Don Bike's his age (in miles) (again)

Saturday Don biked his age, riding 83 miles from Byron Center to Sand Lake and back. This was our third ride of the week; I hadn't been on a bike since the PALM.

The first ride I did with Vic and Don left from Byron Center. There was flooding and construction, so we stopped riding it. When it was rebuilt last year, Vic realized that the Byron Center trail could be connected to the Comstock Park trail and we would have an 82 mile ride -- and that his big brother was 82. So Don rode his age last year. Once you start a tradition you have to keep it up, so this year we rode 83 miles.

Saturday was a great day because we knew it would take all day, and none of us had other plans. The weather was fantastic with tolerable humidity and very mild temperatures.



(Above left -- Don's PALM shirt is so old it is undated; right -- Vic cleans his hands after our initial rest stop at mile 1. Consider these pictures "Before").

We started a little late because of me. I had several things keeping me from leaving on time, but most frustrating was a lost glove. I have had a dreadful time leaving the house lately, even though I wake up with plenty of time to get ready. I borrowed Susie's gloves and we were off to Byron Center.

Kent Trails does a wonderful job putting together a useful mixture of street and trail riding. Even with the great pavement and well-marked routes, Don managed to take a spill that scared us at mile 10. He survived with a small amount of road rash, some grass stains to his jersey, and a sprained thumb. I put a band-aid on his leg, but none of the scratches were serious.

(Above you can barely see my Eagle Scout First Aid skills at work)

At the end of that trail segment we passed the Wyoming water plant, then ended up on the street in the middle of a bike race. It reminded me a little of a scene in Mary Poppins, except there were no Penguins and we did not win the Darby.

As we made our way through Grand Rapids to the next trail head, I was amazed at the complete disregard some cyclists have for traffic signals. I'm not mentioning any names because I don't want to jeopardize Vic's Pilot License.

When we got to Rockford there was a street fair going on. We rode up to the main street on the trail and stopped. Vic hurried through before a parade passed. I was stuck behind it. It turned out to be a small drum line who turned onto the trail and past the street fair. Instead of stopping and enjoying the moment, or riding 50 feet to the right and taking an alternate street, I hurried past the drummers on the path to catch up with Vic. After getting away from the crowd, I felt like such an... well let's use the word "cad". Don made a more graceful choice by taking the alternate street.



(Above, the bike trail through Rockford, usually one of my favorite spots)

I think it was the sudden change from quiet biking on a trail to a sudden crowd of teenagers with drums that discombobulated us.

Vic and I talked about a variety of topics on the way up. Most importantly, his success at solving phone bills for a client of his, where they will save thousands every month. We also discussed some of my work, and how I'm going to try to minimize the amount of red ink from my New Orleans bike ride.

Even though I was starving, and the best eating plan would have been to stop in Rockford on the way up and the way back -- spacing our eating to every thirty miles or so -- we pushed through to Sand Lake, where there were Gigantic Cinnamon Rolls waiting for me. Vic tried to get in my head "maybe they stop serving them after breakfast... maybe they won't have them today". It didn't work: I had faith.



(My raison de vélo, with extra raisons)



(Our breakfast)

Once we'd had some food and iced tea, we could look at Don's thumb and sympathize. He said it affected his braking, so I suggested he bike slowly enough that he wouldn't need that brake.

On the return we were much more considerate through Rockford. Lest you think we starved all the way home, we managed to survive by stopping by Wendy's for a frosty.

We took a small diversion to add an extra mile to the route. Don's computer showed 41.6 at the half way mark, but Vic's showed 41 even. Mine was right in the middle at 41.3, but Vic wanted to be sure his brother suffered -- I mean enjoyed -- every mile of his age so we went a half mile down a new path, then back. On the way back we passed mile 71, and Vic stopped us to celebrate his age with some grape juice.



("After" -- all smiles)

The best thing about this day was not having to hurry -- or worry. Don's been very strong lately, and Vic and I were certain he could do it. And he did -- all 83.85 miles.

Dialing for Dollars

Sue and I are planning a trip to New Orleans by bike. We'll tow Mark and Annie, and I'll work from "home", much the way we did last year around Lake Michigan. Our plans are going smoothly except for our budget. We are trying not to increase our debt load in order to cover our costs (about $5000).

We have already taken the RV (driven by a nanny) out of the budget, and will be subsisting entirely on Ramen Noodles.

I've tried to think outside the box so we might include a bottle of bourbon in the budget.

1. Game shows

When I was a kid, there was a tv show where they'd call you and if you were watching the movie -- and answered the phone -- you'd win money. "Dialing for Dollars". They have not called me yet, but -- like Janis Joplin -- I'm hopeful.

Even though the phone is silent when it comes to "free money", I do have people calling me all the time offering me loans. I think loans affect my debt load, but I'm not a financial genius. And they might expect me to pay them back. So that won't work.

2. eHow

I read that someone is making $1000/month writing articles for eHow. When I looked further, I found some drawbacks. First, all the easy articles have been written ("how to change a bike tire"), so I'd have to write something harder ("how to make money on eHow"). Second, it takes a lot of work to write good articles.

3. Begging

"Dear Mr Heartless corporation, please give us money for a vacation that benefits no one". OK, that wasn't presented well.

"My wife and I would like help from ______ for our next tour. In return for your support, we will rave about your ______ (products) on our tour blog (we love them, so its easy to do), and participate in marketing promotions as needed, within reason and proportional to your support. A tour like this will highlight the quality, durability and safety of your product...."

Burley, Apple, Hilton, Wyndham Rewards and Ortlieb were among those solicited.

Burley immediately turned us down, which was surprising in that they have the most marketing to gain from this trip. It would be nice to believe they thought about it, but they didn't blink. If we can safely schlep our toddlers 1000 miles, you can take them to the park, can't you?

Apple turned us down for surprising reasons. We all know they don't need blog buzz from us, but they concentrate their donations on education. Even if we promised to stop at all the historical markers, it just wasn't enough. They still took long enough that I can believe they thought about it.

There's been no response from the other companies, so they must be thinking harder.

I'll stay by my phone, just in case.

Is it OK to bike on Shabbat?

I saw Tom Friedman talk last night; he talked about his book Hot, Flat and Crowded. He talked about a "green" revolution -- and how a revolution creates turmoil, not logos.

(A couple of thing bothered me. He used the Space Shuttle as a simile, and I found it jarring: the Space Shuttle does not reach "escape velocity" -- nor does it try, as it's work is entirely within Earth's gravity well. He also talked about how the world cannot support a large population of people living like Americans, with large cars, large houses, "Big Mac meals"; and that there are millions of people throughout the world who are now living this lifestyle -- Europe, Russia, China... and India. I just don't see a lot of people in India eating "American" Big Macs).

One of the things he made me think about was how my cycling has changed. When I lived in California, and used a bicycle as my primary means of transportation, my cycling contributed to a greener world, albeit in a very small way. It was enabled by Government decree, who insisted my company enable alternate transportation, and as a result, they provided secure lockers for the bikes, lockers for my clothes and showers for me. Mr Friedman thinks that the revolution won't happen without Government involvement.

The kind of cycling Don, Vic and I do is not at all "green". First we drive two minivans at least 100 miles each to the trail head and back. Second, we use recreational trails instead of roads, because we don't have an actual destination we need to reach, unless you can classify our habitual restaurants as "necessary destinations". Organized rides like the PALM sound green because 700 riders cross Michigan by bike. However, the SAG vehicles burn gas along enough miles to make up for it, and virtually everyone rides to or from the ride in a vehicle, easily burning more gas than a motorcycle race.

Raising small children may be the least green thing you can do. As our grandchildren transition out of diapers, the rolls of toilet paper distributed through the house make up for the landfill space that would otherwise be saved by not using diapers; and the number of flushes per day has grown exponentially. When Mr Friedman becomes a grandparent, I wonder how it will change his perspective.

Sue and I are planning a bike tour in September to New Orleans. We won't have a SAG vehicle, and we'll be returning by train -- at least to Chicago. It's probably "greener" than many other vacations we could take, but we're not taking this vacation to make a point, or to be green or anything like that. We're taking it because we need the escape, and this is what we want to do, and I don't really care what it does to the earth.

So is biking green? If you use a bike instead of a car for a trip, then biking is green. But not everyone on a bike is reducing their carbon footprint, and I bike because I like biking, not for any other reason. There is, perhaps, less justification for self righteousness on a bike than there is in a Prius.

And I know it's OK for me to bike on Shabbat, since I'm not Jewish; but for Shomer Shabbat , I am curious.

Grand Haven to Holland

It was the last day of March. The weather was cool, but not freezing -- at 43 degrees, I didn't need tights or toe covers. Later it would climb into the 50's, and as I'm writing this, we are experiencing record heat -- peaking in the 80's. This is my favorite ride; it's all street riding, although there's a side path most of the way. It's harder and prettier than most of our other rides: the rolling hills make this one of the more challenging rides, and we are next to the lake much of the way, so we get occasional glimpses through the homes that hug the shore.



Don remembered everything this time: last time we loaned him a coat, sweatshirt and cash. Unfortunately, due to his seemingly random arrhythmia, he had to abandon the ride about 1/4 of a mile into it. He got the car and drove to Holland. I rode with Vic to Holland, where we all had breakfast. Don and I drove home, while Vic biked back to Grand Haven.


Vic and I took the long way -- which involves some steep climbs and more severe terrain than usual. We also rode as hard as I could, averaging around 13 or so, and taking only a couple of water/coffee breaks. Vic led the way most of the way. My bike wasn't shifting well, so the hills were a little harder than they had to be. Vic had just lost 28 lbs and wasn't using his shifters because, well, he didn't notice the hills.

I wish Don didn't have to bail, and I hope he makes it on our next ride. I'm glad I got those 25 miles in.

Bike Notes: I finally took of my chain to clean it, and this turned into a disaster. First, I couldn't figure out how to use the "master links", so I just broke the chain with a chain tool. THEN the master link broke, but not cleanly. I soaked it in dish washing soap and then sprayed degreaser on it, blah blah. It was clean and dry by the time I put it back. I also cleaned off most of my bike, forgetting the shiny badge on the top tube. While I was doing this, my grandkids were using the rags and soapy water on their tricycles... then rocks, their hair, pretty much anything. When I got the chain reassembled and back in the right place, my derailleur was completely out of whack. I don't know how that happened but the cable was completely loose. I tightened the cable and adjusted it as well as I could, but it was "auto shifting" frequently on this ride, and it won't stay in my second smallest cog. I think I just need a new chain and professional help. After I got home I adjusted it again, as well as I could, and put a new chain in my cart in Amazon, for the next time I spend money there.

Comstock Park to Sand Lake (Grand Rapids)

We had a nice -- if chilly -- ride last Wednesday.

The weather was fantastic later in the day, so we decided to leave at dawn. The temperature actually dropped during the first part of our ride. It was so cold I had to wear socks AND toe covers on my sandals. Also, we had a head wind coming home, which was not predicted by our Meteorologist.




When we got to the park, our usual parking spot was taken. So we parked on nearby private property. We met a talkative lady walking her dog who gave us permission to park there. She had no connection with that property other than living nearby, but we took her word for it and left the cars.



Don's had some unexplained problems with his heart -- seemingly random arrhythmia. On this day, however, he was strong and healthy, and we rode to our late breakfast in Sand Lake at a leisurely pace befitting the first ride of the year. Well, there was one of us with the time, money and inclination who rode a few hundred practice miles in Florida, but for Don and I it was the first ride of the year.

Vic and I hadn't had a chance to talk much since September. (And although he did not bring it up, I owe him a dinner because U of M couldn't win another game). Usually I ask him something technical about electronics and then ride without having to talk for a while, but this time he turned the tables and asked me some coding advice.

It turns out that Vic and I are both on diets, and poor Don had to ignore two engineers debate the caloric content of eggs, cinnamon rolls, etc. We both have fairly retentive ways of documenting and budgeting our food (he's using a spreadsheet, I'm using "LoseIt" on my IPOD Touch), and that topic of conversation never gets old. Well, no one else wants to hear it.

And while I'm on the subject, the cinnamon rolls at the restaurant are to die for. I won't discuss the caloric content, but it is a huge mass of empty calories.

After breakfast we zoomed back: Rocket Don shows up after meals. The weather warmed up and we could take off jackets and heavy gloves. The headwind wasn't very strong -- just enough to notice.

4:20 on the bike, 48 miles ridden.