Musketawa Trail II

The winds were going to be from the South. At first Vic suggested Grand Haven/Holland, which is my favorite ride, but we were limited in time and we weren't sure we were ready for the hills. Don had issues on this trail a couple of times last year, and I was worried that if we rushed, those problems might reappear. But then again, they might not -- Don is much better about eating and pacing himself. Be that as it may, Musketawa is a great trail, and that's the one we chose.



Vic told me he had a surprise for me, an "ancient boy toy". When Don and I arrived I was curious, and slightly apprehensive, but that all fell to delight when I saw what he had for me: a TRS-80 PC-3!! This is a calculator with a one line monitor on which you could program BASIC. He'd put in new batteries and it booted right up. I can't wait to have some time to play with it.



Vic also brought orange juice, so we started off with a nice rush. I was exhausted -- almost painfully so -- as I'd only had 4 hours of sleep the night before. I had to drag myself along the trail.



Still, a day on the trail is more fun than almost anything, even riding into the wind.



Breakfast was waiting for us in Ravenna. I still can't remember the name of the restaurant.



Vic took some action shots of Don and I. We tried to ride fast enough to prevent this, but he saw all my pictures and wanted revenge.


OK, this is revenge.

I love my wool jersey. I have been reading about the advantages of wool jerseys over poly jerseys. Obviously they have a lot of stretch, but they are supposed to be better at managing temperature. I was comfortable in temperatures from 53 to 78 during the day with only this jersey on; in cooler temps, this jersey alone under a windbreaker is also comfortable. When I wash it, this jersey takes longer to dry than my other jerseys, and sweat seemed to remain on it longer -- and more obviously -- than my other jerseys. It's supposed to smell less, but I've had a chronic cold so I haven't smelled anything from any of my jerseys. The cut of this jersey is not flattering. Better for more temperatures -- yes! Makes me look hot -- no!



Don, photo taken by his baby brother, as I rush to take my turn in the rest room.




We all reached the end -- Vic again gets the photo credit.



Vic and Don examine Vic's bike. Nope, no food.



Vic pretends not to be famished.



Don eats a power bar, so he must be famished.

This is the best weather we've had this year. We posted a better average speed and returned in plenty of time. This is probably the last ride I'll take with Don and Vic until after my tour in May.

Hart-Montague (Whitehall) Trail

Before I discuss the ride, I have a correction to make. Don is only 81, not 82, at least until the end of April, so this bike riding isn't all that impressive.

I woke up at 3 with a headache, and drank a lot of water, took some aspirin, slowly got ready for Don to arrive at 6... or 6:15. I have been sick so often this winter, it seems like I had only been healthy for the last two days (probably because I had a Doctor's appointment).

The Hart-Montague Trail goes from Hart to... Whitehall. It's just under 25 miles -- I did 50 miles by riding circles in the parking lot at the end of the ride to "top off" my odometer. We picked this ride so I could scout the start and end points -- which are not easy to see on Google maps, or on the state trail maps. This trail will be a segment of the Bike Around Lake Michigan tour, discussed in more detail here.



The start of the trail, in Hart. It looks like there's going to be more picnic tables this spring.

We met Vic a few minutes late. Vic had an appointment that evening, so our ride had a certain pressure missing from previous rides. And it's not the pressure one feels after drinking a quart of fluid and being too late to stop at the rest area (only one mile away!). It's the pressure you feel when Vic will be forced to shower and dress for an informal dinner in less than two hours if you don't hurry. In other words, not much pressure at all.



In this picture, Don gets a jump on the turtle herd. Speaking of turtles, I read Terry Pratchett's book "Small Gods", where a god who normally comes to earth as an eagle ends up as a turtle. During the book, he's always watching for eagles which are trying to pick him up and drop him on rocks to eat him. I didn't get the reference to Aeschylus until I saw CSI the other night. I really need to take a class or something.

And speaking of animals, soon after the start Vic and Don were telling me about an eight foot bird they saw once on this trail. I'm raising two children under two, so I had to ask:
"Was it yellow? Big Beak?"
No, they answered.
"Had they recently changed their medication?"
No.

They couldn't remember the name of the bird, but I did: EMU. It's named after a college in Michigan.



This is a fantastic, publicly funded bathroom in the Hart-Montague Trail State Park. It's locked so no one can steal it. It's a nice taunt, but a private bush or three are all I need. Were I a scofflaw, that is, and to which I am not admitting here.


We were famished by the time we got to New Era. As I was taking pictures someone shouted "You're going to break your camera taking pictures of this town". New Era was founded in 1872, so they might reconsider then "new" moniker.



It was good food, but at home we have more than one bathroom. This restaurant is where the entire town goes to use the single unisex room.


This guy spells his name wrong (maybe, there's some who believe that one of my ancestors changed the spelling of his name from this one, but that's beside the point). It's also a balmy 59, which is why Don and Vic began disrobing.



I, of course, rode the whole way without adding or removing layers. I was just a little chilly in the morning, but like a walrus, a large layer of lard helps insulate me. Too bad my feet are skinny.



The bike looks really good, anyway. And I got to model my new Pearl Izumis. There's a guy on a bike on my jersey, in case you didn't get it.

Vic and I discussed a variety of topics on the way to Whitehall, and again on the way back. Don was mostly quiet after we got out of the car, or maybe it was because he was either faster or slower than I was. He did tell me several interesting stories, but I was trying to sleep off my cold on the way up. For example, his dad once lived in Grand Haven, off of one of the exits we passed.

Vic gave me detailed directions through and around Green Bay for my trip. But 1) a bike path was built since he lived there and more importantly 2) I was not taking notes. I hope he follows up with something in writing because I have no memory of any of his advice. Except that it's going to be hard to bike directly from Sheboygan to Green Bay. Oh, one other remark stuck: Vic claims that the number one mistake touring cyclists make is overestimating the distance they can make each day. Thanks for the confidence boost Vic.

Sue is looking for a rack trunk for our trip and found one with a solar panel. I showed it to Vic, who thinks he can build a better one. He thought solar panels on the helmet might be more effective.




The bridge over the river that I couldn't see on the map. OK, I could see the river, but the bridge wasn't obvious.



A starter home. For very small people.



The Train station that doesn't know what city it's in. I didn't tell it that the trains are all gone.

I had trouble the last 12 miles. My headache was back and didn't respond to Excedrin. I couldn't breathe easily or talk at all. Most of the way back I couldn't even pretend to respond to Vic, even when we were discussing non-traditional political views. Vic isn't a demanding conversationalist, but he has the right to expect a responsive grunt now and then. I am SO tired of being sick. I was feeling good on Friday.

I slept most of the way back. Then I let Don drive.

Around the Lake -- "Can I come?"

Many people come to me and ask, "ooh can I come with you?"

The answer is yes! You provide the bike, we'll provide a hitch for the Luggage (the Burley Trailer).

You knew there had to be a hitch, didn't you?

Around the Lake

Starting May 3, Sue, Annie, Mark and I will be doing a ride around Lake Michigan. My "retired" riding partners can't take the time off.

We'll keep everyone posted at mybuttreallyhurts.com



FAQ:

How far is it? About 1000 miles

How long will it take you? About 18 days of riding about 55 miles a day; 21 days overall.

Are you camping? No. Cheap hotels or motels, ideally with internet.

How can you get all this time off work? I'm not.
I'm bringing two laptops, chargers, cell phones, etc. I won't have much of a wardrobe, but I'll have lots of connectivity. I'll take some time off at first and long weekends, but I'll have to work 11 days during the trip. On those days I will work 5 - 10am and 4 - 8pm.

What support will you have?
We have a teenager at home who can

• Pick up anyone who is sick, injured or has to leave.
• Bring us bike parts which can't be overnighted or purchased locally
  
• bring me luggage and take me to an airport if I have to travel for work.

We're going to be within 500 miles of home. We are planning to be self-supporting.

How many diapers?
Ouch. A lot.

Musketawa

51 miles over 4 hours, 28 minutes riding time; 6 hours overall.

The Musketawa Trail is a long, flat paved trail between Marne and Muskegon. Vic is in charge of the wind, and his goal is to get us a tailwind at the end of the day. Since winds were from the north, we started in Marne.



After plenty of fluids on the way up there, we discovered that there was no facilities at the start of the trail in Marne. We didn't see any official facilities until we reached breakfast in Raveena.

It was brisk, but not as cold as I expected when we started, and that was good because I forgot socks. Unfortunately, the north wind bit through everything, and even vigorous pedaling could not keep me warm. When we got to Raveena (12 miles and 90 minutes later) I was in a lot of pain as I regained feeling in my foot.

It took us longer than we expected to get to breakfast. Don was riding at about 9, and Vic and I felt like we were dragging him along. After breakfast, Don was riding at about 12, so I think we have to work on getting food down him a little earlier.



Vic saw this spreader as a political metaphor.



I saw this bus in the middle of the woods, and thought of the Krakauer book "Into the Wild". I wonder how bus drivers get stuck in these places.



Here I am -- I don't know why my feet aren't blue.



Here's Don with his new transition lenses.



Vic is looking askance at me: why am I taking this picture, and how much will it cost him?

This ride happened the day before Easter. Here's a picture Vic took of me: am I an alien? Or was it the religious fervor? The answer is written all over my face.



We did have a tail wind at the end, but it was weak enough that it seemed like a head wind. The real problem is that the trail runs mostly east-west, so we had a cross wind about 1/2 the time, a headwind 1/4 of the time and a tail wind 1/4 of the time. Still, winds were light, and after breakfast not cold enough to kill us. Overall a good, fun ride.

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Equipment notes: My body was warm with a light wool jersey under a long sleeve poly jersey under a wind jacket. My hands were fine with thin cotton gloves over normal riding gloves. My ear warmers created a nasty wind sound that made conversation almost impossible unless I cocked my head in a weird way. My tights were OK, but could be warmer. My feet were very, very cold.

Covert Test Ride

We took a quick ride to Covert. It was about 8 miles each way (see map at the bottom). Most people would consider 45 - 55 degrees crisp, but to us it was balmy, and we hopped on the bikes as soon as my work would allow.

We have two young grandchildren: Annie -- 22 months, and Mark -- 10 months. We are planning a trip around Lake Michigan, and we wanted to see what the Burley felt like with both. They found the trip exhausting.




Last year on the PALM we brought Annie along, and she usually slept or sang in the trailer. She loved watermelon stops, and had a fantastic time.



I think of the Burley as the "The Luggage", which refers to author Terry Pratchett's Discworld books: one of the characters in these books is a sapient steamer trunk. The thing about this trunk is that it always stays with you: no matter where you go it's right behind you. And it has a mind of its own.

Our Luggage has two minds now.


I towed The Luggage there, and Sue towed it back.


When we got to Covert, we went to the park and let the kids out to play.



On the way home, we stopped and said "hi" to a few horses.

Our average speed was what we'd hoped, but the Luggage made me work a LOT harder than I remember.

Comstock/Sand Lake

Let me introduce you properly to my riding partners. Don is my 82 year old father-in-law. His little brother, Vic (70), refers to him as "Junior". Don, Vic and I (48) take rides of about 50 miles every week or two, as time and weather allow.





Vic is a very strong rider, and the picture above captures my usual view of Vic.


At one time, Don and Vic swore they would not bike when the temperature was under 40 degrees. The other day the weather was clear, but the temperature began at 24 degrees and climbed to 41 by late afternoon. That was the day we chose to ride Comstock to Sand Lake.


The day started as briskly as the weather. Don was loading my bike 5 minutes before he was supposed to pick me up. We had to turn around and get my helmet, which was next to my bike. I had a large to-go cup of coffee and my new bike thermos loaded up, so I woke up gradually between 6:45 and 8:00. Thanks to Don's liberal interpretation of traffic laws, we got to Comstock Riverside Park (whatever it's called) right on time. Vic was already there, staying warm in his car. Vic drives down from Lansing.


At this point, opening day jitters began to fade, and we began to relax and enjoy the day.







The picture above shows Vic fixing the first flat -- the one he discovered on his bike when he unloaded it from the car.




I was "chillin" in the freezing temperatures. I was so cold I wore socks on the bike for the first time in years.

We were off like a herd of turtles about 8:30 or so and made about 3 miles before I noticed Don's rear tire sagging.




Vic fixing Don's flat, while Don supervises.


A picture of beauty. And the river. This is across from a minor league ballpark -- 5th-3rd park. We made it another mile before fixing the flat again.



Don forgot his pump, so he watched Vic pump up his tire again.



Off again, long enough to grab an action shot (above).




Once we were able to prove that the bikes rolled, we went back to fixing them. At the base of the hill upon which they once rolled.

OK, finally we got the bike fixed and on the road. It was 10:30 and we'd gone about 7 miles, one of our slower days. We were all out of road tubes, so Don used one of my 700x35mm tubes, and that seemed to do the trick. And at the end, when Vic was exhausted from pumping, Don remembered he had a CO2 cartridge to pump tires. Once Don's bike was rolling, Vic pointed out to Don that CO2 is heavier than air, so he might be going slower. I argued (incorrectly) that CO2 was lighter than air. My evidence was 1) Global warming -- co2 rises up above the atmosphere and blocks UV from escaping; 2) when you are in a fire, you sink to the ground to get air. The CO2 rises. This drove Vic nuts.

We also had a discussion about Presta. I thought they held more pressure than Schraeder, but there's a web site that says otherwise. I still think that, as built, Presta holds more pressure, but Schraeder can be built to withstand higher pressures if necessary. It's my blog, and unless Vic knows where it is and how to comment, I get the last word.

Before we left the last repair stop (where we also changed the red tire to the matching blue tire), Don is showing above that he was able to get new tubes on his bike without getting dirty. The technique, apparently, involves gullible relatives and forgetting tools.

At Arnies we had what was officially "breakfast", and I refilled my coffee mug (not my water bottle).






In the picture above, Vic is admiring my new Sojourn outside Arnies in Rockport.

The rest of the ride to Sand Lake and back was uneventful. I had 48.5 miles, 4:31 for riding time, 17 minutes above my cardio heart rate zone (i.e., I didn't work too hard). Vic had exactly 50 miles on his speedometer, so I'm sure his is set too liberally.



I actually told Don, "make sure the Sand Lake water tower is sticking out of my head". And he did.



Me at the end of the trail.

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Our first ride last year was torture for me. I was so tired, I never wanted to ride again. I had not been biking for 10 years, and it showed. I had been going to the gym, so I didn't actually die on the way back, but getting the bike to go over 7 at the end was impossible. Every ride I did last year, at mile 40 my butt began aching. My butt was not sore on my new bike, probably due to better fit and a Brooks B-17. I still had very painful sections of skin -- I discovered those at the following spin class at the gym. I was not exhausted, and I drove back alert and happy. Maybe two thermos's of coffee helped too. This ride felt very easy.