More miles were ridden by me this November than in any other November on record -- in fact, it was typical mileage for October at a bit over 300 miles. I rode 18 times this month, for an average ride length of 17.11 miles, down from an average of 21 miles per ride in July, but still high for November. I've ridden 212 times this year, about 3 out of 5 days, on average. My year-to-date mileage stands at 3,603, or about 17 miles per ride. 3,650 would be a fun number to hit, for an average of 10 miles per day for every day of the year. That would require December miles, and I won't count those yet. I have a couple of busy days coming up -- new carpet will be installed here -- and we expect enough snow to shovel by Thursday. November is over -- I won't be checking in here on theme day tomorrow. There's been a lot of blogging this month, and I held up my end of it, but it is time for a few days off -- at least. And thus endeth NaBloPoMo for me.Monday, November 30, 2009
A Few Numbers
It felt like it could be the end of the Michigan biking season today. The temperature hovered around 39 with a west wind in the mid teens. The primary goals for the year and month had been met a while ago, so today's ride was just for the exercise. Reason enough. Tunnel Park is still open, but mostly deserted except for a couple of park rangers.
More miles were ridden by me this November than in any other November on record -- in fact, it was typical mileage for October at a bit over 300 miles. I rode 18 times this month, for an average ride length of 17.11 miles, down from an average of 21 miles per ride in July, but still high for November. I've ridden 212 times this year, about 3 out of 5 days, on average. My year-to-date mileage stands at 3,603, or about 17 miles per ride. 3,650 would be a fun number to hit, for an average of 10 miles per day for every day of the year. That would require December miles, and I won't count those yet. I have a couple of busy days coming up -- new carpet will be installed here -- and we expect enough snow to shovel by Thursday. November is over -- I won't be checking in here on theme day tomorrow. There's been a lot of blogging this month, and I held up my end of it, but it is time for a few days off -- at least. And thus endeth NaBloPoMo for me.
More miles were ridden by me this November than in any other November on record -- in fact, it was typical mileage for October at a bit over 300 miles. I rode 18 times this month, for an average ride length of 17.11 miles, down from an average of 21 miles per ride in July, but still high for November. I've ridden 212 times this year, about 3 out of 5 days, on average. My year-to-date mileage stands at 3,603, or about 17 miles per ride. 3,650 would be a fun number to hit, for an average of 10 miles per day for every day of the year. That would require December miles, and I won't count those yet. I have a couple of busy days coming up -- new carpet will be installed here -- and we expect enough snow to shovel by Thursday. November is over -- I won't be checking in here on theme day tomorrow. There's been a lot of blogging this month, and I held up my end of it, but it is time for a few days off -- at least. And thus endeth NaBloPoMo for me.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
COTU
This is an early post, even for me. As you can see through the windows in these photos, we are socked in under gray skies. With drizzle. Fortunately, the COTU have something to keep them occupied.
We won't be around them during the upcoming holidays, so they got their gifts early.
This approach gave their grandfather time to get updates and anti-virus software installed, and for their grandmother to help them get individual email accounts set up. Good rainy day activities. No complaints, it could be snow.
We won't be around them during the upcoming holidays, so they got their gifts early.
This approach gave their grandfather time to get updates and anti-virus software installed, and for their grandmother to help them get individual email accounts set up. Good rainy day activities. No complaints, it could be snow. Friday, November 27, 2009
Dawn Over Pine Creek Bay
This was the only sun that we saw here today. The Grand Rapids TV stations declared that we had our first measurable snowfall of the season overnight, but the ground was clear and dry here.
Around noon I stepped outside of the garage and got hit in the face with ice crystals, so I went back inside and took a nap. If I'd waited, or toughed it out, I think I could have ridden. But the nap seemed to be more necessary. November wanes. Three more days to go.
Around noon I stepped outside of the garage and got hit in the face with ice crystals, so I went back inside and took a nap. If I'd waited, or toughed it out, I think I could have ridden. But the nap seemed to be more necessary. November wanes. Three more days to go.Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
They have all gone home now, taking with them some of the leftovers -- thank goodness.
COTU/N and DC played some chess, and DC ate some pumpkin pie.
COTU/TJ was very fond of the fudge.
OSLO served her GF (good friend) too big a piece of blueberry pie. So she helped eat it.
OSLO's GF's father, along with his father's good friend, also joined us. There were nine of us around the dining room table today. I think you can tell from the photos that there was plenty of food, and there also was football, comfortable conversation and laughter. And some napping. It was a pretty traditional Thanksgiving. For which I am thankful.
COTU/N and DC played some chess, and DC ate some pumpkin pie.
COTU/TJ was very fond of the fudge.
OSLO served her GF (good friend) too big a piece of blueberry pie. So she helped eat it.
OSLO's GF's father, along with his father's good friend, also joined us. There were nine of us around the dining room table today. I think you can tell from the photos that there was plenty of food, and there also was football, comfortable conversation and laughter. And some napping. It was a pretty traditional Thanksgiving. For which I am thankful.Wednesday, November 25, 2009
What Holiday?
I don't have much to report today. Tomorrow is a major holiday, I'm told. I did some math, and I've cooked somewhere around 40 or 80 of these holiday dinners. (I'm apparently not very good at math -- that's quite a large range.) On a recent bike ride I took this photo of downtown Holland. It looked a lot like Christmas to me.
Then TOPWLH requested fudge for the holiday, and he was seconded by OSLO and DC. This is the same version that was made by my mother-in-law Margery, back in the days when she did most of the holiday cooking. It's good fudge -- but it is strictly a Christmas tradition. As you can see, I made the fudge, caving to the family pressure.
I also made a jello salad today, cooked up some wild rice for Barbara's recipe stuffing, and am baking a few pies. There is a fresh 13 pound turkey in the refrigerator. OSLO is making a few of the standards -- green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and corn. COTU/N will make crescent rolls, and COTU/TJ will put together some cheese and olive appetizers. TOPWLH will make his famous gravy to go with a mountain of mashed potatoes. If it sounds like Christmas dinner, well maybe it is.
Then TOPWLH requested fudge for the holiday, and he was seconded by OSLO and DC. This is the same version that was made by my mother-in-law Margery, back in the days when she did most of the holiday cooking. It's good fudge -- but it is strictly a Christmas tradition. As you can see, I made the fudge, caving to the family pressure.
I also made a jello salad today, cooked up some wild rice for Barbara's recipe stuffing, and am baking a few pies. There is a fresh 13 pound turkey in the refrigerator. OSLO is making a few of the standards -- green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and corn. COTU/N will make crescent rolls, and COTU/TJ will put together some cheese and olive appetizers. TOPWLH will make his famous gravy to go with a mountain of mashed potatoes. If it sounds like Christmas dinner, well maybe it is.Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tennis Court
I took this photo on Sunday -- at the corner of Tennis Court and Division. Even odder is the fact that Tennis Ct. is not a cul de sac. It's a through street.
I thought that TT, formerly known as TTT, might enjoy this one. No ride today -- the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is officially known as 'buy your turkey NOW day.'
I thought that TT, formerly known as TTT, might enjoy this one. No ride today -- the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is officially known as 'buy your turkey NOW day.'Monday, November 23, 2009
About Average
I got a message from Vanessa, Andy's oldest, on Facebook this morning. She said, ""My dad was talking fondly of the miller family recipe for cranberry sauce. DO you have the recipe or might I find it on the family food blog?" Would anyone like to take that one and do a food blog post?
Novembers are typically low mileage months, so a new November mileage record isn't a huge accomplishment, but today's ride to (a closed) Quincy Park gave me a new PR for November miles. It took 16 rides this years, as compared to 18 rides in November of 2007, the month it replaced. Obviously, my average ride length is greater this November than it was then. My average ride length has dropped from 2 hours this summer to 1.5 hours this month, as the weather has gotten colder, and as my fitness level has dropped. But apparently not as far as it did two years ago. So I'm pleased with that. 
I think that the number of rides remaining for me in November can now be counted on one hand, probably one finger. The darkness in the middle of the day on a cloudy day like today continues to surprise me. Cold and dark returned here today, but the wet stuff is supposed to hold off until late tomorrow. The second photo is of the clubhouse at Macatawa Legends, the golf course now owned by my bank, since the developer went bankrupt. My bank will soon be owned by one of our local billionaires, I've heard, in a not unrelated piece of news. Billionaires can come in handy.
Novembers are typically low mileage months, so a new November mileage record isn't a huge accomplishment, but today's ride to (a closed) Quincy Park gave me a new PR for November miles. It took 16 rides this years, as compared to 18 rides in November of 2007, the month it replaced. Obviously, my average ride length is greater this November than it was then. My average ride length has dropped from 2 hours this summer to 1.5 hours this month, as the weather has gotten colder, and as my fitness level has dropped. But apparently not as far as it did two years ago. So I'm pleased with that. 
I think that the number of rides remaining for me in November can now be counted on one hand, probably one finger. The darkness in the middle of the day on a cloudy day like today continues to surprise me. Cold and dark returned here today, but the wet stuff is supposed to hold off until late tomorrow. The second photo is of the clubhouse at Macatawa Legends, the golf course now owned by my bank, since the developer went bankrupt. My bank will soon be owned by one of our local billionaires, I've heard, in a not unrelated piece of news. Billionaires can come in handy.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
16 Degrees Above Normal
It isn't over until it's over, apparently. I baked a loaf of banana/cranberry bread this morning, and left it to cool on the counter while I took advantage of yet another unbelievable day, and took a bike ride. This would have been a nice day in late September, never mind late November. The temperature flirted with 60 while I was out -- the weather channel says 59 right now.
With the wind from the south, a ride under the bridge and along the other side of Lake Mac sounded good. On a Sunday afternoon the streets of Holland are pretty empty, and the usual traffic hassles of riding through the downtown area are gone.
A few people were out walking and jogging, but mostly I had Kollen Park and the south shore of Lake Mac to myself. The sun is low enough in the sky, even in the middle of the day, that every photo has interesting shadows in it. These benches are tucked in behind the BoatWerks Restaurant -- they are new since the last time I explored that area.
I rode the waterfront walkway behind the Heinz Pickle factory again, on both the outbound trip and on my way back. The smell wasn't unpleasant, exactly, but it was pretty strong. The view from the walkway was easily worth the assault on my sense of smell, in my opinion.
I rode further west and further south than on my last ride out that way. The turnaround spot this time was the DeGraaf Nature Center -- closed on Sundays. The COTU have been there on field trips for school, but this is as close as I've come to an actual visit to the place, though I've ridden past it any number of times. I made the entire round trip without any significant complaints from my back. So that's progress.
With the wind from the south, a ride under the bridge and along the other side of Lake Mac sounded good. On a Sunday afternoon the streets of Holland are pretty empty, and the usual traffic hassles of riding through the downtown area are gone.
A few people were out walking and jogging, but mostly I had Kollen Park and the south shore of Lake Mac to myself. The sun is low enough in the sky, even in the middle of the day, that every photo has interesting shadows in it. These benches are tucked in behind the BoatWerks Restaurant -- they are new since the last time I explored that area. 
I rode the waterfront walkway behind the Heinz Pickle factory again, on both the outbound trip and on my way back. The smell wasn't unpleasant, exactly, but it was pretty strong. The view from the walkway was easily worth the assault on my sense of smell, in my opinion.
I rode further west and further south than on my last ride out that way. The turnaround spot this time was the DeGraaf Nature Center -- closed on Sundays. The COTU have been there on field trips for school, but this is as close as I've come to an actual visit to the place, though I've ridden past it any number of times. I made the entire round trip without any significant complaints from my back. So that's progress.Saturday, November 21, 2009
12 Degrees Above Normal
Here's an update on the progress of the construction of Lynne's new house. It will be taller eventually -- there will be another story and a half before it is done. I took this photo while standing next to my garage.
We wandered around the construction site for a bit. It is still too soon to tell much, but this is the current view, standing in what I think will eventually be her family room. Walls will eventually obscure some of the view, but she clearly will have a nice one once it is done.
By about noon the sun came out and the temperature rose -- eventually reaching 55 degrees. The normal high for this date is 43. Days like this are soooo rare in November that I took a short ride, even though my back continues to be problematic. My declaration in yesterday's post that the biking season is over was met with some push-back from the bicycling guru in the family, so I bowed to his superior experience, and rode the Ruby today. I had a plan. This was it.
It is pretty clear that I didn't ride 1,000 miles in 24 hours. It is also clear that these are two different bicycle computers. The photo on the left is of the Elite, which reached 10,000 miles yesterday. The photo on the right is of the Ruby, which I rode today, specifically to put her mileage over the 11,000 mile mark. Just having a little fun.
We wandered around the construction site for a bit. It is still too soon to tell much, but this is the current view, standing in what I think will eventually be her family room. Walls will eventually obscure some of the view, but she clearly will have a nice one once it is done.
By about noon the sun came out and the temperature rose -- eventually reaching 55 degrees. The normal high for this date is 43. Days like this are soooo rare in November that I took a short ride, even though my back continues to be problematic. My declaration in yesterday's post that the biking season is over was met with some push-back from the bicycling guru in the family, so I bowed to his superior experience, and rode the Ruby today. I had a plan. This was it.
It is pretty clear that I didn't ride 1,000 miles in 24 hours. It is also clear that these are two different bicycle computers. The photo on the left is of the Elite, which reached 10,000 miles yesterday. The photo on the right is of the Ruby, which I rode today, specifically to put her mileage over the 11,000 mile mark. Just having a little fun.Friday, November 20, 2009
Bonus Day
I've been riding the Elite all month -- there's been only one ride on the Ruby in November, and that was the ride I took with Lynne and OSLO -- we needed both bikes that day. The Ruby's in the basement, because the bicycling season is over. There, I said it. The bicycling season, in my humble opinion, ends at Halloween. So the Ruby is cleaned up and put away. There is, however -- again, IMHO -- a fringe season. Or maybe a 'shoulder' season. It goes until Thanksgiving, weather permitting. The Elite is my bike of choice for the fringe season. Today I rode it to the State Park. It was 50 degrees -- pretty warm for this late in November. 
There's been enough wind to drive the waves up underneath the boardwalk, washing out the sand, and causing those big pieces of concrete to shift. Awesome, Mother Nature.
I was going to use Gino's line about being the only one out on a bike today, until I saw this guy riding along the pier on the other side of the channel. Not even Big Red is bright enough to make a dent in the gloom and fog. November next to a big lake, I guess.
November is typically our second cloudiest month of the year. December is the cloudiest. December is not a part of the biking season, or even the shoulder season. December, January and February are the off season, IMHO. Any miles ridden then are purely recreational, perhaps even 'junk' miles (though that term offends me), and are not to be taken seriously. Even if the rider is in Florida. It's winter. There's another fringe month in the spring -- March -- before the season begins again in April. I've given this a lot of thought -- I rode 20 miles today, pretty slowly, so I had lots of time -- and I wanted to share my conclusions with my loyal readers. Of course, I could be way off base.
Oh, yeah. Here's the other reason I've been riding the Elite this month. This bike had 9,000 miles on it in February of 2006, when I got Ruby. Ruby's been my main ride ever since, and she crossed the 10,000 mile mark this summer (August 12th). The Elite went from being my main bike four seasons ago, to being ridden -- well, almost not at all. A few guests contributed some miles, and OSLO put the majority of these last 1,000 miles on it, but it was still languishing in the low 9,700's when the season ended for Ruby this year. I feel pretty good about the milestone -- those last thousand miles aren't mine, for the most part, but it is a distinctive number, and the Elite deserves the mega-mileage status. It was a bonus day on my bike.
There's been enough wind to drive the waves up underneath the boardwalk, washing out the sand, and causing those big pieces of concrete to shift. Awesome, Mother Nature.
I was going to use Gino's line about being the only one out on a bike today, until I saw this guy riding along the pier on the other side of the channel. Not even Big Red is bright enough to make a dent in the gloom and fog. November next to a big lake, I guess. 
November is typically our second cloudiest month of the year. December is the cloudiest. December is not a part of the biking season, or even the shoulder season. December, January and February are the off season, IMHO. Any miles ridden then are purely recreational, perhaps even 'junk' miles (though that term offends me), and are not to be taken seriously. Even if the rider is in Florida. It's winter. There's another fringe month in the spring -- March -- before the season begins again in April. I've given this a lot of thought -- I rode 20 miles today, pretty slowly, so I had lots of time -- and I wanted to share my conclusions with my loyal readers. Of course, I could be way off base.
Oh, yeah. Here's the other reason I've been riding the Elite this month. This bike had 9,000 miles on it in February of 2006, when I got Ruby. Ruby's been my main ride ever since, and she crossed the 10,000 mile mark this summer (August 12th). The Elite went from being my main bike four seasons ago, to being ridden -- well, almost not at all. A few guests contributed some miles, and OSLO put the majority of these last 1,000 miles on it, but it was still languishing in the low 9,700's when the season ended for Ruby this year. I feel pretty good about the milestone -- those last thousand miles aren't mine, for the most part, but it is a distinctive number, and the Elite deserves the mega-mileage status. It was a bonus day on my bike.Thursday, November 19, 2009
Post Number 667
My post for NaBloPoMo is on the Family Cooking Blog, today.
It rained yesterday, so instead of biking I went shopping at Meijers -- where I bent over to get something from a lower shelf and my back went into spasm mode. I'm always reluctant to take Ibu, but have decided that it is necessary. So today I'm baking instead of biking. Amazing the difference one little letter makes.
It rained yesterday, so instead of biking I went shopping at Meijers -- where I bent over to get something from a lower shelf and my back went into spasm mode. I'm always reluctant to take Ibu, but have decided that it is necessary. So today I'm baking instead of biking. Amazing the difference one little letter makes.Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
17 Hard Miles
The prediction that I'd reach my annual mileage goal for this year on a cold, gray November day looked just plain wrong when I left the house. 47 degrees isn't really all that cold and the sun was out. An east wind at 21, gusting to 30, was howling though -- making it hard work to ride a bicycle in any direction. I went west, taking advantage of the shelter of the woods between here and the beach house. Even in the woods a gust caught my bike and nearly threw me over.
I was hoping to get a picture of progress on Lynne's new house, but nothing much has happened since the photo I posted on November 1. So on to Tunnel Park where the wind had made some progress filling the tunnel with sand. There was still enough sun to cast a shadow across the path at that point.
Mother Nature always bats last, of course, and by the time I got back to my garage, the gray skies had returned. So the final miles -- the ones that counted for the 3,500th mile -- were ridden on a gray November day after all. The most recent other time I reached that number was in 2007 -- two years ago -- and I remember riding my winter bike around in circles at the end of my driveway on December 31 to get the final few tenths of a mile I needed to reach it. I didn't make it to 3,500 last year because of this:
We got 8 inches of snow on November 17 last year. One year ago today. It was primarily lake effect -- by that I mean that it didn't snow in Zeeland. But it ended the biking season here pretty effectively. I hope to ride a few more times this year, but that's up to Mother Nature, again. It will be a busy few weeks here -- Totally Jammin' turns 11 tomorrow, Thanksgiving is next week, baking and shopping.... stuff to do that will take precedence over biking. I'll be looking over my bike log numbers over the next few days, and I'll report back any interesting tidbits.
I was hoping to get a picture of progress on Lynne's new house, but nothing much has happened since the photo I posted on November 1. So on to Tunnel Park where the wind had made some progress filling the tunnel with sand. There was still enough sun to cast a shadow across the path at that point.
Mother Nature always bats last, of course, and by the time I got back to my garage, the gray skies had returned. So the final miles -- the ones that counted for the 3,500th mile -- were ridden on a gray November day after all. The most recent other time I reached that number was in 2007 -- two years ago -- and I remember riding my winter bike around in circles at the end of my driveway on December 31 to get the final few tenths of a mile I needed to reach it. I didn't make it to 3,500 last year because of this:
We got 8 inches of snow on November 17 last year. One year ago today. It was primarily lake effect -- by that I mean that it didn't snow in Zeeland. But it ended the biking season here pretty effectively. I hope to ride a few more times this year, but that's up to Mother Nature, again. It will be a busy few weeks here -- Totally Jammin' turns 11 tomorrow, Thanksgiving is next week, baking and shopping.... stuff to do that will take precedence over biking. I'll be looking over my bike log numbers over the next few days, and I'll report back any interesting tidbits. Monday, November 16, 2009
Cold. Gray. Windy.
November weather has returned to where I live. My plan was to divide up the miles still left to achieve my primary mileage goal for this year into a two hour ride and a 1.5 hour ride. Today and tomorrow were forecast to have similar temperatures, neither will have any sun, and tomorrow will be the windier of the two. It just made sense to ride the longer ride today. The flaw in this plan is that 1.5 hours on my bike is all I think I can tolerate when the temperatures are in the low to mid 40's. I added an extra layer to help cope with the extra time outdoors and headed out about noon. The wind was from the ENE, the plan was to ride out to the Berry Bunch place just east of the highway, ride east until I got tired, then turn and high tail it for home. 
I took this photo outside of the Berry Bunch Farm Market. I've been to this spot during the real blueberry season; it is where I got my first blues of the year in July. It does seem unlikely that this sign is still correct. My route there included riding a mile down a gravel road, something I've done a number of times on the Ruby, with no problems. I was on the Elite today which, it turns out, is squirrely on gravel. Hunh. Who knew? Apparently there is something to this Ruby/Roubaix geometry thing. Surprised me.
This was my turn around point, 128th and Port Sheldon Road. That almost bright spot very low in the sky is the sun -- this is about 1:00 pm. It's a pretty sky, but it was starting to look like snow to me. (The forecast now is for our first snow to fall late on Thanksgiving weekend.) It turned out I was right about the 1.5 hour thing, too. My fingers and toes started to get noticeably cold about 1.5 hours into the ride -- and worse, my leg muscles started to feel crampy. Pain cave time. (I exaggerate.) I don't know how to describe riding on a day that is as cold, gray and windy as today. It was simultaneously so difficult and so much fun to be out there. Ah, well. The season is just about over. 22 miles today. 16 more to go. I think I can find a cold, gray November day to give those last few miles a shot.
I took this photo outside of the Berry Bunch Farm Market. I've been to this spot during the real blueberry season; it is where I got my first blues of the year in July. It does seem unlikely that this sign is still correct. My route there included riding a mile down a gravel road, something I've done a number of times on the Ruby, with no problems. I was on the Elite today which, it turns out, is squirrely on gravel. Hunh. Who knew? Apparently there is something to this Ruby/Roubaix geometry thing. Surprised me.
This was my turn around point, 128th and Port Sheldon Road. That almost bright spot very low in the sky is the sun -- this is about 1:00 pm. It's a pretty sky, but it was starting to look like snow to me. (The forecast now is for our first snow to fall late on Thanksgiving weekend.) It turned out I was right about the 1.5 hour thing, too. My fingers and toes started to get noticeably cold about 1.5 hours into the ride -- and worse, my leg muscles started to feel crampy. Pain cave time. (I exaggerate.) I don't know how to describe riding on a day that is as cold, gray and windy as today. It was simultaneously so difficult and so much fun to be out there. Ah, well. The season is just about over. 22 miles today. 16 more to go. I think I can find a cold, gray November day to give those last few miles a shot.Sunday, November 15, 2009
Harderwyck Church
Yesterday's post had a photo of a church -- chapel, actually -- that I believe is part of the RCA, a Dutch denomination. My understanding is that the Reformed Church of America is a pretty mainstream type of Protestant sect.
This is Harderwyck Church, a lovely church on the corner of 160th and Lakewood. It's a CRC church. Christian Reformed Church. It is also a Dutch denomination. Hope is RCA, Calvin is CRC. God gets involved in basketball games between the two schools, if I understand the way this works, and basketball is a proxy for holy war. Odd, to an outsider. I rode past there on my 10th bike ride of November today. At the end of October, my theory was that I needed a dozen more rides to achieve my mileage goal for the year. That theory is holding up -- I still need about two rides. No guarantees, the miles must still be ridden.
In a bit of totally unrelated Internet gossip, of the sort of inside baseball that probably only GZ will even understand, I have it on good authority that Elden is dating. Bob, on Elden's blog roll, describes how the guys who rode Fall Moab know each other, and says that Elden is dating Rich's ex-wife.
This is Harderwyck Church, a lovely church on the corner of 160th and Lakewood. It's a CRC church. Christian Reformed Church. It is also a Dutch denomination. Hope is RCA, Calvin is CRC. God gets involved in basketball games between the two schools, if I understand the way this works, and basketball is a proxy for holy war. Odd, to an outsider. I rode past there on my 10th bike ride of November today. At the end of October, my theory was that I needed a dozen more rides to achieve my mileage goal for the year. That theory is holding up -- I still need about two rides. No guarantees, the miles must still be ridden.In a bit of totally unrelated Internet gossip, of the sort of inside baseball that probably only GZ will even understand, I have it on good authority that Elden is dating. Bob, on Elden's blog roll, describes how the guys who rode Fall Moab know each other, and says that Elden is dating Rich's ex-wife.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Church
From a bike ride earlier this month -- the church in Camp Geneva, at Lakeshore and Quincy. For NaBloPoMo.
I think that this is a really nice spot for a church. RCA, I think. (Reformed Church of America.) Time to go up.
I think that this is a really nice spot for a church. RCA, I think. (Reformed Church of America.) Time to go up.Friday, November 13, 2009
South Wind, Again
I have two pictures, Emily. (I posted that song thing on Veteran's day.) The first is of the back end of Quincy Park, crossing over Pine Creek to the old baseball fields. It was a mostly sunny day, with that milky blue sky thing still going on. Our weather people have commented that because the storm on the East Coast is acting as a block to our usual flow of weather systems from west to east, 'what you've got is what you'll get,' at least for a while. Fine with me. It was 56 degrees when I left, 58 when I returned. 60 eventually. 12 degrees warmer than normal. WaHoo.
We had men show up at our house to work early this morning, too. They came with rakes, leaf blowers and a truck with a vacuum hose on the back. Dave and crew, we call them. For what we spend on yard work, we should be on a first name basis with the guy that owns the service, and we are. Dave also plows our driveways in the winter. He's a good guy. And quite necessary.
Here's the second picture -- my front yard, sans leaves. (The evening weather forecast has warmer than average temperatures for the next 8 days, mostly dry. And probably snow for Thanksgiving.)
We had men show up at our house to work early this morning, too. They came with rakes, leaf blowers and a truck with a vacuum hose on the back. Dave and crew, we call them. For what we spend on yard work, we should be on a first name basis with the guy that owns the service, and we are. Dave also plows our driveways in the winter. He's a good guy. And quite necessary.
Here's the second picture -- my front yard, sans leaves. (The evening weather forecast has warmer than average temperatures for the next 8 days, mostly dry. And probably snow for Thanksgiving.)Thursday, November 12, 2009
South? There Is No South!
Today's ride was the ride that put my 2009 bike mileage past my 2008 total. Theoretically, that should have been a big mental check. As I expected, no dice. I've been chasing 2007's annual total of 3,500 all year, and there's no fooling the crazy biker in my head. But still, significant enough to get a mention in this blog. 
The wind was from the south today -- my usual approach to that is to ignore it and ride in a big circle. (A rectangle is more accurate.) Today I caved to the will of the bicycling gods, and rode south across the bridge into the small city on the small lake. Kollen Park is on the south side of Lake Mac, and has seen a lot of improvements and expansion over the years. The boardwalk is only sort of new, but it is nice. It was a sunny, chilly day, so most of the other visitors stayed in their cars.
I admired TT's photo of the mallards at Como from yesterday's post. Getting a good photo of a duck is much harder than I expected. These birds were not afraid of a camera or an old woman, or an old woman with a camera. But the shadows kept it from being a very good shot.
The west end of Kollen Park has had some changes that I had only seen from a car, so today was an opportunity to do some exploring. Heinz (yes, the pickle factory) donated some land to the city along the lakefront to provide public access to the waterfront. The photo above is of the east end of the walkway, looking north-west towards the big lake.
There were only a few people on it today, in spite of the sunshine and the milky blue sky. Mid 40's isn't warm enough, I guess. Riding along there was fun -- some twists and turns, with benches and places that jut out into the lake. It is also right at the edge of the back door of Heinz. The smell of old brine, perhaps even fermented old brine, was pretty strong. The pickle vats shown here, at the west end of the walkway, were probably the source.
I had to pick my way out of the industrial area around Heinz, zigzagging through some old neighborhoods. The Historic District has a boulevard with trees that still have leaves -- pretty rare this late in November. Since I was close to the college at this point, I rode through the campus, past the building where my office used to be. Then through town -- skipping Windmill Island this trip -- it is probably closed this late in the year. Window on the Waterfront Park was nice, then the route turned back under the bridge and towards home. All trips through town are slow, but it was a nice day for sightseeing. And I even had a tailwind on the way back.
The wind was from the south today -- my usual approach to that is to ignore it and ride in a big circle. (A rectangle is more accurate.) Today I caved to the will of the bicycling gods, and rode south across the bridge into the small city on the small lake. Kollen Park is on the south side of Lake Mac, and has seen a lot of improvements and expansion over the years. The boardwalk is only sort of new, but it is nice. It was a sunny, chilly day, so most of the other visitors stayed in their cars.
I admired TT's photo of the mallards at Como from yesterday's post. Getting a good photo of a duck is much harder than I expected. These birds were not afraid of a camera or an old woman, or an old woman with a camera. But the shadows kept it from being a very good shot.
The west end of Kollen Park has had some changes that I had only seen from a car, so today was an opportunity to do some exploring. Heinz (yes, the pickle factory) donated some land to the city along the lakefront to provide public access to the waterfront. The photo above is of the east end of the walkway, looking north-west towards the big lake.
There were only a few people on it today, in spite of the sunshine and the milky blue sky. Mid 40's isn't warm enough, I guess. Riding along there was fun -- some twists and turns, with benches and places that jut out into the lake. It is also right at the edge of the back door of Heinz. The smell of old brine, perhaps even fermented old brine, was pretty strong. The pickle vats shown here, at the west end of the walkway, were probably the source.
I had to pick my way out of the industrial area around Heinz, zigzagging through some old neighborhoods. The Historic District has a boulevard with trees that still have leaves -- pretty rare this late in November. Since I was close to the college at this point, I rode through the campus, past the building where my office used to be. Then through town -- skipping Windmill Island this trip -- it is probably closed this late in the year. Window on the Waterfront Park was nice, then the route turned back under the bridge and towards home. All trips through town are slow, but it was a nice day for sightseeing. And I even had a tailwind on the way back.Wednesday, November 11, 2009
A Pretty Nice Day
Today started out below freezing. There was frost on the grass at sunrise.
It warmed to about 50 by 1:00 this afternoon. The milky blue sky is the best we've been able to do here -- there's been none of the vibrant blues that Minnesota residents have seen. Lake effect, I assume.
Somehow Veterans' Day reminded me of that old anti-war song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Peter Paul and Mary, and even the Kingston Trio recorded it, if YouTube is to be believed. I think the one that I remember is the Joan Baez version, but it isn't clear to me any more. You can find lots of stuff in the Internet, but not stuff you forgot. Kinda sad, isn't it?
Obviously, since these photos were taken today, in spite of the frost, not all of the flowers are gone.
It warmed to about 50 by 1:00 this afternoon. The milky blue sky is the best we've been able to do here -- there's been none of the vibrant blues that Minnesota residents have seen. Lake effect, I assume.
Somehow Veterans' Day reminded me of that old anti-war song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Peter Paul and Mary, and even the Kingston Trio recorded it, if YouTube is to be believed. I think the one that I remember is the Joan Baez version, but it isn't clear to me any more. You can find lots of stuff in the Internet, but not stuff you forgot. Kinda sad, isn't it?
Obviously, since these photos were taken today, in spite of the frost, not all of the flowers are gone.Tuesday, November 10, 2009
One Year Later
This photo is from my blog post one year ago today. Here. (It was a pretty good post. Go ahead and read it, I'll wait.) There was snow on the roof line, and the college was closed because of a norovirus sweeping through the student body. (No pun intended.) This year there is not even that much snow in the current ten day forecast. (Yay!) And events at the college no longer rule my riding schedule. (Also, Yay!)
Today was mild, but I had absolutely no desire to ride my bike. That just might mean that the season has gone on long enough, and I am ready for a break. I'm still a few rides away from what I've been calling my 'goal' all year long -- 3,500 miles. Why I picked that number is unclear to me today. My usual goal is to ride one more mile than I did last year, and I rode 3,426 miles last year -- I'm one longish ride away from that. (John says I'm just one long ride away from 3,500 miles, too. Funny guy.) I've passed the yearly totals for '04, '05 and '06 -- in September and October. But I've been chasing the number 3,500 for a the whole year (it was my '07 total), so I'll probably continue. In '07 I reached that total on December 31, after 78 miles of December riding. If all goes as planned, there will be time for me to accumulate some sunny miles towards the end of December -- what do you think? I'm thinking that I should take a month off here, you know -- to stay fresh. Maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow.
Today was mild, but I had absolutely no desire to ride my bike. That just might mean that the season has gone on long enough, and I am ready for a break. I'm still a few rides away from what I've been calling my 'goal' all year long -- 3,500 miles. Why I picked that number is unclear to me today. My usual goal is to ride one more mile than I did last year, and I rode 3,426 miles last year -- I'm one longish ride away from that. (John says I'm just one long ride away from 3,500 miles, too. Funny guy.) I've passed the yearly totals for '04, '05 and '06 -- in September and October. But I've been chasing the number 3,500 for a the whole year (it was my '07 total), so I'll probably continue. In '07 I reached that total on December 31, after 78 miles of December riding. If all goes as planned, there will be time for me to accumulate some sunny miles towards the end of December -- what do you think? I'm thinking that I should take a month off here, you know -- to stay fresh. Maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow.Monday, November 9, 2009
Park to Park
It wasn't anywhere near as nice a day today as it was yesterday, but it was still a plenty nice day. Tunnel Park has the "Winter Hours" sign up. Once it snows, the gates will be locked until the snow melts in the spring. 
Nothing new was happening there, so I continued my ride north. Unimproved 'street end' parks are fairly common around here -- both Riley and James have one. The church camp is located where the public access should have been at the end of Quincy, and this is the one at New Holland Street. There is a township park at the end of Van Buren, and so on.
This little strip of beach is probably very popular in the summer. It's easy to get to, and doesn't require a long walk up and over a dune like the street end parks at Riley and Quincy.
The access is only as wide as the width of the street -- 60 feet, I believe. This one is very close to the stone gates that some of you are familiar with. After all of the interaction with the public yesterday, today I had the entire township to myself.
I rode another mile north on Lakeshore before turning back east along Van Buren. This time of year the morning traffic report includes the number of car/deer accidents during the morning commute. There are always at least a couple in Grand Rapids every morning. 11 people died from car/deer collisions last year in Michigan, and there were 61,000 reported accidents, with more than 6,000 injuries. Using the automobile to cull the deer herd is a bad idea, it seems to me. Anyway, this all seemed pertinent when four deer crossed the road in front of my bicycle. Three were together, then as I got closer, a fourth crossed in front of me. I slowed way down, in case there was another one waiting to ambush me. It was near the Van Buren Dunes hiking trails, and I've seen deer there before, but never four at one time. I made it safely through the herd, and got home without having fallen violently over to the right. (She's okay, according to her Facebook status.) One more ride snatched from the jaws of winter.
Nothing new was happening there, so I continued my ride north. Unimproved 'street end' parks are fairly common around here -- both Riley and James have one. The church camp is located where the public access should have been at the end of Quincy, and this is the one at New Holland Street. There is a township park at the end of Van Buren, and so on.
This little strip of beach is probably very popular in the summer. It's easy to get to, and doesn't require a long walk up and over a dune like the street end parks at Riley and Quincy.
The access is only as wide as the width of the street -- 60 feet, I believe. This one is very close to the stone gates that some of you are familiar with. After all of the interaction with the public yesterday, today I had the entire township to myself. 
I rode another mile north on Lakeshore before turning back east along Van Buren. This time of year the morning traffic report includes the number of car/deer accidents during the morning commute. There are always at least a couple in Grand Rapids every morning. 11 people died from car/deer collisions last year in Michigan, and there were 61,000 reported accidents, with more than 6,000 injuries. Using the automobile to cull the deer herd is a bad idea, it seems to me. Anyway, this all seemed pertinent when four deer crossed the road in front of my bicycle. Three were together, then as I got closer, a fourth crossed in front of me. I slowed way down, in case there was another one waiting to ambush me. It was near the Van Buren Dunes hiking trails, and I've seen deer there before, but never four at one time. I made it safely through the herd, and got home without having fallen violently over to the right. (She's okay, according to her Facebook status.) One more ride snatched from the jaws of winter.
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