Marginal

It was not a nice day for biking. It had finally stopped raining, though, and getting out of the house for some fresh air seemed like it was worth the effort. Yesterday was the 2nd rainiest day ever recorded in October in this part of the state. Another version of keeping track of lots of things -- and another record almost set. Lynne's new house has a 'basement,' but still has the same old drainage problem when there is a significant rainfall. The wind was blowing in the mid twenties with gusts in the mid thirties during my ride. Temps hovered in the mid 40's. Pretty marginal.

It didn't take long to get tired, riding in that wind, but the view at my turn around spot was worth the ride.

Editor's Note: The November 1st theme is 'Doorways.' There are two doorways in the top photo, and this may be the best photo I have of a doorway. If I find a better one, I may post again tomorrow. But I do not plan to either bike or cook tomorrow, so it's a long shot.

Old October Record Falls

Personal Records are fun. This one is for the most miles ever ridden by me during October since 2002, when I started keeping detailed records. They also aren't as rare as you might think -- I set two last year, early in the year in Florida, and three the year before, September through November, when I was teaching only one class in the fall. What I especially like is that I'm up against a younger version of myself, and this is virtually the only, and I do mean only time that experience and tenacity trump youth (or relative youth, in this case.) In spite of decent weather yesterday afternoon, I did keep my lunch date with my old friend. She and her Significant Other are building a house, and she's highly stressed. I lent her an ear. So it was with a clear conscience and fresh legs that I headed out today to beat up on young Santini's record. Breezy turned into windy, there was a bit of fog to make it even darker than what it has been here for seemingly forever, but I only needed 17 miles. I rode first to Quincy Park, where no one was playing ball. Then through the golf course, and eventually west to Lakeshore.

I paused for a minute to admire the view -- okay, to rest -- and noticed a sumac still hanging on to a few of its leaves. One of the reasons I look forward to riding in the fall, for all of it's weather related challenges, is the changing landscape. These colors, this landscape, is only available for viewing for a very, very limited time. These leaves will be gone by Monday, most likely. But I was there today, and I saw them in all their dying glory.

I try to swing through the beech woods on every ride from now until it snows. I managed the 17 miles that I wanted, plus another 5. Tomorrow looks like an all day rain, but Saturday may be a rideable day. If so, I'll try to plant the flag a little further out to make it a little harder for that older Santini who will come along and try to wipe out my hard earned effort. If not, this is plenty good enough.

Magic Number

When I got up today there were 4 numbers standing between me and a new personal record for miles ridden during October. 313 miles (ridden in October, '04), 314 miles (October, '02), 329 miles (October '05) and 337 miles (October '07). My total mileage for this month stood at 299.58, giving me a magic number of 38 miles to set a new personal record for miles ridden in October. I set out to pick off the low hanging fruit. The two lowest numbers were within easy reach -- 313 and 314. The 38 total was too much for one ride this late in the season. I rode the Elite again -- the roads were still a little damp from rain yesterday and overnight last night. The photo above was taken from my bike while riding down 164th street between New Holland and Van Buren. Dark grey days continued here, but the temperature was mild -- low 50's, and the winds were light.

Everyone else seems to have posted a road closed sign recently, so here's mine. This is Idlewild Road, running between the PSPS and Lakeshore drive. There was a washout along this road this spring -- it looks like there will be a more permanent fix to the road soon.

It was a 21.75 mile round trip for a monthly total of 321. (Anyone still with me here? No? I don't blame you. But I will continue on, anyway.) This leaves me with a new Magic Number of 17 miles. A personal record is still not a sure thing, of course. Rain is predicted to come through again tonight into tomorrow morning, and I have a late lunch with Lynne tomorrow. The TV weather people are forecasting rain and wind on both Friday and Saturday. So in all likelihood, I'm looking at just one more good bikeable day this month -- Thursday. Given that Mother Nature bats last, I won't put it into the record book until I actually ride the miles. And then ... November looms. Wish me luck.

Pow Wow

On Saturday the COTU and I went to a Pow Wow -- a ceremony presented by four or five local Native American tribes, at the Hope College fieldhouse. There were Indian Pow Wows (When I was a kid, that is what we called them. There was no slur intended. There still isn't.) -- anyway -- we would occasionally go up to Deer River and watch the dances and listen to the drums. It was always during the summer, always at night, and always around a big fire. The COTU didn't seem to miss any of that -- in fact they commented, "Wasn't it hard to see the dancers in the dark?" Well, yes it was. This shot turned out blurry around the edges, but I liked the effect, so here it is. The ceremonies were performed inside the ring of chairs in the middle of the basketball court.

There was a Grand Entrance, with the first people in line being military veterans -- mostly Vietnam and Iraq. The first group of veterans carried flags -- the U.S. flag, the Canadian flag, the flags of each of the various tribes, and this one -- representing those who received the purple heart. This was accompanied by drumming and chanting by two groups seated in the middle of the circle. It was quite impressive, and the COTU were quite wrapped up in it. They're both old enough to understand the history behind some of this -- COTU/TJ is currently studying Native American tribes in his social studies class. COTU/N has long been a history buff, like her father, and would have been happy to stay to watch the whole proceedings.

We did stay for a couple of hours, and saw some interesting dances performed, but there were various ceremonies scheduled until 7 that night, so staying for the whole thing was not practical. This guy's regalia was the most colorful and the COTU asked me to post the picture. The three of us had a good time and learned some stuff. It was a unique way to spend a cold and blustery fall Saturday.

Not the Last Ride of the Year

Not quite yet. The last Sunday in October used to be the end of Daylight Saving Time, and pretty much the end of biking season. Not enough light to ride after work once the time changed, and weekends tended to be full of other activities -- before I retired. This year Standard Time does not return until next weekend, and the weekday daylight hours are now available to me for biking, weather permitting. Today the weather permitted, and I rode up to Pigeon Lake, for what might be the last time this year. But I don't expect it to be my last ride of the year. Not this year. Here's the annual photo of the blueberry fields in their temporary red leafed glory. Pretty.

Even the PSPS looks different with the change in colors. It's full on autumn here, even late autumn. The red colors never did develop much depth, but the yellows have been vibrant, even in the dark and gloom of October. Some of you (okay, one of you) may notice that I rode the Elite today. Ruby is still in the basement waiting for me to lube the chain and the drive train. I wasn't sure what conditions the roads would be in either, after 2+ inches of rain Friday, and a fair number of showers yesterday.

The sun came out briefly now and then -- I almost caught it here, along Butternut, near where it intersects with Lakeshore.

I did the loop through the cottages south of Pigeon Lake, just for fun. And it was. I knew the day would come when the low 50's felt plenty warm enough, and today was that day. I retrieved my old bike logs from the beach this week -- last year snow came and stayed on the 16th of November, effectively ending the biking season. Another three weeks? Maybe. I'm going out on a limb here, and saying that today was probably not the last bikeable day of the year. I also predict that the end is near.

I Rode, It Rained

I got as far as Tunnel Park with just a little mist falling from the skies, and the roads were only slightly damp. It turned into a steady drizzle soon there-after. By the time I got home it was a steady rain. It took almost as long to clean up my bike as I spent riding it.

One Nice Day

It appears that this is it. The only day this month that is warm, dry and mainly sunny. I rode out to Idlewood, looking for my footprint in some tar along the side of the hill. I liked this photo better, however.

I didn't expect to see this many people at Tunnel Park. The group seemed to be from a nearby school who had ridden there on their bikes. Organized chaos on the dune.

I swung through Eldean's Marina as part of my tour of Lake Mac. Many of the boat slips are empty already, but this is clearly still a busy time of year for Eldean's -- pulling boats out of the water and getting them ready for winter storage. I can't imagine that there is a piece of shrink wrap big enough for the Neptune, but then, I don't really know.

My personal favorite maple tree -- next to my garage. It still has a way to go to peak color.

Ducks, geese and swans in Pine Creek Bay. Too bad Fall Break didn't last one more day.

Fall Break Ride

Every year that we can, Lynne and I take a bike ride at some time during the college's Fall Break. Today was it for this year. Often we ride up to Hemlock Crossing. Today we chose a different destination -- Quincy Park -- mostly because of the wind direction. It was warm enough to ride, but not really very warm. The sun didn't show up at all either, but the fall colors did.

I rode over to Lynne's and we rode out from there and back to there, before I rode on home. Her ride was a little less than 20 miles, mine a bit over 25. Plenty good enough. It may well be her last ride until Spring, so I tried to devise a route that was both scenic and interesting, with low traffic roads. We both enjoyed the ride, I think. It's a nice tradition.

59 area schools are closed for tomorrow due to illnesses. Flu season has hit early and hard. By the time the vaccine is available, the flu may have peaked here.

Warmer

A warm up this time of year usually comes with a strong south wind. So be it. I rode out to the State Park first. Some high clouds obscured the sun a bit -- but it was more blue sky than we've seen for a while.

The snow fences are not completely installed yet. Or should I say sand fences?

I sailed north with the tailwind for a while, intending to take advantage of my secret weapon for the return trip home into a headwind. 160th may not really be downhill heading south, but I have convinced myself that it is. Downhill into a headwind is better than uphill into a headwind. Also, 160th has a pretty thick canopy of trees -- providing some shelter, not to mention that the color was pretty spectacular today.

Days like this stick with me, and are what make me think that I love riding in the fall.

There are about a dozen schools closed in this area tomorrow because of widespread student illness. I've had the regular flu shot. I hope that's enough.

Tales from the East

I got a little help from the COTU today, as we near the end of the process of clearing out the beach house. For the first time the gas grill was among the things that made the move east to the bay. It was also a nice afternoon for hanging out and watching football on TV, if that's what you enjoy. Or you can do what the COTU and DC did -- shoot a little pool. (A brief story -- it turns out that the COTU are related, distantly, to the lad on the right in this photo. His mother is a distant cousin, several generations removed, to their father. So he has approved the internet/blog name of Distant Cousin. DC for short. Grand Haven is a small town, both families have lived there for generations. I had heard Ted say that he was related to almost everyone in town -- apparently it was literally true.) The pool table hasn't been used much for the last 15 years or so, and it was good to hear laughter coming from downstairs. OSLO brought the cook, and we had pork steaks (two thumbs up from TOPWLH), with appropriate sides for supper. Followed by Apple Crisp for dessert -- Opal's recipe. (Which is almost identical to Aunt Louise's -- Aunt Louise didn't add salt to hers, or they would have been different only in the descriptive details.) The topping was exclaimed over -- the crisp part is the best part. After supper the girl COTU and DC settled into a friendly but competitive game of chess -- DC had been the teacher in the pool shooting activity, the girl COTU took on the teaching role at the chess board. The adults in the room were of the opinion that chess should be a quiet game, but apparently not always. DC is a quick study, but the girl COTU showed him no mercy. After the food settled, they packed up their leftovers and headed north. We've been sitting around talking about how good it was to hear the sounds of children laughing and having a good time together.

The Sun Returned

It got a few degrees warmer today than the last several days -- it approached 50 eventually -- but the real difference was the return of the sunshine. It felt like fall -- a nice enough day for a bike ride, especially after the ugly transition from summer that we've endured for the past 3 weeks. My mileage for the month passed October of 2008 today -- a trivial accomplishment, really. There are another 100 miles left to ride to get to the 'average' number of miles ridden this month. This round of snow passed us by, so there is hope. My annual mileage goal, if I make it, will likely be on some cold and dark day in November. Reasonably enough.

I took the photo of the plane for two reasons. One, I don't think I've posted it here before. It's on Ottawa Beach Road across from the fairgrounds. Two, the sky was blue and the sun was out.

Our next door neighbors are planning an expansion of their deck, and apparently this tree was in their way. I'm a little depressed by the number of trees that I've seen cut down -- or cut up after they fell down -- over the course of the summer. We need to do some public education on just where the oxygen that we breathe comes from. Still, tree cutting is always a good excuse to stand outside and chat with the neighbors. I had a whole summer's worth of catching up to do.

Only 15 degrees below normal here.

Another day, just like the last one. Low to mid 40's all day, a little more wind than yesterday. And the sun came out during my bike ride. Now that's a treat. We've had less than 25% of available sunshine for the last 15 days, I hear. I got too cold mid ride yesterday, so I added a layer today. That makes 4 layers on the top half -- the polar fleece vest went back on. I thought bulk would be an issue, but it worked out fine. I rode out towards Tunnel Park, ready to scoot up the hill if my cocoon of warmth had broken down by the time I got there. But it didn't, so I stopped and took a photo of the changing colors in everyone's favorite Holland park. It still gets a few visitors -- two cars pulled into the parking lot while I was there.

I rode north from there, then rode west on Riley towards the 'street end' beach. I think that this is a burning bush, but I don't remember seeing those reddish orange berries before.

It is 'fringe' biking season, I think. I have declared all of the usual rules to be suspended until Mother Nature gets back on track here. So if I ride for an hour and half instead of two hours, I'm pretty much fine with that. If I ride my road bike down a dirt road, okay. If I ride out with a tail wind, and back into a head wind .... well, that would just be stupid. It was another nice day for a ride here. CBS still plagues me, but it is a price I am willing to pay.

Fur Coats Optional

I've done a little reading about how temperature affects athletic performance. One of the things I've read stated that people can acclimate to warmer temperatures over time, and can tolerate exercising in fairly warm temperatures, but that humans really don't acclimate to cold. My experience has been just the opposite. During July and August I tend to ride very early in the day in order to avoid the mid day heat. Once the mercury heads upwards of 80, I get uncomfortable. At 85 I lie down and stop breathing. But cold weather? Give me a ride or two in 40 degrees and I'm fine. I know that this is not typical, however. Fat Cyclist has a cut-off of 50 degrees for riding, he says. Perfectly rational. But I have more in common with the commuter/blogger from Duluth who loves cold weather. Not that I love cold weather -- just that I find it more tolerable than hot weather. Color me weird, I think. I made some adjustments to my layers for today's ride -- it was in the low 40's when I left. Smart wool base layer, AmFib tights and a second pair of wool socks. It was the coldest weather I'd ridden in so far this fall, so I didn't plan to ride far -- just an acclimation ride. These alpacas live along Greenly, and are rarely seen in the summer. They appeared to be appropriately dressed for the conditions.

Even when it is gray, cold, and overcast, I love being out of the house for a couple of hours every day that I can. Today I noted leaf colors ranging through red, yellow, orange, gold, beige and brown. It occurred to me that these are not natural colors for trees anywhere on this earth. Where was I? Mars? Nope. Michigan. In the fall.

My cocoon of warmth theory didn't hold up for the whole ride -- not unexpectedly. I had ridden a loop rather than an out-and-back so I wouldn't get caught too far from home if I got cold. Today the cold began to get uncomfortable about 10 minutes from the beach house. I carry a key, so I stopped in there to warm up before heading for home. I also checked out the progress on the lot preparation work where Lynne's cottage used to be. As you can see, it is now an extremely empty lot. And yes, that is a man, hanging from a rope attached to crane, carrying a chain saw. Apparently that is how whatever it was that he was doing is done. It didn't snow here today. I'm calling it a good enough ride. (Whatever happened to October? This is ridiculous.)

Weekend at Bernie's

It has been a while since I have had Granny duty for a weekend. This week I begged and pleaded and their mother reluctantly allowed me to take temporary custody of the Centers of the Universe. It is October, and Halloween is the girl COTU's favorite holiday. New costumes are an annual tradition here, so we went to Halloween USA and found what they were looking for. Halloween USA occupies the entire area that used to be the Sears store at the mall, so there was plenty to choose from. Here they are in their horrifying glory. This is the Emperor of Evil. Well, obviously not really. But that is what it said on the package that the costume came in. He is fond of the medallion that hangs around his neck. It has special powers, he says. Elemental powers. No, I don't know what that means.

This is the Goth Maiden Witch. I spent a fair amount of the evening hemming the skirt to a more appropriate length. We are not totally happy with the broomstick, but we have a few weeks yet to find something more Gothy. It is one of the best witch hats I have ever seen.

I had a bit of time before they arrived yesterday morning, and got out for a bike ride. It was sunny when I left, but cloud cover returned to guarantee that it wouldn't warm up any. I've added my middle weight tights to my current gear choices, and replaced the polar fleece vest with a long sleeve mid weight jersey as a middle layer. It was also the first wearing of a balaclava -- the one with the least coverage. At most it covers my chin, but it keeps my head and neck warm. It replaced the helmet liner. I saw one other female biker while I was out; she was also wearing a balaclava. Bulk is beginning to be an issue. I'm guessing I'm up to about 5 pounds of gear. I felt a little under dressed for the first couple of miles, but biking will warm you up eventually. We didn't have snow either yesterday or today, so I feel a bit wimpy whining about the cold. It is, after all, October.

It rained all day

So I've been playing around with something different today.

Cold and Damp

In my opinion, I had a small window of opportunity for a bike ride today. The radar showed green stuff coming across the lake, but it was the light green color that usually means the rain isn't hitting the ground. The yellows and reds on the radar were still south of Chicago. A wind from the SSW, rain coming from the SSW -- it sounded like a quick out and back to the state park would be about right. I stopped briefly for this photo of the old building next to the Coast Guard Station on Ottawa Beach Road -- I have no idea what it is. The red brick and red leaves on the vine caught my eye. Worthy of note is that 'snow' fences were going up in the park, to catch the blowing sand. But I also noted that by this time the southwestern sky looked dark and menacing -- so I looped the parking lot and headed back. I thought I just might have enough time for a quick loop north to Tunnel Park before heading home -- I was looking for a ride of something close to an hour and a half. With all the time it takes to gear up, it seems like an hour long ride is almost not worth it. (A bad attitude on my part, and one I am working on.) I had just made the final turn back towards home, just south of Tunnel Park, when the first rain drops hit. I was a bit more than 10 miles into the ride at that point, with a couple of options, depending on how averse I was to riding in the rain. I could take the shortest route home, dropping down to Ottawa Beach Road where there is no tree cover at all and take it back, or opt for the Lake Mac shoreline, which as most of you know, is heavily wooded. The second choice gives me more miles and stays mainly under the tree canopy -- so I probably don't get any wetter than if I take the faster route home. I was dressed well enough to handle the weather, mostly. (I haven't done a gear post for a while, so this seems like a good time. Head to toe. Helmet liner and helmet cover, both. It seems redundant, but the liner keeps my head warm and the cover keeps it dry. It also reduces the annoying drip of rain water off the helmet onto my glasses. Three layers on the core -- medium weight base layer, polar fleece vest and my bike jacket. The jacket has windstopper material on the front and sleeves, which is also water resistant, not quite waterproof, but close. Warm and dry on core body areas, good for several miles. Sadly, my leg coverings were neither rain nor wind repellent -- I hadn't thought I'd need the wind stopper tights, hadn't thought about wind stopper being water repellent... and the jacket bottom ends just about where I'd like some warmth. Here's something I learned from reading Jill in Alaska's blog. She writes that Cold Butt Syndrome is apparently a gender specific issue. She claims to have taken chemical hand warmers and tucked them down the back of her bike shorts when she bikes (all winter in Juneau, Alaska). You think I'm kidding? Here and here. I had no chemical hand warmers with me, so I was going to have to deal with the consequences. Moving on, I own three different weights of long fingered gloves, and was wearing the heaviest pair, which have lots of padding and keep my hands warm down into the 30's -- maybe colder. Only one pair of socks.) I took the long way home along the lake. Except for a cold butt (TMI?), it wasn't too bad -- I stayed warm and dry inside my cocoon of polar fleece and wintstopper fabrics. Of course my bike got wet, though I did not, and I got in an adequate hour and a half ride. It took another 20 minutes to dry off Ruby, and I'll need to lube the chain before I ride again. Welcome to fall. It is still raining, and tomorrow looks pretty wet.

It's a Cold Day for a Bike Ride, Girl

There was a big wind that blew through here last night, with gale force winds on the big lake and a high wind advisory for the counties along the shore line. The advisory was cancelled early today, when the winds dropped below some arbitrary number, which I took as a good sign. I hustled up some lunch for MSO and myself, dressed for the cold and headed out. I rode through the woods first, taking advantage of the shelter from the wind to get a little further west, intending to ride a north-south loop, given the brisk northwest wind. The amount of debris -- branches and such -- from the trees added an obstacle course element to my ride. I'd only planned to ride as far north as New Holland Street, but when I got that far decided to add another loop -- a ride up Butternut as far as Van Buren. I chose the path, even though there is a paved shoulder on Butternut, to take advantage of the wind break provided by the trees. It is a lovely piece of path with very few driveways, and I was enjoying the stretch until I came to this. I had already stopped once to move downed branches so that I could continue on, but this seemed more than I was ready to take on. I had hardly put my camera away before a guy in a truck pulled up and got out with a chain saw. "I'll get that out of your way," he said. "No problem, I'll just take the road, but thanks," I replied. "It'll just take a minute." Social interaction while biking is fairly rare, as you may know -- I think it may be one of the things I like most about it. But it was cool, and I continued on while he fired up his chain saw.

Moving out onto the road proved interesting -- my theory of trees providing shelter from wind proved true as I headed into what immediately seemed to be a howling gale. I had already passed my planned turn at Van Buren, but it was only a mile or so to the PSPS at this point, so I stopped in there to get warm before heading for home. The guy in front of me in line at the cash register finally finished chatting up the proprietress, finished paying for his six pack, and turned around to leave. He looked at me and said, "It's a cold day for a bike ride, girl." (If you think that I have told this whole story just so that I could drop that someone called me girl, you think right.) He looked more closely and added, "Maybe not. It looks like you're dressed for it." (As I certainly was.) More pleasantries, yada yada. Social interaction number two. And as I passed the spot where the fallen tree in the first photo used to be, I passed a biker who sped up so that she could talk about what a mess the bike paths were, and how many branches were down, and related social interaction -- number three. Three! In one ride. It was cool, windy, dark and gloomy during my two hour ride. But I gotta say, even with all the chatty people that crossed my path today, it was a pretty nice ride.

Local Color

The sun had some trouble staying out today, but the rain was well off to our west, so I got in my second bike ride of the week. It was a full two hour ride, passing the fruit and veggie ranch near the PSPS. It is almost exactly the same distance from here to the PSPS as it is from the beach to the PSPS, something I forget every year, and have to remeasure. Fortunately, I have a little black box on Ruby's handlebars that will do this for me.

A few trees have decided that it is time to change color , though the forecast for peak color is almost two weeks off -- a bit late for here. The word 'snow' was still being thrown about in the 8 day forecasts on the evening news. I understand that it will be coming through Minnesota on its way here.

Girl COTU

There are more pictures, and more details from the girl's Mother here. The short version is that she had fun, though she thinks it should be called a Sit, not a Dance. She and I went shopping for the dress on Wednesday night, as she was ambivalent about the one she and her Mom had purchased on Tuesday night. The first one was also quite a pretty dress. This one is cream colored silk with a black lace net overlay, and she liked it a lot. It was a Grandmother/Granddaughter bonding moment, and kind of fun.
In other news, October is off to a cold and soggy start. I found a dry slot this morning and took a bike ride in the cold and wind. I was rewarded for my efforts with some changing colors -- this was taken along Ransom, headed west towards the big lake.

I stopped at Tunnel Park -- I assume that it will close for the season fairly soon. The sand is beginning to pile up at both ends of the tunnel. The west end was more photogenic, but there was a pile of sand at the east end of the tunnel, as well.

I am beginning (again -- I'm a slow study) to understand why October miles average so much less than September miles. A few weeks ago it seemed incomprehensible that I wouldn't be able to set a new personal record for this month this year. The recent weather has been -- well, cold and soggy. The forecast is for more of the same, with only a couple of decent days sprinkled in. Next weekend -- the 'S' word is being thrown around.