Small Craft Advisory

It is really quite windy now, but it wasn't too bad earlier this morning. If this isn't pretty, then I don't know what is. Just south of the Pigeon River, heading back towards the big lake.
As was noted elsewhere, there was only a headwind in one direction on this ride. I rode north until I got tired of the headwind, then turned and coasted back. Miraculously, I ended up with exactly the number of miles I wanted to round out the month of June. I pronounce myself happy with the result. Since June and July used to be heavy training months when I rode TRAM, there is no pressure to try for personal records. I set that bar too high during those three years.

The official photo blogger theme for July 1st is "no" signs. This isn't an inspired example, but it was right outside my door, almost. I'll see if I can find something better by tomorrow.

Is There A Limit On These?

I've declared both hemlocks and asparagus as 'plant of the week' already this week. But I saw these along the bike lane on Lakewood on my way back to the house on my ride this morning. There are not a lot of tiger lilies blooming yet, but this spot gets a lot of sun. I thought TT would enjoy them. I regularly tell TOPWLH that numbers are not the same thing as sentences. Some numbers do stand alone, though. 5,280 works for many, I think. So here is mine. 2,000.67

Some May Be Severe

Dry this morning, they said when I woke up about 6. Afternoon thunderstorms, some may be severe. Tomorrow? Same deal. Sunday? Similar. Monday? Showers. That's all that's left of June -- so I decided to ride early, a longish ride before the wind and humidity and thunderstorms made it unpleasant. About 6:30 a line of thundershowers popped up off shore, and we got a brief rainstorm. Enough to make the streets wet, and enough to throw doubt on the rest of the forecast for the rest of the day. (This is exactly how I ended up getting soaked on Wednesday's short ride.) By 8:30 the streets looked drier -- decision time. I'd just cleaned my bike and lubed the chain after Wednesday's ride, and I was pretty sure I'd have to do it again if I rode. On the other hand, the ODO on the Ruby is less than 60 miles from 7,000 miles. It is not a new bike any more. The cassette is the original one, the chain is due to be replaced. Dirty up the bike? Again? Yep. Though I abandoned the 'longish' part of the plan. (BTW -- I've been on a quest for the last few days -- looking for Michigan blueberries. No luck at the farmer's market or the grocery stores. Last year's blog entries showed blues showing up at Bauerman's by July 7. But last year they were early. Very early. Not this year, apparently. I really already knew that, as I ride past the fields on about every ride I take. So we are resigned to having no blueberries over the 4th of July weekend. The photo of Bauermann's speaks volumes.)

The ride wasn't bad, though my sunglasses fogged up every time I stopped. I rode for about two hours, calling TOPWLH in the middle to have him check the radar. And my bike needs cleaning again, and there is sand in the chain and the gears, again. If this sounds like I'm complaining -- well -- it was a nice summer ride, and it is nice to sneak one in now and then even when the conditions are a bit sketchy. The second photo is my new plant of the week. Asparagus. Michigan is the 3rd largest supplier of asparagus in the US. The season is over and this plant has gone to seed. I like it's feathery, fernlike tendrils.

Haze

Even the geese on the golf course had frizz this morning. It rained off and on yesterday, and the streets were not quite dry even by 9 am today. It was already 74 degrees when I left for my ride this morning. While I was out the temperature and the dew point both reached 77. It is the kind of weather where people with chronic health conditions should turn on the A/C and stay inside. Wind is my friend in these conditions. A little evaporative cooling helps take the sting out of a headwind.

This photo is from my ride through Holland on Monday, taken in front of the Public Library. I took the photo because of the sculpture -- public art being a regular theme on some blogs I read regularly. I also noticed that there is a flowering tree behind the sculpture -- another recurring theme.

It was too oppressive to ride too far -- but I did get in about a two hour ride. After getting rained on when I attempted a ride yesterday, it was good to be able to finish the ride as planned. These last flowers are on a tree that looks like a dogwood to me. Dogwoods are some of my favorite trees, and this one is only about a mile from where I live. These flowers started out white and are turning pink -- something I haven't seen on any other tree. A low key ride, lunch with TOPWLH and then a few hours in the office preparing for my fall classes. No complaints.

Why Not Ride South?

To answer my own question, the big reason I don't ride south is because there is this lake in the way. And if I ride far enough east to get to a bridge that crosses the lake (river, by then) there is still this town in the way. It isn't a very bike friendly town, but it is manageable. Lots of stopping for street lights and stop signs, road construction in unexpected places .... I'm spoiled by riding north from my garage on most rides. But the truth is, that once those obstacles are behind me, there's some really nice stuff to the south of Holland. This is Gilligan's Lake, my turn around point today. Small, but charming -- off the beaten path. When we first moved here, a quarter of a century ago, the road past it was gravel. This is the castle at Castle Park, along the shores of Lake Michigan a bit south of Holland. It is popular for weddings and receptions. Nothing was going on there today, except a few old ladies eating lunch on the patio.

It wasn't an overly long ride -- a bit shy of 30 miles. The sun was hot (there's more shade on the north side....) but there were a few horse farms here and there with those white fences that make me think of Tennessee horse country. I probably won't ride that way again soon, but with the wind from the SW today, it was good to expand my territory a little bit.

Fog, White Tails and Hemlocks

Fog rolled in off the lake about 9 this morning and laid claim to the near shore. I called TOPWLH and the sun was shining where he was. Inland was the plan, then. You all know what fog looks like, up close and personal. This is how it looks from a distance of about 3 miles. It looks very much like dark smoke on the horizon. Do you like the runway shot? I had not been to Hemlock Crossing lately, and it is a nice inland ride through the blueberry fields. Blueberry fields don't give much shelter from the wind, by the way. But the destination was worth the effort. Once there, I walked my bike to the bridge over Pigeon Creek and admired the view upstream. As I watched, a white tail deer forded the stream a few hundred feet from the bridge. Of course I couldn't get my camera out in time to catch it crossing the water, but I did get a picture of it standing in the tall grass along the creek. I know, they are pests. But attractive ones.

Did you know that Hemlock bark used to be used in the tanning of hides? Me either. Information from a sign in the park. The last photo is Ruby in front of a Hemlock tree. Nice ride with a fairly decent cross/tailwind on the way .... ooops, I mean, I felt really strong on the way back.

Leg Report

Even though it was only 59 degrees when I rode out of my garage yesterday, I opted out of wearing tights. (A common rule is to keep your knees covered below 65 degrees.) With a forecast high of 72, I reasoned that I would be fine. I returned home about 4 hours later, and it was not yet 65. There were a few patches of air that felt warm, but mostly it was a chilly ride. I knew as soon as got on my bike that I did not have 'fresh legs.' I'd been riding in stiff winds for three days, and I could definitely feel it in my legs. Still, it was long ride day in late June, so the only solution was to suck it up and ride. The wind was from the north, but light at 9:30 in the morning. Long rides are about distance, not speed so the ride north went pretty well. The railroad theme from the other blog continues here. Taken from the top of Hill, near the power plant. Note that I am not standing in the middle of the tracks, but rather am taking the photo from the bridge overlooking the tracks. Trains do not go where I was standing. Empty coal cars, almost for sure. The wind shifted to the west somewhere around Kirk Park, and -- dreadfully -- to the SW by the time I got to M-45. If it held, I had a headwind on the way home. This old brick building is on the site of the water pumping station at M-45 and Lakeshore. It is one of the few spots where you can see the big lake along this ride. It's a beautiful, beautiful stretch of road anyway. There is a fairly new bike lane from Pigeon Lake to Grand Haven, making riding much easier. The pedestrians were out in force on the 'bike path.'

I turned around at mile 17 -- on top of the hill near the Grand Haven High School. My eventual objective was still another 3.5 miles from there, and I knew that with a headwind returning, and the cold chill giving me leg cramps, it would not be wise to push that extra distance that day. I stopped in Kirk Park for an extended period on my way back south, somewhere around noon. The whiteboard on the guard house said that the air temperature was 61 and the water temperature was 64. The wind was freshening from the SW though, so it made sense to push the rest of the way home in one shot. A few slight route changes on the return trip gave me just over 35 miles total, my longest ride so far, but not by much. With a kinder wind blowing and fresh legs -- well, we'll have to wait and see. It didn't happen this week. How are my legs? Sore and tired. That 65 degree rule is probably a good one.

Zoom

Not Blue Eyed Grass

I got excited when I saw these flowers blooming alongside 160th street near Bauerman's farm on my return trip this afternoon. So naturally I turned around and went back to get a photo. Sadly, when I checked my photo against the one on PP's blog, they are not the same flower. Still, these are blue -- a favorite color of many, including me. The winds continued to be a nuisance, gusting near 20 and steady from the NNW. Temperatures are stubbornly holding in the upper 50's and low 60's -- not too bad for riding, but not short sleeve jersey weather, either. I'm getting tired of layering up to take a bike ride. Too much wind today to attempt a long ride, so I did the 'usual' couple of hours riding, some of it spent focusing on cadence. Now that's interesting, at least for bike geeks. I seem to have a fairly low natural cadence, but it wasn't hard to ramp it up when I paid attention. It couldn't hurt to pedal a bit more efficiently, and I think I used a few different muscles -- some fast twitch muscles, even -- perhaps. The time went by fast, and the tail wind on the way home was a bonus.

More Plants

This photo was taken on my ride this morning -- not exactly the plant of the week, as it shows up on my blog pretty regularly. It looks like the blues are still on track for a typical mid July start. Not really any hint of blue yet, though. But progress, none the less. It was still windy, and in the upper 50's when I left for my bike ride this morning. It was not quite as windy as yesterday, thankfully. It was a nice ride, a couple of hours on the bike before I headed in to the office to get started on fall semester tasks. My computer works, and I remembered my password. It is a start.

If I were going to do a plant of the week, this would be it. Chives. Pretty, practical and tasty to boot. The purple flowers will be gone soon, but these come back every year. Very low maintenance. I planted these several years ago, and have never had to do anything to them. They spread, but slowly, so don't take over the landscape. They are a handy herb to have around. There is a Chinese Silver Dollar plant in the photo as well. I have done very little gardening this year, but Mother Nature doesn't seem to mind.

Too Windy

The bike log entry says 62 degrees, with a NW wind at 18, gusting to 26. It felt even stronger. TOPWLH informed me that the wind shook his car as he drove down Ottawa Beach Road about 10:00 this morning. That should have been enough of a clue -- but I rode anyway. Unbelievably slowly. I didn't even write down my average speed in my log. It doesn't feel so much like summer today. On Saturday's ride, Young 'N commented that she'd seen a South Korean flag on a house we'd just passed. I went back today to take a picture of it. I Google imaged South Korean flag, and sure enough, that is what it is. How did she get to be so smart? I'm sure there is a story about why that flag is there, but I have no clue what it is. Mixed marriage, maybe?

Officially Summer

The new bikes are officially declared to be satisfactory. A few trips were ridden back and forth to the park, first. They made me very nervous by riding to the top of the hill you see here, then blasting down it towards the house. Young N's new bike seems to work well for climbing -- she's the current holder of the spotty jersey. She says it is easy. We then loaded the bikes onto the bike rack and into the truck and drove all the way to Tunnel Park. From there we took our first official family ride of the summer, around the Tanglewood neighborhood south of Perry. 2.5 miles was a little long for Totally Jammin' but he did not curse or whine one single time.

TJ has developed a new super power. He can ride at the speed of light. The SLO's and the OSLO still had enough energy for a swim after supper. First time in the water for the SLO's this year -- and the first outdoor showering of the season. In other biking related news, on my morning ride yesterday I crossed over the half way point of this year's mileage goal. (Which is to ride one more mile than last year.) It isn't quite mid year yet, so that is encouraging for a year where winter lasted forever, spring was cold, and summer ... well, it is here for a day, at least. It was a very nice summer day in Michigan.

Friday the 13th

Today was pretty windy, with west and southwest winds gusting around 25. Within the Auckland Rule, but a significant hassle when it is a headwind returning home. So I did something that I normally don't approve of. I put my bike in my truck and drove to Quincy Park, where I could ride south and west while I was fresh and get the tailwind on the return trip. It is interesting how different a ride seems when the usual route is turned backward. The amount of water still standing in blueberry fields is not a good sign. Blues are environmentally sensitive, and in case you didn't know that, the county put up a sign.

Quincy Park has had some improvements over the last couple of years -- new soccer fields and softball fields. And a new bathroom. I believe I did a series of photos on public bathroom doors last year, and I thought these doors were kinda cool. (Quincy Park is near the golf course, for those of you familiar with my usual routes.)

These are my poppies. I just included them because they are pretty.

Four Water Bottle Ride

It was in the mid 60's when I left home, and the high temperature during my ride was just 81. Not exactly hot, but 10 or more degrees warmer than what I'm used to riding in. I took two water bottles with me and rode north, eventually stopping at Kirk Park, about 20 miles into the ride. There is water available there, but it tastes really rusty, so I did not refill my water bottles. It's just 4 miles from there to the PSPS where I did get more water. I was a little behind the hydration curve by then, what with the mid day sun and warm temps. (The picture below was taken at Kirk Park.)It was a bit cooler and shadier near the lake for the rest of the ride. There was a little lake breeze, though not much.

I did a little loop through Tunnel Park and took this photo. I was a bit short of last week's long ride miles, but couldn't quite convince myself to take a longer loop. Too close to home, the 'smell the hay' -- 'horse to the barn' syndrome kicked in. 33 miles. Knackered, but adequately hydrated. Or nearly so.

Washouts

It isn't just biking plans that have been washed out this week. This is on the side of the street that goes up into Idlewood. My favorite hill -- be careful on the way down. This road is closed to through traffic because of a washout. It's about a block from the PSPS -- along Idlewild St.

There was a much worse washout south of Saugatuck. The entire road collapsed, leaving a deep ditch with fast running water in the bottom of it. A car went over the edge and two people died there on Saturday night.

Another effect of having had too much rain -- more than the sewer systems can handle -- is this. The Holland Wastewater Treatment Plant discharged thousands of gallons of sewage into Lake Mac on Saturday night/Sunday. The brown looking water in foreground is -- well, brown water. There is a 'no skin contact' advisory up for Lake Mac, but not for Lake Michigan. The wind has come up since I took this picture, which should stir things up and help dilute the ... brown stuff.

Water, Water Everywhere

It rained about 5 inches on Saturday night, and over an inch last night. It is raining now. There is standing water everywhere.

More Bikes

Two "new" bikes have been added to the stable. Last fall I sent the bikes that the centers of the universe used here home with them. Leaving them with nothing to ride here. Unacceptable. The girl child's new/used bike was a trade for an unused bike -- it is the Canadian equivalent of a Schwinn, according to a website I found. A CCH Esprit with 26 inch wheels. She likes that it is purple, and especially that it has a bell. It is a 10 speed, with the shifters on the stem. The boy child's new/used bike was found at a garage sale. It is a Giant brand, single speed, coaster brake with a single hand brake. 20 inch wheels. He likes the color. Ah, new bikes.

High Dew Point

Not much to blog about here -- yesterday was a total wash out, with thunderstorms about mid day, leaving all bikeable surfaces wet and messy. The temperature when I woke up this morning was about 70, and so was the dew point. A strong wind from the south was the culprit. There were storms in Wisconsin when I checked the weather radar, so I took an early ride to avoid a second involuntary rest day. I hadn't been to the state park for a while, and it is quiet there between 8 and 9 in the morning. Big Red's flag was already whipping in the wind.

I did the Lake Mac tour, and found this shot of rhododendrons in bloom. I was surprised by the number of geezers out on bicycles this morning. I probably saw 8 bikers while I was out, and 5 or 6 of them were over 60. Maybe we are all avoiding the mid day sun. I was home by 9:30 -- the weather channel said it was 90 degrees in Zeeland at that point, though it was about 80 here. It feels like summer has arrived.

North Again

It was overcast and hazy, no hint of sun all day. I rode north again, revisiting the area where I rode on Monday. There were a few more miles of gravel road that I wanted to check out, to see if any of it had been paved. None had, but I got this photo of a 'Pavement Ends' sign, a second cousin to the 'Road Ends' signs from last year. It rained enough yesterday to settle the dust, and it was a very pretty ride with about 2.5 miles of riding on hard packed dirt. I find that I don't mind riding that surface if I'm going uphill, or on the flats, but downhill makes me a little nervous. Fortunately, this area wasn't very hilly. I also added a new 'town' to my list of places visited on my bike. This one -- Agnew -- is too small to even have a sign declaring it exists. This was my long ride of the week -- winds are forecast to be out of the south for the foreseeable future. 34 miles, my longest ride this year.

Ullrich Wins Paris-Roubaix

I got off to a late start today, and found myself thankful for the 'cooler by the lake' conditions for the first time this year. With temperatures around 80 inland, I stayed near the lake, a strategy that worked pretty well. I don't think it got much over 72 except when I ventured inland. Here's a photo of the PSPS in passing, a day late for yesterday's theme day of your favorite corner store.



I rode a bit north and east of Kirk Park, taking a couple of gravel roads for about a mile and a half so I could explore an area just off the lakeshore that doesn't have many paved roads. I've ridden all the paved roads in that area, and it is pretty with the exception of a couple of turkey farms. My bike tires are 25's, and in theory designed to be able to ride the cobblestones of the Paris-Roubaix race. So gravel should be no problem -- and it wasn't.

I found this one room school house at the intersection of a couple of gravel roads. It's a very quiet and charming spot with gravel roads stretching in three directions. The fourth direction -- contrary to what my map said -- was paved all the way to Lakeshore. I laughed out loud, as I could have ridden to the same spot on paved roads -- in fact, on bike path. The bike path was brand new and the road was newly paved. I'm still glad I went the way I did -- getting off the paved road slowed me down, but the rewards in terms of scenery were worth it.

The trip home was uneventful, except for a short race with a slightly plump woman on a mountain bike. I won, but fortunately a short burst of speed -- 12.5 mph -- was sufficient for the win. It was a long enough ride that I was a bit tired by the time I got to the last hill before home. So I channelled Jan Ullrich, and used the big engine to power my way up the hill. I had fun. 29 miles. A nice way to spend the afternoon.