E.O.M.

It is the end of the month, again. I did ride this morning, and had a photo opportunity occur towards the end of the ride. I rode past a field full of migrant workers, picking blueberries. Very colorful, it would have made a nice shot. Except I left my camera at home on the table in the laundry room, so I missed the opportunity. And so endeth the bike riding for July. Not as good a month as I had sort of planned on, but okay. Fewer miles than June, but only by a few. I take that as a sign that I am not ruled by the black box on the handlebars. Or perhaps it is sloth. Yeah, probably sloth.

The theme for August 1st is metal. I think the theme for July 31st is feet. Or not.

A deck, a lake and some blues

Workmen have come and gone this morning. The electrician will be returning, but has finished most of his work. Other than that, it is a very quiet morning here. The deck is empty. There are some Blue Crop blueberries sitting on the counter, but no one is here to eat them.

I have no plans to bike today -- I may regret it in December -- or probably even earlier. I believe I will call this a rest day.

Around the River

I haven't taken many long rides lately -- the dog days of summer, I guess. The wind was light and I was up early this morning, so I set out to get in at least a couple of hours of riding before the sun got too high in the sky and ate up all the shade. This is the railroad bridge next to Hemlock Crossing Park, over the Pigeon River, taken as I headed north. Then west at the WOOS (formerly the PPS) and a couple of miles or so along the north side of the river. Eventually south at the top of 'Hill' near the power plant, almost exactly 2 miles from the PSPS, and a second crossing of the river at Pigeon Lake. The little swing inland from the lake to the PSPS put me in much warmer air, so it was back to Lakeshore for the rest of the ride south. No racing today -- well, maybe just one. I entered the bike path on Lakeshore behind a 40 something woman on a hybrid, and never caught her. I blame the moron family, who was also using the path. I did try, and closed the gap some, but it just seemed like too much work that late in the ride, so I let her go. A pretty nice ride on a pretty nice day. 26 miles. Long enough.

Keeping Busy

Some things to do at the beach. Watch the sand.

Watch the waves roll up.

Watch the people.

Summer Blooms

I rode out late this morning, with no particular destination in mind. I eventually ended up at Quincy Park -- where this field of wild flowers (or weeds, if you prefer) caught my eye. Riding home was all up hill (or into the wind, if you prefer), but I got back in time to have lunch with TOPWLH. A nice ride in mild temperatures, persistent wind, and rising humidity. Summer will be short, so I am trying to remember to enjoy it. Today I did.

Lilies grow in profusion on our bank this time of year. Along with wild grapes, some garlic mustard plant and a lot of milkweed. Any and all vegetation helps stabilize the sand so all of it except the wild grape (it smothers everything else) is welcome.

Lake Michigan Spits Back 10 People

I thought yesterday was a fine day on the lake -- the water sure looked safe to me. I would have let my centers of the universe swim, no question.

From the website of a Grand Rapids TV channel:

Three dramatic rescues save 10 at Holland Pier

HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) -- Ten people were rescued in three dramatic incidents near the Holland Pier the past two days.
Five fishermen were on Lake Michigan Tuesday morning. One of them had a big fish on a line, and in the excitement they did not realize their boat was taking on water. Three of their life jackets washed away, and the men stood on the hull of the boat for two hours.
As the U.S. Coast Guard rushed to help rescue the fishermen, another emergency popped up in the waters of Holland State Park - a child was caught in a rip current. His parents and brother swam over to save him, but all four were in serious danger of drowning.
"The rip current really caught them off guard. Luckily there were people on the pier who grabbed life rings and threw it to them," said U.S. Coast Guard Chief Boatswain Mate Mark Rose.
That is the same spot where three teenagers rescued a drowning man less than 24 hours earlier. The man either jumped or had been swept off the pier, and was screaming for help.
Jesse Poltrock, 18, leapt into the crashing waves.
Full story here.


Rip currents are forecast for the Holland Pier and south again today. Swim at your own risk, indeed.

Big day in the Alps, today. Has anyone else noticed what turkeys the fans are on the Alpe d'Huez? Sheesh.

Big Red and Lake Michigan

Did someone mention Big Red and Lake Michigan? The camera was nearly sitting on the sand for this shot of both the lake and the lighthouse in the distance. My bicycle did not get anywhere near these pictures, of course. I have enough problems with sand in my chain as it is.

This was an attempt at an artsy shot through the beach grass. It was a little on the cool side, and the wind was off the water, as you can see. It was a nice morning for a ride, though I only had time for a short ride today. Still, that was just fine. Lower humidity helps, too.

Finally some photos that don't look too hazy. This is the kind of July day that I prefer, myself. And since it is mid week, no one is actually riding the noise machines parked on the beach.

152nd Street

Two bloggable moments occurred on my ride today, both of them on 152nd Street. North of Butternut, 152nd is usually a quiet country road with very little traffic, and the odds of two cars and a bike being in the same place at the same time are quite low. Today I was riding along, thinking about weighty things, I'm sure, when it became clear that I was being passed by a caravan of cars. After the 6th or 7th one, I pulled over into a driveway and waited for it to pass. There must have been 15 vehicles, and it was soon clear what was going on as they all turned at the same spot -- migrant field workers moving from one field to another, en masse. As I pulled up alongside the field, I watched as the workers poured out of the cars with their buckets and raced down the rows of bushes to begin picking. A sign that this is a piece work job, not one that pays hourly. It gave me something to think about for a while.

(The second bloggable moment has nothing to do with this photo of a freighter leaving the Holland harbor yesterday.) A couple of miles further on I rode up on four kids -- ages about 10 to 12, I'd say -- walking their bikes along the bike path. I stopped to ask if they needed any help -- they all said no, they were fine. Close to home, no problem. I dismounted anyway, and told them that bikers had a code, that they had to help each other if there was a problem. One of the boys' bikes had a rear tire that looked like it had exploded off the back rim. The inner tube was sticking out, rubbing on the brake, making it hard to push. (I have had some experience with that.) I didn't have a pump, a patch kit, or tire changing tools. One boy commented that it would be nice if I had a screwdriver with me, to get the inner tube out of the way. I had a multi tool, and started to unpack it when one of the kids' grandmothers drove up. So I left her to solve the issues, while the kids thanked me for stopping. One of the girls said her dad had a bike like mine, because he was a racer. I mentioned that it might be a good idea to carry a cell phone -- then realized that kids aged 10 to 12 don't normally have cell phones. They had said they were close to home, so I was a bit surprised to see the three remaining bikers still behind me about a mile or so later. They had made the right decision, staying together, but they obviously weren't very close to home, and had a good ways still to walk. I am glad that I stopped, though it did sort of mess up the 'don't talk to strangers' rule.

Play Misty for Me

Editor's Note: The link to Misty is here.

I ride by this building regularly. Every time I do, I obsess about where the other numbers are. It seems like it is missing the 1, 2, 3 and 4. Or is it just me? At about mile 14, it started to mist a bit. The road never got completely wet. At about that point I noticed these spray painted signs on the roads near all of the storm drains in the neighborhood I was riding through. Neighborhood project? Tax dollars at work? Don't know.

The weekend has mostly been a washout, but I did get in a few miles today. And until it started to mist, it was a pleasant ride. Which is way more important than just racking up miles.

Air You Can See

It was an ozone action day today for the counties along the lake shore. Thank you, Milwaukee and Chicago. I considered taking a rest day, but rain is apparently on the way, so I rode early instead. Again. Truth be told, I like early morning rides, at least once I manage to drag myself out of bed and get out there. Very reminiscent of TRAM's. Looking east along Post, near Lake Mac. I rode more slowly than normal, and was vigilant about hydration. But it is definitely harder to breathe when the air is this thick.

Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen

I did not go out in the noon day sun. Nor did I ride out at 6:30, as I suggested here yesterday. It was closer to 8:00 a.m. when I rolled out of the driveway -- winds were light and from the south. It was already mid 70's, and humid, headed for something close to 90. The usual rule of riding out into the wind seemed wrong today. My new theory was that as the day warmed up, I would appreciate a light headwind on the return trip. For the most part, it turned out to be true, and the wind was light enough that my average speed on the return trip was nearly the same as on the way out. So I rode north, up and over Hill, and north and east from there. Much of the land back in there is owned by the power company, and the rest is mostly stands of pine trees from the days when the land was lumbered heavily. A few blueberry fields are sprinkled in, and there are a few big houses that back up to the north side of the Pigeon River. I decided I had enough water, so I didn't cross the highway to restock, instead stopping at Hemlock Crossing on the return trip. The photos are of the kayak launching area, the shadiest space I could find. The sun was hot, even at 9:30 or so.

As long rides go, it was short, about 30 miles. I had planned an additional inland loop, but chose to stay closer to the lake instead to take advantage of the slightly cooler air there. I am no longer cursing the lake breeze, I might add. Cooler near the lake has finally become a good thing again.

Old Age

This part of the country seems to have unacceptably cold weather for about four months of the year, and unacceptably hot weather for about 4 weeks. So I hate to annoy the weather gods by complaining that it is too hot. Bad Karma. But I really do not tolerate the heat very well any more. I've never liked it much, but it has gotten worse as I've gotten older. My usual approach to hot, muggy weather is to ride early in the day. It was 62 degrees when I left this morning about 8:30 and 75 when I got back two hours later. Tonight's low is forecast to be about 70. I may need to get out by about 6:30. (Probably not going to happen.)

Bastille Day

I spent the morning watching a mountain stage of the Td'F, two big hills in the Pyrenees. It was not inspiring, but it did remind me that today is Bastille Day. I have no photos from France, but I do have a photo of a French girl in front of a French poster, in appropriate colors, celebrating an independence day. Close enough? I took a bike ride -- a two hour tour, a two hour tour -- later in the day. It was still breezy, but otherwise a great summer day.

Too Windy

The older of the two centers of the universe took this photo this morning. I deemed it to be too windy to ride.

The Dukes Have Arrived

We had another gully washer through here this morning, and I almost didn't ride. The streets dried up some after lunch, but not as much as I had thought. Several minor annoyances (whine, whine....) and I gave up early. But not before I swung by Bauerman's and found them selling locally grown blueberries. Only in pints so far, it will be a week or 10 days before the quantities are sufficient to sell them in the 5 and 10 lb. boxes, they say. But I declare the season to have begun. I put a pint ($3.00) in my jersey pocket and brought home some highbush Duke blueberries. "Elliott and Duke have become very popular in the last decade, Elliott for its very late harvest and storability, and Duke for its large, firm fruit, late bloom and early harvest. " From this site. Probably more than you want to know about blueberries. They have a nice flavor, but aren't very sweet. Not anywhere near as sour as the Elliotts though, and good for eating out of your hand from a bowl on the counter.

U-Pick

Yesterday I spent a chunk of time at the office, working on my fall syllabus and meeting with the new Prof who will take over my Advanced Accounting class in the fall. My bike ride was thus both late and short. Recovery ride -- to the State Park, but none of my photos were blog worthy. Today I did a two hour tour of the blueberry fields. The Gold Barn U-Pick on Quincy had a full parking lot, and several people were in the field picking berries. It must be an early variety, since most of the fields that I saw were showing only minor bits of blue. Still, encouraging.

Apparently these are called guinea hens, according to the guy who lives in this house. They belong to his neighbor, but occasionally get out and roam the neighborhood. They were harassing a dog shortly before I took this photo. Wildlife shot of the day? (Fortunately, there were no further sightings of the hairy naked guy.)

Empty Village

There is always a bit of a letdown after visitors leave, and this week is no exception. Most of the 'village people' -- sorry -- left on Sunday, and BNWCATWTV (beloved niece who came all this way to visit) left on Monday morning. A surefire cure is to go visit the missing 'village people.' (Again, sorry. I just find the phrase amusing.) It was my longest ride so far this year, but not by a lot. I hadn't taken a long ride since the last day of June, so my legs were fairly fresh. This is the only wildlife I saw along the way -- well, except for the hairy naked guy, but this is a family blog. Near the Grand Haven airport.

The half way point. The centers of the universe were glad to see me. If I looked any worse, I wouldn't have posted the photo, but here it is. (Allez, Liquigas.) Proper hydration was the only real issue -- I worked hard at it, but not quite hard enough. Still, the worst effect I suffered on the ride was that the theme song from Gilligan's Island kept running through my head from about Kirk Park all the way home. 42 miles.

Bloggable

I took a short ride this morning, returning in time to catch the end of the first stage of the tour. I'm sure that biking will soon become the focus of my blogging again, but holiday weekends tend to provide unique bloggable moments -- including the one pictured here, by permission of Wireless. Everyone seemed to be on their best behavior, and absolutely everyone knows how to behave quite well. Even us.

Parade

The neighborhood 4th of July parade is always a bit of fun. We decorated ourselves and joined the walkers this year, instead of decorating the bikes. It was its usual bit of retro entertainment.

Surprise

The Centers of the Universe were soooooo (not enough ooo's) surprised -- and happy -- to see their sweet cousin.

Ruby

It wasn't hard to find signs with 'no' on them, but most of them were pretty generic. Since this is a bicycle blog, and today was a significant day for Ruby, I chose this one. At Tunnel Park, for 'theme day.'It was a slow and easy spin with Ruby today. Yesterday's ride was mid 30's, and thus my long ride for the week. It also put the odometer on Ruby at 6,992 at the end of the ride. So 8 miles into today's short ride it rolled over to 7,000.

I have two other bicycles with more miles on them than this, and they are both still being ridden more or less regularly. I refuse to do the math of how many hours I've spent accumulating those miles, but it is a lot. It appears to be hard to wear out a bicycle. Allez, Ruby.