony was in the bank.

 
     Our legs are stronger from riding Palm, even though we haven't ridden for 2 weeks.  We only needed mountain drive twice on our way into town. Razzaque days in  LeRoy, which was a very busy place today.  The parade hadn't started yet, but folks were getting ready for it.  By the time we were done at the bank, the sky was looking a bit dark. We debated on stopping at Pibbs to wait it out, but decided we would ride.  We had our rain gear along, and passing showers were what was predicted, so it would probably pass quickly.  We were down the trail about a mile when it started to sprinkle.  By the time we got our rain gear on, it was raining more.  As we rode on, it got heavier.  It was our first time using our helmet covers, they worked well, but water still runs off  the front of of my helmet like a waterfall.  20 minutes later, and drenched from the waist down, we arrived at the restaurant in Tustin.

     Sunscreen, tools, snacks, tubes and other things stayed nice and dry in the Ortelieb panniers, until I opened them.  When I unrolled the top of the pannier,  some of the water that was pooled on top, ran down,  inside.  There really is no way to get it off of the low spot were it accumulates.   Glad they came with Rollin and not something we bought extra.   Maybe I need to be more mindful of how I roll them when I open and close them.  If it continues to be a problem,  I'll be researching waterproof panniers.

     Hot coffee and a cinnamon roll sounded good.  Shortly after our coffee the waitress returned to tell us it would be a little while until we got our root beer floats.  Root beer floats??  We reminded her we had ordered cinnamon rolls.  She asked if we wanted them heated, we responded with a smile, and said that would be wonderful.  10 minutes later, she brought us 2 cold hard cinnamon rolls.  I went up to the counter and asked if we could please have them warmed up.  Maybe she had a hearing problem?  Not sure, but we were happy when our warm cinnamon rolls arrived at the table.

     40 minutes later the rain had stopped, and we were on our way.  Rather than heading home we decided to go up the trail a bit further.  About 1 minute after we crossed 20 mile road I heard hissing. Oh no, a flat in the making. The air continues to hiss out of tour left front tire, while we quickly  got off the bike and turned it around. It would be easier to change in town where water wasn't dripping off the trees down my neck.   By the time we got to 20 Mile Rd., we had a full blown flat.  We walked Rollin to the hardware store.

     I took the rear rack bag and the side pannier off,  flipped the trike on it's side and set to work.

The Comp Pools on Rollin come off a lot easier than the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires we had on Rosie, so I had the tire off in pretty short order.  I quickly found the sliver of glass that had punctured the tire and tube.  I put a bit of air in the tube and inserted it in the tire and around the rim.  Now to pump it up.  Since we run our tires at 90 PSI,  the task is challenging,  even with our portable Top Peak Road Morph pump.  Part of the reason I bought that pump was because it has a built in gauge, but the number are so small and the pump at such an odd angle that I can't read it.   Since we were by the hardware store, my plan was to get the pressure up to about 40 lbs and then use the hardware stores compressor to do the rest.

     For some reason the Top Peak pump is very hard to get on the tub valves.  My biggest concern was wrecking a valve.  I only had one spare tube, so if that happened, I would have to rely on my patching skills, which still need some refining.  Seeing that I was having a hard time getting the pump on the valve, a man stopped and offered to help.  Even he struggled to get it on and off.  I finally went in the hardware store and asked if they had a pump I could borrow.  They did, and soon we were pushing Rollin around back to top off the tube.  After expressing our thanks we were on our way home.  I plan on using the tube I took off to practice both patching and getting that Top Peak pump on and off the valve.

    We stopped to use the porta potty and met a fellow named Bob who had questions about Rollin.  As the conversation progressed we found out that Bob was interested in touring, and was planning a cross country tour next summer.  He was going to start in NH and end in OR.  We shared our dream of pedaling to WA and the 3 of us talked about the pros and cons of touring for awhile.  Then we took Bob's picture, he took ours and we parted ways.

     With the rain over, it was getting hot, already 83 degrees, and a bit steamy.  We made our way to LeRoy with ice cream on our minds.  By the time we got to Pibbs it was lunch time, and with Razzaque Days in full swing, the place was packed.  We sat up at the counter to have our goodie, asked to have our water bottles filled with ice, and headed out towards home.

     Thankfully our last 4 miles were smooth riding and we had a good laugh about how our early morning, 18 mile ride had turned into such a long drawn out thing.  Some days are like that.

    Since finishing this entry we have ridden 2 more times, both were trips to church.  The most recent was July 22.  We took an early evening ride to the parsonage to help our new Pastor and his family unload the moving truck.  So glad to have them join our church family.  These 2 rides added 32 miles to our total mileage for the season.

Random thoughts and pics from PALM 31

Here are some random pics from our PALM 31 bike tour.  Enjoy.

                                                   A funny face for a fun time.            

Onward.

      Small town Post offices hold a special place in my heart..  My Grandpa was a postmaster, and my Grandma the clerk, in a small post office in NW Iowa.  Grandpa kept a big cup of nickels on a shelf in the back.  All the kids in town knew that during the summer they could come and sweep the lobby floor to earn one.  It was the cleanest floor in town.

      We are always happy to see the  Doris,  the licorice Lady.  Less than 5 miles to go when we see her.  She hands out licorice, fills water bottles,  offers encouragement and a great smile.  Thanks Doris.

.

     This is Bob.  He is 93 years old, the oldest PALM rider.  Way to go BOB!  You are an inspiration to all.

   

   

     This guy made a great Kodak moment, but I didn't find any history of pirates in St. Joseph.

     Not sure who was happier here, the dog or the kids.

   

     Smiles of new friends, warm the heart.

  Our friend David, finishes.  Great job!

                                                       

                                                              Yay,  we did it!!


     I want to extend a huge thank you to all the volunteers that give so many hours of their time to make this a great tour.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  We appreciate all you do.

     My apologies for taking so long to get the blog up to date.  On our next PALM  I hope to have my technology updated enough that I can post at the end of each day.

The Finish

June 29, 2012
 Ortonville to New Baltimore

          We all got a good nights rest last night, on real beds, in an air conditioned room.  Yay!!!
It was interesting to watch Ariann's surprise visit from her Dad occur last night.   3 of us had already showered.  Tammy headed for the shower, telling Ariann to call her Dad and see how his day went.  I think Bock had texted that her was in Grand Blanc.

     Ariann called.  Here is her side of the conversation.
     "Hi Dad, how was your day?  It was hot here.  I couldn't finish the whole ride today, it was too hot.           Mom made me stop.  Yeah, I know.  We're in a hotel room now."  then she stopped and asked me,      "What town are we in?"
     "Grand Blanc."
     "We're in Grand Blanc.  Where are you?
     Short  pause..
     "You are not!"
     "You are not!  You better not be lying to me.  If you are, you are in so much trouble."
     "My Dad says he's outside the hotel, RIGHT NOW! " She said as she ran out the door.
     Less than a minute later she returned and ran to the window.  "He said he's in the back.  He better really be there."  Opening the curtain she looked out.  "He is!! He's  here."  and with that she went running out of the room.
     A few minutes later, she returned with her arm around Bock's waist, grinning from ear to ear.  Her Dad was smiling too.  Tammy joined in.
     Tony and I stayed in the room, while the 3 of them went to get Bock some supper.  They had a weeks worth of catching up to do.

    Located on the north shore of Lake St Claire,   New Baltimore was incorporated as a village in 1867, and in 1931 it was incorporated as a city.  The first  inhabitants , trappers and hunters, of Macomb  county  date back to 1796.   The settlers lived along the waterfront and rivers.  Later they developed farms with a narrow frontage between 400 and 900 feet and extended inland from the water.   The depth of the parcel was usually determined by how far a man could plow in a day.  

     Lake St Clair is said to be a glacial lake formed in congruence with the 5 Great Lakes by advancing glaciers and retreating ice.   Whenthe ice withdrew it lef  behind,  long bands of fertile soil, sand and gravel that shaped the sounding terrain, including  1/5 th of the world's  fresh water supply, within the deep depression called Lake St Clair.

     It is believed that the lake was discovered in 1679 by French explorer,  Rene Robert Cavelier, Sileur de la Salle, Father Louis Hennepin and 31 crew members who sailed through the Great Lakes system eneered the Detroit River which took them to Lake St Clair.  One story says that the lake was named after Saint Clara of Assisi, whose feast happened to be on the date, the lake was discovered.

  Hot weather predicted again for tomorrow.  The aim is to be on the road by 6AM.  The hotel clerk set up the breakfast room for us early and with the trailer in tow, we headed for the school at 5:30 AM.   Last night when Jeff brought us here, in an effort to cool down, Tony was in the front.  We didn't realize the folly in that until this morning, when the GPS wouldn't recognize the school's address.   Tammy should have been in front so she could help navigate the way back.  After wandering around a bit and going past the same cop twice, Bock turned around and Tammy went to ask directions.  We were on the right course, just hadn't gone far enough.  By the time we got to the school, filled our water bottles and tires it was 7:15.

     Tammy and Ariann left a bit before us, but we soon caught up to them, rode together for awhile, then we went ahead.  Last year our last day on PALM was only 27 miles, this year it was 44 miles.  The parade is at 1 PM so we will have to book it to make it on time.  Thank goodness the course is a slight downhill grade all day.

      Sights along the way;

   
     Found this nest and eggs blown out of a tree, that offered us some shade.

      We had to stop and wait for a train.  Cars and bikes lined up behind us.  We could feel the vibration of the train, which freaked Tony out enough to unclip.  He couldn't hear me when I told him to clip in, so when the train was past, all cars had to wait behind us until Tony got clipped in again.

     An ice cream stop is made sweeter when sharing it with a friend.

   

   
   Random shots again.

   
   Tony and I rode into New Baltimore around 11:15 AM.  Bock was there to greet us.

   

   
     Tony looks pretty good for a guy who just rode 279 miles.

     About 30 minutes after we arrived, Tammy and Arriann rolled in.  I'm so proud of both of them for completing this ride.  We had fun sharing our training and riding over the phone and online and had even more fun riding together.  Well done, ladies.  Well done.

     The bags are ready to be claimed and loaded in cars, trailers  or on the bus.

     After lunch

we headed to the lake shore for the parade.

   
     One last gathering of our little group and we are off in separate directions.  Thanks Jeff and Kiersten for helping make this another memorable ride.  Friendships like yours, and the joy of riding with family and making new friends are what PALM is all about.

  Last but, not least, we want to thank the Lord for getting us through the hard times and for making the good times, better.