Does This Count?

I am very appreciative of all the kind words about my 'Road Ends' theme. I rode very early this morning (7 am is early, right?) because of other duties later in the day. I headed down this road end, hoping to find a 'road ends' sign at the end of it. It seemed reasonable enough. However, the only sign is one that declares this to be public property -- specifically Park Township property. There is a beach, called Riley Beach -- reasonably enough, as it is at the end of Riley Street. The beach is up and over the sand dune. I've been there, it's no big deal, but the kids love it, because the official grown ups (Sheriff's department) are loathe to walk up and over the dune, particularly in the dark. The time of day when the kids are most likely to be there. I noticed a bit of poison ivy curling up at the base of the tree. I suspect there's more along the path. (Leaves of three, let it be.)

There's no particular point to this story, other than I did get in a ride this morning. There are currently storms moving across the lake, so tonight would not have worked. It was reminiscent of TRAM, riding in the early morning mists, and quite a bit of fun, once I was up and out the door. I even posted my highest average speed so far this year. Only a dozen miles. Enough. I declare May to be over.

(Emmy -- two things. The last item on the sign says 'no sand removal.' And I took a tour of a boat manufacturing site today -- Tiaras, by S2. Interesting.)

Memorial Day

It was another unseasonably hot day here. By the time I finished my other obligations, it was noonish, and 91 in Grand Rapids. It was cooler near the lake, so I stayed as near to the lake as paved roads allowed. There was a breeze, but even a head wind felt good today. It was a recovery ride, so mostly along the shore of Lake Mac, then up Lakeshore for a while. Slow and easy. It turned out to be a nice ride. This has nothing to do with the former Governor of Minnesota, of course. There are a few flags here and there, but apparently most of those buried here are civilians. I pass it often, but don't know anyone here. The rest of this week will be given over to a conference at Hope, so I'm not sure if or when I'll get back out again. Rain is in the forecast as well. I'm near enough to my mileage goal for May, though one more ride would be good. We'll see.

Long Ride

A near perfect day for a long ride. Light SE wind, with lake breezes forecast to kick in later. North is not the conventional direction to ride with a SE wind, but I hoped the lake breeze would eliminate the head wind on the way home. As you can see from this photo taken at Kirk Park, there was very little wind of any sort, so it worked out fine. A little lake breeze cooled things off the last half of the ride. It's well into the 80's inland. I had the park to myself -- except for a largish population of furry tailed vermin.

This may have been the most unique thing I saw on my ride today. Note that it says 'Pigasso' on it. It's at the end of a driveway on Lakeshore. There were a number of these downtown a few years ago, but I don't know how this one ended up where it did. Interesting, though.

Swimming Broke Out

Yep. Only the youngsters, of course. Reports were that the water was cold.But not too cold. Outdoor showering followed, of course. Steaks were cooked on the grill, and son-in-law and his Mother joined us for supper. No biking today -- it's hard to take off as nice a day as this one was, but family times are good times, and the Grandkids love it when we do a blended family thing.

Indy Day

They are still racing. I've been for a bike ride, planted flowers and went to dinner. And missed little of the race. This photo is from a spot is near the end of my bike ride. Recognize it? It is the top of the hill in Sunset Bluff. If it doesn't look long and steep, it should. My first time this year to the top of this hill.

The beach is pretty empty for a holiday weekend. There's a cold breeze off the water, but it is otherwise a pretty nice day.

Pigeon Lake, Again

A very different day today. The rain passed through overnight, and it is a clear, cold day. NW wind becoming shifty, so I never felt like I got a tailwind. It made me decidedly cranky. But a bad day on the bike is better than a good day eating cheesecake. Or something. Here's a picture I took on the south side of Pigeon Lake, looking out towards Lake Michigan. From here I rode up into the sand dunes a bit, revisiting the cottage community built along the juncture of these two lakes. At this point I was still having fun, the cranky part came later. Apparently the road ends just before the fishing begins. I've a bit of a problem with this sign -- apparently they didn't want to actually block access to the water with the sign, somewhat diminishing its usefulness.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend. Keep the rubber side down.

Hot, Hazy, Humid

This was the view from the point at Marigold Lodge, looking west, about 10 this morning. It really was this hazy. Windy and warm, but still a nice ride. Only 13 miles -- no sense killing myself. Not quite like last year's bike rides in Wisconsin, but reminiscent of them. Rain is predicted for tonight.

Monuments

There are a few monuments to the Dutch Heritage of this area scattered around -- mostly downtown. With a brisk wind from the South, and Gino having invoked the Auckland rule (if you don't ride in the wind, you don't ride), it seemed prudent to ride south into town. It was the warmest day yet, 72 when I left, 84 when I returned. The lake breeze kicked in giving me a strong headwind for part of the return trip, but I've learned to expect that. So town it was. This pair represents the early Dutch settlers. Note the 'wooden' shoes. It's in the Window on the Waterfront park, and if you look closely, there is a replica of a windmill in the background. (The real one is fairly close.) I've photographed them before, in the background of some tulip pictures. The tulips are pretty sad looking at this point, all dried up stems.

They aren't quite as far gone in this shot of Van Raalte, an early settler. This statue is in Centennial Park, near Hope. I'm a bit dehydrated again -- not used to riding in temperatures this warm. But I got to wear my Liquigas jersey for the first time. And managed to keep the rubber side down. 16.85 miles.

(Strong winds and heavy seas postponed today's race in Valencia.)

Camp Geneva

I got chilled to the bone on Friday -- dressed for my ride based on what the weather was forecast to be instead of what it was. Rookie mistake. Today it was 59 when I left the house, and I dressed for 59. Of course it was 72 by the time I got home, 2 hours later. Even so, a pretty nice ride. East wind, strong enough to hold the lake breeze at bay. A N/S ride, so mostly a cross wind. I've been hoping that one day I'll get on my bike and feel strong and fast. So far, that's eluded me. But today I felt strong and slow, and I'll take it. I did not have a specific mileage goal in mind today -- more like a range. I exceeded the top end of that range by a bit, and felt good when I got home. I even took a detour to check out Camp Geneva's new facilities. It's a camp and conference center run by the Reformed Church of America (I think). It is set back among the dunes and it's been years since I was up there. Fairly low bluff, very nice setting. You can see how calm the big lake gets with an easterly wind. I'm a little dehydrated, but overall, satisfied.

LVC Semi-Finals

A nice lazy Sunday with Totally Jammin' and Soccer Girl. A rest day for my bike, but a race day for the Louis Vuitton Cup semi finals. Sailed off the coast of Valencia, Spain this time. Which may explain why the Spanish yacht made a come back, and in a tightly contested race, beat Team NZ. They race again on Wednesday. Oracle, the only American boat, was outsailed and outclassed -- again, so Prada's Luna Rosa will go on to the finals. As Gino pointed out, there are Kiwi's on all of the teams. Including Alinghi, who will defend the Cup for the Swiss in June. Complicated enough? Here's a view you won't see off the coast of Spain. It's Rangitoto, in March of last year. It was part of the backdrop of the last two cups in Auckland, and it is still the landmark that makes me feel the most at home when I'm in Auckland. It's always there. Emmy, check out my new Haka link. The beach one is hilarious. Or maybe it is just me.

Different Window

Yesterday's ride was a mostly inland ride, searching for warmer breezes. I found some about 3.5 miles from the lake. The golf course community that is going in there is still mostly vacant lots, though the course was in use yesterday. I find the golf cart bridge over the road to be an interesting visual. I explored a park that I had never been in near here, including a ride down a gravel road marked 'authorized vehicles only.' That sign, on public property, always brings out the civil disobedience in me. All I found were two baseball fields and another entrance to the park. Satisfying, though. Today's ride was early, since I'm on granny duty for the weekend beginning about 11 am today. Short, but nice. Mostly checking on Lake Mac cottages. Still too windy -- SW at 18, according to my bike log.

I tried out the zoom on my camera, and got this shot from the general vicinity of a living room window. As you can see, plenty of beach. And warm enough for beach walking. No sail boat races on this lake today, but I watched a little of the LVC this morning. It looks like I'll still be interested when it gets to the finals, with NZ holding a comfortable lead in the semis. It's almost like they have something to prove..... (Corn's up here, too.)

Highway Robbery

There were no mounted police in sight -- just a man on a bicycle. This is the going price for gas locally. PSPS. Fortunately, I was on my bike and had no need of their product today. Rumors have it that the June 1 theme for the daily photo blogs will be the view out your bedroom window. Since I am not an official daily blogger, I'm trying out the theme today. These Lily-of-the-Valleys grow along the fence between us and the yellow house. It's a tad out of focus. I'll have to work on that.

Team NZ vs. the Spaniards -- 3 races to 1. Luna Rosa vs. BMW Oracle -- 3 to 1. My prediction is looking pretty good. It makes for a busy morning. Sailing on TV, Giro d'Italia on line. Life is at least interesting.

Note: I originally said NZ vs. the Italians -- my bad, as they say. Luna Rosa is the Italian vessel, and look good against Oracle.

This is Getting Old

Another day of the same 50 degrees and NW winds gusting to 25. The promise was for 60 inland, climbing to 70, but I never found that spot. No problem with cross chaining here -- I spent much of the ride in the small chain ring. But then, I'm not a pro. Some days it is all headwind.On the way out of the neighborhood, I passed this lilac bush. It is a darker lilac color than most of the others around here. I thought Wilson would like it.

Threat of Rain, Aussi.

Other priorities interfered with biking this morning -- I needed to get my stuff moved out of my office so a newly hired, full time, permanent person can move in. By a lucky stroke, I will get a window office again this fall -- but it won't be available until sometime in August. So for now, my class notes and such are in boxes, in storage. I got lots of help, so it went swiftly. And since I had some time, I stopped at VeloCity Cycles. (I didn't know until recently that 'velo' is French for bicycle. Emmy?) And they had the helmet I have been looking for -- an Atmos, blue and black, blue (!) straps and another helmet pod. (Can't have too many of those.) It is an '06 model, the Discovery Team model. Instant gratification. Fun is fun.

If we are making predictions, I predict Team New Zealand (currently 2 out of 2 flights) and Luna Rosa (tied with Oracle 1-1 in this best of 9 series) will go on to the finals of the LVC. I'm pretty sure about NZ, less so about Prada's yacht.

Still waiting for the storms.

Cooler Near the Lake

Okay, so I'm kidding, a little bit. But this photo is only about a month old. And it was 80 degrees at the bagel shop this afternoon, and low 60's near the water. It was also windy -- so much so that I almost didn't ride. Instead I decided to just ignore the wind and 'take my bike for a walk.' Ignoring all numbers, I just enjoyed the ride to the bagel shop.
It was about a mile from there that I rode up behind a woman of 'indeterminate age' walking a road bike. So I stopped to ask if she needed help. She had thrown her chain, and didn't know how to put it back on. Turned out, I didn't either. She had a bike with down tube shifters, and the chain was stuck between the front derailleur and the big chain ring. And I couldn't get the shifter to move the derailleur. She was close to home, so I rode on. She was grateful that I had stopped to help. She knew nothing about bikes, in spite of claiming to ride 'a lot' -- including a ride last week to the 'hill by the power plant.' That's a fair piece from where she was, so fortunately she threw her chain near home. A lesson for me -- bring my cell phone on my ride. Which I mostly do.

Here is the new house at the bottom of the hill, near Tunnel Park. With tulips. We were down town this morning, and it is mostly a stem festival there.

Morning Ride with Ruby

Ruby is now at the beach, as are we. It wasn't really warm anywhere this morning -- 54 when I left at 9:30, 60 when I returned. I've been complaining about how old and slow I am -- you may have noticed. I've been doing better than I've been giving myself credit for. I'm sure of this, because this morning I felt really old and slow. Perhaps it is time to heed the advice of Mr. MooHoo and take a day off. A rest day is a strength building day, or something such? Anyway, today was 6 biking days in a row, over 100 miles this week, and I am tired. Time for what the yachties call a lay day. And it just so happens that tomorrow is Mother's Day, a good day to just laze around. Walk the beach or read a book. Do some Sudoku. Here's a mystery location for you. Where is this new house being built? (Holland is not a good enough answer.) My grandchildren arrived with pots of Gerber daisies this morning, yellow from Jammin' and bright pink from Soccer Girl. If we can keep the rabbits out of them, they will bloom all summer.

The Reality of Tulip Time

I appreciate the kind words on my near death experience with the squirrel. And I suppose it would have been worse to hit a deer than a squirrel ----My ride was uneventful today, a fairly short out and back ride. A nice cross-tailwind did make the returning leg feel like a 'kick butt' ride, in fact. So fun.

I cheated on the photo -- I was out shopping when the quintessential Tulip Time photo op occurred, and I had my camera in my purse. So here are some nice tulips (958 is the variety, for sale inside), and one of the fleet of tour buses that dominate our streets this week.

Today's post on http://www.fatcyclist.com/ is amusing. A rundown of the pro cycling teams, as seen through a glass darkly. It's way too long to read, but I read the one for team Discovery, and found it worth recommending.

Yesterday's mystery blossom was indeed a blueberry blossom. Good eye, GZ.

When Did Squirrels Get So Dang Slow?

Here is my biking story for the day. I was at the end of a long ride, adding a loop at the end through the woods to get to my goal. In front of me were a couple of squirrels, chasing each other around. I stopped pedalling, and coasted, waiting for them to do their darting back and forth thing and get out of my way. Only, they didn't. One of them was still turning when I hit him with the bottom of my left pedal and my shoe. HE HIT MY FOOT!!!!! I almost had to lie down right there in the middle of the street to get over my fright. Ye, gods. Here's a mystery blossom for you. Everyone know what this is???

Okay, so here's the thing about tulip pictures. People who have lived here for a quarter of a century avoid the downtown area the week of Tulip Time. Especially on Wednesday (Streetscrubber Parade, complete with current governor in full Dutch costume, pushing a broom. A hoot), and Thursday (Children's Parade, with bus loads full of children from area schools), and Saturday (Parade of Bands, with floats and such. Gazillion tourists). Tulips are a popular flower used in landscaping here, as in most places, so I give you this photo. But I won't be back down town where the masses of tulips are planted until next week. 26.4 miles, 75 when I left, 71 when I returned, 56 at the lakeshore and a lake breeze around 11. There's just no way to dress for that.

Dogwood

It rained all last night, and there were still showers off and on until about 2 or so this afternoon. That seemed to call for a visit to my LBS (local bike shop) and a purchase or two. Specialized Body Geometry shorts -- I like the stitching. A blue Gore short sleeved jersey. Body Geometry gloves (I know, I know) in multiple colors of blue and matching socks. I also got a pair of pink socks with purple polka dots that may match my Giro D'Italia jersey. That is coming up soon, and I need to be ready. New gear. Some fun now, eh?I took this shot yesterday. I have no idea what kind of tree it is, but the purple flowers bloom first, then the leaves come out. So the purple outlines the branches, and it is high on my list of favorite spring flowering shrubs/trees.

It dried out enough for a short ride this evening, though I had to dodge a few petals and puddles. I had seen a few shrubs that I wanted to photograph before the petals fell off, but didn't like the mid day light for them. It seemed to wash them out. This is one of them -- a flowering dogwood. This yard also has cherry trees in blossom, and several lilacs for good measure. Just standing there taking the photo is sensory overload. The fragrance is intense.

I need to kick up my mileage here pretty soon. My leg muscles are still cramping on even moderately long rides, though. I'm getting a fair amount of potassium, I think. Probably just old and taking a while to get back in biking shape. Stay dry.

56 at the Beach, 79 at the Bay

No surprise then, that I am hanging out near the Bay today. I love the beach, but it will still be there when the water warms up a bit.

I imagine you have seen a lot of these ornamental crab apple trees. Having 5 of them in a row makes for a very nice show, however. And I happen to know that these trees were planted the summer of the year that Wireless and Sensei were born, which makes them special, as well.The lake breeze kicked in early today. By the time I rode, early this afternoon, it had reached quite far inland. I ventured only as far west as 160th, and it was noticeably cooler. So today's ride was mostly a north/south out and back, with some exploration of a few neighborhoods slightly east and west. It was nice to bike without having to gear up. It was my first ride in a while in a short sleeve jersey and shorts. I was looking at/for flowering shrubs, primarily. I found that the lilacs have started to bloom -- and there are several trees with pink and purple blossoms whose names I do not know. And some lovely pink dogwoods.

This is a photo of a handsome blond boy in front of yellow tulips. And in the background, a very small boy in a Dutch costume was being posed for pictures by about 3 generations of doting mothers and grandmothers. The tulips are in full bloom, and a good wind or rain storm will wash them out, I think. But they've been spectacular this year. 6,000,000 of them in town, according to the Chamber of Commerce. Maybe.

Unexpected Places

I am very fond of this photo, submitted my Fratello Jimi. He calls it "Trek on Track." He claims it was a 'spur' of the moment idea. (Groan.) It has several elements that I like -- blue sky, water, a bicycle and a certain unexpected quality to it. (Kind of like the cows.) I spent some time trying to find a similar location to photograph my Ruby, without much luck. All of the railroad trestles around here are either on flat land -- boring -- or inaccessible. Great shot, Jimi. This is the best I could do as a companion shot. It also has water, blue sky, a bicycle and an unexpected location. There are now two bike/pedestrian bridges into town, one on each side of the vehicle bridge. They are connected by a link that goes under the vehicle bridge.

What I particularly like about this route is the 'no wake zone' sign. Though there are various definitions of just what speed constitutes 'no wake,' I'm pretty sure that I have complied with that request every time I've been through there.

Nice ride this morning, 60 to 65 degrees. Winds SSE at 12. Expected to pick up substantially this afternoon. 17 miles. JRA. Watch out for falling trees.

Flying Dutch

No, I'm not talking about the Hope College basketball team. A big part of Tulip Time is the Klompen dancers -- in authentic costumes and wooden shoes. Practice starts in the local high schools in January, and these kids are fun to watch. (Click on photo to enlarge it.) It was a bit crowded in Centennial Park in downtown Holland yesterday. It was Tulip Time and Art in the Park and Cinco de Mayo and -- as the park is next to Hope College -- the day before graduation and moving out day for students. The grandkids loved it, though.

VS starts live broadcasts of the America's Cup on May 14, when the semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton series begins. Go team NZ.

Recovery Ride

Happy to oblige. Today was ride slow, ride short day anyway. It is also the first day of Tulip Time, so I took the new bridge into town again. Here is a random selection of the tulips on display. The first one is in the Window on the Waterfront Park, along the river towards Windmill Island. A number of tourists were also taking pictures here. Warm and sunny, quite breezy again. This is one of the tulip lanes -- there are miles of them, I've heard, but this one is my favorite, as it has a boulevard in the middle of the street where they plant the tulips. Looking north towards Lake Mac.

And this is downtown Holland. As I was waiting for the light to change, a group of Klompen dancers crossed the street in front of me. So a few tulips, and a few young people in Dutch costumes. I may get a few shots of them dancing next week, if the weather holds. The parades are Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

I took a few other photos, but three seems enough for today. Sunny and low 70's. Only 10 miles, even with all the riding around.

Again, the Wind

I had a plan. Today was 'long ride day.' The wind was straight out of the E at 11 when I left. I'd ride north to 'Hill' as a turnaround point -- where Lakeshore meets the road that goes to the PPS. Crosswind. It was a nice ride out, warming from 59 to 65. The plan: with an east wind, I'd be able to ride Lakeshore Drive until the lake breeze kicked in, cancelling out the east wind most of the way home. It worked yesterday, like a charm. Today it was actually warmer near the lake -- and the ride down Lakeshore was very pretty. Only the lake breeze never kicked in. Instead the E wind strengthened to 15, gusting to 26 as I headed south. So eventually there was nothing left to do but turn into the wind, find a gear, and grind it out. Ugh. A very nice ride that turned harder than I'd hoped. But still a great ride. 24.35 miles. Enough. I took a couple of pictures of Ruby on top of 'Hill' -- but neither made the cut. It's a dusty spot, and no view other than the tops of pine trees. I do find it interesting to look down on the tops of some fairly tall trees from there. So instead I present this photo of a tulip tree. The flowers look tulip-like, hence the name. With the wind expected to pick up tomorrow, the blossoms may not last long, but they are one of my favorite flowering shrubs this time of year.

Silver Dollars

After all the to-do about theme day, it feels a little hum-drum to be back to blogging about my bike rides. The woods along Butternut, and elsewhere, are full of these wild flowers. They are pretty this time of year, carpeting the floor of the woods. Then in the fall, when they go to seed, they leave dried circles on the stem that look like silver dollars -- white and semi transparent, that are popular around here in dried flower arrangements. There is also a white flower version, but these are showier. I have several of these growing outside my living room window, along the fence line, at the beach.

The ride. 59 degrees, NE wind at 10 when I left. My intent was bike N to the lake shore, and possibly up behind the power plant. As I got within about a half mile of the PSPS, the lake breeze kicked in from the W. Very, very chilly. I went as far as the PSPS, then headed E with a nice tailwind. The lake breeze chased me home -- I'd ride E until I got a nice NE wind, then turn south. After a few miles the lake breeze would get that far inland, and I'd head E again at the first opportunity. So I zig-zagged away from the lake as the lake breeze got stronger and pushed further inland. But I had a nice tail wind for much of the return trip. Does wonders for my average speed. More of a sail than a bike ride. 20.3 miles. 65 degrees when I got home. Maybe winter is really over this time.

Theme Day -- A City Not My Own

I am always happy to participate -- this Theme Day has had a lot of different interpretations today, as I browse the net. Here is mine.

With thanks to the 2nd grade class at Peach Plains Elementary School, and especially to my grandson, who designed and built the ice cream shop in this village. It was for a unit on Economics. (Are you smarter than a 2nd grader?)